I buy the new baits, that much is true.

[Garry2Rs]

Every Spring there seems to be a post about New Season Resolutions.

Something like...

"What new techniques do you plan to learn/master this year?"

 

Most of us start out with good intentions. We tie the new bait on and work on technique...Until the bite gets tough...Often, we then fall back to our old "confidence" baits.

 

Last spring I came home from the States with two new ideas...Hollow core braid with leaders inserted inside and big California style swimbaits.

 

I did work on Swimbaits faithfully, throwing them for awhile almost every time I was out. They caught fish both big and small and I feel quite comfortable with them now. With toothy critters lurking in all my favourite lakes, the soft bodied swimbaits didn't survive very long. In a week or ten days I will head for Arizona. I have a shopping list of hard bodied swimbaits I want to acquire while I'm away.

 

I used knotless leaders with the hollow core line all season as well. If you're not aware, the leader is slipped into the hollow space inside these specially braided lines. It is held in place by the friction of the line closing down on top of it, like a finger-trap. Since there are no knots, these leaders can be any length you want. Leaders longer than the rod are simply wound up onto the reel.

 

For casting I seem to like the leader about the length of the rod, but the jury is still out on an exact formula...I'm using everything from 3 to 20 feet. My leaders are 15, 20 50 and 100 pound test on different rods. I used the 100 pound on my actual musky rods, but successfully landed three musky and several large pike on bass rods with 20 and 50 pound mono leaders.

 

The net result of all this trial and error is that I am using fluoro or mono leaders all the time now. I can't swear this catches more fish, but it can't hurt.

 

As a side light, this year an old friend encouraged me to use my old top water lures more. These old baits like the Hula-Popper and Jitterbug were lures that my friend and I used a lot when we were kids. Over time we got away from them, and I had forgotten how much fun they are!

 

How did you make out with your New Season Resolutions?

Garry2R's

Edited September 25, 2010 by garry2rs

[mercman]

i dont know if this qualifies as a new season resolution since its my first season i 20 years, but here goes.

decided in Jan, that i wanted to get a boat. got 1 in june

vowed to teach the wife to fish, done...shes better than me.....drat....

vowed to bait cast.......done.

so i guess i'm on my way.

for next year,

gotta get a bigger boat

gonna go muskie fishing.

gonna try and get better than the wife. She says women are more sensitive so feel the fish easier.

[MCTFisher9120]

Great post Garry. For me I learned lot's this year about changing patterns with bass, they can change their feeding habit so fast. Anyway bait's I remember thinking about last winter were jigs and spinnerbaits. Seem simple to lot's of anglers these were 2 techniques that I wanted to feel very comfortable with before the end of the season. This season, pitching jigs, tossing frogs a mile and using spinnerbaits to find fish or get through the cloudy days I managed to narrow down conditions to these 3 baits. If it was hot and sunny with no rain, snag proof's frogs always seemed to of brought fish up from under the weeds. If they didn't want a frog after a good stretch of shore then I found deeper water or shallow flats and pitched jigs, some light with big chunks some heavy with tiny chunks for deep water fishing.

 

I had 2 months on the water to try out probably every bait out there haha but stuck to new techniques i learned. Next season I'll stick to the same line's and probably will get another rod or two for the "new mastered techniques" but aside from that I feel great about my last season.

 

As for next season...maybe a little more jerkbait fishing would be fun to try but a real technique I want to experiment with are soft swimbaits in the 4-6" class. I love taking long boring casts with spinnerbaits so why not try with swimbaits

[Guest Manitoubass]

I had a few goals this year, and I've followed through with them.

 

1 was to catch 10+lber walleye through the ice on my stretch of river, and I caught 4 over 10lbs, the biggest was 12lbs

 

2 was to catch a sturgeon through the ice, did that, although the biggest was about 40lbs, but I was still psyched

 

3 was to catch as many smallies over 5lbs as possible, lol, accomplished, caught probably 40 or so 5lbs or bigger

 

4 was to really pay attention to the structure and conditions at my favorite spots, especially when the water levels dropped. Did this, and mastered the structure of about 3-4 kms of shoreline

 

5 was to catch my first muskie, did that as well, too bad it reached a whopping 5 lbs.

 

Now, back on topic...

 

This year I wanted to fish more from shore, with fairly heavy braid. Using more crankbaits and top waters, also scum frogs. I also wanted to master jigging from shore in mainly shallow waters, and this year I got really good at that, snagging very rarely.

