Home > November 2012

November 2012

Lures - Inline Spinner

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Famous Mepps Inline Spinner

One of my all time favorite lures. It cast well, creates lots of flash, generates plenty of vibration & most important of all, it catches fish. I use this lure mainly for Haruan fishing ( Striped Snakehead ). Actually, the number one reason I like about this lure is, you can easily construct it at home. DIY style & still catches fish. The construction is simple to understand. Basically, an Inline Spinner consist of three major components, an optional fourth part is the trailer & some dressing.

Blade - this serves dual functions. It rotates when retrieved, therefore creating flash as well as vibrations. The faster you retrieve, the more vibrations it creates as it rotates faster. Personally, I prefer to use lighter, oval shaped blades as it begins spinning almost immediately with the slowest retrieve. The blade should also have a shinny coating to create plenty of flash.

Weight - this serves as additional weight to allow longer distance casting. Personally I prefer to use a bullet sinker in front & a hollow ball sinker at the rear.

Hook - Depending on where you intend to fish. If fishing in a relatively snag free, open water environment, use treble hooks for easier hook up. If fishing in weedy, snag infested waters, use single hook for lesser chance of snagging.

Trailer/Dressing - Some fishes respond better to spinners with a trailer or dressing. This could be flash strings, soft plastics baits or even fly.

How to use Inline Spinner

The way to use Inline Spinners is to cast out to distance. Pause for a min to let it sink to the bottom, the blades would flutter while sinking. Once it reaches bottom, jerk the lure a little & start a steady retrieve. Once you start feeling there is a faint vibration in your rod, you'll know the blades are spinning. This is assuming you are fishing with braided lines. Pause every few 5 to 10m to allow it to sink again.

Here is a step by step instruction on how to construct an Inline Spinner lure for rigging Soft Plastic bait.

You'll need the following materials & tools.

100lb hard wire leader
Spinner blade
Clevis
Beads
Sinker
Hook
Round nose pliers (tool)
Cutter (tool)

(1) Make a loop. Add a bead.

(2) Add clevis attached with blade.

(3) Add sinkers.

(4) Terminate end with another loop. Add split ring.

(5) Done! Attached hook & trailer.

It should look something like this.

Additional modifications can be made to the spinner by swapping different hooks & trailers to fish in different environments.

Live bait spinning. Minnow or a frog.

Fly spinning.

Bare treble hooks.

Best Bass Fishing Lures - Exploring the Best Bass Fishing Lures

Category : bass fishing lures, Bass Fishing Tips Off

Bass Fishing

Inside this article I'm vacant to outline approximately of the more standard and effectual bass fishing lures on the promote now, and the attributes with the intention of get on to them this way. By conception this quick article you can gather in this area lures you could not be inflicted with heard in this area, and add them to your bass fishing repertoire. With one good luck lone or all of these fishing lures will help you be inflicted with your preeminent fishing season always.

The generally valuable aspect of one type of fishing is to waste as much calculate as doable on the fill up practicing your craft. Practice is the biggest answer to bass fishing accomplishment. Grade Reid some time ago understood, "In theory, here is thumbs down difference linking theory and practice; in practice, here is." No truer terms could be inflicted with always been oral, and the top is to take this in rank and make made known on the fill up and aid it.

Let's make down to the preeminent bass lures, shall we?
1. Spinner Baits -
These shiny, extraordinary looking fishing lures look more like a wind peal than a fishing temptation, but as it comes to bass fishing (especially in the justification of generous backtalk bass) spinner baits can be tricky to beat. The basic way of life with spinner baits is with the intention of the generous blade (or blades) attracts the bass, and at that time the spring on the hook "seals the deal", as it were. Spinner baits fished in and around fallen trees or gray cover can be a deadly bass fishing tactic. These baits occur in many sizes, with many blade sizes and insignia, and are sold in each imaginable color. Equally far as bass fishing lures are concerned, spinner baits are lone of the preeminent.

2. Jigs -
The generally standard sizes of bass fishing jigs are 1/4, 3/8, & 1/2 ounce. Jigs are tipped with twister tails of many varieties and in approximately instances pork trailers are added to the hook. Some anglers say the "jig and pig" has a much more natural and authentic movement than jigs lacking the pork ad. This is all pro the party angler to decide. Low jigs are fished unhurriedly around gray cover, and can be an exceptionally effectual lure.

