Rod Holder for Easier Kayak Angling


Turn Your Rod Holder Around for Easier Kayak Angling
by YakGear President Bill Bragman
from The Fishing Wire

It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks. Through the combination of kayak fishing for most of my adult life and working in the paddlesports industry during this period of incredible growth, this old dog thought he knew most of the tricks.I was wrong.

Recently I had the pleasure of traveling to New Zealand to meet with our friends from RAILBLAZA. While the usual work, product development and distribution talks were very exciting, I was most excited for the opportunity to get out on the water with these kayak fishing experts!

With few to no inland waterways, most kayak fishing trips are done in 40 to 100 feet of water. My dependable 6-foot YakStick Mud Anchor wasn’t going to cut it. Jason Milne, better known in the industry as Paddle Guy, picked me up at 5:30 a.m. and we were off.We hauled our kayaks out to the water on C-Tugs and began to load up the kayaks for a surf launch.

Just as I have always done, I put the RAILBLAZA Rod Holder II in a StarPort facing the bow of the kayak. Jason laughed.“Sit down in the paddling position,” he told me. As I got comfortable, Jason used the slide-locking mechanism on the RAILBLAZA base to pop the rod holder out, turned it around and raised it to an almost vertical position.

The light bulb popped on inside my head before he even finished setting the rod holders into place. It was the first time I did not have to scoot forward to reach past my knees to grab my rod out of the front-mounted rod holder. The paradigm of a forward-facing rod holder was so embedded in my brain that I forgot to consider just how impractical the setup was!

The once impractical and time-consuming process of either scooting forward or stretching like a gymnast – because kayak anglers are super flexible, right? – was finally comfortable and quick!

The benefits of turning my rod holder around became clearer than the beautiful blue New Zealand water. Think about how different aspects of kayak fishing could be made much easier with this added quickness and comfort.

Changing Lures In the past, if I wanted to change my lure I would either have to scoot or stretch to get the rod and lay it in my lap. Leashes and all, having a rod unsecured in your lap is always risky. The more unsecured the rod is, the higher the chances of a mistake happening are. You never know when the rod will slip, you will lose balance or the hook will catch some unsuspecting piece of flesh.By having the rod holder mounted almost vertically and facing me, the lure literally dropped into my lap and I was able to easily apply my bait or change my lure.

Rod Retrieval In New Zealand, trolling is the way to go kayak fishing! Trolling with my rod holder turned around allowed me to easily see when I was getting action on my line. While shortening my reaction time to grabbing my rod is great, the real benefit comes from the how easy the rod is to retrieve. With one quick swoop of my rod, I was fighting the fish quicker than ever before because I eliminated the “scoot” to the front facing rod holder or the “turn and grab” to the rear-mounted rod holder.Think about the importance of a quick rod retrieval to sight casters! How much could simply turning the rod holder around help stalking a redfish in the flats? You’re quicker, more comfortable and thus quieter.

Landing a Fish As easy as it was to retrieve, mounting the rod back into the rod holder was equally easy. You don’t have to go much further than a search for kayak fishing on YouTube to see that, when folks get a fish close to the kayak, they lay their rod across their lap.Wouldn’t this rod be safer in the rod holder? Wouldn’t the process of landing a fish be much easier with two hands on the fish and none on the rod?

But it Looks Funny, Right? It may look funny to some people. You know, it’s not the classic “two back rod holders angled at 45 degrees and one front rod holder facing straight over the bow.” It looked funny to me at first. However, with all the benefits that turning your rod holder around provides, you won’t catch this dog on the water ever again without showing off the new trick he learned!
Turn your rod holder around for easier kayak fishing, even if it looks funny

Ducks, Unlimited, A Conservation Organization for All

If there were no hunters, there would be no wild game animals in the United States. With no Ducks, Unlimited, there would be no wild ducks in the North America.

    Hunters are the original conservationists.  We prize natural areas and the wild animals and birds that inhabit them.  Ducks, Unlimited, founded in 1937 with the goal of preserving natural habitat that ducks require, started a movement of similar groups.

    Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and many organizations have followed Ducks, Unlimited’s lead.  All raise money to preserve habitat and study the habits and needs of their favorite game animal or bird, and all want to increase the habitat needed.

    Ducks, Unlimited holds banquets where money is raised to further those goals.  For the price of a ticket, a good meal is served and there are raffles and auctions of items mostly related to duck hunting. Locally, the Pike County Sportsman’s Night Out will be held Thursday, October 10 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the Strickland Building in Concord.

    It will be a fun night of fellowship with like minded sportsmen and conservationists, and you can go home with a full stomach, happy face and some great equipment.  Plan to attend, some tickets are still available by calling Roy Brooks at 678–858-6482 or Kel Brannon at 770-468-7871 and tickets will be available at the door.  Individual tickets are only $35 and couples are $60.

    Ducks, Unlimited looks at the big picture, working all over North America to accomplish its goal of wetland conservation. More than 14 million acres of waterfowl habitat in North America have been conserved across our continent since its founding, focusing its efforts and resources on habitats that are most beneficial to waterfowl. 

    But it pays attention to smaller details, too.  Here in Georgia, more then 27,000 acres of habitat have been conserved.  Georgia is part of the Atlantic Flyway and some waterfowl hatched in more northern areas of the US and Canada depend on Georgia wetlands for winter habitat.

    Our coastal wetlands provide necessary winter habitat for diving and puddle ducks, from lesser scaups to green wing teal and wigeon.  Interior parts of the state include river bottoms and beaver ponds where thousands of mallards and wood ducks survive the winter.  Reservoirs are important to ring-necked ducks, canvasbacks and wood ducks.  

    Last year in Georgia, 150 events raised 2.1 million dollars to help conserve 27,310 acres in our state. And 97 thousand dollars from our state were used for habitat in Canada, where many of our ducks are produced.  Without those nesting areas, our duck population would be greatly reduced.

    Some of the projects in Georgia include restoration of managed wetlands on the Altamaha Wildlife Management Area, a priority for our coastal area.

    Ducks, Unlimited works with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources on the coast and other places, like the Silver Lake Wildlife Management Area near Lake Seminole. There, an additional 2840 acres of mostly upland habitat that protects the wetlands, a necessary precaution, have been secured. And upland habitat benefits deer, turkey and small game.

    At the Cordele Fish Hatchery in Crisp County a Ducks, Unlimited project helped restore an existing 48-acre lake where the levee was damaged by heavy rains.  Vegetation control helped remove trees and bushes and allow the types of vegetation waterfowl need to grow. This area is a wildlife viewing area where you can see songbirds and ducks and the efforts will increase numbers as well as diversity of those species.

    At the Penholoway Swamp Wildlife Management Area high quality bottom land hardwood forest as well as nearby uplands have been enhanced.  This area has tidal swamp forest as well as other habitats in Wayne County, and is open to many kinds of public recreation as well as hunting.

    At the Blanton Creek Wildlife Management Area on Bartletts Ferry Lake, two water control structures were built near the Chattahoochee River to increase vegetation suitable for ducks and other water birds. It covers 50 acres and Ducks, Unlimited worked with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources as well as the

Georgia Power Company on it.

    In Colquitt County on the Mayhaw Wildlife Management Area 50 acres were restored through the installation of a water control structure and perimeter levees to provide suitable habitat for emergent marsh vegetation.  Some waterfowl foods were also planted there.

     Working with the University of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources near Eatonton, Ducks, Unlimited helped construct a series of dikes and water control structures on Indian Creek to form a pond in hardwood habitat.

    Near Gay in Meriwether County, 50 acres of waterfowl habitat on the Joe Kurz Wildlife Management Area on the Flint River was restored with a water controls structure that will help wood ducks and mallards as well as others.

          These and many other projects in our state have already made a difference here and will continue to help wildlife in the future, thanks to Ducks, Unlimited and their partners.

          Ducks, Unlimited’s efforts benefit all wildlife, not just ducks, and provides recreation benefits to everyone to all who value nature.

