With mild temperatures running into the second week of November, and snow finally blanketing the ground today, I think its time to winterize the jet boat and close the 2024 boating season. Once again, it …
Fall fishing in swing and today we are joined by the best receiver in the CFL, Mr. Reggie Begelton and his teammate Mr. Tre Odoms-Dukes. As most of you know, Reggie is a seasoned angler …
Recently I have seen an increase in poaching on the Bow River while out fishing. Poaching is bad for our fisheries and can cause severe decline in fish populations rapidly. Not only is it against …
My girlfriend Charlene and I decided to switch it up from trout fishing and head out to Milo to fish McGregor Lake. Before leaving the city, we stopped to get some worm harnesses and some …
Recently, I have been in the market for a new rod and reel set-up. After fishing heavy for the last 20-twenty plus years, it was time to step up the game and get some higher-end …
It’s been a great month here on the Bow River. After receiving my new custom 3D Dreamsicle lure a few weeks ago, I have been at the river often, catching both amazing browns, and scrappy rainbows. The color of lure is a cross between a brown trout, and a Cutthroat trout pattern.
I have had many complements on the design and action of the lure, combined with its consistent catching ability. Everyone who has made purchases has caught many amazing species of fish including Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Bull Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Walleye, Northern Pike, Pike Minnow, Red Horse sucker, white sucker, Longnose sucker, and Rocky Mountain Whitefish. This list will grow exponentially as lure sales broaden.
I have been very happy with the way the 3.5-inch crankbait is performing for both myself, and my friends that fish with me in the jet boat. You can shop my online store and get your 3D Dreamsicles here at www.robertsontackle.com
Every professional angler has his gear, and tackle organized, and ready for action before he even walks out the front door to the river. Sometimes many hours are spent making sure his or her gear is properly stowed away, and ready for use, when he arrives at the river to fish. There is no wasted time and energy looking for lures, or any gear once he steps foot into the boat or walks the bank. Fortunately, there are great tackle companies on the market to help you maximize your time on the river.
TACKLE STORAGE
One of the tools of the trade is tackle storage. There are many types of storage units on the market, including and not limited to a tackle box. There are also many types of individual storage units and bags available if you prefer not to use a tackle box. The fishing organization business has come a long way since the old days, and fortunately now, there are many units available on the market. When fishing a river from the banks, I personally steer away from tackle boxes and here is why!
Tackle boxes are plastic and have a handle to carry them around. Picking them up and putting them down wastes time and energy when walking the bank. You are constantly picking the tackle box up and putting it down every time you move into your next “10 yard swath”. This is a total time waster and unnecessary in today’s fishing applications.
They are made from cheap plastics and usually break down often, causing you to spend more money. Money that can be better spent on more lures or spinners.
It’s difficult to fit all the tackle you need into one small box. Tackle boxes do not hold all the baits I bring with me; therefore I do not use tackle boxes any longer, and have not for many years now for these reasons.
SO WHAT SHOULD I USE?
In place of the outdated tackle box, I prefer to use a backpack for all my storage needs. A backpack is far more versatile and lets you have it on your back as you walk up and down the river. You do not waste time picking up and putting down a backpack every time you move to your next “10 yard swath” of river. You move along and keep casting your lure, or spinner along the way, maximizing your time each outing. Your main goal is to make as many casts as possible in any given location of the river! Picking up and putting down a tackle box reduces the number of casts made every single trip, therefore reducing the amount of potential fish landed! You can also put additional items in the pockets of the backpack such as pliers, weights, sunglasses, hooks, and split rings which are all essential when fishing. Each piece of tackle, or tool, can be put in its own place for ease of access.
