Tip of the day

[Gotfish?]

I thought I would start this, others should chime in for our collective expertise. I will add things often.

1st tip of the day: if you find knots in superlines (Nanofil, Gliss, extra smooth casting braid) slip prematurely using your regular knots, then there are several possible fixes:
1. Put the line thru the eye more times. I personally avoid knots that only have line going thru the eye once and have put line thru the eye even 3X.
2. Add more turns to the knot
3. Double the line in the knot. Also a good idea if splicing a real small diameter line to a bigger diameter line.
4. 1 or more of the above

As an example, when using Nanofil I might use the Fishing Fool knot but with 11 turns instead of 6. Or tie a clinch knot but with doubled line and 10 turns. And yes, I have tested knot strength and I know these tips work.

Is this obvious to everyone? No, just look at negative reviews at Tackle Warehouse and others on superlines. There are many complaints about line breaking that are likely due to knot slipping. It is easy to tell a broken line in mono or fluorocarbon as it has a curl on the end. Superlines are so limp that doesn't happen.

[Gotfish?]

When fishing for bass close to shore with a weedless lure, toss the lure onto the shore if possible and then hop it into the water. Or throw it on a grass mat or lily pad, wait and then hop it into the water. The number of bites will go way up.

A recent study in Lake Fork, Texas found that boats spook many fish and even fish that weren't spooked by boats would often be spooked by lures. By tossing the bait onto the shore, it makes much less of a sound when it finally enters the water.

https://www.athensreview.com/sports/out ... bf276.html There are a series of online videos too.

Similarly, dead sticking a lure for a minute or more before moving often works very well. Fish become conditioned to avoid things that make a big splash and immediately start moving. How many of us have had an instant strike after finally removing a bad backlash and then started retrieving a lure? Perhaps one of the reasons finesse fishing works so well when fishing is slow is that the lure entry into the water doesn't spook fish as much as large lures.

None of this applies though when fish are in wolf packs in the middle of the lake attacking anything that moves. A loud splash is a good thing then.

[camobass]

Not sure of the splash and spook theory. I imagine it varies by bodies of water. I’ve caught many, many bass that instantly hit a lure as it hits the water. Especially bigger swimbaits and by boulders and trees on the shore.

[Gotfish?]

Not sure of the splash and spook theory. I imagine it varies by bodies of water. I’ve caught many, many bass that instantly hit a lure as it hits the water. Especially bigger swimbaits and by boulders and trees on the shore.

When the fish instantly hit a lure as it hits the water, it means it saw the lure before it even hit the water and was going for it before that even happened. Fish have eyes situated to look above. I have had the same experience and have also seen bait fish scatter and jump out of the water as a lure passed overhead.

When sight fishing in clear water, it is not uncommon to see a fish veer away from a lure and leave the area, either at the moment of splash down or as the lure is pulled towards the fish.

Back to the Lake Fork study: 29% of the time, fish were spooked by an outboard motor, 24% of time the fish were already moving (e.g. following shad) and 46% of the time they didn't move. Of the fish that didn't move, 21% of them moved away when a 1/2 ounce Texas rigged worm was cast to them. Whether that is from the noise of the splash or from the lure movement once it got to the bottom is not known.



At any rate, try it, see what works and when it works. What works best during a red hot wolf pack bite doesn't necessarily work when the bite is slow.

[Gotfish?]

Today's tip: when you find a nice spot but aren't sure if you could find it again, save it on your smartphone (assuming you don't have one of those fancy fish finders with GPS and memory). Smartphone GPS is accurate to about 15' and that will usually get you close enough, especially if you have a ordinary depth finder to help.

[Gotfish?]

Bait casting reels are great for accuracy but do you wish you could cast further without backlashing? Some tips for making long casts where you can't just apply more thumb pressure or more anti backlash setting, works for conventional reels too:

1. Rotate your wrist during the cast so the spool is facing down or at least sideways at the end of the cast so gravity is helping to prevent backlashes instead of the other way around.
2. Thumb the outer edge of the spool instead of the middle. Stop the spool, not the line. I will even use my thumbnail against the rim of the spool for this.
3. Have a bit more line length between the tip and the lure than when trying to make precision casts, this helps load the rod up better.
4. Avoid stiff lines. They are more abrasion resistant but backlash easier. Braid also backlashes easier if on the light side.
5. Wet the line before trying long casts.

[Gotfish?]

Don't overthink colors. Bass only have 2 type of cones (most humans have 3, a few have 4) and can only see red thru green (red-orange-yellow-chartreuse-green). A bass has a hard time distinguishing yellow from white or blue from black or very dark green. Spotties havent' been studied but I suspect they only have red and green cones being similar to largemouth bass in habitat water clarity and depth.
Trout and carp can see all the colors we do plus ultraviolet. Tuna are thought to only have blue cones.
If you want to see how a bass sees a lure, put on a pair of blue blocking sunglasses (yellow or amber lenses); you can verify by looking at something blue.

