windjinx

Last couple weeks here in NC Rivers the water temp. has ranged from 50-to 56 degrees. Catching fish on suspending jerkbaits and and lipless baits mostly. Also catching a few on shallow cranks. When the water temp was 50-52 the jerkbait bite was on. When the water temp temp went to the 54-56 They reacted more aggessive to the lipless. Pattern for the jerkbait was: Jerk- jerk, pause, twitch, pause, twitch, pause then fish on. The pause was usually about 5-8 seconds and the bite was very subtle. Fished around wood in 2-4 foot. Sunny skys and clear water.

I was at a local ramp that I have fished out of for years. At the time I had a standard shift Ford Ranger Pick-up and a 16' aluminum boat on trailer. It was an early spring day where the air temp was warm but the water temp was around 50 degrees. I back my rig down on the short ramp. Put on the parking brake leave the truck in first gear and turned it off. Went back to launch the boat. While pushing the boat off the trailer, all of a sudden I feel the truck and trailer start to go down the ramp slowly with me standing on the trailer. I immediately jump in the bed of the truck, then out of it and get inside the truck to get everything stopped. I never moved so fast bet it only took me 15 seconds. Of course not in time to keep the trailer tires from going off the end of the ramp. So, I give it a couple of tries to get it out with the truck to no avail with the springs catching on the ramp. I know that I will have to get in the water to get it undone. While I was doing this, another boater was there to launch. It is an older gentlemen and his son in his mid twenties. I explained to them what happened and asked if they would give me a hand. So in the cold water I go about up to my waist. While I was passing a rope under the trailer to keep it lifted. The son boldly and proudly commences to tell me several times in different ways that if I had the Dodge truck that he has he would be able to just ****** it out of there. So once I got the trailer lifted the gentlemen held the rope tight. I easily got the trailer pulled back up the ramp and went to park the truck. On my way back to the boat, the son proceeds to start backing his trailer down the ramp, as I am watching he then to my amazement backs his trailer right off the end of the ramp, even with the signs stating "ramp ends here" and seeing what I just went through. I look at the father who was standing on the dock drop his head down and just start shaking it back and forth. Then the son starts trying to pull the trailer back up and all you can hear is his Dodge truck motor rev up, then the bang of the springs hitting the ramp. After several attempts he get out of the truck and just looks at the trailer knowing what he must do after seeing what I had just done. Being that I was already wet from mine I offered to assist them with their trailer. Of course they accepted my offer. After just a few minutes the son pulls the trailer up the ramp and goes to park the truck. The father thanked me and then said " You're a better man than I am. If he been talking all that crap to me, he would have had to of gotten wet!"

I have out fished my friends many a time out of the back of their boats, and its not because they are bad fisherman, in fact I have learned a lot from these individuals. Fishing from the back seat does require a different mind set. Your mind set is to catch the fish that the person in the front of the boat over looks. Especially, if the person in the front of the boat is a skilled fisherman. A skilled fisherman is going to hit the high percentage spots correctly, the first time, every time. It is your responsibility to pay attention to their choices and study the next best spot that they did not choose to fish. Many anglers fishing from the front of the boat have patterns themselves. For example, some may only fish the right hand side the trees as they move down the bank, so make some of your offerings to the left side or behind the trees. Some guys flip to the target jig once or twice reel in and make another cast, maybe you fish your presentations out a little further. If the guy in the front hops his bait on the bottom drag yours instead or dead stick it a little longer. The person in the back of the boat actually has a lot of advantages that easily get over looked. By not being in the front of the boat you have a different set of opportunities. You don't have to deal with running the boat in the wind, you can take the time to change baits, or tweak your tackle a bit without worrying where the boat going. You have different angles to present your baits that the guy in the front can't.You have the opportunity to study your surroundings and key in on things a little more. Especially, being able to study the guy in the front of the boat if he is catching fish. A lot of times it's not the bait catching the fish it's the way the bait is being presented that does. One of the most important things to remember is to have confidence in what your doing and the choices that you make. Not chasing the other persons fish. They have already caught those! Learn to present your baits properly and effectively as your fish are more likely on guard already. But the down fall to being a good back seat fisherman in non team tournaments is the guy up front can get more frustrated with you catching fish behind them and really lock down your opportunities. Good luck and don't get discouraged.

Kudos for smashing the barbs. That goes a long way. Braid is great for sensitivity, however if there is slack in the line the bite doesn't always transfer well. The softness of braid will bow under the water if a fish swims toward you before it will actually move above water. Maybe this is some of the cause of excessive swallowed baits. Mono and FC on the other hand will jump on a hit or react to movement faster. Try and keep a tighter line if the presentation allows. Best solution for swallowed hooks is determine right from the start if it can be removed without a lot of effort. If it looks to deep or difficult, cut the line and leave the hook in place without do more damage wiggle and pulling on the hook at different angles and keeping the fish out of water for extended periods of time. I have caught healthy fish with old hooks in them and I have even had fish regurgitate a hook that I left in a fish during a tournament in the livewell prior to weigh in. The least amount of damage you do the better chance the fish has.