Forum:
Question
for Rusty Reinoehl: After (and before) except for the
big egg rolls is there a sure fire way of knowing if a bass
is a male or female?
Rusty
Reinoehl Responds:
Jimmy,
During the spawn is probably the only time that you can
visually tell with any real accuracy whether a bass is male
or female. During the spawning time, a female will be full
of eggs, and much fatter and larger than her male counterpart.
A male will also normally have sores such as a bloody tail
or underside from making the nest at this time. Throughout
the year, the female will generally remain larger, even
with the absence of eggs. Nearly all bass over 5lbs are
female, so if you catch a lunker that is over 5lbs, there
is a very good chance it is a female.
Aside from size, and during the spawn, there is another
way to make an "educated guess" as to the sex
of the fish by examining the scaleless area around the anus.
This method however is fairly controversial, some biologists
claim that it works the majority of the time, others claim
that it is about 50/50 and you would be just as well to
make a guess and would be right just about as often.
When using the method looking at the area around the anus,
the fish must be held upside down. When you do this, the
male will have a round area, while a female will have an
oval or teardrop shaped area. However, a study conducted
found this to be only 53% effective. The only highly effective
method found was using a 1mm plastic straw and inserting
it into the genital area and judging by the depth and angle,
you can determine the sex at somewhere near a 90% success
rate. However, this is obviously not easy to do and is definately
not recommended that an average angler attempt to do it
as it may harm the fish, but this is one of the most effective
ways that biologists use to determine sex on the water without
genetic testing.
As far as I know, these are the only ways that you can get
an idea as to the sex of a bass without doing genetic testing
using scale samples and such.
Good Luck
Question
for Todd Davis: Living in the Ohio valley and facing
a very tough bite, I would like to kown what rod and bait
would you use on any of the lakes in our area.
Thanks, Jeff Francis.
Rusty
Reinoehl Responds:
Jeff,
Thanks for the question. As you have mentioned the Ohio
Valley is generally a very tough bite. The lakes and rivers
in our area do see a lot of fishing pressure which can give
the fish a serious case of lock jaw. The best approach I
have found to get fish to bite is to go small and to slow
down your presentation. In the spring of the year use small
profile spinnerbaits, 1/8 to 3/16 ounce, small jigs, again
in the 1/8 to 3/16 ounce size and small crankbaits. Also,
a 4 inch trick worm rigged texas style with a 1/16 or 1/8
ounce bullet weight works well. I fish the spinnerbaits
and crankbaits on the Furnace Bay 6’0” medium
extra fast action rod. I generally fish these baits around
a lot of cover and the shorter rod allows me to be more
accurate with my cast and the faster tip allows me to lay
the bait gently in the water next to that log or dock. For
the jigs and worms, I use the Furnace Bay medium heavy extra
fast action rod in the 6’6” length. Again, the
faster tip allows for that soft presentation into the water
with a little heavier rod to help me drive the hook in during
hook set. As the spawn ends and the fish get on more of
a summer pattern, a 4” texas rigged tube is deadly
along with Carolina rigging a 4” trick worm. For the
tube, I use the Furnace Bay 6’10” medium heavy
extra fast action tip, a little longer rod, for a little
more distance during my pitch and for the Carolina rig,
I use a Furnace Bay 7’0” medium heavy fast action
rod. Then, as fall comes around, the small profile spinnerbait
along with the smaller profile crankbaits work well, as
the fish start to feed up for winter. The most important
thing to do is find a lure you are confident in and fish
it, this along with the proper equipment will help you to
become a better fisherman. Tight Lines….Todd
in Ohio
Question
for Rusty Reinoehl: Would you discuss your technique
for fishing a drop shot rig.
Rusty
Reinoehl Responds: Over the past year, I have been experimenting
with the dropshot rig. I am sure that if you follow bass
fishing at all, you have heard and read articles about this
rig as it has taken the pro circuits by storm. This isn’t
a new technique by any means, and it came from Japan and
was adopted by western anglers and eventually found its
way here, and everywhere for that matter. As I said, I have
been playing with this rig for the past year, and at the
beginning, I was kind of skeptical. Light line and 4”
or smaller worms are just not my style of fishing. However,
I have found that a dropshot is a lot more versatile than
I originally thought.
The basic dropshot rig consists of a hook, some sort of
soft plastic and a weight. The hook is rigged with a Palomar
knot anywhere from 6” to 3 feet up on the line. The
tag end of the line is left unclipped and the weight is
attached to the bottom. There are specially made weights
just for dropshotting that clip onto your line instead of
being tied. This allows them to break free without breaking
your line. But, you can use just a standard split shot or
any kind of sinker you want to use. You can adjust the depth
of your offering by adjusting the length of the line between
the hook and the weight in order to fish above weeds or
bottom debris, or to present the bait to suspended fish.
