Slender, minnow-imitating stickbaits work wonders for a variety of freshwater gamefish. From bass to pike and walleyes, few predators can resist the tantalizing twitch, pause and rolling action of a well-presented minnowbait. Of course, as with any technique, a few tricks of the trade can mean the difference between catching two fish and 20 on any given outing. Following are three hot patterns to put more fish in your boat.
What is a wall-hanger crappie? In Mississippi it might be a 3 or 3 1/2-pound fish. On other good crappie lakes it might be just shy of 3 pounds. On some lakes it might be a 1 1/2-pounder. Beauty, they say, is in the eye of the beholder, as is a wall-hanger crappie.
No other lure type is more effective in cold water than the hard-plastic suspending jerkbait. This dependable minnow-looking stickbait has bass-fishing fans across the country, but you need to know how, where and when to throw them.
An angler gets dressed up in a costume -- like a multi-colored laminated shirt with 27 logos and a matching hat -- then goes around to where the bass live and knocks on the door and yells “trick or treat!” Some days you’re tricked and others treated, but one thing’s for certain, both begging children and hopeful bass anglers are proud of a big sack when the day is done.
Smallmouth bass are like coiled springs ready to bounce into the air almost anytime water temperature is above 50 degrees, and there’s no finer sight than a jumping bronzeback against the elegant colors of autumn in the North. It’s even more beautiful if that bass nearly stopped your heart with a shocking topwater strike.
If you’ve ever seen a misdirected grasshopper land in the drink, you know what happens next. The hopper stays motionless for a moment and then scurries frantically across the surface. Most never reach land because bluegills stay on the lookout for swimming land bugs, especially during fall, when grasshoppers abound in shoreline grass and more than a few end up with their feet wet.
Stripers prefer water temperature around 55- to 68-degrees. If the water is too hot, they may feed shallow occasionally, but quickly return to the oxygenated rich, cooler water. Same goes for extremely cold water. But between the two extremes comes your best bet for some of the most exciting fishing freshwater has to offer.
Finding the “X” isn’t just for pirates. Anglers are looking for it, too, that little known and hard to find location that holds the key to consistently catching quality speckled trout at jetty systems on the Gulf Coast. The location of the “X,” from early to mid summer, often is a “washout.” These are the places in granite monoliths where water flows from the channel to the Gulf side and vice versa.
"If it hadn’t been raining 75 years ago, we wouldn't be here today," Bill Baab told a crowd that had assembled beside Montgomery Lake, an unassuming oxbow off Georgia’s Ocmulgee River.
