Adjusting to a winter bite, Part 2

As I recall, when I stopped writing last Tuesday, we were talking about slowing down and fishing with the same Luck “E” Strike baits on the second day. That was the core of how things were. There’s no doubt in my mind that was the biggest thing I changed. But I also did something else different that helped a bunch. I expanded by areas.

It was bitter cold both days, at least as far as I was concerned. It didn’t seem like there was much of a reason for the bass to move or go anywhere else. I really didn’t see any significant changes in the lake. Nevertheless, I discovered something interesting. The fish did move, just not very far.

I expanded some of my spots by about 100 yards overall. That’s not much in a lake as big as Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees but it seemed like it helped me put fish in the boat. My observation is that with relatively stable weather conditions winter bass will still move from day to day. If I fish in those conditions again, I’ll make sure I keep that lesson in mind.

I have no idea why they do that but I suspect it has something to do with their feeding cycles or the forage. It’s cold and they’re lethargic but they still have to eat. In February, in that cold, nothing else makes any sense to me.

The biggest thing I learned, though, was about myself as an angler. I have to keep my emotions under control. It didn’t matter to the fish that I was the 2012 Bassmaster Classic champion. They could have cared less. All that mattered to them was how fast my baits were moving.

I played into that on the second day and ended up with a sack that weighed over 18 pounds. My first bass was in the livewell early and she weighed about 5 pounds. In short order, I had two more 4-pound beauties with her.

When I tried to force the fish to do it my way, instead of my doing it their way, I blanked. The problem was my presentation, not my lure and certainly not where I was fishing.  

As I look back on things, I have to say that for a guy who lives in a neighborhood where we worry more about sunburn than frostbite it was a real eye opener. Bass might be bass, but cold water bass don’t act like warm water bass.

That may sound obvious, but it’s something I needed to learn in the real world. It was important that I see it for myself. It’s one thing to know that in your head. It’s another to experience it on the water. The water lesson stays with you longer.

I just wish I hadn’t learned it the hard way. I hope someone out there can learn a little something from my mistakes and from my successes in Oklahoma. If so, it’ll make your winter bassing one heck of a lot more productive.

Chris Lane’s column appears weekly on Bassmaster.com. You can also find him on Twitter and Facebook or visit his website, www.chrislanefishing.com.

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Get a grip on basic sonar

Editor's note: This is the first of a series by Wilson Frazier covering every aspect of how to use, and get more out of, your electronics. Frazier is one of the leading experts in the industry on the setup and use of electronics. For more information, visit his website.

We'll start by defining sonar. It’s an acronym for SOund, NAvigation and Ranging. It is not visual. It’s all about sound. It’ll work as well in the dark as it does in the light. What you see on your electronics screen is nothing more than a visual interpretation of sound information.

Your sonar unit is not a "fish finder," and it’s not a "depth finder."

Sonar detects objects in water — suspended, on the bottom, or the bottom itself — by sending and receiving sound waves. It does that on our boats through a crystal in the transducer. The sound waves measure time over distance. That is, how long does it take for a sound wave to leave the transducer, bounce off of something and then return to the transducer as our boat is moving across the water’s surface? That gives us distance.

The only thing that's "live" (real time) on your sonar screen is on the far right side. Unless you're running an old paper graph, the screen isn’t moving at all. What’s happening is that lights — your screen is a grid of tiny lights — are being sequentially turned off behind the signal. This creates the illusion of movement. Everything past the right side of the screen is way behind you, so far behind you that you could almost never cast to it.

As you view the screen, and interpret what you’re seeing, keep three things in mind. If the line or object is going up, it’s because that line or object was coming into (toward) the sound waves from your transducer. If the line or object looks flat, the sound waves from the transducer are right over the top of whatever it is that you’re looking at. If the object appears to be going down, it’s because the sound waves from the transducer are moving away from it. (That’s why a fish looks like an arch instead of a straight line.)

If these lines are long, it’s because the sound waves were over the top of them for a long time. If they are short, it’s because the sound waves were over them for a short period of time. Boat speed has a big effect on that. It’s not all about size. Think of it this way: a rock that’s a foot long will look longer if your boat is moving 2 mph than it will look if your boat’s moving 10 mph.

Another thing: approximately 50 percent of the sound waves are concentrated in the power zone (cone) under the transducer. That circle is roughly one-third of the depth of the water you’re in. So, if you’re over 12 feet of water, your most detailed screen information comes from an area about 4 feet across directly below your transducer.

That’s not all you’re seeing, though. Some of the sound waves outside the cone are bouncing back to your transducer. You get some information from them. Think of it like a flashlight beam. You can see things in the middle of the light the best but you can see things on the outer edges, too.

And another thing: a soft bottom or object will look narrow because the sound waves bouncing off it are weak. There’s no strong, reflective surface. A hard bottom or object will look wide because the sound waves bouncing off it are strong. There is a strong, reflective surface. This is easy to understand if you think about dropping a golf ball on carpet and then on tile.

Pro Angler Tip: If you want to get really good at interpreting what you’re seeing with your unit do what Elite Series angler Dennis Tietje did when he decided to take his fishing to the next level — invest in an Aqua-Vu camera.

Mark something with your electronics and then look at it with your camera. It’ll help you make better judgments when you’re actually out fishing.

Next time — before we get any deeper into sonar — we’re going to cover basic GPS.

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Dispelling ice fishing myths

Most of the nation is in an ice box, and that means it’s ice fishing season here in Michigan.

While my southern brothers don’t get to experience this, many have a misconception of what it’s really like. They can’t fathom driving a truck onto a lake, drilling holes into ice to catch fish.

But for those of us who grew up fishing this way, it truly is fun and a huge industry up here.

I don’t get to do as much as I like because of travel in January and the Bassmaster Classic in February. But when we get a cold snap like this one before Christmas, I take advantage of it.

We fish for everything from bluegills to walleyes, pike and bass. I like it all, but there’s nothing like jigging for bass when they’re active.

I’ve learned just how active bass can be under the ice, and that has helped me with fishing cold water everywhere. I used to think you had to slow down and drag something on the bottom and hope for a bite. That’s not the case; fish are more active than you imagine. They will thump a jigging lure through the ice nearly as hard as they do an artificial lure in the summer.

Another misconception is that the fish always go deep in cold water. I’ve caught hundreds of bass through ice in less than 5 feet of water, especially during early ice season and on our shallow weedy lakes. Deeper lakes may be the exception but bass really don’t go as deep as you think in cold water.

To be an effective ice fisherman, it really helps to have a handheld GPS to help you find those spots and a portable fishfinder to help you locate fish under the ice.

Ice fishing graphs are amazing. You can see the fish, structure and cover plus the tiniest ice jig on the screen. I never fish a hole unless I see fish activity on my Humminbird Ice 55 and can put my bait right on the nose of those fish.

I can’t sit in one spot, so I drill a lot of holes along what I determine to be the outer edge of a weed flat. I may drill 75 holes or more, then go back over them with my graph and jig the holes that contain fish.

I work my bait tied to a short spinning rod and can sometimes predict a bite before it happens. I’ll see a fish drawn to the bait and if it doesn’t respond, I’ll experiment with tip movements to make it bite.

My favorite baits are a 1/4-ounce Strike King Red Eye shad (chrome or gold sexy shad), small jigging spoons, blade baits like Silver Buddies, or even small grubs and Strike King Bitsy Tubes.

Another techy tool I plan to try this winter is a HydroWave Mini electronic sound device that mimics sounds to attract fish. The mini is a portable unit, and when used with my fishfinder, I can tell whether it’s drawing fish to my bait.

Bass fishing through the ice can be a great way to spend a winter afternoon. It’s not unusual to catch a dozen or so bass in three-hour trip, and while most will be 1- or 2-pounders, you can get a few 3s and 4s on a good day. What’s cool is the fish school; so once you get one to bite, you might catch six bass out of the same hole!

Remember, it’s all about the attitude!

Kevin VanDam's column appears weekly on Bassmaster.com. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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The physical side of fishing, Part 2

This week I want to go into some detail about how I selected my trainer and why I think it’s so important to do something like that right.

First, let me say that I have nothing against sweaty gyms and musclebound meatheads. They have their place in the world, especially if you just want to get into a little better shape. They’re just not for me. I want true professionals who take the time to customize workout routines and really help you do something special.

The other thing is that I’m on the road all the time. This business is nothing if it’s not constant travel. I don’t want a program that’s all about fancy, specialized gym equipment. I need a program that I can do in my room or on the dock before or after I go fishing. I don’t have the time to travel someplace to work out and I don’t have the room in my truck to carry a lot of stuff. It’s filled to the brim as it is.

Those are a couple of the things that impressed me about Dan Burns. We get together three or four times a week as of right now. That’s fine. I’m home and doing less travel than normal. But it won’t be that way for long.

He’s going to fix me up with a system that uses small, light weights and a set of straps or pulleys that I can hook to a door or to the back of my truck. Heck, he’s even working with me on how to go up and down stairs so that I get some exercise when I do that. It’s perfect for the lifestyle that I live.

Like I said last week, I can already feel the difference after about six or seven weeks. I can only imagine how much better I’ll feel when the Classic rolls around in February.

This is really what I call the third part of professional bass fishing. There’s the equipment part, the psychological part and the physical part. I’ve worked for years developing tackle and equipment. That’s gone pretty well.

Last year I worked hard with a sports psychologist — I’m still using the things she taught me — and I think that’s gone pretty well, too. I mean, I’m not as calm and controlled as I want to be but I’m a heck of a lot better than I used to be. And now I’m working on the physical.

I’m not here to tell anyone how or what to do with their fishing lives. That’s a personal decision each person has to make for themselves. We all have our own goals and aspirations, and we all define success differently.

All I can say is that this is what I’m doing and, so far, it seems to be working. Take what you can use from what I’ve said about these three topics and throw away the rest.

Next fall, or maybe about this time of the year, I’ll let you know how it all worked out.

Mike Iaconelli's column appears weekly on Bassmaster.com. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter or visit his website, MikeIaconelli.com.

