Got out today with Paul looking for some fish in areas I haven't fished for awhile. We moved upriver from the Waterfront ramp working ledges and looking for some deep fish. We found that the current was blasting like it has been for the last two weeks so we made the dession to move off the ledges to the backside of the channels and fish current breaks. We hit several fish on Jackall Squad Minnows(Table Rock Shad) and had several strikes on the Jackall Swimming ninja swimbait. We then started working the Giron(black crappie) on the grass lines working it a little slower. Paul ened up with another few fish on that bait before the day was done.
We ended up with a solid limit and several missed fish so all in all a good day on the water for this time of year. Hope the water slows down a little and starts to clear up on the main river. I really feel the bite will just be awesome if those conditions work in our favor for a few days. Best advice for anyone looking for more numbers than size is still in the backs of creeks and places the water is clearer. The bigger bites seem to be on the ourside grass lines and they want the bait slow to say the least.
Hope everyone has a great weekend planned and I will be back at it in the morning. Be sure to stay aware when running the lake. We saw several big logs floating just under the surface. That could make a slow day fishing turn into a real bad trip. Be safe and see you on the water.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Lake Guntersville report
Saying that last weeks cold days and high murky waters made fishing tough would be an understatment but fishing got alot better in the last two days. We headed out in search of some clear water the last two trips and it was alot easier to find than in the past few trips. We keyed in on grass areas in 2-6 feet of water with steep drops close by. In the mornings we found the fish to be outside the grass lines on the edge of the drops sitting tight to underwater structure. The Jackall Flick SHake rigged on the Wacky Jighead(3/32) was the ticket for bites until the temps started to rise. If you get just an hour of sunlight through the clouds the fish seem to fire up. As the water reaches high 40's to low 50's we hit the shallower sections near the drops with Jackall Squad Minnows(shad colors) and TN70(Chart Shad). Those baits have produced several fish over the 5 pound range but each day it has taken us working the baits on different patterns to get the bites. The more solid fish seem to be more active as the day gets longer but bites are light. Several fish we boated we never felt the bite until starting to jerk the bait. The longer you pause the bait the better off you will be. I was holding the bait atleast 12-18 seconds before giving it just one slight pop/jerk. One key I noticed is dont over jerk the bait. I saw the bait getting pulled more than jerked and they never got bit. Make sure when you jerk it you try not to let the bait move more than 4-6 inches. Keeping the bait in the strike zone is key this time of year.
We did find a few fish on the causeways while fishing the Jackall Craw(green pumpkin) rigged on a texas rig with a Lake Fork Tungsten 1/4 weight. The key to that bite was the slower the better. I would toss the bait out and let it soak before moving it about 2-4 inches at a time. This bait has taken several solid fish worked this way on this pattern. This along with the other pattern is sure to put a solid limit on the boat as long as you stay aleart and work the baits slow. I hope this helps everyone out a little and gets you pointed in the right direction. Feel free to make comments if you have any pointers or qustions. Thanks for everyones continued support and looking forward to seeing you on the water soon.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
We did find a few fish on the causeways while fishing the Jackall Craw(green pumpkin) rigged on a texas rig with a Lake Fork Tungsten 1/4 weight. The key to that bite was the slower the better. I would toss the bait out and let it soak before moving it about 2-4 inches at a time. This bait has taken several solid fish worked this way on this pattern. This along with the other pattern is sure to put a solid limit on the boat as long as you stay aleart and work the baits slow. I hope this helps everyone out a little and gets you pointed in the right direction. Feel free to make comments if you have any pointers or qustions. Thanks for everyones continued support and looking forward to seeing you on the water soon.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Monday, December 14, 2009
Jackall Raises The Bar on Finesse Baits, Again
Jackall Lures has been known for its awesome power fishing baits when they broke into the market with their finesse type baits. Soft plastic baits like the Flick Shake and Crosstail Shad showed the US market just how high the bar could be raised in the finesse fishing market. Just when everyone thinks they have shown all their cards they bring out something new for anglers to learn and beat the competition with, the Super Pintail.
The Super Pintail was introduced to the market as an awesome new dropshot type bait and while testing it I found it is just that. I also found it could be just as awesome when fished several other ways. This article is going to touch on just a few of these ways along with the equipment we found it to work at its best for each situation.
