Fishes in trees

Rain water on fishing reels can have huge health consequences. You could be creating toxic mold or flesh eating bacteria, just to name a few. Fortunately, I am experienced in cleansing and sanitizing reels with this issue. Mail them to me ASAP, include return postage and I'll get them back to you sooner or later.

Are you talking about a float and fly? Research float and fly - it is a cool/cold weather approach for smallmouth on clear highland reservoirs. Maybe it will adapt to your locale. Call up In-Fisherman magazine and talk to an editor. It seems to me that several years ago they were doing quite a bit of research fishing, suspending jigs from floats for different species.

Isn't boat accessible? Does that just mean that there isn't any ramp or that there is no way no how that you can't get a job boat or a 2 man plastic boat in? Back in my meat fishing bush hippie days, I fished quite a few strip pits and most of them you could put a boat in with a modest amount of effort. By June, for sure you could get a float tube in and not freeze stuff off. May could sometimes get chilly using a float tube. I knew some hard core guys who would fish with waders and float tubes in March and April, but those guys were crazy - extreme athletes types. Basically, you treat a strip pit as a miniature canyon reservoir. You have lots of banks where there is a very steep drop off. Finding the shallow water is important and then you fish, not necessarily in the shallows, but close to it. I never caught fish on the bottom - 40 to 60 feet of water was common. Much more often they were suspended or if you could find a ledge 10 to 12 feet down, that was money. Try to figure out the forage base. My experiences with strip pit fishing was lots of numbers, 10-12" fish and very few big fish. At the time, that's what I was looking for. Frequently, 6 or 7 of us would go as a group. We'd drag in a jon boat oars or small electric. It would serve as the sag wagon, carrying everyones extra tackle and the beer. 5 or 6 other guys would fish out of float tubes. I very seldom fished pits by myself, what with the steep sides, opportunities for falling and extra deep water, not to mention running into copperheads, it made more sense to go as a group. There is the occasional isolated, hard to get to strip pit that has lots of decent fish in it. The rule here is don't get greedy and catch and release. I personally ruined a couple of these pits by taking many 15 - 18" fish out of a pit in the course of a month. It was never the same after that. I caught some pit fish on medium cranks and some on Rapalas, the day in and day out producer on strip pits was a 1/8 oz plain jig head with a #11 pork frog or a pork split tail eel, fished on 6 lb test. I'd just keep throwing it, trying different depths every cast until I found the depth of the day. I recall the very first time I got a tube bait in my hands I went out and had a 100 fish day with it at Finger Lakes State Park, north of Columbia, Mo. Never did that again. Have fun fishing strip pits, but don't do some of the things I used to do. Don't bust out the bolt cutters and cut chains. Don't replace the links with ones that can be unscrewed. Don't get good at taking gates off their hinges and replacing them. Don't drive down horseback riding trails and get your car stuck. Somebody owns all the land now, try to get permission and don't trespass. Trespassing is bad. I'm not in my 20s anymore, and for sure this ain't the 70's. These days, I have a boat and I stick to lakes with ramps.

I've fished with fluorocarbon on spinning reels with few issues. I think the issues I've had with it involved operator error, getting the line on right. As sometimes my spinning gear sits for a time between uses, a few shots of reel magic the first few casts helps alot and I've learned to not try to make a monster long cast right off the bat. I stick with the fluorocarbon because I think the advantages outweigh the hassles.

I'm starting to thing that all my tackle storage issues would be solved if I had a larger floating tackle box to tow behind my fishing truck. I'm giving lots of thought to a 19 or 20 ft floating tackle box to replace my 18 foot floating tackle box. It's just money and you're not allowed to take any with you at check out time.

The basic In-Fisherman formula. Fish + Location + Presentation = Success Driving to the lake, and prior to that, loading the truck and boat, I've considered seasonal patterns, what worked previously, what didn't, what I want to experiment with that day, etc. When I'm on the water, I try to not think. I try to fish the moment. If it occurs to me to change something, then I change - some of the time. Frequently, I think my biggest mistake is not sticking to my original plan, being to quick to change. One of the things I'm going to work on this year is boosting my locating skills. It wasn't too long ago that I was concentrating primarily on the physical skills, i.e. putting a spinner bait where you want it, or pitching a jig 35 - 40 feet away and landing with minimal splash. While I'm not totally happy with my physical skills, they aren't going to be a focus this season. This season it is going to be about fish location and fishing smarter.

