Salt

FISHING GRASS FLATS FOR SPECKLED TROUT

Speckled trout are one of the most fun fish to target in saltwater. They offer some of the most consistent fishing you’ll find and still put up a good fight to give you a fun day out on the water. While there are quite a few different areas to try for them, one of the best are grass flats. Grass flats are typically shallow water (5 feet or less) and are the ideal area for the baitfish, shrimp, crabs, and other food that these trout know and love. If you can find a flat and know there’s food around, chances are the trout will be there too. The main problem with grass flat fishing is that these flats are typically huge. This gives the trout lots of options on where to spend their time looking for food. If you can find holes in the flats, try targeting those. Otherwise, just keep moving around the flats until you get consistent strikes and then spend your time there. A great speckled trout gear list is made up of a 7 foot rod with medium power, a 2000 size spinning reel, and 10+ pound monofilament line.

Fun Fact: The World Record Speckled Trout was 17 pounds 7 ounces

As for the lures to try, there are a few common ones, such as:

JIG HEAD AND PLASTIC

Start by selecting the jig head weight. Use a 1/8 to 3/8 ounce jig head, depending on how far you need to cast and how quickly you want the jig to sink. As for the plastic, it’s best to try paddle tails and flukes to mimic the baitfish in the area. To fish it, cast it out, let it sink a few feet, and work it back to the boat with a steady retrieve.

JERKBAITS AND CRANKBAITS

Jerkbaits and crankbaits are another great option. If you use them, try to find ones that only dive down a few feet to avoid snags. Many of these lures are designed to be fished with a straight retrieve, but you can add in some extra movement in the rod to help trigger strikes.

TOPWATER

Topwater lures can be great in grass flats because of how shallow the water is in these areas. Popping lures are especially effective because of the noise and commotion they create, which helps to entice a trout to come up and strike out of the grass. Walking baits can also be effective, especially if they have a similar design to the type of baitfish the trout are feeding on.

Pro Tip: Use the wind or current to your advantage and drift your boat through grass flats to be stealthy while covering water to find speckled trout

Walleye

How to Target Suspended Walleyes With Jigging Spoons

Walleyes can be a tricky fish to catch. Many anglers try jigs with bait and trolling as their preferred methods. You’ll commonly find these fish out deep, and sometimes going in the middle of the night is the way to go when they’re up on flats. But what about those days when you’re marking them suspended and don’t know what to try? Well, it may be time to try out a jigging spoon.

When you mention jigging spoons, you might automatically think about ice fishing. But, this is a perfectly productive way to catch big walleyes on open water as well. The right setup is going to consist of a 7 foot rod with medium to medium heavy power. Pair that with a spinning reel in the 2000 to 3000 size range and 10+ pound braid with a monofilament or fluorocarbon leader and you’re ready to go.

There are all kinds of jigging spoons that you can use for suspended walleyes. If you’re in clear water, try something more natural looking. If you’re in darker water, you can mix it up with more vibrant color choices. As for weights, anything in the 1/4 to 3/8 ounce range will be perfect.

Next up it’s time to fish. There are three main ways you can go about this, but they all start with finding suspended walleyes in the first place. To do so, you can use traditional fishing graphs, or if you have it, forward facing sonar. Forward facing sonar will be the best since you can see your spoon and how the walleyes react to it in real time.

The first method to try is to cast out to them. Cast your spoon and let it sink until it gets to the zone that the walleyes are suspended in. Then, jig up through that zone and retrieve on the descent until you’ve worked it all the way back to the boat. Keep doing this while working the entire area you’re in.

The next method is to go right over the top of the fish and jig. This is basically the same as if you were jigging the bottom, but instead you’re keeping that spoon within the zone the fish are suspended in.

The last option to try is to do a slow troll. Cast the spoon out behind the boat and let it sink into the zone that the fish are suspended in. Then troll slowly through the area you think fish are in, jigging the spoon up and letting it sink back down the entire way.

In all of these methods, change up your cadence in which you jig the spoon. Start with small quick snaps of the rod to get the bait to dart up and then flutter back down.

Bass

THROWING BIG SWIMBAITS FOR BIG BASS

Have you ever gone out bass fishing and tried to catch big bass? (Every time, right?) One of the best ways to give yourself a great chance at catching your next big bass is by using big swimbaits.

When it comes to what kind of swimbait to go with, you can choose between hard-bodied and soft-bodied. If you go with hard-bodied, they’re typically going to be single-jointed or multi-jointed. As the name implies, single jointed swimbaits are made with one joint in the middle and are best fished by twitching the rod on the retrieve. Multi-jointed swimbaits typically have two to three joints in them, and are meant to be retrieved straight back to you, letting the joints do all the work necessary to entice a bite.

The other option for swimbaits are soft-bodied. There are four main types of soft-bodies to choose from, including hollow body, split belly, solid body, and line through. When you’re using soft-bodied swimbaits, you can typically choose between a swimbait jig head or an EWG hook (with or without weight included). Depending on which soft-body you go with, the hooks will either be exposed, or texposed (laying flat on top of the body with the tip of the hook stuck in the body). Regardless of whether you use a hard-bodied or soft-bodied swimbait, the big ones are going to be anything in the 6-10 inch range.