3. Crank Baits -
Crank baits be inflicted with to be on the catalog of the preeminent bass lures. These baits occur in a variety of styles, generally of which imitate either minnows or shad. Crank baits can be fished by a variety of depths and speeds and are exceptionally standard. Some bass anglers fish exclusively with these baits, so they should be effectual. Some of the more standard and effectual crank baits include: Rat-L-Traps, Bomber Shad, Bandit Crankbaits, KickTail Minnows <http://www.Jrwfishing.Com/ktm.Html> (maybe the generally realistic crank temptation ever), and Rapala Minnows, to first name a hardly any. The top is with the intention of crank baits be inflicted with to be considered amongst the preeminent bass fishing lures.

4. Soft Plastics -
The generally standard soft plastic in the bass fishing arena is the plastic worm. Anyone who has fished pro bass has undoubtedly fished a plastic worm. Berkley has revolutionized the fishing planet with the development of their Gulp products. These are plastic worms with the intention of be inflicted with bass attracting natural scents impregnated in them. They get on to bass fishing with soft plastics with the intention of much more effectual. Whether you're bass fishing with a Carolina rig or madcap worm, soft plastics are exceptionally standard and effectual bass fishing lures.

This was a small catalog of all of the bass fishing lures unfilled to bass anglers. These bas lures are simply approximately of the more standard and effectual. If you aren't familiar with one of these lures, add them to your bass fishing repertoire, faster very than shortly. And don't not remember the generally valuable aspect of one of these baits...Costs calculate using them.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.Com and an avid angler. He has more than 25 years experience fishing pro all types of fish, and 15 years of affair and internet experience. He now raises his three time old daughter in the sensitivity of trout fishing people.....Montana!

Shimano Sienna FD/RD

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Shimano Sienna 2500 RD

I recently replaced one of my reels with a higher quality one. The Shimano Sienna 2500RD. This reel is paired with an Expert Graphite Carbon Cube 7' rod for Snakehead casting. The reel is of excellent built & quality but lacks durability as many parts were made of hard plastics. The reel was spooled with Kirin 15lb braided line. The results?

EXCELLENT! casting. Bought for RM 145.00 at a tackle shop in Puchong. I never regretted buying this reel. First thing you'll notice is the casting distance. I tried a casting session at Subang lakes. Brought both my Shimano reels, the other being the FX 2500FB for testing.

Kirin braided line

Both reels are spooled with Kirin 15lb braided line & connected to 20lb mono leader. Casting with an 18g Abu Island II spoon. Each reel I spent about 30mins of continuous casting to random structures. After more than an hour of casting, I conclude the following:

* Distance - The Sienna wins hands down. It easily outcast the FX by more than 5m or 10ft most of the time with minimal energy. This is due to the Propulsion Spool Design feature.

* Accuracy - Since less energy is required to cast bait, I could achieve better accuracy as I could put more effort on proper swing instead of raw power.

* Durability - Somehow, I don't feel the Sienna is meant for any hardcore fishing. It kind of feel more 'brittle' then the FX. While the FX is mostly constructed from hard plastics, it feels thicker & more durable. Compared to the Sienna, the finishing feels like it's made of thinner plastics. The Sienna is best used for Casting & not for bottom/float fishing.

Expert Carbon Cube

* Line Management - The Sienna wins hands down again. Since both reels are using the same braided line (Kirin 15lb braid, 0.16mm) the Sienna had much flatter more even spooling compared to the FX which still has some minor jagged lining on spool. I only experienced once a birds nest in the 30mins of hard casting, this was probably due to me over-spooling line but after trimming some line away giving the spool lip about 3mm behind the lip, I no longer experienced any birds nest. Comparatively, I had 2 birds nest with the FX even though the line was given a run-in & trimmed down to 3mm below the lips.

* Drag - The drag feels much smoother on the Sienna. Even though the FX had more drag power, the Sienna's drag was smooth & very much in control. The FX had strong drag but it's a little coarse & jerky when fighting fish.

Shimano Sienna 2500 FD

The Sienna also comes with a Front Drag model but personally, I always prefer Rear-Drag reels for game fishing & casting.

The Shimano FX 2500 FB for comparison

The Sienna in action, paired with a Expert Graphite Carbon Cube 7' rod

First fish landed with the new set up. The Pacu had no chance to escape

The Expert Graphite rod with Shimano Sienna is the first rod on the left

Check out Shimano South East Asia website for more details.

Shimano SEA

Going Back to Monofilament

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My favorite mono line

I've been observing & comparing mono filament & braided lines lately for coarse fishing. It seems, reels loaded with mono lines catches more fish compared to braided. Yes, I know I'm going to start another argument but the fishes don't take sides, they will only go after baits presented to their liking. I think I'm going to maintain two reels loaded with clear mono lines solely for coarse bottom & float fishing. Somehow or rather, fishes tend to be less spooked by mono lines. This could be due to the rounder profile as well as the clear transparent lines. Even fishing at night, there is difference in catch rate. Most interesting.