    If you don’t want to attend a local banquet, join this conservation organization to help their efforts.  Right now, your $35 annual membership fee includes a nice fleece jacket.  Anyone that values natural habitat, from hunters and bird watchers to fishermen and hikers should be proud to be members.

    Go to https://www.ducks.org to join and find out more about this important conservation organization.

Fishing Flatfish for Fall Salmon


Fishing Flatfish for Fall Salmon
by Yakima Pro Cody Herman
from The Fishing Wire

As the nights become cooler and the rains begin to fall, salmon begin their upward migration to the waters where they were born in hopes of creating future generations. These crisp fall days also push anglers off the big open water and into the smaller tributaries in search of kings and coho.

The past several years have introduced many new techniques to salmon fishermen across the country. However, one lure seems to produce year in and year out: the venerable Flatfish -20’s to T-60 sized Flatfish have produced consistent action for anglers for decades. From backtrolling smaller rivers to casting and retrieving, the Flatfish continues to be one of the most versatile lures in a salmon angler’s tackle box.

To be better prepared for the fall salmon season, let’s go through the keys of successfully utilizing Flatfish.

Size: Flatfish are commonly used for Chinook, Coho and Chum Salmon. Chinook especially seem to key in on the heavy thump and action created from this lure. In selecting the proper size, one must first determine how their Flatfish will be rigged:

Flatline, lead dropper or behind a diver. If simply flatlining, knowing the depth each size of Flatfish can dive is important. While MagLips are designed for faster currents and deeper water, the wide action of a Flatfish will dive shallower but give off a heavy vibration. By adding a lead dropper or a diver, an angler can fish deeper holes with smaller sized flatfish if the fish seem to be keying in on a specific size or action. In most cases the M-2 and T-50 sizes seem to be the most popular among fishermen.

Color: Every angler has their favorite color. And, in turn, so do the fish. One color may be lights out on your home river, but may not work as well on a different system. The best line to remember is: “Never argue with the fish!”

Always start your day with a good spread of colors. Figure out which colors the fish seem to be reacting to and lock down your colors for the rest of the day! However, as the sun gets high, cloud cover comes in or the fog rolls through, a salmon’s color preference may change quickly!

Also, on heavily pressured systems, try to use colors the fish have yet to see during the day. If everyone is running red/gold…try green/chrome. Give the fish a different look! As these salmon make their way upstream, the rods and cones in their eyes will change, just like their physical appearance. This means fish will key in on different colors depending on how long they have been in fresh water.

To keep things simple, choose colors with variations of red and green, solid colors and metallics. But…always have a couple colors that you think are “off the wall” and no salmon in their right mind would bite…that color may end up being your hot lure one day!

Scent: The larger Flatfish in M-2 to T-60 have a large enough lip and surface area to allow anglers to “wrap” bait on the bottom of the lure to add a consistent scent trail.Natural bait ranging from tuna to roe, sardines, herring and more have all been used successfully.

One new product that has gained a lot of traction among West Coast fishermen is called “Fish Nip” from Pro-Cure. This Tuna based bait stores easily in tackle boxes and remains fresh for weeks on end. It is a bait that an angler can add their favorite oils to enhance their Flatfish with a scent that lasts for hours. The most important thing to remember regardless of the wrap you use…a little goes a long way! Try not to wrap too much bait onto a Flatfish. These lures have been designed to create a fish-catching action. Adding too much weight can alter the action.

Flatfish have been a staple among salmon anglers not only because they can produce bites in difficult conditions, but because of their consistency. There are many techniques fishermen use to illicit a bite from a fish that can be difficult to catch because of its “one track mind” during the Fall months. Diversifying your approach is always encouraged…but don’t forget about Flatfish!

New Technology for Fishing

By David Rainer
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
from The Fishing Wire

While perusing social media during this seemingly endless summer, I kept seeing photos of slab crappie that were coming from the Alabama River.Wait, I thought those slabs were caught in the spring when the crappie are spawning or in the fall when the weather and water temperatures have considerably cooled.

Turns out, these anglers were taking advantage of the latest technology to defy the common theory that big crappie are hard to catch during the dog days of summer, which appear set to last into October this year.