The first way we fished the bait was the traditional dropshot rig. We started rigging the bait on Lake Fork Flourohybrid 10 pound line with a small Owner dropshot hook. We fished the bait on the Jackall Power Inch Wacky rod with a Daiwa Steez reel. This combo allowed us to fish the bait both fast and slow and detect even the slightest bite. We found the bait worked well with the traditional nose hook rigging but worked just as well rigged on the small Owner SOS hook and made weedless like the Texas rig style. The bait also held up very well after boating several fish over the 2 pound range. We found it held up better than most hand poured of the same type.
One of the other ways we found the bait worked in producing bites was on a small jighead. I had my clients use this style when we had problems catching schooling fish that were chasing bait that were just about the same size as the Pintail. We rigged the bait on the same set up using a 1/4 oz screw lock type jighead. I had the clients work the bait like a small twitch bait then as it reached the larger numbers of schooling fish on the surface drop the bait and let it fall to the bottom. It seldom made it to the bottom without a bite. Once the fish had stopped coming to the surface we worked the same area letting the bait get to the bottom and I had them work it with a slight hopping action while shaking the bait. This also seemed to catch some bigger fish in the school. When fishing this type of situation rigging the bait weightless will also work well for a slower presentation. We used an Owner #2 SOS hook for that style.
One other way we found the bait to work well on was rigged on bladed baits like Spinnerbaits and surface baits. This type of rig worked best on the Jackall Master Stroke rod topped with a Daiwa Steez reel and Lake Fork Flourohybrid in the 26 pound class. This line has the same dia. as about 17 pound in most other brands. I used the bait on the surface/buzzbait first and found it worked well and had an increase in hooking fish when rigged as a trailer. I would just run the Super Pintail nose first up the hook and let the point of the hook come out in the back of the bait. We found alot of fish that would short strike the bait never missed when rigged with the Pintail. I believe the Pintail caused the fish to target the bait more than just the noise made from the blades on the surface because of the life-like action and appearance. We also found the same results when placed on the Spinnerbait as a trailer as well.
One thing we found during the testing process of this bait is Jackall has certainly raised the bar again and made an awesome versatile bait that works in a number of situations and conditions. We feel confident any angler that uses these will feel the same way. Be sure to let us know some of the other ways you guys find to use the bait. If you would like to see these tactics in action feel free to give us a call at Fins-N-Grins Freshwater Adventures and get your adventure started
The Super Pintail was introduced to the market as an awesome new dropshot type bait and while testing it I found it is just that. I also found it could be just as awesome when fished several other ways. This article is going to touch on just a few of these ways along with the equipment we found it to work at its best for each situation.
The first way we fished the bait was the traditional dropshot rig. We started rigging the bait on Lake Fork Flourohybrid 10 pound line with a small Owner dropshot hook. We fished the bait on the Jackall Power Inch Wacky rod with a Daiwa Steez reel. This combo allowed us to fish the bait both fast and slow and detect even the slightest bite. We found the bait worked well with the traditional nose hook rigging but worked just as well rigged on the small Owner SOS hook and made weedless like the Texas rig style. The bait also held up very well after boating several fish over the 2 pound range. We found it held up better than most hand poured of the same type.
One of the other ways we found the bait worked in producing bites was on a small jighead. I had my clients use this style when we had problems catching schooling fish that were chasing bait that were just about the same size as the Pintail. We rigged the bait on the same set up using a 1/4 oz screw lock type jighead. I had the clients work the bait like a small twitch bait then as it reached the larger numbers of schooling fish on the surface drop the bait and let it fall to the bottom. It seldom made it to the bottom without a bite. Once the fish had stopped coming to the surface we worked the same area letting the bait get to the bottom and I had them work it with a slight hopping action while shaking the bait. This also seemed to catch some bigger fish in the school. When fishing this type of situation rigging the bait weightless will also work well for a slower presentation. We used an Owner #2 SOS hook for that style.
One other way we found the bait to work well on was rigged on bladed baits like Spinnerbaits and surface baits. This type of rig worked best on the Jackall Master Stroke rod topped with a Daiwa Steez reel and Lake Fork Flourohybrid in the 26 pound class. This line has the same dia. as about 17 pound in most other brands. I used the bait on the surface/buzzbait first and found it worked well and had an increase in hooking fish when rigged as a trailer. I would just run the Super Pintail nose first up the hook and let the point of the hook come out in the back of the bait. We found alot of fish that would short strike the bait never missed when rigged with the Pintail. I believe the Pintail caused the fish to target the bait more than just the noise made from the blades on the surface because of the life-like action and appearance. We also found the same results when placed on the Spinnerbait as a trailer as well.