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10 best tips for fishing wood

If both bass and bass fishermen have a magnet, it is a strategically positioned piece of wood.

That can take many forms: a fallen tree with its roots on the bank and its branches extending well underneath the surface; a stumprow situated on a deep water ledge; shoreline bushes freshly flooded by rising water; a forest of standing timber; the extensive root system of a cypress tree; a brushpile anchored in a secret spot; a dock piling; a lone log hugging the lake bottom.

Those are just a few examples of the types of wet wood that attract both angler and prey. They are features of a lake, reservoir or river where the proper approach will usually produce a strike.

Here, then, are the 10 best tips for fishing wood, from some of the country's most experienced pros and guides.

To watch Kevin VanDam dissect a fallen tree, with jig in hand, is to see a skillful surgeon at work.

VanDam makes initial pitches to the heart of the tree, probing each individual junction formed by a major branch. His boat is positioned perfectly to enable him to methodically work each intersection of limbs along the trunk during the retrieve. If that effort goes unrewarded, the Michigan pro then drops the lure along the outer portions of the shallow, submerged tree.

"I always go right to the middle of cover, even if I have to throw over a lot of limbs and stuff, because I believe my best chances of catching the biggest fish living in that tree are with that first pitch," the seven-time Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year says. "If you can get a bait in there real quietly and drop it on his head the very first time, your chances are a lot better (in that shallow water situation) than if you fish it from the outside and work your way in."

Few lures are as universally productive around submerged wood cover as the rubber-skirted jig. That is especially true of underwater brush and shallow laydown trees.

"You would be hard-pressed to find a better bait than a jig with those types of cover," emphasizes Joe Thomas, an accomplished pro from Ohio. "Day in and day out, there's no better bait for wood."

For casting and pitching to submerged brushpiles, Thomas utilizes a 1/4- to 1/2-ounce Arkie jig, which sports a standard stand-up-style head with a loud external rattle. Black-and-blue or chartreuse are his usual color choices. The exception is in clear water, when he switches to green-pumpkinseed. His trailer is an Uncle Josh No. 1 pork chunk (when the water temperature is 55 degrees or colder) or a 4-inch plastic craw that has been reduced to about 3 inches in length. Thomas trims the jig's weedguard at a 45 degree angle, down to about 1/8 inch above the point of the hook to ensure a better hooking percentage.

"My first concern with fishing brush with a jig is trolling-motor speed and boat control," he adds. "To have total boat control, you need to try to fish into the current or wind. That way, you can actually govern your speed and you won't have the wind pushing you into the cover. The second thing I like to do is keep my trolling motor at a low, constant speed to minimize the noise and water displacement."

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How do I get more from my batteries?

Expert: Michael Simonton, Fremont, Ohio — The second year Elite pro is working hard to make a name for himself on the tournament trail.

If you fish from a boat, you've probably got several batteries in it — batteries for your trolling motor, a cranking battery for your outboard and maybe even a battery for your electronics. They take up a lot of space, add weight to your rig, and the best ones are not cheap.

It's important to get the most out of your batteries, and I've learned a lot about battery care since joining the Crown Battery pro staff. These tips should help you as much as they've helped me.

Lithium grease isn't just for science fiction films anymore. Actually, it never was -- it's real stuff, and it will improve your battery performance, but you have to use it correctly.

Ken DukeLithium grease is great, but only to prevent corrosion.

The grease doesn't belong on your connections. It will only reduce your power flow there. The only place you want to put the grease is on the nut and on top of the post after you've tightened everything down. It's designed to prevent corrosion, not to enhance your connection.

The battery compartment of your boat can be a mildew greenhouse if you're not careful, and it's important to keep everything clean back there. Dirt and mildew buildup on your batteries — even and especially on the sides of the batteries — will sap your power.

The good news is that it's easy to fix and prevent. A little soap and water works wonders to keep everything clean and working properly.

Loose connections are the biggest thief of battery power. If your battery doesn't have a good connection to your wiring, you're not getting everything you can out of it. Be sure tighten everything down and check it frequently.

It's even a good idea to check your connections throughout the course of the day. A long drive to the lake followed by a lot of running around on the water can loosen your connections and keep you from getting maximum power.

A hydrometer is a tool that measures the relative density of a liquid — like the water in a battery. A battery hydrometer estimates the state of charge of a battery by measuring the density of sulfuric acid solution in it.

A good battery hydrometer can tell you if your battery cells are functioning properly. If they're not, it's time for a new battery.

When adding water to your batteries, use distilled water or "pure" tap water. For most of us, "pure" tap water isn't an option because our water supplier adds chemicals to our water that may be good for us, but they'll hurt a battery. You can pick up distilled water at most grocery stores.

And when you're refilling your batteries, don't overfill them. That's a battery killer! Only fill them up to about 1/8-inch below the vent well. If you overfill the battery, it will lead to tray corrosion and can cause extensive damage to your battery and boat.

Just because you've parked the boat in the garage for the winter doesn't mean it won't need a little regular maintenance. That's especially true with your batteries.

Ken DukeKeep the aspirin in your medicine cabinet, not your battery.

Charge your batteries three times over your off-season: (1) after your final trip of the year, (2) around the mid-point of your off-season and (3) right before your first outing of the next season. This will add life to your batteries and keep them powerful when you need them.

And here are some well-known myths about battery care.

This was true a long time ago, when car batteries were encased in hard rubber that was porous. Back then, leaking battery acid could create a conductive path through the floor and drain the battery. With today's battery cases, it won't happen. Concrete is no longer the enemy!

It's just not going to add enough of a charge to help you crank a motor. Aspirin might relieve a headache caused by a dead battery, but it's not going to do much for the battery itself. Charge it or replace it.

For more on battery care, check out the Crown Battery FAQ page.

Originally published June 2013

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How can I reduce fatigue when deep cranking?

The longer I'm in this business, the more respect I have for the guys who came before me and who are still at it. A lot of fishing fans don't realize how demanding a full day on the water can be —especially if you're getting older.

I'll turn 50 next year, and there are days when I feel every day of it, especially when I'm deep cranking or doing any sort of fishing that's really physically demanding. Big baits, long casts and hard cranking can take it out of you even if you're young and healthy. If you've got a few years in your rear-view mirror, it can be brutal.

That's why I worked with the folks at Lew's to create a new handle design for cranking rods. We call it the "Palmer," and it will definitely make your crankbait fishing easier, less demanding and more productive.

We all know what to look for in a good cranking rod blank. We want plenty of length to make long casts, a soft and forgiving tip and midsection that helps to keep the hooks in the bass' mouth and the slow action that you get from fiberglass and composites.

Unfortunately, too often we overlook the handle which is important because that's where the angler meets the rod. Conventional casting rod handles have a trigger that requires you to divide your fingers and wrap them around the handle and reel. That puts your wrist, elbow and shoulder at angles that can add to your fatigue and may even contribute to tendonitis or other problems.

The Palmer keeps all of your fingers above the trigger during the retrieve and keeps your wrist at a more comfortable and ergonomically-friendly angle. Match it up with a slower reel, like the Lew's BB-1 Pro Series in the 5.1:1 gear ratio, and you have a combo that will take a lot of the fight out of the biggest and deepest diving crankbaits on the market.

Another thing you can do is to really refine your mechanics. A good long cast with a big deep-diving crankbait doesn't have to involve every muscle in your body. It should be efficient and smooth, involving your wrist, elbow and a slight turn of your upper body. It shouldn't look like you're throwing a discus at the Olympics.

If you've ever watched my friend David Fritts cast, you know how economical the movement can be. David has probably reeled a big crankbait more miles than anyone I know, and that wouldn't be possible without good mechanics. He's won a Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year award and a Bassmaster Classic and can throw a big crankbait 60 yards or more because he uses balanced gear and lets the rod and reel do the work. Believe it or not, he does most of his casting and cranking while sitting down!

To get more out of your deep cranking with less wear and tear on your body, use the right gear and get the bugs out of your mechanics. You'll catch more bass and feel better at the end of the day.

Work smarter, not harder.

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Elites to take on sweet Seminole

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series profiling 2014 Elite Series locations.

The Bassmaster Elite Series pros will be “grinning from ear to ear” when they kick off the season at Lake Seminole March 13-16 believes Florida's Shaw Grigsby. Grigsby knows this storied 37,500-acre reservoir well, having won two of the 13 Bassmaster events that have happened here.

“The whole lake will be good in March,” Grigsby says. “And very few patterns won’t work, so the pros will be able to play to whatever their strengths are.”

Located in Georgia’s southwest corner along the Florida border, Seminole’s bass spawn peaks in February, Grigsby points out. There will be spawning activity during the tournament, but many of the bass will be on a postspawn feeding spree.

You might think that Grigsby, who excels at bed fishing, will concentrate on spawning bass. That could happen, but Grigsby isn't locked into sight fishing.

“I finished third at Seminole once and caught every bass on a lipless crankbait,” Grigsby says. “And, it was full spawn time. Seminole is a great cranking lake.”        

Key areas on the main lake will be sand bars and high spots that have stumps and submerged hydrilla. A jerkbait or lipless rattler could score big here.

Schools of bass will also be relating to main lake creek channel drops, Grigsby adds.

“I look for structure guys like Timmy Horton and Paul Elias to be extremely competitive,” Grigsby says. “Mike Iaconelli wiped us out at Seminole once by fishing one of those drops.”

Grigsby also believes that everything from drop shot fishing to punching hyacinth mats with heavy Texas rigs could be productive. Could the shad spawn be a factor?

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Starter kit for bass

It's hard to decide which lures to buy when you're new to bass fishing. There are so many of them, and you don't have enough money to get them all. But, if you make the right choices, you can put together a small collection of lures that will catch bass anywhere. Let's look at some good ones for getting started in bass fishing.

Have you ever seen a bass "explode" on a topwater bait? The bait is chirping along on top of the water without a care in the world. Suddenly, Moby Bass leaps up from nowhere, and the bait disappears into its big mouth.

