Simply Fishing: February 2011

Monday, February 28, 2011

If at first you don't succeed...

CHEAT!!! When the bite is real slow, try adding a waxworm to your nymph, and slow way down. You can buy waxworms all year long at CD's Pets in Arroyo Grande. There is absolutely no better bait for red ear and bluegill sunfish.

Tip-O-The-Day:

This is a Western Grebe. He mainly eats fish. In our local lakes, he will follow the schools of shad almost all year round. So do bass, stripers, crappie... See where I'm going? Keep an eye on this guy. If you see him eating shad, you can be sure there are gamefish nearby.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Texas-rigged nightcrawlers.

Had to prove my technique worked. Caught several bass up to 20" today at Lopez.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Floating Worm Rig

This setup, which is just a carolina rig, can be used to catch bass, catfish, trout, redear, bluegill, hitch, suckerfish, and carp. Using a worm blower or syringe you can inflate a nightcrawler or red worm so that it floats above the weeds and debris on the bottom. Insert the needle just under the collar of the worm, and inflate slowly. If your worm bursts, or explodes, you have overinflated him. Try again. This rig works best when used with a strike indicator. (See photo). Use a red worm or half a nightcrawler for redear sunfish and bluegill.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The Uni-Knot

I know several knots, but mostly just use two: The Surgeon's Loop, and The Uni-Knot. Once again, there are stronger knots, but these are fast and simple.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Catch-O-The-Day

Caught some bass at Cottonwood today. From 10" to 16," in 5 to 8 feet of water. Texas-rigged plastic worms. Most of the fish were caught right where the old aluminum dock used to be.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Fishing Off The Rocks

For fishing off the rocks, you will need 8-10 lb. test line, 1/2 oz. drop shot sinkers, #10 Gamakatsu baitholder hooks, and... crabs! That's right, crabs, (See set up on left sidebar). Every fish that lives in these rocky tidal areas eats crabs. So, when you get down to the shoreline, find a shallow tide pool that is far from the surf, but looks like it was submerged at high tide. Now just slowly lift up stones and fill a zip lock with live bait. If you lift slowly enough, the little crabs will often sit still hoping you don't see them. Pin them to the ground with one hand, then pick them up by the claws. You only want them 1" to 1.5" long because some of the fish you will be catching have small mouths. Now, hook one of the little buggers through the butt, bottom to top. This will keep you from burying your hook into every piece of kelp that he grabs.
The pools and holes will be full of places where the water cuts under the rocks. This is where your fish will be hiding, waiting to ambush anything that gets swept past with the tide. Cast out and slowly bounce your bait as close to the rocks as possible, stopping frequently to allow your bait to be taken into the undercut by the tide. The fish will often swim out from under the rocks, grab your bait, swim back under and wedge himself in. So, when you set the hook, pull your rod tip out and away from the rocks. A big boulder inside a tide pool is also a prime rockfish hideout.
The fish you will likely be catching are cabezon, gopher rockfish, kelp rockfish, kelp greenling, striped surf perch, ling cod, and eels. Other baits that work well are mussel, squid, and the easiest to come by... hermit crabs. You'll have to take them out of their shells, of course.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Carolina Rig

Take a look at the Carolina rig set up for surf perch on the left side bar. This basic rig can be used for working plastic worms in deep water, floating nightcrawlers for trout, soaking cut mackerel for catfish, or drifting live shad for stripers. Of course, you'll have to adjust sizes to whatever you're chasing.

For Surf Perch, you pretty much just cast out past the breakers and reel it back to shore. Go just before to just after high tide. Look for cuts, holes, or brown water. Sometimes you'll get bit right in front of your feet.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Rock Fishing

FYI: Did you know there's no moratorium on fishing for rockfish if you're actually fishing from the rocks? That's right. You can catch Cabezon, Rockfish, Eels, Striped Perch, Kelp Bass, Kelp Greenling, and even Ling Cod all year round off of any of our Central Coast rocky shorelines. I'll post a really simple technique for fishing the rocks this evening... unless, of course, I go fishing!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Pre-spawn Bass

The pre-spawn bite is right around the corner, and has already begun in some of the shallower ponds around the county, and with it comes the opportunity to catch lots of bass. For me, this means fishing swimbaits or plastic worms. But let's say you're taking some kids fishing, and you just want to make sure they hook something. Well, I have a technique that is guaranteed to get you bitten. Whether you set the hook or land the fish is another thing entirely. My bass fishermen friends may have me killed for posting this next technique as it involves bait, but this is for kids and beginners, right? Stay tuned for this next technique... Texas-rigged nightcrawlers!

