Just a Walk on the Beach

Serenity.  Peace.  One with nature.  The thrill of discovery and the satisfaction of the find.  The gentle slapping of waves against the shoreline acting as natures sorting machine while lulling you into imagining what life must have been like 65 million years ago along these waters.  That pretty much describes my experiences while beachcombing for fossilized shark teeth.  And it's even better as a family activity.  Imagine walking a beach, perhaps having the beach all to yourself with the only stress being how to navigate by wading around fallen trees or other obstacles, or perhaps climbing over them, to get to fresh collecting areas.  And it's even better when you have someone to share it with.

With fossil material all over the beach, all you have to do is enjoy the peace and quiet, and pick the fossils up off the beach.  What a great activity to share with my daughter, and bring home some of natures treasures as well.

In my case, it's a perfect way for me to bond with my daughter.  We've been collecting shark teeth and other fossils together for many years now.  Each trip results in the satisfaction of finding shark teeth, but more important than that, memories that last a lifetime sharing the experience with a loved one.  The great thing about my daughter now, is that although she's grown into a lovely college aged woman, she still loves to go with me.  And now she's getting back into fishing too, which is even better.

Our last trip was to a location where the finds consisted of Palaeocene shark, ray, and reptilian fossils.  For more information on fossils from this era, check out my post titled, "Catching Prehistoric Sharks".  We took some good friends from New York that were down for the weekend on a fossiling trip along with us in hopes of finding Otodus obliquus teeth, fossilized teeth of a gigantic great white shark of that era that grew from thirty to forty feet in length or perhaps some of the rarer teeth from that era.

Otodus obliquus, far left, was believed to be an ancestor of the famous gigantic shark Carcharocles megalodon (far right).

Palaeocarcharodon orientalis.  Photo courtesy of Kevin May.

We all had a goal of finding teeth from two species of fossilized shark teeth from that time are very rare, the pygmy great white shark Palaeocarcharodon orientalis, and a bottom dwelling shark similar to todays cat sharks, Paraorthacodus clarkii, along with the impressive Otodus teeth.  You also have a chance to find crocodile and ratfish teeth.  But the most common type of tooth found there are those of the sand tiger sharks.

Sand tiger sharks were the dominant species of that time.  Not that they were the most dominant of sharks, rather, the number of species of that type of shark far outnumbered other types of sharks.

Last week, one of our friends found a worn but rather large (for this location) Palaeocarcharodon orientalis tooth within the first ten minutes after our arrival.  Amazing.  You never know what or when you'll find something like that!  My daughter and I weren't so lucky, but we did manage to find a good many shark teeth including some nice Otodus obliquus teeth and a pile of sand tiger shark teeth.

Otodus teeth like this one found by my daughter a couple years ago of this size are rare.  Although we didn't find any like this one on this trip, we did find several teeth up to an inch and a half long though, which are also a nice addition to our collection.



Although I didn't find the rare teeth, I did manage to find six nice Otodus teeth (top row) with the biggest having a slant height of an inch and a half.  I also found a piece of pottery (bottom left).



My daughter's finds on the trip, including a crocodile tooth (bottom left just above that piece of turtle shell).  She found some huge sand tiger shark teeth too (second and third row).

Finding shark teeth on the beach can be easy as some of them just seem to appear by themselves on the beach.  Others are much tougher to find because they blend in with the rocks, pebbles, sand and shell fragments making them difficult to see.  All it takes is one wave to wash away some sand and uncover a tooth.  There are other fossils there too, like internal molds of gastropods or even entire shells.  I've added a few of these to my collection over the years, but my preference is to collect vertebrate fossils, especially shark teeth.

Although I prefer to collect vertebrate fossils like shark teeth but have added some gastropod fossils to my collection over the years, sometimes it's nice to find them all in one nice neat package.  Here is a shark tooth in matrix combined with an internal mold of the gastropod, Turritella.

See the Otodus tooth?  It's to the right of my skimmer tool.

Here's a close up of the Otodus tooth.

All it takes is one wave to wash a little sand away and uncover a tooth (center).

When the wave clears, here's the treasure left behind.  A nice sized Otodus tooth.

We also observed tournament anglers practicing for a big tournament later that weekend.  Prior to them moving to our location, large fish were feeding on the surface just a cast off shore.  The commotion was far too much for largemouth bass, so my guess was that they were either large striped bass feeding on shad or herring, or perhaps big blue catfish.  Either way, the fish busting the surface were massive.  I wondered if any of those anglers had hooked anything like that during the day while targeting largemouth.

Another plus while beachcombing for shark teeth is that you often see things that most people don't get to see when it comes to nature.  Like hunting and fishing, fossil collectors often encounter wildlife.  Sometimes we'll encounter deer, fox, mink, or just about any animal that frequents a river bank.  The other day, we found a breeding pair of five lined skink.  These beautiful lizards could care less that we were there and let us sneak up to take a picture.

We were able to sneak up and take a picture of this breeding pair of five lined skinks. 

So, last week we had a great time sharing a fossiling spot with our friends Mike, Mike and Nick from New York.  In return, they invited us to collect at some of their spots further North.  I think that we'll take them up on their offer.  We had a great time socializing with them and collecting.

For me, any time I can get out with my daughter outdoors is a great day, whether it's finding shark teeth on the beach or out on a fishing trip.  I can't think of a better way to spend time with someone you care about.  Can you?

