Bass on fire

If you think its too early for bass fishing in Minnesota, you might usually be right, but not with the sunny record warm days we've been having!

Me and fellow bass-nut Steve Loraus took to the MS river yesterday, and with a few tips from our buddy Marty, we really got on the fish.  We're talking back to back to back to back doubles, and probably well over 60 fish for the day.  We lost count and stopped keeping track after we started getting fish on back to back casts.

We even pulled up to one spot and we both caught fish on nearly 10 consecutive casts -- all tanks ranging from 2.5lbs to well over 4lbs.  This was the first double we got when moving up onto the spot...

From there we caught bigger fish and many more fish, but there was no time for pictures when both guys in the boat are busy catching fish on back to back casts... over and over...  I only wish we had someone there filming the action.  It was unreal.

The key seemed to be finding 3-5'+ depth of water next to shallow spawning flats.  These larger fish were in prespawn-feedbag mode and they really liked sitting in the deeper water next to the warm flat.  The fish were scattered mostly around on the transition from the deeper water to the shallowest water in the backwater spawning flats and on the bank.  There were many fish to be had up on the flat and in the shallows, in as little as 6" of water right on the bank.  Most of these fish seemed to be a little smaller but definitely just as aggressive.

Finding warm water seemed important as well.  Anywhere with current was around 55 degrees, while in slack water 62-65 degrees was the norm.  Water over 60 degrees seemed to hold the most active fish.

White/chartreuse spinnerbaits seemed to be best at finding the most active fish.  If we got big fish on a particular spot and the spinnerbait bite shut off, switching to a shallow crankbait or even pitching a plastic would pick off a few more -- often the biggest fish using the area.  I was using a 7' medium Shimano rod with a Shimano Chronarch high-speed reel and 20lb mono line.  Baits of choice were the War Eagle Finesse Spinnerbaits.  Click the links to check the stuff out at Cabela's.


Here's a couple other pics from that day:

Tips on Fish Preperation

Ever gone to a restaurant, friend's house, or family member's house and had fish that tasted like fishy, skunky, mud?  I have.  All the fresh squeezed lemon in the world can't cover the offsetting taste of improperly prepared fish.

Fishy Fish... really?
Fish shouldn't taste fishy.  I know that might sound like an oxymoron, but if you've ever had overly 'fishy' tasting fish it can sometimes be enough to induce the gag reflex.  Not good.

You can avoid this by following these simple rules:

-Keep your fish cold and/or alive.  Warm dead fish are no good.

-Clean your fish ASAP.

-Rinse your cleaned fillets thoroughly under very cold water, multiple times throughout cleaning is ideal.  Rinse out any signs of red or blood from the fillet with a kitchen sprayer on full blast.  As you are cleaning you want to keep your fillets in a safe place, away from any fish slime, the cleaning board, or anything other than freshly cleaned and rinsed morsels of meat.  A clean plate or bowl is ideal.

-Do NOT soak your fillets in water as your clean them unless you want them to turn into prunes.  The same thing that happens to your fingers in a hot-tub or swimming pool can happen to your fish fillets.  It can leech out all the oils that the keep the fillets soft and delicious, turning them rough, shriveled, and just not quite as good as they could be.  They won't dry out or be harmed if you just leave the cleaned and rinsed fillets on a plate while you finish.

-Zipper out the center line (aka mudline or bloodline) -- that reddish colored strip in the middle of the fillet.  This is where contaminants and muddy/fishy flavors can reside.  With a walleye fillet you can slit both sides of the tail-end of the fillet and literally just pull the strip of meat off of that centerline on both sides, leaving a strip of red/pinkish flesh to be thrown out.

-Cook your fish quickly over high heat.  Fish cooks much much quicker than any other meat you are used to cooking, so it requires special treatment.  Get yourself a temperature probe if cooking in oil.  375 degrees is what I like to use, and the fillets will cook in under a minute.  If you cook your fish with lower heat, you will have to cook it longer to brown, and cooking longer means overcooked dry fish.

-If not cooking right away, freeze right away.  Vacuum sealed is best, but a ziploc bag with fillets and water with as much water squeezed out as possible and no air bubbles is almost as good.  Air is your enemy when freezing fish.

-Always double check for bones before cooking.  If you did everything right, your fillets should be 100% boneless.  No one wants to bite into bones, or worse yet, inadvertently try and swallow one.


Anything else that can or should be done?   Post below!

Another great day fishin!

Me, Steve Loraus, and Ben Feldman took to the river this morning at the crack of dawn in search of walleyes and saugers.

The bite was very good for us -- catching close to 100 walleyes/saugers/saugeyes between the 3 of us.  We had a couple walleyes over 17" and one real nice male Sauger that went 21".  Then Steve got a bite... which he thought was a snag, until the snag started swimming upstream...

Hot ringworm colors today were orange core and black/goldfleck on 3/16oz jig heads.  Depths of 22'-28' gave up the most fish for us fishing vertical.

6 reasons why you could be catching more fish!

