What did you learn on the water this week?

[Choporoz]

I read nearly everything on BR...I've been fishing for some 50 years....and yet...I'm still learning new (to me) important things. 

 

What was your big lesson in recent days?

 

I've got a few, but one that smacked me around a bit was that the split shot rig is the real deal....and adapt or get owned.  I'd never used it.  But my wife and I fished a tournament two weeks ago and got schooled.  We prefished the day before and killed them by working the bottom under heavy grass.  It was a challenge, but extremely effective.  The next day, we tried forcing that same bite for way too long....while the winners were playing on the top of the same grass with 1/16 oz split shot and cleaned up.  I tried light slider heads and owner ultrahead finesse briefly, but kept going back to the bottom with little luck....fishing memories, I guess

[ratherbfishin1]

I learn something new every time get on here, but just as often I get a good laugh

[Choporoz]

good point...I changed the subject....I, too, learn something every time I get on here....I just don't do a great job of remembering or applying all the time

[DINK WHISPERER]

Mine is something that I already knew but maybe needed a reminder on it. Don't let those storms get too close before you decide to call it. 

[the reel ess]

If you're going to use treble lures (1/8 oz. Rooster Tail) for bluegill, bring your pliers. They somehow get all three hooks inside the mouth every time.

 

A week old dead snapping turtle smells awful.

[ratherbfishin1]

3 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

A week old dead snapping turtle smells awful.

I’ll second that?

[gnappi]

At going on 67 I learn one thing every time I go out...

 

1. Read my prefloat checklist

Numbers 2,3,4,5 on up... Read my prefloat checklist

 

Oh, I have to add to the list, to put the TM on the boat. I forgot that at zero dark thirty a few days ago, and had to go home to get it.

[soflabasser]

I have learned in the past year that it is best to bring my better half with me on my fishing trips. She seems to bring me lots of good luck when we fish and I tend to catch lots of big fish with her. 

[Big Rick]

I learned hi-vis braid is amazing when fishing weightless Senkos. No matter how subtle the bite, if you're watching, the line will jump and twitch to let you know it's show time!!  Of course, I was using a 5 ft mono leader and the fall rate was spot on!  First time fishing with hi-vis braid. Very pleased with the outcome. 

[Bankbeater]

A long time ago I learned that it's a good idea to carry a paddle in the boat, whether its used or not. 

Always carry about 30' of rope in the boat.

[Catt]

What did you learn on the water this week?

 

I was actually reminded rain at 60 mph stings! ?

[the reel ess]

1 hour ago, soflabasser said:

I have learned in the past year that it is best to bring my better half with me on my fishing trips. She seems to bring me lots of good luck when we fish and I tend to catch lots of big fish with her. 

When mine has gone with me she catches all the intended species and I catch channel cats. But she quit going with me right after we got married. She said "I don't mind if you go or how long you stay, but I won't be going with you anymore." I said OK, deal. I really like going alone.

[gnappi]

18 minutes ago, Catt said:

What did you learn on the water this week?

 

I was actually reminded rain at 60 mph stings! ?

Down here the squalls don't worry me about getting wet, and we can get several inches of rain in an hour. A rain suit with hood fixes that but the d**n winds blow my tinny all over the place and into the shoreline brush.  If the bilge pump fails, then I guess the brush isn't as bad an option?  ?

 

Note to self: Put the rain suit into the carry on sea bag AND put the sea bag on the pre-float list!

 

[OCdockskipper]

I learned that just because the bass have been keying on bluegill fry for the past month doesn't mean they will be this week.  An early crankbait bite that slowed considerably as the sun rose didn't clue me in.  It wasn't until a bass shot out from under a retaining wall in 12 inches of water to grab a fluke that I began to figure it out.  I took a brown Senko, colored the tips Orange and began skipping it to gaps in the wall.  The next bass confirmed what was happening by revealing a small crawdad in his throat when I caught him. 

 

The bass had changed their menu from bluegill to crawfish and it changed where they were & the best way to present a bait to them.  It only took me 4 hours to figure it out...

[TnRiver46]

4 hours ago, the reel ess said:

If you're going to use treble lures (1/8 oz. Rooster Tail) for bluegill, bring your pliers. They somehow get all three hooks inside the mouth every time.

