02-09-2009, 06:23 PM
Usually most are left to their own demise, related to the best techniques to use while fishing tributary or islands locations on the bay.
Certainly the best choice is to select a fishing site. Those areas selected should contain structure. Whether it be timber, stumps, or vegetation, it should have area that fish set up strike zones. Secondarily, look for locations that have a fast running tidal movement.
If one chose both of the above selections, that should open them up to almost non-stop action. I shall clarify. If the tide is not moving, then fish into the area containing structure. Lure selection should be fitting to the color of the water, choosing brighter colors for stained or clouded water conditions, and toned down colors, maybe even matching the surrounding bait available in that area, (i.e.) gizzard shad, spot, bay anchovies,silver sides, or alike.
Now that you have selected the color, start casting past the structure and bring the lures over their tops. Stop, start and basically jerk you retrieves. Keep the retrieve in a pattern, sort of two cranks, stop, one crank , jerk, three cranks stop, one crank wait, then jerk. The more erratic the retrieve the more attention the lure will receive. Just think like a mouse, the fish being the cat. If structure is visible from the boat, keep the lure in the strike zone as long as possible, even stop it there for a couple seconds, then a little quick jerk, usually does the trick , if a rockfish is home there.
Lures are not made to catch fish, people catch fish. Lures are simply pieces of plastic, without any brains. You are their brains.
Ok, we dealt with the structure issue and now lets get into the tidal movements and how fish move onto those areas once the tides get moving. First things first, which way is the tide moving. Is it coming in or going out? That determines boat position. Actually it determines fish position, but as that consequence, you need to position the boat accordingly. Lets say the tide is moving out , down the bay. Then your boat position should be on the outside of the tidal movement, casting your lure against the tide, then retrieving it with the tide. Fish position themselves, usually against the tide, waiting for their meal to arrive. That land shelf determines the speed of the retrieve. If you are close to land usually that is the quickest moving tide, hence the quicker moving lure. If you are on the outskirts of the quick water, then make the bait run equal to the water movements. Again, play the cat and mouse thing to the max. Quick jerks are best in that situation. Baitfish are jumpy when caught in a tide movement. Some call it current, but in the bay its tide movement. Current is in streams and rivers.
Lets jump to the best equipment in terms of rods, reels, line, and lures.
Starting off with reels, spend some money there and get a piece that will last for many seasons. Personally I love Shimano reels, mostly 4000 and 5000 series of Sustain. Yes, they are pricy, but they last, and besides if they do break you may forward them to Shimano Repair facility in California and for $25.00 plus shipping they make the necessary repairs. Sometimes a little more if the reel is really screwed up.
Second is rod selection. I recommend three types there, first I love GLoomis, followed by All Star, and last St.Croix, all being, one piece, all being 6 1/2' to 7', all being Medium to Heavy actions. Now for G.Loomis and why I love them best ? They are hardy, last for years, never get line rubs in the eyelets, just simply stated they are the best on the market, again pricey, but last for years. All Star comes in a close second, really close and much less costly. Third is St. Croix, costly and certainly not made as well as the other two. Sorry St. Croix lovers, time to hear the truth. Do not and I repeat , do not buy the two/three piece rods, unless transport dictates such. The feel is about 66% of the feel on one piece rods, and hook set is a little less , plus a hard cast won't send the pieces flying with the lure.
Now for the lures, and their are many, so let me concentrate on just a few. My first place winner is the X-Rap, made by Rapala. They look like fish, they swim like a fish, and they cast a football field away. I love to doctor each lure I buy. Sort of fine tuning them. I put on feathers if they are not bought with feathers, I put on willow leaves, heck if I could put a skirt and socks on them I would. But don't get real carried away, thus effecting their actions. Usually I do not need to fine tune them, and they work well right out of the box. What I mean by that is I sometimes take a file and remove some of the lip, to make sure they are swimming straight and not going sideways. Usually these lures are good right out of the box. No need to play with their actions.
Second is the Rapala cracking rap, which is a really well made lure, but again costly.
Third are the Rattle Trap type lures. I do use Rattle Traps, but mostly lures that have similar shapes and actions and also have the line attached to their upper heads and not the front of the lures. This helps quite a bit when fishing stumps, the lures tend to bounce off and not getting stuck. Which reminds me. If you do get stuck, please do not try to horse the lure off. It ony drives the hooks deeper into the stump. Take your rod, hold the tip as high as possible holding your hands as high as possible and give it a little flick. 99% of the time that works well, but you need to snap your wrist and not use your arms at all, just snap your wrist back and heading up the whole time. That basically uses the nose of the lure to snap back and hit the hook, knocking it off of the stump. If that does not work, jump overboard and get it yourself, certainly at the cost of lures these days, do not let a single lure stay on the log. Another means of getting lures off logs, is moving the boat opposite of the original retrieve. Then you can snap it back. Sometimes that will tend to spoil the fishing in that area, making too much noise to get into position to retrieve. I have many more lure selections but for now those shall do the trick.
Now for the line. Fireline is it for me. Berkley use to make a line called Whiplash, which was similar to steel in composition. No kidding this stuff needed to be broken by lock cutters. It was the best line I ever used, but they stopped making it.
I have many more tips, if you might have any interest. So get your maps out, look for the type of structure I just presented and go to town catching fish. If you fish like I have mentioned above, you would never go back to trolling or live baiting. This type of fishing goes from early spring until October. See you all on the bay, but please stay away from my special places.
Practice catch and release, so your children might also enjoy this fishery for years to come, and if you keep them, eat them.
