I’m So Confused!!! by Harrison Sillen
One of the most prevalent questions circulating the floor at this years “Toronto Sportsman Show", was how to choose the essential tackle, from all those items the manufactures have to offer. More than once I was asked if all this stuff is necessary to be successful on the water! Another common question was,” I only have two rod combos, what baits do I rig”? All very legitimate questions, but the answer can be as complicated as you choose to make it.
In this day and age, there really isn’t any excuse for not being prepared when you finally get out on the water. One of my engineering buddies always said “a job well planned is a job half done” (that makes all my chores around the house three quarters done sweetheart). With the advent of the internet, twenty four hour fishing channels like the WFN, a plethora of quality angling shows and racks of your favourite fishing magazines on every corner shore shelf, information abounds every angler from novice to seasoned tournament veteran.
The confusion lies in being ill prepared. Regardless of your adventure, be it a weekend day away or the season’s championship tournament, we all need to be efficient in how we manage our time. Let’s face it; my pre-fishing time is no more or less important than any other persons one day a month opportunity out on the water. Spending time prior to your outing, researching your target species, habitat location and common angling techniques for that particular water body, will help reduce the amount of time you’ll spend searching these bits and bobs out, when you get on the water.
I find the internet probably the best place to find the specifics on a certain body of water. Chat boards, like “quintefishing.com” have daily reports on what baits are working, when they’re working, and how to work them. Other sites can give you everything from launch sites to tackle shops. Magazines offer developing trends, and the newest in presentations for you to try. If time is permitting, you may want to venture to this “more confusing” segment of the sport, and forgo the traditional approaches. Every year manufacturers provide the latest and greatest (and not so great) gear to tackle a sport that has more participants annually, than hockey and golf combined. It truly can be an exercise in information overload, as each company strives for that ever valued market share. If it truly is getting confusing, to the point of being frustrating, the simplest of solutions is to try a couple of the newer strategies during each outing, and keep the majority of your presentations to the tried and true variety. I still believe that for most anglers, the television programs are still the most efficient way to learn the techniques involved in presenting the baits you may one day choose. To this day, I still can’t predict the speeds anglers are suggesting I move my baits when they tell me they had to “slow down” to get strikes. My idea of slowing down can be very different than yours. Same goes for general terminology like; lite line, deep weeds, heavy cover, aggressive retrieves and so on. However, a good dose of real…”reality TV” (fishing shows, can quickly demonstrate the effectiveness of a presentation in a variety of situations. Regardless of which brand of celebrity angler you prefer, you’re going to learn abundant methods, by observing these true professionals demonstrate techniques you haven’t seen or have been unsure of in the past.
Now angling is the one sport that seems to have a legitimate argument for every theory. Maybe that in itself is where we draw the majority of our confusion. In itself, the techniques, presentations and options are limited only by our imaginations. There are only proven and unproven presentations. To keep things simple, go with the proven. Getting confused is directly proportional to the amount of unproven techniques, baits and presentations we want to use. It’s that simple!
There are three things I truly believe in when I’m fishing. Success is directly proportional to your time on the water. Ninety percent of the fish are in 10 percent of the water, and eighty percent of the time, fish are in a negative feeding pattern. Keeping these things in mind, keeps me from getting frustrated, keeps me from getting confused, and helps me keep an open mind to my situation every time I go out on the water. So next time you start feeling information overload, do some research. You’ll find you’re more successful more often.
by Harrison Sillen
Who is a Fishing Expert? by Doug Lavis
I received a call from my good BUDDIES Ron and Leo and they said Doug how about writing an article for our web site you have been around for awhile and should have lots to write about! Well I do not know whether this is a compliment or it is a nice way to say you are as old as dirt and we want to get some information from you while your memory is still all there!
So who is a fishing expert? I think that I can answer this but before I do I will give you a little background about myself and before you say what the hell does he know. I have been fishing for as long as I can remember and have been fishing throughout most of Ontario and have caught just about every species found here in Ontario whether I was fishing for them at the time or not. In my opinion I feel that I had one of the most knowledgeable people start me off fishing/hunting and that was my father who taught me not only how to fish but also to respect other people and their property. In my many years of fishing I have owned and operated a salmon charter boat in southern Ontario which was at the very start of the industry here on Lake Ontario and even before there were derbies. I also owned and operated a fishing tackle distribution company that brought in some very reputable companies into Canada and are still doing very well to this day. I still fish many tournaments when I have time but I primarily fish bass and walleye tournament trials and to my pleasure these have been reduced over the years which will only improve the caliber of fishermen and sorry ladies fishermen does include you just ask my wife.
Over the years I have heard many people say to me that you should know you are the expert! This can be taken in two ways but I’m not really an expert just because I fish tournaments or owned my own tackle business or operated a charter boat. What I feel that is that I’m not an expert but what I have is a lot of knowledge about fishing and the industry that I have gathered over the years which comes from my own experiences or what I have learned from other people that I have met along the way or fished with over these many years. Everybody that fishes either for fun or in tournaments will all say the same thing and that is they are always learning of something new everyday and how they can use it to increase their catch. There are a couple of things that I have learned over the years that will help you become a better fisher person I hope and these are:
1. Knowledge:
- understanding gained by actual experience
- range of information, 3: clear perception of truth
- something learned and kept in the mind
2. Know your lake and the species that you are going to fish for and with all of the new electronics and the internet you have already got a head start. I can remember when Ron and I were fishing tournaments together we would go over and over paper maps before a tournament mark out the spots then go and pre-fish and spend hours trying to find the spots. Now with GPS fish finders you can be on that spot in a very short time.
3. When going to a lake for the first time stop into the local tackle shop and talk with the owner or some of the local fishermen they will not give you their favorite spot but will help you with lure type and lure presentation.
Now for what I feel is the big word that everybody should follow to make you better than an expert and more so if you fish or are going to fish tournaments and this word is:
- Professional: one that engages in an activity professionally. Again you say what does this have to do with me. It has a lot to do with everyone that fishes or who is in a profession of any kind.
- During my years with my tackle business I had several teams on my pro-staff and I found that it was not always the best anglers that made the best pro-staff but the anglers that represented my companies but also fishermen in general.
- This does not always have to do with tournament anglers but with the everyday fishermen and here is why.
- This has to do with both knowledge and professionalism and by this I mean share your knowledge and act in a professional manor and not like how some people that do not fish that we are a bunch of drunken buffoons and have not respect for others.
For the people that fish tournaments if a cottage owner does not want you fishing their docks then respect that and move onto the next dock and do not give the land owner a hard time. My good friend Ron James taught me some time ago that being friendly saying please and thank you or can I fish your dock and if you do catch a fish under someone’s dock just let them know the fish will be released and will come probably come back. I remember 1 year Ron and I fish a 2 day tournament on Pigeon Lake and this cottager had one of the biggest pontoon boats with a boat house, weeds and a large dock. We knew that we would get a large fish here when all of a sudden the cottage owner came running down with every swear word there is and told us to get away. Ron started to talk with the guy in a very pleasant manor telling him he had a beautiful place and that we would respect him and move on. The next day we went back to fish the same shore line and the same cottager came down and told us we could fish his dock and sure enough Ron pulled out a nice 4 pounder and we thank him and I gave him a couple of baits from one of my sponsors.