Nanofil - FBO's Final Analysis and Review

I've used Nanofil exclusively on my open water spinning tackle, with the four pound test on my ultralight panfish set up, and for my bass and walleye finesse fishing rigs, I'm sold on the twelve pound test.

Using the twelve pound Nanofil allows me to put the boots to 'em on my hooksets.  I no longer worry about break offs and still get great casting distance while casting all of my finesse bass stuff.

Why twelve pound?  Because I was tired of breaking off on the hook set.  It was too much for my feeble mind to remember to hold back.  I like to put the boots to the fish on the hookset.  It's habit, and I've been doing it for years.  The good thing using the twelve pound test is that, although I've sacrificed the casting distance that the thinner diameter Nanofil had to offer, I'm still casting further than any other line that I've used in the past, and I have yet to break a fish off on the hook set.

Edit:  When I had problems with the lighter versions of Nanofil, I was used a Palomar and Double Palomar knots.  With the twelve pound Nanofil, I've used the Palomar without any issues.

The only maintenance that I've done to keep the breakoffs from happening is that the line will fray after a while and weaken, so I trim a couple feet off prior to each trip.  To keep the spool full, all I have to do is to replace the lost line every once in a while with backing (by transferring from one spool to another).

Memory?  There is no memory.

About the visibility?  I have yet to use my fluorocarbon spool or a fluorocarbon leader in over six months of fishing with it.  The fish don't seem to mind the white color even in gin clear water, and between you and me, I can see it better and that makes for good jigging in my book.

Even when fishing gin clear water, the Nanofil twelve pound with the white color passed my test.  I have yet to use any fluorocarbon leader or my other fluorocarbon spool in over six months since using Nanofil line.

Nanofil isn't quite as strong as similar diameter super lines, but it's pretty close, and stronger than monofilament or fluorocarbon lines of the same diameter.  Also, like superlines, it doesn't have any stretch.

Also, after putting the light stuff on my panfish set up, I haven't gone back to mono or fluoro either, and I've caught a ton of panfish in the last six months.  I haven't had any breaks on the hook set, but also using a slower action ultralight power panfish rod may help with that.  And, I've caught some decent bass and chain pickerel on that set up while panfishing.  Using the Nanofil also allows me to cast my ultralight jigs further than with other lines.

While panfishing, the Nanofil held up well for me on chain pickerel and plenty of bass like this one...

...and plenty of slab crappie have fallen victim to my ultralight rig and jigs using Nanofil.

I'm sold on this line until something better comes out.  Is it perfect?  Nope, but it's the best that I've used to date.  What step in technology that will get me to change?  How about making a line just like this with the clarity of fluorocarbon line?

Bottom line on the line, is that when using this stuff for the right purpose, and choosing the right diameter for the right application, this line should produce for you too.  Is it for every application?  I don't know the answer to that.  I like it for working finesse plastics for bass, and for catching panfish on my ultralight set up.  I've also caught some nice walleye in our local rocky rivers, chain pickerel in weedy ponds, and even striped bass while bass fishing without any issues.

For those that have recently started following this blog and missed the other reviews, you can find them here:

http://fatboysoutdoors.blogspot.com/2011/08/berkley-nanofil-product-review.html

http://fatboysoutdoors.blogspot.com/2011/08/nanofil-product-review-update.html

http://fatboysoutdoors.blogspot.com/2011/10/nanofil-product-review-update-to-update.html

Do Nothing Bliss

Naw, I don't mean laying around the house watching WFN repeats of Hookin' Up With Mariko Izumi and eating bon bons.  I'm talking about a type of finesse plastic bait that brings bass to the boat during the spawn and post spawn when they seem to ignore just about anything else, the soft stickbait.  On top of that, these baits are productive all year long. 

Soft stick baits produce fish like this all day long, and to me that is do nothing bliss!!!!

For those that aren't familiar with these, years ago Gary Yamamoto designed a bait that he coined the Senko, which basically took the shape of a ball point pen.  It had no curly tail, no ribbon tail...in fact, it had no tail at all.  I guess it has a head end and a tail end, but honestly, they work so well that I fish them either end head first to get the most use out of them!

Gary Yamamoto Baits Senko (third from top) can be fished any number of ways, but it must be fished!

Over the years, these baits not only became popular, but have won tournaments and a lot of money for some people.  But, for weekend warriors like me, they simply catch fish.  Not only that, they can be fished a variety of ways, and bass simply love 'em.  You can fish them weighted or unweighted, Texas rigged, Carolina rigged, wacky rigged, drop shotted, on a shaky head or nose hooked with a circle or octopus hook, bit in half, thirds or quarters.  There is no wrong way to fish them except not fishing them.

My buddy Howard knows first hand about nice bass like this one that love soft stickbaits like the Senko

I recall a trip to a pond on Maryland's Eastern Shore many years ago when the Senko was just out on the market.  My buddy Howard and his significant other, April, were fishing out of his Coleman Crawdad cartopper boat, and I was fishing my buddy Bill's boat, on a decent late spring day when the bass weren't particularly easy to catch, but certainly catchable  We fished hard for our bites, tossing plastic worms with some success, jigging and worming, working our baits as any skilled angler might as to tempt chunky bass from their weedy or woody lairs.

