Hillary Lying About Guns

Politicians don’t tell the truth. Its just the way of politics to tell people what you think they want to hear. Exaggerations, misleading statements and similar things are the rule. But sometimes politicians tell such blatant lies it is hard to understand how anyone can listen to them.

Hillary Clinton is constantly telling lies about gun laws, the gun business and why you and I own guns, all the time trying to make it harder for us to own a gun while she is hiding behind armed guards. The current lie of the day is that gun manufacturers and sellers are not liable for their product the same way other business are for their product.

The stated goal of the anti-gun groups is to put gun manufactures and retailers out of business by suing them when a gun is used in a crime. That is like Rosie O’Donnell suing spoon manufacturers because she is fat. Or it is like suing a gas station and Shell oil because someone buys a gallon of gas and uses it to burn down a house.

The law suits got so ridiculous a few years ago that our elected representatives passed a federal law that gun manufacturers and retailers were not liable if their product was misused. That is the way it is with every product made but liberal judges were singling out the gun industry. And they still are doing that, trying to put them out of business.

A state judge in New Jersey ruled last week a suit against Remington could proceed, even though there is federal law against such lawsuits. That lawsuit says Remington should not have made a gun for civilian sales that is a military weapon. Anyone knowing anything about guns knows the multiple fallacies of that claim.

Gun banners can’t get laws passed that they want because there are too many gun owners and other rational people opposing them. So they try to go through the courts to accomplish their goals. They can’t stand the thought of a law abiding citizen having something they personally don’t approve of so they try to ban it for everyone.

What Is Walleye Egg Collection?

Walleye Egg Collection 101

The Ohio Division of Wildlife has been asked to collect 200 quarts of walleye eggs from Mosquito Reservoir for hatchery production this spring.
from The Fishing Wire

What does this mean? How do they do it? Why do they do this? What is the end result?

From start to finish…

net setting

The Net Set
• ODNR Crews set 16 trap nets on Mosquito Reservoir to collect fish.
• Nets are set in shallow water- 14 feet deep or less.
• Nets are set from the causeway to the dam, primarily on the east side
• Fish hit the lead (red line) and swim toward deeper water towards the work up area
• IF YOU SEE A NET, PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM IT!!!!!

Running the Nets
• If it swims, we catch it! Walleye, crappie, perch, sunfish, and catfish are commonly caught, but we do catch pike, bass, and an occasional mudpuppy.
• Fish are netted from the end of the net and processed on the boat.
• Female walleyes ready to spawn are the target. 15 – 22″ is normal- 25″ and up have been seen!

Taking eggs

Egg Take at The Ramp
• Female walleye eggs are mixed with either walleye sperm to make walleye OR sauger sperm to make saugeyes.
• Each quart of walleye eggs taken can yield 130,000 fish.
• A large female walleye can have 2 quarts in her!

At The Hatchery
• Fertilized walleye eggs are taken back to Senecaville State Fish Hatchery (Guernsey Co.).
• Eggs can die off due to low water flow, fungus, poor fertilization, or rapid temperature changes.
• Fish are then hatched off in jars in about 3 weeks.

Walleye fry

Back at the Lake
• Fish can either be stocked as fry (see above) or fingerling (see right), depending on the lake.
• Fry are 1/4″ long, are stocked in late April, and typically stocked at a rate of 1000 / acre of water.
• Fingerling are 1-2 inches long, are stocked in late May, and are typically stocked at a rate of 100 / acre of water.

The End Result?
• Fish stocked in the spring will grow to 8 inches by September.
• More importantly, fish stocked in 2012 will be about 15 inches within 2 years. They grow REALLY fast with how much gizzard shad there is for them to eat!
• We know that some fish will die throughout this process. Taking the eggs from the female walleye is rough on them, especially when the water is warmer.
• Also, stocking such small fish will lead to some of them dying. If we get 1/10 of 1% (0.001) of the fish we stock to live to reach 15″, we are doing great!

But the bottom line is that without these efforts, walleye fishing on most of our inland lakes would not exist. Natural reproduction is not consistent enough to keep these high quality walleye fisheries going each and every year. Habitat is poor, and the conditions for a good natural spawn are rarely achieved- see Lake Erie!

The Ohio Division of Wildlife conserves and improves fish and wildlife resources and their habitats for sustainable use and appreciation by all.

2016 Bassmasters Classic Going To Houston

April 14, 2016

Houston Lands 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic – the 2016 Bassmasters Classic Going To Houston

HOUSTON — The world championship of bass fishing — the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro — will be held in Houston for the first time in the event’s 47-year history, B.A.S.S. and the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, the event hosts, revealed today.

The announcement was made during a press conference in Houston’s Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros and where 52 of the world’s best bass anglers will weigh their fish during the March 24-26, 2017, event.

“We are thrilled to bring the biggest event in bass fishing to the biggest city in the biggest state,” said Bruce Akin, B.A.S.S. CEO. “Of the 500,000 members of B.A.S.S. worldwide, nearly 45,000 — more than any other state — call Texas home. We’re glad to be able to hold the Classic near them.”

“We are truly excited to further our relationship with the sport of bass fishing and the Bassmaster Classic,” said Ted Ward, GEICO vice president of marketing. “This event continues to serve as a great platform to interact with their loyal fans and build brand awareness for GEICO’s expanding product lines.”

The fishing competition will take place on Lake Conroe, a 21,000-acre impoundment of the San Jacinto River in Montgomery and Walker counties noted for producing big largemouth bass.

Also during Bassmaster Classic Week in Houston, the nation’s leading fishing tackle and boat manufacturers will take part in the annual Bassmaster Classic Outdoor Expo, to be held March 24-26 in the George R. Brown Convention Center. In recent years, tackle and lure companies have been using the Classic Expo as the venue to introduce their newest products to bass fishing fans. The 2017 Expo will cover more than 300,000 square feet, the largest in Bassmaster Classic history.