Regards,
Peter
[signature]
Certainly the best choice is to select a fishing site. Those areas selected should contain structure. Whether it be timber, stumps, or vegetation, it should have area that fish set up strike zones. Secondarily, look for locations that have a fast running tidal movement.
If one chose both of the above selections, that should open them up to almost non-stop action. I shall clarify. If the tide is not moving, then fish into the area containing structure. Lure selection should be fitting to the color of the water, choosing brighter colors for stained or clouded water conditions, and toned down colors, maybe even matching the surrounding bait available in that area, (i.e.) gizzard shad, spot, bay anchovies,silver sides, or alike.
Now that you have selected the color, start casting past the structure and bring the lures over their tops. Stop, start and basically jerk you retrieves. Keep the retrieve in a pattern, sort of two cranks, stop, one crank , jerk, three cranks stop, one crank wait, then jerk. The more erratic the retrieve the more attention the lure will receive. Just think like a mouse, the fish being the cat. If structure is visible from the boat, keep the lure in the strike zone as long as possible, even stop it there for a couple seconds, then a little quick jerk, usually does the trick , if a rockfish is home there.
Lures are not made to catch fish, people catch fish. Lures are simply pieces of plastic, without any brains. You are their brains.
Ok, we dealt with the structure issue and now lets get into the tidal movements and how fish move onto those areas once the tides get moving. First things first, which way is the tide moving. Is it coming in or going out? That determines boat position. Actually it determines fish position, but as that consequence, you need to position the boat accordingly. Lets say the tide is moving out , down the bay. Then your boat position should be on the outside of the tidal movement, casting your lure against the tide, then retrieving it with the tide. Fish position themselves, usually against the tide, waiting for their meal to arrive. That land shelf determines the speed of the retrieve. If you are close to land usually that is the quickest moving tide, hence the quicker moving lure. If you are on the outskirts of the quick water, then make the bait run equal to the water movements. Again, play the cat and mouse thing to the max. Quick jerks are best in that situation. Baitfish are jumpy when caught in a tide movement. Some call it current, but in the bay its tide movement. Current is in streams and rivers.
Lets jump to the best equipment in terms of rods, reels, line, and lures.
Starting off with reels, spend some money there and get a piece that will last for many seasons. Personally I love Shimano reels, mostly 4000 and 5000 series of Sustain. Yes, they are pricy, but they last, and besides if they do break you may forward them to Shimano Repair facility in California and for $25.00 plus shipping they make the necessary repairs. Sometimes a little more if the reel is really screwed up.
Second is rod selection. I recommend three types there, first I love GLoomis, followed by All Star, and last St.Croix, all being, one piece, all being 6 1/2' to 7', all being Medium to Heavy actions. Now for G.Loomis and why I love them best ? They are hardy, last for years, never get line rubs in the eyelets, just simply stated they are the best on the market, again pricey, but last for years. All Star comes in a close second, really close and much less costly. Third is St. Croix, costly and certainly not made as well as the other two. Sorry St. Croix lovers, time to hear the truth. Do not and I repeat , do not buy the two/three piece rods, unless transport dictates such. The feel is about 66% of the feel on one piece rods, and hook set is a little less , plus a hard cast won't send the pieces flying with the lure.
Now for the lures, and their are many, so let me concentrate on just a few. My first place winner is the X-Rap, made by Rapala. They look like fish, they swim like a fish, and they cast a football field away. I love to doctor each lure I buy. Sort of fine tuning them. I put on feathers if they are not bought with feathers, I put on willow leaves, heck if I could put a skirt and socks on them I would. But don't get real carried away, thus effecting their actions. Usually I do not need to fine tune them, and they work well right out of the box. What I mean by that is I sometimes take a file and remove some of the lip, to make sure they are swimming straight and not going sideways. Usually these lures are good right out of the box. No need to play with their actions.
Second is the Rapala cracking rap, which is a really well made lure, but again costly.
Third are the Rattle Trap type lures. I do use Rattle Traps, but mostly lures that have similar shapes and actions and also have the line attached to their upper heads and not the front of the lures. This helps quite a bit when fishing stumps, the lures tend to bounce off and not getting stuck. Which reminds me. If you do get stuck, please do not try to horse the lure off. It ony drives the hooks deeper into the stump. Take your rod, hold the tip as high as possible holding your hands as high as possible and give it a little flick. 99% of the time that works well, but you need to snap your wrist and not use your arms at all, just snap your wrist back and heading up the whole time. That basically uses the nose of the lure to snap back and hit the hook, knocking it off of the stump. If that does not work, jump overboard and get it yourself, certainly at the cost of lures these days, do not let a single lure stay on the log. Another means of getting lures off logs, is moving the boat opposite of the original retrieve. Then you can snap it back. Sometimes that will tend to spoil the fishing in that area, making too much noise to get into position to retrieve. I have many more lure selections but for now those shall do the trick.
Now for the line. Fireline is it for me. Berkley use to make a line called Whiplash, which was similar to steel in composition. No kidding this stuff needed to be broken by lock cutters. It was the best line I ever used, but they stopped making it.
I have many more tips, if you might have any interest. So get your maps out, look for the type of structure I just presented and go to town catching fish. If you fish like I have mentioned above, you would never go back to trolling or live baiting. This type of fishing goes from early spring until October. See you all on the bay, but please stay away from my special places.
Practice catch and release, so your children might also enjoy this fishery for years to come, and if you keep them, eat them.
Regards,
Peter
[signature]