Because you see the strike, there is no doubt about when to set the hook. You can also see how a topwater bait acts when you twitch the rod or crank faster or more slowly.

Popper: The silver and black 1/4-ounce Rebel Pop-R is used by many professional bass fishermen. This includes Zell Rowland from Montgomery, Texas, who has won tournaments with the Pop-R and Zell Pop. Rowland catches many bass up to 3 pounds — and sometimes even larger — on a Pop-R.

The Pop-R works best in clear water where you can see down at least 2 feet. Cast it next to bass cover along the shoreline, such as boat docks, fallen trees and the edges of weeds. It also catches bass in the middle of ponds.

 After the Pop-R splashes into the water, let it rest until the ripples die. This is when many bass strike. Hold the rod level with the water, and give the bait a soft, sideways twitch. You want the bait to "pop" the surface while moving a short distance. Let the Pop-R rest for a few seconds, and pop it again. Then continue the pop-pause retrieve back to the boat.

Buzzbait: A buzzbait doesn't float like a Pop-R, so you have to start reeling immediately after it hits the water. Its blade sputters on the surface like an airplane propeller and triggers strikes from big bass. Buzzbaits cover water quickly and rarely snag because the hook rides up. They catch bass in clear to murky water and are especially good when pulled over weeds.The 5/16-ounce Triple Clicker from Bass Pro Shops has a triple blade. This lets it work on the surface with slower retrieves than standard double blade buzzbaits. Slow retrieves usually produce more strikes than fast retrieves. Cast beyond the cover whenever you can, and run the buzzbait over the bass. You can't go wrong with a white skirt and a silver blade.

Jerkbaits are slender minnow-shaped lures that work well in clear water. The basic retrieve is a jerk-jerk-pause, jerk-jerk-twitch-pause rhythm that makes the bait dart along under the surface. These lures pull bass up from rocky bottoms, submerged weeds and out from under boat docks.

Floating: Fish a 1/2-ounce Bomber Long A (model 15A) when bass feed after the spawn. Use quick jerks with short pauses, because the bass are hungry and active in the warm water. Try the Silver Flash Blue Back color.

Suspending: Working a jerkbait with soft twitches and long pauses catches big bass in cold water before the spawn. Fish a suspending jerkbait that hangs in place during pauses so the sluggish bass have time to react. Smithwick's 3/8-ounce Suspending Super Rogue in the Clown color is a proven producer.

The spinnerbait catches bass of all sizes spring through fall. It works in clear to muddy water and from less than 1 foot deep to more than 10 feet deep. The overhead wire and spinners protect the upturned hook. As long as the spinnerbait is moving forward, it bumps through most weeds and limbs without snagging.

Willowleaf Blade: Bass feed mainly by sight in clear to lightly stained water where they can easily see a long, flashy willowleaf blade. Strike King's 1/4-ounce Premier Elite spinnerbait has a willowleaf blade and a smaller Colorado blade, a good combination. Get the white shad pattern: It has silver blades and a silvery skirt.

Colorado Blade: In stained to muddy water, bass feed more by sound than sight. A spinnerbait with a single, round Colorado blade puts out thumping vibrations. Bass charge after this spinnerbait even before they see it. Booyah's 1/4-ounce single Colorado blade spinnerbait in chartreuse with a gold blade will do the job. Fish it around stumps, stickups and other wood cover.

Wiggling crankbaits can imitate baitfish or crawfish. They cover water fast, and bass usually hook themselves on the sharp treble hooks.

Super Shallow: A crankbait like Mann's 1/4-ounce Baby 1-Minus runs no deeper than 12 inches. Choose a baitfish color like Wild Shiner or Tennessee Shad, and crank it over weeds that grow up within inches of the surface.

Square Bill: Fat, shallow running crankbaits that have square bills bounce over stumps and limbs and rarely snag. Bagley's 7/16-ounce Balsa B is especially snag resistant. Stop cranking the Balsa B for a second when this buoyant bait hits something and floats free. Chartreuse with a black back is a color that produces well when cranking wood cover in murky water.

Lipless Rattler: Lipless rattling crankbaits, like the 1/4-ounce Rat-L-Trap, swim with a tight, vibrating wiggle that makes its internal BBs chatter. The commotion excites bass into biting in all seasons, and especially in the spring and fall. Cast this crankbait over weedbeds and into open water. Keep it away from wood and snaggy bottoms, because the hooks latch onto anything they touch. The chrome with a blue or black back color catches bass anywhere.

Soft plastic baits are harder to fish than most other lures. That's because the bites are light and hard to sense. You'll have an easier time learning with plastic baits that you fish without weights. Since you normally fish these baits within a few feet of the surface, you often see the strike.

 Even if you don't see the strike, a bass tends to hold onto a soft plastic bait longer if it doesn't have a weight. Watch your line closely because you'll see many strikes you can't feel. If the line jumps or starts moving off, reel in the slack and set the hook as hard as you can. Texas rig these baits with a wide gap 3/0 worm hook, and you can twitch them over the thickest bass cover. You can also skip them far up under boat docks.

Floating Worm: A white or bubblegum color floating worm stays up near the surface where you can see its bright color. The 6-inch Weedless Wacky Worm has a short piece that extends from the middle for the hook.

Soft Jerkbait: Twitch Zoom's white/pearl 5-inch Super Fluke on or just below the surface. Its baitfish shape and darting action make it look like an injured or fleeing minnow.

Senko Style: One of the most productive baits used by the pros is the Senko style worm. Kinami's 4-inch Flash in the watermelon color is a good example. Cast this bait next to cover and let it sink. It falls with a gentle wiggling action that bass can't resist. Almost all the bass strike as the lure sinks.

All the lures mentioned here fit neatly into a size 3700 utility box. It's just like the ones the pros use. This flat box is clear, so you can see what's inside. Removable dividers let you customize it to make long and short compartments as you need them. And, it's small enough to fit into a backpack when you bicycle to a fishing hole.

A 6 1/2-foot medium action baitcasting outfit with 12-pound test monofilament is a good match for all the lures mentioned here. Another good choice is a 6 1/2-foot medium action spinning outfit with 10-pound line.

 All bass anglers should have three important tools in their tackleboxes:

Line clippers. Never bite through the line because this can damage your teeth.Needle nose pliers. They remove stubborn hooks from bass and reshape bent hooks.Small sharpening stone. Smart fishermen check their hooks often and immediately sharpen dull points.Originally published August 2007

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Ike's tips for catching smallies from bald spots

Mike Iaconelli didn’t get the victory or Top 12 finish he wanted at the Bassmaster Elite Series Plano Championship Chase tournament on Lake St. Clair last August, but thanks to bald spots, he caught 47 pounds of smallmouth and hauled home $10,000.

No, Ike’s not referring to a lack of hair on his 41-year-old head, but instead, places on the bottom of the lake in 10 to 15 feet of water where the vegetation stops growing, and in turn leaves a very clean bottom.

“When you get to a lake like St. Clair, it’s so flat for miles across the bottom, that you have to pay real close attention to any little change on your sonar screen,” said the 2006 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year.

“Sometimes that tiny change is represented by just 1 foot of depth, and sometimes it’s represented where the aquatic vegetation growing on the bottom stops all of the sudden to form an edge with a bald spot of sand and gravel,” explains Ike.

“The vegetation looks like a guy’s short spikey hair growing off the bottom of your sonar screen,” grins Ike. “Well, where the ‘hair’ stops and the bottom goes bald is where you want to start looking for smallmouth.”

Iaconelli finds the majority of these bald spots with his sonar, but also admits that sometimes he can spot them with his eyes because they look like 100- to 300-foot-long blue holes in contrast with the surrounding water.

Once he or his transducer have the bald spots located, he combs them with four primary lures. Admitting, like most Bassmaster Elite Series anglers in the August 2013 tournament, that a drop shot rig caught the majority of his fish.

Alan McGuckinIaconelli shows off two healthy Lake St. Clair smallies.“When the wind blew, and the fish were more aggressive, I could catch them with a 3/16-ounce tube on 6-pound fluorocarbon, or by cranking a Rapala DT10 or DT14,” said Ike. “But when the wind stopped blowing, the surface slicked off, and the bite got tougher – that’s when I had to use the either the traditional drop shot, or what I call the ‘Power Shot’ with a big 1/2-ounce weight.”

The “Power Shot” is a drop shot rig with highly oversized components.  Instead of 6-pound line on a spinning reel, Ike bumps up to 10-pound line on a baitcaster. Then, in place of a tiny hook and finesse worm, Ike uses a Berkley soft jerkbait on a large 4/0 worm hook. “I’m trying to get their attention with the Power Shot rig,” says Ike. “It’s like throwing a big 3/4 -ounce football jig for largemouth – when that big weight hits the bottom it’s like a cannonball – it creates a disturbance that they have to come investigate.”

No matter the lure, Ike stressed that none of the 47 pounds of smallmouth he brought to the scales came from within the vegetation. “No matter which of the four lures I used, I never fished right in the weeds. I always fished right on the edge of the weedline, or mostly, in the middle of the bald spot,” stressed Iaconelli.

This time, bald really was beautiful. Pretty like a $10,000 tournament paycheck.

View the original article here

Smallmouths and fall cold fronts

To hear a lot of anglers tell it, cold fronts are about as bad as anything can be as far as bass fishing is concerned. That might be true (maybe) with largemouth and it might be true (sort of) for spring smallies. It is not true, however, when it comes to fall smallies. In fact, fall cold fronts actually turn them on.

Exactly why is something a lot of us disagree about. I think it’s because sudden cold weather triggers a response in them that says it’s time to feed up before winter arrives. If I’m right, that means all the talk about frontal bass wanting small, subtle, slow moving baits isn’t true. What they really want is something to eat — a lot of something to eat — and they’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.

So anyway, there’s a cold front that’s supposed to blow across much of the country this weekend and early next week. We need to take advantage of it.