Meanwhile, April was reading a book while perched in the front seat of Howard's Crawdad, with one line out dragging a Senko behind the boat.  Next thing you know, her rod tip is thrashing about and she's reeling in a decent two pound largemouth.  This happened again and again, and enough that she probably had to read a good many pages over again and again.  In fact, she didn't really have much time to read at all and wound up outfishing all of us two bass to one.  And it wasn't even close.  Her secret?  Do nothing!

Most soft stickbaits have similar traits to the Senko.  They're heavily salt impregnated, so they are heavy and sink much faster than other soft plastic baits.  They're also very soft, and when fish hit them, they hang on to them forever, and will swallow them if you don't set the hook quickly.  The action is really impressive, although they don't appear like they'd do much, they flutter down and kind of wiggle tantilizingly, and often glide in one direction or the other on the fall, sometimes taking the lure deeper under a weed mat or into the cover.

You can fish soft stickbaits in the rivers, creeks, ponds or your local lake, and fish them just about any time of year.  Often when other soft plastics aren't drawing the strikes that you'd expect, these do nothing baits will put either numbers of bass in the boat or good sized ones, or both.

Howard fooled this bass on a five inch Senko when the bite was tough.

Senkos, and their cousin the Kinami Flash, are available in several sizes and colors.  There are many other brands on the market these days with their own version, and many of them are quite good also.  I've tried some with great success, and have yet to be disappointed with any of them.  I've also tried Case Plastics Magic Sticks, which are somewhat more durable with a firmer plastic, a Yum version that has a hook slot, and Bass Pro Shops Stick-O.  They all work well.

Toothy critters like this chain pickerel love 'em too.

There are also many versions out now, some with tails, some slim, some fat, some short and stout.  They all work well, so find one that works for you and fish it.  My favorite is the four inch regular version, but also regularly use the five and six inch sizes.  My favorite technique this time of year is to Texas rig them without weight, cast them out, and jig them, and if the fish are agressive, twitch them a few times and pause, and repeat.  Try working them quick at first, but if you don't get hits, slow things down, sometimes way down to a do nothing approach. 

Reservoir smallies munch on soft stickbaits as if they're candy during late spring.

Yet, sometimes the best technique is to simply toss them into the cover and let them flutter down.  This works well Texas style, but even better when wacky rigging.  Bass can't resist them.  When fishing them in a river, toss them along a current seam and let them drift along an eddy where fat smallmouth bass lie in ambush.  Or, cast them up and across current, and let them drift down past river obstacles such as logs and rocks, where aggressive smallies on the feed will crush and hang on to them.

In rivers, toss a Senko amongst the rock piles and get ready for a bite from a hungry smallmouth.

If the Senko has one knock against it, they're soft, and fish hit them so often that they tend to tear them up.  And they're a bit pricy.  But, there are things that you can do to achieve more longevity out of each one.  When wacky rigging, you can use a wacky rig tool along with small rubber rings to hold the hook on your rig.  Others use small rubber bands.  Still others fish the pieces after they fall apart, and others, like me, weld them back together with a soldering iron.  I never throw the pieces away.

I'm not saying that the Senko is better than any other brand, but it's the one that got me started fishing these.  I keep fishing them, perhaps habit, perhaps because they work, so why change if you're catching fish on them, right?  I've used other brands when I've found colors or features that I like that I can't get from a Senko. 

For more information on fishing Senkos, check this article out, "Senko Secrets", by Steve Price on Inside Line online magazine.

The bottom line is that, if you haven't fished these do nothing style lures, you could be missing out on some quality bassin'.

The Bite

You know where the bass are there because you've fished your spot countless times over the years.  The water is crystal clear, leaving you with the first impression that the bass might be spooky.  It doesn't matter what time of year it is at this spot, because the bass always seem to hang out in this area all year long.  It's the perfect spot for bass to ambush unsuspecting prey with plenty of cover, a drop off to deeper water, and during this time of year, vegetation.  On this day, you're facing typical cold front conditions with Northwest winds at ten to fifteen miles per hour and bluebird skies, not exactly ideal bassin' weather.  You normally work these areas with crankbaits, spinnerbaits or buzzbaits, looking for that big fish reaction bite.  But today, you're finesse fishing, because you know that under tough conditions, this is your go to technique.  You aren't worried, because you know that you'll get "the bite".  Maybe a big fish, or maybe a lot of bites, or maybe both.

One of my favorite things in fishing, catching bass on a plastic worm, and getting "the bite".

Most people don't like fishing these conditions; bluebird skies, annoying relentless winds creating a bow in your line, and crystal clear water.  Yet, you know that with these conditions, the wind piles up warmer water along the woody shoreline, also breaking up the surface and decreasing the ability of prey to see predators that lurk in the heavy, until it's too late.  Today, the bass should relate tightly to the wood or hide under the mats of weeds.  Reaction baits may work, but your past experience has shown the fish to be picky under these conditions at your honey hole.

You pitch your plastic worm right into a hole through  a tangle of branches in a huge blowdown.  Your offering falls slowly as you watch your line intensely for the slightest movement that should indicate a strike.  You're using a superline, where the lack of stretch gives you confidence that when a bass bites, you can easily drive that hook home on your hook set.  You position your rod to minimize the bow in the line as much as possible for two reasons, to allow your lure to fall naturally through the cover, and to feel the bite as easily as possible.