For all of the people that fish tournaments I have a couple of suggestions to help you along and even the people get a little better. If you have sponsors ask them if they can do up sample packs for you and carry them in the boat with you and if they do not then ask them for some that you can give out either to people sitting on their docks or at weigh ins which really helps out the tournament organizer which helps you. Do not promote a product that you are not sponsored by why because we need to get industries involved in our sport and why should they get free advertising when you are not getting a deal. If you look at my truck you will see the make but not the dealership and why because for the people that fish tournaments you know what it costs you. The problem that we have in Canada is that when it comes to sport we are too nice we need to get companies involved like they do in the USA. People need to know how much the anglers whether fishing tournaments or just for fun how much money we put back into industry especially food, gas, accommodations, boats motors and of course vehicles. We have very good people in the tournament fishing industry and they represent the industry very well.
So in summary to be an expert you must have the knowledge! Which will help you be professional but even this will not make you and expert? What? I thought that you said that we could be experts! What I said is yes I will help you become an expert but you forgot about getting knowledge and what did I say about knowledge it is that we all learn something new everyday so if you learn something new everyday then how are you going to be and expert but you are getting close to becoming an expert but you can always become professional even if you are not in a tournament.
One last thing to always remember and that is if you do not catch anything there is a reason and it is for you to figure out and if you see a fisherman come in with lots of fish ask him how? He will probably not tell you where but he will probably tell you how and what to look for and if he does not tell you then he is not professional. Why is it that we say that kids ask too many questions? It is because they are learning so why should we as adults stop asking questions are we experts? NOT ON YOUR LIFE so keep asking questions or buy more electronics! Just joking.
There is a saying and that is a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at the office so enjoy our great outdoors and take a kid big or small fishing. Just because your wife out fishes you make it a family day. Fish TV is a very family orientated organization so don’t let us down keep fishing a family event and enjoy the time while you have it. We need to take our fishing patience with us where we go.
by Doug Lavis - Fish TV Pro Staff
Drop Shot Your Way To Success! by "Big" Jim McLaughlin
I hit enter, and in 0.32 seconds my MSN Search returned to me 9,597,929 reasons why you should consider the drop-shot this summer – or as soon as you can make it to a lake or river. Just a few years ago the same search would have revealed only about 100 or so reasons – which probably wasn’t enough to make the average angler jump on the band wagon just yet. However the momentum was beginning to build. Then anglers that were well above average status began winning huge tournaments in the Western U.S. It wasn’t long before the drop-shot was out of the bag and headed east.
Some of the world’s finest smallmouth destinations including Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and Lake Simcoe were first to garner press on the effectiveness of the method. Then just about every body of water that the drop-shot rig made it to suddenly became a “hot property”.
Enter the weekend angler. What could be simpler than a hook, sinker and a plastic or even live-bait offering? Not just for smallmouth bass either. I have personally targeted and caught walleye, panfish of all species, largemouth, and even lake trout over the last four or five years drop shutting and so can you.
One of my good fishing buddies has taken scores of trout from small natural lakes when nothing else would work. He has also hooked some of the largest crappie I have ever laid my eyes on, so don’t confuse this as a technique used for bass only or you will definitely be missing the boat.
Now whenever anglers get together one of the topics that always comes up for a good hashing... is drop shotting. I have gathered several comments and more importantly, success stories which serve to reaffirm just how important this method can be to your future success.
I spoke with Gord Pyzer from In’Fisherman Television, Outdoor Canada’s Fishing Editor and a chief contributor to “Just Fishing”, and asked him for a quote on this method. He sent along drop shotting expert Aaron Martens take on the technique. Read it real carefully… Aaron has been the runner up in the Bassmaster Classic three years in a row, so don’t ever tell me second doesn’t count.
“Drop shotting,” interjects Aaron Martens, who Guido Hibdon calls the best drop-shotter in the world, “is most effective when the bass are suspended off the bottom. A drop shot rig lets you continually adjust the weight of your sinker and the length of your leader. In that respect, it is the more versatile of the set ups.”
Martens also says that while many anglers believe drop shotting to be a vertical, straight up-and-down, deepwater presentation, it is every bit as effective when you cast and retrieve it. And he says there are no depth limits to its effectiveness. He has drop-shotted bass in water as deep as 80 feet and as shallow as two.
“But,” he emphasizes, “you don’t shake a drop shot worm. I use a heavy enough weight so that I am ticking the cover on the bottom about one-third of the time that I am retrieving the lure. The bouncing sinker provides all the action you require. Sometimes I’ll even go to a heavier weight and retrieve the lure as fast as a crank bait.”
Martens cautions about two things: knot failure and worm rigging. “Because of the way you tie a drop-shot rig,” he says, “the knot frays more quickly than with a shaking or split shot set up. If you’re not careful you’ll break off fish. Especially if you use a fluorocarbon line like I do. That is why I check my knot and retie often.”
Martens is also a stickler when it comes to threading on a worm. It must be arrow straight. “If it is crooked,” he says, holding it up to the light like a jeweler inspecting a fine cut diamond, “it’ll spin, twist your line, change the action of the worm and mess you up.”
And has the 32-year old San Fernando Valley Boy, who has visited the BASSMASTER Classic four times in the past five years, finishing eight on Lake Michigan and second on Lay Lake and who won the FLW event on Lake Wheeler last June noticed any differences, or made any drop shot adjustments, since moving to Alabama?
“The lakes out east are bigger,” he says, “and the bass are more spread out. There aren’t a hundred fish in one spot like in California. And they’re not there all the time like they are out west. As far as adjustments are concerned, I use heavier drop shot weights when I am fishing in the east… typically 3/16 and 1/4 ounce and I often use 10 and 12 pound test line. Especially when I am drop shotting around cover.”
Still, the strangest difference the drop-shot-king has seen is the way bass react to the weight. In the west, they shy away from a heavy noisy sinker. “But that is not a problem in the east,” he says, “where they literally eat it when you move it.”
John Noel is a very successful tournament angler and friend of mine who makes his living in the fishing industry with his company Principle Outdoors. They represent Minn-Kota, Humminbird and Lucky Craft in Canada. His curve is one I also subscribe to. I too use bait casting and spinning equipment for different applications of the drop shot method. Here is what John had to say. He wanted to write a book... but to save on the cost of paper I have narrowed down to a quote.
“One of the less conventional ways I use a drop shot set up is with bait casting gear. The set up is a 6’ 10” MH Crucial Rod with a Shimano Chronarch MG 100 spooled with 10-pound Berkley Vanish. I find this setup a little more comfortable and a bait caster works better for me with the 10-pound test line. I use this setup in deep water, sometimes 25’ to 35’ deep in places like Lake Erie. Erie is so full of big fish and you need a rod and reel that is ready to handle a brute.”
