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| Draw Down Muskies
What to do when the water drops to extremly low levels.
by Tony Grant
MuskieFIRST Field Editor
“Lakes with severe water level changes, such as those experiencing a draw down, present problems for the muskie angler. Here’s how to cope with water level fluctuations any time of the year.”
Whether intended for flood control, electrical generation, or both, sharps, sudden changes in water levels are common occurrences at many reservoirs. Naturally, most fish instantly notice any changes taking place and relocate. Certainly, you are not apt to visit your favorite fishing hole the day following even the most abrupt drop and see muskies flopping on the drying shore. The real question is where do they go?
The obvious answer is simple, deeper water. This is actually making things overly simple. Other factors have to be considered especially the speed of the draw down. A slow prolonged drop has a less dramatic effect on both water level and fish activity than one that resembles a bathtub with the plug removed. With that in mind, let us take a closer look at the tough one, the rapid substantial drop that can make muskies seem to disappear.
First of all the term “going deep” is relative, even areas not far apart in the lake can differ, one having sharp drop-offs and others a more gradual taper. Where contours are abrupt, the move to deeper water may call for a change of location that is only a few yards away, perhaps even just a few feet in terms of horizontal movement. This is the easier of the two when it comes to finding muskies that will cooperate. Points, either main lake or major secondary ones, are prime spots to look. Broken slopes with steep inclines are naturally, seasonal travel routes for muskies as water temperatures rise and fall. Here it is still possible to score by casting the shoreline, especially if you are willing to show some patience. Crankbaits of the deep-running persuasion will take the more active fish, especially when used with a sporadic, stop and go retrieve, so will the slow rolled spinnerbait like the Grim Reaper 950 that is allowed to flutter consistently. It is hard to beat a weighted jerkbait offering to an awaiting muskie, (such as a Burt or Suick).
When using crankbaits as draw down comes to your lake, make sure that you pack the biggest, hardest pulling styles that you own, Ernies and Invaders work well. Head for a major creek channel, then work the sharpest drop-offs along that channel. Casting parallel to the break while staying in the strike zone longer can pay off big. Falling water levels can mean forgetting the shoreline and its cover. Remember that the muskies do not have to be far offshore to feel safe, especially with deep water close by.
Now we come to those frustrating areas of the lake with gradual tapers. A 3-4 foot drop here can virtually empty what once was a sizable cove, causing fish of all species to move out to find suitable habitats. In most cases, this may also pull them out of anything that looks like traditional muskie location. Forget the timber and stumps on the edges of the flat that look so tempting. During other water levels, concentrate on the creek channel even in the shallowest water. Casting jerkbaits and twitchbaits will often produce.
Channel edges, even the most minor ones, are holding areas during draw down. Figure on doing lots of casting, but it can be worth the effort. By the way, you might want to follow your crankbait efforts with the slow glide of a jerkbait. Follow speed and motion with some finesse and you will often tempt the less active fish. Pay attention to small humps and depressions off shore and remember that any change in bottom contour is potentially a holding area. Some good news about reservoir muskies is that they tend to use manmade structure such as brush piles; roadbeds and even stake beds during the dreaded draw down.
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| Solving Those Wintertime Blues
Tips to that will keep your boat ready and rigged all winter long.
by Tony Grant
MuskieFIRST Field Editor
Why is it, as the leaves disappear on our trees, so do anglers from the lake? Doesn’t everybody know that the hunt for giant muskies may peak at this time of the year? This is something I have thought about for years as my pursuit for these great freshwater sportfish turns more toward pleasure than work. Yes most people try to escape from the norm when they have time away from their job. That may be true for me at other times of the year also, but not late fall and into winter, not in this part of muskie country. For anglers that pursue muskies during this time of the year results can be very rewarding, with proper clothing and a good thermos of hot coffee, there are very few days that conditions aren’t somewhat comfortable.
Muskies here on “The Cave” are much more active as water temps cool, combining that with the disappearance of most boat traffic and fishing pressure our fish become much more predictable during this period. Let’s talk about some of the tactics used to capture one of these late season trophies.
Late fall and early winter frontal movements can be one of the most productive periods, offering jerk baits close to shore on main lake points near deep water can prove to be deadly. The water clarity on “The Cave” at this time of year is generally poor; I find the most productive baits are Reef Hogs, Jerkos and Burts, all in bright fluorescent colors. Most of the strikes I encounter are during the first couple of jerks, so paying close attention to my bait as it enters the water is essential.