I remember well the first Humminbird flasher my late father installed on his boat and how it helped him locate his favorite structure. It was a big deal way back then.Considering we hold far more computer power in our hands when we are using our smartphones than the entire Apollo space program had during their trips to the moon, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the latest fish-finding technology could change the way anglers approach a day on the water.

When I asked Joe Allen Dunn how in the world they were catching those slab crappie, he responded, “You need to come see for yourself.”That’s exactly what happened. While other anglers are using the Humminbird HELIX and Lowrance HDS, Dunn and Brent Crow, a bass-fishing guide and tournament angler on the Tennessee River, opted to go with the Garmin Panoptix with LiveScope.

When Dunn eased his boat into one of the many flats off the main Alabama River at Millers Ferry, I couldn’t imagine crappie of any size would be anywhere but deep water during this oppressive stretch of hot weather.I was wrong, completely. Over went the trolling motor and Dunn began scanning for the structure that are typically crappie havens during cooler weather, or so I thought.Rigged with 16-foot poles and spinning reels, we attached minnows to the double-hook rigs with either bare hooks, jigs with curly-tail plastic baits or Road Runner lures.

We dropped the bait about 8 feet down and started easing toward the structure as Dunn eyed the screen.While I watched the rod tips on my side, Dunn watched the screen as we approached the structure.Suddenly, a rod tip flexed and the hook was set on a nice crappie.On the next approach, Dunn said, “You can even see your minnows, look here.” I looked at the screen and, sure enough, I could see the minnows dangling above the structure.

Then I saw something that I never expected. I saw a swirl in the structure and the fish came up and grabbed the bait. “Holy mackerel” was my response as I set the hook.We started our venture at first light because of the heat and called it a day 4 hours later with 10 nice crappie in the livewell. About twice that many had been caught and released.

“We’ve been trolling for a long time,” Dunn said. “Everybody thinks the slough fish or shallow-water fish are gone or they don’t bite anymore. We proved today that the fish are still there, and they will bite. A lot of people don’t get in the sloughs this time of year and look for structure. Live bait is a big factor until it cools off.”Dunn said before he was introduced to the new technology, the traditional way to catch crappie was to hit the deep river ledges, bouncing baits off the bottom when power production from the dam created current.

“It all revolved around when they were pulling water,” he said. “For river fish, you have to have that moving water. It keeps them tight to the wood, and you can do better.“This new technology is not going to make fish magically appear in front of you. You’ve still got to work to find the fish. The down- and side-imaging helps you locate these fish. But you had to fish so hard to find them.

“Now, I can hit the GPS and mark it. I can drop a buoy and get the boat situated to face into the wind, and then you use the LiveScope to move back and forth on the structure. You don’t have to troll all over the place to find it. It keeps you from disturbing the fish. That’s the key to it. You can keep your bait in the strike zone all the time now.”

Dunn learned about the technology from James “Big Daddy” Lawler, who had been out on crappie guide Gerald Overstreet’s boat equipped with technology.“I’ve been fishing for crappie for 32 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it,” Lawler said. “It’s totally changed the way I look at crappie fishing. I went into Pine Barren Creek and caught fish in 5 feet of water. I never would have believed that.”

Dunn said crappie anglers don’t have to adopt the new technology and will continue to catch fish, but it certainly has changed his thought process.“Used to, we would just give up on these fish when it’s hot,” Dunn said. “We wouldn’t go into these sloughs and work to find them. Now I will.“This is all new to me. Each phase of the season will be a new learning experience. Once the water temperature changes and the fish move around, I’ll have to use this to see where they go.

”Typically, Dunn said when temperatures drop in the fall, crappie anglers are hitting river ledges that are 18 to 20 feet deep. He can’t wait to find out if that pattern is the only way to catch fish when fall finally arrives.“These fish in the sloughs and creeks, I don’t know what they’re going to do,” Dunn said. “They might not even move until it’s time to spawn.

