Well, it’s been a slow week on trips with school starting back and the rain, so instead of showing a pic of fish I put together a way to catch fish.
A top water bait will catch them early now, but when the sun is up most fish are wanting to hang close to the cooler water below the thermocline which is now running 25 – 30 ft. deep.
A jig or spoon can get to them but a drop shot might put more in your boat and is a good way to catch whites, stripers, bass, walleye and even catfish or a trout.
The concept of a drop shot is to get a weightless bait to suspended fish or put you in contact with the bottom. Just cast it out, let it sink where you want it and then start working it by slowly reeling back in with sweeps of the rod, or keep it down slowly moving the boat forward while moving yourbrod up and down with 2 – 3 foot pulls. You can do this with live minnows, nightcrawlers or any bait like in the picture.
With the weight below the bait it lets your bait float above and swim more natural. This works just hooking your bait in the nose or Texas rigging if using plastic. You can rig this with a 3-way swivel or just tie a palomar knot to the hook and leave enough tag line to tie your weight below. Work it slow and it will get hit.
As far as weights go, 1/8 to 1/4 oz. works best or a 1/2 oz. in rougher water. If you’re fishing in heavy cover or rocks and retying more, then you like try just putting a split shot below that will slide off when you get hung up, or a worm weight with a rubber band wrapped around line below it so it can also slide free if it gets hung up.
Well, I hope this helps.
Look for stripers on Beaver Lake from the dam to Point 5 now. Bass and walleye off the edge of the flats, rocky points, river bends, the mouth of coves and creek arms.
Look for crappie in the trees and sunken brush around 14 f.t deep. If you don’t have any luck just give me a call and I will try with you. Bring a kid and we will teach. Till next week, keep that line wet.