Don't cast and wait. Move your bait. Let it sit a few minutes and slowly twitch it every 30 seconds. Use the lightest weight possible. Carolina keepers and change up length of leader to find the proper depth. Single shank octopus #6 works better than treble. Just my two pennies.
Better yet , cast small kastmasters or boyants, etc. way more fun to find the active fish.
You like the liquid or the jelly-grease? Noticed any difference?Originally Posted by JAG107
THANKS
From my experience I have seen that the jelly stays on your bait longer than the liquid, either way I always change it up cause sometimes i like Tapatio sometimes Cholula, and sometimes a home made version :-) tight lines
First, this guy said it perfectly about ACTIVE fishing and MOVING. People will pay good money, set up at a spot, get their camp chair, pour coffee and wait ALL DAY skunking. Maybe they’ll pull their rod in and check to see if they still have bait and then re-cast into the SAME NO-FISH-SPOT and do some more waiting. If they’re lucky they’ll watch someone else catch fish or they get really lucky and catch one their self. Realize that your bait underwater is moving about in a kind of circle the length of the leader around the weight. If you leader is 12” long, then the circle can be 24” maximum but all controlled by the weight. If the fish are in closer or out farther your bait will be passed up on.
Here’s some really “basic” stuff:
-bring a headlamp (REI sells them) so you can see what you’re doing when the sun isn’t up yet and have more of a chance for the “early” bite
-bring your rods rigged up so all you have to do is put the bait on. Some people actually rig their rods by their car’s headlamp!
-on your 1st rod, consider a bullet weight instead of an egg sinker…it gets hung up less on the bottom and it pulls easier…and…every 2 or 3 minutes retrieve your bait by turning you reel handle 2 or 3 turns. By slowly retrieving (slow troll) you’re WORKING more water.
-with your 2nd rod, tie on to a snap swivel and attach a spinner, spoon, or maybe a 4” shad plug and work the water while paying attention to your 1st rod. IMHO, more people catch fish while standing (and working) than while sitting.
-pretty good baits are: Powerbait, ½ inflated crawler, mealworms under a ball of white Powerbait, and a powermouse (packaged or homemade)…just don’t let it sit there FOREVER!!!
-if you bring your bait rod in (if for no other reason than to check if you still have bait on) don’t cast it back into the same DEAD SPOT.
-you can have a 2nd rod holder with a rod in it to leave it there to “lock in” your spot but don’t throw it out if your casting hardware. Cast it out when you need a break while you drink your coffee or eat. And don’t forget to “slow troll” that rod too. Even if you’re sitting you can slow troll your bait rods.
-stocked fish seem to hang out close to where they’ve been stocked…that’s why those spots are soooooo packed but there are other fish..the ones that weren’t caught from a previous stocking and have learned that the MANNA doesn’t fall from heaven anymore and have had to FORAGE for food…usually shad or nymphs and they react to hardware or plastics just fine.
-consider a DAIWA 8’ cheapie rod (around $40) so you can cast farther with hardware but mainly for plastics like Powerworms (with a split shot and rigged straight or whacky), Powerworms under a bobber, minijigs, minijigs with a mealworm attached, and a Powermouse. The extra length helps this light things to get out farther.
-learn to rig up a drop shot rig…it’s another “working” rod where you cast, take the slack out, pop your rod tip to make it dance up and down, retrieve, and start again and you can have a couple hooks on one line.
-a pair of binoculars…”just what are they catching them on and how are they rigging it?”
-MOVE…MOVE…MOVE when you’re NOT getting bit. Fishing where the fish aren’t is like fishing at home in a bathtub…the water is clean but there’s NO FISH THERE! I’ll move every hour or hour-and-a-half (at the most) and only if there’s other people close to me catching fish.
-don’t be shy…make friends and talk to those catching fish…everything helps.
Oh the grease FTW! That liquid doesn't stay on as long. The grease will stick to that play dough alllll day if you leave it out. But that doesn't usually happen, because it's so stinky it will even attract cats sometimes.
Also I usually use those sliding clear plastic bubbles instead of lead sinkers on my C-rig. I used to tie them with a snap swivel then leader, but later switched to the Carolina Keeper (or "Kutter" depending on who you talk to). It saved me time by reducing my knot tying time, which can be valuable when the bite is going off and you find yourself needing to re-rig before casting back out. Those bubbles have to be completely full or else they won't sink. It sinks slowly, so it works great with worms or mice tails, I would get bit on the drop a lot of the time. Also it doesn't hang up on stuff like the lead weights seem to do, they just slide right by stuff. Makes it really easy when bumping your bait back toward you.
Man thinking about this makes me really miss Corona Lake...
Last edited by JAG107; 02-23-2016 at 03:10 PM.
CLEAR PLASTIC BUBBLES???? sounds like something that comes in handy do you have a name or brand?? Thanks in Advance :-)
Clear Plastic Bobbers
Clear plastic bubbles used to be everywhere including BassPro and Cabelas...didn't see them there but I'm pretty sure EBAY and Amazon has them. Type in Clear plastic bubble (or bobber) in Amazon's search engine and some by SOUTHBEND come up. I'll see if I can insert a picture here. You pull the center piece out, allow it to fill with water and reinsert to stop the water from leaking out.
you fill them completely if you want to fish them on the bottom and, like the guy above said, they get snagged even less than lead weights do. you can also fill them 1/2 way (the water weight helps in casting ONLY) and fish them in a FLY-AND-BUBBLE rig for fishing flies with a spinning rod. If you fish them on top you can paint them with fluorescent colors (chartreuse, etc) to make them more visible from the shore.
Yep. And half filled with a long leader tied to a mini jig is also killer. With all the weight of that water filled bubble, you can cast a mile. Bump your jigs in. Slathered with garlic smelly jelly.
Nice I cant say I seen some one use them but they sure look use full and can be an essential part of your tackle bag :-), I was thinking what if you drill some small wholes in them so that they slowly fill with water and making them sink slowly with the bait or mice tail hopefully teasing those fish that are suspended mid water :-)
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