“At the CFT Super Series event on Erie last year I was fishing an inside break along the south shore of Erie. As soon as the bottom dropped a few feet I would mark fish on my Humminbird 595c. I could almost tell my co-angler to get ready with the net. Every fish from that 20-pound bag the first day came like that. I use a Mustad drop shot hook that is very small, so there is no need for the big hook set... just lift straight up and reel.”
“I have also begun using the drop-shot rig to locate fish. I move the boat around an area and pitch the rig way ahead of the boat. With a 3/8-oz weight it gets to the bottom quickly, and I then work the boat toward where the pitch landed. I call this pitching for smallies and It works great even in deep water.”
“There are certain times when big smallies move into very shallow water, and one thing that remains constant when this happens is that they are very spooky. When faced with this situation I go to 8-pound Berkley Vanish on a 2500 Stradic and a 7’ 2” Crucial drop shot rod. This rod has the perfect balance of backbone along with a forgiving tip so I know I won’t break off a big one with the 8-pound test.”
“I will cast this drop shot set up over shallow flats and slowly work it back. It acts a lot like a Carolina rig. The weight stirs up the bottom on the retrieve which generally makes a smallie curious, then hopefully the come over and decide to eat your bait. The difference between a Carolina rig and the drop shot is that the drop shot entry into the water is much quieter, and you can use very small baits. It never ceases to amaze me how a 4-5-pound smallie will hit a real tiny offering like the 3” Berkley Power Minnow.
On the other end of the spectrum when it comes to writing is Charles Sims. Charles hales from the Ottawa area and in my opinion, is on the verge of making it big time on the tournament scene. He too has a place in his heart for the drop shot, and by the sounds of it, he won’t be letting this one slip away anytime soon.
“Every once in a while a new technique comes along that rocks the fishing world. There is no doubt in my mind that the drop shot is the most recent to fall into this category. Since early 2005, I have not been on the water in a tournament without a drop shot rigged up and ready to go. There have been many 4-pound+, and a few 5-pound+ smallies that made it to the scale as part of my bag solely due to the drop shot rig. I once thought that the tube jig was the ultimate tool to make finicky or following smallmouth strike, but a 3-4” slender bait presented on a drop shot rig has increased these strikes even further. The drop shot will definitely be a vital tool for me and all smallmouth anglers for years to come.”
TJ Stallings from the TTI group producers of great hooks by Tru Turn, Daichii, X-Point etc, as well as the drop shot sensation hook – the “Stand Out” which in my mind is in the midst of revolutionizing sport fishing hottest rage. Here is an early morning quick thought from TJ with NO coffee in his veins.
“Tying the drop-shot rig was difficult and often the hook would continue to “fall down”. The objective was to make an “UP” presentation. A new drop shot hook known as the Stand OUTJ was introduced last year that stays UP. Actually it stays “up” and imparts a “lever-action” into the lure. Tying the rig is pretty darn simple now. Just tie your favourite knot to the “top” eye, run your tag-end through the bottom eye and secure it to the sinker or jig. That lever action of the Stand OUTJ stimulates a feeding response in fish. The very moment that a bait fish realizes it’s about to be a meal, it twitches to get a bearing on the situation before it flees. It’s that very instant that the predator reacts because the meal is about to get away. That lever action simulates the twitch of the bait fish and triggers a response from the fish.”
It is always better to get more than one man’s opinion and let me tell you; all these guys really know their stuff. As I have been telling anglers for years now, there are no magic short cuts to fishing success… just new angles on how to achieve it… this one makes the cut.
by "Big" Jim Mcluaghlin
Finding Them In The Fall by Danny Dunn
Cool evening’s warm days are signs that fall is on the way. However the kids may have visions of dressing up for Halloween and you of raking leaves. But save the raking for later because the big Largemouth Bass are on the move and are ready to eat. Once the water begins to cool and the lake turns over, those cool nights really start things happening. The Fall Turn over as it is commonly known and late allege bloom are good things if you can put the pattern to use. There are certain parts of the lake that the shallow fish move out to and the real deep fish move up to.
These areas are much defined and can hold an abundance of life from Walleye to Smallmouth and of course Largemouth and most of all baitfish. The Largemouth are generally the first to show up once the water temperature gets the mid to low 60's The Smallmouth will show up latter. Generally when the water temperature reaches around the mid 50's and after they have feed heavily in the shallows. When you find these area they will have the healthiest weed in the lake, generally this area will have green weed all year long, even through the winter months. The trick is how to locate them.
Location
As in Real estate this Pattern is the same… location, location, location. These areas can be no bigger than your 40 yards or so. In order to keep it simple, one of the keys is to find several areas than you know the Bass will use to spawn. Unlike the Smallmouth who will travel great distances to spawn the Largemouth is not as impressed with travel. Once located the search begins, find the area that fills the gap between Spawning sections and the deeper water or that middle third depth. This may be an extended weed flat or wood flat. The important point to remember is that there must be some type of cover on these flats or at the very least cover near the breakline. Weed flats with sand and wood mixed in are truly the best. The weed obviously provides cover and food and the presence of sand and wood for some reason just hold bigger fish.
The weed type is also a very important factor to take into consideration. Coontail weed is always good but Cabbage weed, I find really is the most productive. Fresh looking green weed is what you need. Remember dieing weed uses oxygen and green weed produces it. If the weed is starting to die these fish will move out to better weed. Remember these fish are here potentially for the balance of the fall and winter so it must be strong enough to endure the next few months. When you pull some of this weed up from the lake bottom you will notice how strong the stocks will be, they are thicker in diameter than the weed you will find in shallow. This weed takes most of the summer to grow compared to the shallow weed, which may grow faster. You will notice this when you notice weedbeds growing fast then dropping to the bottom after a few weeks. This is due to the fact that the stocks did not get a chance to grow strong enough to support the canopy part of the plant.
Now your almost there, the best part of all of this is to locate small clumps of this weed or secondary weedline out from the main lake weedlines. These may be created my changes in bottom content or depth changes. These clumps are not to be confused with weed humps. The bottom depth does not change just the presence of weed is apparent.
Narrowing it down.
When we talk about finding deep fish, deep is a relative statement. Fishing deep in Lake Scugog may be considered shallow in Balsam Lake. When it comes to figuring out where to look I use a simple formula. Take the average of the deepest part of the lake and the shallowest being zero and use the middle third of that number. This formula may have to be modified a bit for say Lake Simcoe but works just fine for smaller inland lakes.
After you have a depth number in mind look for adjacent structure in and around those depths. Look for things like shoals, rock humps, or extended points. Other key areas would be where the old lakebed or river channel swings in close to that pre-determined depth. When it comes to the idea of fishing outside of spawning bays, any place where the key depth and weed extends out from these bays is a great place to locate big Largemouth. The theory is the sharpest narrowest contact point to the deeper water is what these fish will use to access the feeding or holding areas. This is like an elevator, either moving up or down the structure they all get out there!
