Rigging the Perfect Jet Boat
As anglers, we all have much to learn from the squirrel who collects nuts all summer and fall in preparation for a long winter. Few guides I know have the luxury of taking time off when not guiding. There is always work to be done, but let’s face it, it's all pretty rewarding work. Task often include: patching waders, patching rafts, tying flies, replacing fly line, and working on outboards to name a few. However, there is one task above all that guides love more than any other and that is rigging out a boat.
Well, much like the squirel I spent the better part of two months in between work and family preparing for spring and summer bass fishing. Most of this time was dedicated rigging my 17ft Weldbilt aluminum boat — http://www.backwoodslanding.com — custom designed for a jet drive outboard. No matter what, every guide has his own special way of rigging boats and this was no different. First, it started with trying to make the boat more accommodating for my anglers, which meant adding comfortable seats, leaning bars, padded floor mats, and a new 45QT Yeti cooler to keep everything cool. Next, I added high quality fly rod holders to keep rods safe, a beefy Dierks anchor system, NRS oar locks, and custom Sawyer oars.
Finally, it was time to service my reliable Yamaha 40/30 hp jet drive outboard_she old but she is lightweight and reliable. With a tune-up, new water pump, thermostat, and impeller she is running like a scolded demon—whatever that means. Yep, a guide's boat is part office, part transportation, and part mistress, which means we spend a lot of time with them and we rely on them.
The boat could not have turned out any better—give All Water Guides a call and see the rig in person while catching and releasing trophy river bass on the fly!
Hooked on Catch & Release
It’s that time of the year—Spring Break—kids are out of school and we are headed to Port Oconner for some family fishing on the coast. This time of year is always special because trophy sow trout are on my mind. I’m always trying to beat my best speck a 29-incher caught and released back in 2001. Been to long!
Today I pulled out all my tried-and-true topwater plugs for their annual tune-up—new hooks and split-rings. We all know the importance of sharp hooks and rust-free hooks but what about the importance of replacing nasty treble hooks with single hooks. Several years ago a small population coastal anglers and guides started making the switch to single hooks realizing the damage treble hooks were doing to trophy trout about to be released. Let’s face it, releasing a trout with treble hook injuries will greatly reduce that fish’s survivability no matter how much care is taken to revive it.
Yes, I do miss a few more trout using single hooks but it’s worth it to me as a catch and release angler. Usually, missing a fish will make me work harder and appreciate those trout that do make it to the net. Releasing a healthy trout back into the water in good condition merits a few missed fish.
Enjoy the time off with family and friends, safe travels and happy catching (and releasing).
Before and after, top plug has the old treble hooks, six total points to penetrate the fish, as opposed to the bottom plug which has converted to single hooks.
Selection of topwater plugs with a proven track record over the years. About to updated with new single hooks.
FISHING CRAWFISH PATTERNS
As fly anglers we can learn a lot from our bait-castering brethren when it comes to catching bass in early Spring. Fly selection based on crawfish patterns is a must for enticing bass to eat in cold water conditions. Up to 50% of a bass Winter/Spring diet comes from crawfish.
Crawfish patterns fished deep and slow while casting into weeds, brush and heavy cover requires weighted patterns with weed guards. Additionally, the position of the weight (lead eyes, lead wire) is crucial to the "action" of the pattern selected. All of the All Water guides prefer crawfish patterns in red and orange as we seem to see a lot of fish that puke-up real crawfish with this same coloration.
Here is a good article by outdoor writer Gene Mueller on this subject. Remember what works for the pros is alway worth trying for any angler no matter what their skill level. Enjoy the read and happy Spring bassin'!
http://www.genemuellerfishing.com/2011/01/creature-baits-are-all-rage-for-bass.html