Basically, all you do is jiggle the rod tip slightly and
it creates a great action at the other end of your line.
Most people fish a dropshot on very light line, anywhere
from 4 to 8lb test with a small 3-4” finesse bait,
weights from 1/16oz up to 3/8oz and a small hook. These
types of rigs are usually fished on Light or Medium Light
spinning tackle to get the most action and casting distance.
I personally have fallen in love with my custom built 6’10”MLF
Furnace Bay rod paired with a Shimano Stradic 1000 reel
and 8lb test P-line Fluorocarbon line. They nose hook the
bait to give it more action and to make it easier to hook
a fish on the small hooks used for this technique. This
is a great way to fish this rig, you can fish it shallow
or deep this way, just beware of anything you could hang
up on, as that exposed hook and light line do not make it
a very good technique for fishing around debris. Since you
are using such light line and such small baits, this can
be terrific for catching numbers of bass when you need a
quick limit.
While this is the standard rig works and puts lots of fish
in the boat, I have found that there are many more ways
to fish a dropshot than just with light tackle. This summer
I was fishing a lake full of weed mats, and tied a modified
dropshot rig onto my flipping stick and used that to get
through the mats and to the fish underneath. This rig consisted
of a 7’6”MHF Action Furnace Bay Rod, a Shimano
Castaic SF Reel, 65lb Power Pro braided line, a 3/4oz sinker,
a 3/0Gamakatsu Superline EWG Hook and a Zoom Baby Brush
Hog. This definitely goes against what most people think
of as normal dropshotting! However, this rig was very streamlined
and went through the weed mats very well. Once through the
weeds, the bait was up off bottom and dancing around right
in those fish’s faces and they couldn’t resist
it. So, flipping a “heavy dropshot rig” to weed
or wood cover is a great way to catch fish. It’s also
something that most fish do not see often. It allows you
to place the bait up off bottom and dance it right there
in a fishes face which will oftentimes get a reaction when
nothing else will.
Another way that a dropshot can be very effective is with
bedding fish. Again, this has to do with the fact that you
are able to sit the bait up off bottom and dance it right
there in that fishes face until it annoys him or her enough
to eat it. A dropshot can also be fished as a Carolina Rig
would. Oftentimes I will tie on a dropshot rig with heavier
line and a heavy weight and fish it on a deep point, just
like if I were fishing a Carolina Rig instead. This keeps
my bait up off the bottom and makes it more visible to fish
as well as giving the fish something they probably haven’t
seen often.
There are tons of ways to fish a dropshot. Basically, anything
that you can imagine will work with a dropshot rig, and
this is why I feel it’s a technique that everyone
should have in their box of tricks. I have even heard of
guys tying a jig to the bottom as the weight and doubling
their chances of catching a fish, or of dropshotting a hard
jerkbait or a crankbait. If you can think it up, you can
probably tie it to a dropshot rig and catch fish with it.
Question
for Jeff Thomas: I fished a club tournament out of North
Bend Park on Kerr Lake this April(2003) after the second
high water peak that month. By the time we got there the
water levels were down to around 310 feet with water being
pulled out of the lake constantly. Our club tournament was
a 2 day tournament - I only caught 5 fish for the two days
although they topped out at just under 19 lbs. One or two
more fish would have made a huge difference in the results.
All but one of the fish that I managed to get were on Texas
rigged lizards in clearer water on the North Carolina side
of the lake fishing bushes and trees that would have been
on the normal lake edge if the lake water level was 300'
or lower. I did catch one keeper late in the second day
in muddier water on a spinnerbait. I don't think I had a
real pattern - given the fluctuating water levels I felt
like the fish would be positioned where I caught my keeper
bass but is there anything I could have done differently
to increase the odds of catching fish on Kerr or any other
lake in those types of flood conditions?
Taylor
Hale
Jeff
Thomas Responds: Taylor, extreme high water conditions
can be one of the hardest conditions to fish. Throw in fluctuating
water, and it get even worse. When fishing those conditions
at Kerr, I like to find an area that I can reach the shoreline.
This can be a flooded field, power line right away or just
a steeper bank. This allows me to fish cover that has a
border on one side. What I mean by this, when you were fishing
the orginal shoreline, you had water and cover that went
yards behind it, which scatters the fish, making it hard
to form a pattern. Fish have a tendecy to suspend around
cover under these conditions, so I also like to use baits
that cover alot of water, producing a reaction strike. Baits
like spinnerbaits and buzzbaits on a 6.6 MH Furnace Bay
rod. Good Fish'n !