Mid and late winter warming trends are my second most productive times during this period. In the part of the country we’re in we always get a lot of two or three day periods where the surface temperatures will rise several degrees. This will bring muskies up into shallow water, triggering a feeding frenzy. There are two types of presentations I like to use under these conditions; in open water areas with very little cover casting bucktails seems to be the best method. Clear water at this time makes natural colors your best bet; Figure 8 and Grim Reaper bucktails are my choice in gray, white and black patterns. In areas with heavy cover, shallow running crank and twitch baits like the Super Shad Rap, ShallowRaiders, Jakes and Wiley’s seem to work best, once again natural colors should be your choice.
When conditions are normal and there is no drastic change in sight I try to keep in mind what the muskie is thinking. (Feeding) At Cave Run There is rarely a freeze over and the warmer climate enables muskies to feed year round, heavy feeding at this time is very common. Muskies use ambush points to attack their prey; many of these big fish are feeding on crappie and bluegills as lower water temps minimize the distance that they will chase a meal. This type movement generally narrows my search down to a couple types of spots. Once again my attention is drawn to heavy cover (those ambush spots I spoke of earlier), working jerk baits through this timber can pay off big time. Also secondary ledges or drop-offs hold active fish as well, try cranking down to 8 feet or so, slightly bumping the bottom, watch for follows as your lure rises toward the boat. Figure eight’s become an important factor at this time; try a DepthRaider or Ernie for good presentations and easy figure eight’s.
In addition, bait speed during these periods is also an important factor in attracting larger fish, a slow stop and go retrieve with bucktails as well as your crankbait presentations can pay big dividends. A couple of other things to keep in mind are moon phases and line size, check your moon charts to be on the water during peak periods. Increasing your line size (test) by about ten pounds will help pull a big fish from thick timber. Put these tactics to work for you and you’ll realize why there are no off seasons on southern muskie waters!
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| Rattle Your Way to Spring Success
By Tony Grant
Muskie fever hot on your brain you contemplate your next spring trip to southern muskie waters. When you get there, the high waters, rain, and muddy conditions have you reevaluating your decision to use your vacation days on some early season muskie fishing in Kentucky. You remember the stories we have all heard about how someone’s spring trip to a southern muskie hot spot was spoiled by extremely high water. Having heard these stories quite often in my travels to shows, tournaments and seminars across muskie country, I have always looked for methods to overcome these conditions to help my clients boat muskie which would somewhat relieve them of their muskie fever.
Early in my guiding career, I found this time of year was the toughest to get on a pattern, as heavy rains almost always foiled our efforts to consistently boat fish. Fortunately, about five years ago, I came across the miracle cure. The bass style rattling bait. Most hard-core muskie fanatics seem to turn their heads at such non-traditional if not wimpy muskie baits. Whether water levels are rising or falling, these baits are our most consistent producers during our pre-spawn, spawn and post spawn periods. In the last five years, our clients have boated over 250 muskies using this extremely successful rattling spring tactic. Although multiple fish days are very common, the only draw back to this method is that it isn’t a trophy-producing tactic. Most of the fish we boat are 34 to 38 inches with 1 of 10 measuring over 40 inches. However, boating four to six muskies in a day happens more often with rattling lures than any other bait I’ve ever heard of. For example, two years ago in late March, David Christian local guide and one of the first to perfect this technique with his clients set out to fish a bulging Cave Run Lake. Heavy rains had pushed the lake to 12 feet over summer pool. This technique boated eight legal muskies for two extremely happy clients.
“How the miracle bait came about”
My ego wishes I could take credit for the founding of this tactic, but I can’t. Here’s how we came across this method. In 1995 as owner of Cave Run Muskie Guide Service, I ran four or five guides during our busy seasons. One early April day, Bill Burns, local bass and muskie guide was showing to avid muskie clients some of the Cave’s smallmouth bass for me at the time, he told David Christian and myself that his clients had boated three muskies. Our first question of course was, “On what?”. Bill, known as one of the most successful bass anglers around finally gave up his secret “a gold ½ ounce Rattletrap.” Bill went on to inform us that all three fish had come off shallow flats. If you’ve been to Cave Run you know that about the only thing flat around here is the bottom of a Mason jar of moonshine. Areas that we call flats are just the small heads of hollows commonly known as hollers around these parts. In fact, most all of our flats have a somewhat tapered drop. Bill added that his father, who was one of the first guides on Cave Run after its impoundment, always had good luck in the spring using Rattletraps, Rattlin’Shad and other similar baits. Using small baits in the spring was no secret to us, but using Rattle baits had never been a proven tactic.
