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Posts: 335
Location: Pulaski, WI | I had a terrible spring last year, and this weekend is looking cold like most of last spring. What are some good tactics for a cold spring?
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Posts: 2024
| Try adding a bell sinker to your favorite twitch bait (Big Games, Grandmas, Shallow Invaders) and slowly work them back with frequent pauses.
I'd also try slowly working gliders up shallow.
If the fish aren't deep, pull off and work gliders on breaks or maybe throw a weighted twitch bait or DDD on the breaks. |
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Location: Menasha, WI | Esox50... can you elaborate on the bell sinker/twitch bait rig? Sound very intesting. I belive I tend to work baits too fast in the spring. |
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| I think what he does that for, is to add a little weight, to get them to stay down a bit. That way you can fish them slower. When there are colder days in the spring, I always reach for some of the less bouyant minnow baits that I know I can keep down, and work erratic, but slow with lots of pauses. There are lots of baits that are really bouyant, and you have to work them faster to keep them down.
One thing that I have been seeing lots of fish on this spring (all 2 days I have been out. LOL) is throwing a JMac. I have raised a bunch of fish on this fishing just outside of the shallow spawning areas, in a little deeper water. Some fish have eaten the suckers when following in, others, I have lost on the jig itself.
That brings me to the last point, DRAG SOME MEAT!!!! It's not just for fall. 2 of the 4 fish that we got last weekend, were on suckers, and I know others that stuck some fish on suckers. |
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Posts: 2112
Location: The Sportsman, home, or out on the water | As opposed to the bell sinker idea, which is not bad, you could use the Jomusky weight set. Alot of stuff for the price. That is what I use for weighting baits. |
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | I like gliders in the Spring when conditions are cool and warming up. I like twitch baits when its warm and stable. When its a cold front and getting colder I like to move out deeper and run drop belly gliders, Beavers Castor(which worked last night for raising 5 fish) and use suckers for the ones that follow but don't hit. Suckers will catch you fish in the Spring. Last night Beav and I raised 5 fish and only 1 hit, the one we didn't see ate a sucker. Unfortunitly, it shook free as Beav was ready with the net.
Fishing under cold condition is tough, fishing shallow was not working so we moved deeper and started to move fish.
I think if its a cold Spring you just have to slow down and stay confident. The fish will eat, sometimes you just have to make it easy for them. Gliders and suckers are my bread and butter when its cold and nasty. |
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Posts: 2024
| CPRMASAP,
I've used bell sinkers to weight my favorite 6" Jake. To get the bait to hang horizontally place the bell sinker in the middle O-ring (middle hook). I usually just leave the hook on, too. I want the bait to sink ever so slowly so that when I pause it, it hangs momentarily. If you want to go all out by some Envirotex and coat your lures with it. This will add enough weight that they should suspend (first fish this year came on an Envirotexed Tuff Shad).
This trick works well trolling, too. If a bait isn't working right or tends to blow out, just add a bell sinker until it runs properly. This also keeps the bait down exactly where you want it or can be an added trigger if you slow your boat down quickly, or just troll slowly, to push the bait deeper or simply make it drop. Worked for a friend of mine last weekend (one boated, one missed) using weighted Grandmas. Hope this helps!
P.S.
"Woo? I thought this guy was supposed to be a millionaire."
Edited by esox50 5/12/2005 9:51 PM
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Posts: 336
Location: Lino Lakes, MN | I love throwing squirrely baits in the spring....especially when the temps are below average. Might be a confidence thing, but I throw a lot of Squirko's worked very very slow. Other than that, I have been adding weight to small twitch baits to keep them down so I can work them super slow. Hope that helps.
lazer |
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