The slits are a good thing. They let you tie knots and stuff without taking your gloves off. Winter conditions, I generally carry several pairs of gloves. Thick warm ones for when you're running. Neoprene gloves, ragg wool gloves ( with & without fingers) and a pair of polar fleece gloves. I like having options when it is cold out. If one pair gets real wet, just put on another.

I don't know where you live, but in the Ozark reservoirs, the Jewel Baits Eakins Jig has a great tournament record over the past decade. That would be one to start with. There are lots of similar styles out there.

You got options. Every year, the first or second trip of the year, it seems like I catch 1 or 2 big fish very shallow (1-2 ft) on a rattle bait. That being said, I will catch more fish fishing deeper, using a suspending pointer or a shad rap. I know guys who, the first few trips of the year will take six jig rods, and that's it. There will be a chompers on one and the other five will have different colors of the 5/16 Eakins jig. The main thing is to just get out. For me, that is probably a month away.

If it was me, fishing where you're fishing, I'd go to some sort of braid. For instance, 14 lb Fireline has the same diameter as 6 lb mono (roughly). You can tie a fluorocarbon leader to the braid. I think fishing 6 lb mono around bushes and trees is asking for it.

I use 20 lb fluorocarbon on my bubba dropshot rig.

Different areas of the country have different top water patterns that work from time to time. An earlier post mentioned cloudy days. I'd agree with that. The vast majority of top water bites I've had happened during cloudy days/ diffused light situations. To the topic of different patterns, some times on your clearer Ozark lakes, guys will throw poppers on points. Boat is sitting in 40 to 60 feet of water and you're throwing to 10 or so and bringing it out. Fish suspended on points will come up to hit the popper, sometimes 20 feet or so. Truman, and some other lakes have large areas of flooded forest. Getting in amongst the trees and working a popper occasionally produces. Focus on being next to the trunk of the tree, the moments just after you've crossed over something large and horizontal and any shade pockets that might exist. Both of these pattern are more of a post spawn than pre spawn thing, but they both speak to the notion that weeds and shallow water are not a 100% requirement for top water success. On the Corps of Engineers lakes, that are primarily managed for flood control, weeds and grass can be extremely variable. High water = lots of grass Low water = no grass I'm pretty certain that in other parts of the country there are top water patterns I don't know about, so anyway, good luck with your top water fishing this season.

Think outside the box. Years ago, when I was a meat fishing bush hippie on a modest income, I went into the goodwill store one day. I came across a monster sized womens purse, made out of some kind of nylon/canvas stuff. It was extremely sturdy. You could put a couple of bricks in it and knock down muggers with it. It would hold 5 or 6 3600 boxes plus an amazing amount of loose stuff in its various zippered pockets. I was a bank fisherman at the time, and it would hold more than I felt like carrying. I think I paid a dollar for it. When I moved out of town I traded it to a fellow meat fishing bush hippie for a shallow running shad rap. This is getting away from the point, which is to go to the goodwill store and see what they've got.

I have a Cabelas guidewear suit. I think it is very comparable to the BPS suits mentioned. I went with the guidewear primarily because it had fewer logos on its. I don't like serving in the role of unpaid human billboard. I had the parka for a couple of years, then I went to shorter jacket style. The jacket is just easier for me to move around in than the parka was. The longer jacket is now my winter coat, and I don't even use the zip in liner most of the time. Now, for summer fishing, it's the frog toggs. Occasionally, they go on sale. I think my last set cost me $30.

I like the Falcon 3/0 - 1/16 K wacky weedless hook. I know, throwing wacky rigs where I throw them, I'm going to lose hooks from time to time. I seem to lose less of these than some of the other brands mentioned.

A small boat on a windy day can be challenging. There are several ways to address this, most of which involves throwing money at the problem. You can't ever have too much trolling motor. Get the most powerful trolling motor you can afford. I know Minn Kota has a 50 or so lb thrust 12 volt. Motor guide surely has something similar. The difference between a 43 and a 50+ is significant. If you've got the room in your boat for the batteries, go 24 volt. If you're staying with a 12 volt motor, extra batteries can give you more time on the water. Wired in parallel ( positive to positive, negative to negative ) give you the same voltage that lasts longer. A drift sock works to slow down your drift. Dragging a heavy chain works nearly as well. Jimmy Houston, all the time, says "The wind is your friend." If you're fishing on a windy day, keep telling yourself that you're hanging out with your friend, see how that works.

