IgotWood

^^^^This! Something I like to track more than anyhthing is the weather for a few days prior to my fishing trip. What the weather did yesterday and the day before can play a big role in what the fish may be doing today. Any other peculiar observations should be noted as well, ie; fish breaking surface, bait presence, bird activity, etc... The information that YOU use to determine when, where, and how you will fish, should be the information you are tracking.

Same here, man! I do much better fishing shallow water with visible cover. I did do some deep, open water fishing this fall/winter, but I didn't have much luck. This year, I also plan to be more patient when fishing. I want to understand why I caught a fish where/when I did, and I want to cover areas more thoroughly, instead of making my normal 4 or 5 casts and moving on. Another goal of mine is finishing top 5 in a kayak tournament this year.

Ocean Kayak makes a decent tandem boat. I have seen a few in my area on craigslist for well under $500.

That's awesome! Well done! I'm drooling over the dyed tips. I tie with arctic fox a lot, but I have never zonked it. Now the gears are turning

I fish wacky senkos a lot. Your idea is pretty cool, and I'd be interested in hearing how it works for you. However, I have very few problems with hook-sets, and weeds. I like the Gamakatsu weighted wacky hook. It's pretty good in the weeds, and I would be willing to bet that I go 9:10 on hook-sets with it. For an unweighted hook, I use the Gamakatsu weedless wacky hook. It's basically a wide gap octopus hook with a plastic weed guard, which works very well. I have a very similar hook up ratio with this hook too.

I just recently started tying a few hair jigs, however, I have been fly tying for many years. Bucktail and marabou are pretty easy materials to start with. You can add some crystal flash, or flashabou to add a little bit of character to them. Another very nice material is arctic fox. It comes in hundreds of colors, it's soft, easy to tie, and it looks incredible in the water. Check out Waters West, in Port Angeles, WA...they have great hairs, feathers, etc. Bear's Den in MA is another great shop to check out. They sell quality materials, and they carry just about everything a fly tyer could need.

To be honest, I use the cheapest mono I can find to fill the spool. I fill it up about half way with mono, and top it off with about 75yds of braid. I don't need anymore than that. I generally fish within 30yds of my kayak, and I haven't yet been into a bass that took 50yds of drag from me. That said...I still have plenty of line left to get through the day if I hang up or get a backlash and have to lose some line. This also allows me to fill my reel twice a year with one 150yd spool of my favorite braid, which is quite pricy. I personally wouldn't get too hung up on the mono. It's only there to prevent your braid from biting into itself. 10-15lb mono from the bargain bin for me.

Thank you for the replies. I didn't even think to try a chatter or a spinner bait. For some reason I just had my mind set on slow-falling jig. For the record, I did try a heavier jig, as someone mentioned, but no luck. I hope to go back there this weekend, if I can. Thanks again for the info.

Was fishing some cypress in 2'-3' of water today. I was flipping a 1/4oz brush jig, with a Reins Ring Craw (which is an awesome combo...it falls so slow). Water was 48 degrees, and there wasn't much going on. I flipped it up against a tree, and watched it slowly descent and WHAM!, a fish came and made a move for the jig but never touched it. It looked like he bit it, but I never felt anything. I flipped it again and the fish darted for the jig as soon as it hit the water, but again, never ate it. I let it sit on the bottom for a about 10 seconds, and slowly moved it and let it settle again...No bite. I moved around and hit every tree I could. The same scenario happened to me a little while later...different tree, different fish. What should I have done? I tried changing colors, tried a smaller trailer, tried a wacky worm... I thought this was rather strange behavior considering the conditions. The fish seemed very aggressive, which made me think that perhaps there were many fish present. By the end of the trip, all I caught was a pickerel, which took a jerkbait. Any suggestions? Ever witnessed fish acting like this?

I'll tell one of my friend's stories. When I lived in CT, my buddies and I spent all of our focus on striped bass. There is an annual, season-long catch/release tournament, and all fish also can only be caught from shore. A friend of mine took this tourny very seriously. We fish at night up there and we typically wear wetsuits and swim out into the rocks to go fishing. He got out to his rock, and he hooked a very big fish. As he was fighting the fish, a wave came and swept him off the rock and into the water, fish on the other end. The fish made a dash toward the tide rip, and took him with it. He was several hundred yards from the beach now, and drifting away, but he refused to let go of the fish. A boat noticed him in the water and came to rescue. He refused to get in the boat, and explained to the captain that he had to land the fish ashore. So he had the boat captain pull him in to the beach. He got his feet on the ground and fought the fish, landed it, measured and photographed it, and released it. He was pretty banged up from bouncing off all the rocks and getting towed around. The boat captain insisted on calling the coast guard. As soon as he released the fish, he took off before the coasties showed up. As I recall, he won that week of the tournament.