6)  Snap Swivels.  I truly despise these things.  They might seem like a good idea at first, but they ruin lure action and give off negative que's to the fish.  If you have the option to tie your line directly to the lure or bait or hook, DO IT!
5)  "Everyone else is fishing here so it must be a hotspot, right!?"  Most of the time, wrong.  I've seen it happen many times where 1 or 2 boats or ice houses set up somewhere, and before you know it, everyone else thinks it must be a hotspot to be fished!  Did you ever consider that its likely the first few people fishing there weren't and aren't catching anything?  Fishing new spots is almost always better than fishing community holes.
4)  Too thick of line.  While using the heaviest line possible is nice for not losing fish, its also nice for not catching as many fish in some situations.  Thick lines can ruin lure action, cause tangles, and often result in less fish being caught.  For example, Don't use a heavy braided line or thick monofiliment line for panfishing or walleye fishing.  Match your line size to what you fishing for and what lure you are using!
3) I need livebait.  Maybe, but in many situations, no, you do not.  Nearly all bass tournaments have banned live bait.  There's no need for it.  I almost never walleye fish with live bait yet limits still come into the boat.  Artificial lures today are simply more effective than live bait at covering water and triggering fish.
2) Old fishing line.  Replace your fishing line once a year!  Braids can sometimes last longer, but monofiliments ought to be replaced at least once a year.  Much longer than that and they can become brittle, lose knot strength, and cause you to break-off on a fish you would have otherwise caught with fresh line.
1)  Mismatched gear.  You wouldn't tee-off on a long par 5 with a sandwedge would you?  Go for a short put with a 3 wood?  The same concepts hold true for fishing.  Sure you can catch fish using a heavy rod for panfishing, or an ancient ugly stick/buggy whip rod for heavy bass fishing, but why would you?  You are best off fishing for the species your gear is made to target using lures that fit the rod weight, line weight, and overall setup.  This is why you see most serious fishermen with 5-10+ rods in the boat at any given time.  Each setup is for a specific presentation or style of fishing.
Put a little more thought and effort into your fishing this year and you will catch more fish!  Any other things that you have noticed makes a notable difference in the number of fish brought into the boat??  (or not brought into the boat!)

"It's like a conveyor belt!"

A couple years ago I was showing my friend Marty the ropes of vertical jigging on the river as I knew it, but the current was moving pretty fast and that can make it difficult to learn vertical jigging.  To jig vertically, you must keep the boat even with the current, which often means the bottom of the river is zingin' by at 2-3 mph+!!

I'd find the bottom and start jigging, but when I'd look back Marty would still be letting out line trying to 'find the bottom'.  Little did he know he was already ON bottom, but the movement of the boat relative to the bottom of the river was still pulling out line, giving the illusion of the lure dropping indefinitely.

The best way I could explain it at the time was: "look. [the bottom of the river] is like a conveyor belt!".  The trick is knowing the difference between your jig dropping through the water column and your jig being pulled away by the bottom of the river, as if on a conveyor belt.


Anyways, here's a quick write-up I made a couple years ago on the technique of vertical jigging at the river:


#1) BOAT CONTROL

This has got to be the most important thing to master for successful vertical jigging. A bow-mounted trolling motor with a foot pedal is best.  You have to constantly be making small adjustments with your trolling motor, keeping your line as VERTICAL AS POSSIBLE. Even a small angle in your line is no good!  Factors to adjust for are wind, current, and line angle.


#2) TECHNIQUE

Never drag your jig on the bottom!  My jig spends about .5 seconds on the bottom, then about 3-5 seconds at 1' off the bottom. Rinse and repeat! The only reason to 'tap' the bottom is to make sure you lure is still close to the bottom. When you are drifting with the current the depth is almost constantly changing. Be ready to reel up or let out line in a moments notice. Don't let the lure sit on the bottom for more than a split second!


#3) ADVANCED STUFF

Once you master the boat control and technique, its time to start experimenting with 2 rods since you are allowed 2 rods on the river.  Its very difficult to master handling 2 rods and the trolling motor at the same time.  I can barely manage to do it myself.  There's a lot going on especially when the depth fluctuates and the current swirls and the wind blows.

Setting the hook while fishing with 2 rods is a challenge as well. You have to keep the line tight while setting down the other rod and fighting the fish at the same time. Be prepared to lose a few fish before you get this down.

Be sure to experiment with different jigs, different weights, different colors, different plastics, etc. Fishing with 2 rods helps save time when narrowing down what the fish want.

Fishin' the River 3/3 report

Another hot day on the river!  I took the boat down to Pool 4 of the Mississippi River in Red Wing for some open-water action and got into them pretty good, again.

We came home with a 2-person's limit of 12 walleyes, saugers, and saugeyes between 15 and 20 inches, and on a day that Evertt's was running a 50-boat tournament!

Fish were active and biting hard in depths between 20'-28'.  We were vertical jigging 3/16oz jig heads with a ringworm -- no live bait.  Colors that landed the most fish were chartreuse/orange-core and black/gold fleck.  The better fish were absolutely choking it when held steady about 1.5' off the bottom, almost ripping the rod out of my hand.

Equipment I used was a Medium 6'9" Shimano rod and a Shimano Symetre reel with 6lb Berkley XL fishing line.  Shimano makes some of the best quality fishing gear out there:  Cabela's Shimano stuff

Water clarity was down with the recent weather, and the current has picked up a little from last week!  Made for a better day bite for sure.  The bite should continue to pickup from now through mid-spring!