And then, you feel it.  "The bite".  It's not a bone jarring strike, nor does it rip the rod from your hands.  Rather, it's a suble tap, as if someone gently flicked their fingernail against the blank of your rod.  Immediately, you sense the weight of the fish beginning to move away with what it assumes is an easy meal.  You drop your rod tip and crank up a little slack line, and with a quick short snap of your wrist, drive the hook home.

Long time fishing bud Howard Boltz knows "the bite" as well, recognizing it early enough to set the hook into this fine largemouth bass.

Then the bass goes ballistic, diving deep into the cover against the force of your rod.  You put pressure on the fish to oppose it's will to escape, and turn the fish successfully.  The fish tries to dive once again, but your drag is tight, and there's nowhere for it to go.  Your superline is much stronger than the rated pound test, and soon you move the fish out of it's woody lair.  You reach down and grab the bass by the lower jaw and hoist your trophy out of the water.

My friend Steve felt "the bite", nailing this hawg on a plastic worm.

In my opinion, I live for that bite.  That's when I know when I'm doing everything right, the way that I need to perform.  I know that I'm on the verge of bassin' success for that day.  I know that when I can get that first bite, I can get more.  And after catching that first bass, I'm greedy...I want more bites.  And when you're in a zone, worm fishing can do that for you.

There are other exciting bites in fishing.  Many are very exciting, like a bass slamming a buzzbait at boat side, or a musky attacking a blade bait at boatside after a figure eight finishing retrieve, or a massive striper crushing a crankbait at the end of your cast.  Some bites are so explosive at the boat side that you may feel the need to change your drawers!  Even in bassing, the spinnerbait or crankbite bite is a very addictive, adrenaline generating event.

Crash Mullin's demonstrates "the bite" in this awesome and humerous video.  It can't get much more exciting when a musky follows your cast and you draw a strike after going into a figure eight.  He has a great fishing show, by the way.  "The Bite" gets your adrenaline going for sure!!!!

It's not the braggin' style photos posing for fish that I live for, nor is it the numbers, and it's certainly not just the activity outdoors that many say, "a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work".  On the contrary, I live for "the bite".  And I live for lots of them!!!!!!

Black Marks, Blotches or Spots on Bass...OH MY!

I, like many anglers in my region, have been catching both largemouth smallmouth bass that exhibit large irregular black blotches or spots for many years now.  When I first started noticing fish with these weird markings, they occurred mostly with largemouth.  In recent years, I've been seeing them in smallies too.  The bass that I've caught with the spots were large adults and appeared to be really fat and healthy.

Black blotches or spots, like the ones shown here on a fat healthy largemouth bass from the Upper Tidal Potomac River caught by my buddy Bob Barber, are nothing to worry about.

In addition to the local waters that I fish, anglers in other states and, from what I've read, in Canada, have been seeing this phenomenon as well.  Naturally, when weird stuff happens to fish, anglers and biologists alike tend to think that the causes surround parasitic activity, water quality issues, or mishandling of catch and release fish.  These concerns turn to complaints and assumptions, and eventually research into the potential problem, and rightly so.  That's how the process usually works.

So, what are the spots and are they anything to worry about?  The condition is termed hyperpigmented melanosis, which is a fancy term for pigment discoloration.  The condition seems to occur in larger adult fish more often than juveniles.  The spots don't appear to be permanent.  Often, the coloration often returns to normal after a period of time.  And, researchers have found the fish exhibiting the spots seem to be otherwise very healthy.  Of the ones that I've caught over the years, I tend to agree, they seem very healthy.

The black blotches occur just about anywhere on bass, even the lips as shown here from a largemouth caught in a small Maryland lake.  The patterns can be simple spots, or large irregular blotches.  I think that they give the bass character!

Anglers are increasingly reporting occurrences all over the country that, in some cases, are on waters that are already troubled by poor water quality or pollution.  The fears about their home waters may be well founded, but perhaps the link to the spots may not be.  Reports of people catching fish with the spots seem to be increasing, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the number of affected fish is increasing.  People are noticing, and with the amount of free exchange of info over the net, are simply talking more about it.

Here's the same bass shown in the previous picture, displaying several spots and blotches on the lips, body, gill and fins.

Researchers speculated for some time that stress of some form may be the cause.  Stress resulting from fish handling (perhaps catch and release), parasitic activity, disease, natural injuries to the skin, bacterial or viral infections, pollution or poor water quality have been suspected causes.  Even though all of those could possibly result in the condition, there's no evidence to directly support that this type of melanosis is caused by those factors, and researchers have stated that the symptoms could very well be genetic or hormonal.

In many fishing forums, more and more people are posting fishing reports with pictures of affected fish along with voicing their concerns.  With all of the buzz about blotchy bass, and after catching a few myself, I decided to do my own research.  I really couldn't find much on the web except that nobody really knows that causes the spots, that the fish appear healthy, and that researchers at Auburn University are studying the phenomenon.  I was not able to find anything about the results of the Auburn study.

Gene Mueller, who writes and awesome blog that I urge you all to visit, Gene Mueller's World of Fishing & Hunting, mentioned to me that these spots aren't anything to worry about as he had spoken to Maryland DNR officials, and they assured him that the spots were nothing to worry about.  In addition, the Maryland Fisheries website mentioned in their fishing report in reply to a post something to that effect.

