Archive for category Tip of the Week
Benefits of having a Fishing Journal
Posted by Jon Parker in Tip of the Week on March 7, 2010
Keeping a good fishing journal is very important to becoming a better fisherman. No matter what you’re fishing for, bass, crappie, walleye, or trout. Good notes on what you did in the past is critical to knowing what you will do in the future.
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Tool for making Skirts for Spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits, or Jigs
Posted by Jon Parker in Tip of the Week on February 28, 2010
Leo Cancilla shows us how to use a ballpoint pen to make it easier to make spinnerbait, chatterbait, and jig skirts. This trick makes it easy to get the collar over the silicon skirting material.
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Wacky Rigging the Tornado Worm
Posted by Leo Cancilla in Tip of the Week on February 21, 2010
The wacky rig is a staple in any bass fishermen’s arsenal. Here is a demo on how to wacky rig one of the new Hag’s Tornado Worms with the use of a wacky rigging tool and an o-ring.
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Sportsmen Shows
Posted by Leo Cancilla in Tip of the Week on February 12, 2010
The best way to learn the correct way to retrieve, rig, and conditions lures work best is to talk with the companies themselves. And the easiest way to speak with multiple company representatives in the same day is at sportsmen shows. Vendors at sportsmen shows share more information that people realize and are happy to spend time with you. That is why they spent money on the booth. This weekend the Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show is taking place in Harrisburg Pennsylvania, the Allegheny Sport Travel & Outdoor Show is at the Monroeville Expo Mart, and the Butler Fishing Show is being held at the Butler Senior High School. I urge all fishermen in the area to consider going to on of these functions because it will help you become a better fishermen. Click the name of the show to get more information about these sportsmen shows.
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Clear Water
Posted by Leo Cancilla in Tip of the Week on February 5, 2010
Berkly hollow belly swimbaits are great options when fishing clear water.
If you are fishing clear water for any species of fish you must match the forage of the body of the water. This is well painted jerkbaits and crankbaits can really do well. Also, life like swimbaits are a good options. If you are using spinnerbaits or chatterbaits you should use a more natural looking skirt with the proper blades to match. The same is true with crawfish. Depending on what part of the country and type of structure that you are fishing crawfish take on different color patterns. Knowing which pattern will lead to a higher success rate.
Best Pitching Reels
Posted by Leo Cancilla in Tip of the Week on January 23, 2010
Anyone who knows me will tell you that my favorite style of fishing is pitching and flipping. Knowing that is what I love, I often get asked which reel or reel speed is the best? My answer to that is very simple. First, you have to realize that Quantum, Shimano, Abu Garcia and the rest of the manufacturers produce great products or they wouldn’t be in business. Personally, I have been using Shimano Curado’s for years and I love them. Recently, I have been trying some of the Abu Garcia Revo’s and I have to say that I like them as well. More than the manufacturer you should look at the speed of your reel. Always use a high speed (6.2 : 1 ratio or higher) when pitching. It is my recommendation that you use a 7.0 : 1 ratio. The reason for this is the fish will often take off out from under the cover and you will have to catch up with them. Using a high speed reel will help you with your hook-up and landing ratio.
Winter Blues?
Posted by Leo Cancilla in Tip of the Week on January 7, 2010
Do you have the winter fishing blues? For guys, such as myself, who don’t ice fish the winter is a long time to go without fishing. Even though we are not fishing there is still plenty to do. First, we should take this time to clean and repair our baitcasting and spinning reels. This could be as simple as adding grease or oil to the gears, or the reel may need bearing or have other warn out parts. Second, organize your tackle. For most fisherman this could be very simple. However, for tournament fisherman this is a process that could take a couple of days depending on how indepth you are willing to get. Remember the more time you spend organizing the less time you have to look for something when you are on the water.
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Soft Plastic Disposal
Posted by Leo Cancilla in Tip of the Week on December 24, 2009
As an angler, I am very concerned with conservation to ensure that I and the generations that follow can go fishing. I was sent an article yesterday that I found really interesting. It dealt with why fish were skinny in a small private lake. Their conclusion after research was that the fish were eating soft plastics and could not digest them. In turn the soft plastic blocked the digestive track. The fish were trying to eat but couldn’t. This shows us just how important proper disposal of our soft plastics can be. There are occassions where we cannot help what has happened. An example of this is a fish pulls it off the hook. Please do your part to keep our fish healthy and dispose of your soft plastics properly so you or someone else can enjoy the benefits of fishing. For those interested in the article I am referring to click the link below.
Best Dock Fishing Rods?
Posted by Leo Cancilla in Tip of the Week on December 17, 2009
There are so many fishing rods on the market today it is hard to have a rod for every style that you can fish. However, most companies are making specialty rods that are specific for each technique. Whether you are fishing for bass or panfish, dock fishing can be very productive and dependable pattern. Personally, I have had great success on our local river systems, and at most lakes in New York fish docks. The rod I prefer is a 5′-9″ to 6′-6″ one piece spinning rod. A medium heavy rod with a fast tip is a must when bass fishing. The smaller rod makes it easier to cast and fight fish in tight to the docks. Take a look at the specialty rod that Fenwick makes for skipping docks. It is a true winner.
Shaky Head Worm
Posted by Jon Parker in Tip of the Week on December 7, 2009
Since the 2009 fishing season has come to end I thought I start writing about some of the things that I used in 2009. Let’s start with the shaky head rig. The shaky rig is not a new rig but with the success that pros like Kevin VanDam, Skeet Reese, and Michael Iaconelli have had with this rig, it’s hard not to give it a try.
For those of you that don’t already know what a shaky head rig is I will briefly describe it. The shaky head is a very basic worm and jig head combination. With this rigs growing publicity came a large selection of jig heads made specifically for this technical. My personal favorite is a 1/8 oz football head with the pigtail wire holder that the worm screws on to. There has also been a ton of different styles of worms made for this technical, my favorite would be the 5” Berkley Powerbait Shaky Worm in green pumpkin. I fished this rig on a 7’ medium action spinning rod with 8lb Triple Fish fluorocarbon.
I wouldn’t say this is favorite way to fish but the shaky head gained my respect as a great way to catch fish. I used this technique as more of a fallback rig when the fishing got tough. I will tell you that it works very well when the fishing got slow. My favorite areas to fish the shaky head was a hard bottoms such as, roadbeds, creek channels, rocky bottom, or rip rap. A majority of the fish I caught on this rig were in the 12-14” range but I was able to get a few nice ones as well.
I found this video which does a great job of showing the action of the 5” Berkley Powerbait Shaky Worm.
Please feel free to leave a comment with any experiences you had using a shaky head.
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