”In the lakes in north Alabama, Crow obviously targets black bass, largemouths and smallmouths.“When you see a fish within 30 feet of the boat, you can see his tail and fins as he swims with LiveScope,” Crow said. “I’ve been running Panoptix and LiveScope for three years. I can’t fish without it. It’s not just seeing fish. It also shows you stumps, grass, drop-offs and ledges. You know exactly where you sit. It eliminates a lot of the guesswork in positioning your boat.

“For suspended fish, it’s just remarkable. I have caught so many fish that I would never have thrown at without it. I would never have had a clue those fish were there. But even at places that are shallow, like Guntersville, it’ll show you the eel grass. You see the edges or isolated clumps of grass. You don’t have to guess.”

Crow said there are limitations for this technology during certain times of the year.“You’re not going to see them if they’re spawning in 3 feet of water,” he said. “Any other time – the summer, winter and fall – it works. At Smith Lake or Lake Martin, you pull up on a point and look with the LiveScope. If there’s not any fish there, you don’t have to spend 15 minutes casting to find that out. You can see it in 30 seconds. It makes you way more efficient.

“You can learn about fish behavior too. They don’t necessarily sit still. You can catch one and see that all the rest of them have moved. Sometimes it’s frustrating because you can watch a fish follow your bait to the boat and never bite. It’s an eye-opening deal. If I get in somebody’s boat that doesn’t have it, I feel like I don’t have a chance. I’m kind of lost.”

Crow said the technology is especially impressive when he’s casting surface lures.“When I’m fishing topwater, you can see your bait on the surface, and then you see the fish come straight up and eat it,” he said. “It’s awesome. When I’m guiding, I’ll watch the client’s bait and see the fish coming. I tell them, ‘He’s fixing to get it.’ They set the hook and say, ‘How’d you know that?’“I had one guy who told me, ‘Don’t tell me that. I jerk too quick.’”

Of course, the new technology is not for everybody. It’s expensive, but that seldom stops anglers. Crow recommends a graph with at least a 9-inch screen, which will cost you about $1,000. The LiveScope tacks on another $1,500. For Crow, he says the benefits far outweigh the cost.Crow said he also found out the technology works in muddy water after a tournament on Toledo Bend on the Louisiana-Texas border.

“The water looked like chocolate milk,” he said. “Every fish I caught during the tournament I saw on the graph. It gives you so much of an advantage over somebody who doesn’t have it, it’s unreal.”

Archery Season for Deer

Archery season is in full swing and the cooler nights have deer moving.  I still can’t shoot a rifle due to my port, but I got out my old crossbow and put out some corn about 20 yards from my box stand.  Deer are eating it, so I hope to harvest some meat this year although I have never killed a deer with a bow.

    I say “harvest” not hunt, since I do not consider shooting game over bait hunting.  But since it is legal now, it is ok to shoot deer over bait. Just don’t call it hunting.

    Some big bucks are already being killed with bows this year. Many of them are killed in metro counties where there is no gun season. Those bucks have adapted to living around houses in small wooded areas, and avoiding cars, growing big.

Fall Bass


Power-Pole Pro Tips for Fall Trophy Bass
From The Fishing Wire

As we ease into autumn, largemouth bass all across the country are priming up to feed. Here, some of our top Power-Pole pros provide insights into their favorite baits to throw when targeting the largest of the brawny bucketmouth bass:

“All the conditions start to change in fall,” says tournament pro Dean Rojas. “Water temps start dropping down into the 50s, and that sparks gizzard shad to move up into the shallows to feed on algae. The run of shad really sets off bass fishing.”Rojas’ top big-bass lure is the Spro Squarebill Crankbait.“I throw the Squarebill with a 6:1 ratio reel and present a moderate retrieve. I’ll focus on fishing areas of transition where banks slide down into deeper water,” Rojas says. “As well, the lure works anywhere in the low country and around rock piles.

”“In fall, big fish are lookin’ for big baits,” notes 2012 Bassmaster Classic winner Chris Lane. “The gizzard shad are really running in October, and they tend to hang all up on the banks around the grasslines — and that’s where you’ll intercept bass.”Lane’s go-to offering to mimic gizzard shad is the River2Sea Top Notch and Big Mistake lures, notably in the Terminator and Pac-man color patterns. The boisterous prop bait garners aggressive strikes from bigmouths, as its commotion attracts fish from afar to inspect its noise.