“This is a huge win for the region and is a perfect example of how our events staff constantly works in collaboration with a variety of partners, as well as creatively, to bring these type of sporting events to town,” said Janis Burke, Chief Executive Officer of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority. “Who would have guessed that a fishing tournament weigh-in could be done that many miles away from the fishing lake and inside a MLB Stadium? But, it makes perfect sense and has been a wonderful display of teamwork by many entities. We expect this to be the largest and best event ever held in the Bassmaster Classic’s history.”

The 2017 event will mark only the second time for the “Super Bowl of Bass Fishing” to be held in Texas. Television fishing show host Hank Parker won the 1979 Classic on Lake Texoma on the Texas-Oklahoma border. Conroe has never hosted a Bassmaster Elite Series event; however, many of the stars of the Elite Series are familiar with the lake. It was the site of the Toyota Texas Bass Classic from 2009-2013.

In addition, superstar pro Rick Clunn, a four-time Classic Champion, worked as a bass guide on Conroe during the early years of his 42-year career in professional fishing. He is off to a strong start toward qualifying for what would be his 33rd Classic — he won the season opener of the Elite Series in March on Florida’s St. Johns River. Clunn will be 70 years old when the 2017 Classic gets under way.

“Lake Conroe is a bass-fishing gem, and we’re proud to show it off to the bass world,” said Harold Hutcheson, executive director of the Conroe Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Our lake ranks seventh in the state in the number of Toyota ShareLunker entries (open to bass weighing 13 or more pounds), and it’s a popular place for recreational anglers and professionals alike. We look forward to hosting some of the world’s best anglers next year.”

The Classic champion will earn $300,000, part of the more than $1 million in prize money to be paid out to the anglers.

Akin expects the event next year to draw some of the largest crowds in tournament history. More than 107,000 people attended one or more venues during this year’s Classic in Tulsa, Okla., and on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees. The event has averaged more than 102,000 in attendance over the past five years.

Officials at host cities during that time have reported an economic impact from the event ranging from $22 million to nearly $24 million.

More than 250 media representatives from throughout the United States and several foreign countries are credentialed to cover the event each year, and The Weather Channel regularly broadcasts live from the takeoff each morning. Several thousand fishing fans are expected to brave chilly morning temperatures to watch the takeoff next year at Lake Conroe.

Fans who don’t make it to the lake will be tuning in to live coverage of the competition through “Bassmaster Classic Live,” a cutting-edge program that streams live, on-the-water fishing action through the B.A.S.S. website, Bassmaster.com. More than 400,000 video plays of Classic Live were recorded this year, resulting in nearly 12 million minutes viewed.

The 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic is being hosted locally by the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, and the fishing action on Lake Conroe is presented by the Conroe Convention and Visitors Bureau.

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, B.A.S.S. Nation, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.

How To Catch Early Season Jerkbait Bass

Early Season Jerkbait Bass

Lessons learned in cold, clear waters

By Steve Pennaz
from The Fishing Wire

Mandy Ulrich and TV host Steve Pennaz

Pro bass angler Mandy Ulrich and TV host Steve Pennaz hoist the spoils of fishing jerkbaits in cold water.

This past February, on a bitter cold morning better suited for hot coffee and a roaring fire, I met Elite BASS Pro Chad Grigsby at a just-opened Perkins to outline our plans for taping an episode of “Lake Commandos.”

The air temperature was 22 degrees when we finally launched the boat, and water temp on my graph varied from 36 to 42 degrees depending on our location on the river.

The Commando format is simple: Each angler picks a pattern before getting on the water, and then we see who catches the most fish. For this particular show Chad picked a great year ’round smallmouth pattern: 3.5-inch Berkley Power Tubes while I picked jerkbaits, specifically the new Cutter 110+.

For the next three hours we struggled to put a fish in the boat. I had one fish hooked on the tube, but lost it, and after we switched to jerkbaits it was clear we were doing something wrong.

Cutter 90+ in Chameleon Vapor pattern

Berkley’s new Cutter 90+ in Chameleon Vapor pattern.The 3.5-in., 3/8 oz. bait is the smallest in the three-model jerkbait family.

A series of tweaks fixed that.

Our first move was to downsize from the Cutter 110+ to the 90+. Secondly, we dropped anchor so we could slow our retrieves. The final tweak was the final puzzle piece: we cast downstream or quartering and slowed our retrieves to a crawl.

And we started to catch smallmouths…a lot of smallmouths. But the funny thing was, I was catching small fish and Chad was catching big fish.

What Chad had figured out was key: cast directly downstream and allow the current to work the bait. He’d jerk it two or three times to move the bait forward and then he’d let the current wash it back on a semi-slack line. As a result, he was getting the big fish – 3s, 4s and 5s – while I was getting the 15 and 16 inchers. The big fish simply weren’t going to chase a faster retrieve.

At one point, Chad put his rod down to net a fish for me, leaving his bait to essentially wash in the current a bit. When he went back to pick up the rod, there was a fish on it!

This should have been a lesson for me to slow down, but at that point it was too late in the day, and we wrapped the show. I caught more fish, but Chad whipped me in total weight.

Another lesson learned: There are times when you can fish a bait wrong by fishing it too fast – especially jerkbaits.

Steve Pennaz

Years ago Steve Pennaz fished a “jerkbaits only” tournament on Lake of the Ozarks, an experience that taught him numerous lessons. These days, he keeps a jerkbait rod rigged and ready at all times.
If you want to become a better jerkbait angler, here are some things that will improve your success.

Lesson #1: Down, down, down!

Some anglers have the tendency to fish jerkbaits by moving the rod horizontally, even vertically. Actually, its better to fish jerkbaits by moving the rod tip in downward sweeps from roughly the 3:00 o’clock to 5:00 o’clock position. Quick rips at the beginning of your retrieve will help your bait reach your target depth zone sooner, and subsequent strokes and pauses will keep the neutrally-buoyant bait more or less on a horizontal retrieve toward the boat.

Lesson #2: Slack is good

Introduce slack line between the lure and the rod tip before you start the actual jerk-stroke down and immediately after. The introduction of slack line produces more erratic lure action and allows the bait to glide naturally after the stroke. You want to hear “tsst, tsst, tsst” during each cast.

