I just got a boat for the family and would like to fish with it some too at New Melones with my kids - especially right now while the water is too cold for swimming/tubing.
It's been at least a decade since I've fished for anything and I was never too serious about it. Now trying to educate myself a bit on lures and tackle is a little overwhelming. I'm hoping someone can suggest some gear to fill a tackle box or two that would give us a decent chance of catching some bass while we're out there?
Any input on locations or depths to target or anything else at all would be great too!"
Long reply. The following opinions and beliefs are based on 55 yrs. on the water catching most freshwater species. Important words in bold:
I think lure choice can be simplified to this:
a lure's action/profile.
The first thing to remember:
lures are unnaturally moving objects that look unnatural. The way a lure looks and moves provides strike-triggers that are part of a fish's DNA.
It seems fish do what evolution has programmed them to do when it comes to strikes whether those involving live bait or those that are a response to
specific lure actions/ presentations.
For example,
quiver is one of the best and most trustworthy actions a lure can have - especially at
low retrieve speeds with pauses. The many different hard and soft baits that provide quiver, is an example of a lure action that makes quiver lures a bass angler favorite.
Here are some
action/profile examples many of us have caught fish on:
spinnerbaits: skirt pulsation, flutter and flair combined with a flashing strobe-like blade; good lure to cover water and near weeds
skirted bass jigs: skirt pulsation, flutter and flair combined with trailer action; great bottom hopping lure
Zara Spook: violent back & forth waddle creating surface splashes
curl tail grub and plastic worm: tail flapping like a flag whipping in the wind
NOTE: not all curl tail shapes produce the same action - some are wide, some have a thin attachment (Ribbon Tail); very versatile at many depths and use with many presentations
Kut Tail worm on a light jig: darting action when jerked and slow drops when paused near the surface or mid-depth
Senko wacky rigged: tail rotation and body roll as it sinks
(I make small plastics that can be wacky rigged on a light jighead)
deep-dive crankbait: and the Flat Fish: violent back & forth waddle along with clanking hooks (and rattles if present)
surface cranbaits or plugs (Rapala): quiver on the surface creating ripples fish key in on before smashing them on the surface
Mepps spinner: strobe-lke flashes and blade thump; one of the least versatile of lures but still a great fish catcher
Mann Shadow minnow: the closest in hadpe and action to
any minnow I've ever seen, gliding along with slight tail-fin action. Best used on a 1/24 oz or 1/32 oz ball head jig
Sassy Shad and other swimbait boot-tails: thumping tail that imparts a body quiver
(tip: cut a bit off the belly of the S.Shad for a different body shimmy)
Jitterbug: a large waddle and wake produced by a cupped blade splashing & swishing; a great surface lure
Buzzbait: triangular, in-line blade that swishes on the surface and imparts a pulsation to the skirt
Beetle Spin: small flashing blade that imparts grub body vibration along with the flapping curl tail; can be used with many soft plastics rigged on light jigheads (look up examples)
Johnson Weedless Spoon: crazy wobble; a near-surface spoon vs 1/2 oz DareDevil ( I always use it with a trailer)
Plastic grub with curl tail removed: darting wobble when rigged on a 1/32 oz jig head
My all-time favorite is one I make myself without a mold: a
flat thin-tail minnow shape that has a subtle tail flutter that drives fish nuts! see photo
I've noticed that many anglers who choose lures pick based it on prey animals and assume fish do also. That may be the
narrative as to why specific lures catch fish but is not predictive. What is predictive of
what to use and when in the future takes a bit of experience fishing different waters.
Fish tales and generalizations aside, many assumptions regarding lures are
not fact-based but rely on
misinformation or disinformation supported by the angler media (TV and in print).
Do this one thing after catching fish on a lure:
1.
Watch how it moves in the water and take note. That lure is worth a place in your tackle box after more fish are caught on it.
2. Besides a lure's action/profile,
presentation matters when it comes to any lure used and after fish are caught on it. By presentation I mean how a lure is worked. Many soft plastics, for example, have many ways they can be rigged and worked using rop tip & reel handle turns.
The lure action categories listed above give me the freedom to try anything that strikes my fancy based on experience but only
once fish are found.
Fish location is key to catching fish - period! I would not catch 1/4 of the fish from my boat without using sonar to show me the bottom and baitfish schools. Fact: predators stay close to the food.
Docks and weeds are my first locations to try. Fish locations vary with weather and seasonal changes. Keep notes!
Important when getting kids hooked on fishing, is to start with
small plastics rigged on light ballhead jigs (1/24 or 1/32 oz). 8# test braid on spinning or spincast reels cast light lures a nice distance and braid transmits light strike because of its non-stretch.
Again, the above is not authoritative, meaning, you can take all of it as suggestions to consider. You and your kids will form the
narratives and memories every time you catch fish. Trying different things and discovering which catch fish is
your best source of information. (note: take photos of lures stuck to a fish's lip and shots of your kids and the fish they catch. Memories are nice, but not reliable (especially at 75 yrs.)