The following day, David called me just before I met my client for the fishing part of a muskie-turkey combo hunt, to inform me of three fish his clients boated that morning on the Rattletraps Bill had given him. After rifling through my bass tackle box, I headed out to meet my client. With only five hours to produce and only one chrome Rattletrap and a red off-brand lipless rattling crankbait my confidence level was no way near that of David’s. However, I soon found it wasn’t color that day, but the rattle. My client boated a pair of muskies measuring 34 and 36 inches. I was a believer. The next day after a 60-mile round-trip to Walmart, I hit the water on my own to further test my newly purchased Rattletraps. The first three muskies I boated where sub legals so I changed to a ¾ ounce and proceeded to land fish measuring 35, 37, and 38 ½ inches. I determined that the ½ ounce was the choice of smaller fish. I photographed six fish on the floor of my boat that day. I had found my spring miracle bait.
“The miracle bait must be applied to the right location, bait speed and water temperatures”
David and I quickly shared this valuable information with our other guides. At first, not all my fellow guides found this pattern to be quite as productive. They had to find where to apply these baits. The traps weren’t working on points, around lay-downs or standing timber. The key factor was shallow flats near spawning areas. Knowing your water becomes very important here. Muskies rarely follow these baits to the boat. Therefore, locating fish can be very tough. In fact, I can only recall a couple of fish taken on the figure eight using these techniques. The most productive flats seemed to be those of a soft mucky bottom covered with last year’s leaves. Even the smallest flats seem to hold fish.
As the days went on, we found that to steadily produce, another ingredient must be added, speed. Several days of dredging up leaves during the retrieve made us speed up our lures, which provoked even more strikes. A fast retrieve was essential for rattling up consistent spring success. Reels with slower gear ratios didn’t have near the amount of strikes. It also took a couple of years to narrow down the exact time to apply this method.
As a group of guides working together, we all keep very detailed records, which we share with one another. After numerous hours of non-productive casting, we found that our water temperature needed to reach 45 degrees before we applied this tactic. The action continues until the water warms to 65 degrees. We also found that as the surface temperature warms into the 60 – 62 degree range, you should increase the size of your Rattletrap to a 1ounce. Since schools of larger shad seem to be predominant over the smaller variety seen at cooler temperatures, this made sense. Always looking for that extra edge, I purchased some Supertraps only to find that this presentation must have been more than our spring muskies wanted to chew. I’ve fished them many hours only to boat a single muskie. Still all of our guides weren’t being as consistent.
After reviewing our records, we found that line size was a key factor that we could not leave out. Our statistics proved that a smaller diameter line increased productivity. I spool up with PowerPro 30 lb test with 8 lb diameter using a 35-pound snap less leader directly connected to a split ring. This lighter rig seems to give our baits a tighter wiggle and yields a louder rattle. Fear of a muskie breaking you off in the Cave’s enormous amount of wood is not a factor here, as most all of the flats have little or no standing or laydown timber. Presenting your baits with lighter bass rods adds even more excitement in playing the fish to the boat. The Lamiglas Certified Pro XFT 764 is an excellent choice for this application; this longer rod makes long distance cast easier needed while targeting the backs of shallow coves.
The final factor to consider is color. Color selection can be very difficult during this period. It makes sense to use bright orange or chartreuse, which is always a good choice on muddy southern waters. Other times a coin toss sometimes determines my selection. I then change colors often until a pattern is established. After our success here on Cave Run, we were excited to try this method on other muskie waters.
“Not only in the south”
This miracle bait has been very successful on all of Kentucky’s muskie fisheries during high water levels as well as normal pool. This tactic is no longer a secret tactic used by a handful of guides. It is now the preferred method of spring muskie hunting in the south. In my travels during the past few years, I’ve found that this method works all across muskie country when applied in the right areas during the right water temperatures. My good friend and tournament partner, Don Pfieffer, put these tactics to work on two different Wisconsin Chains and had great success in producing some fast spring action for clients during all types of conditions this past year. While participating in the Professional Muskie Tournament Trail (PMTT) event on Chatauqua Lake in New York, I met a muskie hunter that had been producing there using the same tactics. In June, with unusually warm water temps we boated 2 smaller muskies and found this tactic deadly for Northern Pike on the Chippewa Flowage. During the PMTT’s Invitational on Lake Kinkaid I was amazed at the numerous flats that would be terrific spots for some spring rattling success.
