Live Fishing Bait
June 11, 2009 by Daniel Ambrose · Leave a Comment
There are a lot of live fishing baits in this world and they all are broken down into many different categories. For instance, you are not likely to use a one inch minnow as your live bait if you are fishing for sharks in the ocean.
So you see there are some restrictions to what live baits you use and where you use them. Some baits are only available in certain areas or during certain times of the year, while others are simply not useful for one kind of catch, but extremely good for another.
We want to discuss things like minnows, and other baitfish, as well as things like crickets, frogs, toads, leeches and worms, crustaceans, salamanders and all sorts of flying insects.
Minnows are used for numerous reasons. Some minnows are chosen for their size, shape, activeness, sex, flash or color, even taste and smell. With so many decisions its a wonder anglers ever have time to get their bait in the water and this is just the decisions regarding the minnows and we still need to figure out our hook. But we will save that for a different topic.
Lets quickly go over minnows so you can identify them and perhaps even learn why some are chosen for one catch, but not the other. We will now identify the most popular thirteen minnows at your local bait shop.
Minnow Identification:
1) Fatheads, sometimes called mud-minnows or tuffies, have a short first ray on the dorsel fin and live in lakes and rivers throughout most of North America.
2) Creek Chubs look similar to the hornyhead chub, but have smaller scales and a dark spot at the front base of their dorsel fin. A very common stream minnow usually found in eastern North America and thrives in gravel bottom streams east of the rockies in the United States and southern Canada.
3) Bluntnose Minnows are more rounded at the nose than the fathead and have a dark band from the tail to eye and they live in the eastern half of the United States.
4) Horneyhead Chubs, also known as redtail chubs, have a lateral band that extends to the tail and they prefer gravelly streams from Wyoming to New York, south to Arkansas.
We will pause there and pick this up in our next post, so be sure and check back for Live Fishing Bait -Part – 2. I would strongly suggest you bookmark the website, or take this opportunity to sign up for my free RSS feed.
Lake Trout Fishing Tips
June 5, 2009 by Daniel Ambrose · Leave a Comment
Please note that this article includes excerpts from the very well known fisherman Dick Sternberg, from his great book: Fishing With Live Bait. So you know the lake trout fishing tips are sound.
A favorite technique of springtime lake trout anglers is to throw out a dead baitfish,prop the rod on a forked stick, then sit back and wait for a bite. When a laker picks up the bait, it often runs 20 to 30 yards before it stops. A fisherman that forgets to open the bail may suddenly see his rod fly from the stand and disappear into the depths.
Just after ice-out, lakers seek shallower, warmer water. Shore fishermen cast with dead smelt or sucker meat on slip-sinker rigs. Because lake trout are scavengers, the bait should be fished on the bottom.
Like most other trout species, lakers shy away from heavy line. Use monofilamint no heavier than 10-pound test. Some fishermen switch to 4-pound line when fishing is slow.
Dead baitfish are not used as often in the summer because trout are usually scattered and may be suspended off bottom. However, fishermen frequently use sucker miat or miat from other baitfish to tip 1-to-2 ounce bucktail jigs.
If you run short of bait, open the stomach of a freshly caught lake trout. Remove any ciscoes or other baitfish. These soft, partly-digested fish are just as effective as fresh bait.
How to Rig a Smelt:
Step #1 of 3
Thread a 1/2 ounce egg sinker onto 8-pound mono.
Step #2 of 3
Add a barrel swivel and 3 feet of 6-pound leader.
Step #3 of 3
Insert a #2 hook through the lips of a 6-to-8 inch smelt.
Tips For Fishing Crappies and Other Pan Fish
June 4, 2009 by Daniel Ambrose · Leave a Comment
This article has excerpts from a wonderful book written by that great fisherman Dick Sternberg, titled: Fishing With Live Bait. You will love the fishing for Crappies information in this article.
More Crappies are caught on small baitfish than on all other baits and lures combined. Yellow Perch, White Perch, Rock Bass, Warmouth, White and Yellow Bass, and some species of Sunfish will take minnows.
A variety of baitfish are routinely sold as Crappie Minnows. Fatheads and shiners are the most popular, followed by small dace and chubs. Large Crappies, Yellow Perch and White Bass will take a minnow up to 3-inches in length, but in most cases a 1 1/2 – 2-inch minnow works best. Sunfish usually ignore a minnow longer than 1-inch.
