This week has been great and weather for the most part keeping the fish in the areas and eating. I have had several trips this week and clients wanting several types of trips. Some wanting numbers, some wanting to learn new tactics, and some looking for that "fish of a lifetime". Being a guide on Lake Guntersville, I am blessed to be able to deliver a chance to all of this.
My numbers trips have been nothing short of happy with the schoolers eating like it's the fall. We found schools of Spotted Bass, Largemouth, and Stripe in several areas. The Spotted Bass are deeper but coming in huge numbers with an angler being able to catch 30+ and never move the boat as fast as you can get the bait back to them. The Largemouth and Stripe are on the ledges and there are some solid keeper fish mixed in but for the most part alot of smaller fish. On the Spotted Bass, we have boated them this week on a couple of baits. The best being the Jackall Crosstail shad and Flick Shake on a drop shot. I rig this bait on a light 10lb Lake Fork FlouroHybrid line and look for schools of fish in about 20-40 feet of water. Once you find the school then drop the baits down on them(just above the school) and watch it on the sonar. When you see the fish move to the bait on the sonar, set the hook. You really dont have to watch them eat the bait but it's fun and anglers don't miss near as many fish. The Wacky Jig Head rigged with the 5.8 and 6.8 Flick Shake is working well also. The schooling Largemouth have been coming off just about anything you can toss out in them. We have used Jackall Muscle 7+ and 10+ crankbaits in light colors, and SK Grande' topwater baits. The bigger fish have come on the Dagored and Bowstick. You will get less bites but the size is alot better.
As far as the bigger fish bite anglers need to look for deeper drops and hidden grass. The bigger fish are still shallow as well but the deeper fish get alot less presure. I like several tactics for fishing deeper fish. My first choice and what has been the most effective for catching the 6+lb fish has been the Jackall Swimming Ninja and Sride. I have noticed fish will hit the bait before the eat it so keep ing the bait moving after a strike is key. Once I could get clients to do this instead of jerking the bait when hit they flat slammed it and swallowed the bait. One key to know when to set the hook is after the bite keep moving the bait until the rod loads and you feel the fish swimming off with it. Also something that might help is make sure you have a good strong rod. I use the Jackall Rushburn for my light swimbaits and the Daiwa Steez 7'4" extra heavy swimbait rod for the bigger baits. I have seen clients try to fish them on a smaller rod and they just dont have the backbone to set the hook good on deep fish.
Also on the deeper fish we have had some great luck with the Jackall Muscle 15+ and a 3/4 or 1oz football head jig. When the fishing slows or the barametric presure gets high and makes the fishing slower this is the "go-to" baits. I like to hit deeper drops off main river ledges and humps with green grass on them. I have clients take the baits and toss them out, letting them drop to the bottom. Once they are on the bottom one key is not to take the baits up again. Slowlywork the bait and never raise it more than a couple of inches at a time. I have had to let the bait sit for 30-45 seconds before moving it but the fish are eating it. Make sure you use a good trailer on the bait like a Netbait Paca Chunk Sr. that will contrast on the color jig you choose. I like the Black/Blue with a Green Pumpkin trailer. As far as the Muscle 15+ goes I fish it two ways. One, making long cast and cranking the bait as fast as you can. If it hits the bottom don't slow down. I have seen alot of anglers slow when the bait hits the bottom but to get a reaction strike you need to bang it as hard as you can off the structure. The second way is for fish that are pulled off the ledges or humps. Alot of anglers say these are the hardest fish in the lake to catch and I would have to agree to some point but, if you can learn to catch them you can have a great day when others are not. I like to take the bait and after putting the boat in the right position work the bait with the current running it parallel to the drop. I would have to say the biggest mistake I see is most anglers don't trust something new and just plain don't fish it long enough to build confidence in it. If you will fish the baits and trust your sonar to know they are there you will catch fish more often than not.
Hope everyone has had a great week and if you would like to see these tactics in action feel free to contact us and we will get you set up for a trip. Have a great weekend and be sure to check out www.waaytobetterfishing.com for up to date weather on the area lakes as well as a new section which allows you to see my Twitter feeds while on the water and on trips. Also if you are a follower of my Twitter(Fins_N_Grins) and my blog(www.finsngrinsfishing.blogspot.com) you can win lots of prizes each week. See you on the water.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Lake Guntersville Fishing
This week has had some up's and down's as far as size and numbers go for us but clients have been happy. I had two guys from Fla. at the start of the week looking for numbers. Well it was a great trip for the two days with both of them boating fish and both catching a couple of solid fish as well. We did have a few"one that got away" stories but had a great few days with them. The other two fullday trips have had better size fish with lower numbers but as many of you know, I prefer bigger fish anyway. Each of those trips have had five fish limits over 22lbs for thier efforts and sweat in the heat. I have also started topwater trips this past week and they have been awesome. With the Willow fly hatch in full swing and the full moon afternoon topwater has rocked!