I will be using the following set up for the next few months to test this theory.

* Puyu 7ft rod paired with a Tica GQ3050 loaded with Berkley Big Game 10lb clear mono connected to 50lb clear mono leader. This will be used for Patin & Pacu big game fishing at Tow Foo & Sek 24 paypond.

* Pro-Tech 6ft rod paired with a Shimano FX1000 loaded with Berkley Big Game 10lb clear mono connected to 50lb clear mono leader. This will be used for Tilapia & Pacu fishing at EAK.

Maintain this set up for general coarse fishing.

My favorite brand of braided line

* Tica 7ft rod paired with Shimano FX 2500 loaded with Kirin 15lb Black braid connected to 20lb clear mono leader.

The observation is based on the following trips & the results.

Karak Tilapia fishing - November 2012

Out of the 6 anglers that day, 4 were using braided lines. Only 2 anglers was catching Tilapia consistently, both were using mono lines of about 8 to 12lb rating. Myself was fishing with a Shimano FX2500 loaded with 15lb black braided line connected to 6ft of 20lb clear mono leader. I was fishing with soaked pellet baits using my custom made umbrella rig. I only manage to land 3 Tilapia while the 2 other mono line users manage to land more than 10 fishes each using same bait but basic floating rig. Why?

EAK Pacu fishing - October 2012

Took my family on a short trip to EAK for some fishing. Had 2 rods for this trip, fishing lasted only for 2 hours.

Reel A - Shimano FX1000 loaded with 10lb clear mono line connected to 5ft of 50lb clear mono leader.

Reel B - Shimano FX2500 loaded with 15lb black braided line connected to 6ft of 20lb clear mono leader.

Reel A accounted for 1 Tilapia, 4 Pacu & 1 Lampam.

Reel B accounted for 3 Tilapia, 1 Jelawat & 1 Pacu.

Results? Again, mono out fished braid. Why?

Tow Foo fishing - October 2012

Did a full day fishing. Was fishing with two rods.

Setup A - Pro-tech 6ft spinning rod paired with Shimano FX1000 loaded with 10lb clear mono, 50lb clear mono leader.

Setup B - Tica 7ft spinning rod paired with Shimano FX2500 loaded with 15lb black braid, 20lb clear mono leader.

Setup A accounted for 3 Lampam & 3 Pacu.

Setup B accounted for 2 Patin of over 2kg. 1 Pacu.

Freshwater Baits - Part 2 - Groundbait & Pellets

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Continuing from the previous part on freshwater fishing baits. I'll elaborate a little further about the use of groundbaits & fish pellets.

Bomb brand groundbait is popular here.

Generally, commercial groundbaits & pellets are made from the same materials. It's usual ingredients are dried fish, bread crumbs, flour, rice husks & seeds all grind into powder form. Some manufacturers even add some flavoring enhancers to entice fish's appetite. To make pellets, the powder goes through a machine to turn them into pellets of various sizes. Popular sizes are 2mm & 6mm used for coarse fishing. Groundbait & pellet bait are very popular at payponds. Some of the species that can be caught with groundbait consistently are tilapia, pacu, catfish & carps.

Groundbait Preparation

Commercial groundbaits are easily available at most tackle & aquarium shops. They come in different brands, different packing sizes but most common are in the 1kg packs. I would prepare them in the order below:

All preparations to be done at fishing area. You'll need water from the pond to mix the groundbait (dedak). NEVER use tap water, the chlorine will push the fishes away.
Pour the groundbait into a small pale or plastic container. Assuming I am only using one pack. Don't pour the entire pack in yet, leave about 1/3 in the bag just in case you put too much water in.
Use your hands to scoop small amount of water & gently sprinkle over the groundbait. Be patience, all you want is just to wet the groundbait powder, not submerge it.
Start mixing the groundbait powder with your hands in a circular motion. Mix it well so it would turn slightly soggy & sticky but not completely into a slur. You still want to feel the rough powder.
Try to form balls out of it, if it breaks apart too easily, add a little bit more water & continue mixing.
A well prepared groundbait (dedak) would be sticky enough to hold it's form when submerged into water but still able to release a trail of oil slick. Test this in another pale of water.

Some anglers may choose to add some additional flavoring like coconut milk, bird seeds & etc but most times this is unnecessary. Adding groundbait from different brands may be more productive.

Depending on your rig & presentation, there are several ways to rig groundbait.
Refer to Basic Bottom Rig.
Refer to Umbrella Rig.

