Category Archives: Fishing Tips

Fishing Tips

Winter Trout Fishing Tips

Arkansas kayak angler Jason Cossey shares his tips for winter trout fishing in this guest article for Kayak Fishing Focus.

People ask me what I do when I take a break from kayak fishing in the winter time. Sometimes it is deer hunting, but other times I like to fish for trout simply because it’s a sit on the bank and hang out with friends and family kind of fishing and I do not have to worry about a boat or a lot of tackle. Here’s how I like to approach winter trout fishing and have the greatest success!

To find trout in Arkansas, there are rivers below the dams, such as the White River below Beaver Dam which is my favorite place to go. Another place to do winter trout fishing is in the various small lakes that are stocked in the winter months. Check your local game and fish website for trout stocking information.

Winter trout fishing with floating egg baits can be an easy way to make a catch.
Winter trout fishing with floating egg baits can be an easy way to make a catch.
Bait and Tackle Setup for Winter Trout Fishing

1. Starting with rod and reel selection, I like a medium-medium light spinning rod with 6# monofilament for a main line. I use my favorite drop shot rod because I like to keep in practice feeling bites, it helps me get ready for the spring drop shot and finesse fishing.

2. Leader line is very important, I use 2# clear monofilament if the water has a little color you can get away with 4# but 2# always gets more bites.

3. Sinker selection, now is the time to use up some of those 1/4oz bullet and egg sinkers that have been rattling around. I also use a #10 or #12 swivel to attach this leader to my main line.

4. Hook selection is simple any #10 or #12 light wire hook. I like a wide gap hook it seems to get me better hookups.

5. Now bait…I am a fan of Berkeley power eggs because they come in their
own jar and unlike dough type baits they don’t get under your fingernails and smell up your fingers all day! Color is just about trying different options until you find a combination that works. I use two eggs of different colors most time like chartreuse and white or orange and bubblegum.

Now you have all of that stuff lined out it’s time to decide on leader length. Trout rarely feed on the bottom this is the reason 90% of all trout bait floats. I always start long on my leader and cut it according to how deep the water is and how deep they are feeding. I find that holes in a river right after a shoal is a good place to start looking for trout to congregate. When you find a school just stay on them for fast and consistent action.

Other Winter Trout Fishing Strategies

So you aren’t really keen on soaking power eggs there are other ways to catch trout, there are an assortment of lures that are old fish catchers. I always carry small rooster tails, they are one of the best ways to catch trout. Small jerkbaits and crank baits are also another way to catch em you just have to figure out how aggressive and what kind of mood they are in! I also keep on hand small marabou jigs, these tiny jigs tipped with a wax worm under a clear float can be deadly on pressured rainbows and can help you fill your limit with nice sized trout.

I hope these tips will help you with those winter time fishing blues, trout can be a fun way to spend the day with your loved ones. Great for kids and an awesome way to pass the time when it’s too cold or you just don’t feel like getting out the boat but need to feel the pull of something on your line.

– Jason Cossey

Fishing Tips

Fall Bass Fishing Tackle

Fishing in the fall is one of my favorite times of the year. Bass are getting ready for winter and are feeding up and they can’t resist chasing bait. This makes for some fast-moving, hard-fighting, fall bass fishing action. One of the other reasons I really enjoy fall bass fishing is that the tackle selection gets really narrow – it is easy to tell what works to catch them.

Fall bass fishing out of a kayak can be one of the best times of the year to fish. Photo – www.kayakfishingfocus.com
Fall Bass Fishing Kayak Setup

Being a kayak angler means you have limited space in your boat, so it is important to understand what you will need for a day of one on one combat with some fired up fall bass. For me, this means that the spinning rods go in the garage and all the power fishing gear is in the boat.  I use almost exclusively Dobyns Fury series rods and this time of year is where the ones designed for spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and crankbaits are featured. Fall bass fishing also calls for an upgrade in line strength, so I’ll put a little heavier P-Line Floroclear on my reels for most cases and will make sure I have 50# PowerPro braid on my spinnerbait and buzzbait reels.