Lesson #3: Cadence

I quickly learned that the right cadence and stroke combination is key to jerkbait fishing. During our filming, water was cold and bass did not want the baits fished fast; the pause was key, those moments in the retrieve when the bait would just sit in the water column, neutrally buoyant. Instead of a pop, pop, pop, and pause – or even two pops and a pause – it was a single stroke followed by a pause that got bites.

Lesson #4: Painfully long pauses

As a general rule of thumb, the colder the water, the slower you should fish a jerkbait. There may be times when you need to pause 10, 20, 30, or even 50 seconds between jerk-strokes. It’s painful to fish that way—and I hate it—but sometimes that’s the only way you’re going to get bit in cold water. Other times, fish may want the bait fished more aggressively.

Lesson #5: Apples and oranges

The best way to fish a jerkbait can also depend on target species. In this particular tournament we were targeting largemouths, and I mention that because smallmouths and largemouths seem to react differently to how jerkbaits are fished. In some cases it can really be apples and oranges. My experience is smallmouths typically want the bait fished with more aggressive strokes, while largies prefer jerkbaits fished slow. Still, on most days, you’ll need to let the fish tell you what you what they want.

Lesson #6: Rod Length

I’m 6′ 2″ and I fish out of a Ranger 620FS, so I’m a little higher off the water when I’m fishing off the deck. So, depending on your height and your boat, the key is to look for a rod that is long enough that you can fish the bait with a downstroke without the rod tip getting wet. My go-to rod (an Abu Villain) measures 7 feet and features a soft tip. I like a long rod; I can pick up line faster, and it gives me a little more control of the fish during the fight.

Lesson #7: Rod power/action

For larger jerkbaits, I prefer a medium-power baitcasting rod, which is 90% of the time. But for finesse situations in clear, heavily-pressured waters, I will step down in bait size and use a spinning rod. But no matter which you choose, the rod should have enough backbone to move the jerkbait. I like a 7′ medium-action rod with a softer tip, which allows slower bait movement at the start of each rip (doesn’t seem to spook as many fish). A softer tip is more forgiving with hooked fish; you’ll land more fish.

Lesson #8: Line choice

I’m usually throwing jerkbaits on 8-, 10- or 12-lb. Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon. First, it’s a little stiffer than mono to prevent the bait from hooking itself on your line. Secondly, because fluorocarbon sinks, that little extra weight can help keep baits down. Lastly, the near-invisibility of fluorocarbon puts the odds in your favor on clear waters. Fish that move 10, 20, 30 feet or more to hit a bait can be line shy.

The exception to the rule comes when fishing long pauses. There may be times when heavier fluoro can cause certain baits to nose-dip. In those cases, I may switch to neutrally-buoyant monofilament to keep baits horizontal.

Lesson #9: Examine how fish are hooked

Cutter 110+

Berkley’s new Cutter 110+ in Black Silver pattern. The 4 3/8-in., 9/16 oz. bait is the largest, beefiest bait in the new jerkbait family.

Which jerkbait hook you catch the fish on can tell you a lot. If you’re catching bass barely hooked via the rear jerkbait hook, chances are fish aren’t in love with what you’re doing. So, you may want to look at your presentation. Are you fishing with the right color? Am I fishing it too fast? Not fast enough? The best bites are those when the front or front and rear hooks end up in the bass’ mouth. I’ll start by trying different colors if I get several fish on the back hook.

Lesson #10: Colors

In clear water, I like more natural patterns, those translucent finish options in silver or natural forage patterns. But there are times when it seems smallmouths react better to bright baits with chartreuse and oranges. So, start with more natural patterns and see what the fish prefer.

Lesson #11: Bait choice

There are a lot of great jerkbaits on the market, but I’m most excited about Berkley’s new Cutter Series, designed by David Fritts, and fished by pros like Justin Lucas, Josh Bertrand, Gary Klein and Scott Suggs.

Unlike most jerkbaits, the three baits in the Cutter Series feature a coffin-style bill—a complete departure from traditional jerkbait design—for an action all their own. It’s almost like an underwater walk-the-dog with a slight side-to-side roll. And bass crush ’em.

The Cutter 110+ is a beefy, standard-size jerkbait; the Skinny Cutter 110+ has a similar length but thinner profile; and the Cutter 90+ has only two treble hooks — the perfect jerkbait for finesse situations. Each comes in 12 finishes and features Berkley’s new Fusion 19 hooks, which are sticky sharp.

My go-to bait is the 110+ but there are times when downsizing to the 90+ is simply the best way to get bit.

Parting Thoughts

Skinny Cutter 110+

Berkley’s new Skinny Cutter 110+ in Gilly pattern. The 4 3/8-in., 7/16 oz. bait is a perfect “in between” size jerkbait for both largemouths and smallies.

Really, the best way to learn how to fish a jerkbait is to leave the dock with a small sample of jerkbaits – and commit to yourself to fish only those baits for the day. It’s even better to have two anglers in the boat: one fishing fast, the other fishing slow; one fishing natural colors, the other bright colors; one fishing a larger bait, one a smaller bait; and so forth.

What will happen is you’ll start figuring out little patterns in the patterns.

Finally, although we’re focused on early-season cold water right now, keep in mind that jerkbaits are incredibly versatile. Sure, they’re a great spring, fall and winter bait, but can perform in warm-water situations, too!

About Steve Pennaz
Steve Pennaz excels at finding and catching fish on new waters, a skill developed over 30 years of extensive travel in search of giant fish. His television series, Lake Commandos, Man vs. Lake vs. Man, helps anglers understand the steps to building successful patterns on the water.

Alabama River Fishing

The thunderstorms week before last did more than bring back memories of past storms and delay my trip to the Alabama River. Some areas of central Alabama had over five inches of rain that night. I saw the results of all that rain when I got to the Alabama River this week for the article. It was four feet high, muddy and the current was ripping.

I went out with one of the best river fishermen in the area, Erick Sommers. Erick wins a lot of tournaments there and knows it well. He warned me that fishing would be terrible with the conditions but due to my deadline I had to get the information for the article.

He showed me ten places on the river where he and his partners catch big spotted and largemouth bass. We fished hard but it was just about impossible to even fish most of the places due to the current. Erick said some current makes the fish bite better. When two or three turbines are running at dams upstream it is just about right. Four makes it difficult. There were five running the day we went!