“Fish are definitely keying in on topwater baits in fall,” says Bassmaster pro Bobby Lane. “This time of year, they are roaming from the shallows into the depths, and I need something that can cover a ton of water. That’s when I throw the Berkley Choppo. Usually, I go with bone or black color patterns and work it on a heavy rod and reel with an 8:1 retrieve ratio.”Lane notes that bait pushes up on the shallows, and he starts by prospecting with a medium 105-size lure first, but if he’s getting short bit, will graduate to a larger 120 model.

“I can throw the Choppo in 2 feet of water or 50 feet of water — it works to attract fish from all around to strike,” he says. “I literally just got off the water right now from throwing it. It’s the perfect bait for fall bass.”Put these three lures in your back pocket and watch your hawg catches elevate this fall season.

Young Climate Change Activists

Last week I watched with sad amusement the kids protesting “climate change.”  I wonder how many of them live in cities where their only contact with the natural world is walking by a park surrounded by buildings.

    Country kids and adults are in contact with the real, natural world and see weather changing constantly. We see cycles in the weather and have all our lives.  But climate change true believers insist if they don’t spent huge amounts of our money to do “something” about the weather  we are all gonna die soon.

    The funniest thing I saw was a reporter interviewing some young, gullible activists.  He asked them what they, personally, would give up to protect the climate.  Their cell phones, expensive clothes, air conditioning, travel and other things? 

    The confused look and sputtering answers were priceless. They want others to give up things, never themselves.

Frog Bass

Frog Fish


Time to Get Froggy for Largemouths
By Frank Sargeant, Editor
from The Fishing Wire

With the first day of fall officially proclaimed for Monday, Sept. 23, it’s time to get froggy at lakes across the South.Fishing with weedless frogs has become a “thing” along the weedy shorelines of many lakes since years ago when anglers discovered they could crawl frog imitations across the moss beds, hydrilla tops and lily pads and lure big bass up through the cover to eat the imitation amphibians.

The tactic works pretty much anywhere there are largemouths and a lot of surface cover—the spread of hydrilla throughout Florida, for example, has created near endless froggin’ opportunities in the Sunshine State.The specialized lures are a big part of the presentation. They have frog-like bodies of soft hollow plastic, with a double hook that rides on either side of the body, barbs up.

The idea is that the hook arrangement slides across the top of even the gnarliest weeds without snagging, but when a bass grabs the bait, it squeezes the body flat and gets stuck on the hooks.Legs of flexible silicone or rubber trail behind to create a swimming effect when the lure is twitched. It’s primarily a fall tactic for two reasons.

First, shorter hours of sunshine and longer nights allow the lakes to cool, making the shallows more comfortable for bass that have spent the summer in deeper water. And secondly, the weeds reach their maximum growth as summer ends and fall begins, often topping out and forming surface mats ideal for froggin’. 

Anglers who practice the tactic a lot, like Guntersville, Alabama, guide Mike Gerry, who fishes mostly SPRO frogs, say the best areas to fish are over water 2 to 4 feet deep where the weeds and moss have topped out and started to dry, turning the color of browned cheese atop a pizza. This means the mat is thick and has been there a while, so it’s more likely to hold bait—and bass.

Other froggin’ fans like Captain Mike Carter, also a Lake Guntersville guide, say that a good weedbed has a distinctive sound. Because there are lots of grass shrimp and other small creatures in the moss, it attracts bluegills, frogs and small baitfish, which make a clicking or popping sound as they suck in the food. These fish, in turn, attract large bass—thus a good bed has a particular sound.

There are also sometimes “blow holes” in a good bed where bass have been actively feeding, knocking openings in the otherwise matted surface.

Snagproof apparently built the first version of the weedless frog many years back, but now most manufacturers have a frog in their lineup; Strike King has the KVD Sexy Frog, LIVETARGET has the Hollow Body Frog and the new Free-Style Frog, and Booyah has the Pad Crasher. All of them catch fish when conditions are right.  