TACKLE TRAY’S
The effective tackle solution comes in the form of tackle trays, added into the main section of the backpack, and can be labeled with a black permanent marker to easily identify each and every tray. It is best to write on each tackle tray in bold writing, what the contents are in each tray. For example, you will place each Rapala Countdown lure in its single space within the tray, and then label the tray in bold lettering, (Robertson Tackle Raunchy Rainbows). Going one step further, you will add only Rainbow Trout patterns into one tray and then label that tray Robertson Tackle RT or RAINBOW TROUT. The next tray will hold ONLY Robertson Tackle in the brown trout pattern and are labeled as such. For your spinner baits you will use a larger tackle organizer that has smaller compartments to accommodate each single spinner you add to the box. These will separate each spinner into its on square space and help with the spinners hooking onto each other, creating a big mess in the tackle organizer. You will label these the same way as your lure boxes. Your BLUE FOX spinners will only be placed in one box and labeled accordingly, and then your PANTHER MARTIN spinners will all go into another separate box and labeled. You can also take your organized backpack with you in the boat. I simply remove a few of the trays, and tie hooks onto two rods that I am using to fish that day. The rest of the tackle organizers stay stowed away in the backpack and placed out of the way. I remove my pliers out of the pocket and place them close to me for easy removal of hooks once I land the fish in the net. The backpack solution is the one that works for both fishing the banks, and fishing from a boat!
LESS TIME WASTED EQUALS MORE FISH!
Remember, organization will always lead to less frustration while fishing your Local River or stream. The more time spent making casts and not fumbling with gear, the more successful you will be on the water. Have your gear ready to go before heading out the door on your next adventure including sharp hooks, re-spooled reels, extra split rings, pliers and a great selection of baits. Have your gear placed strategically for ease of access according to your fishing plan for the day. Clean off any line from your lures before you take a step into the boat, or onto the banks. You can burn the old line off, or use line clippers at home. These small organization tips will save you time, save you unnecessary frustration and maximize your fishing day each and every time. Remembering to do these things BEFORE heading out fishing is crucial.
THE FIRST STEP in this system is to locate productive water in the first place. Knowledge of your quarry and where they live in all seasons of the year is vital in this starting point. Making a plan before you even step out the door of your house is THE SECOND STEP. After all, we are there to catch fish and not waste valuable time! Knowing a river intimately will help you locate fish faster than the weekend, or recreational angler. Even if you are a recreational angler, or weekend angler, this system will work for you. The next downloadable articles will be ‘where to find the fish in all four seasons of the year’! Once we arrive at the river WITH A PLAN, we then begin to break the river down in 10 yard increments.
Starting at the top of a pool for example, we spend 10 minutes in that 10 yard area of river. If the fish are there and they are feeding, you will most likely hook into one within the first 10 minutes of fishing. Let’s say you do not have even a bite, or do not land a fish within that 10 minute window, why would you stay in that location for any longer? Are you wasting precious time waiting for the fish to come to you, or are you going to the fish?
BE THE HUNTER!
No bites and no fished hooked we move down the river, into the next 10 yard swath of river. Now we are fishing an untouched, virgin section of river. Perhaps the fish are down further in the pool or run, how we find this out is we move to the fish, WE HUNT! Now our lure or spinner is entering into fresh water, perhaps there is underwater cover here such as weeds, or large boulders, where they are not present at the top of the pool. All of a sudden we get a bite, or we actually hook one. We have moved into where the fish are living in the pool. We reel said fish in and let him go to be caught another day. On the next few casts we manage to catch another one, followed by another one several casts later. Then all goes quiet again. We make several more casts and come up empty.
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WHAT HAPPENED????
We know that there were fish there and we hooked and landed 3 already. Then we spooked the school, where did they go, WHAT HAPPENED? The fish moved somewhere! They just saw three of their school mates get caught and they left the playground, BUT WHERE DID THEY GO? You just spooked the school and they went one of three places.
Up the river to find shelter and get away from you.
They went down river to find a safe place to hide, again to get away from the playground (your 10 yard swath of water).
They went to the other side of the river to run and hide.
WHAT DO WE DO NOW?
