Fishing in the Alabama Sunshine

Small Tackle Big Fun

Junk fishing vs. patterns

A few years back when I fished out of a conventional boat, I relied on patterns to help me when fishing. Now that I have discovered the joys of kayak fishing, I find myself doing things differently. I have basically become what is know as a junk fisherman. This simply means I fish water as I come to it, and let the depth and terrain determine how I fish. In a one hundred yard stretch I may fish several baits as the structure, depth and cover changes. So which is better? Junk fishing or pattern fishing. 


Well, most fishing professionals will quickly tell you that finding patterns help them take home bigger checks. Figuring out what depth fish are holding at, or what structures are holding fish are all part of useful patterns. Once you figure out a working pattern, you can duplicate your fish catching all over the lake by fishing the same kinds of places.


Kayakers such as myself don't have the luxury of quickly running all over the lake. Even if we have a workable pattern figured out, it isn't always that beneficial. Even so, rarely do I just pack it in and go home without a fight.


Every single bite should tell us fisherman something. It's up to us to learn from it. Good fishermen learn to make mental notes of everything. How deep the bite was, how fast the bait was moving, whether it was in open water or around cover, and so forth and so on. Soon, even though you may be junk fishing, you may be fishing several workable patterns without even realizing it. Paying attention to details and learning to use this knowledge is something many fishermen never get a grasp of. The small percentage of those that do often make a living out on the water.


Tight lines everyone, stay safe out there.
#www.cremelures.com #mulberryriverbaitco.

Fish the Shade

On any given sunny day, the shade can be a pattern all by itself. Everything on, or around the lake, makes shade at some point during the day. It’s these shaded areas that bass feel most comfortable in. Why? You might ask. Well, because of two main reasons. A bass can hide in the shade and feel safe, and a bass can lay in wait of prey in the shade. Simple as that. 

From a fisherman’s point of view, shade can be found in many places. Boat docks and fallen logs are two favorite shade makers for bass fishermen. Vegetation and man-made brush piles are two more productive shade makers. As the sun travels from point A to point B during the day, some entire banks become shaded. These banks often out produce banks that remain in the sun. 

Another shade maker that is often overlooked is the wind. Sometimes, as the wind blows across a body of water, various structures such as bridge pilings, wing dams etc., will block the wind. This will form areas of slack water and areas of rippled water. Bass will often stack along the edge of the rippled water because the rippled water lets less or broken light penetration through.

Learning to fish the different types of shaded areas isn’t hard, but, it does take practice. Hope these tips make your next sunny day a more productive one. 

Looking for quality baits to make your next trip more productive? Look no further.

                                     http://www.cremelure.com/ 

Even small lakes have idiots

Today, like so many days before, I found myself fishing my home lake in beautiful northern Alabama. It’s a small lake of around 450 acres, has a ten horsepower limit, and is usually a very peaceful place. Unfortunately, even small lakes have their share of idiots and disrespectful people. About five minutes after launching my kayak, I had made my way to my first stop. Another boat launched shortly after and flew up the bank right next to where I was fishing, almost dumping me over. Needless to say my day started with my blood pressure through the roof. Normally I have a 25+ crankbait tied on for just such occasions, but, today I didn’t. I would have most definitely slowed him down. 

The irony of this whole situation was, that right before I put my boat in the water I spent about ten minutes talking to the officer that patrols the lake. If the timing could have been just a little different, the guy would have been busted for an oversized motor and never been on the water at all.

Things like this didn’t used to bother me so much until I was involved in an accident of my own…on the same lake. I was fishing a night tournament a few years back when another competitor that wasn’t paying attention to what he was doing, ran over my boat. I was anchored off a point with all my lights on when the guy came out of a slew and just flat ran over me. I dove into the black water and swam hard for the bottom. I stayed down until he decided to turn his motor off, which felt like forever. He ruined the best season I had ever had on my home lake.

So, is there a point to this rant today, sure there is. Be careful on the water. The life you endanger by being disrespectful, obnoxious, or careless isn’t just your own. When you endanger mine I will take it personally. Word to the wise Mr. Grumman, when you run a motor that’s too big, you might not want to call attention to yourself. 

Cold Fronts Suck

My ride

Some days are just pain ole’ harder than other days when out on the water. Today, was one of those days. Here in Alabama we had a really strong cold front come through last night, even spawned a couple of tornados. What that left us fishermen with today, was bluebird skies, wind, and much cooler temperatures. Oh yeah, and really tough fishing. At least it was for me.

 

Just having entered the online fishing tournament known as Kayak Wars, I had high hopes of putting my first points on the board, it didn’t happen. The minimum length bass you can enter is sixteen inches long, and all I could grind out today were five dinks. The biggest of which was a whopping fourteen inches. What’s sad is for the past few weeks most of my trips have produced several bass over sixteen inches.

 

My day started by throwing my favorite big bass bait…a jig. After about an hour without a bite, I switched to a combo I knew would help me to not get skunked, a seven inch, Crème, Ribbon tail worm on a 3/0 Gamakatsu wide gap hook. Almost immediately I caught my first fish. This combo helped me put four more bass in the boat. Unfortunately, not one big fish bit today.

 

But, even after a tough day on the water, I am now more determined than ever. The leader in the southeastern division has only 110 points. Living here in north central Alabama I am surrounded by lakes and rivers that give up sixteen inch bass, on a regular basis. I am also encouraged as I look ahead at the weather forecast. Beginning next week, we are about to have several days in the low 70’s. I will then make up ground on the leaders.

 

You guys have a great day. I’ll see ya out on the water.

 

Custom Baits vs Factory Baits

 
 

Every day it seems that a new, custom made, lure, hits the market. Many times these baits are almost identical to other baits offered by larger companies. What often surprises me, is that some of these baits cost a little more than their factory cousins, and fishermen are still buying them. So…what’s the appeal? How can a smaller company sell the same baits at a higher price?

 

Well, I believe people will pay for a product, if they believe it is truly a quality product. The small bait maker for instance takes a tremendous amount of pride in his or her work. When you are dealing with only one or two people running a small business, you get the bosses looking at every bait heading out to the public. This is the best quality control you could ever hope for.

 

The paint on every jig and spinner bait has to be perfect. There can be no burrs on any lead, or paint in any hook eye. This kind of quality isn’t always found in the larger companies. Sometimes bigger isn’t always better. When a company out grows its quality control staff the product will suffer.   The companies that have been around for a long time are the ones that do everything in their power to put out a good product. These are the companies that will stand the test of time…big or small.

 

While I have my own personal favorite lure companies I buy from, I still have a tremendous respect for the small business man too. I have a friend that is now fishing in the big leagues, that used to be a rod maker. I still have and use one of his rods. It has caught everything from bass, cats, to carp. We hear the term on a daily basis, “Let’s make America great again.” Well, we can as Americans certainly do that by checking and re-checking the products we build. If you are in the lure making business, make lures you would be proud to sign your name to. If you want customers to buy what you build, then build what they want.

 

You guys have a great day, I’ll see you on the water.

Mulberry River Bait Co. https://www.facebook.com/Mulberry-River-Bait-Co-942787962471153/