I wholeheartedly agree with Gene and am not worried about the spots.  But I'm not sure that the rest of the angling community feels the same way.  So, I wondered that, with all the increased concern about blotches on bass, maybe I'd address the topic here to put forth some of the latest info.

Wil Wegman recently wrote a detailed piece in the April issue of B.A.S.S. Times on the topic.  He interviewed various people researching the spots, and shared what he learned with the B.A.S.S. Times followers.  he relates that former Professor John Grizzle of the Southeastern Cooperative Fish Disease Laboratory at Auburn University and Associate Professor Jeff Terhune, who currently runs the lab, concur on their take on the spots. 

Dr. Terhune states that "...there could be lot's of causes, some anecdotal and some potentially real.  Even spawning may create lesions or sores that heal in this manner.  Genetics can also play a big part.  Overall, most of the hyperpigmentation that I am aware of causes no harm to the fish, otherwise you would see fish in poor condition (i.e. thin) or with some other diseased condition."

Mr. Wegman also reported that Dr. Terhune believes that "though anglers are targeted as causing the strange bass coloration, it's far more likely to be a natural occurrence that has little to do with how much a bass has been handled."  That doesn't let anglers off the hook though, as it's our responsibility to carefully release our catch (if that's our intent) and handle the fish with the utmost care as much as possible. 

Then again, many people are questioning what, in some bodies of water, seems to be a more recent phenomenon.  The Susquehanna River in particular where more and more smallmouth bass seem to be exhibiting the spots than many Susky veterans can ever remember.  Recent water quality issues that are known to cause other problems with the health of the bass populations there, along with dramatic decreased young of the year counts, have resulted in recent regulations closing all bass fishing in large stretches of the popular river during the spawn, including catch and release fishing (beginning May 2012).  Perhaps there is something to this. 

Some veteran anglers are asking for more detailed studies by Pennsylvania officials to see if the spots are indeed linked in some way to the troubles of that river.  Perhaps they'll find out one way or another.  If they're related, they could be an indicator of bigger problems.  At the very least, even if the spots prove harmless, more attention would be given to address the real causes of the decline in bass numbers there.  More to come I'm sure.

This Susquehanna River smallmouth bass shows multiple black spots.  Anglers that frequent this popular river are extremely concerned about increased occurrences of the spots in their river, especially in light of other problems related to pollution there.  Photo Courtesy of Bill Yingling, M.D.

So, in summary, as Gene pointed out to me months ago, the black blotches appear to be nothing to worry about, at least on the individual bass studied.  But, could they be an indicator of bigger problems on some bodies of water?  Our focus should be on improving the water quality as much as possible, especially if the spots really are an indicator that is tied to water quality.  The bigger problems that have already identified are decreased young of the year smallies in our upper rivers along with discoveries of intersexed bass, and bacterial lesions more than likely due to poor water quality and various forms of pollutants.  But that's a blog topic for another day.

By the way, I've been a lifetime member of B.A.S.S. for many years.  Their publications, Bassmaster Magazine and B.A.S.S. Times are highly informative.  They are a must for the serious bass angler.  I've saved every copy since becoming a member many years ago.  Often, the information found in both publications is useful to other anglers as well, especially topics regarding fishing politics and conservation.  I highly recommend both publications.  I'd like to thank Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times for their contribution and permission to share their research, and Wil Wegman for writing such an informative article.

Pick Your Spinning Reel Wisely

By Guest Author John Anderson

Even though anglers have their own preferred tackle, some equipment are better suited to a specific type of angler.  Spinning reels are more favored than baitcasting reels.  Of course the skill level, the line weight, water conditions and the type of fish that one hopes to catch must be considered.  These reels have been in use in North America since the 1870s.  These fixed spooled allowed the use of artificial flies for trout or salmon and other lures.

It is easier to cast, has no backlash and thus it makes a better choice for the beginners.  It is also easier and quicker to master.  Adjusting the drag does not have any affect whatsoever on the casting distance.  They come in a reasonable price- easier for many to afford.  It is better to use a swivel when using while retrieving the line or it tends to get tangled.  For best results, use thin lines.

Once you are in a well stocked fishing supply store, pick up the different reels and spin the handle to test the operation.  Reels that spin smoothly without jerking or wobbling should be preferred.  The handle and the reel must be comfortable to hold.

Choose from the ultralight, light and heavy spinning reels.  These reels have big spools that hold enough line and since the spool is bigger, it helps retrieving the lines faster.  Spinning reels have handles on either side allowing the angler to cast with his dominant hand.  

Spinning reels should be the first choice of the beginners.  Less likely to tangle and backlash that occurs when is learning the casting and reeling techniques.  The price of the fishing reel is also a factor here.  Baitcasting reels cost way more than spinning reels.

It is also much easier to adjust line tension and drag with a spinning reel.  They also come in various sizes to suit every angler’s need. 

But don’t end up buying the cheapest one.  Look for the branded reels in reasonable price.  You would not want to end up with a low quality reel as that is just going to affect your fishing capacity.  Also opt for a lighter line-braided or otherwise- it works well with this type of reel.

Where you fish is also influences your choice of the reel. If you are into fishing in open bodies of water with minimum vegetation and other obstacles in water, go for a spinning reel. 

