All SizeS of GizzArd ShAd

it all. I run them along docks all year to catch fish suspended there and over rocks during the shad spawn using a Suicide Shad. I throw them to schooling fish in Sinclair and in the late summer when the whites and hybrids school on Oconee at dawn or dark I throw them with various size and styles of baits for them. This is a bait almost as versatile as a Texas rig worm.

Now, Mr. Rob and I didn’t set the world on fire that afternoon on Sinclair. We did catch a nice 3 ½ to 4 lb hybrid from right below the dam and then we managed to stumble on to a HUGE channel cat. The hybrid choked that bait. I mean it ate it, Friends! He hated that thing like I do politicians. Later in the day on the same bait he hooked up on his catfish. Now if you can catch a 20-25 lb cat and the swim bait (a keitech no less) is still on the bait and STILL in place… I think you might have figured out how to make this work. Now here’s kind of my thoughts on tackle. I almost exclusively throw these types of baits on a 7’ medium action spinning rod with a 35 series reel and 10lb power pro with a 15lb -20lb flouro leader. Mr. Rob is much more a bait cast guy on this and likes throwing 7’ to 7’2” medium action bait casters with even some pretty high-speed reels depending on the application and almost exclusively 12-15lb flouro.

Whether you chase hybrids at the dam, tournament bass fish, or love speckled trout this is a bait you need in your lineup and USE IT! Just don’t look at it! Tight Lines!

When Fish Won’t Bite

By Capt. Cefus McRae Nuts & Bolts Fishing Series Hartwell, GA

Raise your hand if you’ve ever spent the entire day on the water without getting a bite.

Be honest. Now look around the room at other people who are reading The Angler Magazine and see who else has their hand in the air. Probably all of them.

It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s definitely happened to me. But we still come back for more, and that’s a good thing.

So, what can you do on those days when the fish simply don’t want to bite? The obvious answer is, ‘Pack it up and go home’. Before you throw in the towel, there are actually some tricks you can try that can fire up the bite, and here’s a few that have helped me put a fish in the boat.

Let me start of by saying some days are just going to be fish-less… no matter what you do. Sometimes these tactics work, and sometimes they don’t. But remember, if you’re down to these maneuvers, you really don’t have anything to lose…do you?

So don’t complain too much even if these tricks don’t work. You can still go home feeling good about the fact that you weren’t stuck in the office all day.

To me, there are three key components to re-igniting the bite…Location, Presentation and Bait Choice.

The first one’s pretty obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people will sit on a spot and continue to flail the water because they ‘know’ there should be fish there. Well maybe there is, but after 152 casts beside the same stump, that fish is probably not going to bite on cast 153.

So, move. If you watch The Nuts & Bolts of Fishing TV series, you know that I prefer to fish moving water. It’s been proven time and time again that fish actively feed when there’s some current. So, during slack tide, or while you’re waiting for the power company to start pulling water at the dam, take a boat ride. But before you crank the engine, get a game plan. Look at your chartplotter and pick a spot that you feel has a high percentage of being fishy. Creek mouths, structure, river bends, etc. And then hit the throttle.

Presentation is another huge factor in triggering the bite. What worked yesterday, may not work today or tomorrow. As fish deal with changes in the weather, and their subsurface environment, they can become lethargic, or they can become exceptionally frisky. So, you should consider changing up your retrieve… if you’ve been ripping a crankbait, try slow rolling a spinnerbait or working a worm on the bottom. If I’m throwing topwater plugs, instead of the typical twitch-twitch-twitch, walk-the-dog retrieve, I’ll just let it sit there when it lands on the water. And I let it sit for a long time, waiting for all the ripples to dissipate, until I move the plug. Changing your speed, the cadence of the rod movement, the depth where the lure runs, and even adding a longer fluorocarbon leader can all contribute to enticing the bite.

The third piece of the puzzle is Bait Choice. The age-old question is…what will they bite today? Fig-

If you would like to place an ad, please contact us: craig@theanglermagazine.com ure out the answer to that question and you can quit your day job, by the way. Most folks agree that the artificial lures we use are meant to mimic natural forage. Artificials allow you to cover a lot more water both horizontally and vertically. So, there’s distinct benefits to fishing with lures; I use them at some point on nearly every fishing trip. But when these man-made creations cease to be effective, try serving up a different menu. Provided it’s legal, switch out to live bait, or even cut bait. Putting a tasty morsel in front of a big striper will usually get your drag singing again. And a live herring will often get inhaled on the way down after the bucktails quit being effective.

The point to all this is simple. There are going to be days that fish won’t bite, no matter what you do. But don’t give up. Try thinking outside the tackle box. Fish must eat to survive. So, you have to give them a reason to eat what you’re offering and eat it now. And often times, changing it up can definitely change your luck.

Tight lines and calm seas.