Loch Pickers – Uncovering the mysteries of reservoir fishing

April 21, 2016 By Roland King

The definitive list of lures

We’ve all been there. You’ll be searching the Internet and forums looking for advice on what’s working and what’s not when it comes to lures. Then, halfway through the article, you are inundated with a bunch of colloquial terms that you can’t visualize.

“Wait–what’s the difference between a tube bait and a soft plastic? Isn’t a crankbait and a jerkbait the same thing? Is crawldad even a real lure?!”

So, we’ve decided to develop an exhaustive reference guide for you to use, so the next time you come across information from others on the lure that’s killin’ it on your lake right now, you’ll know definitively what they’re referring to; and more importantly, what’s missing from your tackle box!

We will continue to update this article as necessary. For starters, however, we’ve identified the basic, go-to lures you should know.

Soft Plastics

These plastic or rubber lures have low durability, but are sought out for their lifelike action and broad variety.

Worms

Set of soft plastic worms

Worms are a great lure for any conditions and any time of year. These will come in a variety of lengths, colors, and thicknesses. There are several ways they can be rigged and used, and are always a great option for catching a variety of fish.

Most popular brands: Gary Yamamoto Senko, Berkley Gulp, Yum, Zoom

Swimmers

Pack of soft plastic swimmer baits

These lures are made in the image of various swimming creatures such as fish, crayfish, salamanders, and frogs. Their success lies in imitating creatures that are naturally found in the environment.

Most popular brands: Lunker City, Lake Fork, Berkley Powerbait

Grubs

Soft plastic grub fishing lure

These low priced lures come in a variety of colors that make them usable in a variety of applications. A small curved tail gives them a wiggle action that attracts several species of fish.

Most popular brands: Mister Twister, Berkley Powerbait, Southern Pro

Tubes

fishing tube baits

These squid-like lures, also called gitzits, are somewhat of a cross between a worm and a grub. Often used as drop baits, they have several small tails that give them a unique action that will draw fish out of their hiding places.

Most popular brands: Gary Yamamoto, Berkley Havoc, Dry Creek Outfitters

Jigs

Skirted jig fishing lure

Jigs are top-heavy lures that are made to “dance” through the water. They come with a variety of features such as weed guards, skirts, and rattles. These lures are great for reaching the depths in a hurry and attracting fish with their noise.

Most popular brands: Booyah, Jewel Bait, Strike King

Crankbaits

These lures are often made of wood or plastic and take action as you crank your reel.

Plugs

Rapala fishing plug lure

Also called stick baits, these fish like lures are made to dive to specified depths and take on a variety of actions. Some swim smoothly, some are jerky, and some are made to imitate an injured fish. These lures drive fish crazy, but are most likely to snag or get stuck in the weeds.

Most popular brands: Rapala, Strike King, Yo-ziri, Livetarget

Poppers

Popper topwater fishing lure

These floating lures are made to ripple the surface of the water and create a “popping” sound to attract fish. These are a great option when the fish are breaching the water around you.

Most popular brands: Rapala, Strike King, Rebel, Yo-ziri, Livetarget

Spinners

A touch of metal is the main feature of these types of lures, giving them both a shine and a spinning action.

Spoons

spoon fishing lure

This simple spinner involves a weighted, curved piece of metal with a trailing hook. It will spin and weave through the water to attract a variety of fish.

Most popular brands: Blue Fox, South Bend, Northland Tackle, Daredevle, Luhr Jensen

Inline Spinners

Inline spinner fishing lure, also known as a rooster tail

Often paired with a feathery tail, these lures have a treble hook with a metal propeller-like blade in the lead.

Most popular brands: Mepps, Yakima, Blue Fox

Spinner bait

Fishing spinnerbait lure

Also called “safety pins” for their angular shape, these popular lures feature a skirted hook with a metal spinner hovering on a separate branch. They are great for both cranking and jigging, and work in a variety of depths.