There are a few things we can do now once this happens. We can move down the river and present our lure or spinner into the new 10 yard section of untouched river, locating the fish again after they have moved out of the previous 10 yard swath. If we again hook and land fish in the new 10 yard area, we proceed to keep casting and catching. If we don’t find active fish in the new 10 yard area of river, we can sit down and admire our beautiful surroundings, giving the fish a chance to forget about the three or more fish they just saw you catch 5 minutes earlier. I like to give the fish at least a five minute break when I do this, that way they forget about their 3 friends that were down there in the school with them getting caught. During this time we can keep a look out for active fish rising, or feeding, further down the pool, or back at the top of the pool where we started. We can also CHANGE LURES, offering the fish something new during this 5 minute breather. REMEMBER, the fish may have went across the pool to the other side, so we may want to choose a lure or spinner that is heavier at this time, that way we can reach those active fish that have moved further across. If you are fishing a narrow stream, the chances that they went across the stream are next to none. They will ONLY move up or down. If you are fishing a wide river, then this tactic will come into play. Switch the lure or spinner to a heavier model and proceed to cast further across the river, maximizing every inch the river has to offer you, AND catching as many fish in the area that are feeding.
LET’S MOVE ALONG
Moving down again after this resting period will set you into a new 10 yard chunk of real-estate, and again into new untouched water. Using the same methods and tactics that have landed you fish that day; work this new 10 yard swath over and catch more fish. Sometimes you will notice that the smaller fish will live at the top of the school and the larger fish will be at the middle of the school, or at the bottom of the school. The BIG FISH are dominant and will battle for better position within the school. The big boys will have the best hiding spots as they are the kings of the castle. We need to keep moving in 10 yard increments to find those trophy fish within the area. I don’t mind catching those smaller fish, but after you become a more advanced angler, you will look for those massive fish each and every outing. You will find these BIG FISH once you start employing the 10 yard system, and keep on the constant move to locate those said BIG FISH. The process of elimination becomes easier and you will find yourself on BIG FISH more often, and more frequently with less wasted time. Once you have fished the entire pool or run, head back up the river and repeat this proven process. You have given the top portion of the pool a 30-40 minute rest and may now catch many more fish where you started. Keep working the entire pool in these 10 yard sections and you will put more fish in your net every single outing. If you find you are not catching any more fish in the stretch of river you are fishing, it’s now time to pack up and move to a new location of the river. Repeat the 10 yard swath technique and soon you will be the talk of the local tackle shops.
Many anglers understand that giving off good “vibes” on the water can be more productive! It goes without saying that a happy employee for example, is usually a productive employee and will accomplish more work in a day than say a disgruntled employee. This is my approach to fishing. When I am happy and enthusiastic, I am generally a more productive angler and seem to put more fish in the net, as opposed to when I am frustrated and feeling down.
Many people do not talk about this subject, but I believe it is very important to discuss and implement into your “fishing system”. First off, I would like to discuss how I feel about energy, and how that affects my daily catch limit or effectiveness when out on the river. I firmly believe that when I am happy, when my gear works properly, and when my lure runs straight and true, my energy is calm, and I am sending out positive vibrations which the fish can feel. How can the fish feel my vibrations you may ask? I believe that when you are sending out positive vibes, you are holding the fishing rod in your hand, then once you cast, your vibrations are transferred into the water by the line which is attached to the line. It is in my opinion, that the fish feel these vibrations and react according to my energy I am emitting outwards. You ever had a day when you and your fishing partner head out and are using the same rod, same reel, same lure etc. The one angler seems to be catching more fish than the other angler, and often, we cannot figure out why. Sometimes it can be the technique used by the one angler, but I believe it can also be that the one angler is sending out positive vibes, and as a result, the fish react to that positive energy, as opposed to the other anglers negative, frustrated energy. I truly believe that positive energy puts more fish in the net.
How to create positive energy.