We all know that there are no miracle baits in the reality of muskie fishing, but this tactic generates the most awesome spring action I’ve ever run across. Too bad it only lasts four to seven weeks. In talking about this method with other muskie anglers one question usually comes up, “What is the rattling bait imitating to drive these muskies into a feeding frenzy?”. I don’t want to put a dark cloud on such a bright spot in my muskie fishing success so I don’t have an opinion (probably a first). Several opinions I have heard are the first activity of our crawdads, quick movements of our shad population in and out of the flats, and the swift movements of small bass battling for bed selection. For whatever reason, these rattling baits drive muskies crazy. I’m just glad to have the confidence these baits give me during a very tough time on the high waters of the south.
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| Tony Grant's Story of His Kentucky State Record
What a fish, if you have not seen it check it out the photos on www.kymuskie.com
by Tony Grant
MuskieFIRST Field Editor
“The fish of only one cast” - The story of one muskie mans dream come true...
September 21st will be a day that I will always remember, foggy, cool, and breezy on the water muskie fishing. My clients this memorable day were Jim and Terry Walters from Muskegon Mi which I had meet while doing a seminar at Michigan Musky Hunters Club banquet, they were very eager to learn about Cave Run Lake and it’s muskie fishing, the newlyweds were new to the sport and ready to go which always gets me fired up.
I had been moving muskies and been told of muskies caught in the area called “The Flats” for several days, a very common spot for muskie anglers at this time of year. The previous day we had raised a large fish from this area, after reviewing my records comparing conditions I made the decision to go there and work the shallower weeds first till the sun got high. But as we drove up Beaver Creek I noticed wind pounding into a spot on the Licking River that I love to throw TopRaiders and Triklops under lowlight conditions during this time of year, so a quick decision and swift turn of the my Ranger put us on the spot. After 20 or so cast into that small bay I headed out to my original destination on the main lake. So then came lure decision time, a natural Deucetail had given me many good fish over the past few years and the water looked good for it on this day, yet several anglers had told me of black and copper success with bucktails in the previous days.
With fog still hanging fairly low, I pulled from my Plano box a TopRaider for Terry and the natural Deucetail for Jim; we jumped in line with a number of anglers to drift the flat. Third cast up on the flats with the Deucetail and Jim has a four- footer or better just explode at boatside just before the first inside buoy on the Zilpo side. As our drift continued a few 100 yards I decided to get out my Lamiglas TI200 Titanium rod and loaded with Power Pro small diameter 80 lb line and tipped it with a black Grim Reaper 1 oz spinner with gold flake and double willow blades (Doug says that I am the only one that orders these baits with the double willows here locally) and throw the home run cast to the opposite side of the boat. Hoping of hooking a fish to hand off to Terry with the intent of encountering her first muskie, which I do a lot with first timers by covering lots of water with long casts. As my bait hit the water, before I made a turn of the handle, I felt a strong tug to my line, I set the hook and out came this monstrous fish completely out of the water.
I had never seen a fish of this size ever completely leave the surface to give us an awesome tail walk, then a second later she did it again, what a sight. All thoughts of handing my lightweight rod off to a newcomer to the sport with this beast on the end were gone (not even thinking of a state record). Then came the reality of a pure adrenaline rush as she made a run right at me, my high speed Marado Icon reel came in handy here as I caught back up with her. At this point her mighty jaws came out of the water with a half dozen vicious headshakes, I waited for the lure to fly back at me but my Action Optics helped me see that the Grim Reaper had her hooked with text book style. But then she seemed to have given me all see could as she gently swam closer to the boat, that’s when a flash back of David Christain cursing for a month about his biggest fish ever having the lure pulled from it’s mouth by the net on a clients first net job and then swimming away haunted me. A quick decision had me grab the net myself but then realize that a one handed net job on a fish of this size would be dumb and the gratification of having Terry feel the power of the mighty muskie made the decision easier. So I instructed Terry to take the rod, keep the line tight and Terry lead the fish, feeling a couple of awesome tugs as I easy scooped her into my Frabill and she was mine.
