As a trolling fly manufacturer field testing is an ongoing cycle that must be existant to be successful. As times goes on partialness to what works for you becomes commonplace and field test outings get biased by favoring go to colors and items. With this said a while ago I received an E mail from a customer that requested some custom flies with materials that were sure to fall apart, I responded by telling him that there are materials that last longer than others but we use them only mixed in with tougher materials to help with the durability of the flies. The particular colors he wanted were that of durability so we couldn't satisfy his request. I tied up a few flies on the sparse side and sent them along with just 1 of my favorite green crinkle flies I grabbed off the boat that had taken its share of fish and was pretty ugly looking. I received an E mail a week later from this gentleman telling me not to bother to tie him any more custom sparse flies, but he would pay me anything I wanted for my beaten up, proven go-to's. The moral of the story is that its the general consensus of the weathered fisherman that the more worn, tathered, or scraped up lure the better the fish seem to like it. ***Never lose faith in an ugly looking, beaten up, ratty, proven lure, make it your go to item!!!***
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Yep Lake Ontario Kings at the Scotty tourney. We had 8-10 chances to win this thing by a landslide and learned a lesson the hard way. One straightened out hook on the wire. Two slacked fish and 3 break offs later i'll never do that again.
But the most important thing is we had a great time. Plus still got 2 checks.
later, curt
The administrator has disabled public write access.
#1 When I get to fish for LO salmon and use a fly, I always rub the skirt of the fly between my palms and get it all "messed" up. I may even pull a few strands off. A mate on a charter I took, showed me this.
#2 Robbie (Horst)..Remember when the cheaters may have cost us fish! If they aint going....remove them! Sometimes more is less!!!!
#3 I keep a pair of $3.00 side cutters and a $3.00 pair of needle nose pliers on my belt at all times. (Tool booth at a Flea market) Side cutter for the mono, wire and toothpicks for the meat. Cuts the toothpick flush on the baithead. Better action!!! Buy a sheath that holds both. Get religious about putting them back in the sheath. This way you wont be looking all over the place for the pliers while the fish is bleeding and flopping on the deck. Makes for an easier cleanup without the dried blood sprayed everywhere!
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Heres a great tip for everyone that isn't sponsored by a company.
If your not sponsored you don't have allegience to a certain manufacturer.
99% of the manufactures in the market today put out a quality product. Regardless of what some people will lead you to believe. Do some research and find out what the best baits are from a bunch of different manufacturers and get the best baits from all. Its kinda like having an All-Star team on your boat. That doesn't mean you have to buy a bazillion baits but it does insure that you have a quality assortment.
Later, Curt
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Run your program. What works for someone else might not work for you. If it's not catching fish for you, change it out. I don't care if everybody else on the lake is catching fish on that color. If I'm not, I put down something I know works. Stick to what you know.
The Tacklemaster
The administrator has disabled public write access.
When you get a tip on the radio or otherwise ask a few questions before you leave the fish you're on. When did the bite occur? Did it just start or is it about to end? Best tip is sometimes the school of fish that was found but have NOT turned on yet. Fish feed in cycles in my opinion. A tip passed on 1 hr+ after the bite started will most likely dry up shortly.
The administrator has disabled public write access.
When the staging kings show up and get all brown and their nasty fighting teeth come out, try beefing up your leaders to prevent break offs. For J-plugs I started tying a 3-4' piece of mono direct to the hook harness on one end and the other end to a small 50# barrel swivel. The small swivel can be slid through the body of the plug and attached to the snap or snap swivel on the mainline. The plug can still slide up the line if that's what you prefer and you now have a 40# or 50# leader to take all the abuse of kings rolling in the line and biting through it. If you want to change plugs, just slide a new one on. The leaders can be tied up ahead of time and stored on swimming noodes. The closed cell foam accepts hooks well and the barrel swivel can just be pushed into it as well. The larger diameter swim noodles make for a less noticeable line memory as well.
www.salmonheadcharters.com
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Tournament Rule: Don't chase other people's fish. Don't get anxious when the morning bite turns off and you hear that someone inside/outside of you is still catching. Run your program and be confidnet with what you have out. It is out for a reason right?
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Mission Statement : Educated Angler will continue to be the premiere Great Lakes Fishing Resource, including fishing message boards, fishing reports covering Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario, Lake St. Clair, Lake Superior and tributaries, fishing chat, Great Lakes fisheries news, fishing links, and Great Lakes webcams. Membership will remain free and offer photo galleries, homepages, and a passionate community of salmon, steelhead, lake trout, walleye, bass, perch, pike, and muskie anglers.
