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1285 Tips : Page 2, Tips 66 - 130
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| 66. |
Wacky Worm Senko Freshwater
If you want to land some Big Fish this season, try using 10lb Floro line attached to your favorite braid. Use a 1/0 Gammy EWG hook rigged wacky style on a slack line. My setup for this is a 7ft MH Carrot Stix and a Abu Garcia Revo reel. Throw to your favorite target and count to 10. If you don't get bit after making 2 hops, reel in and try again. Your line will sort of jump and takeoff within that 10 secs.
LBF Member: Triplefish1
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| 67. |
JIG FISHING Bass Fishing
IN THE SPRING AND SUMMER WHILE FISHING FOR BASS TRY SWIMMING THE JIG IF YOUR NOT GETTING HIT ON BOTTOM. THIS WILL THIS WILL TRIGGER FISH MOST TIMES.TRY USING DIFFERENT TRAILERS SUCH AS ZOOM GRUBS.
LBF Member: WOODYBIGMAN
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| 68. |
BREAM BEDS Bass Fishing
MID TO LATE SUMMER WHEN FISHING GETS TOUGH LOOK FOR BREAM BEDS. YOU WILL FIND HUGE FISH LURKING AROUND THESE BEDS.USE A BREAM COLORED LURE.
LBF Member: WOODYBIGMAN
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| 69. |
TRICK WORM FOR BASS Freshwater
PLACE A SMALL WEIGHT ABOUT 12" FOR THE BAIT .THIS WILL GIVE YOU A LONGER CAST PLUS YOU WILL FILL THE STRIKE BETTER BEFORE THE BASS SWALLOWS THE WORM.
LBF Member: WOODYBIGMAN
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| 70. |
Wacky worming. Bass Fishing
To catch Largemouth Bass that don't seem to want to bite on a texas rigged worm or a jig. Take a Plastic worm or lizard and just poke the point of a worm hook through the egg sack or middle of the lure. Let the ends of the bait hang off to the side. Cast this bait, weightless, around the edges of Lily Pads or emergent grass or any other type of structure, and hang on. Most of the time the fish will strike as the lure sinks to the bottom, so watch your line carefully. If it starts to move or twitch, set the hook.
LBF Member: Bluerockbass
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| 71. |
Chunking for Tuna Saltwater
Chunking for Bluefin involves archoring on a good fishing spot known to hold bluefin. Once anchored, top crews deploy chunks, stick baits and live baits suspended on ballons at different depths. Most captains have their crew position the baits where at the depth they mark tuna fish on their fish finder.
Many top captains use Gamahastu Live Bait hooks. In determining the hook size, it is important to match the hook to the size bait that you are using. You shouldn't use a hook that is too large, because it will detract from the presentation of the bait.
All top crews use fluorocaron leader. Leader varies from 150-lb to 220lb, with many crews fishing light gear (150-180) to get bites when they are hard to come by. Most crews start off with a long leader (say 15 feet), so they can cut back and recimpt the hook on if their leader gets nicked up by dogfish or other pests.
Many crews using light fluorocarbon also use H crimps instead of G crimps for their 150 or 180 fluoro. The lower profile H crimp must be done carefullly, preferably using the Jinkai crimping tool.
They also use these crimps to attach a small wind on swivel. This way, the leader can be wound all the way on the spool, protecting the flurocarbon during storage, ensuring clean decks, and allowing the angler to reel the fish as close as needed to harpoon it.
All crews attach the sinkers and ballons using rubber bands. Sinker weight is selcted based on the spped of the current and the desired depth that you are trying to fish.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 72. |
Hook, Line and Tarpon Saltwater
Live bait for tarpons with threadfins. Circle or modified circle hooks are popular for this duty; most use short shank livebait hooks, 5/0 or thereabouts, in 2X or 3X strong. The main leader is four to five feet of 60-pound clear mono, the shock leader 12 inches of 100-pound-test fluorocarbon, chosen mostly because it's a lot harder than most monos and therefore more resistant to wear on the rough jaws of the fish.
Microfiber lines are the hands-down favorite for those using spinning tackle these days; 50- to 80-pound micro spools flat and casts a mile. Even more importantly, when you start pulling on a fish that's 100 yards out, the micro acts almost like a steel cable; there's no stretch, and all your effort goes directly into whipping the fish. This is not only good for the angler, who does not want to sweat for hours in the humid, calm air, but also for the tarpon; the quicker a tarpon is whipped, the more likely it is to avoid sharks while on the hook, and the more energetic it will be after release. I personally like PowerPro and Fireline, but there are many other good brands of fiber lines.
Most anglers prefer an 8-foot spinning rod with a heavy butt and whippy tip. Reels capable of holding 250 yards of 50- to 80-pound microfiber are the ticket. Revolving spool reels also do the job, but casting is so much more challenging with these that all but the old pros are switching to spinning gear-particularly since the fiber lines have made it possible to spool heavy tests. Spinners make it possible to cast small crabs without added weight, a big advantage. And they also do a pretty good job of tossing artificials. It's not easy to get beach tarpon to take any sort of lure in clear water, but early in the day they will occasionally inhale a plastic shrimp or mullet. They can also be caught on the usual streamer flies, for those who can make the necessary long casts.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 73. |
Making More Tarpon Saltwater
Tarpon are among the most prized of all saltwater gamefish. Why? The answer is because they are challenging just to simply get on hook. To get past that first hurdle, follow these guidelines.
You can buy a Mustad No. 14 circle hook, 4 feet of 150-pound-test monofilament leader and an 80-pound-test barrel swivel and make your own tarpon rigs. However, use vise grips to open a hook up until it's a U-shape. Finally, snell the hook onto the leader.
Take a number of tarpon rigs with you when you fish. To decide the number of tarpon rigs you need to take with you on a tarpon-fishing trip, try to estimate the number of sharks you'll find on the days you fish. On a good day when not many sharks have come to where you're fishing, you'll probably use fewer than 50 rigs. On a day when numbers of shark swim with the tarpon, you may use many more than 50 rigs. That may seem like a lot of rigs, but to fish where the tarpon stay, you will catch some sharks.
Catch your own bait. If you can throw an 8- to 12-foot cast net accurately, you can catch all the free pogies - a bait tarpon love - that you'll need.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 74. |
Bait Rigs and Striped Bass Saltwater
Of all the live bait rigs for striped bass, the three-way swivel rig is the simplest to set up. All that is needed is a three-way swivel that is attached directly to your main line, a sinker snap that is attached to the three-way swivel to hold your sinker, and a hook snelled on a length of leader line.
For this type of rig you will want a longer leader (1 to 3 feet long), which will allow your baits to drift slightly off the bottom with a lot of action. The use of stiffer leader material is also recommenced, since the faster currents and deeper water can cause the leader to get twisted and tangled.
The use of a stiffer leader will help keep the rig working properly.
Since eels are prime forage in the deeper waters of the channels, they also make excellent baits for spring stripers that are moving through these areas. A three-way swivel rig is an excellent way of getting the eels down to the bottom in a channel and keeping them there in the swifter currents.
When using eels, a good many seasoned anglers prefer to rig them with two hooks, so a hook can be set as soon as a bass takes the bait. This quick hook set allows for fewer gut-hooked bass.
Eels can be rigged through the use of an eel needle, which is a tool used to sew a length of leader line and a hook through the body of the eel. This hook is placed about three-quarters of the way down the length of the eel and out through the eel's mouth. A second hook is attached to the line and hooked through the eel's head or across its eyes. This allows the angler to drift the eel headfirst.
One last thought on the use of bait for stripers during the early season. Different stretches of the coast become active at different times in the spring. How soon a particular area comes into its prime is determined by where you are fishing and what the current weather patterns are during any given year.
The majority of the striped bass migrate up and down the Atlantic Coast; however, some areas along the coast have healthy resident bass populations. These stripers arrive at the upper reaches of their range a lot sooner than the migrating fish. So get out there and wet a line. You might be one of the first anglers in your area to land a big bass in the new season.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 75. |
Baitcast Reel Stereotype General Fishing
Why do people shy away from baitcasting reels? The easy answer is the reels are stereotyped for backlashes.
Backlashes are a misnomer with today's precision engineered reels. Knowing how to adjust the brake setting is a key to preventing backlashes.
Three factors contribute to backlashes and they can all be avoided before you make the first cast. Those factors are casting into the wind (and not adjusting the centrifugal brake setting accordingly), using a lure that is too light for the model of the reel, and not setting the brake according to the wind and weight of the lure.
Set the brake so the lure falls from the reel tip slowly when the spool is engaged, as shown in the video. Secondly, adjusting the magnets, as shown in the video, will allow greater casting distance or place tension on the spool to avoid a backlash when casting into the wind.
Spooling too much line on the reel is another common mistake that causes backlashes. The video points out that you should spool line no more than 1/8-inch from the capacity of the reel.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 76. |
Oddball Bass Baits Bass Fishing
This expert selection of "go-to" baits includes a Johnson Silver Minnow, a weedless spoon that when sashayed across the surface closely resembles a baitfish. Adding a trailer, in this case a Slug-Go soft jerkbait, can add to the strike appeal of the spoon rig.
The endless parade of trendy baits retrieved past the noses of wary bass makes them jaded to artificial baits. Such is the case on popular reservoirs, where the fish ignore lures unless something subtle or eye-catching to them gives a second glance at a lure. Such is the case with seldom used lures, those oddities that you rarely use anymore or that have fallen out of production.
Other obscure lures to consider include a topwater frog, normally used only around lily pads and other heavy cover. In reality, frogs are prone to lurk anywhere in open water as well, making a fake frog an excellent choice on pressured lakes.
In the spinnerbait category, adding a big No. 7 or No. 8 willowleaf shaped blade over a smaller bait can be a productive alternative. The larger blade displaces more water than a standard blade, not to mention reflecting more light and attracting fish. Another consideration is to actually match size of blade to the prevalent baitfish found in the lake.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 77. |
Baits for Big Summer Stripers Bass Fishing
Catch large shad, 12- to 18-inches long, put them in the livewell, and use them to catch stripers. To take big stripers, use big shad.