Remember, there still must be something to hold them at that depth. Largemouth like structure, they need that weed, wood, or rock to hold or stage them for a while. It's kind of like flat fishing, in away. Where the fish make contact to the flat either from the shallow side or the deep side either is always better than the middle of the flat. Fish will always be catchable on the flat. But where? They must be located.
Once you find these areas fish the slow, and there is rock plies or sunken trees or lay down wood it can really pay off big dividends. For the most part you will be fishing areas that will see virtually no fishing pressure at all, and if it is deep enough any changes in weather will not affect there willingness to feed. Now remember these areas will for the most part hold quality fish, however the trick is to find the ones that are holding the true giants. This can only be done by sifting through all of the fish holding areas you find and finding the big boys.
Baits
Now that your there it’s time to fish. When I’m in water more than 12 feet or more I really like to fish right on top of these fish. I prefer to fish flipping jigs for a few reasons. I like my odds of getting a solid hook set and if the fish are right in the weed it’s easier to pull them directly up and out of the top of the weed than through the weed from a distance. With a quality flipping Jig it should have a large 5/0 or 6/0 hook and as sharp as you can possibly get it. Regarding colors I stick to the basics, black/blue and sometimes if I’m really deep and depending on light penetration brown and certain variations . Large Deep diving Crank baits or heavy ¾ or 1oz spinner baits are great search baits for deep-water weed fish in water that may be as deep as 15-25 feet. I really don’t believe that imitating a certain forage weather it be crawfish or bait fish is as important as where you but your bait and how close to the real thing it is. You could use Carolina Rigs but then again personally I don’t like the hook up percentage, as well I don’t like big fish being to far away from the boat. I also believe in big baits this time of year, these are big fish for the most part so the use of ¾ to 1oz jigs and spinner baits is not only for a better presentation in deep water but for the larger profile . Remember as well, these fish are on the hunt for food and are fattening up for the winter.
Rods/Reels
The rod action needs to be heavy, or at the very minimum medium heavy especially when throwing flipping jig. You have to drive a heavy gauge wire hook into a fish that could as much as 40 feet out, once you consider depth of the water and casting 10 feet from the boat Secondly to turn the fish towards the boat and get them moving in the direction of the boat. For other baits such as Spinner baits and Crank baits a rod that is a little more forgiving is probably a better choice.
For the reel side of things, no matter the brand a 6:2:1 or 6:3:1 I find is the requirement. That fast line pick up is what I need to get the fish coming fast to the boat. For Crank baits you may have a requirement for a slower reel in order to help you to control slower retrieves. But for me the faster I get the fish coming to the boat the better the chance I have to land them.
Line
When it comes to line this is simple. For me it’s only braided line, No stretch, great sensitivity and tremendous toughness. It’s one of the few things I can really count on. The thin diameter gives me the strength that I need and allows the bait to sink at a fast rate. Where as 25 mono has a slower rate of decent as well as the stretch that for a jig presentation I don’t care for although best suited for other applications for this one its not one I prefer.
Attitude
This type of fishing is not for the faint of heart. There is a tremendous amount of time on the water and homework that needs to be done. However the rewards can be most outstanding. For the most part you will be fishing for Bass that no one else even knows are there, and that makes it even more fun. You must concentrate on every cast and always be ready , as you will soon find out when you find them they will come as fast as you can cast.
Weather it's a lake of any size, a river or a pond, no matter what body of water you fish it is all the same. Fish move in and out of cover for many different reasons, water, oxygen levels which water temperatures or living and die weed may drive. What ever it is, they do what it takes to survive. In some bodies of water they can spawn, and make it through all four seasons in a relatively small area, or they may move from one end of the system to the other. However, your ability to have a comprehensive understanding of what your target species requires for survival will have a direct effect on how successful of an angler you will be.
by Danny Dunn
Getting Geared Up For The Ice by Craig Cook
Its that time of year again folks, time to get the warm winter clothes out and get ready for the ice fishing season.
As the colder days and nights approach it's time to start thinking about your ice fishing gear, where is it? was it put away last year so you are ready to go this year. If you're like me I put my stuff all together at the end of March so I know where it is when it's time to get it out. Before we get in to the baits and rods we have to make sure that your clothing fits and is in good shape. Check your boots, if they are the kind with insoles make sure you go out and spend a few bucks and get new ones, also check your floater suit, make sure there are no tears or mold on it, if there is make sure you get it cleaned and fixed. Invest in a new hat, mitts, not gloves, gloves will make your fingers cold so have good mitts if it's really cold. The last thing you need when you're out there is to get cold that will wreck the hole day.
Lets get in to the rods and tackle, rods should be looked at for nicks and breaks, line should be changed, and reels should be greased up, it's just like getting ready for the up coming spring or summer season you have to be prepared to make each trip a great experience.
Tackle, make sure you sharpen your hooks and replace the old rusty ones. The last but not least thing is your auger, weather it is a gas or handheld you have to make sure your blades are as sharp as they can be.
Have a great time. Catching fish is the easy part, finding them is harder.
Largemouth and smallmouth bass are easy to catch once they are found. They are normally aggressive feeders and will strike a variety of lures presented to them. Finding concentrations of fish is the toughest job because daily weather conditions, seasonal migrations, and forage availability all play an important part in the fish location equation.
Generally speaking, daily weather conditions should be considered from two angles; the amount of light or brightness of the day and the change in temperature from the previous day or as the day passes. The brighter the day and the clearer the water, the deeper the concentration of fish will be. The duller the day and the murkier the water, the concentration of fish will be shallower. If the water temperature remains stable over a period of time, the fish become comfortable and feed aggressively. If the water temperature fluctuates, the fish become agitated and wary, and feed only during short intervals of time. Taking into account how much sunlight is penetrating the water; thereby affecting the fish's sight window and body temperature, is one of the most important keys to fish location.
Again generally speaking, seasonal migrations of fish depend on the time of year the species spawn and the change of light/ temperature that occurs throughout the seasons. Smallmouth bass spawn late winter/early spring, and largemouth spawn in the spring to early summer. During he spawn, which usually starts when the daylight hours get longer, the concentration of fish is shallow and more toward the headwaters of the lake, or upstream, areas where the creeks and rivers flow into the lakes. As the season progresses from the spring to summer, the concentration of fish will move off shore. They migrate along sharper breaks/contours of the lake bottom, holding up in areas that allow them to ambush forage without much physical effort. By fall the schools of fish will be farther offshore, will relate more to humps and deep-water drop-offs, and will have migrated towards the tailwaters of the lake or river, downstream. During winter the concentrations of fish will start their migration back towards the headwaters in preparation for the spawning cycle again.
Bass forage on three basic aquatic food sources, baitfish, crayfish and reptiles, such as frogs, snakes, and salamanders. When one source of forage gets scarce, they will migrate until they find another forage opportunity. Baitfish are the most important forage though, and there are two general rules about baitfish. Baitfish will be shallower than the concentration of bass most of the time, and most baitfish species spawn in late fall or winter. (Concentrations of baitfish are deeper during the fall turnover period; when the water temperature at the top of the water column is cooler than the bottom of the column, turnover occurs).