The bait I like the best for the conditions we’re experiencing right now is a hard jerkbait. There are several good ones around. I’d say you should pick the one you have the most confidence in and go for it. Natural colors seem to work best for me, but if the water has a little stain to it you might want to consider something with chartreuse or red on it.

It’s important to keep your jerkbait moving. Slow pulls and long pauses are usually not the ticket in October and early November. Short, sharp jerks followed by very short pauses are much better. These are feeding fish. There’s no reason to tease them. Force them to make a decision.

I also like spinnerbaits for fall cold front fishing. Double bladed models are good but so are single spins with big, hammered Colorado blades. Again, keep them moving.

Nothing I’ve said means that you shouldn’t try a jig, especially if there are a lot of crayfish in your lake or river. Jigs have always been a staple for me, and I suspect they always will be. Browns, green pumpkin as well as peanut butter and jelly are always good. That said, black and blue works darn near anywhere.

When you’re picking a spot to fish, it’s important to pay attention to the shad or whatever other forage is in your lake. In some places around the country they’re already back in the creeks. In other places they’ve just started to move and you’ll find most of them still in open water, but near the creek mouths.

The importance of analyzing your local conditions cannot be overstated. In some of our northern states there’s already been a hard frost and guys are wearing long underwear when they’re out on the water. Here in Tennessee, however, we haven’t even come close to having a frost. That makes a big difference.

Right now is the time to get going. If you wait more than a couple of weeks, you’ll probably miss some of the best smallmouth fishing of the year.

View the original article here

McClelland’s favorite fall lures

You wouldn’t expect a guy nicknamed “Pee Paw” to place speed at the forefront of his autumn angling success, but in the weeks surrounding Halloween, there’s no clowning around when 6-time B.A.S.S. tournament champion Mike McClelland hits the water.

The 45-year-old class act from Northwest Arkansas graciously shared the lures he reaches for in the peak of football season, and three of them are rather fast moving. “I’m generally always going to try to catch fall bass on a shallow crankbait, spinnerbait or buzzbait first, and I’ll mix in the jig secondarily,” says McClelland.

He speaks of each lure, and the specifics of his use of them, in the paragraphs that follow.

“This has become my favorite fall crankbait,” say McClelland. “I throw it these days in place of the real small balsa baits that I used to throw around shallow wood and rock because it’s extremely buoyant and avoids getting snagged around thick cover.”

Notable is the fact that he pairs his shallow crankbaits with a fast reel. “A lot of guys crank with a 5.3:1 reel, but I use a really fast 7.3:1 Quantum EXO 100 because experience has taught me that bass want a crankbait to move fast in the fall. While a 5.3:1 is great for spring, and getting big baits deep in the summer, a faster gear ratio gets me way more bites when cranking in the fall.” 

Paired with 12-pound SunLine, McClelland can get the Fat John to run at least 6 feet deep, but typically he throws it on rocky banks and isolated wood in less than 3 feet of water using line as meaty as 20-pound test.

“I’m always going to have both a 1/2-ounce War Eagle spinnerbait - and a buzzbait - tied on at this time of year – and really, they go hand-in-hand,” says the winner of $1.5 million as a pro bass fisherman.

“It’s all about shad at this time of year, and both these baits will get bites as long as there are shad present,” he says “The key is to make sure the shad you’re fishing around are big gizzard shad. You’re likely to see lots of shad in the fall, but it seems like you’ll get more quality bites when you’re around bigger gizzard shad,” he emphasizes.

View the original article here

Fall topwater fishing

The warm summer days have faded away, replaced by the bitter chill of cold mornings and bone-chilling runs. Despite the dropping air temperatures, this is a great time to be on the water fishing. Bass are feeding up for the winter, and many folks have garaged their boats until the spring. During the fall it can feel like you have the whole lake to yourself.

Even though we may have changed our shorts and T-shirts to insulated pants and jackets, there are some things that you should not leave home without this time of year. I believe that there is a common misconception that the topwater bite dies out at the end of the summer.

Here in the Midwest there are quite a few of us that consider this time of year to be one of the best opportunities for good topwater fishing. In fact, there can be a great topwater bite going on even when snow begins to fall in November and December. Don't be afraid to fish on top with water temperatures in the 50s or even 40s. Anytime you have bass chasing baitfish up in shallow water, there’s an opportunity for a good topwater bite.

There are two baits that I keep with me long into the winter months, because they catch big fish. They have the added bonus that most other guys have quit throwing them, thinking the water is too cold. That leaves the big bites for those of us who like to throw topwater baits well into the fall.

I always keep a buzzbait and a walking bait rigged up and ready to go. The steady swimming action and the spray of water droplets being cast off by a War Eagle buzzbait perfectly mimics a school of baitfish fleeing across the surface. The sound and action of a buzz bait will draw strikes from big bass whether you fish it through heavy cover or in open water. As long as bass are pursuing baitfish at or near the surface, I will have a buzzbait at the ready.

My other fall/winter go-to bait is the Livingston Pro Sizzle. I can dial my trolling motor up and cover water quickly to search for active bass with this four-inch walking bait. Weighing in at 3/4-ounce, this bait is easy to cast long distances, allowing me to cover shallow flats without spooking fish. The side-to-side slashing action will fire up a school of fall bass like no other lure.

Working the Pro Sizzle at different speeds and even pausing it for a few seconds to rest motionless on the surface gives it a little more versatility over the buzzbait. If you happen to come across bass busting shad, this bait is perfect for making a quick cast to them before they have disappeared in deeper water.

Choosing the right places to fish topwater lures will increase your chances of connecting with quality bass during this time of year. I like to target the larger flats in the early part of fall, but as the season progresses I will move to the steeper areas, especially the rocky 45-degree banks. The rock seems to be the key component as winter approaches. Those areas will absorb heat and attract baitfish and invertebrates. Bass move around quite a bit this time of year, so any areas where bait is present can be productive.

Keep those surface baits tied on and you will soon agree that targeting these fish will put some big bites in your boat for a few more months.

My buzzbait gear:
• Wright & McGill Rick Clunn Reaction, Murky Square Bill rod
• Wright & McGill Skeet Reese Victory Casting Reel (7:1 gear ratio)
• 50- or 60-pound test Gama Torque 100% Spectra
• Trailer hook —always use a trailer hook!

My walking bait gear:
• Wright & McGill Rick Clunn Reaction, Murky Square Bill rod
• Wright & McGill Skeet Reese Victory Casting Reel (7:1 gear ratio)
• 50- or 60-pound test Gama Torque 100% Spectra (in ultra clear water, use a 12-pound-test mono leader)
• Add a second split ring to the rear hook (it allows the hook to move more freely)

View the original article here

Do you want the good news first?

If you've been keeping up with my “Becoming a Fit Fisherman” column, you'll know that I issued myself, and all of you, a 21-day challenge where we all tried to form a habit and break a habit over a period of three weeks. My bad habit, fried food. My good habit, daily exercise. 

Let's start with the bad news. As these things tend to go, I did great... until. Until I hit the road again headed to fish the Ross Barnett Central Open last week. The first 10 days or so before the Open, I was spot on. I started walking every day walking a little farther each day until I was up to about 3 miles. Then I fished a tournament on Saturday near home and drove to Ross Barnett afterward. 

I was up at 4 a.m. to fish the local derby; and by the time I had made it to Ross Barnett and setup camp, it was 10 p.m. I missed my exercise for that day, and so began the snowball effect. 

The next few days of fishing were a grind, and I turned to fried food for comfort and neglected my exercise because I was "too tired" from being on the water.

Excuses, excuses, excuses. I'm not proud to be making them but I am human as all of you reading this are. I thought initially in doing this blog, that I would have no problem with my will power since I would have the whole bass fishing community to hold me accountable. Even then, it's not easy. 

The good news, I am down 6 more pounds. That makes 20 overall. Definitely not where I wanted to be by now but I'm still moving in the right direction. Slow and steady wins the race right? 

I spent a couple days at home and got back into my walking. I’m on the road again now working the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship this weekend and I have a new found determination to hit the gym at the hotel every day and eat right. There's not a lot of extra time when I work a tournament either, but the stress level is a lot lower knowing that no matter if someone takes better pictures than me or not, I still get paid on Saturday. That's a lot better than knowing I have to catch more fish than someone to get paid when fishing a derby. More fun in front of the camera, but more steady behind it. 

I'm going to be bringing in more outside information in my next column. Many of you have offered various websites, apps and workout routines that have helped you. I also spoke with Elite Series pro Cliff "Cajun Baby" Crochet at the Open, and he offered up a quick workout tip that I'll be sharing. 

I'm looking forward to incorporating more and more content from other anglers and personalities from the bass fishing community. So stay tuned!

View the original article here

Topwater tune-up

In the last installment of "Pro Spective," I shared a few tips on how to develop proper cadence for jerkbaits, the focus of which was on how and when to move the lure.

Well, with this entry I'd like to discuss how those same basic concepts apply to topwater lures. Just like jerkbaits, it's all in how you move the lure.

When I conduct seminars on topwater fishing, I always talk about "The Moment of Truth" — the point at which a bass is poised beneath the lure and contemplating a strike. It's the most crucial time in topwater fishing. In that instance, what you do or don’t do, ultimately determines the outcome.

Should you pause or should you move the lure? And if you do move it, then how much?

Normally, those questions can only be answered by the fish and time on the water. But that doesn't mean there aren't a few short cuts. To better understand this critical point in the retrieve, let's consider the various groups of topwater lures and how it applies to each of them.

Depending on the type of topwater lure I'm throwing, I usually have a basic presentation in mind … at least to start with. And I'll always begin with that unless the conditions or the fish dictate otherwise.

Take poppers for instance. Let's say I'm trying to catch bass during the shad spawn. Obviously, the first order of business is to locate the shad. Once that's accomplished, then it's a matter of keeping the lure in contact with them and using the right moves.

Courtesy of RapalaThe Rapala X-Rap Walk (top) and Rapala Skitter Pop (bottom).