Jeffrey
Question
for Jeff Thomas:
I have an upcoming SuperBass Tourney on Lake Sinclair....
Have you ever fished this lake? Our tourney is in Mid-September
and I am hearing this is the worst time of the year for
this lake because the fish are in transition between their
Summer and Fall patterns what would be your advice for this
situation?
Thank You
Dave in GA
Jeff
Thomas Responds: Fall can be Feast or Famine. Alot will
depend on the water conditions. One factor, will be the
water temp. If the water temps falling from the cooler night,
then I like to go back into the creeks, fish the docks and
shallow flats. The shad will migrate to the backs in the
fall, and bass follow. Key is finding the shad. If water
temps are still warm, I will continue a summer pattern,
carolina rigging and cranking humps and points on the main
lake. Second, the water level will be a factor. If the water
is down, I key on shallow docks. I like docks with some
cover. Key is figuring out if they are on the main lake
docks or creeks. I also would go up the river, fishing the
off colored water and wood. Good Fish'n
Jeffrey
Question
for Jeremy Adams: Jeremy, how do you find the correct
crankbait for the job during tournaments? There are so many
colors,shapes and sizes that I never know where to start.Thanks,
Steven in Al.
Jeremy
Adams responds: ---Steven...I always consider the time
of year,water color and depth of the structure I am cranking.
In warmer months, I will start out with a crank that has
a more erratic action. In colder months, I start out with
a tight action crank since the bass will be less aggressive
under those conditions.
When I am cranking deep structure, I want a crank that will
run deeper than the depth of the structure I am fishing.
This allows me to keep the bait in the cover and work it
through and always stay in contact with it.
For lure color, I will look at the water I am fishing and
go with basic lure colors that match the conditions. If
the water is clear, I like natural colors If it is stained,
I will start out with a chart. combo or darker colors.
Once you find the correct depth and a action that is working
well, you can really start to fine tune your presentation
and try silent cranks vs loud ones, smaller profile cranks
vs bigger ones and other colors.
In my opinion, action and the retrieve of the lure are the
2 key factors with cranking. Crank baits draw reaction strikes
and often the color will not matter as long as they can
see the lure.
For shallow running cranks, I want those lures to run over
the cover I am fishing like submerged grass,lay downs or
just working down a bank.
And when I am fishing for suspended bass, I want a crank
that will stay at the depth the bass are holding rather
than one that will stay on the bottom like I use when fishing
structure.
Suspended bass are going to be less aggressive and often
the smaller profile cranks with tight action are best. I
like suspending cranks for this because when you stop them,
they will just sit there in front of the bass and that will
draw strikes from non aggressive bass.
I could go on and on about cranks. There are so many
factors that can make
one better than the other on any given day. But I hope I
have given you a
general idea of where to start when choosing the right crank
for the job.
Good Luck and Good Fishing....Jeremy
Question for Jeffrey Thomas: I have fished small, medium-running
crankbaits and Rattle Trap type baits for years, but have
never fished the Mann's Minus-1 and similar type super shallow
runners. I know a lot of fishermen like these baits, but
I've never really thrown them because I'm unsure under what
circumstances they would be most effective. Under what conditions
and what kind of water do you use these lures? --- Scott
Pritchard
Jeffrey
Thomas responds: Scott, baits like the Mann's Minus-1
or Bandit Footloose are situation baits. What I mean by
this, used to target a specific pattern. A good example
is a B.A.S.S. tournament held on the Potomac in which the
winner fished a Minus-1 just over the grass during low tide.
It allowed the pro to give the fish a different presentation
besides a spinnerbait, but didn't dig into the grass. Another
good situation is one I like in the fall when the fish are
feeding on shad shallow in the backs of creek flats. It
lets me target the shallow stumps , remaining in the strike
zone longer without digging bottom. Plus these type baits
give off a wide wobble that really attracts the bass from
grass or stained shallow water. Good Fish'n! Jeffrey
Question
for Dennis Bligh: What fresh water lures, and what kind
of fresh water areas would you suggest for catching bass?
Thanks, Scott, Boca Raton, FL
Dennis
Bligh responds: In the morning and early evening hours
a topwater popper, or a sluggo would be a good choice. As
the weather gets warmer, so does the water, so my next choice
would be to flip a jig into, or around any heavy cover where
bass may be hiding out
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