Further reading:
https://academic.oup.com/cz/article/65/1/43/4924236
https://www.sportfishingmag.com/how-and-what-fish-see/
https://thecaliforniaoutdoors.com/can-t ... lor-depth/
Lots more if you search for it.

I am a big fan of bicolor or tricolor soft plastics. I don't think the colors are that important as long as the fish can distinguish the colors. So for bass, black-white is good, fire tiger, etcetera. Blue-black or white-yellow is not going to work as well. Most bait fish have dark backs and light bellies so the bicolor combo works.

Of course, there is always that old saying: "a lure has to catch a fisherman before it can catch a fish". What looks good to us doesn't always work for fish.

Blue color blindness in human is called "tritanopia". If you have this, you already see what a bass sees.

Takeaway: you don't really need a whole tacklebox of colors.

[bendopolo 44+]

Carry a small piece of rubber sheet, (cut up an old inner tube). Run it over leader line coils to straighten it out. Works like magic.

[Gotfish?]

Carry a small piece of rubber sheet, (cut up an old inner tube). Run it over leader line coils to straighten it out. Works like magic.

I have seen fly fishing stores sell a piece of rubber on a clip for a few dollars (LOL).

Another cool thing to do with those old bike inner tubes: cut a 4" section out and use it as a garlic peeler. Just as good as the rubber tubes sold in gourmet stores. Put 1 or more cloves in the tube and roll it hard against the kitchen counter.

https://www.amazon.com/Garlic-Peeler-Si ... 987&sr=8-9

[Gotfish?]

How to find leaks in waders: hang from a tree, fill legs with water (the leak is usually below knee). FYI, my wife says it looks creepy so you may get some pushback from non fishing members of the household.

[Gotfish?]

Waders part 2: to fix leaks in the neoprene booties, Plasti Dip works well, just brush it on, dry and reapply, inside and outside. For leaks elsewhere, I have used Shoe Goo, Amazing Goop and McNetts Seam Sealer, again, on both insides and outside. Plasti Dip would probably work there too. Make sure the surfaces are clean, acetone would be a good cleaner.

As far as marking the leaks, a white grease pencil or inspection stickers are good for the neoprene, any felt tip pen for elsewhere.

You will at least double the life of the waders with repairs.

[Gotfish?]

Jig Retrieval Tips: collection of tips
This is applicable to any lure consisting of a jig head and a body: e.g. paddle tail or curly tail grub, swimbait, tube, worm, fluke, buck tail or marabou tail. This may also be applicable to other lures (spoons, bladed jigs, lipless crankbaits, Texas rigs, Tokyo rigs, etc.). Applicable to ball head jigs, swim jigs, darter heads, Slider jigs, Ned rigs, football heads, standup jigs, glide jig heads, shaky heads, weedless, exposed hooks and so on.
Common:
Point the rod tip towards the jig as much as practical for the technique and depth desired and not get snagged if swimming the jig over cover.
Hold the line between the thumb and forefinger for better strike feel (easier to do with bait casting)
Upon sensing a strike, wind down until you feel weight, then raise the rod tip quickly while winding fast. No need for heroic hook sets.
Let the jig fall on semi-slack line (i.e. some bow in the line). Many bites will happen on the fall or pause. Watch the line for unusual movement. The pause (dead stick) sometimes helps a lot, fish are used to seeing lure that immediately start moving once they hit bottom and will often ignore those. But the jig doesn’t have to contact the bottom if the fish are higher off the bottom.
The Retrieves:
1. Slow and low or dragging: let lure sink to the bottom, pause, crank ½ to 1 turn, pause, repeat. Pause can be anything from 1-10 seconds. Really helps to have to rod tip pointed at the jig and line between the fingers, movement is done by the reel instead of the rod. Killer on spotted bay bass.
2. Fall and shake: let lure sink to bottom, pause, shake (jiggle), hop, shake, retrieve quickly if no strikes. Good for casting to structure. The idea is that the fish will bite on the fall or soon thereafter.
3. Hop: cast, sink, pause, hop 6-12”, pause, repeat. Twitching would be a variation of this. Or a pull and fall, doesn’t have to be on the bottom.
4. Snap: cast, sink, do sharp snaps of 6-18”, snap (pop) fast, try to keep the fish from getting a close view of the lure. May cause line twist (use a swivel 12-24” up the line if it does). Best with lure with an eye near the center of gravity which will result in a less predictable fall, from a darting, gliding or even a spiraling action. Like #3, doesn’t have to be done on the bottom. Needs semi slack line on the fall for the best action.
5. Stroke: similar to above except 4’ or bigger movements. Classic smallmouth bass technique using a tube or swimbait but works with other lures and species too.
6. Bobber and moping: use a jig with the eye close to the center of gravity but put it 2-4’ below a bobber. If more depth is desired, then use a slip bobber. The waves on the water will provide the action, slowly retrieve if at all. Classic crappie jig method. Very similar is moping where a
Damiki jig head is used with a fluke or similar tail directly under a boat where fish have been spotted on a fish finder. Movement of the boat is sufficient, the user does not impart any movement. Either method is a form of deadsticking but with the lure off the bottom.
7. Do-nothing retrieve: popularized by the Slider jig heads. Slow and steady retrieve, no added action. Can be used anywhere in the water column. Emulates the movement of a minnow casually swimming.
8. Classic jigging: straight retrieve while moving the rod tip up and down by about 3-4”. Or twitch from side to side. Recommended for Trout Magnet jigs. Can be used anywhere in the water column. You will need the rod tip higher for this.
9. Fast retrieve with jerks or sweeps: can work well for fast saltwater surface fish such as barracuda or bonito.
10. Strolling or long lining: desperation technique but does work, good workout in a float tube. Cast as far as possible, move away from the lure while free spooling until the reel is almost empty. Slow and steady wind back to the boat, kayak or float tube, rod tip pointed at the lure. The idea is that fish will often follow a lure until it starts to come up to the boat, give those followers more time and they will commit. Definitely works, typically done with a swimbait. With rod holders, you can have one rod paying out line while you are doing a slow retrieve with the other one.
11. Hybrid: combine any of the methods above. Discover what works for that day and that location. Also, an unpredictable retrieve may work better than a predictable retrieve, will certainly allow the skirt of some jigs to flare out.
Comment: how you present a lure and where is generally much more important than color or even lure choice.
Any other tips?