The best baits for the morning and afternoon have been the Jackall SK Grande', War Eagle spinnerbaits(waking it over shallow grass), and Buzzbaits. The better size fish have been boated on Jackall Dagored, Lake Fork Live Magic Shad swimbaits, and Mikey. Best fish have been moving up on the shallow grass flats feeding hard and during the day the smaller fish come in if your looking for numbers. Once the sun is out and the heat starts the fishing slows unless the current is running. If you look for ledges off the main river position your boat at a 45 degree angle and fish toward the upriver direction making the bait follow the current. Fish seem to be working right off the drops and flat attacking the baits as they come off the first drop. Jackall Swimming Ninja swimbaits, Muscle 15+, and 3/4oz spinnerbaits are catching the more aggressive fish and getting the best reaction bites. After working an area you find fish in be sure to drop 3/4 jigs and worms to "bat clean up" and you will boat a few more fish. If the current is not running fish the same areas just position your boat on the shallow side of the ledges and work soft plastics from deeper drops up the ledge. The biggest key is making sure you keep the bait in contact with the bottom and move it SLOW! I need to repeat this MOVE IT SLOW!(just kidding) but one of the biggest mistakes I have seen in the last few years on ledge fishing is clients that fish a bait too fast when the bite gets harder.
I feel like the bites are getting stronger on the ledges but anglers need to know when you are fishing for those Lake Guntersville"Toads" you need to be patient and fish hard. Once you find them work the area hard and you can have a great time. Be sure to let me know if you would like to see something done on a certian tactic or bait and I will either get it done or interview someone that is an expert on it. We are always looking for ideas for future articles. Also be sure to check out www.waaytobetterfishing.com for all the up to date weather, articles, video, and on water fishing reports. Let us know what you think and if there is something there that you think would make the site better. Good fishing and see you on the water.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
The best baits for the morning and afternoon have been the Jackall SK Grande', War Eagle spinnerbaits(waking it over shallow grass), and Buzzbaits. The better size fish have been boated on Jackall Dagored, Lake Fork Live Magic Shad swimbaits, and Mikey. Best fish have been moving up on the shallow grass flats feeding hard and during the day the smaller fish come in if your looking for numbers. Once the sun is out and the heat starts the fishing slows unless the current is running. If you look for ledges off the main river position your boat at a 45 degree angle and fish toward the upriver direction making the bait follow the current. Fish seem to be working right off the drops and flat attacking the baits as they come off the first drop. Jackall Swimming Ninja swimbaits, Muscle 15+, and 3/4oz spinnerbaits are catching the more aggressive fish and getting the best reaction bites. After working an area you find fish in be sure to drop 3/4 jigs and worms to "bat clean up" and you will boat a few more fish. If the current is not running fish the same areas just position your boat on the shallow side of the ledges and work soft plastics from deeper drops up the ledge. The biggest key is making sure you keep the bait in contact with the bottom and move it SLOW! I need to repeat this MOVE IT SLOW!(just kidding) but one of the biggest mistakes I have seen in the last few years on ledge fishing is clients that fish a bait too fast when the bite gets harder.
I feel like the bites are getting stronger on the ledges but anglers need to know when you are fishing for those Lake Guntersville"Toads" you need to be patient and fish hard. Once you find them work the area hard and you can have a great time. Be sure to let me know if you would like to see something done on a certian tactic or bait and I will either get it done or interview someone that is an expert on it. We are always looking for ideas for future articles. Also be sure to check out www.waaytobetterfishing.com for all the up to date weather, articles, video, and on water fishing reports. Let us know what you think and if there is something there that you think would make the site better. Good fishing and see you on the water.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Monday, July 6, 2009
Lake Guntersville Report
Fishing the last few trips have been alot slower than in the past few weeks making me make some changes. We were catching fish in water from 1-5 feet in the morning deep in pockets then moving to faster drops as the sun got up. Well either alot of people read the blog of found the same fish I have.LOL Most every stop I have hit the last few trips have had atleast 5 boats on them anytime I wanted to fish them. After finding new areas with solid numbers in them with-in a day or so they were getting pounded as well. Finding green grass on Guntersville is like finding hidden treasure in Russia. When you do find it there will be fish in it and if it's deeper grass they will be big! Just don't hit it long or you will have boats all over you in no time flat.
The AM bite this week has been grim at best over shallow grass with the normal baits, like the buzzbait, SK Grande', and swim frogs. The better fish are still shallow in the morning and we have boated the best numbers on the Jackall Dagored, Mikey Jr., and Sride. After the sun gets up on the area your fishing just move to the first drop and toos a swimbait or flip a plastic. This has allowed us to work an area about two more hours before making a run to deeper water.
I have fished alot of the lower end of the lake the last few trips(at clients request) and the humps are working well along with creek channels. The muscle beds are producing great fish in the 15-25 foot range with the Swimming Ninja and Muscle 15+ doing the best. When hitting the lower end be sure to look at your maps and find areas with creek channels near flats. Alot of times the drops will have muscle beds on them and this is where the better fish are feeding.