 

I also wanted the kids to catch multi species of fish, which they did, and also learn more about techniques/baits etc, in which they also did

[Rizzo]

3 was to catch as many smallies over 5lbs as possible, lol, accomplished, caught probably 40 or so 5lbs or bigger

 

holy smokes where are you fishing (and how often)!

 

I wanted to get a new musky rod/reel which I did - curado 300 teamed up with an 8 foot compre

[EC1]

Nice to see you got into a lot of stuff garry!

I bought a 2.5" Spro Swimbait, and really haven't been able to even get a hit on it. What type of retrieve are you doing?

I also find I'm becoming quite the Fluorowhore! Lol. Leaders for crappie fishing, dropshot, senkos, shakeyheads, cranks, heck, I'm not even sure it really makes a difference because there's been so few times where I haven't thrown a leader.

But why are we already summing up our year?? There's plenty more to be coming

 

Still have to learn jigs, swimbaits, lipless cranks, jerkbaits, and there's probably plenty of room for improvement in each and every technique I use now.

[Garry2Rs]

With swimbaits I use a fairly slow steady retrieve, with the occasional jerk or pause. Unlike most crankbaits, you want the fish to get a good look at a swimbait. Slowing down was the hardest part. I know that I was fishing them too fast and imparting too much action in the beginning.

 

My Ontario season is now over. I winterized the boat. In 8-10 days I will head south. I can't wait to get back to summer weather...grin.

Garry2r's

[Gregoire]

I started the season learning how to use a baitcaster. This year I purchased 4 of them. Rapala r-type, 3 abu's as well. revo winh, toro 51 and a c4. Not only have I learned to baitcast, but I've developed a costly addiction to it.

I started the season fishing for Pike in the GTA. I was hoping to transition into bass fishing as the summer wore on. Toronto piking turned out well. I managed to hook into quite a few, including a 40+ incher that was over 10 pounds.

That fish changed my fishing life. Up until this then he largest fish I had ever caught was maybe a 5 pound pike. After landing a big pike I became obsessed with hunting large predators, and decided I would try to get into musky fishing. I purchased a cheap musky rod (rapala magnum) and reel (abu c4). I also purchased a lot of musky lures on ebay and a large net. After shore fishing with my cheap set up I decided that it was adequate but I needed to upgrade. I decided on a revo toro and a compre. I also have developed an addiction to musky lures.

The one thing about musky fishing is that it is hard to do from shore. Luckily OFC has helped me hook up with a fishing buddy and I was able to boat a few ski's. I now consider myself a full on musky addict.

I also worked on a few techniques this year. I managed to land a few bass on the wacky rig, a technique that I still have to master. I experimented unsuccessfully with drop shotting.I also started to learn how to skip cast.

Next year I would like to add one or two musky combos. I want to find a MH 8 foot plus 2 piece musky rod that I can pair up with my revo winch for casting lighter baits. I find the toro compre combo is really hard on my wrists. I also would like to add an extra heavy rod and reel for casting and trolling baits that are 5 ounces and bigger.

I also would love to get a boat. I have the summers off and would love to get out as much as possible.

[Guest Johnny Bass]

My goal was to catch a pickerel rippin bucktails and I did!

 

I also want to switch from mono to braid with floro leaders for finesse fishing, but too lazy. I bought the 20lb braid, but its sitting in my tackle.

 

Upgraded all my defective fishing gear this year finally so next year I am coming out swingin!

 

Wanted to join a bass club and this year I will join. Its late and kind of a waste of money but its only $60 and it should get me through the off season(winter)!

 

Its good to follow the fishing trends because they usually do work. Thats why they are hot! A few years back was gulp, then the senkos, and then the chatterbaits, and then the swim baits, then the x-rap(not necessarily in that order). All great baits. The last few years? The slammers. Drop shooting is hot.

 

Every year I try a new technique. Next year I may concentrate more on drop shooting with slammers, but we will see.

[Garry2Rs]

Hi Johnny;

This is a great time of year to join a Bass club.

During the hard water season, each month there will be a meeting with an expert speaker. This will help get you through the winter.

 

Try to join as a non-boater. That way you will ride the back deck in club tournaments, getting a first hand look at the way other guys fish their favourite baits.