Most popular brands: Strike King, Booyah, War Eagle

Buzz Bait

Buzz-bait topwater fishing lure

These are similar to spinner baits, but feature an angled, propeller-like spinning blade that gives it a “buzz” as it moves through the water. These lures are designed to work on, or near the surface.

Most popular brands: Hart Tackle, Strike King, Booyah

April 13, 2016 By Roland King Leave a Comment

Understanding fish behavior

First, let’s make something clear: understanding fish behavior cannot be mastered in a vacuum. That means we need to first learn how external factors influence fish behavior. Sure, there are unique characteristics of different breeds of fish, but we won’t spend a lot of time on that, aside from a mention or two. Our focus will be educating you on how to read the myriad of forces in and around a lake to make a decision on where to go, what to tackle to use, and which techniques will be most successful.

It’s gettin’ hot in here

In general, as water temperatures rise, fish become more active. This is most evident during spring, because fish move out of hibernation to begin feeding and spawning. Use this information to target warmer bodies of water where fish migrate, which tend to be the shallower waters found in the northern part of lakes. As expected, this strategy is inverted during the summer months, when excessive heat becomes a detriment. Fish seek shade and cooler temperatures in structure and in deeper parts of the lake. Look for steep drop-offs and holes in the topography.

Outside of the larger, more gradual temperature increases due to seasonal changes, anglers should also understand the impact of micro-increases in water temperature on fish behavior. Small, incremental changes in temperature throughout the day can also trigger fish to become much more active. So, something as simple as a cloudy morning followed by a sunny afternoon can be the difference between being “skunked” and landing a trophy bass. Anglers should anticipate these weather patterns and plan accordingly. Other environmental factors that alter water temperature are its composition and clarity. Dirty water can retain more heat from the sun, causing it to warm up faster. Look to the northern parts of the lake and target tributaries, which push runoff, following rainy conditions.

Breeding, feeding, defense and offense

Fish rely on instinct, not any sort of cognitive thinking. This means they react to their natural calling to breed, feed, and protect. Sure different species have variations in their senses, but overall, fish are led by these basic principles and learning how to read them can give you a huge advantage when fishing. In short, anglers need to learn three key terms:

Pre-spawn

Fish are slowly becoming more active after months of hibernation, meaning they will be hungry. Before they look to mate in the shallower waters, fish will be looking to replenish their energy. The bite can be ferocious in pre-spawn, and often leads to some of the largest catches of the year; however, fish can be fickle and the natural instability in weather during this time of year can lead to feast or famine.

Spawn

immediately following mating, a fish’s natural instinct is to protect its young–fertilized eggs in nests. It’s not the best time of fishing, and most anglers hate it. All’s not lost, however: as once you find a nest area, usually in deep in coves in shallow waters, you can use lures to draw a defensive, reactionary bite.

Post-spawn

Some of the best fishing of the year can be following the spawn, known as post-spawn. This is the recuperation phase for the fish, so they aren’t nearly as aggressive as pre-spawn. Fish are typically still in the shallows, preparing for the dog-days of summer, when they move to deeper water and grassy ambush areas. In the interim, hunting for pockets of bait fish and working the edges leads to the most success.

April 6, 2016 By Mark Nejman Leave a Comment

A new challenge – and a lesson in humility

Ray Motor creating a nice wake

It was a bright, cold day in April and all the clocks were striking thirteen. Meanwhile a couple of April Fools were trolling their way through several miles of deep water in search of hybrid striped bass.

It was our inaugural trip of 2016, and we decided to take on a relatively new challenge: Liberty Reservoir. We had done quite well last season in the shallow, familiar waters of Loch Raven and decided to try our hand at this massive reservoir fed by the Patapsco River. We had ventured out to Liberty two or three times in the past, but had yet to catch a fish.