When the shallows warm in the spring, minnows move into quiet bays and sunny shorelines. The Crappies are not far behind. Most shore fishermen use bobbers and minnows, or jig-minnow combinations.
Later in summer, large Crappies move out to deeper cover. They frequently hang around mid-lake rock piles, sunken islands or submerged brush. During the day, they may suspend in deep water away from cover. Most fishermen catch them on slip-bobber rigs or tandem hook rigs fished vertically.
When fishing with minnows for other panfish, anglers often use bobber rigs, split-shot rigs or jig-minnow combinations. Some Crappie fishermen in the South use welding rod rigs in heavy brush to avoid constant snagging.
How to Make a Welding Rod Rig:
#1
Cut an 8-inch piece of welding rod.
#2
Flatten the ends and drill a hole in each end.
#3
Insert a snap at one end and a snap-swivel at the other.
#4
Use a #4 light-wire hook and 20-pound mono.
#5
Hook a small minnow through the back.
#6
Fish with a shorter rod in dense brush.
Fishing For Walleyes
June 3, 2009 by Daniel Ambrose · Leave a Comment
This article includes excerpts from Dick Sternbergs’ book: Fishing With Live Bait. A wonderful book with a lot of great information including tips on fishing for walleyes.
A glint of light off the side of a shiner may be the key to triggering a strike from a stubborn walleye. Emerald shiners are an important food for walleyes in many large lakes. But because emerald shiners are difficult to keep alive, many walleye experts use golden shiners.
Other popular baitfish for walleyes include fatheads, common shiners and redtail chubs. Madtoms work well for walleyes in rivers. For average-size walleyes use 21/2 – 3-inch baitfish. However, a walleye over 5-pounds can easily swallow a 6-inch minnow.
Slow-trolling with a slip-sinker rig probably accounts for more walleyes than any other bait-fishing technique. If you feel even the slightest tug, release the line so the fish can swim off without feeling resistance. Wait until the fish stops, then quickly reel up slack and set the hook.
Baitfish work best in spring and fall. But in northern lakes where natural foods are scarce, baitfish are effective for walleyes year-round. In these waters, dead or preserved baitfish work nearly as well as live ones.
How to Tie a Basic Slip-sinker Rig:
Step #1
Basic slip-sinker rigs are tied by threading a 1/4 – 1/2-ounce walking sinker on 8 – 10-pound mono.
Step #2
Attach a barrel swivel.
Step #3
Tie 3 feet of 6-pound mono to the swivel.
Step #4
Add a #4 or #6 short-shank hook.
Fishing Tips For Catfish
June 2, 2009 by Daniel Ambrose · Leave a Comment
Please note that this article includes excerpts from the well known expert fisherman Dick Sternberg, from his great book: Fishing With Live Bait. So you know the catfish fishing tips are sound.
With jaws nearly a foot wide, a big flathead catfish eats fish that most anglers would be happy to catch. Some trotline fishermen use carp and other baitfish weighing up to 2 pounds.
Flatheads prefer live fish. Channel and blue-cats also bite on live baitfish, but most are caught on dead fish or fish chunks.
When fishing for large catfish, many anglers use a Wolf River rig to keep the bait fluttering off bottom. For smaller catfish, an egg sinker rig or a sliding Wolf River rig may work better.
Trotlines and limblines, while considered commercial gear in some states, are commonly used on large rivers and reservoirs. A trotline, or setline, consists of a dozen or more hooks. A limbline has only a single hook. It is tied to an overhanging branch so the baitfish dangles in the water. Both types of lines are set one day and picked up the next.
How to Use a Wolf River Rig:
Step #1
Thread a 24-inch leader of 15-pound mono through the eye of a bait needle.
Step #2
Push the line into the mouth and out the vent of a 5 – 7-inch shad.
Step #3
Tie on a 1/0 to 3/0 treble hook.
Step #4
Tie a three-way swivel to 20-pound monofilament.
Step #5
Attach the baited leader and a 10-inch dropper of 12-pound mono tied to a 3 – 4-ounce pyramid sinker.
Step #6
Cast into tailwaters where catfish hide among the rocks. This rig works well on rocky bottoms. If the sinker snags, its lighter line will break first so you can salvage the rest of the rig.