On the mid-lake areas the bite is great but fishing presure wins over on alot of areas that are easy to find. Look for areas that have deeper grass coming up in water around 12-20 feet deep. Alot of anglers are over looking these and the fish are there. While the daytime bite is a bite slower working an area hard will produce some solid bags. Baits like the Swimming Ninja, Muscle 15+(in shad colors), Lake Fork Big worms rigged on 3/8 or 1/2oz Tungsten weights texas style and Omega 3/4oz football jigs in green pumpkin and black and blue.
The last few days have had alot of high weather presure systems sitting on top of the lake making the bite slower and alot of anglers thinking the bite was dead. Well in some areas fish tend not to feed during high presure but for me that just means you have to work harder. When fronts like these move in I hit the same areas working them with reaction type baits. Now anyone that has ever fished with me knows what that means, cranking grass! I like to use a Jackall MC60MR or Muscle 10+ fishing it extreamly slow in shallow grass. I know from research that when fronts like these hit fish "nose up" on docks and grass and go into a shut down mode. The best way to fish these baits is to keep in infront of the fish as long as you can to force them to eat it. This takes alot of practice and alot of trips I have seen clients get alot of confidence after I talk them through working the bait correctly in the grass. Once they get the feel they are amazed on how easy it is to do and how productive it can be on harder days.
I will be working on some new stuff for the blog in the coming week and getting ready for some other events. If anyone has anything they would like to read about or knows of anything that would help other anglers I will be happy to post it just send me an e-mail and we will get working on it. On other updates, I got a call from Bryant on his Dad and he is doing alot better. His store is also doing well and being the ONLY Jackall dealer in Guntersville getting alot of attention. Be sure to drop by Lake's Edge Tackle located on Highway 69 across from Guntersville Boat Mart service center and check it out. He is also wroking a tournament on Sunday's from the Store. They are launching from Browns creek and fishing from safe light until 12:00 or 1:00. It is a great event and drawing more anglers each weekend. Be sure to contact him to sign up and get a low boat number.
The AM bite this week has been grim at best over shallow grass with the normal baits, like the buzzbait, SK Grande', and swim frogs. The better fish are still shallow in the morning and we have boated the best numbers on the Jackall Dagored, Mikey Jr., and Sride. After the sun gets up on the area your fishing just move to the first drop and toos a swimbait or flip a plastic. This has allowed us to work an area about two more hours before making a run to deeper water.
I have fished alot of the lower end of the lake the last few trips(at clients request) and the humps are working well along with creek channels. The muscle beds are producing great fish in the 15-25 foot range with the Swimming Ninja and Muscle 15+ doing the best. When hitting the lower end be sure to look at your maps and find areas with creek channels near flats. Alot of times the drops will have muscle beds on them and this is where the better fish are feeding.
On the mid-lake areas the bite is great but fishing presure wins over on alot of areas that are easy to find. Look for areas that have deeper grass coming up in water around 12-20 feet deep. Alot of anglers are over looking these and the fish are there. While the daytime bite is a bite slower working an area hard will produce some solid bags. Baits like the Swimming Ninja, Muscle 15+(in shad colors), Lake Fork Big worms rigged on 3/8 or 1/2oz Tungsten weights texas style and Omega 3/4oz football jigs in green pumpkin and black and blue.
The last few days have had alot of high weather presure systems sitting on top of the lake making the bite slower and alot of anglers thinking the bite was dead. Well in some areas fish tend not to feed during high presure but for me that just means you have to work harder. When fronts like these move in I hit the same areas working them with reaction type baits. Now anyone that has ever fished with me knows what that means, cranking grass! I like to use a Jackall MC60MR or Muscle 10+ fishing it extreamly slow in shallow grass. I know from research that when fronts like these hit fish "nose up" on docks and grass and go into a shut down mode. The best way to fish these baits is to keep in infront of the fish as long as you can to force them to eat it. This takes alot of practice and alot of trips I have seen clients get alot of confidence after I talk them through working the bait correctly in the grass. Once they get the feel they are amazed on how easy it is to do and how productive it can be on harder days.
I will be working on some new stuff for the blog in the coming week and getting ready for some other events. If anyone has anything they would like to read about or knows of anything that would help other anglers I will be happy to post it just send me an e-mail and we will get working on it. On other updates, I got a call from Bryant on his Dad and he is doing alot better. His store is also doing well and being the ONLY Jackall dealer in Guntersville getting alot of attention. Be sure to drop by Lake's Edge Tackle located on Highway 69 across from Guntersville Boat Mart service center and check it out. He is also wroking a tournament on Sunday's from the Store. They are launching from Browns creek and fishing from safe light until 12:00 or 1:00. It is a great event and drawing more anglers each weekend. Be sure to contact him to sign up and get a low boat number.
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