On one spot we marked for the article he showed me a picture of his son, Chase, holding up two of the three five-pound spots he had caught in a youth tournament. One of them came off the place we marked. Chase had three spots weighing over five pounds each that day and won his tournament with three fish weighing over 16 pounds.

Erick also showed me pictures of some of the five and six pound largemouth he had landed in tournaments there. The Alabama River produces a lot of big bass on normal days. Erick’s best catch of spots ever was five weighing 29.83 pounds, an incredible catch anywhere but even more amazing that it was all spots. He says it takes five bass weighing 25 pounds to win most tournaments there.

Locals just call it the river but the official name is either Jones Bluff or Woodruff reservoir, depending on what government agency you check. No matter what the name, it runs 80 miles from the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers in Wetumpka down to the dam southwest of Montgomery.

If you plan a trip it is close to three hours to get there from Griffin. There are a lot of ramps and campgrounds open to the public. Go over there and catch your best spot ever!

The weather this spring has been its usual normal unusual. I always get excited when it warms more than expected in early March, but as often happens it turns colder in April than expected. And the bass often respond by doing unusual things.

One week it seems all the bass in the lake are shallow and getting ready to bed. They are fairly easy to catch no matter what you do. Then a cold front comes through and it gets tough. All you can do is wonder where the bass went.

Fish do not like bright sun most of the time. Even the bream in my pond won’t feed much when it is bright and sunny. On a cloudy day I can throw out floating fish food and they churn the water like a school of piranha. On a bright sunny day very few will hit the food as it floats along.

The usual response when bass fishing is to go to smaller baits and fish places where there is less light. You can fish deeper water or try to get your bait way back under a dock where the sun doesn’t shine. Sometimes those tactics work, other times you just get in a lot of casting practice. At least that is the way it seems to work for me.

There is a big BASS Elite tournament this weekend on the coast of South Carolina. It will be interesting to see how the top pros adjust to the high pressure cold front. They are fishing one of the rivers and swamps on the coast with miles of shallow water and cypress trees. I suspect those trees will play a big part.

Another group of fishermen are at Hartwell for the Ray Scott Championship. It is a very different fishery from the coast. Jordan McDonald qualified to fish it and I hope he does well, adjusting to the conditions and catching fish.

How To Pitch Plastics for Walleye

How To Pitch Plastics … Like A Plumber?

By Jim Edlund
from the Fishing Wire

Big walleye caught pitching plastics

Although obsessed with big walleyes, Minnesota guide Josh Wetzstein is pretty humble about statistics. “I haven’t measured a fish in years. Walleyes or muskies. Hold ’em up, snap a photo and put ’em back in the water,” says Wetzstein.

Like the sag-bellied monster (in the cell phone image below), caught this past weekend on Pool 4 of the Mississippi River, that Wetzstein “guesstimates” the fish to be in the neighborhood of 12 pounds. “They had just opened the roller (gates) and it started snowing when I caught that fish. The water came up quick and fish started scrambling. Came together just right and she bit,” laughs Wetzstein.

He was pitching a chartreuse B FISH N Moxi on a 3/16-ounce white H20 Precision Jig Head. “I like H20 Precision Jig Heads but when you burn through as many jigs as I do, well, you make your own, too. I probably have 50 or 60 Do-It molds.”

But more on that later.

Though humble, Wetzstein is also opinionated. “I don’t waste time floating the river with Dubuque rigs to catch eaters. Doesn’t interest me in the slightest. My thing is targeting big fish. And in my river experience, 90-percent of the big fish are caught in 10 feet or less.”

Fat walleye caught pitching plastics

His program? Pitching shallow water with plastics.

“You’ve gotta get out of the fast current. The big fish aren’t there. Find a point, a rock pile. Get down current. That’s where the big fish are. I jump around using my bowmount, jogging up and down, pitching riprap, wood, current seams, whatever. Electronic anchoring is key.”

And electronics? “The big thing is knowing where you can motor, where you can’t. Otherwise, it’s about reading the river, looking for current seams, inside and outside bends, eddies, and working riprap.”

Some days yield big fish, while others don’t. Not a big deal to Wetzstein, whose other passion is muskie fishing, although he catches his share of respectable mid-sized walleyes, too. “Besides the big fish this weekend, we caught probably thirty fish between 18 and 26 inches. And lots of milking males,” says Wetzstein.

But it’s the anticipation that the next cast could connect with a 30-incher that keeps him swinging when most anglers are vertical jigging or pulling three-way rigs. And right now – from water temps of 40 degrees through 50 degrees – he’s pitching a B FISH N Tackle Ringworm to find fish, then sizing up to a Moxi. “Beefier profile plastics like the Moxi just do better on big fish this time of year.”

Pitching Pointers

“I usually pitch upstream and let the flow sweep my bait down past the boat,” Wetzstein says.

Walleye showing jig it hit

The best tip, he adds, is to remember the exact location of your pitch just before the bite occurs. “You might catch a fish as your jig and plastic moves right in the front of the boat, but don’t cast back to where you got bit. Pitch right back to the exact spot where the jig hit the water before you got bit. That’s where I see guys messing up.”

And cadence?

“It kind of depends on the day, but I usually just cast upstream and give small twitches and little pops off bottom as the current works the bait. Sometimes a really slow retrieve will work, too.”

And if he finds fish, he’ll move on after 20 or 30 minutes. “I don’t like to beat up on the fish too much. Some guys will sit on ’em all day, but I like to move on to a fresh spot, let the spot refill and come back later.”

Like a Plumber

“Thing is, you’ve gotta bring the motherlode with you when you go fish the river. Think of it this way, it’d be like a plumber showing up to fix your sink with nothing but a Channellock pliers. Sure, you might be able to fix it, but you can do a better job by bringing all your tools.”

For Wetzstein, a ‘better job’ equates to a dozen rods or more – 6’8″ to 7′ St. Croix Legend Elite and G Loomis NRX with extra fast actions – all rigged with different line types in different diameters and test. He also totes vast variations in jig head styles and weights, and myriad profile and color plastics. Plus, a few more sticks are rigged with various size blade baits and hair jigs.