 

You will fish some places you might not have ever tried before and also see new areas on water you're familiar with. At the end of the day you have to wind-up a better angler for the experience.

Good luck

Garry2R's

[Guest Manitoubass]

holy smokes where are you fishing (and how often)!

 

I wanted to get a new musky rod/reel which I did - curado 300 teamed up with an 8 foot compre

 

Rainy River is my homebody of water, so I fish there almost everyday. Most times from shore with my kids, but we take the boat out alot as well.

 

Then we hit the lakes once a week usually, Rainy Lake, Lake of the Woods, mainville, some smaller lakes up the cedar narrows road.

 

I fish alot, probably more than anyone, lol, so that helps. I didn't have to work this summer, so I fished almost everyday, for probably an average of 7-8 hours

[johnnyb]

Great post as usual, GaRRy.

MY "thing " this year was going after lakers all summer....which I did. Pretty much neglected all other species, and managed to learn a fair bit about leadcore trolling and got the hang of the downrigger pretty good. Caught a lot of small ones, and hooked into a true monster which I never managed to lift off bottom.

 

I did find time to try dropshotting, and really like it. Hasn't been super productive for me yet, and I still have a fair bit to learn, but one thing I observed is that you can just twitch the heck out of the thing and leave it in one spot for a while, as this will bring fish in. It's a patience thing...so that was hard to deal with...kind of like slowing the retrieve down.

[OhioFisherman]

Johnny, winter is a good time to join a club. The one I fished with for a long time usually had a meeting in January or February to decide and vote on choices for tournaments.

 

It is nice to have some input on them, I never really cared what lake the tournament was held on, but traveling distance was an issue. I never had a desire to drive 150-200 miles to the site of a one day tournament, drive 3 hours, fish for 8 or 9 and drive home? Safety first? it makes for a long day. I just felt those were better options for two day events, something you could combine into a long weekend or perhaps a weeks vacation with the family if the locations permitted it.

 

None of my kids ever really got the fishing bug, but a cabin, house, or trailer by the beach and they were ready to go! A number of guys in the club would make it a family deal, so the wives and kids had things to do while the guys fished. If the lake is new territory to you? you can get some tips practice fishing with other members.

[PainInTheBass]

This year I wanted to

 

 

• learn to fish jigs - I have not yet done that, unless you count swim jigs, which I did successfully
• fish soft plastics more - I did that, and caught some fish along the way
• learn to fish lipless crankbaits effectively - not great at it yet, but still coming
• generally learn to fish more finesse techniques that require patience, but can produce fish

I always find it difficult to apply some of these techniques based on who I am in the boat with. Often, my brother's fishing personality dominates since I can fish the same way he does. However, I wanted to become a more well rounded angler in learning these techniques. I plan to continue working on these until I get them.

 

 

[Garry2Rs]

This year I wanted to

 

 

• learn to fish jigs - I have not yet done that, unless you count swim jigs, which I did successfully
• fish soft plastics more - I did that, and caught some fish along the way
• learn to fish lipless crankbaits effectively - not great at it yet, but still coming
• generally learn to fish more finesse techniques that require patience, but can produce fish

I always find it difficult to apply some of these techniques based on who I am in the boat with. Often, my brother's fishing personality dominates since I can fish the same way he does. However, I wanted to become a more well rounded angler in learning these techniques. I plan to continue working on these until I get them.

 

Flat rattle baits generally represent crayfish or feeding minnows. The heads are often weighted so they land on the bottom nose down.

 

Rattle baits are generally fished very fast or ripped. To rip, in shallow water, you cast and allow the bait to sink to the bottom or into/onto weeds...Then wind down and rip with a sideways sweep. This explosion out of cover triggers the strike.

 

You can also Yo-Yo, which is a slight variation on the rip, used in deeper water. Again, you cast and allow the bait to sink to the bottom....Reel down and rip the rod upward to hop the bait off the bottom. Reel fast to pick-up slack because the strike is usually on the fall....Allow the bait to sink to the bottom again, on a tight line, then jerk upward again. Be careful as the bait gets close to your boat. I have broken rods by jerking upward at too steep an angle, but it catches suspended or deep fish.

 

On a straight retrieve, in shallow water, they are cranked and jerked so they skip along the bottom, if it's clear enough. If not, or in deeper water you keep them moving with a hard jerk, jerk, jerk, then a pause to let them flutter down, then jerk, jerk, jerk again.