IgotWood

I've seen some folks carry a bucket. Cut a pool noodle or a piece of foam pipe insulation around the rim of the bucket, hook your baits in the foam and let them hang there. If you want to try one of those baits again, you don't have to dig through your tackle for them, they're hanging right there. Leave them there overnight in the garage to dry and put them away tomorrow.

Do it! My guide buddy bugged me for years to help him out and take some of his business when he was busy. During covid I finally gave it a try. At that time I wasn't really fishing anymore. To be honest, I'd kinda lost interest in it for a while. I was busy enjoying other forms of outdoor recreation, but when I began guiding it totally reignited my passion for fishing. I was hesitant for years to enter into guiding. I was afraid that fishing would become my job and no longer a hobby that I enjoy. I've always hoped to teach my kids and drag them all over the water like my father did with me, but my children have very little interest in it. I've found a whole different feeling of satisfaction by teaching someone, putting a rod in their hand, and seeing them be successful. At first I was afraid of the pressure of guiding someone, but I've learned to embrace it. I found value in gaging the client's expectations, and explaining mine at the beginning of the trip. This help alleviate the pressure, although it still always exists to some extent. More often than not, the trip exceeds both mine, and the client's expectations. I'd also add that the pressure helped me grow substantially as a fisherman. Often times when I fished recreationally, I easily got caught in my own lazy habits; not wanting to change techniques, not trying different water, being stubborn, etc. When someone is paying me, I felt that I needed to pull out all the stops to give the client the best advantage possible on the day. It forced me to grow. I had to sharpen my blade in techniques and rigging that I wasn't very familiar with, and fishing in conditions I often would avoid if I were fishing for fun. At times I felt a little bit of imposture syndrome, because I was having so much fun guiding, and people were paying me for it. I felt like I was stealing from them because it never felt like work for me. The real weenie for me was seeing some of my clients go out and be successful on their own and make the local fly shop's weekly river report. And the guide discounts on gear was major perk too! Do it! If you hate it, you can just as easily walk away from it. I plan to do it again in a few years when I retire and move back home.

Better off to shop retailers who sell fly tying materials. There are tons of really cool natural and synthetic materials available these days. A few places I buy materials are Bears Den, Fly Fish Food, Waters West in OR used to sell a huge variety of natural materials. Nightmare Musky Flies sells some really unique materials too. To help streamline your research, look for "streamer materials". You can also looking into making and tying with brushes. Plenty of youtube vids on it. You can custom make your own brushes with any materials imaginable. There also endless hours of flytying tutorials online to help you get ideas for tying jigs. Basically how to tie, and how to use all the different types of materials. Great way to kill time in the winter. Enjoy the new rabbit hole.

I've done a lot of this. Honestly, it takes patience, and willingness to donate some tackle. You're gonna lose some tackle, and it helps to pack a bit like a minimalist to help keep your gear well organized. You're gonna spend a good amount of time rigging, and I prefer to make it as easy as possible. T-rigs, and soft plastic swimbaits are good options, as well as weedless topwaters. I fished a spot just like you described a few weeks ago. Couldn't buy a bite. My buddy started slapping them on jigs pitching up against the trees and in the log jams. Once I got dialed in it was lights out, but I burned though about a dozen jigs in a couple hours. Generally, I don't really change anything to fish at night. I beef up my leader a little bit because the fish are less spooky, and it helps to get your bait (and fish) out of snags.

Swimjig! Man, it can be so much fun when that bite is on. When the swimjig bite isn't being very productive, a big long t-rigged ribbon-tail worm with a very light weight, 1/10oz-1/4oz and fish it sloowwwwwww. It's a very light rig, usually 8-12lb test, therefore, I am not throwing it into the grass. I'm targeting the edges, or slowly swimming it over submerged grass.