Depends on water color and time of day. Crack of dawn or around dusk, I'll try to make a top water bite happen - poppers or frogs, some thing like that. During the day, assuming 1-3 feet visibility, I'll spend lots of time on main lake or primary cove tree lines and I'll primarily fish two lures. I'll look for reaction strikes with a DC16 Timber Tiger crank bait. I'll throw it into or across the crowns of trees and work it back at a medium pace. Option B - same area - a wacky rigged senko, threaded on an O ring, 3/0 Falcon K wacky 1/16 weedless hook on 14 or 17 fluorocarbon. The plan is to drift it down past any shade pockets that may be present. I try to pay attention to boat control. I want to go into or quartering into the wind without casting a shadow in the direction I'm casting. The past few years, this has been my best pattern for 5lb+ fish in the summertime - late june through early september.

I don't drink alot or or often while I'm fishing, yet there is some sublime charm in swilling a cold frosty beer on a balmy spring afternoon. For me the key is to not bring very many.

I bought a couple more packs yesterday. I got a new color ( new to me ). Green pumpkin with blue flakes. Last year, sinking minnows were overall my most productive drop shot bait. (Bubba drop shot - flippin stick, 20 lb fluoro and 1/2 ounce weight)

Early in the year, as a general rule, I seem to have better results post noon. That being the case, the best time to go fishing is when you've got time to go.

Berkley Frenzy - Threadfin shad

P line is bad. Throw it away. It is thick for its size and it had alot of memory, which isn't a good thing on a spinning reel. Use it to hang pictures with.

Straight from the mouth of Al Lindner. I remember reading about this in In-Fisherman, back when the Lindners owned it. " A jig is a rig and a rig is a jig." He went on to talk about how a jig is really a carolina rig with a really really short leader and how a carolina rig is just a jig with a very long, very flexible hook. So, for carolina rigs, a shorter leader offers more control, i.e. you have a better idea of where your bait is in relation to the weight. A longer leader offers more finesse. That is frequently important. The other thing a longer leader does is save time. You can break off baits several times when they get stuck before you have to tie on a whole new leader. So, what all this means is that experimenting with leader length is a given. You can probably get away with shorter leaders in muddy/murky water than you can in clear. By the way, I think a 7' rod is plenty long enough. Good luck with your carolina rig experiments.

I think what you're wanting to do is slow rolling. In slow rolling you take a spinnerbait (heavier beats lighter, just because it drops faster) and let it drop to the bottom, then bring it back using a medium/slow retrieve. You want to bring it back fast enough that you blades are turning, but not so fast that you pull it above your target depth. The notion then becomes what ever is down there you bump your bait into it, hesitate and drop for a moment and then continue the retrieve. 10 or 12 feet is about my limit depth for this, mostly because I lack patience to let it drop farther. There really isn't any reason it wouldn't work deeper, consider it a jig with extra "thump". I've seen both willows and colorado blades marketed as "slow rollers", so I don't really know which blade style is better. What modest success I've had doing this has been with colorado blades. You mentioned fishing bluffs with spinnerbaits. In the Ozark lakes, this is a common pattern,but you generally don't have to go very deep. Stay 6' - 10' off the bluff and fish the spinerbait parallel. Experiment with different depths, just know that you will never have to go beneath the thermocline, and your electronics should tell you where the thermocline. Fish frequently hang 3 or 4 feet down on ledges, underneath ledges and in little pockets in the bluffs. You mentioned throwing the heavier spinnerbaits in shallow water. You bet they will work and you will be able to cast farther and cover more water per cast. Use heavier line - I use 17 or 20. It is pretty easy to snap off 10 or 12 lb line with a 3/4 oz bait. Good luck.

There is a guy in Springfield, Mo named Johnny Morris. Several years ago he started a company called Bass Pro Shops. They publish a catalog. With lots of pictures. Pretty self explanatory. Included with the catalog is a phone number. It's toll free. If you got a Visa or a Mastercard, you can call them up and they will mail stuff right to your house. Fast forward several years and it seems several different retailers have picked up on this trend and now there are lots of fishing tackle catalogs right on the internet. Progress marches on.