Fall Bass Fishing Lures

Fall bass fishing is all about covering water – unfortunately as a kayak angler you have less ability to do so than a boater. This means you have to really focus on some baits which help you move quickly. the three key types of lures I’m going to throw to chase fall bass are:

Crankbaits – Use shad patterned squarebill crankbaits to bump along natural cover and docks where bass wait to ambush shad. I’m not sure you can reel the bait too fast this time of year, but experiment with your retrieve. Key bait: Booyah Flex II

The Booyah Vibra-Flx spinnerbait is a great fall bass fishing lure.
The Booyah Vibra-Flx spinnerbait is a great fall bass fishing lure.

Spinnerbaits – All year long I probably don’t throw a spinnerbait often enough, but when it comes to fall bass fishing, this is a key tool to catch fish. A spinnerbait works so well because it can mimic baitfish easily and its movement, flash and vibration can trigger a strike from aggressive bass. Key bait: Booyah Vibra-Flx Spinnerbait

Buzzbaits – Throwing a buzzbait can be a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. The right rod and line make a big difference in the ability to be successful with this kind of bait. I use a Dobyns Fury 734C when fall bass fishing a buzzbait. Key bait: Booyah Buzz

Go Get’em

Fall bass fishing out of a kayak is a great time to put some fish in the yak. Many anglers have moved on to hunting, the fish are hungry and the bites are big. Get out and make the most of fall bass fishing soon!

 

Fishing Tips

Basic Kayak Fishing Checklist

It seems like a week doesn’t go by without encountering someone new to the sport of kayak fishing. Most have done some sort of fishing before and are now moving into the kayak fishing realm, but many are starting from scratch and want to know where to begin. A great place to start is with a basic kayak fishing checklist and then to build from there.

A basic kayak fishing checklist can help get you jump-started and on the water for a good day of fishing.
A basic kayak fishing checklist can help get you jump-started and on the water for a good day of fishing. Photo: kayakfishingfocus.com

My friends at Bending Branches and I worked up a basic kayak fishing checklist to help jumpstart the new kayak angler.

Here is a summary of the “list” itself. The full checklist and more details are available on the Bending Branches blog, go check it out.

Basic Kayak Fishing Checklist:
  1. Stable Kayak
  2. Quality Paddle
  3. Safety Gear
  4. Tackle Crate
  5. Fishing Tackle
  6. Anchor
  7. Camera

There are many other things advanced kayak anglers use, but the list above is all you need to get the most out of a fun day on the water.

My first day kayak fishing included a cooler with some water, one fishing rod, a few lures, and a rented kayak and paddle. As I spent more time fishing and going on kayak fishing trips with others, the checklist above seems to be among the most common needs for a weekend kayak angler. Every kayak fisherman sets up their kayak and has their own checklist, so I would expect that you would do the same as you adjust to your goals, fishing destination and style of fishing.

Take a moment to read the full article on the Bending Branches website and get ready to hit the water!

 

Fishing Tips

Do Scents on Baits Really Matter?

This article on scented baits by Fish Allure staff member Alex Burton is a great breakdown of how scent can affect your fishing. This write-up was originally published in the Fish Allure newsletter and he’s graciously allowed me to share it with you here.

Do Scents on Baits Really Matter?

When it comes to using scents on lures fisherman are split down the middle. Some will not throw a lure without it, while others think it is just a gimmick. So do scents really help you put more fish in the boat?

Let’s start with how a fish “smells”. Fish have nostrils on each side of their snouts. Unlike us they don’t start sniffing around when they detect something in the water. As they move water flows into one nostril and out the other. Special nerves between the nostrils then pick up on various molecules in the water that the fish’s brain then interpret as scent.A fish’s sense of smell is roughly 1000 times greater than a dog. They use this incredible ability to associate certain smells to things in their environment. Be it specific plant life, other fish in their school, or food. They can also learn to associate certain smells to a positive or negative depending on how their experience with that particular scent was.