Unlike other reels spinning reels are also a lot easier to maintain and take care of. It is easy to dissemble and reassemble and all you have to do is follow the manufacturer’s instruction closely. 

It does not make a difference if you buy your tackle from your local tackle shop or make an online purchase with your credit card, what matters here is the quality of the product.  Make sure you have gone through the reviews or may be consulted an expert.  There is no point buying the fanciest and the latest model of the spinning reel available in the market.  Make a sound choice after having done some research on the product, its features and specifications and the manufacturer itself.

Author Bio:  John Anderson is an ardent outdoor enthusiast who has a special interest in fishing and boating.  He hails from Australia and has travelled to almost all the wonderful places in the country for one of kind experiences.  He is also a proficient author of several outdoor articles on travel with a bias towards boating and fishing.

Still Water Brookies

By Guest Author Brian Holland

Every serious angler has heard of Salvelinus fontinalis, the crown jewel of the North's back country, or as most anglers know it, the brook trout.  This is not a fish famed for its gigantic sizes, a true trophy is a fish in excess of four pounds, but what has gained this fish its fame is its spectacular colors, the vivid blue halos and dark red bellies, particularly in the fall when these beautiful trout make their annual spawning runs and gain their spawning colors. 

These trout are quite possibly just as famous among serious trout enthusiasts for the places they wind up when targeting these fish.  Deep back woods valleys, cold crystal clear free flowing mountain streams, and remote beaver flowages, all places that can truly only be described as God's country, are the types of places that brook trout, or brookies as they are affectionately known, call home. 

Maine is one such place in the eyes of many anglers, having a reputation that is well deserved as the state holds over 95 percent of the nations wild brook trout stocks and is home to hundreds of miles of wilderness, broken only by the gravel logging roads that are used the access this region.  I have been very fortunate, having grown up in the central part of the state, and now attending college in the extreme reaches of Northern Maine to have these brook trout waters in my back yard. 

I developed my passion for these trout at a young age, targeting small wild trout in the area's local brooks and streams, and working up to larger river systems as I grew and learned.  I was also fortunate to be introduced to the entirely different sport of fishing big water, or large lakes and ponds for these fish, and that is where my passion truly lies today. 

Comparing the art of fishing for brook trout in lakes to the art of fishing for them in flowing water, is like comparing apples to oranges.  In general brookies grow much larger in lakes than in flowing water, and they become less opportunistic and more selective on what, when, and where they will eat, making them much more difficult to catch.  It also makes catching one that much more rewarding.  The methods and techniques for catching these fish vary as much as the opinions on what truck is best suited to get you to the lake.  These techniques vary depending on the season and the fisherman.

While I fish for big water brookies using a variety of these techniques, my favorite way to fish for them is trolling.  Trolling can be broken into two categories, trolling with fly gear, and trolling with hardware or other types of lures and attractants.

The colors alone of a native Maine brook trout make fishing for them a treat.
Photo courtesy of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

Traditionally, brook trout have been sought by serious anglers with the fly rod in hand, and it is considered a greater challenge by many to hook play and land brook trout on the fly than it is on other types of gear.  While this is true, it is also true that using fly gear on brook trout can produce some excellent fishing, and it is just plain fun.  Under the right circumstances brook trout can be landed using fly gear throughout the open water fishing season, but trolling with this type of gear really stands out in the spring of the year. 

Spring is an awaking time for brook trout like it is for all living things.  The sun's rays are once again warming the water's temperature, bringing it closer to that 45-55 degree range that brook trout love.  Brook trout take advantage of the fact that these waters are still cool by spending their time in the shallow portions of the lake.  These shallow portions heat up faster than the rest of the lake, particularly large shallow flats in protected coves. Brook trout seek out these places, looking for that ideal water temperature. 

These shallow portions of the lake also offer brookies a variety of food sources in the spring of the year.  These food sources range from the larval forms of water born insects, to crayfish and bait fish,  and brook trout take advantage of these food sources, often feeding heavily.  The fact that these fish are in shallow water, and that they are eating a variety of food sources easily replicated by flies, makes fly gear ideally suited to catching them in the spring of the year. 

My set ups consist of a 6 weight fly rod paired with either a 6 weight, weight forward floating, or a 6 weight full sink fly line, all with at least a hundred yards of backing.  The weight forward floating line may not be ideally suited for trolling, but as a broke college student, I take advantage of any instance where I can utilize the same the gear for different fishing styles without loosing much performance. 

I have found that the leader to loop fly connections that many fishing outfitters carry work well and use these to attach my leaders.  The waters I fish are crystal clear, and the brook trout tend to be line shy,  so I usually run fifteen feet of 8 pound fluorocarbon leader before attaching a small barrell swivel and another five feet of fluorocarbon leader. 

I fish with a variety of flies, both nymphs and streamers.  I usually fish nymphs in the earliest parts of the season just after the ice has receded from the ponds.  At this point in the game brook trout can be some what lethargic and not willing to chase streamers imitating bait fish.  Nymphs, however, when dragged slowly across the bottom on a sinking fly line can present brook trout with a meal they can't pass up.  A good rule of thumb for this kind of fishing is maintain slightly faster than headway speed.