Spinner Bait Versatility
With so many baits on the market today it's hard to choose which bait to use. The versatility of the spinner bait makes it my favourite. The wide range of sizes, colours and different retrieves enables you to catch many different species of fish. From bass to pike, walleye, muskie and even pan fish like perch, rock bass and crappie, it's a must in everybody's tackle box.
Slow rolling a spinner bait is a technique used to imitate crayfish or other bottom hugging forage. The bait is rolled down the sides of rock ledges, submerged points, gravel and my favourite large boulders. This tactic is bound to attract bass living or feeding in the area. A sensitive rod is essential with this style of retrieve. You want to feel your bait rolling off the structure and ultimately the strike. Keep a tight line throughout the slow, bottom hugging retrieve.
Fluttering a spinner bait over heavy cover with pauses at open pockets, allows your bait to flutter or helicopter down into these openings. Make a cast to a bed of lily pads and begin your retrieve. You can guide your lure to the pockets by moving the rod left or right. When your bait reaches the open pocket simply pause and let the spinner bait fall slowly on a tight line. The strike should occur during the fall. If not you may have a hit as you begin your retrieve again. Fish may be stubborn as they hide in the pads, so make several casts in and around the same area to coax the fish to strike. A strong durable line is needed, I like using 30 lb Power Pro. This braided line has little if no stretch which allows you to get that trophy to the boat.
Burning a spinner bait is a tactic I use when fishing clear water. A tandem blade set up is usually the best choice here. A long cast is used, and when the bait hits the water begin a fast retrieve, allowing the bait to come in just inches below the surface. By maintaining the fast retrieve the fish hit out of instinct. They do not have time to look at the bait, they just strike. Adding a stinger hook is a good idea for short strikes.
Bumping and Running:
Bumping a spinner bait around brush and into stumps and flooded timber will have largemouth's chomping at the bit. Allowing the bait to be erratic and change direction has the bass immediately striking the bait. Running a spinner bait is one of the easiest yet productive tactics. Find a weed bed, cast and begin your retrieve. The spinner bait will go through the weed with ease as it is basically weedless. Keep the lure just on top of the weeds or go straight through them. Many walleye can be caught by bringing the bait straight through the weeds. Spinner baits are very productive baits. They can be used for all types of fish, in all types of structures.
Happy Fishing,
Craig Cook - Pro Bass Angler
Meeting The Right Partner by John Daciuk
My name is John Daciuk. I am twenty-eight years of age and was born and raised in Whitby, Ontario. I am a college educated with a degree in business management. I am currently employed in retail management for the largest retailer in the world. I have been married for two years and still reside in the beautiful town of Whitby. I have numerous interests such as hockey where I coached and managed several minor league teams, which really developed my leadership skills. Other interests include hunting, cars and of course FISHING.
Approximately four years ago the mild interest I had in fishing now became an enormous interest. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. I had just finished coaching hockey after successfully winning the championship and wanted a new challenge. Getting involved in fishing full time would provide the challenge and competitive environment I now desired. Little did I know what the next four years would have in store.
I must admit my start in serious fishing is rare and somewhat lucky. I basically went from a backyard fisherman to a tournament angler in a short period of time due to one person. One of my best friends and partner, Paul Rich, decided he wanted a change as he has been fishing professionally for over ten years. After fishing the "Bass Ontario" series with his former partner in 1997 he decided to take a different approach. He would be the teacher and I the student. We would fish the "Top Bass" one-day series, try it out for a year and see where we are at. This would prove to be the busiest summer of my life. A changeover at work that year allowed Paul to have the bulk of the summer off. We fished whenever the opportunity was there. I got as much time off work as I could and the process began. Paul has been successful in the past and is very well respected in the fishing industry. He has won his share of tournaments and money and now I was the lucky one to learn from one of the best.
Throughout pre-fishing and tournaments I learned more than I ever imagined. I never realized what was involved in being a successful tournament angler. From casting to reeling to patience, all things I didn't realize were so complex and necessary for success. I went from having an old Zebco rod to having ten of the top quality rods and reels on the market. That summer I was taught the importance of water temperature, depth and weather conditions. One of the most important parts of fishing Paul showed me was the need to find the right structure for the right bait at the right time. Rocks, weeds, sand, pads and docks are some of the essential elements which must be addressed for success. I was exposed to different baits I never new existed. Buying a dozen live worms at the bait shop doesn't cut it here. I never could figure out why a bass would bite a spinning piece of metal with no scent or taste. Well I soon found out the speed of the bait imitating baitfish would cause a reaction strike resulting in some real nice bass. In that first year, in a tournament on Rice Lake I caught my first quality bass on a spinnerbait. If it weren't for Paul's confidence in that bait I would not know the importance of it on today's lakes. I had to be convinced I wasn't wasting my time. With Paul's patience and guidance he proved to me they work. Throughout the four years I have been taught the presentation of hundreds of baits. Crankbaits to jerkbaits, plastics to buzzbaits, they all have a time and a place. Figuring out where and when wins tournaments.
After that first year of Top Bass we were on our way. We won some money, finishing in several top tens with fifth being the best. For me, now it wasn't really about the money. It was the competition of it. I was taught so much that year I wanted us to do even better next year, especially for Paul. He puts so much time, effort and heart into this sport he deserves success. We then joined the Bass Mania circuit for the two-day events, which we have been doing ever since. The first tournament is Lake Simcoe. I have never fished this lake and we couldn't pre-fish as it was opening weekend. On the Saturday we put ourselves in a position for a nice finish on Sunday. I think we had around sixteen pounds and were roughly in fifteenth place. Well now it's Sunday, it's 100 degrees, no joke, and we need a great day. We ran the lake getting a fish here and there until we had our limit. But four fish for seventeen pounds and one fish at a pound is alright except this is Simcoe and all the big boys are fishing, so we needed to cull the pounder. It's 2:00 pm, our shirts are off and we are trying to site fish for a monster. I couldn't believe the fish I saw about ten feet down holding tight to a rock. Paul threw everything but the kitchen sink at it with no luck. I kept trying bait after bait, color after color and finally it bit on a smoke Yamamoto grub. Our hearts are racing as this five pounder is the difference between twenty-two pounds or seventeen and time is running out. It gets off right at the boat as I was reaching for it with the net. I have never been so disappointed in a tournament as I was now. Paul again showing his patience did not panic, and sure enough as he said it would, the bass went right back to the rock. Now the adrenaline is going again and all we are battling is time. It's 2:30 pm and we are trying everything. Now we have the white tube on and for this fish the tube has to be finessed right in front of him. He swatted it away several times with his tail as Paul's casts were slightly off. Trying to drop a tube ten feet down and place it perfectly is almost impossible. Only Paul was throwing it as I waited with the net. Well he did it, finally he grabbed it and fought like you wouldn't believe. When I netted that fish and it was safe in the boat I hugged Paul like we won a million dollars. We now had ten minutes to go ten miles to weigh-in as it was 2:50 pm.