I absolutely believe in bite windows! Personally, on my local water, bite windows aren't very important for most of the year. However, during the winter, bite windows, in my opinion, 100% determine your success. If you fish tidal water, bite windows also become very important and dependent on tides and moons. I also firmly believe that bite windows apply to many/most species; fresh and saltwater. From my experience, bite windows can be tough to dial in on. For some species, or on certain water, bite windows can be noted based on weather, moon phase, tide, sunlight, wind, bug activity, etc. One thing you mentioned was that the bite suddenly turned on, and simultaneously the mosquitos drove you out of there. It could be possible that there was some aquatic bug activity that the bait/panfish keyed in on, thus triggering bass activity. On one of my local lakes, when the panfish are sipping bugs, the bass generally will smash moving baits. So I began timing my outings for pre-dawn when the bugs were coming off and the panfish were eating them. Once the sun was up, the bugs are gone, and the bass are back into their lazy habits; jigs, t-rigs, and finesse baits. On another lake, when it gets HOT, I can pick some fish during the evening, but as soon as the lights go out it's a free-for-all for about an hour, then the bite dies again. For me, half the fun of fishing is finding success based off of observation, and experimenting!

As a teenager, my uncle and I used to wade the upper Housatonic River in Connecticut in September for the early goose season. That time of year the river was usually very low, and warm. Stellar smallmouth fishing. We favored a couple of rocks to perch on an lay our shotguns on while we fished. When the geese came by we'd let em have it, retrieve the birds, and continue fishing. Some of the most fun I've ever had. But yeah, why wouldn't you squeeze some fishing into your trip? Seems like a no brainer! Enjoy!

I fish this style with two different setups, depending on the weight I am throwing. Spring and early summer before the water gets hot, I am generally fishing a bit faster, and I use medium action rod and 15-20lb test, with a 1/4oz-3/8, with a sturdier wire hook. As summer progresses and the water gets hot, I switch to a very light setup. A light action rod, 10lb test, with a 1/8oz-1/4oz weight and a light wire hook. By this time, I am fishing very, very slow. But fishing this light, and this slow, the Kut Tail worm probably isn't doing what it is designed to do.

I love a bright sunny day! I am fishing a big t-rig ribbontail with a very light weight (1/8oz-1/4oz.) I'm fishing a bit off the bank looking for weed bed edges, and anything that provides some shade, and I'm fishing painfully sloooooowww. I do very well fishing like this during the summer. Really, anytime of day for me; morning, mid-day, evening. I've had many stellar days with BIG fish doing this. And for what it's worth, I normally have success with weird colors; Zoom make a ribbontail which is blue and red with some glitter. Can't remember what it's called, but that's to go-to for me. If not on that, then I'll go to plum, black, or blk/blue.

All of the above ^^ I also believe that optimal feeding conditions exist far less frequently during the cold months than any other time of year. So when the big fish are "in the mood" to eat, I think they tend to be more aggressive, and less weary and picky. As a side note, generally, I'm not reading reports during the winter. I'm reading the weather and looking for patterns of steady weather. That third day in a row of that same weather pattern is what I am looking for.

Boy I’d be hard pressed to change it up if you’re having good success. It’s like leaving biting fish to go find more biting fish. I do a ton of nighttime fishing. Mostly striped bass and trout, but have recently been dabbling in LMB at night too. I keep it super simple. Black, or white. Black on a dark night, and white on a bright night. However, last night fishing under the street lights in very clear water, the fish keyed in on natural shad colors. And then in the other side of the pond with no light, they would only touch black. Keep your lights off as much as possible. You can surprisingly see pretty well once your eyes adjust. I find this critical to being able to cast at the banks in the dark. If I absolutely need to use my light for something, I try to use red and make it quick. Casting in the dark takes good casting control, intuition, hearing, etc. I find that my senses are amplified in the dark. You’ll still decorate the trees with tackle as it’s inevitable, but you can also get away with fishing heavier line/leader in the dark which helps.

I am an avid fly fisherman, but only dabbled in it for bass fishing for kicks. I'm sure there is a time/place for it. I personally only bothered with it in the spring and fall when my local water was clear of scum and weeds, and the fish are actively chasing bait. To address the loose line at your feet...yeah, it's a pain in the neck. I saved fly fishing for my NuCanoe. The deck is flat and wide open and clear of stuff for the line to catch on. It definitely takes some practice, and some adjustments to your kayak layout. It was fun to do once in a while, but it wasn't something I wanted to invest in. I prefer to fly fish on rivers for trout, smallmouth, etc. I will add though, that if you have access to a pond with lots of casting room, you can have a blast throwing poppers on the fly rod for bass and panfish.