[DarkShadow]

My tips from last week's outing.

1. If your chatterbait doesn't have an immediate wobble on the first wind, you bought yourself a crap chatterbait.

2. When stripers are boiling, try throwing something underneath them. That's where the largies and smallies like to hang out and let the stripers do the work.

3. Always have a rod on the go after you get blown up on topwater and the fish doesn't stick. You'd be surprised what happens when you throw a wacky rig Senko or a fluke after a missed boil.

4. Google Earth has an excellent method of seeing what our local lakes have looked like throughout the years. With our lakes near full capacity, there will be a lot of offshore structure to target. Use Google Earth's history view to drop way points on the structure that appears during low water years. Transfer those waypoints to your units and voila.

[VinnyBass]

Of course all of us have lots and lots of tips but one of the tips that just comes to mind is something my father taught me years ago when I was young.
Before each fishing trip, he taught me to always cut about a foot or so off the line and retie whatever you had previously had tied on your line. He said that rocks and things on the bottom, especially when you worm fish, scratch and cut into the line so it is more likely to break when you set the hook or try to reel in a fish. I actually pull out a number of rods the night before I go fishing and always cut back and retie everything. It is just become a habit and especially on the rods I use more often. Even on my flippin' rods(but not as often as I should) I cut and retie because I use straight braid tied to a jig or Tokyo rig, for example and that line takes a beating throwing baits all the time in cover. I fish pretty often and I rather a fish break the line naturally rather than because I was too lazy to cut the line back a little and retie.

[Gotfish?]

Good tip, I hate retying when I am on the water (despite being a good idea) but don't mind the day before. And most fish have at least rough edges in their mouths or gill covers that can abrade line.

Even largemouth bass have rough surfaces that will abrade line: https://tacklevillage.com/do-bass-have-teeth/

[Neuroshima]

Carry a small piece of rubber sheet, (cut up an old inner tube). Run it over leader line coils to straighten it out. Works like magic.

I have seen fly fishing stores sell a piece of rubber on a clip for a few dollars (LOL).

Another cool thing to do with those old bike inner tubes: cut a 4" section out and use it as a garlic peeler. Just as good as the rubber tubes sold in gourmet stores. Put 1 or more cloves in the tube and roll it hard against the kitchen counter.

https://www.amazon.com/Garlic-Peeler-Si ... 987&sr=8-9

Carry a small piece of rubber sheet, (cut up an old inner tube). Run it over leader line coils to straighten it out. Works like magic.

Leather works, too, so you can use your wallet.

[DarkShadow]

And most fish have at least rough edges in their mouths or gill covers that can abrade line.

Even largemouth bass have rough surfaces that will abrade line: https://tacklevillage.com/do-bass-have-teeth/

Fished a local lake last weekend and had some pretty decent boils in the morning, and after a pair of fish caught, I KNEW I had to retie, but since when fish are boiling, retying is the last thing on your mind, I flung the bait out there, hooked up, proceeded to hook up another fish, and POP goes the Megabass topwater.

It only takes a few seconds, and the fish that you hook after not retying, could be that fish of a life time, and you may be losing just more than an expensive bait.

[Rude Baits]

Don't fry bacon naked...

[Fisheromen]

About leaky waders: once they start, get a new pair. Save yourself tons of frustration!

[Gotfish?]

About leaky waders: once they start, get a new pair. Save yourself tons of frustration!

Scroll up, the waders I fixed in May are still working fine, I fish every weekend and I expect to get at least another year out of them. As long as I had the Plastidip out, I put in on both booties in the seam area. Brand is LL Bean and has welded seams, I have found that some cheapo waders are shot once they start to give out though.