If the shad are tight against a rock bank, for instance, I'll make certain the lure touches down right at the waterline. (You'd be surprised at how many instant hook-ups this can generate.) If I don't get bit there, then I'll start the retrieve by using short, steady pulls of the rod tip to make the lure spit and slide across the surface. And I'll do this at a fairly brisk pace, pausing the lure only briefly between pulls. The spitting action emulates the tail flips of a shad on the surface perfectly, and it can drive bass crazy.

If that approach fails to produce, then I'll slow the retrieve — popping or chugging the lure more, using longer pauses between pulls.

If I'm trying to draw fish from submerged cover, like grass or brush, I'll usually begin with a much slower presentation, popping the lure a couple of times then letting it sit over or next to the target. And if I get a quick reaction from the fish, then I'll take that as a cue to speed things up, using quicker pops with shorter pauses.

These moves with a popper aren't guaranteed to work in every situation, but they are fairly reliable, and they provide a good place to start.

Now let's say I'm using a prop bait. Then what?

View the original article here

The key to catching more bass in fall

Fall is upon us. With longer nights and cold fronts, the leaves begin to turn, the waters cool and the fish move shallow. One predictable pattern this time of year is the migration of shad into the creeks ... and the resulting bass feeding frenzy!

Anglers can take advantage of this pattern to locate actively feeding bass and quickly fill a limit. Schools of bass are often easily found, and lipless crankbaits, soft plastic jerkbaits, spinnerbaits and topwaters will all catch them now.

But what is really going on with these shad? Why do they move into the creeks? What anglers observe is only part of the food chain dynamic. To understand it you have to closer look — or in this case smaller — to see what is driving the migration.

Shad are mostly filter feeders that eat primarily phytoplankton and zooplankton and cruise in huge schools, often traveling many miles in search of plankton-rich water. They roam the vast open areas looking for food. Early in the year, as rains and runoff bring nutrients into the lake, sunlight and warming water temperatures cause plankton blooms in the lake's open waters.

As summer gives way to fall, nutrients in the main lake are depleted and temperatures decline, putting a damper on plankton growth. In the shallow coves and creeks however, the last warm, sunny days can cause quick warm-ups, and the plankton can continue to bloom. Shad schools, which may include larger older fish from previous years and small juvenile shad that were spawned in late summer, migrate into the creeks in search of food.

This sudden influx of prey appeals to opportunistic bass. While they will usually not travel miles and miles following a school of shad, those that are resident in an area will certainly take advantage of the prey that swims into their home territory.

View the original article here

Battling fall cold fronts

There are two times of the year when cold fronts have a dramatic impact on fishing and one of them is right now – during the fall season.

Like the spring, fall brings in a lot of fronts with cold Canadian air pushing deep into the south. This can cause a severe change in water temperature as well as air temperature and leave the bass in a funk.

Those fronts are usually accompanied by heavy north winds that really diminish surface temperatures and can cause the lake to “turnover” in a short period of time.

Also, the lakes are usually lower because of dry summers or winter drawdown that begins in the fall. Low water diminishes the shallow water cover and most lakes get ultra clear.

All of those elements will affect the bite dramatically.

But you can still catch ‘em.

Of course, catching bass ahead of a front can be easy. But after the front passes and we get those windless, bright sunny days, the bass go into neutral mode.

There are two ways to attack the problem; fish smaller baits with slower presentations that antagonize the fish into biting or use reaction baits with erratic presentations that trigger reflex strikes.

My problem with finesse tactics is the fish can be anywhere and you have to fish painfully slow while searching for them.

Of course, that’s not my style, so I choose reaction baits that effectively fish the depth, cover and water clarity effectively. You can cover water faster and locate bass sooner with those presentations than you can with finesse baits.

However, you’ve got to match the lure to conditions. It’s difficult to fish a jerkbait in mattered grass, yet if you’ve got a clear rocky point it can be a good lure to make bass bite. It has a lot of erratic action and stays in the strike zone longer to trigger a neutral fish into biting.

You also can use spinnerbaits and crankbaits, but you have to use them with erratic retrieves and make sure they bang into the cover. A crankbait that crashes along the bottom and pauses periodically or a spinnerbait that rips through grass and changes speeds can trigger a reaction from a passive bass.

I also like walking topwaters like the Strike King Sexy Dawg that has a lot of erratic action but stays in the strike zone longer.

Look for baitfish, too. The bass are focused on shad so you have to be around bait to find the fish. Keep in mind that the baitfish won’t be very active early in the morning but they will get more active in the afternoon as the surface temperature begins to warm and the bass start chasing them again. That’s why the afternoon bite tends to be better during these brutal cold-front periods.

Stick to shad-colored lures and the more natural colors in the clear water. You can use baits with a little more color in stained water.

You’re not going to get a lot of bites, but by working lures with erratic action in those areas where you see shad, the bites will come.

Remember, it’s all about the attitude!

Kevin VanDam's column appears weekly on Bassmaster.com. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter.

View the original article here

The versatile swimbait

The days of the swimbait being a one-dimensional lure presentation are behind us. They are far more versatile than we imagined originally, due largely to the different shapes, actions, styles and rigging methods available to bass anglers today.

You can fish them deep or shallow, at various speeds, in cover or open water, or in clear or stained water. In many respects, they’re a lot like a spinnerbait but a different type of presentation.

So versatile, in fact, that I have one tied onto a rod every time I go out. While I still have a lot to learn about these amazing lures, I gained a lot more appreciation and knowledge about them this past season.

My lure sponsor (Strike King) now offers three different styles in multiple sizes, and I’m learning the subtleties of each and when to fish them.

For example, I was at a Kentucky Lake writer conference last week and fishing in the back of a creek when I saw huge pods of shad shallow and bass were chasing them. It was easy to get bit on a Sexy Dawg topwater, but once we caught a couple, the action shut down.

So, we rigged 4-inch Swimming Shiners (ghost minnow color) on 1/8-ounce shaky jig heads and a spinning rod. We made long casts to the shad schools that were in inches of water and caught the fire out of the bass roaming around them. The same fish that grew wary of the topwaters were gobbling the finesse swimbait.

The Swimming Shiner has a little more subtle action than Strike King’s Shadalicious hollow body bait and the Caffeine Shad which has a little more active tail.

They all have their time and place. It boils down to having the right presentation to match the conditions you’re facing.

Bass often are attracted to swimbaits but sometimes only follow or bump them. That’s when you have to make an adjustment in style, action color or speed to get them to bite.

The bulkier, hollow body swimbaits are best suited when fish want a slower presentation. Those baits rock from side to side and have a thumping tail action which is excellent through the prespawn period. They also can be good in summer and fall in stained water because of the extra vibration.

But sometimes the fish need to be finessed, which is where the Swimming Shiner comes into play. It is ideal for clear water and on those high, bright sky days when there is a tough bite and you need a more subtle presentation. You can fish it on a jig head, on a weedless belly hook for winding through grass or on umbrella rigs.

The Caffeine Shad falls somewhere in between and is my all-round favorite. It’s really well balanced and great for a weedless presentation around grassbeds and brush. I will use it on a Mustad Screw-lock Swimbait Hook and work it through cover. If I want the bait close to the surface I’ll put it on a 1/8 ounce, but if I’m fishing deeper or need a faster retrieve, I’ll use 1/4or 3/8 ounce. I’ve also had success rigging it on heavy jig heads and fishing deep along ledges.

So, if you’re not using swimbaits, take time to get to know the little nuances of each one and try fishing them in a variety of situations. When you get the right set-up for the conditions, you’re going to catch more fish!

Remember, it’s all about the attitude!

Kevin VanDam's column appears weekly on Bassmaster.com. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter.

View the original article here

Fishing Report October 21, 2013

Fishing Report October 21, 2013

Fishing has slowed down for the season and the weather made it tough to get out most of the days in late September and early October. The weather recently has been beautiful though Salmon Eye Charters have pulled all their boats for the season and will start fishing again in March. For anglers with their own boats fishing off Big Bank could still be an option as there should be feeder Chinooks out there. The weather has been great and should continue for another week so fishing is still an option. We had good numbers of Coho through Barkley Sound as was expected during September. If you are buy tackle for next season, Silver Horde has many different new colors in their three inch spoon which see to work very well for Coho and Chinook inside Barkley Sound. The 3 inch spoons worked well behind a 5-6 foot leader and flasher.

September fishing was very good for Coho in Barkley Sound until mid month and then it was important to run out to Big Bank if you were looking for salmon. In early September the Coho were about the same size as the Chinook and since the limit was 4 per person, it made it easy to go only 10 mins out of the harbor and fish Coho in protected water. The Coho were mostly in the 7-12 lb range and were at 20-50 feet mostly on 3 inch and 3.5 inch green/silver Silver Horde and Coyote Spoons.

Tight lines and enjoy your summer salmon! For current and indexed fishing reports check out http://www.salmoneye.net/category/fishing-reports/ If you are visiting the Tofino area please check out http://www.tofino-info.com/ for pictures and descriptions of beaches and trails, surfing and more! We also have great winter deals for two bedroom ocean view condos starting at $139 per night at http://www.vancouverislandvr.com./

Below are some pics from the summer fishing!

Sam Vandervalk
Fishing Charters Vancouver Island BC
www.salmoneye.net
1-877-777-4344

****
Sam Vandervalk
Fishing Guide Vancouver Island
www.salmoneye.net

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Wahoo Fishing Fort Lauderdale Happy Day Today

(132 posts) Wahoo Fishing Fort Lauderdale Happy Day Today
Fishing Fort Lauderdale on Happy Day Today with Capt. Zsak

A family from Maryland, Daniel Hearn, father Stan, motherCarole and friend Bernell, chartered the Happy Day Today along with theTopshotfishing team to do some deep sea sport fishing in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The whole family are avid anglers, and wereenthused about on an 8 fishing hour charter here in Fort Lauderdale FL.