When fishing in tailraces with live shad or shad minnows, tie the main line to a barrel swivel, a split shot or a slip sinker. In any case, tie the weight above the barrel swivel with a hook tied on the end.
Then bait with live shad. Let the speed of the current dictate the size of the weight you use. You want the weight to be heavy enough to carry your bait down to the bottom, because that's where the stripers feed. Another tactic for catching tailrace stripers is to fish right in front of the turbines, where the water boils-up as it comes through a hydroelectric dam.
Cast a large shad on a hook, weightless, right into the center of the boil. As the water boils-up, it mushrooms and goes straight back to the bottom. The motion of the water will carry your shad to the bottom, where big stripers are lying in wait for injured shad coming through the turbine.
Whenever you fish for stripers with live bait, be sure your bait is active. Use a round tank that circulates and filters water for live bait.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 78. |
Surfacing for Stripers Bass Fishing
Learn when shad fry generally start surfacing on your favorite lakes. Concurrently, the hatch will spark a feeding frenzy by the striped bass.
For non-stop action, target the schooling fish. When you find an actively-feeding school of striped bass, you can catch the fish on nearly every cast.
To make your own jigs that resemble baby shad, you'll need white rooster feathers, 1/8- or 1/16-ounce jig heads, fly-tying thread and Super Glue. Use the fly-tying thread to wrap the feathers on the jig head, and then put a spot of Super Glue on your wrap to hold it all in place. You also can buy marabou feather jigs, white hair jigs or curly-tail crappie jigs instead of making your own.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 79. |
Spotted (or Speckled) Seatrout Saltwater
Speckled trout are usually caught in waters less than 5 feet deep. Anglers targeting structure in shallow-water areas catch the most fish. Anglers fishing from ocean piers should look for specks in the shallow surf zone, but they should keep in mind that some fish will be attracted to the pilings. Specks can also be caught from the beach. Casting lures and baits to troughs that run parallel to the beach during low tide or to the outlying sandbars is a good way to catch ocean specks. Beach areas with rocks, pilings, rubble, clay outcrops or steep washouts are good places for isolating specks.
When fishing an inlet, anglers find that specks tend to congregate downstream from any structure. The fish suspend behind bars and bridges to ambush the prey as it swims by with the current. Anchoring a boat down-current, casting to the structure and then retrieving the lure or bait with the current flow allows anglers to present their offerings in ways that imitate the natural path of the bait.
Anglers fishing marshes should be on the lookout for sandbars, grassbeds and oyster beds. Fishing above a sandbar or oyster bed on high tide can produce speckled trout. On high tides, specks also cruise the edges of grassbeds, waiting for an unlucky baitfish to leave the grass. Often, specks can be seen actively feeding on shrimp in shallow-water marsh areas. Any time an angler sees the water boiling with bait, he has a good clue that speckled trout have run the shrimp or baitfish to the surface.
For fishing shallow-water areas during high tides, surface lures work very well, although many anglers prefer shallow-running lures that imitate shrimp and baitfish. Live - or dead but very fresh - shrimp fished on float rigs can save a lot of casting and the resulting wet hands in chilly weather.
During low tide stages, specks go deep. Finding deep holes in navigation channels or creeks can help you locate the fish. The advantage of fishing on low-tide stages is that there is less water, which tends to concentrate both the fish and the bait.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 80. |
Spotted (or Speckled) Seatrout Saltwater
Speckled trout are usually caught in waters less than 5 feet deep. Anglers targeting structure in shallow-water areas catch the most fish. Anglers fishing from ocean piers should look for specks in the shallow surf zone, but they should keep in mind that some fish will be attracted to the pilings. Specks can also be caught from the beach. Casting lures and baits to troughs that run parallel to the beach during low tide or to the outlying sandbars is a good way to catch ocean specks. Beach areas with rocks, pilings, rubble, clay outcrops or steep washouts are good places for isolating specks.
When fishing an inlet, anglers find that specks tend to congregate downstream from any structure. The fish suspend behind bars and bridges to ambush the prey as it swims by with the current. Anchoring a boat down-current, casting to the structure and then retrieving the lure or bait with the current flow allows anglers to present their offerings in ways that imitate the natural path of the bait.
Anglers fishing marshes should be on the lookout for sandbars, grassbeds and oyster beds. Fishing above a sandbar or oyster bed on high tide can produce speckled trout. On high tides, specks also cruise the edges of grassbeds, waiting for an unlucky baitfish to leave the grass. Often, specks can be seen actively feeding on shrimp in shallow-water marsh areas. Any time an angler sees the water boiling with bait, he has a good clue that speckled trout have run the shrimp or baitfish to the surface.
For fishing shallow-water areas during high tides, surface lures work very well, although many anglers prefer shallow-running lures that imitate shrimp and baitfish. Live - or dead but very fresh - shrimp fished on float rigs can save a lot of casting and the resulting wet hands in chilly weather.
During low tide stages, specks go deep. Finding deep holes in navigation channels or creeks can help you locate the fish. The advantage of fishing on low-tide stages is that there is less water, which tends to concentrate both the fish and the bait.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 81. |
Landing Monster Spotted Seatrout/Speckled Trout Saltwater
Your best chance for landing a monster-sized spotted seatrout is fishing with big baits early in the morning on a slick, calm day. Fish top-water lures early in the morning, and then switch to grubs, spinners and soft plastics later in the day.
Fish 12-pound-test line with 2 or 3 feet of 30-pound-test leader attached to the main line, because big spotted seatrout have sharp teeth that may cut weaker line. During the summer months, monster spotted seatrout trout and red drum will hold in 2 to 3 feet of water and will spook much-more easily than if they're holding in deeper water. By using your trolling motor sparingly, you'll have more success. If you make too much noise, you can kill the bite for other big trout holding in that same region.
To land a big spotted seatrout, remember these fish have soft tissues inside their mouths. Don't set the hook too hard. Play the fish on a relatively-light drag. When a big fish makes a run, it easily can pull on the drag without tearing the hooks out of its mouth. You need a light drag and a rod with a relatively-light tip that will yield to the fish and keep the hook set tightly in its mouth without tearing the hook out of the fish's mouth. Don't try to rush the trout to the net.
If you try and get a big trout to the net too quickly, the fish may hit the net or dive under the boat and get free.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 82. |
Big Spotted Seatrout/Speckled Trout Saltwater
June is the peak month for big spotted seatrout to congregate in shallow water, and you regularly will catch 7- to 9-pound specks then in the Gulf of Mexico. On some days, you only may catch one trout this size, and on other days, you may catch three or four trout.
You can fish under birds and drifting reefs to catch and release 50 to 100 trout in a day, but if you're fishing for trophy trout, you'll want to move closer to the shore. The larger trout feed on bigger baitfish. The menu includes mullet that move along the mud flats of the shoreline.
Anytime you're fishing under the birds or drifting the oyster reefs, you still can pick up big spotted seatrout, but if you want to target only big fish, concentrate on the shoreline.
Be prepared to get fewer bites on the shoreline, but you can take home bragging-size spotted seatrout there. Too, fish the areas where you normally catch red drum for opportunities at big spotted seatrout. The large fish prefer to eat bigger baits because they expend less energy, get more food and don't have to chase the baits a long distance.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 83. |
How To Catch Red Snapper Saltwater
A strong leader is needed to avoid rocks or structure nicking or breaking your line. You'll likely get the most strikes on live bait. Try cigar minnows, small crabs, or large shrimp, on a very sharp circle hook. Chemically sharpened hooks are best. Cut baits can be productive, too. Try pilchard, sardines, or herring. Soaking the dead bait in pogy oil will make the baits more appealing to the snapper.
Use an egg sinker, about a 4 ounce or larger, depending on the current. The sinker should be placed where the line and leader join so that the bait can be drifted over structures. Once you get a strike, suppress your reflex to set the hook immediately. Red snapper, especially the larger ones, will sometimes "mouth" the bait for up to two full minutes, so setting the hook too quickly will jerk the hook right out of the snapper's bony mouth.
Keep the line tight, using light drag. Hooking a big snapper will definitely be a high point of any fishing trip. The fish will make a lot of runs, trying to get right back into structure for protection. After the first runs, your line will probably start knotting, as the snapper shakes his head, trying to free the hook. Even after the fish tires, don't think he's given up. He'll make another strong run as soon as he spots the boat. Once you get your fish within reach, net him head first. A long-handled net is best, especially when using long rods.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 84. |
Load the Cooler with Snapper Saltwater
The various species of snapper all have commonalities when it comes to hauling them in. To increase your odds of edging out the competition, either on a party boat or with a few friends, give these tips a try.
Wait for the second bite. The snapper may hit the bait one time. If you strike the fish, you'll miss it. However, if you wait on the second bite, by that time the snapper may have the whole bait in its mouth. Then you'll have a better chance of getting a good hook set.
Fish with a circle hook to connect the easiest with snapper. When you use this type hook, don't jerk to set the hook. But, as you feel the snapper biting, begin to reel down slowly, and continue to reel as you feel the weight of the fish. The design of the circle hook will enable the fish to set the hook itself. If you jerk, you'll pull the hook out of the snapper's mouth.
Keep a deck rod handy with saltwater spinning tackle and 20- to 30-pound-test line that’s rigged with live bait or a dead cigar minnow. Many times when you fish for red snapper, big black snapper will come up behind the boat. By having a deck rod rigged and baited with no weight, you can cast through them and catch them.
Use big baits for large snapper like a fillet of northern mackerel, a squid pie, a large pinfish or a beeliner. Big snapper generally prefer large baits.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 85. |
More and bigger Snapper Saltwater
The typical goal when going snapper fishing is simple. And that's to bring home fillets for the dinner table. Don't come up short, follow these tips and your cooler will be filled.
Remember that big snapper easily can become line and hook shy. Generally light line and hooks the snapper can't see often will produce more and bigger fish.
