A good angler is like a magician who can pull tricks out of the bag to help him catch more fish. It could be just a simple item to save time, or a technique that gets the fish to bite. We all have some tricks to help us catch more fish and I am going to share some of them with you.
These five basic tricks can help you catch more fish, and save time and money.
1. Cut noodles used for kids in the swimming pool into different lengths. They make excellent leader holders, especially during the mackerel and king fish season allowing you to have 12 pre-rigged leaders ready to go. Use one color for mackerel and another color for kingfish. You make the leaders at home while watching TV instead of watching commercials.
2. During the Fall, when the trout bite goes crazy, my favorite way of catching them is using a Four Horsemen float, only because it has two sound producing beads and a weight that increases my cast during windy days. Also, the beads create the sound of a wounded bait. The clarity of the water dictates the size of my leader–anywhere from 15 to 30-pound fluorocarbon. I work the float with a popping action to draw attention to my bait and the float. Over the years, I’ve noticed that my float had chunks missing from the trout attacking the float like a top water bait, so I put a small split ring where the swivel meets the float wire and add a 2/0 hook. I started catching two trout at a time. This method can be used with live bait or, as the picture shows, artificial bait.
3. One basic problem over the years was keeping the soft baits on the hook after a few hits. With that said, here is a simple problem solver. After the head of the bait starts to break, just cut it back a little and stick the tip of a toothpick through the bait and the eye of the hook. This keeps your artificial baits from sliding off.
4. When fishing Winter tides in shallow grassy areas, you need to work just above the grass line. So, take one of your top water plugs, remove the rear hook and put on a short leader. The length depends on the depth of water. I have mine set at about eight inches, and I tie on a mid-running fly. The action of the plug draws attention, and the tailing fly becomes the easy prey for the fish to hit. In some cases, I have caught two fish at the same time.
5. Fall and Winter fishing for sheepshead, mangrove snapper and flounder in deep water can be fun and very productive. I found a trick to get them to bite when all else fails. I fish this method all Winter long. A simple soft glow bead is placed between the eye of the hook and the lead. For some reason, the glow of the bead seems to draw attention to the bait, and my sheepshead, snapper and flounder bite has tripled over the last few years. The one question I ask myself is “is it the bead that gets them to bite, or has my luck increased?” Either way, it works for me.
The forecast depends on the weather. If the water temperatures drop below 68 degrees, start looking for the bigger sheepshead coming in from the Gulf. They will work their way to the ledges and bridges. Big trout can be found on the edges of channels or deep holes. This is a great time to use artificial baits like Saltwater Assassin P & V with a ¼ oz jig head. Redfish should be at their peak around creek mouths and oyster bars.