As the old timers have told me, “If you don't loose a fly on occasion, you aren't fishing right”, so make sure you are getting your flies on bottom, an occasional jerk of the rod tip as the fly bounces over a rock is a good indicator you are fishing your nymph right. 

There are many good nymph patterns out there, but a couple of my personal favorites are the wooly bugger and maple syrup.  Streamer fishing usually peaks anywhere from a week and half to three weeks after the ice has receded, depending on the weather and the lake.  I have found, however, that as the surface temperature of the water reaches 41-42 degrees, you'd better have a streamer in the water.

Streamers have been equally effective for me fished on floating and sinking fly lines depending on the conditions and the day.  I usually run one rod with floating line and one with sinking to cover a variety of water depths.  When streamer fishing I have found a good rule of thumb is to move forward at about the same speed as you would if walking steadily along the shore line, however, don't be afraid to mix it up if you aren't catching fish.  Speed up or slow down, and try to remember either the bend in your rod or the sound of the motor when you hook a fish, so that you can repeat the same speed if you don't have a GPS or fish finder to measure speed. 

I have caught brook trout on a variety of streamers, and the ones that will be as effective on any given day change as often as the weather in Northern Maine.  Most of the time it's tough to go wrong though, assuming that you stock your box with a few gray ghosts in a variety of colors, a couple 9-3's, black nose dace, and Barne's specials.  It doesn't hurt to have these patterns in a couple of sizes either, both single and tandem hook flies. 

This twenty inch beauty fell to a 9-3 and black nosed dace

tandem set up.

When fishing streamers they can be fished either as a single fly or as a tandem set up.  Most of the time I fish a tandem set up, running a single hook fly on a dropper loop two feet in front of a tandem fly on the back.  I have seen these tandem set ups out fish single fly rigs on numerous occasions.  I'm not sure of the exact reason for this, but believe it both gives the fish more to see in the water, as well as the fact that the rig looks like a larger fish chasing a smaller one, causing brook trout to hit out of aggression. 



There are several other important things to remember when trolling for brook trout with fly gear in the spring.  Fish shore lines that remain shallow for a distance out from shore, these shallow flats are where the feed brook trout are chasing live bait.  If it is possible you should also target wind blown shore lines as the wind pushes much of the debris floating on the lakes surface into the wind blown shore, which in turn attracts bait fish, which also in turn attracts brook trout. 

This rule of thumb has proven the difference between a skunk and a successful trip for me many times.  Last May, for instance, a fishing buddy and I headed into Western Maine to troll for brook trout for three or four days, the first two of which we only caught a very few brook trout.  The third day of the trip we finally headed for the other side of the lake, the wind blown shore, and our luck immediately changed, and we proceeded to land ten healthy brookies in the next 45 minutes.

A final word of advice is to troll just off the shore line where the bottom is visible on one side of the boat but not the other, while weaving in S shaped patterns in and out from shore.  This accomplishes two things, one of which is to cause the gear on one side of the boat to speed up while causing the other to slow down, this can be a great way to determine if you are traveling to slow or fast.  If the line on the inside of the curve is the only one getting hit, you need to move faster, the outside line slower.  It also allows you to drag your gear over water that the boat has not directly traveled over the top of.  Also, brook trout may scare easily in shallow water as a boat travels over head, and when getting the lines out and away from the line of boat travel, you are less likely to scare these fish.

This healthy looking brookie was one of many we were rewarded with on a recent trip after changing to a wind blown shore.

Lastly, sometimes it can make a significant difference in your catch rates by “working” or pumping your rods as you troll.  This a simple matter of pulling the rod towards the bow of the boat in a pumping motion and then allowing it to settle back towards the rear.  This causes the fly to dart, speed up, slow down and more closely imitate the movements of a bait fish more closely.  If there is one thing I've learned, brook trout always seem to strike when you least expect it.  I've been caught off guard many times staring at some mountain in the distance pumping a fly when the rod is nearly ripped from my hands as a big old square tail grabs hold...so hang on!



In my book, nothing beats the feeling of a twenty inch native brookie making the drag of a 6 weight sing, but as the season progresses and the water warms, dragging fly gear in extreme shallow water becomes less effective, and to catch good numbers, my fishing partners and I switch over to fishing lead core and stainless steel alloy lines to improve our catch rates.  Not only do these setups help to get our terminal gear deeper, but allow us to put more pressure on these native jewels allowing us to get them to the boat quicker and avoid stressing them in the warm waters.
 

In the waters we fish, we attempt to imitate two main food sources when trolling hardware for brook trout.  The first of these food sources are bait fish, mainly smelt and dace.  In this type of fishing we make use of the lead core setups.  Lead core line is line with a lead center and a plastic sheating on the outside.  The plastic sheating is colored in different colors every thirty feet, allowing the angler to determine how much line is off the reel.  As the center is lead, these lines are heavy and sink much faster than traditional monofilament or fluorocarbon lines, allowing you to present your baits baits and tackle in deeper and colder waters. 

Lead core setups consist of a medium heavy action spinning rod 7-8 feet in length, paired with a Penn 209 level wind baitcaster reel.  The reel is spooled with ten colors (300 feet) of 12 pound test lead core,  that is attached to a fifteen feet of 15 pound test florocarbon leader attached to ten feet of 8 pound test fluorocarbon using a blood knot.  I then attach a small size 16 barrel swivel to the 8 pound fluoro using a palomar knot, and then attach another three feet of 8 pound fluoro using an improved clinch knot, our lures are then directly tied into the leader. 