Fishing the lures is simple. Gear has to be stout because of the heavy cover—many use 40-to 65-pound test braid and a 7.5 foot medium-heavy baitcasting rig, which will have the power to derrick a large bass and several pounds of weeds to the boat.

The frog is thrown across the bed and worked back in a series of short twitches with frequent pauses, particularly when it crosses any areas of open water.The only trick to froggin’ is to avoid setting the hook too soon. When a fish hits, there’s an initial splash that sometimes triggers anglers to instantly strike, but that often pulls the lure away from the fish. It works better to hesitate just a second while the fish chomps down on the soft, realistic feel of the lure, then set the hook.

Fights tend to be short in froggin’. Either you get the fish’s head up and hydroplane it across the surface to the boat, or it bogs down in 50 pounds of weeds and you have to trolling motor in after it and put the lip-lock on it.Froggin’ does not work on a consistent basis in most lakes, which is why it’s a niche tactic reserved only for fall in many areas. In fact, even in fall on  a good froggin’ lake like Guntersville, Eufaula or Kissimmee, you can go for hours sorting through mossbeds, hydrilla jungles, maiden cane stands and duckweed puddles before you find one where a school of bass is feeding. But when you do it’s one of the more exciting types of bass fishing anywhere and you might pull three or four fish in the five-pound range out of one stretch of cover. 

The frog bite is on right now through most of the south, and usually continues until the first cold front of November, when the surface weeds start to turn black and north winds break them up, driving the fish back to the depths until they head shoreward again in March to spawn. In Florida, the tactic can work pretty much year around, though there are other, better methods for spring and summer.

Fishing for Red Snapper


The Long Road to Recovery for Red Snapper


A new method for managing the fish will allow more flexible fishing seasons across the Gulf. 
Joe Richards, Seafavorites.com
from The Fishing Wire

A new method for managing red snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico is under way, capping off decades of fighting over one of the Gulf of Mexico’s most famous fish.The approach gives each Gulf state the authority to set red snapper fishing rules for anglers in federal waters—a system that provides flexibility but also requires states to shorten future seasons if the Gulf-wide catch limit is exceeded.

Federal authorities, who previously managed recreational red snapper fishing in federal waters and still regulate commercial and charter-boat fishing of the species, will work with state officials to monitor, study, and collect data on red snapper.The new system began two years ago as a pilot program, and federal officials must give final approval for it to become permanent.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is taking public comments through Oct. 7 here. Reduced catch limits have helped the red snapper population steadily recover from decades of overfishing. Joe Richards, Seafavorites.comHere’s a look back at key moments in the Gulf of Mexico red snapper story and a glimpse of what’s to come.

1950-1980s: Commercial and recreational catch skyrockets, rapidly depleting the red snapper population.

Late 1980s: Fishery managers implement regulations, including bag and size limits, but these are not enough to help the species recover.

 1990: Gulf red snapper hit a dangerously low level—just 2 percent of the population’s spawning potential—due to decades of overfishing (removing fish faster than they can be replaced through reproduction) and unintended catch in shrimp trawls. Fishery managers set a target of at least 26 percent for a stable population.  

1997-1998: Fishery managers require shrimp fishermen to install devices in trawl nets to reduce incidental catch of juvenile red snapper. 

2005: A federal recovery plan for red snapper begins after conservation groups sue over lack of progress in rebuilding the population.

2006: Regulators begin setting science-based catch limits for Gulf red snapper as Congress works to strengthen its federal fishery law, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

2007-2008: Managers significantly reduce catch limits for commercial, charter, and recreational fishermen and implement a quota system that reserves a certain amount of red snapper for a limited number of commercial fishermen—a program that successfully keeps commercial catch at sustainable amounts.

2009: Federal fishery managers announce overfishing is projected to end and begin raising annual catch limits. However, the population still has not fully recovered, partly because there aren’t enough older fish, which are the most productive spawners. Scientists project full recovery will take until 2032.

2013: A new federal stock assessment of the red snapper population shows overfishing has ended.