I quickly cut the hooks and brought her up for a photo, that’s when I felt the weight, I knew that I had never had a fish this heavy before. She didn’t look as long as she was I guess because of her girth. A few photos, measurement and she was in my Ranger’s livewell, I quickly girthed her in the livewell at 23.5 x 54.5.
With my cell phone handy and without a calculator I called the most knowledgeable guy I know Steve Heiting at Musky Hunter, the formula had her at nearly 40 pounds. I gave her 15 minutes and let her go and she swam off fine for about 30 feet then bellied up. I retrieved her and again put her in the livewell with a little ice hoping to help revive her. We fished for 20 minutes or so and tried her again only to find her immediately rolling, once again she went back to the livewell. While in the livewell she wouldn’t hold herself up and after 10 minutes of forcing her from rolling I decided to put her back in the water, which would be the last time.
After all the work this fat boy was wore out from lugging her up and down and hanging off the side of the boat holding her upright. Again she wouldn’t go and being from the south where the heat effects them so bad I knew from experience that she was done, I pulled her up for some more photos and measurements. Only to find that her girth was 25.5 not 23.5, Later a pictured taken while girthing her inside the livewell showed that the tape was not in the fat of the body. David Christain and my client did a quick head calculation and advised me to get her to certified scales. So back to the dock we went where I had left my digital scales from my trip to the PMTT at Minnetonka, WOW 46.8. 4 hours after her capture, I called the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife told them of the accounts of the fish and ask whom the potential record should be credited to since she touched the rod while landing. They informed me that the person who cast, hooked and fought the fish would be credited with the fish. They then instructed me to Lew Korman, their area biologist in charge of the muskie-stocking program who told me to go to certified scales; this is when my excitement turned to frustration. After driving 25 miles making 5 stops and making 20 phone calls we finally found scales at Caudill Seed Co, miles outside of Morehead. By this time my beautiful fish had a sunken in belly and looked very scrawny as I hung her over my back as we walked through this large warehouse to the area of the scales. My wife Jessica said it look like the old picture you see with anglers carrying large muskies over their shoulder, Employees of the seed company determined her weight at 44.75 lbs and Mr. Korman inspected the fish, verified it’s weight, the scales themselves and gave me my signed certification to be sent to Frankfort.
Why is it that the Muskie Capitol of the south has NO certified scales anywhere near the lake even at the fish hatchery seems thoughtless, I hope the tourism commission learns from this one and invest in a couple of sets to be placed at the two marinas so no one kills a potential record just to get it weighed. Because I don’t believe that this record will stand very long due to the amount of big fish seen and caught and released on the CAVE lately. Mr Korman also added that this fish was of the same stocking that Scott Flatts record fish was from back in 1989, he added that this fish was probably in its last years of life, yet I wish she could have lived to spawn again because she was truly a mighty muskie. Well this was just the beginning of a wonderful day as the reality of taking a record fish started setting in. In fact I woke up the next morning thinking I had dreamed that I caught the state record.
I would like to thank first Jim and Terry Walters for their help and patients as the days event somewhat spoiled the remainder of the days fishing, also I would like to thank all of my sponsors that were very excited for me. Lastly I would like to give a special thank you to all of the friends, clients and people from the muskie industry that congratulated me, that feeling can’t be duplicated.
Tony Grant operates Cave Run Muskie Guide Service and is the owner of Mountain Muskie Lodge on Cave Run Lake. He also is the Manufacturer of quality muskie lures including the T-N-T Triklops, Producer Series’ Deucetail and Rattlin’ Shad. To contact Tony see his website at kymuskie.com or phone him at 1-606-768-2319.
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| Becoming a Better Angler
Tips that will help you get that fish of your dreams.
by Ralph Florio
2002 is upon us, another year gone by. Now is the time for resolutions of all sorts.
Most people will vow to get in shape, lose weight, or quit smoking etc. etc. etc. The same old empty promises year after year, except for those of us that are deemed abnormal, those of us that are stricken with “the sickness.” Yes I said the sickness. Those who have it know what I am talking about. It starts out slow and builds and builds to a point where all you can think about is the almighty Musky. Yes that’s right I’m talking about the “FEVER”, “MUSKY FEVER” that is!
The Fever grabs hold of you and never lets go. You eat, drink and sleep Muskies.