We made it in and finished fifth. This was by far the best highlight of my short fishing career. This day gave us the confidence we needed to finish fifth overall for team of the year and only a few pounds out of first overall. I was now hooked on this sport and yes believe me it is definitely a sport.
Four years after Paul took a chance on me I have gained a respect for this great sport, a respect for the other anglers and a respect for the family that support us and all the other anglers out there. When you fish eight to ten weekends a summer plus pre-fishing it is very time consuming. Their understanding and enthusiasm has allowed us to be successful. Thanks to Paul we are very fortunate to be associated with great people who allow us, through sponsorships, to afford to do these tournaments. I have learned to always be opened minded, always be adaptable to change and most important never stop learning. This industry changes all the time and to be successful you have to change with it. I am pumped and more excited then ever to begin out fourth year together. What Paul has taught me money can't buy. One day when we win that championship together we will know it was all worth it.
by John Daciuk
A Fish Is A Fish Is A Fish... by Dave Johnson
You are probably wondering what this statement means. The answer to that question is simply that it is as much fun catching Walleye and Pike as it is Bass. Although I am a tournament bass angler and guide by profession, I do enjoy catching fish on a whole. When faced with tournament situations, I am bound by regulations to fish for a particular species, in which case if the conditions aren't just exactly right, I am forced to bear down and try to get the all important five or six bites before time runs out. But when I am not fishing in a tournament, I'm out on the water guiding and this is where the phrase a fish is a fish is a fish becomes the focus of my day and now, the focus of this article.
A prime example of this school of thought occurred last August. The conditions that morning were not conducive for a quality day of bass guiding. A major cold front had come through and we were faced with blue bird skies and a cool weather morning. I made the recommendation to my clients to change our strategy for the day and go after Walleye because in this business, if my clients don't catch a fish, I don't get paid. At that time they agreed to give the Walleye a try and it turned out to be a great day boating more than twenty-five in all! My point being that you need to remain flexible, unless you are in a situation that dictates what species you must be fishing for such as a tournament. Try to make decisions that work with the elements so you will ensure catching both quantity and quality of fish. My intention is to outline the conditions under which you need to concentrate on a specific species and the when's, where's and how's to achieve the quantity and quality goal. One additional point to keep in mind is that even though you may have decided to cooperate with nature and target one particular species for the day it is possible under certain circumstances to find an overlap of aggressive species such as a Walleye/Bass bite or a Walleye/Pike bite etc. This type of bite is a bonus so enjoy it!
By nature Pike are solitary fish but under the right conditions large numbers can be caught in a given day. The first thing you have to know about Pike is that they feed almost exclusively by sight. Taking this into consideration, I choose to fish Pike on sunny days and I usually have the best success between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Now this doesn't mean that you can't catch pike outside of this time period, this just seems to be the most consistent time frame for both numbers and size. I concentrate on what I call the high percentage areas, which are also known as "the spot on the spot." These areas are irregular weedlines (weedlines with many points and inside turns) with deep water access in which the Pike can lay in ambush. Most weekend anglers just troll over these areas but I have found through many years of trial and error that more fish will be caught by casting to the fish rather than by trolling over them. Make pinpoint casts to the inside turns and to the edges of the points. In my profession, I must be equipped for all situations because most of my clients are not experienced anglers and may not know how to use high tech baitcasting reels or know how to impart action on certain lures. I have come up with a versatile system called finesse fishing for Pike which guarantees catching large numbers and having fun while doing it. It is extremely important to feel the strike so the use of proper equipment is essential. I use is a medium action 6'6" high quality graphite Lamiglas Spinning Rod and a medium action spinning reel with a quality drag system. To prevent losing fish, I spool up with 30lb test braided line that has a diameter of 8lb test. Depending upon wind conditions I will use a 1/4 oz to 1/2 oz jig head with a highly visible three to four inch plastic curly grub preferably in either white or chartreuse. Working the jig correctly is crucial. I make a cast to the edge of the weedline and then watch the bait fall because many times the hit will occur as the bait is falling! Should the bait reach the bottom, I'll count to three and if a strike has not occurred, with a sweeping motion I'll lift the bait approximately two to three feet and let it fall again and continue this retrieve back to the boat.
Similar weather conditions also provide optimum time periods for catching other types of fish and you may find yourself in an overlap bite situation which involves the next species I would like to concentrate on - Smallmouth Bass. These fish, like Pike, are sight feeders and their bite is also the best between the high sunlight hours. During the summer and fall months I prefer to concentrate on tapering rock sand flats and a weedbed in the vicinity is definitely a bonus. The Smallies will come from the deeper water and position themselves on the flat to seek crayfish and baitfish. The best approach for catching these fish in clear water is to make long casts on to the flat to try and cover as much water as possible in order to find the schooling Smallies. I use a medium to medium light 7 foot baitcasting rig such as the "S" Glass series Lamiglas rod when fishing in this situation. This type of rod boasts a whipping action which enables me to cast farther which is important because if the Smallmouth see me they have a tendency to become lure shy. The baits that I like to throw are either spinnerbaits, rattletraps or suspending jerkbaits. I'll use a 3/4 oz spinnerbait in natural shad colours (silver/blue) and the same type of colour for a rattletrap but in a 1/2 oz size. I try to keep the spinnerbait and rattletrap baits as close to the surface as possible without actually breaking the surface and retrieve them with a high speed ratio baitcasting reel as quickly as possible. Though many colours will work for jerkbaits three colours seem to outperform the rest: the clown face, the crawdad and the natural black/silver. I use a stop and go retrieve with the suspending jerkbaits meaning a quick "2 then 1 twitch" method. Twitch the lure twice then stop for up to five seconds then twitch it once and pause for three or four seconds and then start over again. The type of line I choose affects the performance of all these baits and ranges between 14 and 20 lb test. As a general rule, the higher the class of line, the closer to the surface the bait will go so I choose my line in accordance to the performance I expect from the bait.
Largemouth Bass on the other hand are best caught under prefrontal and frontal conditions. It is best explained using the phrase "the calm before the storm." You have probably experienced it yourself. You've had to quit fishing due to deteriorating weather conditions which is just when the Bass are biting the best. This doesn't mean that they will only bite under these conditions. Another peak period is what I call low light conditions found during dusk and dawn. When under any of these three conditions, I prefer to throw top water baits around shallow cover such as lily pads, stumps or weed clumps. Fishing with top water baits is the most exciting of all presentations but trying to pull a huge Largemouth from behind or around such cover heightens the experience ten fold. I have found that having a long stiff 7 foot heavy action Lamiglas baitcasting rod with 20 to 25lb test Berkley Trilene XT on a baitcasting reel allows me to pull the big ones out with moderate ease. A rig that has brought many hours of joy to myself and my clients and into many boats is the scum frog. Its nature alone allows the scum frog to be thrown around this heavy cover which is again a bonus when working with inexperienced anglers. Due to the fish catching ability of the scum frog, there really isn't a wrong way to fish it. The most consistent fish catching method is to throw the bait near the cover, allow the rings from the splash to dissipate, move it a few inches, pause, and then continue with the same action. One note to remember is that before setting the hook after a strike, make sure that the bait has disappeared and that the line has started to move. At which point wind up any slack and with a tight line sweep the rod over your shoulder to set the hook and keep reeling to ensure the fish doesn't get caught in or around the structure.
