largemouth and smallmouth bass. A few notches on your belt will open your eyes to an entirely different world within bass fishing.
THE ALLURE
While double digits are rare in the north, many fish over 5-pounds are caught on glide baits throughout the year. Fall is a prime season for exploiting fish feeding up for the winter. While some fish may be striking for a meal, others may hit or swipe from pure instinct. Recognizing the bait’s position after the catch can help indicate what the current mood is of those fish in your particular lake or river. The allure is important because learning the areas and indicators of why your catch committed is the basis of the technique that revolves around behavior. While a following fish may surface to show itself, a non-catch doesn’t necessarily mean the wrong speed or color. In fact, take these as positive signs that you are well on your way to unlocking the “follower” puzzle. Some fish never bite, it is a part of the game that we all must face at one time or another.
CLEAR WATER GLIDING
Many lakes and rivers in the Northwest are gin clear. Seeing down 10, 15 or 20 ft is not uncommon before turnover and these conditions can certainly be challenging. During high pressure blue bird skies, downsizing leader diameter is recommended. I personally keep a 1000-yard spool of Seaguar InvizX 17 lb test fluorocarbon on the boat for clear water and will go up to 20 lb test for stained water. While the differences may seem insignificant, the change helps increase my confidence.
By tying the leader to 65 lb braid, I feel I am giving myself the best setup that I can possibly rig with the strength needed to grind the fish to the boat. When it comes to fishing glide baits in clear water, docks and weeds should be the primary casting focus.
Ambush areas, while important across the board, are ever more important when fishing glide baits in northern waters. Like the smallmouth pictured, I came across an area near several docks where “big mama” was chasing bait fish.
Smallmouth and The Negociator
FALL 2015
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