During early-season, Wetzstein typically pitches jigs tied direct to 10 – 15 lb. PowerPro braid so he can free baits from snags without wasting time re-tying. But when it’s really cold and the water clears he’ll turn to 10 lb. NanoFil and a 15-lb. fluoro leader. And for super-finesse situations he opts for 6 or 8 lb. Berkley Sensation thin-diameter monofilament in high-visibility orange.

Wetzstein fine-tunes his presentation not only with jig size, but also line diameter and bait profile. “You might have to go from a lighter line to a heavier braid – or vice versa – to get the right rate of fall to trigger bites, which changes from day to day. Same goes for soft plastic baits. Cut off an inch or two – or size up. Again, there are a lot of factors at play. Don’t assume the fish aren’t biting if you don’t catch them on one bait. I see guys run around fishing a ¼-ounce jighead and the same color plastic, but don’t catch fish and go home. When you fish the river you have to experiment with jig weight, plastic profile, color, line; a whole bunch of different factors.”

Along the same lines, he’s believes too many river anglers play it safe. “Don’t be scared to cast into the wood and sticks. Walleyes feel safe there; they’ll even spawn in there. Boggles my mind that you have guys in $50,000 boats who cringe at losing a bait. Burn through jigs if you have to.”

Given the conditions on Pool 4 right now, Wetzstein says 3/16 oz. jig heads are about right for pitching, but there’s always a fine line between getting bit and getting snagged.

“Think of it this way, if you can’t fish a 3/16 oz. jig right now, you’re probably in the wrong spot. But when the water drops back down I’ll switch to an 1/8-ounce.”

And for the really snaggy spots, he recommends jigs like a B FISH N Tackle Draggin’ Jig. “If the wood is really gnarly, these jigs do the job. I’m always surprised how many big fish I catch way back in wood.”

And when to comes to his favorite Moxis, he sticks to fluorescents and the occasional dark pattern for dirty water, and natural colors like ‘oystershell’ for clear water.

Besides brighter colors during high, muddy water, Wetzstein recommends fishing more aggressively. “Vibration is the deal during low visibility, so give the bait a couple good rips, then a couple pops and let it sit. It you can figure out the little details in the cadence it’s huge. But don’t be afraid to grab a blade bait or hair jig, too.”

Lightning Thunder and Fishing

When the crashing thunder woke me Thursday night I smiled – thinking how glad I was to be at home and not on the lake. Lightning thunder and fishing do not go together for me! While I was growing up lightning terrified me no matter where I was. That came from spending the night on our screened in porch when I was about eight years old during a huge thunderstorm.

After that night lightning and thunder scared me. As I got older I learned that I could be safe, even outside, but I still will not be out in open water when a thunderstorm is near.

I was supposed to go to the Alabama River near Montgomery for an Alabama Outdoor News article early Thursday morning. On Wednesday night I talked with the fisherman taking me and we agreed to postpone it till this week due to the weather. Both of us agreed we don’t mind rain but do not want to be on the water during a light show!

That was the right decision. There was a BASS Open tournament on Smith Lake north of Birmingham starting Thursday. BASS sent out a text at 4:00 AM Thursday morning to the 350 fishermen entered in it that the first tournament day was canceled and it would be a two day rather than a three day tournament. They don’t do that except in dangerous circumstances.

Over the 42 years I have had a bass boat I have spent some scary hours in one on lakes during a thunderstorm. One of the first was in the early 1970s in late June on Bartletts Ferry just north of Columbus. Bob Pierce and I had gone down and camped before a tournament to practice.

Back then we always put in at the dam. Bob and I decided to run way up the Chattahoochee River one day. It is still dangerous but now there are channel markers to keep you off the mud flats. There were none back then.

We slowly worked our way up the river in my 1974 Arrowglass bass boat with a 70 HP motor, finding our way around the dangerous shallows. About 3:00 PM, without warning, lightning started popping all around us. We had not heard anything up until that time so did not have time to try to get back down the river. It was raining too hard to see even if the lightning had not bothered us.

I eased into a small creek where I felt safe with big overhanging trees on the bank, thinking if lightning hit one of the trees we would be ok in the boat. I had to keep using the trolling motor to hold us in the creek. The wind kept trying to blow us back out onto the river and open water.

After about an hour of this I realized the boat was no longer moving. It was so full of water it was sitting on the bottom, with the motor stuck in the mud. I turned on the bilge pump and it ran constantly for the next three hours.

As it started getting dark at about 8:00 the storm broke and we managed to get back to the campground. That was a miserable afternoon of sitting and not fishing.

A few years later on a hot August afternoon I went to Jackson to practice for a night tournament the following weekend. I had been fishing up Tussahaw Creek and catching a few fish but as it got dark I rode to the dam, in the same Arrowglass boat, and started fishing near it.

Again, suddenly and without any warning, the wind started howling over the dam and lightning started cracking around me. It was one of those storms so close you hear a crack, boom and thunder so close to gather it is almost one sound.

Back then there was no drum line keeping boats away from the dam. I pulled my boat right in the corner of it where it hit he rocks and put my trolling motor down between two rocks to hold me in place. The dam rose about 20 feet over me and had a metal railing that I thought would work as a lightning rod.

When I looked up the rain blew over the top of the dam sideways the wind was so strong. I sat down in the drivers seat and put my head on my arms on the steering wheel. I could still see the flashes of lightning. It was so bad my dog Merlin crawled under the console to hide.

After sitting like that for two hours the storm passed and I ran to Kersey’s, put the boat on the trailer and came home!

In a Top Six tournament at Lanier in the early 1990s I was in the first group of boats to go out. There were 91 boats in my flight and all were sitting in a group out from the ramp at Laurel Park waiting on the signal to start taking off.

We heard some thunder off in the distance then suddenly it was right on top of us. I told my partner I was not going to sit in open water and we idled over and got under a dock. The other 90 boats sat there and ignored the lightning.

I was boat number 89 of the 91 and when the others were let go the storm had moved on. I waited a few minutes then took off. Fortunately that was the last storm of the day!