 

A week old dead snapping turtle smells awful.

Oh goodness......... found an old soft shell on a trot line that I hooked with a shad rap once.....bluuuhhh....... 

 

@Choporoz, strange coincidence I also used a split shot rig to catch a few suspended fish a couple days ago, they had already quit hitting other baits so I was trying different things to get down to them. I guess all that I “learned” this week was from idling around watching the graph and remembering key spots. Well that and Reiterated that September is one of the best months for smallmouth Fishing here locally (google photos from past years helped remind me )

[Eric J]

Trees give life to so much but sometimes if you release too early, they. are. not. your. friend.

[BuzzHudson19c]

I hunted this past week instead of fish and I learned that 3 dead Canada geese is the maximum amount I can stuff in my kayak.

[A-Jay]

I learned that there are three (previously uncharted) gorgeous piles of bowling ball size rocks about this size of my boat just south of one of my favorite pre-spawn jerkbait flats in a 8-10 FOT.  

 They are 'charted' now though. WP 877.

Thank you SI.

A-Jay

 

[flyfisher]

Nothing this week but i am looking forward to learning something this next weekend for sure  

[Bluebasser86]

I learned that Georgia cubes actually do hold fish. I'd never caught a fish out of one before but I caught several including all 3 of my biggest fish of the day. 

[soflabasser]

5 hours ago, the reel ess said:

When mine has gone with me she catches all the intended species and I catch channel cats. But she quit going with me right after we got married. She said "I don't mind if you go or how long you stay, but I won't be going with you anymore." I said OK, deal. I really like going alone.

Mines still fishes with me and does it more to make me happy since she knows I do not like fishing by myself. I join her in her hobbies as well. Good relationships are about making compromises and it is better to fish with your wife,girlfriend,significant other, etc than fishing with somebody else. On a recent trip she beat me in fishing for Bartram's bass and she caught a bigger hybrid Bartram's bass than I did. She does seem to enjoy fishing as long as she is catching nice fish which is often for her since I make sure to take her to good fishing spots.

[TOXIC]

I learned that the proportional degree to which you will get wet is directly related to the amount of $$ you spent on your rain gear.  Took my lightweight cheap rainsuit out and got caught in a very heavy downpour.  Had the river Nile running down my buttcrack.  I was not comfortable.  

[Troy85]

I learned that tidal Bass love to eat shrimp as they migrate from the interior marsh back offshore.

[Choporoz]

17 minutes ago, Troy1985s said:

I learned that tidal Bass love to eat shrimp as they migrate from the interior marsh back offshore.

Interesting.   Thank you.   I would have imagined that salinity tolerance of bass and shrimp didn't overlap.   I fish tidal waters, but rarely those with much if any salinity.   I used to hit some more brackish spots in Hampton Roads,  but never did very well.  

[Troy85]

11 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

Interesting.   Thank you.   I would have imagined that salinity tolerance of bass and shrimp didn't overlap.   I fish tidal waters, but rarely those with much if any salinity.   I used to hit some more brackish spots in Hampton Roads,  but never did very well.  

I generally thought the same thing, but the last couple weeks have taught me otherwise.  Two weeks ago I fished all morning and had only 2 small bass.  Found a spot around mid day with some water moving, and shrimp were jumping all over the place, I could see fish hitting them on top.  At first I thought it may be speckled trout(as they are starting to move inshore again).  I threw what I had tied on, swimbait, spinnerbait, frog, and crankbait and got nothing.  Then I remembered that I had a plastic shrimp in my rod locker from the last time I went salt water fishing. I tied it one and it was like night and day.  My next 3 casts I caught 3 bass, in the following 30 minutes I caught 25-30 bass.  Many times as soon as my bait hit the water, they were crushing it.  A few times, I would see them coming up to grab it, before it even hit the water, it was pretty awesome.  I kind of got to excited and forgot to retie, and ended up losing my shrimp.  I retied with a baby brushhog, which was the closest shrimp imitation I had, but they didn't want it.  In the next 10 minutes I only caught 1 fish.

 

I brought about 5 home to cook up, and when I cut their stomachs open, they were just FULL of shrimp.