Obviously some fish rely more upon their sense of smell to catch prey, like catfish for instance. So what about more predatory fish like bass who rely more on sight and sound to find their food? The answer is yes, scent is essentially the icing on the cake for them.
When a bass is on the hunt they slowly patrol their territory. They watch for flashes in the water, feeling for vibrations of struggling or unsuspecting prey near them. After locking in on the location of potential prey they start circling in to check it out. As they move closer scent fills their nostrils signaling that this is indeed their next meal as they go in for the strike.

Based on what we know from above adding scent to your lures gives them that realism, bigger bass especially, need to commit to the strike. How often have you watched a bass follow closely behind your lure, but never actually touch it? That is why, they never got that final assurance they needed to go for it.

As I said earlier fish can also begin to associate some scents negatively, causing them to turn away from that particular source. This is especially true on higher pressured bodies of water where bass are already weary from constant pursuit. Subtle scents like nicotine from smoking or even sunblock will cause fish to shut down in an area.

Great article by Alex that emphasizes the importance of using scent to improve your fishing. If you liked this information, sign up now for the Fish Allure Email Newsletter or more articles like this delivered to your inbox!

Fishing Tips

Carolina Rig Summer Bass Fishing Setup

When the weather heats up for summer it is time to break out the Carolina Rig to catch bass. Finding the bass can be difficult in the summer and getting them to bite can be even more challenging. One thing I really like about Carolina Rig summer bass fishing is how versatile it can be – allowing me to fish it quickly in areas to locate bass, but also can really slow it down to entice a bite.

Carolina Rig summer bass fishing with Reins tungsten sinker, Owner hook and YUM Ribbontail.
Carolina Rig summer bass fishing with Reins tungsten sinker, Owner hook and YUM Ribbontail.

For my Carolina Rig summer setup I use a fairly lightweight and downsized rig. For the weight I’ll use a 1/2 oz Reins tungsten slip sinker. Using a tungsten sinker allows you to really feel the bottom to detect cover, and the Reins slip sinker comes with an insert which reduces abrasion of your fishing line. For line, especially at night I like to use the extra strong P-Line CXX co-polymer line with t blacklight visibility.

Reins slip sinkers have an insert that protects your line while using the Carolina Rig.
Reins slip sinkers have an insert that protects your line while using the Carolina Rig.

For the hook, I use the super sharp Owner hooks, and the size will vary from 3/0 to 5/0 depending on what bait i’m adding to the Carolina Rig. Add in a swivel, beads and a mono leader and you are all set. Leader length also varies, but I’ll generally have a longer leader in daytime and a shorter leader at night. Type of rod can vary to taste, but overall I will use a Dobyns jig rod so it is stiff enough to cast the rig as far as possible.

Plastics for Carolina Rig Summer Bass Fishing

One of the great things about a Carolina Rig is how many options you have for plastic baits. Although I have some favorites, it can be good to have a few options available and cycle through them until you can determine what the bass will bite. Some of the YUM bait options I’ll use include a Ribbontail worm, YUM Dinger, Christie Craw or a Wooly Hawg Craw.

Good luck with your Carolina Rig summer bass fishing!

 

Fishing Tips

Fish Allure Tab Placement – Walking Baits

I’m a big proponent of throwing topwater lures, particularly walking baits in spring. One of the reasons I like a walking bait this time of year is that if you can work it correctly, it will stay in the strike zone for an irritatingly long time.

For hard baits, particularly topwaters, using Fish Allure scented tabs can help improve your chances of a bite. I’ve written previously about these water activated adhesive scents designed for hard baits.

It’s easy to determine where to add your Fish Allure tab to a walking bait such as a Heddon Zara Spook.  Because the tab is activated by water, I want it to stay in the water as much as possible, so I’ll place the tab on the belly, just in front of the first hook on a two treble Spook or between the first and second hook on a three treble Spook.

Below is Fish Allure pro staff member Fred “Boom Boom” Roumbanis talking about using scented tabs to catch more bass. Check out Fish Allure on Tackle Warehouse and order some today.

