Archive for the ‘shallow water’ Tag
Carefully picking his way through the rock strewn tailwaters, the angler casts a 1/8 ounce jig up under the dam. Almost immediately the line heads for deeper water. Carefully the angler retrieves a 2 pound catfish. Catfish on artificial lures?
Both flathead and channel catfish will take artificial lures instead of bait. Beginning in late summer as the water temperature gets into the 80’s and low 90’s channel catfish will move to the shallow water up tight against dams. The flatheads will move to the deep holes. In both of these areas, catfish will take an artificial lure.
Some experienced catfishermen use bass fishing techniques to catch flatheads. Each September they begin by trolling with a trolling motor on a Jon boat. They troll over deep holes. Most are in the 30 foot depth. Electronics tell them there are fish in the bottoms of the holes. Experience teaches that they are flatheads about to go on a fall feeding spree.
They look for structure in the holes. Submerged trees, rock structure or any other kind of “home habitat” that flatheads are known to frequent.
The idea is to bounce jigs right on their nose. They use a 2-ounce jig with a salt craw attached. In order for the fish to take it, they maintain that the jig has to be right on top of the fish. Not being a bottom feeder by nature, the flatheads eyes are located to find food slightly above it.
Late summer also means low water conditions on most rivers. Cats, be they flathead or channel, seem to seek out deep water, fast running well oxygenated water, or both. Beneath most dams are deep holes created by the water cascading from one level to another.
Anglers have long known to cast up under a dam to catch fish. However, few try it with a small jig. A 1/8 ounce leadhead with a dark plastic grub body will do a good job enticing channel catfish.
Over on the Ohio River flowage, some anglers use crankbaits to catch fall cats. They get their boats right up in the shallow water at the dam and then cast floating Rapalas. The #13 and #18 are most used. Blue is the preferred color. They use the current to provide action to the lure.
Shallow running crankbaits like the Sebile Bull Minnow are effective in fall.
One need only follow his exploits on Facebook to realize that this designer of fishing tackle is a dedicated angler of vast world wide experience. One wonders when he finds time to design his lures.
As we move into fall crankbait season the Sebile Action Series crankbaits that came in the mail today are a welcome addition to this angler’s war chest. The floating Bull Minnow is for depths of 2 to 5-feet, just right for those suspending bass of early fall. The Suspending crankbait Star Shiner works just a little below those depths.
The particularly attractive feature of these baits is that they are precision tuned right out of the box. As one who hates to tune crankbaits, that is a great feature.
Shallow water cranking is an effective fall technique. As the water cools the surface swarms with schools of bait fish. Working crankbaits just under the forage fish on the surface produces action from the predator fish preying upon them.
A blue September sky and relatively clear water sends anglers in search of darker water. Easing a boat into shallow coves allows for the use of crankbaits. If the water is slightly stained and there is a lot of wood to be found so much the better.
Cast crankbaits beyond submerged trees and brush. Then slowly twitch them into position on the edges of the wood. Letting it sit still for a minute entices wary fish that cannot help but attack this invader of their space.
Start cranking with small light colored lures. Color is less important than size. By beginning with small white, green or chartreuse colors you locate the fish. Then change to the larger crankbaits. The larger crankbaits take any size fish. Smaller lures tend not to attract many large fish.
The length of a cast, line diameter and the design of the lure all affect the depth at which a crankbait will run. Do not just cast and crank casually retrieved. Change the speed allowing the fish to react to it. Manufacturers mark the package with the depth a lure will run.
Once out of the package use a marker pen to write the running depth on the bill of the lure for future reference. A shallow running crankbait will run 3 to 4 feet down and is used to fish over the top of weeds or in shallow water. Deep running crankbaits run 8 to 10 feet down and in dirty/deep water.
Anglers count on a bait with a larger lip running deeper than one with a less prominent lip. It is possible to trim the lip on a deep diving crankbait to find a depth to make it run just right for the fish present. In this way you have a lure that will run between the zones of the traditional shallow running or deep running baits.
Another way to vary the running depth of a crankbait is to add weight inside the body of the lure. The more weight added makes the lure suspend or run deeper.
Colors are the preference of the angler. Subtle colors seem to work best in clean water. Bright colors are preferred for dirty or stained water.
The most important factor is having the lure in the fish’s strike zone. Lure speed does not significantly affect the depth at which it runs. In fact some lures actually run shallower at faster speeds. Be consistent and learn from experience just how deep the lure is running.
Line diameter does affect the running depth. For each two pounds of line weight subtract about one foot from the lure’s depth.
Crankbaits are great tools for covering a lot of water and finding fish. By finding a good pattern, knowing the lure color to use and the right cover to fish, a fisherman covers more water with a crankbait than any other type of lure.
The return of warm weather inspires anglers to dig out the rod and reel. The entire family can all take part in bluegill fishing. The many public fishing areas of southern Illinois provide ample space to enjoy an uncrowded angling experience.
The bluegill’s habit of racing one another to a worm dangled beneath a bobber endears it to every angler from novice to expert. Children need to catch fish regularly on their first exposure to angling in order to help maintain their interest. It’s flat, compact body enables the bluegill to maneuver in weedy areas as well as open water.
Although the best populations of bluegills are in clear, well-vegetative lakes, they are adaptable to most any water conditions. The ideal water is clean, deep, and has a PH of 7.2. Most of the area waters meet that standard. In the less desirable waters they will not reach the greatest numbers and size.
The body of a bluegill is seldom more than an inch thick. They have a dark olive-green back with dark blue vertical stripes on the sides. The breast of males are bright red-orange with the female being a dull yellow. The chin and lower portion of the gill cover is blue, hence the name bluegill.
Bluegills are at their best when water temperatures range between 50 to 90-degrees.
They will feed on aquatic insects and larvae as well as arthropods and crustaceans. A scrappy fighter, the aggressive behavior of the bluegill is an indicator that the species does not flourish in a body of water because of its intellect.
Spawning appears to be closely related to the full moon phases, with fish moving onto the beds for about five days prior to the full moon and remaining their for a like time thereafter. Fish can still be located after that time on the same spawning beds later on during the secondary spawning activities of the later weeks.
During the spawn, males scrape a depression in the bottom of the body of water. They build nests on sand and gravel bars near shore in about 12 to 40 inches of water. Bluegills prefer less turbid, shallow shorelines around weeds and other cover.
The male guards the nest with vigor. They will strike anything that comes into the area. The action can be so active that bubbles appear on the surface. It is this aggressive action and its predictable occurrence that makes bluegill a good fish for teaching youngsters to fish.
Bluegills school according to size. Catching small “gills” is easier because they lack experience despite their aggressive behavior. Schools of small bluegills appear near all kinds of structure in shallow water all day. Some good location might be boat docks, overhanging trees, fallen logs and shallow patches of vegetation adjacent to deeper water.
The big bluegills isolate themselves from the small fish and tend to stay in deeper water. They are more selective in what they eat and are less aggressive. They will cruise the open water feasting on bugs and minnows. Big gills suspend in water of from 10 to 30 feet. They stage near drop-offs along the outside edge of shallow water and in the deep water. They can be located by fan casting.
An often overlooked bluegill location is where open fields extend to the shoreline. The insects from the fields blow into the shallow water of the shoreline. A summer shower will also wash insects and worms into the water at the same location. The big fish learn early to wait there to be first in line for dinner.
DON GASAWAY'S BLOG 