Walleye are also known for being productive under low light, frontal and post-frontal conditions so once again you may experience an overlap bite. During these conditions Walleye have a tendency to move up onto the tops of weedbeds or weedlines and become very aggressive. These fish will react similarly to Pike in that they will strategically situate themselves on the weed points and inside turns and they have also been known to move in quite shallow around wood cover. I have had a lot of success casting for these fish with a shallow running crankbait (three to five feet in depth) preferably in perch pattern and/or natural shad colours. It is sometimes difficult to cast these smaller crankbaits into the wind with a baitcaster so my preference instead is to use a 7 foot medium light Certified Pro Lamiglas spinning rod with 8lb test Berkley Trilene XL line on a spinning reel. To capture these fish, I'll position the boat on the deeper side of the structure and make long casts towards the shallows. Though the fish may be aggressive a medium to slow retrieve seems to repeatedly catch more fish . The most important part to fishing Walleye in this circumstance is to remember that the bait must come in contact with the weeds or stumps. The deflection action of the lure is what gives it the most attraction to the fish. The only downside to this technique is that due to the lure's dual treble hook set up, it tends to get caught up frequently. I use a method that seems to lessen the hang-ups by using my rod to move the bait instead of my reel. The rod is far more sensitive than relying on the feel of your hand turning the reel handle and this method also allows you to control how often your lure comes in contact with the structure. So next time you head out for a weekend of fun, let the weather be your guide because not all fish are on the feed all the time. Your goal is to have fun and come home with a catch and after all sometimes a fish is just a fish is a fish.
Here's a couple of short helpful hints:
#1 Let the day dictate the species. When not fishing in a tournament, I enjoy just targeting a species of fish that I know will be eager and aggressively biting. That doesn’t mean that you are only targeting one species. On many of those occasions, quite a few of those species can be feeding in the same areas. A good example of this is during overcast days on rock shoals surrounded by deep water. It’s not uncommon to catch walleye and smallmouth feeding there during the day. A lot of anglers feel that the only time to catch walleye is in the morning or evening. It’s on days like that where throwing the right bait can produce large numbers and good quality size off those shoals. The prime shoals to be looking for are off shore shoals with a steep side on one side and a tapered side on the other. On overcast days the walleye and the smallmouth, especially with some wind, will move on top of the shoal looking for baitfish. It’s at this time when I will position the boat upwind and drift over the area using minnow imitations such as jerkbaits and crankbaits. Some of my favourite colour choices of jerkbaits and crankbaits on clear bodies of water are natural colours such as silver/blue or green/gold with a high gloss finish. On stained bodies of water I like using brighter colours such as firetiger (chartreuse/orange).
#2 Ice out perch fishing. The ice is finally gone and the boats can actually be launched! This is the best time of year to catch perch. The males are getting ready to spawn and the big females are right behind them. When searching for perch immediately after ice out, knowing where to find them is more important than how to catch them. The techniques for catching them are simple and very reliable. I’m going to concentrate more on where to locate them. Since perch spawn on either gravel or a hard sand bottom locating that type of structure on the map can be very useful before heading out. The other thing to remember is that the spawning fish are looking for the warmest water to go along with the specific structure. So when heading out on a new body of water make note that the warmest water is always on the northeast side. Finding a northeast side that is relatively protected from the wind with a nice hard bottom is always a goldmine. Concentrate on depths of 3 to 8 feet of water. To catch the perch is quite easy using a small slip float and a tantalizing soft plastic presentation such as a salted tube or a shad style bait. The weight of jighead that I prefer to use is either a 1/64th or a 1/32nd. Keep in mind that these fish are there to spawn so try to take only the medium sized fish and release the larger ones because they are the better breeding stalk.
by Dave Johnson
My First Competitive Tournament by Adam Crawford
It'll all started off when my boss from Hastings Takle asked me if I wanted the day off, if I would want to fish a reel fishing competition bass tournament on Rice Lake. I wouldn't pass that opportunity up in a minute so I quickly said yes. So that night I called around to a few of my friends and finally found a partner which was actually my dads friend. We started graphing the lake and looking for our spots. The first pre-fish didn't go over very well because we didn't have the greatest weather and we were just looking for some new spots. The next time we went out we hit our major spot, it was a rocky bottom that started at about 17ft and went up to about 8ft, we were getting all of our fish in 12'8ft , the first cast on the the spot my partner pulled out a 4 pounder, then we left so we didn't pound it and we didn't give it away to anybody else. I was so pumped for the tournament I was trying to calm myself down because when you don't take you time you'll never fish the way you should or have the capabilities of doing so. So finally after a few more pre-fishes the night before was finally here. We used my boat which is a 17ft mirrow craft with a 20 merc and a foot controlled electric. That night I was busy getting everything ready and all of my lines cut off so we wouldn't give away our secret lures away to the competition. In the early morning about 4:30am my partner pulled a dirty trick on me, when he came up to wake me up he shouted at me that we were an hour late, so I jumped up like the world was ending and after I rushed downstairs him and his wife were sitting there laughing but it sure did get me motivated. So we gathered our equipment and got the boat ready and we were on our way to Dreamland resort in Hastings. We launched our boat and got ready for our long day on beautiful Rice lake. When we heard number 69 called we were on our way down the river to our first spot, I didn't even get my line in the water and my partner Joel had 2 nice smallmouth bass in the livewell. We were in an amazing spot, I seen something that I have never seen before. Smallmouth bass surfacing right around our boat. We were trying to pick up the odd smallie on surface plugs but they just weren't active on the top so we stuck to bouncing tubes off the bottom. It was great bringing in 4-5 pound bass constantly and after about an hour we had our five fish and started culling for the rest of the day. We had our 5 four pound smallmouths but we were still looking for the 6-7 pounder. After fishing our first spot till about noon we decided to try our other spot just around the corner. So we went there and we didn't even get a bit and we both had confidence in our first spot because when we left the smallmouth moved out of that spot so we knew that they would move back soon. We were still throwing tubes and finally we picked up a few bigger fish but nothing that would top the scales. We headed back to Dreamland for the weight-in hoping that we would be in the money. When we reached the docks my parents and our sponsor Gail Nicoll met us there and I got our fish out of the livewell and waited in line until it was my turn. While I was waiting I knew a lot of people there that came to see us weight -in so I was busy telling everybody about our day, but after a while it was my turn and our weight came close to 16.00lbs. I was so happy even know we weren't going to win but knowing that everything went ok. There was a lot of good weights and and they pushed us just out of the money to 11th place. Both me and my partner were very pleased and so was our sponsor for it being my first pro tournament. I would just like to thank my partner Joel Cutmore for fishing it with me and teaching me all of his secrets on how to fish smallmouth bass and to my parents and my sponsor Gail Nicoll from Hastings Takle for giving me this opportunity to compete in this great sport.
by Adam Crawford
Always Second by Jeff Evans
There are many factors that must come together for an angler to win a bass tournament. One wrong decision and it could cost you dearly. One of our ’99 Chevy/Mariner qualifiers was on Rideau Ferry. After day one we were in 18th place with 14 ¼ lbs, only 4 lbs out of first. We had a lot of confidence going into the second day of competition. We were on a pattern that no one else was on, so we had the water all to ourselves. Our first spot didn’t produce any fish, so we decided to move on to our next spot. After 40 minutes without a bite, we discussed making another move. At that moment, we caught a small smallmouth. A couple of minutes later we landed a 4 lb smallmouth, as well as a 2 ½ pound largemouth. We stuck to our pattern, duplicating it in two other areas, and we kept catching and culling bass all day. When we arrived at the weigh-in site, we were surprised to see a very short lineup. A lot of the teams did well day one, “bombed out”. We started feeling confident about our chances. Could this be the win I’ve been waiting for? NO, our weight settled in just under 15 lbs.