Mid-to-late 2010s: As Gulf red snapper show signs of recovery—a population increase, expanded range, and larger, older individuals—debate heats up over how to divide still-limited catch among recreational, charter, and commercial fishermen. As a group, recreational fishermen exceed their quotas nearly every year.

2014: A court rules the recreational catch excesses must end. Federal regulators begin setting progressively shorter seasons to account for higher catches in state-controlled waters and associated overages. 

2015: As anger grows over catch allocation and to better control catch, fishery managers—in a contentious vote—adopt distinct catch limits for recreational anglers and charter captains, setting the stage to allow different types of management.  

2016: Managers approve revising the amount of red snapper allocated to the recreational and commercial fisheries. However, a lawsuit by the commercial fishermen overturns that change. “Re-allocation” continues to be a tense issue.

2017: Federal managers set a three-day red snapper season, saying longer state seasons are using up allowable Gulf quota. This infuriates and confuses fishermen. Ultimately, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce creates a 39-day federal season. Also, fishery managers vote to require charter captains to keep electronic logbooks documenting amounts of catch.

2018: Federal managers launch a pilot program granting states the right to set recreational seasons in U.S. waters but say states must continue to meet Magnuson-Stevens act requirements for science-based catch limits. States participate using their own data collection programs.  The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, after changing the threshold for Gulf red snapper and other reef fish, determines it is no longer overfished but keeps a rebuilding plan in place, with a goal of returning the population to full health by 2032.

The Future: Red snapper’s long history is rife with hard decisions and sacrifice, but this once-dwindling species is on the road to recovery. If the rebuilding plan stays on track, anglers can expect a healthier population, bigger fish, higher catch limits, and more fishing days. Managers and fishermen have overcome some of the most difficult hurdles and have ideas about how to resolve those that remain.

With each state using its own method to collect data, NOAA Fisheries will need to standardize information to monitor fishing rates and catch and to assess the population Gulf-wide. Fishery managers likely will continue to struggle with allocating catch between commercial and recreational fishermen.

And one major cause of red snapper mortality remains a problem: Even though anglers and commercial fishermen must release red snapper under certain conditions, the fish often don’t survive being brought to the surface from deeper than 100 feet. Descending tools can help alleviate this problem if used widely and properly.   It’s been a long saga for red snapper, but the future for fishing and this iconic species is promising.

Holly Binns directs The Pew Charitable Trusts’ efforts to protect ocean life in the Gulf of Mexico and the U.S. Caribbean
Catching red snapper

A group of recreational anglers fish for red snapper.

Hydrowave H2 Review

Hydrowave H2 Review

The TH Marine Hydrowave H2 is a unit that plays a sound through an underwater speaker that is usually mounted on a trolling motor. The sounds it plays are supposed to represent sounds that make fish feed. The Hydrowave H2 has a variety of choices of sounds, from crawfish on gravel, one of my favorites, to deep bait to blueback herring, a good one on herring lakes like Clarks Hill and Lanier.

Does it work? Honestly, I do not know, but I always have it playing during tournaments.

Many of the pros I have done Map of the Month articles with for Alabama and Georgia Outdoor News swear by it, even those not sponsored by the company and have to buy their own units. That means a lot to me, the ones not sponsored using it.

One experience indicates it does work. While fishing a club tournament at Lake Lanier during the herring spawn, I stopped off a seawall where the spotted bass had been schooling. There was no surface activity at all.

When I got up front and put my trolling motor in the water, with the Hydrowave H2 playing the herring spawn, the water off the seawall exploded with several big spots chasing baitfish. Like a dummy, I had not picked up my rod first, and by the time I unstrapped it and was ready to cast, the fish had disappeared. From then on I have my rod ready to cast when putting the unit in the water.

I have had my unit for about two years and have done well in many tournaments when the fishing was very tough. It gives me a little extra confidence when it is on, always an important factor.

The unit is not cheap, costing about $400.00. Is it worth it?

My old unit died last week, out of warranty that last one year, but I ordered another one to replace it. That is how much I believe in it. Since I was replacing an old unit, they did give me a good discount on the new one.