We have lots of thunderstorms this time of year. Be safe, stay out of open water when fishing if one is near!

How To Catch Spring River Walleyes

A Double-Barreled Approach for Spring River Walleyes

Dr. Jason Halfen
www.technologicalangler.com

Dubuque Rig

The versatile, double-barreled Dubuque Rig targets river walleye and sauger in the lowest portions of the water column.

River anglers are renowned for developing unique rigs and bait presentation methods to help them tackle their ever-changing, current-driven environment. Many of these rigs have unique names that refer to their developer or place of origin, like the venerable “Wolf River Rig” that has put so many walleyes and white bass in anglers’ nets over the decades. One of my favorite river rigs for both early- and late-season walleye fishing, when the water is generally running high, fast and dirty, is one that simultaneously offers two opportunities to catch walleyes and sauger within the lowest portions of the water column. That exceptionally versatile, double-barreled rig for targeting river whitetips is the Dubuque Rig.

Dressed Dubuque Rig

The Dubuque Rig can be dressed with a wide variety of live and artificial baits, although soft plastic offerings from B-Fish-N tackle are mainstays in most instances.

The Dubuque Rig is designed for trolling, generally upstream (although downstream is possible when flows are low), and is centered around a standard 3-way swivel. Attach your main line to one of the swivel eyes. To a second and third eyes, attach mono leaders with two different lengths: a “short” leader that is about a foot in length, and a “long” leader that is 24-30″ in length. We will use these mono leaders to connect two baits to the rig. I tie a heavy jig (1/2-3/4 oz) to the long leader, and dress that jig with a bulky soft plastic like a 4″ ringworm or a Pulse-R Paddletail from B-Fish-N Tackle. I prefer to tie a light jig (1/16 oz) to the short leader, and dress that jig with a low-profile soft plastic like a shortened ringworm or a small fluke-style bait. These two baits, presented at two different depths, provide the angler with the opportunity to target walleyes feeding close to the bottom, as well as those that might be tempted to rise several feet off the bottom to strike.

The Dubuque Rig is designed to be presented from a moving boat. Position your boat downstream of your intended fishing area, and start moving upstream at a speed of 0.5-0.8 mph. I rely on my Minn Kota Ulterra 112 to provide me with quiet, consistent power throughout a long day of targeting spring walleye in heavy current. With the boat moving, lower the rig into the water, allowing the heavier jig to contact the bottom. Present the rig with a series of lifts and drops, releasing enough line to allow the heavy jig to remain in contact with the bottom during the drop. It is important, however, to resist the temptation to simply drag the lower jig across the bottom, as this is a sure-fire way to donate tackle to the river gods. In high-flow areas, you will likely notice that most of your bites occur on the bottom jig, while the top bait, fluttering off the bottom, will be a key producer under low-flow conditions and in cleaner water. As such, this double-barreled approach excels under a wide variety of river flow and clarity conditions that anglers encounter throughout the year.

St. Croix Avid X

Introduced just last year, St. Croix Avid X series has become a mainstay for river walleye enthusiasts.

The Dubuque Rig is quite versatile. Common modifications include using a much longer leader for the “upper” bait, and connecting that leader to a long-shank live bait hook dressed with a minnow, leech, or the front half of a nightcrawler. In some parts of the walleye belt, a trolling fly will take the place of the bare hook. Another variation is to attach a small floating crankbait to this elongated leader, allowing the heavy jig and the bottom of the rig to pull this crankbait down to depth. Likewise, some anglers will cast a Dubuque Rig to fish the front faces of wingdams from fixed position, maintained by using the Spot Lock feature of the Minn-Kota i-Pilot Link system. Day in and day out, however, I use the Dubuque Rig as described above, with two jigs each dressed with a soft plastic, presented from a moving boat.

Big Walleye

When you fish the Dubuque Rig, you’ll be presenting relatively heavy baits in moving water, and as such, this is no place for a wimpy walleye rod. Two rods are particularly well-suited for presenting the Dubuque Rig. On the spinning side of the family, I like a St. Croix 6’8″ MXF rod, which you can find in series ranging from the Eyecon all the way to the Legend Xtreme. I like the same length and action in the Avid X casting series; look for the AXC68MXF to find a rod that can pull double duty for chasing walleyes and summer bass. When paired with a casting reel that features a flippin’ switch, presenting the Dubuque Rig with casting gear can be accomplished with a minimum of angler effort. When fishing either rod style, spool up with 20 lb test braid, and you’re ready to hit the river.

Where To Fish In Georgia Each Month of 2016

Georgia Fishing Calendar

January
Species: Hybrids
What To Expect
Two years ago over 500,000 hybrids were stocked at Hartwell. Those fish will weigh up to three pounds now and there are much bigger hybrids in Hartwell from previous years stocking.
How To
Feeding schools of hybrids can often be found by watching for gulls or terns diving on them. The lower lake is the best place to find them schooling, usually near humps and long points in sight of the dam. Cast white half-ounce bucktails or silver spoons to fish hitting on top.
If you don’t see surface activity, ride humps and points on the main lake watching for baitfish with bigger fish under them. Drop a live blueback herring to the depth the bigger fish are holding. Those fish will also hit a spoon or bucktail jigged at the depth they are holding. Also try crankbaits and bucktails trolled at the depth they are holding.
Big largemouth bass move to spawning areas on Seminole in January. Fish rattle baits on the flats just off the river channels around grass. Rainbow trout are stocked below the Lake Lanier dam in the Chattahoochee River and can be caught on small spinners and nymphs in eddies.

February
Species: Largemouth Bass
What To Expect
Jackson Lake produces some big largemouth every winter and February is one of the best months to catch a wall hanger there. You may not get many bites from largemouth but may land your biggest ever.
How To
On sunny days fish pockets on the north bank that get sun all day, and concentrate on seawalls, sandy bottoms and wood cover. A shad colored crankbait in clearer water or a chartreuse bait in stained water, fished slowly around structure and cover, is a good choice.
Also try a brown jig and pig in clear water or a black and blue bait in stained water around the same cover. Fish very slowly to interest the sluggish fish. Bump every limb in a blowdown or brush pile to excite big bass.
Large numbers of keeper size spotted bass can be caught on rocky points and humps at Lake Allatoona on jig head worms during February. To fill your freezer with yellow perch, fish a small minnow or jig below the Thurmond Dam, letting it drift with the current into eddies.