Anticipate the bite. If you've fished long enough to know when a snapper should bite, you can set the hook before you feel the fish take the bait.
Chum them up. Sometimes you can bring snapper to the surface by throwing out chum or hanging a chum bag overboard.
Pull them away from the wreck or the reef. By sinking the chum bag upcurrent of a wreck or a reef, you may can pull the snapper away from the reef and catch them in the open water.
Put out a driftline by simply hooking a cigar minnow through the head and letting it drift behind the boat. Often big snapper will come up well away from the boat and take the bait near the surface.
Try a squid pie. Push a cigar minnow inside a large squid bait. Then hook the squid and the cigar minnow by burying the hook up in the bait. Fish this bait on 6-foot leader.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 86. |
Blacktip Shark Best Bet Saltwater
Offshore, you'll find blacktips patrolling natural and artificial reefs and any other bottom structure that holds baitfish. Here, your best bet is to anchor upcurrent of the structure and set out a spread of live baitfish.
Stagger your spread with half freelined and half fished with just enough weight to keep them down in the water column. Once you spot a few sharks finning, try floating a couple of baits for those cruising topside.
In lesser depths, look for blacktips anywhere a shallow feeding zone like a grassflat borders deep water. Channel edges, cuts and passes all offer likely scenarios in which the shark can rise out of deep water to hunt exposed prey on the flats.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 87. |
Falling into Redfish/Red Drum Saltwater
Use popping corks and jigs. Fish with 12- to 25-pound-test line, and tie a 1/2- to 1/4-ounce jighead with a grub, to the end of your line. Depending on water depth, attach a popping cork. When redfish are in shallow water, 2- to 6-feet deep, cast the popping cork and jig near the shoreline. Pop the cork two or three times. Then, let the cork sit still, which is when the redfish will attack.
Jig oyster reefs. Tie a Mann's Stingray grub, a Cocahoe minnow or a Norton Sand Eel on the end of your line. Cast and retrieve over sandbars using a bottom-hopping retrieve to slowly swim the bait just off the bottom in the mid-story of the water or just under the surface.
Use cracked crabs on jetties and channel bars. Depending on the current, use a 1-ounce slip egg sinker up the line and a plastic bead below the egg sinker. Tie the line to a barrel swivel. Attach a few feet of leader material, the same weight of or heavier than your main line, below the barrel swivel. Bait a 4/0 or a 5/0 hook with half of a crab. Cast the bait out near jetties or on edges of channels.
Fish a clip-on spinner bait. Use a safety-pin-type spinner bait with a large Colorado gold blade and a jig, like Strike King's Redfish Magic. Cast and retrieve the spinner bait like you're fishing for bass in that waters hold redfish. Slow-roll the spinner bait near the bottom in channels, cuts and ditches. In shallow water, wake the bait just under the surface.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 88. |
Trolling - King Mackerel Saltwater
Trolling too fast is one of the main mistakes king anglers make. Idle speed is all that's needed to troll live porgies, and in some instances this may be too fast--depending on the type of engine and whether it is twin screws. In the latter, both engines may be running, but only with one engine drive engaged for the troll.
If the porgies seem to be flipping around and swimming in an unnatural-looking way, this indicates too fast of a trolling speed. To slow the troll down, one of two things can be done; either use a vertical board mounted on the lower unit, or pull a bucket as a sea anchor.
The use of a fish finder is indispensable. While trolling it's a good idea to keep a constant watch for bait clusters and their depths. Doing so will make it easier to determine whether downriggers need to be adjusted.
It's customary and effective to allow the porgies to occasionally free swim in selected bait clusters. Once an unusually thick bait cluster shows on the fish finder, immediately place the engine drive in neutral to allow the baits to drift into position and swim.
To make this tactic most productive, always keep a frisky porgy on each line. Accordingly, make it a practice to periodically check the baits for liveliness, and replace those not up to par.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 89. |
Tackling Grouper Saltwater
Gags are caught using one of two methods. Deep trolling large lures or jigs with a strip bait is popular in the Gulf of Mexico. The other method, and the one that is most often used, is just plain old bottom fishing.
Heavy tackle in the thirty to fifty pound class with conventional reels and boat rods is the standard. A heavy leader, sometimes made with leader wire instead on monofilament, with an 8/0 or 9/0 hook is the order of the day.
Gags can be caught on fresh-cut bait, such as mullet or pinfish. They will also eat squid, octopus, and crabs. Live bait is by far the best bet. A live pinfish, a small gray or lane snapper, or a live cigar minnow will draw almost as fast as the bait gets to the bottom. Trolling lures include Mann's +30 giant lures, sometimes used with either wire line or with a trolling weight to gain more depth. Wire line trolling with a feather jig and strip bait is popular in Florida and the Caribbean.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 90. |
Methods for Gag Grouper Saltwater
The drag peeling, rod bending family of grouper requires tough tackle to reel them in. Consider the following when preparing for your trip.
Use 125-pound monofilament line because the stretch in monofilament acts as a shock absorber to keep the hook from tearing out of the grouper's mouth.
Tie on a 200-pound test barrel swivel up the line, and a 22-ounce egg-shaped slip sinker above the swivel. Tie a Johnny Dukes knot between the sinker and swivel. Put the tag end of the line under the knot, and pull the knot down to make it rest on the monofilament to prevent break-offs.
Cut the point off a Mustad 13/0 circle hook, since a thin, pointed hook often will bend and not set properly on big grouper. File the point razor-sharp. Snell the hook to the line to exert less pressure on the eye of the hook.
Control the amount of drag on the reel. To get the fish away from structure, have the drag set tightly, but continuing to battle a grouper with a heavy drag may mean the hook may break or tear a big hole in the fish's mouth, and allow the hook to fall out. To add and subtract the amount of pressure on the drag, put a piece of flattened copper tubing on one of the star's tips of your star drag - enabling you to find your drag with your thumb much quicker and easier.
Tape the reel key to the handle of the reel to prevent the bolt holding the handle of the reel from getting stripped from the force of the fish and the force the angler puts on the rod.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 91. |
Trophy Southern Flounder Saltwater
Trophy flounder anglers do not want to be bothered with small flounder that are not capable of swallowing super-sized bait. They arrive at a location and fish it for several hours before moving. Many trophy hotspots are best on a particular tide stage or certain time of year and consistently hold fish year after year. Many are so good that if a big female (trophies are always female) is caught from the area one day, then there will be another to take her place the next day.
The trophy flatfish angler begins by finding a school of mullet or menhaden from 6 to 9 inches long. These would be considered smallish-sized king mackerel baits by most anglers. The fish are caught in a cast net and held in a livewell. They are replaced whenever they have reddened mouths from friction with the tank or when the buttery feeling of the slime coat deteriorates. Ideally bait is replenished every couple of hours, but during a tournament or busy weekend, an angler who leaves a hotspot may lose it to another angler.
The fisherman then heads to a spot he has found that shows evidence of a consistent food supply. Docks with deep channels that have fish-cleaning stations or crab-pot lines dangling into the water are good bets. Commercial fish and shellfish operations are also good choices. Places where baitfish consistently school are also good, as long as they also have deep-water access and hard structure.
The angler heads close enough to cast accurately then drops the anchor as quietly as possible. He may re-position the boat several times to get good casts to the same piece of structure as the tide and wind shift. He knows that the big one is lying there, waiting for a meal to swim within easy reach.
So structure-oriented are big flounder that most trophy anglers now use superbraid lines. Hard structure grows oyster shells and barnacles that easily cut monofilament. Superbraids also make the strike easier to detect. Their low stretch qualities help offset line-bow in a current. They also help the angler get a big flounder away from structure before he has a chance to tangle the line.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 92. |
Dolphins, Durado, Mahi-Mahi Saltwater
Anytime you encounter floating debris, such as a tabletop-sized patch of Sargasso grass thickly matted along the rip, first work your lure along the length of the weeds. Even if no fish show themselves, this is a good situation for trying a natural bait. Have a rod ready to bait with a freshly thawed menhaden that's been cut into pieces the size of your little finger.
Toss a half-dozen or so of the pieces to the clear side of the patch, quickly followed by another half-dozen or so. If dolphin appear, the next couple of pieces should have a hook embedded in them when tossed.
Scattered grass, particularly Sargasso, can be really aggravating. The fish can be virtually anywhere. Still, such stuff does hold dolphin, as was proven when I caught my largest ever. That fish was taken on a fly rod!
If you locate the fish, casting flies to them is actually a pretty successful method. A combo of a 10- to 12-weight outfit, a 20-pound-test leader finished with a 40-pound fluorocarbon shock tippet, and a size 2/0 to 4/0 Deceiver-type fly in chartreuse or green and yellow will be a smart option. While the rod may be a bit of overkill for the dolphin, it's not uncommon to encounter larger cobia in such a setting, and these fish will hit the same flies.
A mat of floating grass isolated from scattered vegetation is a prime piece of structure for holding dolphin. However, the fish may not be visible or susceptible to blind-casting. In that case, you want to toss your lure or bait blind; prospecting may result in naught, and a couple of handfuls of chunks may appear to go unappreciated. In this case, it's heartily recommended that you toss your lure just beyond the target, let it sink for at least 10 seconds -- longer may be better -- and then rip it back up. The same procedure also works around anything else drifting randomly across the Gulf's surface.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 93. |
Catching up with Cobia/Ling Saltwater
Rips are a great spot for catching up with cobia. Rips are dynamic, moving away from and toward shore and forming, breaking up and reforming with the changes of the tide. For targeting cobia, those found in roughly 30 to 100 feet of water are of the most interest, though much deeper "blue-water" rips can also hold fish, especially during late spring.
There is a good reason why rips attract cobia. The clashing waters collect flotsam. Cobia love to hang around floating objects. This behavior is based on the fact that various forage species regularly seek protection beneath such debris. Therefore, a flotsam-laden rip is just like a cafeteria line for hungry cobia. You can be assured that any of these predators encountered in such a situation is there for the single purpose of eating. That's why rips make the "hooking" part of the cobia equation relatively certain.