Dropshotting Nymphs

You may notice that most of the fish in these photos were caught using the same technique: dropshotting nymphs on 2 lb. test. I'll write up a detailed description of this technique this evening, unless, of course, I go fishing.

Dropshotting Nymphs: A technique for all seasons.

The "Dropshotting Nymphs" technique is effective on most freshwater species, doesn't require expensive gear, and even if you've never fished before in your life, you will catch fish using this method.

Firstly, you will need light fishing line. I use 2-4 lb. test Fluorocarbon or Monofilament line. If the water isn't too clear, I like to use a high visability line so that you can detect even the lightest of bites.

Next, you will need some nymphs, (artificial flies made to look like the larval stage of aquatic insects). There are nymphs of some sort swimming around in every lake, pond, river, and stream in America. You've probably seen them hatch on the water's surface and fly away. If you want to get an idea of the kind of nymphs that are in your favorite fishing hole, just go to the shoreline and flip over some stones that are in shallow water. Or, grab a handful of moss or weeds from the water and toss them on the bank. I'm sure you'll find something wriggling around in the muck.

Finally, you will need a dropshot sinker, (preferrably skinny and tungsten), from 1/16 to 1/4 oz. Tie the flies at least 10 inches apart, (up to 2'), using a surgeon's loop knot. There are stronger loop knots, but the surgeon's loop is simple and fast. Your dropshot sinker will be at the bottom. (See photo). In California, you can't have more than three flies on a line in freshwater.

Now, all you have to do is cast out, let your rig sink to the bottom, and retrieve slowly--VERY slowly. The bite can be as light as a "tick" in your line, or just a slight bend in your rod tip. Most people don't even recognize these as bites. In either case, if you just crank a little faster, the hook will set itself. Giving a light shake to your rod tip as you reel in, will impart some action to your nymphs.

From a dock or boat you can fish vertically. Just drop your rig to the bottom, and reel straight up SLOWLY. Or, just lift your rod tip slowly and drop back down. If the fish are suspended, use your lightest sinker, cast out, let your rig sink to where the fish are, then retrieve just fast enough to keep your nymphs at the desired depth.

This technique works all year round. You just need to find what depth fish are.

Texas Rigging Nightcrawlers

This is another technique that works well all year round, but is especially effective during the pre-spawn bite when the bass are in shallower water staging around points and ledges near the shallows where they will eventually spawn.

You will need at least 6lb. test, (hi-viz line if water clarity allows). Keeping in mind that with much heavier line, you won't be able to cast a live worm very far. You will need a 1/16 to 3/16 worm sinker, preferrably tungsten, but not necessarily. I like to use a #8 Gamakatsu baitholder hook. And, lastly, you will need a LARGE nightcrawler.

Thread your line through the worm sinker and tie on your bait hook. I use a uni-knot because it is pretty strong, but more importantly, it's simple and fast. And I am usually very anxious to start fishing. Run the point of the hook through the nose of your worm and back out about 1/4 inch down the worm. Pull the hook out until the eye is buried in the worm, then bury the point of the hook back into the worm (See photo). This will keep your worm relatively weedless. It is VERY important to keep your worm straight.

Now, all you have to do is cast your worm out, let it sink to the bottom, and hop it slowly off the bottom back toward you. Lift your rod tip to hop the worm and when you drop your rod tip back down, make sure there is plenty of slack in the line. You want the worm to freefall straight down, and when a bass sucks it in, you don't want him to feel tension in the line. Work your worm pretty slowly during this time of year as the bass are trying to store up energy for the spawn when they don't eat. So, they won't want to use up more energy chasing a bait then they will get by eating that bait. In other words, big baits--go slow.

When you see your line start to move out, (remember to keep your line slack after each lift), don't set the hook right away. Point your rod forward, and just before the line straightens out completely, set the hook. Be sure to keep your drag set light with this light of line, (you can always palm the spool to pressure the fish), and GOOD LUCK!!!

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