One thing we found during the testing process of this bait is Jackall has certainly raised the bar again and made an awesome versatile bait that works in a number of situations and conditions. We feel confident any angler that uses these will feel the same way. Be sure to let us know some of the other ways you guys find to use the bait. If you would like to see these tactics in action feel free to give us a call at Fins-N-Grins Freshwater Adventures and get your adventure started
Sunday, December 13, 2009
High Stained Water Along with Falling Water Temps Making Things Tough
With the weather North Alabama has had in the last two weeks things got kind of rough for me and clients. Most of the time if the water gets up on Guntersville and other lakes and the water temps start to drop fast anglers can make a few adjustments and still catch some big fish. When you toss heavy stained water in the mix it makes things alot harder. You have to slow down due to the temperatures falling but when there is alot of stain those baits we use when things get tough have to hit the fish on the nose due to them not being able to see it. Well I made sure to tell clients it was going to be hard and weather was just nasty. Everyone client wanted to hit the water and watch me scramble all day. They were not disappointed at all. We hit the water each day working Jackall TN70 lipless crankbaits in shad colors and did boat a few aggressive fish in a couple of areas. The better bite with better fish seemed to be in areas I found some clearer water in pockets on the Jackall Smash Minnow in Ayu color. One thing I noticed over the last 5-8 trips is each day the bait had to sit longer. By this weekend clients had to let the bait sit around 12-15 seconds twitch the bait once and let it sit again. Working the bait on this time is very slow and even tested my patients but was productive. I did fish some causeway areas and found several good fish on them on the lower end of the lake but those fish seem to need sun for the bite to be better.
Most of the better fish are in shallower water ranging from 1-5 feet with the smaller fish still hanging with the shad in pockets feeding as the shad start to die off. We found some numbers in a couple of pockets that would still topwater baits like the SK Grande' and Bonnie. We also hit a solid numbers day twice on the new Jackall Super Pintail. I will have an article on this awesome little bait in a day or so. We fished the bait, which is designed as a primary dropshot bait, on a small jighead. I would have clients swim the bait a little and twitch it into schooling fish then let the bait fall on slack line. We were amazed at the numbers we boated and the bait saved several trips for me in the last couple of weeks when fishing got tougher.
Hope everyone has had a great week and staying warm. I will be back at it on Guntersville a few days this week before taking a trip or two to the Coosa River for some famous Spotted Bass. One thing to remember is be sure to watch the water when running. With the high water there is alot of stuff floating on the river just under the surface. Also the water temps are falling fast and seem to be ranging from 46-50 in most areas of the lake. I carry some extra clothes in the boat just in case of someone falling into the water. I would suggest this to everyone that is fishing in a boat or on the bank. This time of year we seem to always hear of someone loosing their life due to drowning. Please be safe and let someone know the areas you plan on fishing in case of an emergency. Thank you for your continued support and see you on the water.
I still have a few Christmas Gift Cards at the discount rate. If anyone is interested in getting one please let me know as soon as you can so we will have time to get them ready and sent out. Contact us on the Facebook Fan Page or by e-mail at finsngrinsfishing@hotmail.com for more information.
Most of the better fish are in shallower water ranging from 1-5 feet with the smaller fish still hanging with the shad in pockets feeding as the shad start to die off. We found some numbers in a couple of pockets that would still topwater baits like the SK Grande' and Bonnie. We also hit a solid numbers day twice on the new Jackall Super Pintail. I will have an article on this awesome little bait in a day or so. We fished the bait, which is designed as a primary dropshot bait, on a small jighead. I would have clients swim the bait a little and twitch it into schooling fish then let the bait fall on slack line. We were amazed at the numbers we boated and the bait saved several trips for me in the last couple of weeks when fishing got tougher.
Hope everyone has had a great week and staying warm. I will be back at it on Guntersville a few days this week before taking a trip or two to the Coosa River for some famous Spotted Bass. One thing to remember is be sure to watch the water when running. With the high water there is alot of stuff floating on the river just under the surface. Also the water temps are falling fast and seem to be ranging from 46-50 in most areas of the lake. I carry some extra clothes in the boat just in case of someone falling into the water. I would suggest this to everyone that is fishing in a boat or on the bank. This time of year we seem to always hear of someone loosing their life due to drowning. Please be safe and let someone know the areas you plan on fishing in case of an emergency. Thank you for your continued support and see you on the water.
I still have a few Christmas Gift Cards at the discount rate. If anyone is interested in getting one please let me know as soon as you can so we will have time to get them ready and sent out. Contact us on the Facebook Fan Page or by e-mail at finsngrinsfishing@hotmail.com for more information.
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