In spite of this rule of thumb, however, some rips need not hold flotsam to attract cobia. Debris-free rips with good current and a sharp color change are definitely worth checking out and even more so if baitfish, shrimp or crabs are present. In fact, cobia are usually more easily spotted along barren rips than trashy ones. The latter tend to be foamy, which can mask the presence of the fish.
Still, the best potential is usually around areas of rip-accumulated flotsam. The flotsam can be composed of natural material such as freshwater or saltwater grasses and logs, but may also be manmade objects.
Once a promising rip has been located, you have to then decide how to best "run" it. Actually, you should be going only a little faster than dead slow when fishing the rip and moving in the direction where sub-surface visibility and the sun's glare are most favorable. Though swells or surface chop on your stern or quarters can influence the run too, the ability to see into the water takes priority.
Despite sounding like I'm advocating a departure from the rule just noted, when it is possible I prefer running a rip on its "dirty side." This allows you to spot fish in water that might have masked them had I been working the clear side. Cobia often patrol the edge of the dirtier water, so concentrating your search on the clear side can be a mistake. Besides, fish on that clear side are easy to spot, even from some distance. Ideally, you want to run along the dingier side, manipulating the circumstances as much as possible to see into the dirty water and depending on any fish along the far side to be easily seen.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 94. |
Characteristics of Cobia/Ling Saltwater
Cobia are always on the move, as they search for food along the beach. Try these tips to intercept cobia on the go.
Many cobia remain along the upper Gulf Coast throughout the winter months, when the South has a warm or a mild winter. A cold winter means that more cobia will migrate to warmer climates and will return to the Gulf of Mexico starting the end of March.
Cobia are most active in water temperatures above 62 degrees. Northeast, east or southeast winds and clear days will provide fishermen with ideal sight-fishing conditions.
Cobia prefer clear water with a slight roll. A 2- to 3-foot-high sea enables anglers to see cobia better than a flat, calm sea.
Cobia will respond to the weather, which dictates migration patterns along coastal areas. If the area has had considerable north wind, expect to pinpoint the cobia further away from the beach. If the wind has blown more from the south or southwest, generally more cobia will be close in to the beach.
Cobia will hold close to the beach the first day or two after a strong southeast wind. But, as wave action stirs up the water inshore for 2 or 3 days, the cobia will move further away from the shore.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 95. |
Scouting for Cobia/Ling Saltwater
Chasing down a school of cobia can be equally as challenging as lucking up on a single fish. In either case, these strategies will increase your odds of success for cobia.
Remember that moon phase affects how far cobia will be from the beach. Under a full moon, cobia often will travel in shallow water. On cloudy or overcast nights or moonless evenings, the cobia will be further away from the beach.
Make sure you have a clear, wide view of the water. The higher you are off the water, the further away you can spot cobia from the boat. The best cobia captains have the tallest towers on their boats. Wear a large-brimmed hat to keep the sun from obstructing your vision, and purchase a quality pair of polarized sunglasses.
Divide up regions of the water when you're searching for cobia, so that each angler is looking at a different section of water. Assign each person a particular place to watch for cobia. Then no one person has to try to watch all the water around the boat.
Don't attempt to see a whole fish, but instead, look for a patch of brown. Keep the sun at your back. Be sure the boat is in the right position. As you look on the water, you'll see a glare line. Keep the boat on the edge of the glare line for the most success in spotting cobia; otherwise the glare line will create dead spots where you can't see the fish.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 96. |
Scouting for Cobia/Ling Saltwater
Chasing down a school of cobia can be equally as challenging as lucking up on a single fish. In either case, these strategies will increase your odds of success for cobia.
Remember that moon phase affects how far cobia will be from the beach. Under a full moon, cobia often will travel in shallow water. On cloudy or overcast nights or moonless evenings, the cobia will be further away from the beach.
Make sure you have a clear, wide view of the water. The higher you are off the water, the further away you can spot cobia from the boat. The best cobia captains have the tallest towers on their boats. Wear a large-brimmed hat to keep the sun from obstructing your vision, and purchase a quality pair of polarized sunglasses.
Divide up regions of the water when you're searching for cobia, so that each angler is looking at a different section of water. Assign each person a particular place to watch for cobia. Then no one person has to try to watch all the water around the boat.
Don't attempt to see a whole fish, but instead, look for a patch of brown. Keep the sun at your back. Be sure the boat is in the right position. As you look on the water, you'll see a glare line. Keep the boat on the edge of the glare line for the most success in spotting cobia; otherwise the glare line will create dead spots where you can't see the fish.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 97. |
Increase Bonefish Success Fly Fishing
Catching wary bonefish can be a trick. One misfire of the fly and a school of bonefish will leave a reef at the blink of an eye.
Follow these four tips to increase your bonefishing success:
Use the heaviest weight fly that conditions will allow. Big bonefish will refuse a fly that doesn't plunge hard and stay close to the bottom. If you get a follow and see the fish rise up in the water column, your fly is too light. Experts constantly change flies during a fishing day - not the pattern, but the weight of the fly based on the current conditions.
Throw as close to the fish as conditions will allow. Bonefish zigzag when they feed. Exerts call it the "bonefish thing," when a bonefish zigs and zags before ever getting to your fly. They are notorious for this. Based on water depth, current, and wind, you need to get it in there as close as possible. They love to see it fall, and will in many cases eat without you ever having to strip.
Keep stripping to a minimum, and watch the fish's reaction. When fishing for large bonefish, most people strip way too much. The first strip should be a quick, 3-inch, abrupt bump. This raises the fly off the bottom, and then it quickly plunges back like an escaping crab. When you do this, you need to be watching the fish's reaction. Many times, one bump is all it takes. Let the fly plunge.
Be patient; make 40-60 foot shots. The tendency in any sight fishing situation is to cast too early and too long. Accuracy decreases dramatically with longer casts. Let the fish get closer and make the first cast count. Most big giants are caught within 20 to 60 feet from the boat.Keep your rod tip down while stripping, and make slow strip strike. This minimizes the line slap noise that giant bones know as "that guy on the front of the skiff." Then, when the fish eats, make a long, slow strip strike to the side. Many times the fish misses the fly, but if you do the slow strike, you can stop, let the fly drop, and get a second eat.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 98. |
Increase Bonefish Success Fly Fishing
Catching wary bonefish can be a trick. One misfire of the fly and a school of bonefish will leave a reef at the blink of an eye.
Follow these four tips to increase your bonefishing success:
Use the heaviest weight fly that conditions will allow. Big bonefish will refuse a fly that doesn't plunge hard and stay close to the bottom. If you get a follow and see the fish rise up in the water column, your fly is too light. Experts constantly change flies during a fishing day - not the pattern, but the weight of the fly based on the current conditions.
Throw as close to the fish as conditions will allow. Bonefish zigzag when they feed. Exerts call it the "bonefish thing," when a bonefish zigs and zags before ever getting to your fly. They are notorious for this. Based on water depth, current, and wind, you need to get it in there as close as possible. They love to see it fall, and will in many cases eat without you ever having to strip.
Keep stripping to a minimum, and watch the fish's reaction. When fishing for large bonefish, most people strip way too much. The first strip should be a quick, 3-inch, abrupt bump. This raises the fly off the bottom, and then it quickly plunges back like an escaping crab. When you do this, you need to be watching the fish's reaction. Many times, one bump is all it takes. Let the fly plunge.
Be patient; make 40-60 foot shots. The tendency in any sight fishing situation is to cast too early and too long. Accuracy decreases dramatically with longer casts. Let the fish get closer and make the first cast count. Most big giants are caught within 20 to 60 feet from the boat.Keep your rod tip down while stripping, and make slow strip strike. This minimizes the line slap noise that giant bones know as "that guy on the front of the skiff." Then, when the fish eats, make a long, slow strip strike to the side. Many times the fish misses the fly, but if you do the slow strike, you can stop, let the fly drop, and get a second eat.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 99. |
Increase Bonefish Success Fly Fishing
Catching wary bonefish can be a trick. One misfire of the fly and a school of bonefish will leave a reef at the blink of an eye.
Follow these four tips to increase your bonefishing success:
Use the heaviest weight fly that conditions will allow. Big bonefish will refuse a fly that doesn't plunge hard and stay close to the bottom. If you get a follow and see the fish rise up in the water column, your fly is too light. Experts constantly change flies during a fishing day - not the pattern, but the weight of the fly based on the current conditions.
Throw as close to the fish as conditions will allow. Bonefish zigzag when they feed. Exerts call it the "bonefish thing," when a bonefish zigs and zags before ever getting to your fly. They are notorious for this. Based on water depth, current, and wind, you need to get it in there as close as possible. They love to see it fall, and will in many cases eat without you ever having to strip.
Keep stripping to a minimum, and watch the fish's reaction. When fishing for large bonefish, most people strip way too much. The first strip should be a quick, 3-inch, abrupt bump. This raises the fly off the bottom, and then it quickly plunges back like an escaping crab. When you do this, you need to be watching the fish's reaction. Many times, one bump is all it takes. Let the fly plunge.
Be patient; make 40-60 foot shots. The tendency in any sight fishing situation is to cast too early and too long. Accuracy decreases dramatically with longer casts. Let the fish get closer and make the first cast count. Most big giants are caught within 20 to 60 feet from the boat.Keep your rod tip down while stripping, and make slow strip strike. This minimizes the line slap noise that giant bones know as "that guy on the front of the skiff." Then, when the fish eats, make a long, slow strip strike to the side. Many times the fish misses the fly, but if you do the slow strike, you can stop, let the fly drop, and get a second eat.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 100. |
Increase Bonefish Success Fly Fishing
Catching wary bonefish can be a trick. One misfire of the fly and a school of bonefish will leave a reef at the blink of an eye.
Follow these four tips to increase your bonefishing success:
Use the heaviest weight fly that conditions will allow. Big bonefish will refuse a fly that doesn't plunge hard and stay close to the bottom. If you get a follow and see the fish rise up in the water column, your fly is too light. Experts constantly change flies during a fishing day - not the pattern, but the weight of the fly based on the current conditions.