Positive energy is created much before you step on the banks of the river or onto your boat for the day. It is created by checking your gear, by making sure each and everyone of your lures is in tip-top shape, and it is created by paying attention to the small details BEFORE you head out onto the water. Here are some of the details I pay attention to before even leaving the threshold of my door.
Clean and check my reels that I will be using for the days trip. This includes lubricating the reels in the spline of the reel, the ball bearings in the handle, as well as, lubricating the inner housing of the reel. I want to make sure that the reel is clean and free of and dirt or grime. I want to make sure that the reel is spinning properly and not binding up in any way. I will double check the screws in the reel as well, making sure none of them are coming loose in any way. Then I will flip the bail of the reel open and closed several times, making sure the bail will open and close properly.
Making sure I have fresh line is very important to me. There is nothing worse than getting out on the water and having line issues that waste time and effort. I would rather check the line at home, and if I feel that there will be an issue of any kind, including line twist, breakage, or if the line is brittle in any way, that I remove the old line off my reel the night before my planned trip, and respool with new fresh line according to the quarry I intend to target. What I mean by that is this. If I know I will be targeting 4-6lb trout, I will spool my reels with 8lb test line.
Checking all my lures for defects including cracks in the bills of the lures. It is super important to me that my lure is swimming tried and true from the beginning of the trip, until the end of the trip. If I see visible cracks in the lure, or the lure appears damaged in any way, I will leave that lure at home and replace it with a new lure from the factory packaging. It is also necessary for me to remove any old line from the lures I have used on previous trips from the lure before I head out fishing. In many instances, leaving old line on the lures can cause breakage of the line, leading to frustration of losing a fish, or possibly losing the lure when casted.
Using your confidence baits will increase hook-ups! Most of us including me have their favorite lures they are super confident with. Once I have checked that the lure is working properly with a few test casts, I feel confident and at ease. My energy level is positive which leads a great day on the water. I believe it is important for you to have this same confident approach every time you fish. This brings us to our next point. What if I am having a frustrating day on the water, what should I do?
If in fact you have followed all the steps contained here in this chapter, and your day goes sideways for any reason, what should you do? Either by boat or shore fishing, I will stop and take a break and let the feelings of frustration subside or pass. If I am in my boat, I will immediately pull my boat off the river in a safe location and get recentred. If the lure is not working properly, I will adjust accordingly. If my casting is not accurate, I will sit there and have a drink or just pause to take in my surroundings. Whatever it takes to get rid of the frustration or negative energy, I will do before carrying on with my trip. Same thing applies when I am shore fishing. I will pause and sit down and just take a break then resume fishing once my frustration level goes down. After I feel calm, cool and collected, I will pick my rod back up and resume casting.
Having sharp hooks that are in perfect condition is another important factor for me to create a happy, positive fishing experience. Before I leave the house, I make triple sure my hooks are sharp and undamaged. Often, our hooks get damaged from previous trips and become dull, bent, or broken entirely. If we triple check our hooks before starting our day, we will often notice these defects. I will remove the hook from the split ring and replace the damaged hook with a laser sharp Eagle Claw hook. I find these hooks strong, and super sharp, which I trust. Having faith in a product and trusting a product, will keep you confident and happy on the water!
To summarize, having confidence in your gear will lead to a more positive, productive fishing experience each time you are on the water. If your energy vibrations are high, chances are, so will your catch ratio be. For me, this is a very important part of my fishing system which often goes overlooked by other anglers. It is a key factor in my success, both fishing alone, and when I have clients in the boat when I guide. Keeping the mood happy, and positive, translates into more fish in the net.
When choosing to fish with another angler, that other angler must also meet these criteria; meaning, that angler must also have a positive attitude while fishing with me. There is nothing worse than fishing with a partner with an attitude that is negative and pessimistic. I choose to fish with positive, enthusiastic anglers with good vibes and high energy levels. It makes for a productive, happy day on the water. Keep your attitude in check, be supportive, triple check your gear before you leave the house, and fish with happy positive people. This will put more fish in your net, and a bigger smile on your face!