I began to think that I would be without a doubt, always be second best. After I finished feeling sorry for myself, I started looking at the positive side of things. I realized that we were up against more then forty of the top fisherman in Canada. Anytime you find yourself in the top ten, you’re doing pretty well. That second place finish did a great deal for my career; it gave me some recognition and the self-assurance that I have the ability to compete with the best there is. Don’t worry about the winning. As long as you put yourself in a position to win, that’s all you can ask for yourself.
We later took that confidence into a Bassmania fall tournament and it finally happened. My partner, Bernard and I caught five smallmouth that tipped the scales at just over 25 lbs. It wasn’t the Classic but it finally got that “monkey off my back”. Oddly enough, three weeks after that big win, we finished our last tournament of the year. We came in 2nd once again, this time…with no regrets.
The Competitive Edge
Anyone who loves fishing, is aware of competitive fishing tournaments being held on or near your favourite bodies of water. It’s a competitive sport, no different than hockey, football, tennis or golf. It’s the side of human nature battling to be the very best in their given sport. There is local derby’s run from a tackle shop or resort, kind of like a company baseball league playing for some fun and bragging rights. Then there’s the middle leagues where you could be competing through a series of events, paying entry fees and fishing against 50-150 other boats trying to come out on top and of course the national league, the best anglers in the country competing for gold, striving to win the big one, having to fish through out the season to qualify for the main event, the classic. Winning the classic is like winning the playoffs to an angler, which is like winning the Stanley Cup to a hockey player.
There is one main difference in the fastest growing sport in the country. Fisherman or women don’t get old, they get experienced. What other sport can a six-teen year old compete against a fifty year old, usually the older of the two wins. In most other sports you are at your prime from 20 years old to 30. In fishing you get better as you get older, with some people in their 70’s still going strong. Try that playing football. “Just kidding”. But seriously here’s a sport that you can actively participate in for most of your life time. How to get involved in this high octane sport? Well one of the best ways is to join a local club or fishing association. Going to fishing stores or sportsman shows is a great way of finding what fishing clubs are in your area. You may also find other benefits of being in an organization like community projects habitat creation, and restoration, improving your local waters, a strong voice to ensure the future of fisheries and first hand knowledge on fishing techniques and products.
Beginner anglers tend to be intimidated some what by tournament anglers but we all started in the same place out on the water trying to catch a fish. In a nutshell if fishing is more than a passing interest to you, I highly recommend you to get involved with a local club or organization. By taking that step I assure you, you will be making memories as well as friends, and a few enemies. “Just kidding again”, and not to mention you will be catching more fish than ever before.
Big Bass On Topwater Baits
One of the biggest myths regarding big large and smallmouth bass is that you cannot catch them on topwater. This statement could not be farther from the truth. There is not a single day on the water that I don't have a topwater bait tied on.
My favorite method of topwater fishing is the Excalibur Super Pop-R. Both methods are extremely productive and each can produce big fish.
There is not a single day on the water that I don't throw the Super Pop-R. This bait is by far the most versatile for catching both large and smallmouth bass. I will fish this bait in a foot of water or as deep as fifteen feet of water. My absolute favorite depth is between 7 - 10 feet and over standing weed such as rice weed or milfoil beds. There are many lakes in the Kawartha lakes area that have a variety of these type fishing locations where both large and smallmouth bass live together. One of the biggest errors made by anglers when fishing a Pop-R is that the angler tries to dictate to the fish what they want, this can prove to be a costly error. When I start out throwing the Pop-R I use a standard retrieve of, pop pop pause. However I find that most times unless the fish are feeling suicidal on that day, I have to vary my retrieves. On one day in particular on a Kawartha lake my partner was throwing a spinner bait and I the Pop-R. Generally on this lake the Pop-R is the best method for aggressive fish. After seeing my partner catch four small mouth and I was still sitting on a goose egg, I decided that I needed to make my retrieve very fast. I than began a retrieve of popping and reeling as quickly as I could using a 6:2:1 baitcaster with no pauses. I caught fish on each of my next three casts using this retrieve.
I personally don't feel that color of the bait is crucial. I am of the school of belief that, presentation and location is key over color any day of the week. Allot of anglers have there favorite colors, what they don't realize in a great many circumstances is that there presentation and location are crucial to they're success, and that's why they have hit and miss days.
The reason I prefer the super Pop-R is simple. I believe that big fish prefer bigger meals. It makes more sense for a big bass to exert the same amount of energy chasing a bigger meal than a smaller meal. Some of my biggest large and smallmouth bass have come on the super Pop-R. I expect to catch my bigger fish either early in the morning or later in the day. The general rule is that the bigger fish will eat early in the morning or later in the day. I am not saying that you cannot make them bite mid day but it usually takes a presentation change i.e.: pig and jigs or Texas rigged applications. The bigger fish are more aggressive early or late in the day and are more apt to chase baits then they are mid-day. There are exceptions to this rule and the main one being overcast conditions, if it is overcast the big fish don't have to seek out cover and get out of the mid day sun.
My choice of Rod and Reel application are very simple. I like a reel with some speed to it such as 6:2:1 retrieve speed. The reason I like this speed of reel is twofold. Firstly it is a distinct advantage if the fish is running at the boat, it is crucial to keep the slack out of your line and a faster retrieve will help you to do this. If you don't keep the slack out of the line then there is a greater chance of losing the fish. Secondly it is much easier to work the bait on days that the smallmouth want that Pop-R worked extremely fast. My choice of Rod is fairly basic. I like a medium action rod with enough back bone to set the hook but a fairly fast tip so the bait does not tear out of the fish's mouth. When shopping for a rod to suit this application I will test the rod bending the rod. I know that if the bend starts around the 3rd eye on the rod then the rod is suited to a Pop-R application for me.
As far as fishing line goes, I like a 14lb monofilament preferably clear in color. And the last thing that people never do or neglect to do is ensure that they're hooks are sharp. Excalibur makes an extremely sharp hook, however they will become dull over time through constant wear during use. Be sure to keep a file on board and sharpen hooks as needed.
by Jeff Evans