Throw as close to the fish as conditions will allow. Bonefish zigzag when they feed. Exerts call it the "bonefish thing," when a bonefish zigs and zags before ever getting to your fly. They are notorious for this. Based on water depth, current, and wind, you need to get it in there as close as possible. They love to see it fall, and will in many cases eat without you ever having to strip.
Keep stripping to a minimum, and watch the fish's reaction. When fishing for large bonefish, most people strip way too much. The first strip should be a quick, 3-inch, abrupt bump. This raises the fly off the bottom, and then it quickly plunges back like an escaping crab. When you do this, you need to be watching the fish's reaction. Many times, one bump is all it takes. Let the fly plunge.
Be patient; make 40-60 foot shots. The tendency in any sight fishing situation is to cast too early and too long. Accuracy decreases dramatically with longer casts. Let the fish get closer and make the first cast count. Most big giants are caught within 20 to 60 feet from the boat.Keep your rod tip down while stripping, and make slow strip strike. This minimizes the line slap noise that giant bones know as "that guy on the front of the skiff." Then, when the fish eats, make a long, slow strip strike to the side. Many times the fish misses the fly, but if you do the slow strike, you can stop, let the fly drop, and get a second eat.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 101. |
Increase Bonefish Success Fly Fishing
Catching wary bonefish can be a trick. One misfire of the fly and a school of bonefish will leave a reef at the blink of an eye.
Follow these four tips to increase your bonefishing success:
Use the heaviest weight fly that conditions will allow. Big bonefish will refuse a fly that doesn't plunge hard and stay close to the bottom. If you get a follow and see the fish rise up in the water column, your fly is too light. Experts constantly change flies during a fishing day - not the pattern, but the weight of the fly based on the current conditions.
Throw as close to the fish as conditions will allow. Bonefish zigzag when they feed. Exerts call it the "bonefish thing," when a bonefish zigs and zags before ever getting to your fly. They are notorious for this. Based on water depth, current, and wind, you need to get it in there as close as possible. They love to see it fall, and will in many cases eat without you ever having to strip.
Keep stripping to a minimum, and watch the fish's reaction. When fishing for large bonefish, most people strip way too much. The first strip should be a quick, 3-inch, abrupt bump. This raises the fly off the bottom, and then it quickly plunges back like an escaping crab. When you do this, you need to be watching the fish's reaction. Many times, one bump is all it takes. Let the fly plunge.
Be patient; make 40-60 foot shots. The tendency in any sight fishing situation is to cast too early and too long. Accuracy decreases dramatically with longer casts. Let the fish get closer and make the first cast count. Most big giants are caught within 20 to 60 feet from the boat.Keep your rod tip down while stripping, and make slow strip strike. This minimizes the line slap noise that giant bones know as "that guy on the front of the skiff." Then, when the fish eats, make a long, slow strip strike to the side. Many times the fish misses the fly, but if you do the slow strike, you can stop, let the fly drop, and get a second eat.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 102. |
Feeding the Bluefish? Saltwater
If there are bluefish in the area and they aren't coming to your slick, or the competition is heavy from other boats chumming, drop the chum bag down in the water and let the slick run heavy for a while. This can get things going and even steal a school away from a nearby boat. Once the action starts, back off on the chum or you'll end up feeding the fish instead of attracting them to your baited hooks.
You can also spice up your slick with some liquid bunker oil, which is a trick the kingfish pros use. Take a plastic soda bottle, and poke a small hole in the cap. Fill the bottle about a quarter full with bunker oil, tie a piece of monofilament around the bottom and hang it upside down over the side. The bunker oil will slowly drip into the water, creating a monster slick on the surface and adding a lot of additional scent -- without adding more pieces of chum for the blues to eat.
The slick is cooking, blues are there and it's time to get down to fishing. You can start out by baiting up a couple of medium weight outfits -- those 12-pound-test baitcasters are fine -- and set one up with no weight and the other with a 1/4-ounce rubber core or egg sinker. Put different baits on the two rigs, maybe a smelt on one and a bunker back on the other, and start drifting them back in the slick. Work your baits well back into the slick and if nothing happens, reel them back and do it again.
After 15 minutes, if you haven't received a bite, start changing things. Switch baits, try more weight to get one of the baits deeper into the slick, try a red wire leader, or you can even switch one outfit away from wire altogether by using an 80-pound fluorocarbon leader to see if the fish are leader shy. Keep making changes until you get the fish going.
Pay attention to currents and tides. Sometimes blues will not feed on a slack tide, but as soon as it starts running, they'll start eating. On some days, it seems that no matter what you do, the blues will be accommodating, but on others, they can be horribly finicky. On those days, until you hit on just the right combination, they won't bite. When bluefish are like that, keep switching things, making little changes. It can make the difference between getting bites and getting bored.
If the bite is on and the fish are running in a specific size range, switch off to the tackle most appropriate to provide you with the most fun. If the fishing is hot and heavy, don't hesitate to switch away from bait altogether and cast spoons, jigs, bucktails or even poppers back into the slick. Poppers are particularly effective if you have the blues chummed up high in the water column. If you see them swirling on the surface, that's the signal for "poppers away!" It's also a good time to do a little fly-casting.
Keep these suggestions in mind the next time you decide to go wrestle with hard-fighting blues. If you do, you're likely to have a great time with these wonderful fish. Get them really going in the slick and you will be going home arm-weary, tired, and content.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 103. |
Finding Walleye Freshwater
Structure such as weeds, rocks, timber and manmade cover will attract and hold fish, both predators and prey. Walleyes will often relate to their choice of structure, holding along the outer edges while feeding on baitfish. They'll continue to maintain this position as long as they're not overly pressured. As angling activity increases, the fish will usually drop back within the heavy cover and become inactive.
Some structure, like rock, is fairly snag-free unless the lure becomes wedged between them. Other types like timber or weeds may require modifications to the lure. For example, to permit penetrating and working within the structure, hooks may need to be made weedless or partially protected from hangups.
The position of fish in cover will often determine their aggressiveness and the approach needed to catch them. Active walleyes holding along the outer edges are relatively easy to reach with a variety of presentations. However, when they drop down into the thickest areas and are reluctant to strike, slow and careful finesse-style probing techniques will become necessary for bites. Live-bait presentations are generally a must in these cases.
If walleye anglers have a weak point, it's normally a reluctance to work thick cover with snag-resistant methods.
Walleyes that suspend in open water or are relating to deep humps, points or other types of structure are easier to locate than those holding tightly to cover. Most moderately priced electronics today are capable of detecting the presence of suspended fish. Furthermore, open water is easier to work and is less restrictive due to fewer snags. To make open-water angling even more attractive, almost all standard walleye-angling techniques will work at one time or another. Vertical jigging, live-bait rigs, jigging spoons, bottom bouncers, trolling, casting or any of your favorite methods will, on certain days, take an abundance of walleyes from open water.
A decisively better presentation in the previous scenario would be slow-trolling large crankbaits with built-in rattles. The lure should be trolled slowly to allow fish to home in on it in the dirty water while the rattles add to the vibrations normally given off by crankbaits.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 104. |
Catching Spotted Bass in Winter Bass Fishing
Bass can be tough to catch in the wintertime, when they vacate shallow water for the vastness of the main lake. Winter is also the time of year when spotted bass can be more dependable than largemouth and smallmouth.
During winter, spotted bass form tight schools and likewise feed on roaming schools of baitfish in deep water. With the fish holding in depths of 20 feet and greater, the most effective bait is a structure spoon.
Heavy spoons imitate a wounded baitfish, and can be jigged in a school of spotted bass no matter how deep they are holding.
The key to finding the magical triangle of fish, bait and habitat is by studying a topographical map. Premium maps are marked with GPS coordinates, providing a shortcut to finding prime spots. Once there, a depthfinder can determine the presence of baitfish - and spotted bass.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 105. |
Prepare For Bass Bass Fishing
Preparation and flexibility are two keys to success when bass fishing. Being prepared by checking the weather forecast and prevailing water conditions on the lake, and the seasonal behavior of the bass are first steps. Keeping an open mind by making subtle changes to your lure arsenal is another key to success, once you are on the water.
A rule of thumb is to have lures tied on your rigs that are capable of covering the entire water column, from top to bottom. The angler in this video prefers a jerkbait to cover water ranging from 6 inches to 2 feet, a crankbait and spinnerbait for mid-range depths, and a jig and plastic worm for reaching the bottom.
Subtle changes in the weather can dictate minor adjustments to your existing lure choices. For example, if clouds appear during your trip, changing a spinnerbait blade to chrome and adding a white skirt can be a subtle, yet significant adjustment that will attract strikes. If you encounter muddy water flowing into a creek where the water is clear elsewhere in the lake, consider tying on a large, wobbling crankbait.
As the video points out, another subtle change is adding a red bead to a Texas-rigged worm. Doing so adds a subtle, yet noticeable difference to the bait that other anglers might have avoided making to the lure.
Preparation and an open mind, combined can add up to success when bass fishing on pressured impoundments.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 106. |
Breaklines and Vegetation for Summertime Spotted Bass Bass Fishing
To find spotted bass during the summer months, study weather trends. In very hot weather as long as the lake level remains constant, spotted bass will hold on the edges of grassbeds or on the first underwater breaklines extending out from the edges of the grass.
In such areas, you can fish topwater lures on the edges of the grass. Alternatively, work a buzzbait along the edges of the grassbeds. For an added kick of fun, try soft plastic frog in its natural colors.
Another proven technique involves fishing breaklines extending from the grassline, particularly those located in 8 to 12 feet of water that drop off to deeper water. Plan to fish these areas after the morning bite ends. Use a Texas-rigged plastic lizard, plastic worm or spinner bait or a Carolina-rigged plastic worm or lizard. Slow-roll a spinner bait with a gold or a silver blade along the edge of the lip of the break.