In the northeast, they usually drain the reservoirs really low for the winter. It always amazed me to see them like that. No better time do do some recon. Not sure if they do that where you live though.

@Jig Man Curious to know how this worked for you?

In the middle of where the hook bend would be. I tried to post another pic but I'm computer illiterate and can't figure out how to make the file smaller. If you check out the instagram post I gave the link to, there is a short 30 second video.

If you want to use a craw, I like the SK Rage Lobster. It's long, so you will probably have to bite off a piece of the head. I also really like the SK Rage Menace on a swim jig. Its a little smaller and more compact. Both options are great.

The other pics I have in my phone are too large to post. Essentially you are taking th hook bend out of the equation. It is only the jighead holding the bait in place. It allows for better hook exposure during the strike and the bait moves out of the way of the hook resulting in fewer tears.

@Jig Man if you have instagram, I made a little post about it here. I used to run this page, but I recently started a new job and I don't really have the time for it for a couple years so I relinquished the account to my business partner. I'll still post a few pics tomorrow when I get home. https://www.instagram.com/p/CiAWFkeOU5J/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Chain works, but it can be rather noisy. As mentioned, Da' Bomb is a great option. @biggin for a hard bottom river, check out Tornado Anchors. They are designed for drift boats. A little pricey, but a very cool concept. I've used them before (on a drift boat)...they work very well!

I thought I made a post about this a few years ago, but I couldn't find it. I am on a 24hr shift at work today. I'll post a few pics when I get home tomorrow.

There is a really simple hack which hugely extends the life of swim baits rigged on jig heads. Measure where the hook will penetrate and be exposed and cut a small hole from the back of the bait through the belly. A 1/2"-3/4" slice through the bait will usually do the trick for 3.8 and bigger. This improves hook up ratio and helps prevent the bait from tears where the hook is exposed. The bait is able to move a bit more where the bend of the hook is. It does make the tail sag a bit in your hand, but you can see it when the bait is in the water, and it also adds bit more action to the bait. Winter fishing for stripers in CT, I'd easily go through 3-4 packs of baits on a decent night. After learning this trick, I can usually get through a night on one pack.

Neck gaiters are too tight and too warm. I like the hooded fishing shirts these days. It seems just about everyone makes them, but I really like the shirts from Simms. They make a few different styles. They are super light, and loose fitting which helps keep you cool . The hood fits loosely over a ball cap and gives you coverage on your neck, ears, and most of your face.

On my home lake the fishing really turns on as soon as the water hits the mid 50s. Squarebills, spinnerbaits, swimjigs, and standard jigs do well. This bite holds out for a couple weeks and then the fish move onto the beds and shift gears. This kinda blew my mind, but a few years ago a guy I would often see on the lake was smashing big bass. He was pitching frogs at standing timber in 3'-6'. I couldn't believe it. When he'd miss a fish, he'd immediately follow up with a jig n craw. I tried it, and I was amazed at how productive it was. This really changed the way I fish in the spring. On overcast days or windy days, I'd swap the frog out for a spinnerbait or a squarebill, and the jig for a weightless senko and slow down my presentations.

Many fishermen look forward to the Fall, but frankly, fall is the toughest part of the year for me. I am usually very consistent through spring and summer, but by mid-September, every pattern I'd dialed in on in the summer is out the window! I notice the fish move off of the structure and off the banks, and bait is schooling up offshore. Locating fish isn't usually too difficult, but for some reason getting bites is. I have had good days when the fish are obviously on the feed. However, there are many more days when I can locate the bait, and locate the fish very close by, and just cannot get bit. Honestly by the time October rolls around I'm already looking forward to January and February. The fishing may not be red hot, but I can generally dial in on a pattern and have some fun.

I prefer slim profiled trailers. A 6" speed worm with about an inch bitten off is a winner. And, not so secret, but perhaps forgotten about; Lunker City Slug Go in 6". Another option that I have had some success with are synthetic pork rinds. There are several of them out there these days, but a while back I bought some Otter Tails which I still have. I've done well with them on bladed and non-bladed swim jigs.