Booyah, Fishing Tips

Spring Buzzbait Bass Fishing Setup

Beaver Lake Spotted Bass on a Booyah Buzzbait
Chunky Beaver Lake Spotted Bass on a Booyah Buzzbait

This time of year is when to pursue the spring buzzbait bite early and late to catch bass who are cruising the shallows searching for spawning areas, defending nests or just entering post-spawn, which makes spring and fall key timeframes for buzzin’ the bass. (This previous article for Booyah talks about fall buzzbait fishing)

Because a buzzbait can trigger big bites and reeling in the bass from a long distance, it’s important to me to have the right setup. As a kayak angler I’ve got to have the right equipment to cast the buzzbait long distances with accuracy and then the power to get that fish in the boat quickly. Being closer to the water in a kayak creates a problem of leverage that you have to solve with a few simple keys.

Gear Setup

My primary spring buzzbait setup starts with a 7’3″ Dobyns medium-heavy rod with a fast action tip.  The tip gives me the ability to zing the bait long distances, and the medium-heavy rod allows for a powerful hookset. To ensure I can retrieve all types of buzzbaits and keep them moving with ease, I use a 7:2:1 gear ratio reel.

Next comes one of the most important factors for spring buzzbait fishing – the line. I’ve been using PowerPro #50lb braid in moss green tied directly to the buzzbait. Because of long casts involved, braid allows for a strong hookset and the ability to reel the fish in quickly. In Northwest Arkansas, ask for PowerPro braid at Southtown Sporting Goods in Springdale and Hook Line and Sinker in Rogers and Bella Vista.

For spring buzzbaits, Booyah is my primary brand of baits. Try the Booyah Buzz, which comes with a clacker in addition to the blade. I will use some with clackers and will cut the clacker off some others for a different sound. I’ve not tried the Pond Magic buzz, but they look interesting for smaller bodies of water.

Good luck and catch some bass this spring on a buzzbait!

 

Fishing Recap, Fishing Tips, Uncategorized

Observations from the KBF National Championship

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Kentucky Lake Largemouth Bass
Kentucky Lake Largemouth

Last week I competed in the Kayak Bass Fishing National Championship on Kentucky Lake for the first time, which was also my first time on Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. During my days pre-fishing and during the tournament itself, I came to a few conclusions. (admittedly, some more obvious than others)