Pellet Preparation

The best pellet baits for fishing are those commercial pellets sold to fish farms. This has a higher oil & fish meal content which the fishes love to eat. Look for pellets that are darker (brown) in coloration as well as having a clear coat of oil on the surface. I would prepare them in the order below.

All preparations to be done at fishing area. You'll need water from the pond to soak the pellets. NEVER use tap water, the chlorine will push the fishes away.
Pour the pellets, all or 1/2 a bag into a pale or plastic container. Take a cup of water & pour it in. Completely submerging the pellets.
Wait for about 1min. Remove all water.
Let the pellets slowly expand while the moisture seeps into the core of each pellet. This can take anywhere from 20 to 30mins. Be patience.
Take a pellet, squeeze it gently. If it has a spongy like feel to it & won't break apart easily, then it's ready for the hook.

Some anglers may choose to soak the pellets with additional flavoring but is not necessary. Adding some groundbait to the pellets may be more productive.

Depending on your rig & presentation, there are several ways to rig pellets.
Refer to Umbrella Rig.
Refer to Floating Rig.

UPDATE: 20th November 2012
Further to the pellet topic. I have been using pellets more often for freshwater paypond fishing since it's easily transportable. You can actually turn pellets into groundbait or form into dough balls by soaking the pellets with more water till it turns into paste. What I'm doing nowadays is to soak pellets for 1min, remove water & let the pellets expand for 20mins. For faster expansion, soak pellets with boiling water & let it soak for 30 seconds. Then I add some groundbait powder onto the pellets for added flavoring. This is for float fishing for smaller species like Tilapia, Lampam & baby Pacu.

Notice the home made spring rig for Groundbait fishing?

A 'Bomb' rig or Method feeder for groundbaits

Pellet fishing at payponds

The Umbrella rig catches another fish with pellet baits

Karak Tilapia Challenge!

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Karak, November 2012.

After last March's fun Tilapia outing at Tampin, N9. Me & buddies were again invited to do tilapia fishing cum BBQ session at one of the private farms in Karak. We arrived at about 2:30pm & the first thing that greeted us there was a heavy down pour. We didn't do any fishing till 4pm. Although most people would say farm fishing is easy. Like any form of fishing, it also depends heavily on the weather & water conditions. There were 6 anglers, all experienced fisherman but surprisingly, we only manage to bring in about 30 Tilapia after some 3 hours of fishing. Generally, the fishes were very cautious with their feeding. Although we manage to work them into a feeding frenzy by frequently tossing out bowls of pellets into the immediate fishing area, the fishes were smart enough to avoid pellets rigged to hooks!

Purpose built fishing shed complete with roof & seats!

With rod, have fish. It would be easy they say!

Hard working fishermen even though it was a public holiday

Our BBQ shed right next to the tilapia pond

The fishes were finally biting, I gotcha!!!

Some of the larger specimens of 1kg+ were harvested while smaller ones we released

Tilapia BBQ

Barbecued tilapia, taste excellent

Freshwater Baits - Part 1 - Natural Baits

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In my fishing adventures, I've come across all kinds of things used as bait for freshwater fishing. Some commonly known, others, weird. One thing though, no matter how weird it is, if it catches fish, it's a good bait. Natural baits come in many varieties but generally can be classified into several categories. There are the live, dead, plant baits.

The one critical aspect that most anglers fail to observe is they assume their favorite bait works in every body of water. This is almost always not the case. The best bait is still what is easily found near the waters. This could be fishes, tadpoles, worms, frogs, lizards, insects, fruits, leaves, flowers, nuts & any edible flora or fauna found in the immediate area. Wild fishes has to be resourceful to survive hence they need to forage for food whenever, where ever they can. But, having said that, there are exceptions to this rule as in recent years, fishing & tackle manufacturers have come out with highly effective groundbaits & artificial baits that could rival or even exceed natural bait's effectiveness.

Live & Natural Baits

This can be categorized as live fish, animals, fruits, flowers & any naturally available living fauna or flora found in the natural environment.

Earthworm

This used to be the universal bait for Tilapia, Carp & Marble Goby fishing, some anglers even has a way to rig it for Snakehead (Haruan) fishing. It catches most bottom feeding fishes. It still works in wild areas but has lost it's effectiveness for some unknown reason. Earthworms was very effective as Tilapia bait in areas like ex-mining ponds & lakes. Before baits were commercialized, the usual way of getting earthworms was to go digging for them at nearby places the day before fishing. Finding & digging for earthworms is a skill by itself. You could be digging at random soils & yet you won't encounter ANY worms. Best places to start digging would be at trash dump sites or those farm land soil. The soil has to be moist, plenty of rotting leaves & fairly damp. The best sort of worms are those of about 4 to 6 inches long. Fat & juicy. That's what the fishes love.