Winds were out of the east northeast at 8 mph, seas running3-4 ft., temperature was in the mid 80?s. We left the dock at 7:30 am and fifteen minutes later lines were in thewater as we approached the sea buoy in Fort Lauderdale in 120 ft. of water. We put two plainers down, one with a doublehook Bonito strip with a green and white sea witch and the other with a blackand purple sea witch. For surface baitswe had four Ballyhoos and a Ballyhoo daisy chain teaser. With the fish gods on the angler?s side, westarted off with a bang, catching one Kingfish after another after another,winding up with eight Kingfish, which we kept and releasing 18 Kingfish. From there I could see some birds working thearea off shore, so we trolled towards the birds. As I got close I could see a school of Mullets migrating to the south, which isa good indication that the predators will not be too far behind. We wound up catching four Tunas and twoBonitos in this area.

I kept working the area and one of the plainer rods bentover with the line exiting at an extremely fast rate and the rod tip bouncingup and down, which is a strong indication we had a Wahoo on the line. Stan reeled in the fastest fish in the ocean,a Wahoo, which are recorded at 64 mph. Jackson, our mate, leaned over the side to gaff the vertical stripe, jawsnapping Wahoo, weighing 24 lbs. We keptworking the area ? again the tell tale sign of a Wahoo appeared as Danielreeled in another Wahoo weighing 28 lbs.

From there we went wreck fishing and we brought it oneAmberjack and eight Snappers.

With a smile on the angler?s faces and the fish box full offish to be brought back to Maryland, everyone retired to the a/c salon for theride back to the dock at Bahia Mar 801 Seabreeze Blvd. Fort Lauderdale 33316.

For a successful and adventurous deep seafishing charter Fort Lauderdale FL for Sailfish, Shark, Bonito,Mackerel, Swordfish, Snapper, Wahoo, Tuna, Mahi Mahi and Grouper contactCaptain Zsak. - 954-309-7457 or email us at tzsak@bellshouth.net Website: www.topshotfishing.com.

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Cabo San Lucas Sportfishing Report and Baja Fishing

(63 posts) Cabo San Lucas Sportfishing Report and Baja Fishing Jc Sportfishing Weekly Fish Report.
As the Admiral Seas It
Fishing Report: 10/16/13 to 10/23/13
Stop by Our Office for up to Date Fishing Report.
Jc Sportfishing Charters is a family owned and operated business and has been fishing in Cabo San Lucas for the past 18 years. Jerry, explains that his charter business is geared more for families and novice anglers, making sure everyone who charters a boat with him have a great time and lots of fun. We welcome families, and groups. We want everyone who fishes with us to take all the sites in and have memorable experience. This is what is most important to us. We have and do a few tournaments each year and can cater to fisherman who might be interested in tournament fishing. Lets get on with the report for this past week.
Tournament Time in Cabo

Prize monies for the Los Cabos Billfish Tournament

1st Extraction 625 lb blue marlin $295,425.00
2nd Expedition 516 lb blue marlin $27,000.00
1st in release Chupacabra $39,150.00
2nd in release Galati $5,400.00
3rd in release Cisco$3,600....00
Daily release Reel Quest $6,075.00
Tuna Day 1 & 2 39 lb & 65 lbs Reel Gold $20,081.00
Day 1 Wahoo Miss Behavin 26.5 lbs $6,693.00
Day 2 Wahoo El Suertudo 32.8 lbs $6,693.00
Day 3 Wahoo Minerva II 34.5 lbs $6,693.00
Bisbee Los Cabos Offshore Tournament



With an overall purse of $621,350 and local charities the benefactors, the 2013 Bisbee?s Los Cabos Offshore Charity Tournament wrapped up Sunday evening with a lavish awards dinner at the Baja Cantina Restaurant on Medano Beach. Teams North Star and Ultra Seal were the winners, equally dividing the available pot. Donald Whittier guided his local team to the top tuna, a 201-pound behemoth that was caught Sunday near the Gordo Bank. Gonzolo Castillo wound that fish in aboard Estrella del Norte, a custom outboard boat. The North Star team pocketed a check for $110,075 for its efforts.

Ultra Seal, led by Don Burts and his son Donnie, captured the largest dorado of the event. The 33-pounder earned the Lafayette, Louisiana team a check totaling $110,075. Burts and Company were fishing aboard Caliente, a 40 Cabo Flybridge skippered by Capt. Jaime Gonzalez. The two equal prizes represented the daily jackpots for each game fish category, plus the billfish share from both days.
In order to qualify, dorado had to weigh at least 30 pounds, while tuna needed to weigh 40 pounds or better. Blue and black marlin were also eligible species if they exceeded 300 pounds. None did, although John Peelman aboard Hot Rod came closest with his 282-pound black marlin, landed on Saturday.
A record 90 teams fished the 2013 edition of the LCO. The combined 591 anglers caught 71 billfish, including 24 blues, 36 striped marlin, 5 sailfish, one black marlin and dozens of smaller dorado and tuna. The overall billfish release ratio was 93 percent.
Team Galati was the top boat in the release division, scoring 800 points for one blue, three stripers and two sailfish. Carpe Diem was second with 700 points earned from two blues and a sail, while Team Salvatore?s was third with 500 points (1 blue, 2 stripers).
Cabo Riviera, an upscale marina and golf resort in East Cape, was the Presenting Sponsor. The others included Baja Cantina and the Wyndham Resort in Cabo San Lucas.
The biggest winners of the 2013 Los Cabos Offshore Tournament are local Baja charities. Donations totaling $132,150 will be given to local causes to serve the underprivileged in the greater Cabo region.
?We?ve had a great event, thanks to all our participating teams and the generosity of our sponsors, Cabo Riviera, Baja Cantina and the Wyndham Resort,? Tricia Bisbee told the banquet guests. ?We had more boats than last year, beautiful weather and we raised a lot of money for some very worthy causes. So thank you all and I look forward to seeing each of you this week at the Black & Blue.?


WATER: The water has been really nice and blue as of lately with water temperatures in the lower 80,s to high 70,s. With the calm weather and sunny days we expect the water to stay nice with swells 1 to 3 feet on the Sea of Cortez side and 2 to 4 feet on the pacific side.
WEATHER: The weather has been great really with lots of sun and light breezes. Our last bit of weather on the 14th of October which closed the port for the day is probably all the tropical weather we will see this year as things are starting to cool somewhat and typical October weather is setting in.
BILLFISHING: The fishing has been great for striped marlin and lots of Blue Marlin being caught all week with most of the fish being caught up at San Jamie on lures and live bait. The 1150 and 95 spots are also producing Striped Marlin this past week and again lures and live bait are doing the trick.
BAIT: Bait is the standard 3.00 dollars a piece and there has been plenty around:
DORADO: Well really all the Dorado you could possibly want are out there and waiting to be caught. All areas are producing with the strongest areas being from the Solmar up to San Jamie and they seem to be biting cut ballyhoo, lures and live bait. A majority of the fish are being taken 1 to 2 miles offshore from Solmar to Migrano and Los Arcos.
From The Admirals Kitchen
Grilled Wahoo Fish Recipe
From Jerrys Kitchen @What's Cookin' Italian Cuisine
1 lb of Wahoo Fish Cut into chunks or steaks
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice from 1 fresh lemon sliced
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoons finely ground fresh pepper
Cooking :
Whisk together olive oil, lime and lemon juice, paprika, and red pepper in a small bowl. Place wahoo in a dish. Pour the marinade mix over the fish, place in refrigerator, and let stand for half an hour add sliced lemons on top. Remove wahoo from fridge, place fish on skewers or steaks directly on the grill and grill for 15 minutes on medium turning once at about 8 minutes. Use the leftover marinade mix to baste the fish while it is grilling. Serving suggestions on plain white rice.
TUNA: Tuna bite has slowed somewhat compared to last week. There was a 201lbs Tuna caught in the fishing tournament. Some football size Tuna were reported caught about 20 miles off the Jamie Banks. Some reports of smaller Tuna also inshore caught off of the Pangas.
INSHORE: The fishing close to shore has been not to bad as of lately. The Dorado fishing has been good close to shore and also some reports of Roosterfish being caught off the Solmar beach. Some small Tunas being reported inshore also the grouper and Snapper fishing in the Pedregal Rocks has been decent.
WAHOO: The Wahoo bite has slowed down some since last week not near the number of Wahoo this week. Rapalas and Maraders lures were catching the fish this week at about a quarter mile off of Los Arcos.
BEWARE: Remember if your not renting charter boats from companies who have been established in Cabo for the past 20 years ( Jc sport Fishing, Pisces Sport Fishing, Minervas, Redrum, Picante Fleet) you might have problems. They don?t even have an office you can go and confirm your charter boat. You do not want to spend a day walking around looking for the boat and where you board. If you wait till the day you are fishing and go to the dock where your boat is many times people will mislead you to another boat or dock trying to put you on a boat that was not meant for you. You need to have a person guide you to your boat, who is from a reputable charter company. This way there is no confusion or misleading. Please remember when renting Sport fishing boats in Cabo that you rent your boat from reputable and established business. Walk into a fishing fleet office and ask questions about what you are getting and what are the costs? You dont want to rent boats from vendors in the streets and you do not want to book through shady websites offering you the world. Check through travel forums about reputable fishing fleets to deal with. Look for testimonials about the fleet your booking your charter with. Ask about what will the boat be supplying? Will it include beverages or lunches? How much does it cost to fillet your catch? Check to see if charter boat is insured? Ask about getting your catch smoked? Check cost of fishing license. These are just a few things to consider when booking your charter boat. We will be talking more about this in next weeks fishing report. Until next time good fishing and we hope to see you in Cabo soon. Come by the office here in Cabo and get all the latest up to date fishing report. http://www.jcsportfishing.com http://youtu.be/zNBk33jCjCk

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Wahooo Fishing Fort Lauderdale Happy Day Today

(132 posts) Wahooo Fishing Fort Lauderdale Happy Day Today
Fishing Fort Lauderdale on Happy Day Today with Capt. Zsak

Mike and Linda Ganje took advantage of their last chance toenjoy warm weather here in sunny Fort Lauderdale by going deep sea sportfishing in Fort Lauderdale FL aboard the Happy Day Today along with theTopshotfishing team before going back home to Minnesota.