As for the gear you need to fish big swimbaits like this, you’re going to want to start off with a quality rod. Look for one that is 7ft 4in to 8ft in length with medium heavy or heavy power. There are specific swimbait rods that have a longer handle, which helps you cast them out further. Baitcasters are the way to go with these baits, and anything in the 200 to 400 size range with a 6.3:1 to 7.1:1 gear ratio should work well. When it comes to line, many anglers prefer to use 15-17lb fluorocarbon.

All right, you have all the gear you need and it’s time to start fishing. The type of swimbait you decide to throw is going to be largely dependent on the type of structure and depth that you’re fishing. Hard-bodied swimbaits are going to be best used in 10 feet of water or shallower. They are ideal to be fished around docks, stumps, laydowns, rip rap, and submergent vegetation. Just remember that these have treble hooks so they can’t be fished through cover or they’ll get snagged. The best time to use a soft-bodied swimbait with an exposed hook is whenever you’re fishing in 3 feet of water or deeper. They’re great around docks, stumps, laydowns, rip rap, rock piles, and submergent vegetation. If you’re using a soft-body with the hook texposed, you’ll want to use it in 10 feet of water or shallower. This style can also be fished around docks, stumps, laydowns, submergent vegetation, and emergent vegetation with less concern about the bait getting snagged.

When fishing docks, try to cast parallel to the pilings, and if you can get underneath the dock that’s even better. For tree stumps and laydowns, try casting from multiple different angles to make sure you put the swimbait in front of a bass no matter where they’re hiding. On rock piles and submergent vegetation, just cast over them and retrieve, trying not to get the swimbait stuck. With emergent vegetation, cast your swimbait into it and retrieve, the texposed hook should keep you from getting snagged. If you’re fishing rip rap, cast parallel to the cover and the bank and work the swimbait back towards you.

Fun Fact: Try Mixing up your retrieve speed with swimbaits to add in some different actions

Universal Fishin' Tips

HOW TO AVOID LINE TWIST WHEN SPOOLING UP SPINNING REELS AND CASTING REELS

Have you ever gone to spool up your spinning reel or casting reel with some of your favorite line, just to have line twists on the spool? It’s pretty annoying. Line twists can lead to tangles and issues when you cast, which inevitably leads to losing fish. While there are products on the market specifically made to help you spool your line correctly, it’s not something every angler has or even needs. Luckily, there are some easy ways to avoid this with a few simple tips for both spinning reels and casting reels.

Pro Tip: Always make sure the line spool and your reel spool are facing the same direction when putting on line

Spinning Reels

Make sure the line spool is facing the same direction as your reel spool. Not doing so will lead to the line having to twist due to a 90 degree difference in the spools.

Start with the line coming off of the line spool in the same direction as the line is going onto the reel spool. When you start, this is going to be counter-clockwise.

If you notice twisting happening as it’s going on, flip your line spool to it’s other side until the twisting corrects itself. Keep doing this each time you notice the twisting happening until your reel is completely spooled up with line.

Casting Reels

Position the spool of line so that it’s straight up and down, so that the line comes off of the top of the spool as it goes onto your reel.

This should make the line come off in a counter-clockwise direction, which matches how it will go onto the reel. Find a pen, pencil, screwdriver, etc… that can fit through the hole in the middle of the line spool and put it somewhere so that the spool can move freely as you take line off of it (if you have a spooling station, even better).

Keep the reel and the line spool as close to a straight line from each other as possible to keep the line even.

Always keep tension on the line while spooling it on to keep the line from moving around and twisting while being added to the reel.

Panfish And Trout

HOW TO FISH WEED LINES FOR YELLOW PERCH

Weed lines are a great place to fish for all kinds of different species. They’re ideal places for predators to hide in while waiting for their next baitfish meal to swim by. One type of fish this works especially well for is yellow perch.

There are a few different ways to work a weed line while trying to catch enough perch for a fish fry. Each method can be done with the same type of gear. Get yourself a 6 foot rod with light to medium power, a 1000 size spinning reel, and some 6 to 8 pound test monofilament or fluorocarbon.

Once you have your gear it’s time to find the weed line. On calm days in clear water you can do this just by driving around on the lake and seeing it for yourself. If that’s not possible, your graph should be able to help you mark where that structure is. Position yourself on the outer edge of it and fish right up against the weed line.

The first method you can try is a bobber setup with bait. You can use traditional bobbers or slip bobbers paired with your favorite small jig. For bait, perch love wax worms, earth worms, minnows, and even leeches. There are also all kinds of artificial bait you can try. Set your bobber depth so that your jig is about two feet off the bottom and cast right at the edge of the weeds. This method is sure to pull out any hungry perch in the area.

Another option is to try trolling. There are lots of diving crankbaits on the market now that are designed for panfish, and these are perfect to work along the edges of the weeds. If the weed line is in a particularly deep area of the lake, you may want to add a bottom bouncer to your setup. These will pull your lure down and keep it in the strike zone for you. With bottom bouncers, you can use crankbaits, spinners, or even a live bait rig.

Try out all of these methods the next time you’re working a weed line for yellow perch and chances are you’ll catch yourself enough fish for a solid fish fry.

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