More Than One Way

As fishermen we are always looking to improve our resume, so to speak. To become better at our craft in order to enjoy our sport in every way possible. Some of the finer traits that fishermen possess are patience, perseverance, creativity, and the ability to solve problems. After all, a huge part of being a successful fisherman is being able to piece together a plan and then execute that plan to the best of your ability. Every now and again there comes a time when your gut tells you to go against the conventional wisdom and try something out of the ordinary. In some cases that idea never produces, but in others it provides epic results that lead to memorable days on the water. Experimenting with different lures, tackle, and techniques is a great way to find new opportunities to enjoy the sport and it has become one of my favorite things to do, especially when I travel. I have always found it interesting to learn new methods of fishing and to find new lures or baits that I could bring back and use in my home waters. You might find a blend of curiosity and discovery can sometimes be a powerful combination.

Without a doubt the most useful discovery or alternate technique that I have ever found has to be the use of weedless topwater lures such as plastic frogs for catching redfish in our brackish marshes. Just like the old saying, “necessity is the mother of invention,” the plastic frog became the new solution to a difficult problem. Here on the Upper Coast we are blessed to have hundreds of square miles of marsh and estuary that hold great numbers of both fresh and saltwater fish. But these marshes can sometimes become impossibly clogged with vegetation – so the solution to the problem was to take a page from the bass fishing playbook and put the weedless frog to work. To this day, if you told me I could only catch fish one way for the rest of my days, throwing a weedless frog to big shallow-water redfish would probably be on top of the list, or at worst a close second. For years I have shared this technique with clients and friends alike only to sit back and enjoy their reactions as the violent strikes and seductive follows keep most folks begging for more. This was easily my greatest experiment that has paid tons of dividends.

On a recent trip to Mexico I got the opportunity to share a new technique with my friends from south of the border. We were in the Pacific, forty miles north of Cabo San Lucas, searching for marlin – but decided to take a break and catch a few fish for dinner. As we began to troll some nearshore reefs we stumbled upon some Sierra mackerel of very impressive size. The gear we were using was a little heavier than necessary and the bites were rather hard to feel. The single hook jigs we were trolling were catching a few fish, so I decided to see if we could improve our hook-up rate by downsizing tackle and changing lures. I had a 7-foot Laguna travel rod rigged up with 30-pound braid and fluorocarbon leader attached to a chrome half-ounce Rat-L-Trap and it did the trick. As soon as the vibration of the ‘Trap got going these hard-fighting Sierras, and a few other species, absolutely jumped on it…and the fight was on. The ‘Trap on lighter line not only out-fished the heavier jigs by a wide margin but also provided some fantastic light-tackle action highlighted by awesome drag-testing runs. By bringing a little “redneck and Cajun ingenuity” to the boat we were able to make a great trip even more enjoyable.

Another example of finding a new way to achieve the same result for me has to be my affinity for jerkbaits or stickbaits. The baits I’m talking about are the shallow diving plugs with a small bill such as the tried and true Rapalas. For years we would get anglers on our boats that struggled with presenting baits such as Corkys; they weren’t sure about the technique and lacked confidence to fish it properly. They were also overly cautious about hanging up in the shell and breaking them off. I’m not going to lie; when I was supplying the lures I wasn’t too keen to see them losing them, either. At $10 to $15 a pop, losing them gets old real quick.  

The solution to the problem was to let the client’s fish a jerkbait and it worked like a champ. The simplicity of the plug allowed those who were not comfortable with the Corky to just slowly retrieve the jerkbait and allow the built-in action of the plug to do the rest. The strikes were unmistakable and on most occasions when you hung up on shell and broke the line trying to get it off, it would float back to the surface for easy retrieval. It was the perfect answer to the problem and is still one of my favorite ways to fish. In recent years I have really relied on the Yo-Zuri 3D Fingerling for this technique for several reasons, chief among them is the diamond-shaped bill that deflects readily off oyster shell and structure and gives the bait incredible action. If you don’t already have a few jerkbaits in your arsenal I highly recommend that you rectify that situation because these baits produce in all sorts of situations.

As fishermen we are always looking for ways to catch more fish and probably one of the biggest things that hold us back is being unwilling to experiment with certain ideas, lures or techniques. Basically, I believe there are two primary times and reasons to experiment – when fish are really biting and when they just won’t bite for anything. I enjoy messing around with different baits or techniques when fish are schooling because it gives you some instant feedback. In the late summer or fall when the fish get ganged up under the birds and you really start catching them, that’s a perfect time to try different colors or bait sizes. Obviously, it helps to have another fisherman in the boat so you have a “constant” and some sort of basis for comparison. At times when nothing seems to work you have nothing to lose, so trying something new really costs you nothing but could provide you with some valuable information for future trips. The main thing is to not be shy of trying something new; it could only make you better. The discovery of a new technique just may put you a few steps in front the rest of the fishing world…and that’s definitely a risk worth taking.