With blue skies, winds out of the north at 12 mph,temperature in the mid 80?s, 2-3 ft. seas, we left the dock at Bahia Mar Marinaand 15 minutes later lines were in the water at the sea buoy in Fort Lauderdalewhich is 120 ft deep. If you venture offanother ? of a mile from the sea buoy, the depth of water will read 500 ft.

Our first north winds triggered the migration of Mulletscoming south down the coast, sited from shore out to 180 ft. of water. We have 34 artificial wrecks for fishing herein Fort Lauderdale, FL which attract bait fish and in return thepredators are not too far away.

We put two plainers down, both with double hook Bonitostrips with sea witches, and for surface baits we went with two Bonito strips,two Ballyhoos and a Ballyhoo daisy chain teaser. I fished over one wreck after another asLinda and Michael both took turns catching and bringing in the fish. I headed out to one of our deeper artificialwrecks that sits in 280 ft. of water. AsI approached the wreck, the depth recorder revealed a school of fish 110 ftabove the wreck. I took one engine outof gear and kept the other just idling so that the baits would sink downdeeper, as we picked away at the school of Kingfish over thewreck. Suddenly, one of our plainerrods bent over, hooked up, as the line screamed of the reel and then the rodtip started bouncing up and down. Withexcellent Wahoo fishing this week and the sight of the rod going up and down, wasa tell tale sign of a Wahoo hooked up, Michael was our angler, and he retrieved the line ? twenty minuteslater, the deep blue-purple torpedo appeared, with the silver vertical stripsflashing back and forth from side to side as he shaked his head. Jackson, our mate, started to wire the Wahoobut the Wahoo was not ready yet as he screamed line off again. After the second attempt, Jackson leaned over the side and gaffed the58? Wahoo, as his jaws exposed his razor sharp teeth.

With 8 Kingfish, 1 Barracuda, 3 Bonitos and a 41 lb. Wahoo,it was time to return to the dock while Mike and Linda retired to the a/c salonfor the ride back to the dock at Bahia Mar 801 Seabreeze Blvd. Fort Lauderdale 33316.

For a successful and adventurous deep seafishing charter Fort Lauderdale FL for Sailfish, Shark, Bonito,Mackerel, Swordfish, Snapper, Wahoo, Tuna, Mahi Mahi and Grouper contactCaptain Zsak. - 954-309-7457 or email us at tzsak@bellshouth.net Website: www.topshotfishing.com.

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B-Run blues affect steelhead fishing derby - The Spokesman Review

The Clearwater Snake Steelhead Derby will be held Nov. 23-30 despite the closure of a large section of the Clearwater River to harvest of steelhead more than 28 inches long.
Officials with the steelhead derby committee at the Lewis Clark Valley Chamber of Commerce are working with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to ensure the annual fishing contest doesn’t unduly target fish that an emergency rule change is designed to protect.
When the catch-and-keep steelhead season opened Tuesday, the Clearwater River below Orofino and its North Fork were closed to harvest of hatchery steelhead longer than 28 …

Idaho fish managers are asking anglers to go beyond the restrictive emergency regulations set to protect the dismal run of salmon to the Clearwater River.
Release the protected fish longer than 28 inches as quickly as possible to increase their odds of survival, says Joe DuPont, Idaho Fish and Game Department regional fisheries manager.
Some anglers place marks on their boats so they can measure fish without taking them out of the water.
“This helps prevent people from dropping a struggling fish in the bottom of their boat, which increases the likelihood of handling mortality,” he said.
The Clearwater Snake Steelhead Derby will be held Nov. 23-30 despite the closure of a large section of the Clearwater River to harvest of steelhead more than 28 inches long.
Officials with the steelhead derby committee at the Lewis Clark Valley Chamber of Commerce are working with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to ensure the annual fishing contest doesn’t unduly target fish that an emergency rule change is designed to protect.
When the catch-and-keep steelhead season opened Tuesday, the Clearwater River below Orofino and its North Fork were closed to harvest of hatchery steelhead longer than 28 inches. The rule is designed to protect the 2,000 large B-run steelhead predicted to return to Dworshak National Fish Hatchery.
Virtually every one of the fish will be needed to meet spawning goals.
The Clearwater is a destination for derby anglers and other fishermen trying to catch B-run fish renowned for their size and strength. But while this year’s run of fall chinook is setting records, B-run steelhead numbers are dismally low.
Joe DuPont, Idaho Fish and Game regional fisheries manager in Lewiston, said derby officials have agreed to make surederby participants know of the rule change and aren’t tempted to cheat.
“When you have a derby with a fairly large award for the largest fish, there is going to be a tendency for somebody to want to keep a big fish somebody would catch on the Clearwater even though it is illegal,” he said.
Derby officials will cover the rule change at the opening ceremony and also have it printed in registration packets.
As always, they plan to announce the biggest fish caught each day. This year, they will include where the fish was caught to help derby participants police each other.
Fisheries monitors and conservation officers from the department will have a presence on the Clearwater during the derby.
“I was fairly confident with all of those things in place that illegal harvest should be minimal,” DuPont said.
“I feel I was able to assure (DuPont) there will be a lot of self policing and we will be reminding (anglers) of the rules and be very clear with the restrictions,” said Chamber President Kristin Kemak.
According to the latest forecast, a total of 9,440 hatchery steelhead from Clearwater River hatcheries will return past Lower Granite Dam this fall. But only 7,888 will be adipose fin-clipped fish that have spent two or three years in the ocean and just about 2,000 of them will be bound for Dworshak, where nearly all hatchery fish are collected for spawning.
The hatchery has a goal of collecting 2,000 fish each year, leaving none available for harvest this year.
“The only way we feel confident that we can get the necessary fish to Dworshak Hatchery is to restrict all harvest of these two- and three-ocean fish,” DuPont said.
The regulations are likely to reduce the number of anglers fishing the Clearwater this fall and will hit steelhead outfitters in the pocket book. Toby Wyatt, owner of Reel Time Fishing, said the restrictions will be painful but he understands the reason they were adopted.
“It’s going to hurt a lot of us, that is for sure, but you have to do what you have to do. You have to make sure you have enough fish to make the next crop.”
Despite the poor run, both he and DuPont predicted there will still be quality fishing on the river, even if anglers have to release most of their catch. Steve Pettit, a retired Idaho Fish and Game fisheries biologist who lives at Cherrylane, is worried about the B-run, particularly the federally protected wild fish. He said years of hatchery practices combined with the increasing popularity of the fishery in the Clearwater River has taken its toll on the fish.
Runs over the past 13 years have been mostly robust due largely to positive ocean conditions in the North Pacific Ocean. However, conditions in the ocean typically run in decade-long streaks between good and bad known as the Pacific decadal oscillation. He fears the fishery has entered a period of poor ocean productivity and both the wild and hatchery runs are on a dangerous slide.
“We are probably going to have another decade where the North Pacific productivity ebbs and goes downhill,” Pettit said.
“If there is any issue at all with juvenile migration and you have a poor ocean on top of it, you are going to see much poorer returns back to the Snake River.”

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Fall fishing in Idaho is cool and productive - The Seattle Times

BOISE, Idaho — If you think fall is time to trade the fishing rod for a gun, you’re missing out on some great fishing.

Fall is a transitional time, and you never know what kind of weather you might get. It might be 70 degrees one day and snowing the next, or vice versa.

But fish know winter is coming, so they tend to feed aggressively, especially when the water temperatures drop back into the 60-degree range, which all fish seem to love.

You also have the salmon and steelhead returning from the ocean to give you an opportunity for some really big fish, as well as a nice fillet for the grill or broiler.

Even so-called warm water fish are available for the taking in rivers and reservoirs, so don’t let a little rain or frost stop you from making another fishing trip. Here are some places to go.

SNAKE RIVER

The Snake is Southwest Idaho’s most overlooked river. It has ridiculous bass and catfish populations and a few surprises, like sturgeon and trout.

The river offers good-to-excellent bass fishing that will extend well into the fall.

“I think we’re at the start of some great late-season smallie fishing,” said Dave Gourley. He’s been fishing the river all summer and taking big smallmouth bass.

The Snake rewards those who adapt to different seasons. The river can be weedy after the hot summer, but the bass are still there.

Smallmouths like current and rocks, and where you find those things, you will often find fish. But the key is to always keep searching until you hook a fish. Then you will usually catch several because they tend to be in schools.

Boat fishing is typically the best option for the Snake, but there’s a lot of bank access and good fishing from Swan Falls Dam downstream.

It’s difficult to talk about the Snake without including its reservoirs because there’s a chain of them all through the system.

Although much of the fish are of the “warm water” variety, don’t take that too literally. Bass, crappie and perch are caught nearly year-round.

SOUTH FORK OF THE SNAKE RIVER

This Eastern Idaho river has an entirely different character in the fall.

It’s fished mostly from boats during spring and summer because of higher flows for irrigation, which makes wading difficult.

But when flows decrease in the fall, waders return to take advantage of the excellent cutthroat, rainbow and brown trout fishing.

“It’s a lot more accessible for wading fishermen, and you can almost always float the South Fork,” said Jonathan Lancaster, head of outfitting for Natural Retreats, which owns South Fork Lodge at Swan Valley.

You can also still fish the river from a boat; just allow much longer to get between launches because the river is flowing much slower.

Fall brings abundant blue-wing olive and mahogany dun hatches, and fly anglers also entice the river’s brown trout with streamers.

The South Fork is an easy road trip because it’s freeway most of the way, and there are cool campgrounds along the river. Just expect cold weather because the river is at about 5,000-foot elevation and at the base of the Tetons. You will also get some amazing scenery when the cottonwoods and aspens turn gold and the Tetons get a dusting of snow.

The South Fork is a big river and can be intimidating, but guided trips are available. “We will do guided trips year-round if people want to go,” Lancaster said.

SNAKE/CLEARWATER

This may be one of those years that’s talked about for years to come. A big fall chinook run is heading into Idaho, and it will give anglers a shot at those big fish fresh from the ocean.

