6-28-2014 Report

[J-Doc]

Is that a fish clicker on that lanyard?

Yes and he tortured me with it all day. I got it for those days where we were catching 50-60 fish. Kinda need one on days like that.

I didn't need one today. I had one hand with five fingers and that was surplus.

[M_Taylor]

Haha. Love the optimism! Maybe that's my problem lately, need more positive thinking in my boat.

[Feathers and Fins]

The clicker has turned in to a great joke between us. But him bringing and Ice-chest is priceless and guarantees I will out fish him.

[kjackson]

Doc says that you only let him use one rod, and that's why you, with the six rods out, catch more than he does.

Interested in the crawler harness rig. How do you control depth with that? Leadcore? Diver? Planer? Downrigger?

I was going to head west tomorrow, but with a forecast of 17 mph winds, I may opt out. I wanted to do some research on depth, and your end of the lake is the best I've seen for that. I may have to work instead...sigh.

[Feathers and Fins]

I only used one Pole yesterday lol. I will take a picture of the set-up in a few minutes after coffee and post.

[Feathers and Fins]

So here it is

I use a 1 to 2oz bottom bouncer 18'' to 2' below a three-way swivel. then off the other end a 3' to 4' leader to the hook with either a slow death hook no beads or a bead spinner combination ( this is one RPS made for me ) the main line to the rod.

I thread an entire night crawler on the hook from the tip to one hook shank length past the egg-sack (old timer term) / Clitellum. and make sure the beads are 4 to 6'' above the hook.

Then I drop the rig down and put the boat in motion with the electronics and let out line just enough so its ticking the bottom in the desired depth and no more. The 1oz weight will work with no problem from .5 to 1.3mph in 15 to 25fow. The 2oz weights work great in speeds up to 3.0 mph and 25 fow to 40fow.

[kjackson]

Interesting--thanks.

I had the impression you were running the spinner suspended instead of close to the deck, but this is something I understand from back in my Washington/Oregon fishing days. The guys in Erie and elsewhere often run spinners at mid-depths, and this is why I asked about your set up. There they use in-line weights, drop weights, leadcore and whatnot to get the depth.

I'm now thinking Tuesday will be my chance to do some testing, and I'll probably run a couple of things by the fish to see who salutes. That is one thing I really love about fishing here--you can run more than one rod, and that makes experimenting a lot simpler. I can fish working crankbaits off the sides of the boat and the X product off the stern.

[Feathers and Fins]

I like the bottom bouncer because I have positive control to the bottom with a lower percentage of snags, you can always adjust length from the weight up to the swivel, If I use my 12' crappie rods I can have 12' of line. watching the sonar tells me where I need to set the depth for that way I can target a very specific depth the fish are in. It does take some math in your head if you are angled out but its not to hard to figure.

[kjackson]

Again, thanks.

[J-Doc]

The clicker has turned in to a great joke between us. But him bringing and Ice-chest is priceless and guarantees I will out fish him.

Yep. I was catching fish in good numbers till one day I get smart and bring an ice chest to take fish home in after a trip. That day, I caught very little. Next trip, same thing and the only commonality is......the ice chest.

So, no more ice chest. I live but 10mins from his house so I'll just keep borrow a trash bag from now on. Test my theory on the being prepared and confident of using an ice chest.

And the clicker......

He likes to taunt me and hold it to his ear and say "click' as he pushes the button. Then laugh profusely.

I'd do the same to him if it were the opposite so I can't be mad. It's all fun and games. Makes fishing fun and entertaining. That and listening to scenes from "Blazing Saddles" on YouTube while drifting around sure makes a lot of laughs too. Man the internet is a good thing to have on the water when fishing is tough/slow.

And as for yesterday, i was dead tired and truth be told, I would shut my eyes some instead of watching the rod tip. I had about 3hrs sleep the night before so I was not my usual self. And I didn't thread the worm right so there is that. I had a lot of short strikers take my worm but not the hook. When trolling, I caught one by accident and we found a location. Then I noticed he kept his line on the target linea bit more than mine. (Haha). I am noticing some subtle tricks now and learning how he catches more.

I still blame that darn ice chest though. It's got a curse.