March
Species: Crappie
What To Expect
Big crappie move toward the spawning areas at Walter George this month. You can easily get you limit and fill your freezer with fileting size keepers.
How To
Tie up under a bridge on one of the lower lake creeks or drift over standing timber in the mouths of creeks like Bustahatchee Creek with live minnows or Hal Fly jigs suspended at different depths. Change depths and color of jigs until you start catching fish.
You can also troll small jigs in the creeks, following the channel, to find schools of fish. When you catch a crappie circle back over the same area since they are often moving in big schools.
White bass are running up the rivers at Lake Allatoona and can be caught on small spinners and jigs from a boat or the bank in the channels. Catfish on Lake Thurmond move shallow in March to feed and spawn and will hit live bream and shad on hard bottoms near channels.

April
Species: Largemouth Bass
What To Expect
Largemouths are up shallow spawning and feeding on the shad and herring spawn at Lake Thurmond this month. The herring spawn offers some of the fastest and best fishing for big bass of the year.
How To
Fish blowthroughs, shallow gaps between islands or between an island and the bank, in the Georgia Little River arm of Thurmond. Have a big topwater walking bait like a Zara Spook ready to cast to surface feeding fish. Also fish a big spinnerbait or crankbait over the gravel bottoms of these areas.
Fishing is best at first light when the herring spawn but you can catch fish in the deeper water off the sides of the blowthroughs on Carolina rigged lizards after the sun gets up. Drag the lizard in eight to ten feet of water.
You can choose from several ponds at McDuffie PFA to catch bluegills on earthworms or crickets this month, and fishing piers and clean banks offer the non-boat fishermen good places to catch fish. Sight fish for Trippletail holding on the surface off the Jekyll Island beaches with live shrimp.

May

Species: Flounder
What To Expect
Flounder are feeding in the sounds and inlets on the coast this month. These excellent tasting fish can be caught from the shore or from a boat.
How To
An outgoing tide pulls food from the marshes and flounder wait on it anywhere a small creek comes out of the grass. Anchor your boat off to the side of the current coming out of the creek and cast a small mud minnow or jig to the edges of the current.
You can get to some of these small creek and inlets from the bank on Jekyll Island. A good one is near the fishing pier on the north tip of the island and you can park and walk to it and fish from the shore.
Redbreast are plentiful in the Ogeechee River and have come back from the bad fish kill a few years ago. Catch them on earthworms or crickets in eddy areas out of the current. Lake Lanier is a quality spotted bass fishery and they are feeding on blueback herring on top in May. You can catch many three and four pound spots on topwater plugs this month.
June

Species: Catfish
What To Expect
The catfish population at Lake Oconee is excellent and you can catch blues, channel and flatheads, with some quality bragging size fish available.
How To
Anchor your boat on humps or shallow points and let the current take cut shad or bream out from the boat. Put out several rods to cover the area better. Current makes the catfish bite better but you can catch them when the current is not strong, too. The current will move both ways, depending on generation or pumpback at the dam.
During the summer stick with main lake points and humps or those in the bigger creeks. Shallow water near deep water is best, so a long shallow point with the channel bending off one side is an excellent place to set up.
Shark move into Georgia waters to spawn in the early summer and can be caught from piers on both Jekyll and St. Simons Islands. To beat the heat tie up under a bridge on West Point at night and catch crappie on minnows and jigs.

July

Species: Tarpon
What To Expect
Tarpon move into the coastal sounds and river mouths in the summer. These huge fish, some weighing 150 pounds, can be seen rolling and feeding on top in hot weather.
How To:
Cast a live menhaden to tarpon feeding on top in the Altamaha River Sound or drift near oyster beds with live menhaden free-lined in the current. An outgoing tide is usually best. You can also troll a big crankbait or cast a crankbait or spoon to the fish you see on top.
Anywhere the current breaks will attract feeding tarpon. Shell beds are good but so are ditch and creek mouths. Current coming out of the marsh grass pulls baitfish out where the tarpon feed on them.
Fish a spoon or spinner over grass in the lake at Hamburg State Park to catch Chain Pickerel, a cousin of the Northern Pike. Fish live bream in holes on outside bends of the Altamaha River for big Flathead Catfish.
August
Species: Blue Catfish
What To Expect
The state record blue cat, an 80 pound, 4 ounce monster, was caught in the upper end of Lake Andrews, below the Walter George dam, in the summer. There are many big catfish in the area.
How To
Fish live bream or cut shad in the current below the Walter George dam. When current is strong from power generation the bite will be better. Use a heavy sinker to get your bait to the bottom and keep it there in the current.
Fishing from a boat is best but you can catch fish from the fishing pier there, too. You need heavy tackle and line to land a big catfish. Smaller eating size cats are also common in these waters.
You can have a blast catching carp from a boat or the bank at Thurmond by baiting up a hole on a flat near deep water with sinking catfish food. The fishing pier at Amity Park is a good place to do this. Fish small shrimp from the Tybee island beeches in designated fishing areas to catch good eating whiting.

September

Species: Shoal Bass
What To Expect
Shoal bass fight hard and remind fishermen of smallmouth. Native to the Flint River, they inhabit the shoals all along the river from near Atlanta all the way to Lake Seminole.
How To
Access the river at any bridge and wade nearby shoals, fishing eddies and current with small crankbaits, spinners and Texas rigged worms. Fish your baits with the current, casting upstream as you wade.
You can also put a jon boat or canoe in and drift down to the next bridge to take out. Plan your trip for a section of the river that will match the time you have to fish. Stop and tie up at shoals and wade fish them, too.
Go up the river at Lake Harding and find gar in back-outs. Cast a spoon with a six inch frayed white nylon cord on the hook to them for fun and good eating. Cast a small topwater popper or spoon to surface feeding hybrids near the Highway 109 Causeway on West Point.
October

Species: Walleyes
What To Expect
Although walleyes are not abundant in Lake Raburn, you can catch decent numbers of two to four pound fish. The Walleye is claimed to be the best eating freshwater fish so catch some at Raburn in October to find out.
How To
At night, fish small minnows and earthworms on shallow points on the main lake. During the day fish nighcrawlers in 20 feet of water on channel edges near the points. Fish the nightcrawlers on the bottom with a small split shot
Light line is important to increase the number of bites you get as well as letting the walleyes fight more. Use six or eight pound line on a light to medium spinning outfit for the best action.
Bull Red Drum move into the shallows around St. Simons Island this month to feed and you can catch 30 pound fish on live shrimp from the beach. Fish earthworms ten feet deep around standing timber at Big Lazer PFA for big shellcracker.