Flip and pitch big plastic lizards and worms, like 9-inch worms or 8-inch magnum lizards in Junebug, green-pumpkin, watermelon-candy or redbug colors, into holes in the grass for an effective late-morning and most-of-the-day successful bass tactic.
Screw-in a 3/8- to a 1/2-ounce weight to punch through thin grass at the surface. Once the soft-plastic lure reaches the bottom, hop it off the bottom one time before allowing it to fall back to the bottom. If you don't get a bite, reel it in, and move to the next spot you want to flip or fish.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 107. |
Carolina Rigged Frogs for Spotted Bass Bass Fishing
During the summer, look for spotted bass on hard, sandy underwater points and hard-clay points in water 8- to 20-feet deep.
Use a Carolina-rigged floating frog, so it floats up above the sinker. Since spotted bass eat frogs when they're in the grass or find frogs on points, the frog is a natural bait for spots. A Carolina-rigged frog in 8- to 20-feet of water will turn on the spotted-bass bite.
When Carolina rigging, use 20-pound-test line for the main line. Put a 3/4-ounce bullet sinker up the line, a barrel swivel below the sinker and 18 inches of 10- or 14-pound-test line as a leader from the barrel swivel to the hook and the frog.
Fish this rig on upriver points where there's a lot of current or on shallow points downriver. Drag the frog on the bottom. The only way you can fish this bait wrong is to fish it too fast. The spotted bass will annihilate the frog. They'll hit it hard and fast, and often they'll nearly knock your rod out of your hand. Set the hook the instant you feel the spotted bass bite, or else the spot will swallow the bait deep down into its mouth.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 108. |
Early Spring Spotted Bass Bass Fishing
March and April are perhaps the best months of the year for catching spotted bass. In early March, the spotted bass will move up from their deep-water haunts and start feeding in the shallows in preparation for the spawn.
In early spring, fish with a 3/8- or a 1/2-ounce spinnerbait with willowleaf blades and a chartreuse-and-white or a solid-white skirt. Search for red clay banks where crawfish and shad congregate, which means spotted bass will go grocery shopping there.
Fish a point with larger chunk rock instead of pea gravel. Fish your spinnerbait fast on 12- to 15-pound test line in water depths from 2- to 10-feet deep on these points in the early morning.
As a switch-up tactic, switch to a Carolina-rigged plastic lizard with a 1/2-ounce sinker and fish waters 5- to 15-feet deep, during the midmorning period. You'll never need to fish more than 20-feet deep for spots during March and April. Target main river points and manmade brushpiles with the Carolina-rigged lizard. Use at least a 3- to a 4-feet-long leader and a leader line smaller than 12-pound test.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 109. |
Late Summer Spotted Bass Bass Fishing
To catch the biggest spotted bass in September, the best times to fish are from daylight until mid-morning.
Fish main river points in 15- to 18-foot-deep water with 3/8-ounce jigs and jerkbaits in the ghost-minnow and the Tennessee-shad colors. Keep the bait moving on a fast twitch type of retrieve. Pause the bait once or twice during the retrieve, but generally keep it moving at a relatively-fast pace.
Casts jigs prepped with plastic trailers on 14-pound-test line far out on main points. Big spotted bass may break your line, if you use 10- and 12-pound-test line. Jerk off the bottom, and if you don't get a bite as the jig falls or as soon as the jig hits the bottom, jerk it up off the bottom quickly.
Fish a 1/2-ounce jig for spots, if there's a lot of wind. Motor your boat over points, look for manmade brushpiles in the 12- to 16-foot depth range, and then fish the jig around those brushpiles. You'll generally find the biggest spots on rocky points with brush on them, except on windy days. In such cases, fish the jig across the windblown points. The wind needs to blow on the bank for at least 1 or 2 hours before the spotted bass begin to congregate on the windy points.
Fish points with a jig and a jerkbait at sunup. Then, if the wind begins to blow, move to the windy banks. Big spotted bass still will be holding on the points, if there's not current running through the lake during the first few hours of daylight. A perfect day for big spots will have cloudy, overcast weather with plenty of wind.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 110. |
Holiday Spotted Bass Bass Fishing
December is a great month to fish for and catch spotted bass. Cool and often-unpredictable weather means spotted bass will be the most-dependable bass this month.
Put up the Christmas tree and then go spotted bass fishing, trying deep-diving crankbaits in fire-tiger and the grey-ghost colors on 10-pound-test fluorocarbon line, using a slow to a medium retrieve.
Since spotted bass react well to crankbaits with very-erratic actions, rip the bait two or three times, make four or five turns with your reel, and then start a slow retrieve again. The spotted bass usually will take the crankbait when the lure stops, after you rip the bait.
Alternatively, fish a ½-ounce jig on points. Fish the jig with a slow retrieve, hop it along the bottom and up off the bottom, and then allow it to fall back almost on a slack line. The spots usually will take the bait when it's falling, after you've hopped it.
For finicky spotted bass, try drop-shotting by putting a 1/4-ounce lead on the bottom of your line. About 10 or 12 inches up the line, tie on a 1/0 drop-shot hook on 6-pound-test fluorocarbon line. Either rig the worm wacky style, or nose-hook a green-pumpkin finesse worm. Of the two rigs, rigging the worm wacky style is generally the most productive for spotted bass in December. Fish this rig on the same main-lake points where you've fished the jig and the crankbait.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 111. |
Chilly Weather Spotted Bass Bass Fishing
In the winter, places that pay the most spotted bass dividends include bridge pilings, and the junctions of creeks channels. Spotted bass always hold around bridge pilings in the colder months. Try these tactics and be sure the following lineup of lures is inside your tacklebox.
A 3/4-ounce jigging spoon, dropped vertically and fished alongside the concrete pilings.
A Carolina-rigged plastic worm, fished on points where a major creek empties into the main lake.
A deep-diving crankbait, fished according to the prevailing current conditions. Depending on the pull of the water and the amount of current in the region, deep-diving crankbaits also can be quite useful for taking bass in a creek.
A jig with a pork trailer, cast at piers located near deep water.
A crankbait capable of working from 8- to-12 feet, where you can feel the structure each time the bait hits a bump. Work a crankbait as slowly as possible in these areas.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 112. |
Tackling Spotted Bass Bass Fishing
Some of the most-productive areas for summertime spotted bass include rocky points, sheer rock bluffs, underwater railroad beds and current pulled through the dam.
In all cases, remember that spotted bass are driven to feed by power-generating lakes.
Fish main river points with small jigs, grubs and tiny plastic worms as soon as the current begins to run on the lake. Rocky points out on the main river will draw spotted bass like a magnet when the current first starts running when you fish these points with Carolina-rigged 4-inch plastic worms.
Don't strike a spotted bass as soon as it takes the bait. Instead, retrieve the rig slowly, and let the hooks and the worms set them. Carolina rigging also catches spotted bass on main river ledges and points found on the underwater road beds in the middle of a lake.
Another successful tactic is to troll a crawfish-imitating crankbait or a deep-diving crankbait. Troll over main river points, along rocky bluffs and on the edges of creek channels and river channels in the middle of a lake. Also troll across the tops or the sides of underwater roads.
Tie a 1-1/2-foot-long leader made of 10-pound-test monofilament onto the back hook of the crankbait, and attach a silver spoon to the other end of the leader. If you troll deep-diving crankbaits with a spoon trailer, you'll have to reel it in constantly to take spotted bass off your lures. This tandem-bait trolling tactic will produce numbers of spotted bass.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 113. |
Brushy Wintertime Spotted Bass Bass Fishing
You can catch spotted bass by fishing points with jigs, grubs and tubes in the winter, especially after a hard freeze is followed by a warming trend.
Fish a 4-inch finesse worm in deep brushpiles, using a 1/4-ounce slip sinker up a 10-pound-test line on a heavy-action spinning rod. Fish vertically over the brush, and let the finesse worm get down in the tree. Shake the worm. Set the hook really hard, and start reeling as soon as you set the hook to get a spotted bass out of the treetop.
Use this same strategy with either a brown or a green-pumpkin 3/8- or a 1/2-ounce jig for spotted bass. If you don't get a strike, allow the jig to fall to the bottom on the next try. Then jerk the jig up off the bottom, and let it fall back in the cover.
Spotted bass usually will take the jig on the fall. The wind seems to mass the shad on rocky points, and the spotted bass will position themselves beneath the shad when the lake's windy. Ripping a spinner bait from the bank out to deep water is the best way to catch spotted bass on windy days.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 114. |
Early Summer Spotted Bass Bass Fishing
By June, spotted bass suspend on sharply contrasting bottoms, anywhere from 15 to 60 feet. During this time, you'll find the best success on cloudy days.
Try fishing topwater lures or soft jerkbaits for spotted bass early in the morning or on cloudy days in 30 feet of water, making long casts with light line to catch the fish on top. Don't fish anything heavier than 12-pound-test line in June, but primarily use 8- or 10-pound-test monofilament line.
Fish main river points, secondary points and around locks, dams and hidden structure for early summertime spotted bass. The fish will suspend above submerged road beds or hold on top, off to the sides or at the bases of the road beds. Early in the morning or on cloudy days, the spotted bass generally will concentrate above the road beds. When they see bait on the surface, they'll come up and take it.
Know when power is generating and current is running to catch spotted bass. Current can be created by the generation of electricity, from boats going through locks and dams, or by water released for flood control. When the current is about to move through the area, the spotted bass nearby will go on a feeding frenzy. When topwater action is null use a drop-shot rig around underwater road beds. When drop shotting, use a 4-inch finesse worm in natural colors, like watermelon, green-pumpkin or red-pumpkin.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 115. |
Smallmouth Bass Bait Tips Bass Fishing
Smallmouth and jerkbaits are synonymous terms with anglers. The smallmouth is undeniably the most aggressive of the bass and its predator instinct is easily triggered by the jerking action of this “reaction bait.”
Using a weighted jerkbait increases coverage of the strike zone, expanding the opportunities for using this lure throughout the year.