The Fever is hard to overcome. Some think that when you finally get that 50 incher or that 30 pounder the Fever will subside. Boy, who are they kidding, this is when the Fever grabs on harder and stronger than ever. Now all you can think about are 40, 50, even 60 pound fish. Soon your talking about state records, world records. This is when the Fever really has a hold of you!
Those of us stricken with the Fever sit at home in front of the T.V. sharpening hooks and organizing our tackle boxes. We go over our lake maps, setting up milk runs, marking spots were we think that “Big Girl” is finally going to pop!!! Pondering in our minds things gone wrong from seasons past. Surely you wont make those mistakes again. Surely you will become a better angler this upcoming season.
So as you sit at home waiting for the snow to melt, with the Fever burning inside of you. You look up to that “MUSKY GOD” in the sky, and you vow to become a better angler, you vow to do things right this year.
Well here are a few things that can help you along on you journey!
First of all, go grab all your tackle boxes, bring them into the front room, tool shop or garage. Take out all your baits and inspect them. Check to make sure all hook eyes are straight and secure, and check to make sure all front eye screws are straight and secure. Make sure all hooks are “RAZOR” sharp. I can’t stress this enough, if you don’t have a good hook file, “GO GET ONE”!!!! I see so many guys take brand new baits right out of the box and tie them onto their line, not even bothering to check the hooks for sharpness. I’m constantly sharpening hooks while I’m fishing. “KEEP THOSE HOOKS SHARP”
Now’s the time to put all those baits back into your tackle box, sounds easy, but try to put them back in some sort of order. Separate your baits so you’re not standing in the boat for 10 minutes searching for that favorite bait. Put the deep diving cranks on one side and the shallow divers on the other. Separate your jerk-baits, top-waters, and buck-tails, you get the idea. Believe me, every little bit helps. The more time you can spend on the water (actually have a line in the water), the more fish you will put in the boat.
Now inspect your line for frays, ask yourself, how old is this line and do I want to risk losing a fish over this line. I personally re-spool all my reels every season. It’s not worth being cheep when it comes to your equipment.
If you don’t work on your own reels, then take them in to get cleaned and lubed. Usually only a $10 fee, this is a small price to pay for peace of mind. Remember you want everything working smooth when you’re in the boat.
It’s time to check all your rods. Look for signs of stress in the glass, maybe a small crack or a line that will eventually give way and break. Run your hands down the rod and feel for snags or cracks. Make sure your handle and reel seat are secure. I know of a particular brand were the handle turns a ¼ turn or so after a while. I sure wouldn’t want this happening when I had a fish on! Take a Q-tip and wipe the inside of your line guides with it. If the Q-tip snags up then you have a nic in your guide. This will eventually take it’s toll on your line and cause it to fray and break. Replace the guide ASAP.
Now that you have all your gear ready, it’s time to look at the lake maps.
At this time of year the Muskies will seek out the warmest water in the system. For the early season pre-spawn hunts, you want to look for shallow bays on the north end of the lake. These bays warm faster than the rest of the lake from the sun beating down all day. Look for the shallow bays on the north end that are protected from the wind. These bays will be warmer as the cold water can’t be blown into these bays because they are protected. Another key factor in the early spring is to look for sand bottom. The sand will warm quicker than the muck bottom will.
Check your classic break lines or highways to and from these key areas. The fish will use these throughout the day. Set up a milk run and stick to it. Take your time and thoroughly work these high percentage areas.
Now it’s time to hit the water!!!
This time of year may be the best time to really see what lies beneath your favorite spot. The weeds that are growing are still down deep and most waters tend to be a little clearer at this time. This offers us the perfect opportunity to see exactly what we are casting to. To do this you will need another very important part of your arsenal, a good pair of polarized sunglasses. Without these, you might as well stay on the dock and fish for Bluegills.
Look for inside turns, weeds, a log, maybe a rock or boulder, anything that can hold fish. This is when you find that spot on a spot you hear about. You would be surprised at what you see if you just take your time and look! Now you can fish this area with more confidence because you now know what lies beneath the water.
These are all little things that add up to make you and me better anglers.
So go ahead and make that resolution to become a better angler this year.
You can start by getting off that couch and “SHARPENING THOSE HOOKS”.
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| bttt |
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| Tony if you read this just wanted to remind you of a big fish in newyork you saw come out of the water. I recall that was a pretty big fish but it id did not tailwalk like yours. just up, out and spashdown. I still see it in my sleep.
Don |
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| FLASHBACK FRIDAY[:bigsmile:] |
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