Currently active duty navy...9 years so far

Late this past summer, we had a big hurricane come through, and my lake was very flooded, and the water looked like straight up chocolate milk. I actually had a decent day, despite the conditions. They all came on a black and orange jig with a Zoom ultra vide speed craw in pumpkin. I couldn't tell you why it worked, but it continues to work for me a muddy conditions. It's called "Halloween" on the Siebert website.

Try the Alberto knot. It's a variation of the Albright. It's still very easy to tie, and it is nice and small, and smooth going through the guides. Also, you didn't mention what size leader material you are tying. I notice that the line diameter of both the braid, and the leader need to be very close, or else the knot comes apart. For example, 10lb flouro to 20lb braid may not be the best idea.

Barbless hooks are more for the protection of the fisherman, than the fish. As mentioned, if you properly handle a fish, barbed hooks aren't much of a problem, in most cases. Of course there are instances when they do damage a fish, but unfortunately, that's a part of fishing. I fish barbless hooks for trout and striped bass because the places I fish for them are often extremely remote, and I'm usually alone. I do not pinch the barbs on my LMB gear, because even with barbs, they seem to throw the hook so often.

So, I picked one of these up and it came in the mail today. I've never fished an a-rig before, but I've been so desperate to get rid of the skunk this winter. This rig is unique...it comes with an assortment of weighted heads (which you can see on the center arm) from 1/4oz-1oz, and they are super easy to swap on and off. The wire feels good and sturdy. Hopefully it holds up. I dressed it with 4/0 Owner twistlock swimbait hooks and 3.5" Money Minnows. It looks really good in the water, and it tracks perfectly. I'm gonna actually fish it one day this week. I really hope it will be the answer to my nonexistent bite.

I don't really flip much, but I'm using a 7'3", for pitching, and I always fish braid. As said previously, I like to keep the leader short, if possible, to maximize the sensitivity of the braid, which after all, is the most important benefit to me in regards to braid. With that said, I normally go with a 5'-6' leader, and once I've eaten the leader down to about 3', I go ahead and rig a new leader. I really try to keep things as simple as possible. I am fishing in stained water. On a really clear day, I'd say I have about 4' visibility, and the 3' leader doesn't seem to make a difference.

Wow...great read! @Luna2406

I'm interested in hearing responses to this topic. We got just about a foot down here in Yorktown. I plan to fish a reservoir near my house later this week. As of now, I plan to fish some structure in the deeper section (7'-9') with jigs, jerks, and the trusty old senko.

@DoDFire Thanks for the Fish Dope recommendation! I will certainly give it a try, if the weather ever clears enough to fish soon!

@A-Jay Thanks! I have seen that episode before, and others have also recommended the same technique with deep jerks. I recently picked up a few LC Staycee's (which hurt my pocket). I gave them a try, but because of my lack in confidence for them, I think I may have been too hasty to change lures again. Next time I am out, I will try to spend the day just fishing those.

Thanks for the replies. Lots of suggestions for blade baits,and neds, and believe me...I tried them. It's just too grassy where I'm fishing. I just purchased a new rod that will be suitable for dragging a small A-rig, so that's what I'm going to do. Unfortunately, the reservoir I normally fish is quite shallow, with only a few small areas reaching 10'. There are however lots of cypress throughout the lake, and many of them are standing in the deeper section. Perhaps I'll go with the senko again too.

I plan to fish this under a float on light spin gear.

So, I have caught only ONE fish out of the last six outing between Thanksgiving and now. I know it's winter, and activity is slower...but if the water isn't frozen, I'm fishing! I have spent time fishing jigs, senkos, cranks, and jerks, soft plastic t-rigs....I am out of ideas. When I was out on Sunday, I noticed that I put in almost no effort. I wasn't changing baits, wasn't really trying to put myself into good positions, etc. I found myself just going through the motions. I'd roll up to a spot, make a few casts, let the wind blow me out, cast into the middle of nowhere...repeat. I enjoy being outdoors, and being on the water...and having a rod in hand is a bonus. However, I just feel that at this point I am beating a dead horse. So, for the remainder of the winter, I am going to try to fish a couple of lakes that I am unfamiliar with, and also a technique that I have never used...the carolina rig. I'm just gonna drag the entire bottom of the lake and hope for the best. Just curious what everyone else does when the fishing gets tough?

I've tied a few trout flies..lol! Yes, this is the Regal Revolution. It is a full rotary vise.

Laser dub is awesome stuff! it moves so well in the water too. Best part is it comes in a ton of colors, and it's only $2.50 a pack. It blends really nice too. You can tie it in layers with different colors, and use a piece of velcro to brush it out with...it gives a very nice effect.