Loch Raven, our regular stomping grounds, is rife with an ever-changing topography and tons of structure in the form of trees, rocks, and weeds. It’s almost impossible to throw your lure in the water and not find a potential fishing hole.

Liberty, on the other hand, has vast stretches of very deep, very flat areas. These features allow a hybrid freshwater breed of striped bass to thrive in this habitat but also makes it exponentially much more difficult to be successful when fishing.

A hundred yards from the boat ramp, and the depth finder shows over 100 feet of water below us. We would barely be able to sink our lures to the bottom even if we let out all of our line. Not that it would make a difference – this early in the year, the fish are migrating to warmer, shallower waters in preparation for the spring spawning season.

The weather was chilly and overcast, with a light drizzle that didn’t seem to want to let up. Despite the inclement weather, our goal was to hit the eastern branch of the reservoir and follow it as far north as possible, while slowly trolling some very large lures behind us. With water temperatures around 55 degrees, fish will typically avoid chasing after anything unless it’s worthwhile, so we stuck with lures that were five inches or larger.

After a couple hours, we felt that we were progressing too slowly. We made it past the Deer Park / Nicodemus Road bridge; however, we still found ourselves in 50+ feet of water as we snaked through a windy, narrow but deep channel in the lake.

We finally came to a clearing around a peninsula that engulfs Murray Road in Finksburg. We got a little excited as the depth finder started showing 30 feet or less, and the water temperature rose to 58 degrees. The rain also stopped and the sun started shining between the seams of some very large, but fast moving clouds.

We finally anchored up in a few places along the eastern shoreline and started using our casting rods. We tried out a variety of artificial worms, minnows, spinners, and craw fish, but didn’t even get a bite. We actually had a bit of trouble finding structure as most of the area remained flat and clear.

After circling around the east side of the peninsula to no avail, we decided to drop our trolling lines back into the water and head around to the west side. We rounded the tip and turned north, finding an area that shallowed in the range of 5 to 8 feet. Suddenly one of the trolling rods bent in half and the line started running.

We killed the motor, and the fight was on! The cheap reel on our trolling rod was struggling as the fish did all it could to shake loose. We were both thinking the same thing: striped bass! The line shot up as the fish turned toward the surface. As it breached, we saw that it was indeed a bass, but not the kind we expected. What we actually had was a massive largemouth.

Early spring pre-spawn Largemouth Bass

After some more fighting, we were finally able to bring the behemoth close enough to net. It was a perfect hook right through the lip. So while it wasn’t a striper, it was certainly a beauty and nothing to be disappointed about. Official weight and measure: 4.3 lbs and 19 inches!

After the excitement died down, we continued to explore the rest of the west side of the peninsula. We found a nice area along the western bank where several trees from a sunken island were poking through the water. We anchored up and started trying out a variety of low-snag lures. Dropping close to the shore, we managed to land another largemouth bass. It was too small to bother with a measurement but ensured that nobody on the boat would leave that day without a catch.

A short while later, our luck ran out. We decided to start the long journey back to the boat ramp and stop at a few spots along the way. We did find a couple of decent places closer to the Deer Park Road bridge but didn’t get a single bite.

Even more unfortunate was that our motor was starting to lose its mojo. It still ran, but not at the same aggressive pitch we started with. A glance at the map made us nervous when we saw how much water we had left to cover.

We headed back at full tilt; no more stopping or trolling. By the time we joined up with the western branch of the reservoir, the boat motor was down to at least half speed. By the time we passed Plumber’s Point, half our batteries had given out and we limped back the rest of the way at less than a quarter of our maximum speed. The 20 mph gusts of head wind didn’t help, but we did manage to make it back to the boat ramp with some of our dignity intact.

So in the end, we received a little taste of humility as to the actual range of our 48-volt Ray motor. However, our spirits were high as we loaded the boat on the trailer knowing that we both managed to bag a bass. Overall it was a good early start to the season, and we look forward to the next round of fishing at Liberty Reservoir.