More than most lures, weighted jerkbaits demand the right "cadence" (retrieve timing) to draw strikes. This is because they're being used to tempt sluggish bass in cold water. Here are some retrieves to try:
Sinking Retrieve (extremely cold water):
Make a long cast to the target zone.As soon as the lure hits the water, jerk the rod tip sharply so the bait dives.
Stop. Hold the rod parallel to the water and to the side.Twitch the rod tip, reel up slack, and twitch again, much as when fishing a plastic worm. Repeat.
When properly weighted, the lure will sink slowly between twitches like a dying shad.Most strikes occur as the lure sinks slowly. Watch your line. If it jumps, set the hook hard.
Remember that bass will be extremely sluggish in cold water. Start by allowing at least 5 seconds between twitches. Vary the cadence until you contact fish.
Suspending Retrieve (45-55 degrees):
Repeat steps 1-5 above. When weighted properly, the lure will suspend between twitches, like a living baitfish.Begin by pausing 3 to 5 seconds between twitches. Experiment until you find an effective cadence.
Watch for the line to jump, then set the hook hard.
Ripping Retrieve (55-65 degrees):
This retrieve works when the lure is weighted to either suspend or rise very slowly after being twitched.
Make a long cast to the target zone.
When the lure hits the water, sweep the rod tip from 3 to 4 feet to the side. This will cause it to dart and flutter like a fleeing baitfish.
Pause 3 to 5 seconds while reeling up slack, then sweep rod again.
Most strikes occur on the pause, when the lure either suspends or rises slowly. Watch your line and set the hook hard if it moves.
Again, vary the cadence until fish react positively. Pros report waiting 10 seconds or longer between twitches at times.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 116. |
Postspawn Smallmouth Bass Fishing
To catch more and bigger smallmouth in the middle of a lake after the spawn, fish with different baits than what everyone else uses.
Most anglers will be fishing a Carolina-rigged plastic lizard or worm on secondary ridges and points. Humps out in the middle of the lake – even distances from the bank – about 10-foot deep are other places where anglers will fish Carolina-rigged soft-plastics.
Instead, use a jerkbait on humps in 5 to 10 feet of water, just like you do when fishing for largemouth. Jerk the bait three or four times, and then let it suspend for 15 to 30 seconds – a technique known as dead-sticking.
Making long casts is the secret to fishing the jerkbait successfully in open water for smallmouth. Use 10-pound-test line, a baitcast reel and a 6-foot, 6-inch baitcasting rod.
The further you stay away from the hump you’re fishing, the more fish you’ll catch. Another method that lets you fish differently from most anglers is to fish deep-diving crankbaits on these same humps.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 117. |
Shellbeds for Smallmouth Bass Fishing
Muscle beds are havens for smallmouth, which search out this obscure cover in search of crawfish. If you luck up on a shellbed, try these tips.
* Fish a soft-plastic lizard or crawfish when the smallmouth are suspended over the shellbed. Fish lizards on Carolina rigs – each with a 5-foot leader and a 3/4-ounce weight. Use a 7-foot rod with a 12-pound-test main line. The slower you fish a Carolina rig, the more smallmouth you’ll catch.
* Fish rough-bottom shell beds when smallmouth are on the bottom eating the crawfish and shad. Texas-rig a soft-plastic centipede in chartreuse-pepper (a bright color in a compact bait) out over the shell beds, dragging the centipede slowly on the bottom, reel-up the slack, drag the bait, and then reel it again.
* Fish a 3/4-ounce spinnerbait or a Texas-rigged grub with a red hook in late-summer current. The current stirs up the bottom, causing the crawfish and the minnows to feed on the algae. The smallmouth will feed on the crawfish and the minnows by positioning themselves on the ends of humps in front of current, often in a dead spot right in the front of a stump or a log. Fish both the grub and the spinner bait on tight lines. When the bait hits the bottom, make about eight or 10 cranks to swim the bait just above the bottom. Then let the bait flutter back down. A smallmouth will hit the bait most of the time when the bait falls.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 118. |
Nighttime Smallmouth Bass Fishing
Smallmouth fishing at night is best around a full moon, particularly in April or May in shallow water. Throw crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, buzzbaits and three-bladed buzzbaits in about 4 to 6 feet of water. Also fish points of islands where water’s running over a point. When there’s not a current, fish flats. In other situations, try these helpful tips.
Lipless crankbait: Throw this lure across shallow flats – places you’ll normally fish in the springtime. Smallmouths will be looking for crawfish or minnows, and they’ll swim much more shallow because the sun isn’t bothering them. Use a steady stop-and-go retrieve.
Spinnerbait: Fish the lure using the same technique a Texas-rigged worm, by bottom hopping it off a steep bank. Use 12-pound-test high-impact line. Keep your drag set light, and use a medium/heavy action rod.
Crankbait: Fish a stop-and-go retrieve to resemble a crawfish in 5 feet of water on 10-pound-test line with a cranking rod. Or, fish a watermelon-shad-colored crankbait with pearl and a green back along the edges of the creeks that lead into the main lake – anywhere you can catch a largemouth.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 119. |
Wintertime Smallmouth Bass Fishing
During the winter months, you’ll most often find big smallmouth on humps, ridges and ledges out close to the river channel. In some areas, the smallmouth may relate more to creeks than to the main river, depending on the history of the lake. At this time of the year, expect to catch the smallmouth in 18 to 20 feet of water, but always consider the clarity and the temperature of the water. A small, 1/4-ounce, black-and-blue or brown jig with a small pork trailer behind is productive for wintertime smallmouth.
Don’t make as long a cast in the winter as you will in the spring and the summer. Wintertime smallmouth are more channel- or ledge-oriented, so you can catch them within no more than 20 yards of the edge of the lip of the break.
For the most success, don't hop your jig off the bottom dramatically; just barely hop it along the bottom. Fish this jig on 10- to 12-pound test line to get the jig down deep quickly and allow it to make tiny hops along the bottom. Keep your rod tip low or put it in the water when you reel in a smallmouth to keep the fish from jumping. If you see your line coming up, indicating that the smallmouth is trying to go airborne, put your rod tip even deeper in the water, and pull the fish sideways to keep it from jumping.
Check your drag before you make that first cast to be sure it’s tight enough to set the hook yet loose enough to pull off drag, if a big smallmouth does start to run. Learning to use the drag system on your reel will help you land the smallmouth. Winter is the right time to catch big smallmouth.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 120. |
Prospecting for Smallmouth Bass Fishing
If you’re hoping to catch smallmouth in the summer, you need to know the type of structure and cover on which the fish are holding, and the way the smallmouth want the bait presented. Try these tactics to locate the fish and identify a pattern. Fish a fast-falling bait like a 1/2-ounce jig in the summer months when most lakes are relatively clear. To increase the speed of the jig on the fall, feed line to the jig when you cast it out to allow the bait to fall vertically. If the smallmouth doesn’t take the bait on the fall, hop the jig up off the bottom about 3 feet. Let the bait fall back on a slack line, watching your line as the bait falls for any interruption in the drop of the lure.
Snatching the jig up off the bottom really fast and then allowing it to fall back to the bottom as quickly as it can drop triggers numbers of strikes from smallmouth, even if they’re not hungry. Make short casts, and rip the bait up off the bottom. The closer you are to your jig when you rip it, the more vertically it will jump up off the bottom. If you make a long cast and try and jump the bait off the bottom, the bait only may hop 3 or 4 inches, instead of jumping straight up off the bottom and falling back more vertically.
Make longer casts when you locate a flat that holds a large number of scattered stumps to try and feel the objects with your jig. Use a dragging tactic until your jig hits a stump. Then, jerk the jig up to hop it over the stump, and let the jig fall vertically to get a smallmouth to bite.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 121. |
Seasonal Transition Tactics for Smallmouth Bass Fishing
The changing seasons are mood swingers for smallmouth, meaning you must be adaptable to trying different techniques and lures. Here are some pointers for the changing seasons.
Jerkbaits: Many anglers fish jerkbaits for smallmouth using a fast action to incite a reaction bite. Instead, in the springtime, cast the jerkbait out, crank it down eight or 10 cranks pretty hard, stop it, and leave it stationary. Then use your rod tip to pull it slowly like you’d work a Carolina-rigged worm across the bottom. The bait will wobble slowly. Take up the slack, and once again pull the lure slowly with your rod tip. Fish a jerkbait in stained or cold water, especially when the temperature falls below 48 degrees. In clear water, fish a brightly colored jerkbait with a lot of red in it, a chrome with a blue back or a chrome with a black back.
Soft Plastics: To fish without your line twisting, tie a barrel swivel on your main line with a 6-inch leader the same size as the main line. Then, tie the hook going into the soft-plastic onto the leader. Once rigged, cast the soft-plastic bait close to the bank or to visible targets like brush, stumps and logs. Let the bait fall to the bottom, give it a twitching action to make it jump off the bottom, and then let it fall back to the bottom. Most of the time, you’ll never feel the strike; you’ll just see your line moving sideways.
Crankbaits: Fish the brightest lipless crankbait you can find, like bright orange or bright chartreuse, around gravel flats. Even in stained water, the smallmouth will attack the bait. There’s something about fishing a bright-colored, fast-moving, rattling bait in shallow water that is irresistible to smallmouth.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 122. |
Small Line, Big Baits for Smallmouth Bass Fishing
Trolling deep-diving crankbaits across rocky points may be one of the most-effective techniques anglers can use to catch big smallmouths. Bump the bait across the bottom, and crash it into underwater rocks to gain the attention and often the strike of a big smallmouth. Alternatively, try these proven techniques. Cast out light line and ultralight baits to catch big smallmouth in deep water. Fish a 4-inch worm and a 1/4-ounce jig on light spinning tackle along sheer rock bluffs. If you fish parallel to the bluffs and let your lure fall straight down beside the rocks, you’ll offer the smallmouth a meal it can’t resist.
Fish a live-bait rig called a Roach Rig or a jig tipped with live bait for smallmouths. On the live-bait rig, use a slip sinker – either a 1/8-ounce for shallow fishing or a 3/4-ounce for deep-water fishing. Fish a bright-colored sinker to get the bait to the bottom and to attract the smallmouth.
