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With winter steelheading in full force along the West Coast and portions of the Great Lakes right now, it’s time to talk plugging!
Backtrolling plugs such as Hot Shots, Wiggle Warts, FatFish, Tad Pollies and the like is extremely deadly at times and is a great way to get inexperienced or young anglers who don’t cast well into some fish.
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Weedbeds are good; docks and lily pads, too. Rock piles and creek channels, and all the rest…
But sometimes, sometimes….the best (and often overlooked) big bass haunts are less obvious.
Instead of finding a lunker largemouth on the “name brand” types of spots like a rock heap, you may find one, lonely boulder that holds fish like crazy. Or it could be just a small finger off a creek channel or a random post like this one.
One of the reasons these non A-List spots can be so productive is…
So fall is just around the corner and that means that Chinook salmon are, or will soon be, pointing their noses up into their natal streams. Unfortunately, there are lots of rivers up and down the West Coast this season that are running very low.
Of course, early season kings are notoriously big fans of backtrolled, sardine-wrapped plugs like FlatFish and Kwikfish, but low/clear water conditions can make things tough. Luckily, there are some things you can do to help improve your odds…
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Sometimes, you’ve just gotta leave the boat, the expensive graphite rods and 27 tackle boxes at home and head for a tiny creek for some trout fishing. There’s just something so pure and basic about it. I don’t care if most of the trout are 9 inches long — it’s still a blast and, if I happen to catch a 12 incher, I’m as fired up about it as I would be a 12-pound steelhead.
Of course, summer’s the time to head out and try a little small stream fishing or “crik hoppin,” as we used to call it when we were kids. To get you all primed up for a season of light tackle fun, here are some basic tips.
Let’s start with the four main lure styles you’ll need to be successful.
With trout season here, it’s time to bust out the trick Jedi stuff! Before we go on, let’s make a little pact here. I’ll divulge my favorite stream trout getter — the “Red Curtain of Death” (RCD) — if you promise to practice a little catch-and-release. This method has been so stinkin’ deadly for me in the past that I fear you guys could go out and clean out a creek with it. So, keep a fish for two for the pan and let a few go too, okay? Deal?
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