  1. These lakes are huge, particularly for a kayak angler. We knew going in this was the case and would need to do a lot of scouting. During pre-fishing I probably spent almost as much time in the Tacoma as I did on the water. This is a lesson learned for next year, narrow the scope of water and spend more time scouting fewer areas.
  2. There are a lot of parts of Kentucky and Tennessee that look like the good parts of Arkansas. And…a lot of parts of Kentucky and Tennessee that look like the bad parts. We appear to all be in this together.
  3. 362 kayak anglers is a big field, even on Kentucky Lake. Every angler there is a good fisherman, which meant they can also read a topo map. The result was that anglers weren’t as spread out as I had hoped, the good water in many cases was very crowded with kayaks pounding the fish for a week. Those that found good water away from the crowd were rewarded.
  4. Top baits for me on Kentucky Lake during the week were a Bomber Deep Flat A crankbait, Booyah Buzz 1/2 oz buzzbait, Rebel Teeny Foxy Shad Pop-R, ned rig, Goldens Paddletail on drop shot and YUM Thumpn’ Dinger texas rigged.
  5. Ledges. I’d heard a lot about ledges and ledge fishing.  I think this worked for a lot of folks, but I just really couldn’t get it to happen for me. Might be the wrong time of year, so may try it again my next trip over there. Still was fun to say I’d fished the famous ledges on Kentucky Lake.
  6. Mom and Pop’s Pizza in Big Sandy is AWESOME. Definitely what is needed after a long day on the water. Check them out next time you are near the south end of the lake. Protip – pay the extra $1 for cheese on the breadsticks.
  7. The captains meeting the first night was a good event and was important to hear the rules and such. The captain’s meeting the second night seemed completely unnecessary, particularly when they moved it back from 4:00 to 6:30 and people had to wait around for an extra couple of hours instead of getting rest and preparing gear for the next day.
  8. I’ve never encountered a bigger bunch of rude, obnoxious and aggressive boaters than I did on Kentucky Lake. I’m hearing this as well from many other KBF anglers. Stories of invading fishing space, attempts to swamp kayaks and dangerously close fly-bys were common. Come on man.
  9. I made a huge mistake this week and really did a lot of exploring to get to know the lake’ instead of my usual strategy of looking for a particular type of water. Although I do know the lake better by fishing in about 10 different areas, it kept me from learning the area I needed to as well as I should have. Lesson learned for next time.
  10. Day one, I roll up an hour early to my selected spot, 449 miles from home and after a week of looking around for the prime location to begin. What do I see? Fellow Natural State Kayak Anglers member Jeff Mallot sitting there in the exact place I’m headed. Small world. If only I’d gotten there two hours early…ha!
  11. Lake Barkley looks really really good. People had told me to go fish there and I tried it. Loved how it looked. I just couldn’t catch fish there. Maybe next time.
  12. If you lose your assault paddle out of your yak on the crest of the big bridge crossing the lake, it will be gone by the time you go back to get it.
  13. Crazy Chicken night (every Tuesday) is definitely worth the $9.43 at Paris Landing State Park Lodge.
  14. There is a lot of talk about how long it took to judge fish and get final results out. I agree that this was a bit frustrating, but really, if you aren’t in the top contenders, it doesn’t matter that much to get your rank after a day or two. I’m more concerned about talk I’m seeing from some about wanting to implement a cut day after day one, or raising the fish limit to 15″ to limit the number of fish to be scored. In my opinion, this is supposed to be a fun, rewarding event, and both of those changes could really reduce the fun of the overall event for most anglers. People like to catch and card fish, and people like to know they will be fishing two full days before they travel. These changes would depress attendance, I know I may not pay the entry fee and travel over there for only one day. For the ‘hardcore’ anglers asking for these changes, guess what? Fewer participants means less entry fees which means less prize money for you to win. Hopefully everyone will see the big picture that a huge event where everyone has fun is the best thing for the sport.
  15. Can’t wait for next year!
Fishing Recap, Fishing Tips

Carolina Rigging for Trout in Arkansas

Rainbow Trout Caught on Carolina Rig at Lake Atalanta, Rogers Arkansas
Arkansas lake Rainbow Trout.

Fishing in Arkansas during January can be a hit or miss situation with the weather. One day it could be mild and in the 50s and the next day you may encounter sleet and ice and below freezing temperatures. One thing that you can count on is lake water temps dropping well into the low 40s and even the high 30s in some small lakes.

This is a great time of year to do some trout fishing in Northwest Arkansas, either in the White River tailwaters of Beaver or Table Rock lake or in some select clear water lakes in the area like Lake Atalanta in Rogers.

As primarily a bass fisherman I don’t own a fly rod, but you can use some bass techniques for some easy trout fishing. One of these techniques is to fish Carolina-style, but with a different and more finesse setup.

Owner Fishing Hooks - Mosquito size 8 Model 5177-031
Use size 8 or 6 hook.

One of the keys to making this work is to have a good quality sharp hook in the appropriate size. When using an egg-style floating bait, I’d select an Owner Mosquito Hook in size 8, or size 6 if you prefer. These Owner hooks are reliable and needle-sharp which is critical in a situation like this. They also have very small barbs that are easily pinched down depending on the waters you fish. If your local tackle store doesn’t carry these, you can find Owner Hooks on Tackle Warehouse.

Simply set up your rig by using a lightweight spinning rod and Shimano reel and attach a small swivel to a 4lb (try P-Line) leader with a small bullet weight and glass bead on the main line. Tie your Owner Mosquito hook to your leader, making it anywhere from 1 to 3 feet depending on water depth. Apply your floating bait egg

Close up of Owner hook in Rainbow Trout Caught on Carolina Rig at Lake Atalanta, Rogers Arkansas
The Owner Mosquito Hook in size 8 is the perfect small size for trout, but is needle sharp for a nice hookset.

on the hook, adjusting so just the tip of the hook is showing.