November

Species: Rainbow Trout
What To Expect
The Toccoa River below Lake Blue Ridge dam produces consistent catches of eating size rainbow trout with the chance of a big fish. Several nine to ten pound rainbows have been collected during shocking sampling by the DNR.
How To
Wading the river in November can be cold but productive. Floating between access points in a canoe will keep you dry and give you access to less heavily fished spots.
You can use live bait like earthworms but no live minnows on the Toccoa River. Artificials for fly fishermen like nymphs, wet flies and streamers are best in November. Small spinners and minnow baits are good for spinning fishing.
Blue, channel and flathead catfish are common in the Coosa River, with blues up to 50 pounds caught each year. Fish wood cover with live bream. Good size crappie are caught at High Falls Lake by trolling minnows and small jigs in open water this month.

December

Species: Striped Bass
What To Expect
Ten to fifteen pound stripers are common on Lake Thurmond but 40 pounders are landed every December. The big fish will often be in very shallow water in the winter, chasing baitfish.
How To
Freeline live herring around main lake points and humps. Planer boards will help you get them up close to the bank, big stripers may be in very close and shallow. Also try going up the bigger creeks like Fishing and Soap Creek and Little River and fish the backs of the channels.
Baitfish are the key. Find the schools of bait and stripers will be nearby. Baitfish move up the creeks and back in coves in December and may be all the way in the back and the stripers, even very big ones, will be there, too. Big baits like an eight inch herring is usually best for big stripers, but if they are feeding on smaller herring or shad try smaller baits.
Lake Blue Ridge is the only lake in Georgia with a decent population of smallmouth bass. Fish main lake rocky points with small crankbaits and jig head worms to catch one. Good catches of big largemouth bass at Walter George are caught on the ledges on big crankbaits this time of year.

What Is Pro Angler Jimmy Houston Doing Now?

Catching up with pro angler Jimmy Houston

Editor’s Note: Today’s feature comes to us from Kevin Kelly at the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources
from The Fishing Wire

Jimmy Houston

The growth of outdoor television and an expanding library of videos available online means anglers no longer have to wait until weekend mornings to get their fill of fishing shows.

Viewers would tune in each week to ESPN, TBS and The Nashville Network to watch the likes of Jimmy Houston, Bill Dance, Roland Martin, Hank Parker, Jerry McKinnis and others catch big fish, and lots of them. As entertaining as it was, there was educational value. The shows introduced generations of anglers to new equipment and new lures, but also taught them new ways to fish.

“There is some satisfaction in the fact that you’ve been a part of the sport growing to what it is today,” Houston said.

Now in his early 70s, the pro bass angler from Oklahoma, known for his shaggy platinum blond hair, infectious giggle and penchant for planting kisses on fish, remains one of the sport’s best-known ambassadors. He continues to keep a busy schedule fishing selected tournaments, filming his television show and making personal appearances. Last summer, one of those appearances brought him to Kentucky.

Houston is no stranger to the state and raves about the quality of the fishing on Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake.

“Bass fishing is better right now than it’s ever been in the United States,” he said. “You have a lake right here close by, Kentucky Lake, and its sister lake, Lake Barkley, those are some of the greatest places to fish in the country.”

While in the state for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway – he drove the pace car – Houston filmed a segment fishing with Fox NASCAR in-race analyst Larry McReynolds at one of the ponds on the track’s property. McReynolds had never caught a fish before, Houston said.

“We caught eight or 10 bass and Larry caught two,” he said. “The first one he caught was about 12 inches long and his first question was, ‘Would that win a fishing tournament?’ I told him it depended on the tournament and how big they needed to be. But, no, that probably wouldn’t win any tournament. We still had a lot of fun.”

For anybody trying to teach a new angler to fish, one of the keys to success is keeping it fun and simple.

“Where so many of the dads make the mistake, particularly those who love to bass fish, is they want their kid bass fishing,” Houston said. “They go out there and throw a plastic worm around for two or three hours and don’t get a bite and think they’re going to get a bite on the next cast. A kid does it for about 20 minutes and says, ‘Dad, this isn’t fun.'”

Farm ponds, small lakes and any of the Fishing in Neighborhoods program lakes across the state are great places to take a new angler. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources stocks FINs lakes with rainbow trout and channel catfish. Some also receive stockings of hybrid sunfish.

“Start them out on something where they can catch fish,” Houston said. “Depending on where you are, that might be a lot of different species. It might simply be bluegill in a farm pond.

“A kid will have just as much fun catching bluegill because they can catch them. They don’t really have very long attention spans, so if they go very long without catching a fish they’re going to get bored with it.”

Houston’s daughter used to accompany her parents in the boat while they pre-fished before a tournament. When she got tired of fishing, she always had something else to keep her occupied.

“We’d let her bring all her toys and stuff,” Houston said. “She’d get down on the floor of the boat and make her a little tent by the console. She’d play with her toys, get up and fish for a little bit, and then she’d go back to playing.”

Many of the anglers who grew up watching fishing shows on weekend mornings are finding the roles reversed now. Teaching a new angler to fish helps ensure the future of the sport.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s NASCAR or baseball or football or anything. They’re the future,” Houston said. “So it’s an honor to get to take kids fishing. It really is.”

Author Kevin Kelly is a staff writer for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Get the latest from Kevin and the entire Kentucky Afield staff by following them on Twitter: @kyafield.

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