Get out of your comfort zone: Muskoka largemouth
Fishing weedless presentations is one of the biggest challenges for beginner and intermediate anglers. Unless you grew up on a lake with a ton of vegetation, you're probably not used to spooling 50 lb. braid for bass. Hell, that's almost as heavy as the stuff they use out in British Columbia for salmon. But setting up your gear is only a small part of the challenge. Learning how to detect bites and make good hook-sets is the toughest part for many weekend warriors.
I've looked at dozens of "How to Detect Bites" videos and this one was the most useful. I'll admit that I haven't tried his split-shot exercise, but two points have stuck with me. First, you need to go out and practice. It's easy to get discouraged when you get skunked or lose fish due to bad hook-sets. But if you don't work on fishing weedless you won't get better. My suggestion is to find a lake with heavy vegatation and docks, take only one rod and some plastic baits with you, and spend an entire day pitching and flipping. Eventually, you'll land a few fish, and your confidence will grow.
Second, it's tough to tell initially whether you have a big fish biting or a small one. I caught the largemouth pictured above by tossing a 2.75" Green Pumpkin Z-Man Finesse TRD senko on a weedless wacky rig jig to the edge of some lily pads. I only felt a slight tap-tap after my bait hit bottom, but I really pulled up on my rod. Don't be afraid to set the hook with as much force as you can. Sometimes it looks like the pros are overdoing it, but you really have to make sure the hook penetrates deeply (and gets through the plastic if you're Texas rigging) so that you can horse the big ones out of the weeds.
Make sure you have the right gear before you start: I use a heavy action rod and a Quantum Smoke reel with a 7.3:1 gear ratio. Then get out on the water and cast until your arms fall off! The better you get, the more you'll start to love this kind of fishing. It's close combat. It's exciting. And you can do it all day long. It's just a matter of getting out of your comfort zone. With patience, you'll reap the rewards.
Greg Cholkan is a lawyer, fisherman and Hemingway impersonator. He works in Huntsville and Haliburton with Barriston LLP and his practice focuses on real estate, wills and estates, and business matters. Follow him on Twitter: @gregcholkan
I've looked at dozens of "How to Detect Bites" videos and this one was the most useful. I'll admit that I haven't tried his split-shot exercise, but two points have stuck with me. First, you need to go out and practice. It's easy to get discouraged when you get skunked or lose fish due to bad hook-sets. But if you don't work on fishing weedless you won't get better. My suggestion is to find a lake with heavy vegatation and docks, take only one rod and some plastic baits with you, and spend an entire day pitching and flipping. Eventually, you'll land a few fish, and your confidence will grow.
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| Bonus smallmouth |
Greg Cholkan is a lawyer, fisherman and Hemingway impersonator. He works in Huntsville and Haliburton with Barriston LLP and his practice focuses on real estate, wills and estates, and business matters. Follow him on Twitter: @gregcholkan
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