To fish it, simply toss it upstream in a current allowing it to then slowly bounce along back to you, taking up slack as it goes. This is a great system for fishing ponds or lakes with trout because you can either cast it out and leave it until you get a bite, or periodically move it a bit. The floating bait will look like a natural snack for the trout. Once you get a bite, the sharp Owner hook doesn’t require a strong hookset.

Give this technique a try the next time you want to try some trout fishing on a cold day. It’s an easy transition for a bass fisherman to find some success with trout.

Fishing Tips

Golden Retrievals With Crankbaits

I once heard Bassmaster Elite Series Pro Angler Greg Hackney say that he can “…make a fish bite with a crankbait.” He continued by saying “…because a fish is kind of like a dog. No matter how good of a dog he is you can make ’em bite.” Since poking a stick through a fence won’t work for a bass what’s the magic formula to making it bite? The answer may partially lie in the art of presentation via the retrieval. Let’s look at an example to illustrate some points:

It’s a beautiful day. The sun is out, a slight breeze is blowing and it’s lunch time. You settle down to enjoy your meal and suddenly a pestering fly takes on the persona of Tom Cruise in Top Gun. Ole “Maverick” is coming in to buzz your tower and spoil your peace. First it flies right by your noggin causing your head to flinch. Next it hits your fingers holding your beloved BLT sandwich. You flail your hand to try and shoo the quarter inch pain in the posterior away. Next, as a coup de grace, the fly zooms up to your face and hovers a mere inch from your eye. You instinctively grab for the fly with your Cheeto stained free hand.

Your head moving, your hand shooing, and your grab for the pest are all reactionary actions. You don’t think about it, you just do it. This is why a crankbait is considered a “reaction bait”, because the fish isn’t necessarily biting out of hunger. It’s biting because your goading it into an involuntary, non-hunger induced reaction.

So, let’s put yourself in the place of the fly and run through some progressions. You’ve got your favorite Skirmish crankbait tied on and you’re going to give Billy Bad Bass enough incentive where he can’t ignore your masterly hand painted crankbait any longer.

First Progression: The Steady Retrieve
Probably the retrieve most new anglers use. Throw it out and real it back. It can be effective but the fish need to be in a more aggressive, or arguably a hunger driven, mood. Like the fly buzzing by your head in the example above, a crankbait rolling in and steadily rolling on can cause an action but not necessarily the aggressive bite reaction we are looking for.

Second Progression: Bang It Into Something!
This is a big one and where most strikes occur. Make sure your crankbait is either bouncing along the bottom or colliding into something. Like the fly above your hand will move if a fly runs into it. It’s just instinct. If the bass are relating to wood, brush, or rock don’t be afraid to send that Skirmish hunter killer in there and let it deflect off of that cover. Hitting something near the bass causes the crankbait to rapidly change direction and, as a by-product, creates a slight pause in the retrieve. Bass are opportunistic predators and many times nature will dictate that they react by biting.

Third Progression: The Pause
Here’s a nugget I’ve watched some of the best crankbait fisherman I know, or watched pros, do. Let’s say you’re moving down a bank that doesn’t have a lot of cover. Like the fly above that hovers in front of your face we want our crankbait to do the same. You can reel the crankbait down to running depth, and then give it a short pause. Real it a few turns and then pause. Or, like I’ve seen Elite Series crankbait expert Kevin Short do, the pull and pause. Just like it sounds you reel down the crankbait to running depth, pull the bait, pause while reeling back in the slack and then pull again. Rinse and repeat. In this action you try to mimic our hovering fly with the pauses. A bass will have trouble passing up an easy meal that swims up and pauses right in front of it.

While you’re out this season with your Skirmish crankbait tied on try these methods and watch your strike percentages increase. If your friends take notice and ask you what your secret is, just smile and say “fly fishing!”

— Justin Phillips