city fishin’
Punchin’ in the park in Long Beach
by justIn GanGel
Story & Photos
casting into pressured park lakes and city reservoirs
I
n this day and age, every angler wants an advantage over the competition. Whether it is the newest bait on the market, a technique specific rod, or a super-tuned reel, having that slight edge over your peers could be the difference in banking or blanking on a bite. add in local lakes and ponds that see hundreds of presentations through- out the year, and know you need to do something to set yourself apart? We all ask ourselves at some point, “What can i do different?” “How can i fool these fish into biting something they have been trained not to?” it’s not an easy task anymore to simply go to your favorite city pond and catch quality fish. in my experience growing up in San diego County, and currently residing in long Beach, Calif., the number of local water bodies is extremely limited. The amount of fishermen pounding the banks on a daily basis only makes the fishing even tougher for the average shore angler. You have to adapt to fish to get their attention and my number one way to do that is simple; go big or go home. When targeting a trophy fish in my local city parks the first bait i reach for is the biggest, hard-bodied swimbait i can get my hands on. Baits such as a
lunker Punker and 3:16 armageddon work perfect for this application.
BAIT SELEcTIOn
With your standard-sized jigs, texas-rigs, craws, etc. being tossed in the same spots day after day, the fish become desensitized, especially in city ponds or lakes which tend to be smaller than bodies of water that are accessible by boat. don’t get stuck on smaller -sized lures. By placing an enormous, waking top- water bait in the same zones, you are bound to get some newfound attention. don’t think that these big lures are designed for giant fish only. You will be surprised at the number of smaller fish that will attack a meal that big. Big bait enthusiast and owner of ldC Custom rods, Ben denadi of Fullerton, Calif. can attest. When asked what his number one way of catching big fish on highly pressured water, he replied, “night attacks with swimbaits-less movement on shore allows the fish to move up tight to feed. This brings the fish into feeding zones within casting distance. once in range, it’s all about ambush points, angles, and retrieve speed.”
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