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Posts: 2378
| What are your opinions on the effect of the rod on the fish during a figure 8? Does it spook them?
I have an older 8 foot fiberglass rod that I am comntemplating using for big cranks and maybe bucktails. The rod is white in color, much more visible in the water than most rods. I am wondering if this will make a difference when figure eighting. Am very interested in some opinions on this. Thanks |
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Posts: 1185
Location: Wishin I Was Fishin' | I'll say one thing. It spooks them when you hit them with the rod. I learned the hard way to be more careful. |
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Location: Illinois-Indiana | Baldy,
I've said this before, if you have a "HOT" fish, I don't think you could do anything to spook them, all they want is to eat that lure.
I think what spooks the fish more than anything is when you make sudden movements in the boat to do your figure eight. The longer rod will help you start your eight further away from the boat and get a nice big eight, it also allows you to keep the bait down in the fishes face. I don't do an eight, I do a big circle, this lets the big fish chase your lure a lot easier when making turns. Even smaller fish can't make a real tight turn, try a big circle and it will increase your odds of boating a fish at boatside. |
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| Different question on rod spooking fish..
How about a shiny rod vs a matte finish? clear water..bright day..shallow fish..?? |
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Posts: 32885
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I do not believe the rod finish makes any difference at all. It is moving, creating all sorts of disruption in the water, and is impossible for the fish to focus on, anyway. |
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Posts: 1335
Location: Chicago, Beverly | If you don't mind doing this to your rod you could take a permanent marker to the tip to darken it. Otherwise I agree with the others that if the fish is hot and heavy on the bait very little will distract it. I've been told by guides NOT to stick my rod tip in the water when figure 8'ing but as all my F-8 fish had tip in water I think the guide may have been smoking something.... The guy actually spooked a fish by yelling at me about it then blamed it on my tip being in the water, guess how many times I've used him since...lol.... |
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | I once had an about 50" fish (never got her) swim right past my Suick on a figure-8 and hit the shiny tip guide I had on my rod. Looked like she liked the rod better than the lure, I doubt that rod color will make any differance to the muskies! Doug Johnson |
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Posts: 389
Location: Presque Isle Wisconsin | In a word.........NO - the rod wont bother the Muskie;however one frequently overlooked factor that will spook a fish is your profile in the boat standing up with the sun at your back. They do see you and spook.Better to have the sun in front of you if possible during daylight hours. Anyone else notice this? |
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Posts: 1335
Location: Chicago, Beverly | I have noticed stuff like that(the profile). I was up in wisconsin one year, it was raining out and I was wearing a flourescent orange rain jacket. Had lots of follows but nothing biting. Guide said lets go back to cottage and get a different jacket, well all I had was a army fatigue jacket in camo... it seemed to make a difference, caught my first figure 8 fish that day. |
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