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For Suspended Fish ...by Johnnie
Crain |
As a Pro Staff Team Member for Techsonic Industries, (Humminbird/Zercom)
I have had the opportunity to use some of the best electronics
available to help me locate fish. Many times finding the fish
is harder than catching the fish, especially when conditions
are such that the bass suspend. I personally don't know anyone
that likes bass suspended well off the bottom. These are nearly
impossible to catch, but you can learn to catch other bass by
finding suspended bass.
Bass suspend for any number of reasons, water color, light penetration,
barometric pressure, thermocline and even boat traffic pressure.
Bass may be suspended at fifteen feet over thirty feet of water,
the numbers don't really matter. The thing is, is to locate
the suspended bass. If they are at fifteen feet, use your depth
finder and cruise the river or lake looking for fifteen feet
of water. Find water at that depth with bait fish and or cover
and there will be fish there, and they will be catchable. The
bass are there because that is where they are most comfortable
on that day. I can't count the times this trick has worked for
me when fishing conditions were very tough. Find the depth the
bass are seeking, then fish your favorite baits until you find
the bait of the day. I don't spend a lot of time fishing actual
suspended bass, but I do let them show me the most likely depths
to fish. Now, go get em' and throw one back for me |
| Graphite
rods ...by Frank
Lapinski |
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The biggest killer of graphite rods is impact against a hard
object. It may not break in that spot the day it happens but
there will be a weak spot at that point. Keep this in mind when
stowing rods for travel. If you are keeping them on the deck,
strap them flush against the deck so the become a part of the
deck and aren’t rapping against it during travel. If you
are storing them in a locker, do the same or put them in a horizontal
holding system, where they won’t hit the side or floor
of the locker. If you are the non boater and your partner doesn’t
have room in his locker, try to find the spot that minimizes
the repeated bouncing they will take if they are laid over the
gunwale. If you have to, lay them over your leg when running
the big engine. It's never fun to set the hook on a good fish
and end up with a three piece rod |
| Drift
sock or sea anchor ...by Dan
McGarry |
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An essential item to every Bass boat should be a drift sock
or sea anchor, they help in boat control during the roughest
current and wind conditions |
| Backlash
...by Frank
Lapinski |
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Having one of those days when every other cast is a minor backlash?
Here’s a quickie to help make getting the loops out a little
easier. Press your thumb against the spool and crank the reel
3 or 4 turns. Make sure your thumb is pressed against the spool
firmly. This aligns the loops all in the same direction. Pull
the line off the spool in its normal direction and it usually
comes right out. I find that this works about 75% of the time.
It will save you a ton of picking out loops and for those guys
over forty you can do it with your eyes closed |
| Sunglasses
...by Frank
Lapinski |
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So sight fishing is your game? Are you helping yourself out?
The right pair of sunglasses isn’t the whole story, but
it’s a darn good start. Good polarized glasses, either
the wrap around style or the ones equipped with sides are needed.
The reason for the side shields is to prevent light from splashing
off your face on to the back of the lens. It’s easier to
look from a dark environment into a lighted one. To further
aid this concept use a long brimmed hat with a neck cover, they
are called up-downers and are designed for fishing on flats.
Buy the one that has dark material on the underside of the brim.
This hat combined with the right type of sunglasses creates
a tent from which you look out of into the lighted world. It’s
easier to look from a dark environment into a lighted one. This
set up will improve your vision in shallow water by at least
30% |
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