By Capt. Cefus McRae
Raise your hand if you’ve ever spent the entire day on the water without a bite. Be honest. Now look around and see who else has their hand in the air. It’s probably everyone.
So, what can you do on those days when the fish simply don’t want to bite? Before you throw in the towel, there are some tricks you can try that can fire up the bite, and here are a few that have helped me put a fish or two in the boat.
To me, there are three key components to re-igniting the bite: location, presentation and bait choice.
You’d be surprised how many people will sit on a spot and flail the water because they “know” there should be fish there. Maybe there are fish there, but after 152 casts beside the same stump, that fish is probably not going to bite on cast 153, so move. It might mean simply casting to a different piece of structure, or it could mean a move to another likely spot.
If you watch The Nuts & Bolts of Fishing TV series, you know I prefer to fish moving water. Fish actively feed when there’s some current. During slack tide or while you’re waiting for the power company to start pulling water at the dam, take a boat ride. Before you crank the engine, get a game plan. Look at your chartplotter and pick a fishy spot. Set a waypoint based on intelligent thought, and then hit the throttle.
Presentation is another key component to triggering bites. What worked yesterday might not work today. Try slowing down your presentation even more. That will get your lure a little deeper or impart a slightly different action. Conversely, if you’ve been slow-rolling all morning, try speeding up the retrieve.
Bait choice is possibly the most critical factor for hook-ups. Maybe these fish have been seeing a purple worm for the last month, and making a change to bubble gum color will trigger a bite. Size and shape can be a key as well. You might think big baits catch big fish, and that’s true. But elephants also eat peanuts. Downsizing to a smaller offering can often produce the biggest fish of the day.
I like live and natural baits. If fish aren’t biting a lively pinfish or herring, I will switch to a piece of cut bait or make a pinfish tail rig, and that can make a stubborn fish come to the hook. The extra scent and scales from cut bait can be a game changer. We show how to create a pinfish tail rig on our Nuts & Bolts Pro Tips at our website video library.
When the bite turns off, you can sometimes fire it back up by using different tactics and techniques, and turn a slow day into a very fishy day.
Cefus is the host of TV’s Nuts & Bolts of Fishing Series. Check it out at www.nutsandboltsfishing.com.