Earthworms, ready for the hook

Maggot

Animals & fish die. Some by the banks. They rot & soon enough, maggots appear around them. Some maggots get adventurous & goes swimming. They end up as fish food. Although I've not personally tried fishing with maggots, I've seen it's effectiveness. Moreover, it is easily obtainable at aquarium & pet stores at cheap prices, this bait is a sound choice for Tilapia, Carp & Pacu fishing. Comparatively, maggot is even more 'acceptable' to hold & bait for beginners compared to earthworms as they are less slimy to handle.

Imagine this came from a rotting carcass

Cricket

Usually the beginner fly fisho who has not learned to tie their own flies would use crickets as a substitute or live bait. I have used this bait before & boy does it work good! It's cheap & most aquarium & pet store stock up on this tasty bait. One thing though, to present a cricket bait properly, you must not add any sinkers. The cricket should be sent out to do it's job hopping, struggling & bumping on the surface attracting every predator nearby. It would be challenging for conventional angling technique to cast this bait out to a reasonable distance without the use of sinkers. The use of a weighted bobber (Spin Fly) fishing would solve this problem.

Nice juicy succulent insects

Tiny Prawns

Most freshwater rivers, lakes & ponds has an abundant colony of prawns & small plankton eating pereopods. Fishes love them. In fact, most fishes eat baby prawns when they are small & slowly move on to other diets. Prawns provide fishes with good protein for them to grow. Catching live prawns is best done using nets, scooped along the banks. You can also buy them at aquariums but the price may be a little steep. You'll need a portable air pump to keep them alive in your tank.

Shrimp ready to catch fish.

Tiny Frogs

Mostly used by the Haruan (Snakehead) anglers. This is an old school reliable bait for snakehead casting. Although I've not used one for a long time due to it's scarcity & more over, the dwindling population of frogs may not be eco-friendly. Frogs are nature's answer to control mosquito populations. The way to rig a frog bait is to kill the frog first, use 1 or 2 hooks to impale it's body & rig it weedless by embedding the hook tip onto it's hind legs. The alternative to frog baits is luring with plastic frogs & soft plastic baits.

A baby frog rigged with an embedded hook for weedless fishing

Minnows

Popular bait used by Giant Snakehead anglers. This is basically any small baby fishes caught along the banks or bought at the aquarium. Some popular bait fishes are baby Carps (Koi fishes), baby Cichlid (Tilapia) or baby Catfishes (Keli). Specimens of about 3 to 4in is best as it will stay alive longer & is more appetizing to the larger predators. To keep carps & cichlid alive, you need to continuously supply oxygen to the tank by using a portable, battery powered air pump.

Baby Tilapia

Baby Keli

Chicken Heart & Gizzard

Another reliable but slimy bait for Toman & Pacu fishing, works for Catfish too. Generally works for most predatory fishes. The trick to make fishing with chicken gizzard bait successful is to source for the freshest, bloody ones straight from the wet market. The scent of blood attracts predators. Preparing chicken parts as bait has also developed into an art form by itself. Some anglers even have their own tricks in cutting up the gizzard in a way to attract different fishes to take it. While it's effective, I normally avoid using such baits as excessive fishing with such baits could potentially foul the waters in the area. Not eco-friendly.

Chicken gizzards

Chicken hearts

Palm Seed

This is the go to bait for Kelah, Temoleh & most Carp river fishing. Old timers swear by it's effectiveness. The oil released by the fruit is an attractive scent to these omnivore fishes. The best palm fruits are those that is ripe & slightly soft. The technique is to have a bag of palm fruits submerged in the water for several hours prior to fishing to let the oil slowly mix in with the surrounding waters. This will attract fishes from the area to investigate the scent.

Tapioca leaves / Water Spinach leaves

Some fishes are exclusively herbivores. Fishes like wild grass carps & most other carp species feed on plant matters. In the old days, anglers would use this as bait, in fact, when dough ball & groundbaits don't work, this is the next best alternative as it is easily available along the banks. Two of the most popular vege bait are Tapioca leaves (Pucuk ubi) as well as Water spinach (Kangkung). Collect a bunch, remove the hard stems, roll the leaves & the soft stems onto the hook until it is secured enough for casting.

Water Spinach (Kangkung)

Tapioca leaves (Pucuk Ubi)

This concludes the first part of freshwater baits. On the next part, I will elaborate more about groundbaits (dedak) & pellets as this has become very popular in freshwater bait-fishing.

THE ANGLERS