"A LITTLE MORE DETAIL"

As I've stated before, I am by no stretch of the imagination a pro, nor do I wish to be.
Things are just fine the way they are. I just love to fish.
I get out and get to as many places as life and wife will allow.
 
For what they're worth, here are a few things that help me get some fish in the boat.
On previous pages, I've said I did this here or tried that there, etc. etc.
I just want to elaborate on some of details.
 

For the most part, fishing is a pretty basic sport.
Pole, line, bait or lure, mix together and add water.
There's your basic recipe.
How you want to spice it up from there is up to you.
 
No offense to any one, but to the best of my knowledge, I've never caught a fish that was pissed off because it wasn't caught on a Loomis rod with a $200 reel being used from a $30,000 Bass boat.
Enough of that.

FOR STARTERS

With the exception of a few levelwinds for trolling, I use open face spinning gear, 30's and 40's. I prefer 6' and 6' 6" rods. (The new Ugly Sticks,Lightning Rods and H&H Rods) I like Silstar's, Pinnacle and Vertex line of reels. I generally run 8 and 10 lb. test line. 8 lb. for all around fishing and 10 lb. for heavier cover and big bait fishing. I'll go up to 18 lb. for my trolling rods.
For the most part, I use Mono on my reels, Trilene XL mostly, though I can't honestly say that I have a favorite. I plan on trying some of the new co-polymer lines this year. I have some braids on my trolling gear, but can't say that I care for them very much.
As far as tackle, as I'm sure most of you do, I have my fair share of flavor of the year gear. Some good, most bad.
Then I look in that old tackle box, you know the one, it gets all the old plugs and stuff that you just can't quite get yourself to get rid of yet, and look at the Jitterbugs, Hula Poppers, CP Swings, Swiss Swings, Spooks, plain ole lead jig heads, bobbers and hooks and say to myself; "What the hell are you doing?". Some things are ageless. When worst comes to worst, when the fishings slow and I can't buy a bite, I'll always revert back to the basics and rarely go home skunked. I suppose I'll always buy and try new stuff but I guess I'm your basic fisherman at heart.(and proud of it)

LIVE BAITS

 

JIGS

 
Every Army has a survival kit. Something that you will find in almost every one of them will be some line and jig heads.
Go figure.
Of everything you could have in your box, few, if any, are going to out produce the jig. No matter what species you are targeting, all will fall prey to the lowly jig.
The majority of the jigs in my box are live bait and barbed collar, unpainted, from 1/16th to 3/4 oz. The lower end 1/16th to 1/4 oz. being for lake and slow rivers. The upper end, 1/4 oz to 3/4 oz. being for harder moving water.
Most of the jigs I use are your basic round head. I also use a swim head, like a gravedigger.
My two favorite jig tippers are the nightcrawler and the minnow. However, if I'm river fishing for walleyes or smallies, Leeches will also be on the menu.

For a minnow, run the point up through its lips and through the tough part of the skull.
 
For a crawler, run the point into the head of the worm and out through the collar or just run the point twice through the head end of the worm.
 
For a leech, I prefer the point through the mouth.
 
On rivers or deep water, vertical jigging is my norm.
Use a heavy enough jig to feel contact with the bottom while you slowly raise and lower the jig, keeping your line as tight as possible so you can feel a pickup. Most of your pickups will occur on the drop, so be ready when you begin your lift, if you feel weight, whack em'. Might be a fish-might be a branch. You'll know soon enough.
 
If I'm drifting a shore line, I'll keep the boat casting distance from shore and obviously work the jig from shore out. I usually give the jig a 10 count rest after each pump. Sometimes you don't need as long, sometimes you need longer, sometimes you don't need it at all. If the fish are on the feed so to speak, they'll pick it up on the drop. Sometimes they'll pick it up off the bottom while it's at rest. You'll figure it out after you're out awhile. Just keep adjusting till you hit on what's working.Usually use a 1/16th or 1/8th oz. jig
 
If I'm fishing shoals, in the morning or evening, I'll cast to the shoal and work it away from it. Most fish will be on the top or around the edges. At mid-day the fish will generally move off to deeper water so I'll reverse my approach and sit on top of the shoal and cast to the deeper surrounding water and work it back toward the shoal. Sometimes they fool you so take a few casts onto the shoal before moving on it just to make sure. Same here, 1/16th or 1/8th oz. jig again, maybe go to a 1/4 or 3/8th oz if the surrounding water drops off hard.

PLASTICS

 

SURFACE LURES

 

CRANKBAITS

There's not quite enough of these is there.
Hunks of plastic and wood and metal, that have thousands and thousands of dollars and hours invested to do what? To catch fishermen, that's what. You don't see fish walking around the tackle shops do you. Although, I wish I could take one with me so he could pick out what he likes.
There are just too many to go into to much detail, so I'm only going to talk about the ones that I have the most confidence in.

In my opinion, the most versatile of the cranks is the Rapala.
 
Color wise my favorites are black over silver and blue over silver in both straight body and broken back. I have my share of the new prism and natural finishes as well, but the old stand bys are still my favorites.
I prefer the broken back for trolling. A deep diver for smallies and northern and a floater on a short lead if I'm running the downriggers for lakers.
I rarely troll a straight line. I'll always run in a slight zig-zag pattern. You cover a little more water and the constant subtle change in direction is sometimes all a following fish will need to trigger a strike.
If I'm flatlining, sometimes I'll "pump" the lure. Just place your rod in a holder or lean it against the side of the boat. Make one wrap of the line around your hand. As you're trolling every 10 seconds or so, pull the the line forward and slowly let it flutter back so you maintain a tight line. Most times the strike will come on the backdrop. When the strike comes, let your fingers point straight back and the fish should pull the line off your hand.(I have been stung a few times).
 
Another favorite is "twitching". This is done with a floater. Simply cast to whatever type structure your fishing: weeds, pads, logs, stumps, rocks, etc.etc. Instead of reeling. Keep a tight line and wiggle your rod tip as you pull back slow on the rod. Move the lure maybe a foot at a time, pausing for a few seconds between each wiggle,constantly take up the slack. Your lure should just sort of vibrate on the surface giving off rings much like a moth or bug trying to get free of the water. After every 3rd or 4th wiggle, give your lure a slow steady pull to just break the surface. You can have a ball with the smallies with this method. Nothing like having a smallie fly a couple feet out of the water. Largemouths will hammer this too.
 
If your using a crayfish imitator, remember, these critters are on the bottom and so should be your lure. Bounce them off the rocks and the bottom as much as you can. Kick up the silt the same as a crayfish would do. Are you going to loose some lures? Well if you don't then you're not doing right. They'll make more.
 
When casting, as you bring the lure in, move your rod from left to right every 5th or 6th turn of the handle and give it a good rip every now and then to make the lure dive sharply.
 
Casting a crank bait and reeling it in is sometimes all you have to do but remember every little tug, speed-up, slow down, stop and direction change you can make could be the difference between fishing and catching. Experiment while your out there.
 
Other favorite cranks:
 
Ripplin Red Fin,  Hot N Tot,  Wally Diver,  Bomber(Long A)