Fall chinook are different from their spring cousins. Springers make their way upstream into tributaries to spawn.

Fall chinook spawn in the main rivers, so they’re not going to come to you — you have to go to them.

Nearly all the fishing will take place in the Snake River from the Lewiston area up to Hells Canyon Dam. A small section of the Clearwater near the Snake is also open for chinook fishing.

Fall chinook are also different from springers because they spend a short time in freshwater before spawning, so their quality for eating can drop off fast. It’s best to fish them lower in the river system, which puts you around Lewiston.

Anglers fish for fall chinook the same as spring chinook, typically pulling large plugs such as Kwikfish and often wrapped with a herring fillet.

You also have the Clearwater for steelhead fishing and the river’s famed “B“-run fish that are nearly as large as chinook.

DUCK VALLEY INDIAN RESERVATION

The three reservoirs on the reservation — Mountain View, Billy Shaw and Sheep Creek — are often overlooked because people think of them as spring fisheries.

But the trout are still there, and the tribe’s fisheries managers have been working to reduce the weed growth during summer.

That means the fish are more accessible to anglers during summer than fall.

Trolling, bank fishing with bait and fly-fishing are all good ways to fish, but Billy Shaw is restricted to fly-fishing only.

All three lakes are owned and operated by the Shoshone Paiute Tribe, so make sure you buy your tribal license before fishing. They’re available on the reservation at Our Store and also at the Fishin’ Hole in Bruneau.

If you want to take fish home, stick to Mountain View and Sheep Creek reservoirs because you can keep five fish per day, but only one between 16 and 19 inches from Billy Shaw.

Fishing season ends Oct. 31 at Billy Shaw and Sheep Creek, but Mountain View is open year-round.

MOUNTAIN LAKES

Don’t fool yourself. Fishing season doesn’t end with the first dusting of snow in the mountains. You can still catch a lot of fish there.

McCall and Stanley are the most popular destinations for mountain lakes, so let’s do this prizefight style.

In this corner, we have McCall. It has lots of mountain lakes you can drive to or within a short hike. Hit the Goose Lake Road, aka the road to Brundage Mountain, and you can drive to several of them — including Brundage Reservoir, Goose Lake, Granite Lake, Hazard Lake — and hike to several others. As a bonus, you’re a short drive to the Salmon River and Little Salmon River for steelhead.

In the opposing corner is Stanley, which also has lots of lakes you can drive to, including Redfish, Stanley, Pettit and Alturas lakes. Unlike McCall’s lakes that are accessed by miles of washboard gravel roads, most around Stanley are accessible by paved roads or with short sections of gravel.

There’s also the Upper Salmon River available for trout anglers, as well as several other streams nearby.

You can expect frosty mornings in the mountains during October, and snowstorms are common, but fishing remains good.

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Reluctant anglers drafted in war on fish - Fox News

June 21, 2011: A fly fisherman on the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.REUTERS

Balancing on some boulders along the Lamar River here on a recent afternoon, Dave Hallac clutched his fly-fishing rod and reeled in one of the outlaws.

"This is the enemy here," the park's chief scientist said after a close inspection of the trout, which had a silvery body with pale pink streaks and black speckles. "A full-blown rainbow."

Rainbow trout have been swimming the waters of Yellowstone, the U.S.'s first-ever national park, for more than a hundred years since early park administrators introduced them to enhance the fish offerings. For decades, fishermen have reveled in catching the prized game fish.

But Yellowstone officials are now worried that the rainbow is pushing out a native fish, cutthroat trout, named after the distinctive blood-red slashes along its jawline. So to restore cutthroats, the park this year started requiring visitors to kill all other fish they hook in the Lamar and two of its tributaries where the native trout still exist.

The goal, said Mr. Hallac, who oversees Yellowstone conservation programs, is to increase cutthroat fish stocks, benefitting both the park's biodiversity and anglers' fortunes. But the restoration plan is controversial among some fish lovers, who fear it will reduce the overall number of fish—and the tourists they lure.

Every year, Yellowstone's lakes, rivers and creeks draw more than 40,000 anglers that feed a multimillion-dollar industry of tours, tackle shops and hotels, according to the park.

"It'll devastate the whole community and we won't be able to make our living," said Chris Herpin, a local fishing guide. Like him, most fly fishers release hooked fish back into the water to avoid depleting stocks.

The trout dispute is part of a broader struggle at Yellowstone as park officials try to fulfill a government mandate to return the park's wilderness to its original state when possible, while also paying respect to the way the attraction is used for recreation today. Park managers have figured out how to successfully bring back wildlife in numerous instances. But managing how the changes affect Yellowstone's surrounding communities has proved more difficult.

The bison population recovered from near extinction—and started knocking down fences when the big animals roamed outside the park. Wolves, which had disappeared from Yellowstone, are now back in healthy numbers—and killing off elk, hunters complain.

The cutthroat restoration program has the potential to alter the fishing industry around Yellowstone, which is nearly as old as the park, created in 1872.

Click for more from The Wall Street Journal.

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Big Walleye Video from Wisconsin

  
Hey guys!

WATCH IN HD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-6HTMX1VYQ

We are row trolling in northern Wisconsin in our latest adventure! Like, comment, subscribe, and check out our other videos; no feedback is bad feedback!

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Fort Lauderdale Fishing Happy Day Today

(130 posts) ort Lauderdale Fishing Happy Day Today
Fishing Fort Lauderdale on Happy Day Today with Capt. Zsak

Darrell Seybold along with his sons, 10 year old Elijah andolder brother Nathaniel, from Texas charteredthe Happy Day Today along with the Topshotfishing team to do some deep seasport fishing in Fort Lauderdale, FL. His wife dropped them off at the dock andplanned an excursion for herself to the shopping mall with credit card in herhand.

Young Elijah was very enthusiastic about his fishing tripand Dad told me that was all he spoke about. We had winds out of the east at 5 mph, seasrunning 2-3 ft, temperature in the mid 80?s, and fifteen minutes after leavingthe dock fishing lines were in the water. I told Elijah on the way out, the tradition for fishing in Fort Lauderdale is thatyou must call the fish; he asked me how and I told him the secret ? you callout, ?here fishy, fishy?.

With lines in the water, he kept repeating, ?here fishy,fishy?, and low and behold it worked as he reeled in his first Kingfish. I worked the drop off, which is located in120 ft. of water, less than 2 miles off of Fort Lauderdale, FL,while the two boys alternated bringing in the fish and Dad worked the camerataking pictures of the boys in action. As I made one of my swings heading off of 70 ft. of water, a blackshadow appeared ? !!!Sailfish!!!! - on the long left rigger chasing down aswimming Ballyhoo. Jackson, our mate,dropped the bait back to the Sailfish and hooked up. Immediately, the Sailfish came out of thewater showing us his spectacular power and brilliant neon colors for a shorttime before throwing the hook. Elijahremarked it was so close to shore to which I responded that there are no fencesout here, the predators can go swimming anywhere they want.

With a total of 8 Kingfish, 3 Bonitos, and 3 Barracudas theboys along with their father retired to the a/c salon for the ride back to thedock at Bahia Mar 801 Seabreeze Blvd. Fort Lauderdale 33316.

For a successful and adventurous deep seafishing charter Fort Lauderdale FL for Sailfish, Shark, Bonito,Mackerel, Swordfish, Snapper, Wahoo, Tuna, Mahi Mahi and Grouper contactCaptain Zsak. - 954-309-7457 or email us at tzsak@bellshouth.net Website: www.topshotfishing.com.

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Killer Spinner Rig for walleye and perch

When I goto a new lake if I don't have time to do any research before hand. I may stop and talk to a ranger if it is a state park or a shop. I will also take a quick gander of the lake and see where some areas of possible cover are. Then I will hit it. But then again it don't always work that way either.

New waters can always be finicky for me. Hit two new lakes last spring and was skunked on both of them. Another I caught fish. I don't troll so I look at it differently.

Albinotrout
Fishing and trains...what else is there? BASEBALL.......

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Fort Lauderdale Fishing Happy Day Today

(130 posts) Fort lauderdale Fishing Happy Day Today
Fishing Fort Lauderdale on Happy Day Today with Capt. Zsak

From Russia Dimce Kosevskl and Martin Cvetanovski, alongwith their friends came to Fort Lauderdale, FL toenjoy our subtropics weather here in our sunny state. They chartered the HappyDay Today along with the Topshotfishing team to do some deep sea sport fishingin Fort Lauderdale, FL.

With two cases of beers and food to last for a week, we wereoff to ?Gilligan?s Island? (hahaha) for a fourhour ?adventurous? fishing charter. Halfof a case of beer was gone by the time we had fishing lines in the water, whichwas 15 minutes after leaving the dock. We put one plainer down with a chartreuse sea witch in front of a doublehook Bonito strip, four Ballyhoos for surface baits with a one ? ounce japfeather down the center and a Ballyhoo dredge teaser.

As I was trolling north of the sea buoy in Fort Lauderdale on the reef, I could see somebirds working a color change to the east. I approached the color change and found wood floating in it - it surelooked good for catching some Mahi Mahi. As I trolled north on the color change, a school of Green Hornetsattacked the Ballyhoo teaser and the anglers caught four Mahi Mahi?s, but theywere just undersized so we threw them back. We kept trolling the area and caught a total of 7 Bonitos, 4 Tunas and 1small Wahoo, which was returned to the waters.

With the beer evaporated and time running out, it was timeto head back to the dock at Bahia Mar 801 Seabreeze Blvd. Fort Lauderdale33316.

For a successful and adventurous deep seafishing charter Fort Lauderdale FL for Sailfish, Shark, Bonito,Mackerel, Swordfish, Snapper, Wahoo, Tuna, Mahi Mahi and Grouper contactCaptain Zsak. - 954-309-7457 or email us at tzsak@bellshouth.net Website: www.topshotfishing.com.

(This post was edited by topshotfishing on Oct 2, 2013, 5:19 AM)

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