Below the slip sinker, attach a rubber sinker stopper, a device that stops a sinker from continuing to slide down the line and allows you to adjust the length of line you want coming from the lead to the hook. Below the sinker stopper, tie a barrel swivel. To the other end of the barrel swivel, attach a piece of leader and a small hook. Bait with either night crawlers or leeches. On the jig rig, use a brightly-colored jig, and attach either a minnow, a leech or a night crawler to the hook as a trailer to catch the most smallmouths.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 123. |
Tailrace Smallmouth Bass Fishing
One of the most-deadly strategies to catch trophy smallmouth is fishing live bait in tailrace areas. To live-bait rig for smallmouth, tie a No. 4, pattern 84 Eagle Claw hook to the end of 8-pound-test line. Because the line will be in contact with the rocks along the bottom most of the time you’re fishing, use abrasion-resistant line to prevent the line from breaking.
Inch on a piece of split shot, 18 to 24 inches up the line from the hook. The size of the lead will vary, depending on the amount of water being released from the dam. Use just enough lead to get the bait to the bottom and to touch the bottom often as the boat drifts with the current.
Release roughly 30 to 40 yards of line to drift the bait near the bottom but without having so much slack in the line that you can’t achieve an effective hookset. Position the boat near the same spot where other anglers are fishing the tailrace near a dam. Motor your boat into the current, and drift about the same distance downstream before you start the outboard and move back upstream for another drift.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 124. |
Early Season Smallmouth Bass Fishing
Early spring supercharges the smallmouth aquatic environment, making for good times when it comes to catching the gamiest bass of them all. Here are two proven tips for catching smallmouth in the springtime. Cast a 1/8-ounce jighead impaled with a grub. Raise your rod to the 10 ‘o clock position, then make eight or 10 quick turns of the reel handle to cause the grub to look like a minnow swimming off the bottom. Then, stop reeling, and the grub will swim toward the bottom instead of falling vertically. When you see slack in the line, the grub has hit the bottom. Then, reel eight or 10 more times, and stop the grub again.
Fish a 3/4-ounce spinnerbait with a gold blade and a chartreuse skirt. In clear water, fish a chartreuse-and-white skirt. Cast the spinnerbait, and allow it fall on a tight line, swinging like a pendulum to the bottom. In doing so, you can feel the blade turning as it falls, be attentive as most strikes will occur as the lure is falling. Once the bait touches bottom, raise the rod again, reel about 10 times and allow the bait to swing like a pendulum back to the bottom.
You’ll be surprised how many big smallmouth you’ll catch using this technique. You also can fish this tactic successfully in the late spring, summer and even in the fall.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 125. |
Zoning in on Summertime Smallmouth Bass Fishing
During summer, smallmouth oftentimes suspend in the middle of a lake on no visible cover. In large impoundments, the wide expanse of water that goes unbroken in all directions can seem like a vast desert. To catch big smallmouth, fish offshore on underwater structure. Try fishing breaklines extending from 7- to 20-feet deep plunging into a main river channel. Locate a vertical drop where the smallmouth have easy access from extremely-deep water into shallow water.
An ideal depth break is near a spawning area. Fish a 1/4-ounce black-and-blue jig with an olive-green trailer, so the smallmouth easily can see the bait. Make extremely-short casts no more than 20 or 25 feet from the boat.
Using an underhanded pitching technique, as soon as the jig hits the water, feed the lure line to make the lure drop vertically. In the summer months, smallmouth will usually hold within 20 feet of a breakline. Generally they’ll be on top of the break feeding, or suspended just off the lip of the break in deep water. Drag the jig slowly, or make short hops to keep your jig in the fish’s strike zone longer.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 126. |
Big Bluegills Freshwater
Fish for big bluegills the same way you fish for bass, only in miniature. Make your presentation resemble the bluegill's natural food as closely as possible. While you can almost wade into the middle of small bluegills and still get them to bite, larger bluegills are more wary, especially when they are in shallow water.
When bluegills first move into the shallows to spawn, they are the most skittish. Stay as far away from the spawning beds as you can and still successfully reach them with your casts. If fishing from the bank, walk softly and make as little noise as possible. Keep a low profile to avoid casting your shadow across the beds. Some anglers are known to crawl along the bank to prevent them from being detected.
The best possible presentation is using only a hook and small amount of bait (no bobber and no weight), casting at least 15 feet with an ultra-light spinning rig and very light line. Try to cast beyond the nests and retrieve the bait through the colony. Let the bait sink slowly into the nests like natural food. Watch the movement of the line to detect the bite. Since spawning bluegills are sometimes preoccupied or skittish, so your bait may have to sit for a couple of minutes before you get a bite.
When the big bluegills have just arrived at the nests, they tend to scatter, then slowly return to the beds when something hits the surface of the water. After they have been on the nests for a few days, they tend to swarm, even attack, when something hits the water. But put the odds in your favor by making casts as quietly as possible.
What triggers bluegills to spawn is speculation. Weather is a major factor. After two or three warm, sunny days in early June with high humidity, bluegills will nearly always move to the beds. But just because it's spawning time doesn't mean the bluegills are always willing to bite. Bluegills feed most aggressively in the early-morning and late-evening hours.
A thunderstorm will run bluegills off shallow nests. And it may take a couple of days of sunshine and clearing shallow water to put them back into the spawning and feeding mode. Big bluegills will stage in deeper water just beyond the spawning areas. If there are no bluegills visible on the beds, they still may be willing to bite. Try casting to adjacent deeper water, especially around cover such as docks or fallen trees.
In most cases, it is desirable for anglers to take some bluegills home for the dinner table. Anglers play an important role in controlling bluegill overpopulation and stunting. However, fisheries biologists now believe that bluegills are not an unlimited resource. It is possible to overharvest bluegills and throw a lake's fish population out of balance, biologists say. So it's important to observe the legal creel limit and to use restraint in the number of bluegills you take. Take enough to feed your family and leave the rest for another day or another angler.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 127. |
Dams for Bluegill Freshwater
Bluegill don't like to feed in a strong current but prefer to lay in wait, letting the current bring their food to them. At most dams that generate hydroelectric power, you don't see the back current that runs toward the dam and the spillways on the face of the dam. However, you'll usually find bluegills holding in the light back current. For fast action and success, try these tips.
Locate a ladder or a break in a straight concrete wall at the lock or the dam to discover bluegill. The most-productive ladders for bluegill are formed into the concrete during the construction of the dam.
Pinpoint bluegill holding on underwater rocks that come in contact with the vertical side of the dam. Bluegill will concentrate on the back side of a big rock or boulder in the eddy region of a reverse current and beside the dam to ambush bait and rest.
Fish flood gate dropoffs. Below the floodgates on most dams, the concrete runs out into the water for a short distance and then falls dramatically to the bottom of the lake. Bluegill will hold on this concrete dropoff.
Catch bluegill around the spillways. Bluegill will feed on top of the underwater concrete making up the spillway of a dam, especially when the shad just have spawned. Bluegill also will feed above the lip of the break in shallow water on baitfish and insects caught in the light current. Too, when the mayflies hatch, you'll generally find them swarmed-up against the spillways, and the bluegill can capture and eat them there.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 128. |
Bedding Bluegill Freshwater
Bluegill will bed all summer, providing a dependable angling opportunity. When beginning to spawn, the area has a distinctive odor similar to the smell of ripe watermelon, and you can use your nose to locate bluegill beds.
In many ponds, lakes and rivers, bluegill may bed as far away as 20 to 30 yards from the bank. Therefore, make longer casts, and keep the lure near the bottom all the way back to the boat. To catch large numbers of bedding bluegill, fish with light line and little or no weight.
If you want to fish with a bobber, use it only as a strike indicator, not as a float. To catch large numbers of bluegill off beds, fish the deep side before switching to the shallows.
If you spot a bluegill bed in shallow water, position the boat in deep water and fish 20 to 30 yards away. Take all the bluegill in deep water before you move in close to the bank to not disturb other bedding fish.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 129. |
Landing Big Bluegill Freshwater
If you want to catch chunky bluegill, the best place to start is a farm pond. And specifically, a heavily fertilized pond with a crowded bass population, but low numbers of bluegill. You'll find big bluegill extremely wary, even on the first full moon in May, a time many anglers swear by as one of the very-best times to fish for bluegill.
Using light line, no weights and a glob of worms that completely hide the hook, hide yourself on the bank in tall weeds. Cast your bait, and as the worms float down to the bottom, watch for twitches on the lines that signify strikes.
Also, to catch big bluegill, use big baits when fly-fishing. A No. 6 hook will allow you to miss the small bluegill, while hooking only the big ones. Once you have the right-size hook on your bluegill bug, choose the color and the number of legs of the bug. Most commercial bluegill bugs don't have enough legs to suit the trophy-bluegill fly-fisherman. Rubber legs create action on the water and draw bluegill to the bug. The visibility of the bait influences whether or not a bluegill bites. Spots, stripes and pretty designs on bugs may catch more customers than fish. But, if you believe a certain color will definitely catch bluegill, fly-fish with that color, even though the bluegill may not care.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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| 130. |
Obscure Bluegill Tips Freshwater
Give these tips a try when all else is failing in your bluegill game plan. Use your nose to locate bedding bluegill. A bluegill bed gives off a watermelon-like odor.
Find bluegill in pockets, sloughs and dead lakes off the main river channel on a river system. Usually bluegill use some type of bottom break to bed on, such as a point, a sandy bottom protruding from a mud bottom, a small gravel bar or an old creek channel with stumps on it.
Sound them out. Most bluegill will bed on tops of underwater humps and ridges but not in open water year after year. Using a depth finder, look from the bank to identify ridges and humps in sloughs, creeks and backwater ponds off a main lake or river in the region you're fishing. The same type of bottom breaks that hold bass also will home bluegill, but bluegill bed on top instead of on the sides or near the bases of the humps and ridges.
LBF Member: jaycarl3583
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