| Fish like you hunt: | | Print | |
| Written by Brian Pichalski - NJ-Hunter.com Pro-Staff |
| Sunday, 01 July 2007 00:00 |
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Fishing season has arrived and the reports are in. The fluke are biting, and biting hard. The Bass are slim, but there. Fishing is a lot like hunting. As a fisherman you need to scout your locations and see where the biggest fish are. This goes for both fresh and salt water. Experience, hard work, research and pure luck are what get you the rewards. Here are a few tips that I found to be very helpful and successful. 1. The knots that hold? your hardware to your line. There are so many out there. You have the Clinch Knot, Improved Clinch Knot, Palomar Knot, Uni Knot, Surgeon?s Knot, Double Uni Knot, Perfection Knot, Dropper Knot, Surgeon?s End Loop, Nail Knot, and the Blood Knot. Which knot do you use? It can get confusing but the two knots that I found to be the best are Improved Clinch Knot and the Snell Knot. Also, another secret that I do is once I tie the knot and pulled it tight I put a dab of crazy glue on it and let it dry. Works great when pulling in the bigger fish, like a 30 or 40 pound Striper. 2. Always have a lot of bait. You can never have too much. And when you carry different kinds of bait that gives you a chance to change it up if you noticed that what you are currently using is not giving you the action you want. When using multiple rods put different bait setups on each to maximize your chances of catching that fish. For Fluke season I recommend, from my experience, to use live Killies, frozen Spearing, cut Squid, frozen smelt, variety of Fish Bites, and a variety of Berkeley Gulp like Crab and Grass Shrimp. 3. Clothing is also important. The clothing for fisherman have really improved and gotten better. I found that the best type of pants to get is the lightweight zip off pants. In the mornings when it is chilly you keep them as pants and as the sun rises and the heat sets in you zip them off and wear the shorts. They dry fast and do not stick to you. I also recommend the lightweight shirts that you can roll the sleeves up or down. Bring your sunglasses and make sure you put straps on them so they do not fall in the water. Boat shoes are great. You can get them wet and not worry about ruining them, they dry and are ready for the next try. With boat shoes you do not slip around and the gripping is great. They even came out with fishing sneakers that are water proof and very comfortable. They look like regular sneakers but are made with Gortex and keep your feet dry and sturdy on the ground. Be prepared for those rain showers with some good rain gear or waterproof jacket. There will be times that a rain storm may hit while you are fishing. 4. Equipment to have handy is another area I make sure I am prepared for. On my belt I have my needle nose pliers, eight inches or better. I keep them on my belt so they are easy access and fast to get at. If you are working two rods and you have fish on you need those pliers handy and with easy access. 5. Sinkers are important and run in different sizes. Watch the water and the weather. If the bay is like glass use a lighter ounce weight and if the water is rough you would use a heavier ounce sinker. You need to read the water to know what sinker weight is going to work the best. Make sure you carry a few of each weight to be ready for anything. Throughout a day, you can change your sinker five to six times depending on what the water says. 6. I recommend using a tackle bag. Today, they make the in so many choices. They are user friendly, functional, and easy to take care of. I prefer to use trays for my sinkers and hardware, and for my rigs I use simple zip lock bags that are labeled. Keep some extra gallon zip lock bags handy for the fish fillets. I also keep bug spray, sun block, allergy medicine, and aspirin. 7. At home I have all my fishing gear in one area and on a shelf I keep all my tackle bag stuff so when I need to I can grab what I need to grab and go. I do not have to go searching and preying that I grabbed everything I needed and then find out that I left hooks at home. 8. Personally, I tie my own rigs. Every angler has their own preference but I found this to be better then the store bought ones. Each rig gets put in a zip lock bag that is labeled with what type of rig it is. This keeps me organized and saves me time when it comes to fishing. Who wants to waste their time searching and tying while they are on the boat and the fish are biting. Do not waste your time where it is not needed. You want your line in the water more then you want it out of the water. Fishing is a lot of fun and exciting. The feelings you get when you feel that big fish on the other end of the line. And you cannot seem to reel him in fast enough. The first thing you see is the sinker comes out of the water and then you see a flash of the fish and you say net. Your mate swoops the net under the fish (always net the Fluke head first because if you hit the tail, he will take off with your line and rig.) and the fish is on the floor of the boat. Grab your pliers and get the hook out. You measure him and he is 22 inches long. He?s a keeper and into the cooler he goes. You quickly grab more bait and put the line back into the water in hopes of getting a bigger one. Good Luck!! NJ-Hunter.com Pro-Staff Brian Pichalski |