We use a variety of lures, ranging from small stick baits such as Yo-Zuri's Pins Minnows to things such as DB Smelts, Mooselook Wobblers and Guide Specials. We have found a vareity of colors to be effective, however rainbow patterns and anything with red or orange can be good depending on the time of year.

The most productive way to fish this gear is to target deeper water immediately adjacent to large flats.  Brook trout will hold in these areas during the day occasionally eating the bait that holds in these areas and waiting for the cool of night to bring about fly hatches when they will once again slip into shallower warmer waters to feed on the hatching insects. 

The depth at which we fish varies with the time of year, the weather, and a variety of other things.  The best way to determine which depth is right is to experiment, running different rods at different depths and changing depths every half hour or so until you find a depth that is producing fish.  A good starting place is 15 feet for most Maine lakes after the water warms.  To achieve this depth we assume four feet of sink for every color or lead core line in the water.  So, for fifteen feet of depth, we run just under four colors of lead core.  This sink rate changes based on your speed, lure, the amount of lead core in the water, and a variety of other factors.  Most lead core spools come with a chart that will give you a rough idea of the sink rate based on your setup. 

It can also be difficult to decide on what speed to drag your gear at.  As I'm a broke college student without a fish finder or other electronics to measure speed, I usually run the lure along the side of the boat and change speed until I reach a point at which the action looks correct for the lure.  Determining this is something you can only do with practice, so don't be afraid to get out there and experiment.  Just as with trolling fly gear, changing speed and directions while trolling can help you determine the speed you should be trolling at. 

As the season progresses, brook trout fishing continues to slow until the water begins to cool again in the fall of the year.  As the water warms, fishing around dawn and dusk can prove to be the most productive.

In the spring of the year brook trout can be taken on hardware in much the same way as by trolling fly gear.  Many anglers target them this way by trolling with a medium light action spinning rod and small Super Dupers or other lures such as the one's mentioned above and by targeting the same area's as mentioned in the fly gear trolling section.  Some anglers even claim that trolling hardware tends to produce bigger brook trout then fly gear in the spring of the year,  this may well be true,  but the only way to find out what works best for you is to get out and fish!

This fish slammed a rainbow patterned Mooselook just

after completing a turn on the inside rod.  I slowed my

trolling speed after catching this fish.

During the hottest of the summer months many anglers give up fishing for brook trout in the lakes and ponds in favor of fishing their favorite trout streams.  My fishing partners and I still make an occasional trip chasing the big lake dwelling natives, however, using a technique that not many anglers use to target brook trout.  One of my favorite big brook trout lakes in Western Maine supports a very large population of crayfish, and I have found that during the warm summer months many of the lakes brook trout feed on these crayfish and hatching insects almost exclusively.  Many of these crayfish can be found living amongst the rocky shoals of the lake in 10-25 feet of water and brook trout will spend much of their time hugging tight to the cool waters found near the bottom of these shoals, cruising for crayfish. 

To target these fish we use the exact same setup as mentioned in the lead core section above, except we switch out the lead core for 18 pound test stainless steel alloy line and add several more swivels into the setup to avoid line twisting.  We then use a lure known as a flatfish and drag these lures along the bottom.

This vivid color male brook trout was caught in early August on a DB Smelt.

Flat fish are designed to be very active when trolled and therefore give off a lot of vibration even at slow trolling speeds.  Their design forces the nose of the lure down and allows the rear of the lure and the hooks to rise up off bottom, decreasing the amount of snagged lures.  We troll these lures directly on bottom allowing them to stir up sediment and debris imitating a crayfish on the run.  The stainless steel alloy line works well for this as there is very little give and it is therefore very easy to tell what the lure is doing on bottom, what type of bottom the lure is on and the difference between being a strike and the lure bouncing on bottom.  

This slob of a brookie was caught trolling a silver flatfish on a large flat and was full of crayfish in addition to our lure.

This type of fishing can be challenging as the line must be constantly watched and adjusted to maintain contact with the bottom without dragging feet of line along the bottom as well.  We use a variety of colors, however, we have found silver to be very productive in this particular pond as the water can become dark and stained relatively quickly with depth as many Northern Maine lakes are, and the flash of sliver is one more added attractant to draw these big brook trout out.  An added bonus to fishing with this setup in our favorite big brook trout water is that often times large togue (lake trout) are found feeding in the same area and more than once we have hooked up with and landed these fish while targeting brook trout.  

As an added treat, fish like this 29 inch lake trout also fall victim to trolling with flatfish late in the season.

Whether it's trolling fly gear in the early spring, fishing flatfish late in the season or throwing dry flies to small natives in a stream, catching brook trout is an unbelievable experience in places such as Maine waters.  They can be a challenging fish to catch, but the reward is well worth the effort when you enjoy the experience as much as I do.  This article is by no means a complete guide to catching brook trout in big water.  In fact, it only scratches the surface, but one thing is for certain, get out and experience fishing for brook trout  yourself, and it won't take long until your hooked.

Brian Holland is a contributing member of two of my favorite fishing forums, Iceshanty.com and Myfishfinder.com, where he is known as Litchfield Fisher. 

Thank you Brian for your contribution to Fat Boy's Outdoors Blog!