Month: May 2010

May 22, 2010

Mexican Pirates On Falcon Lake

Falcon Lake in Texas has a little pirate problem. Boaters that cross over to the Mexican side of the lake have encountered armed gadget stealing "pirates".

From the San Antonio news story:

"If you go too far across the lake and past the international boundary
bouy, you are in Mexican territory and subject to attacks by pirates
toting assault weapons.

"It is unsafe in Mexico. Don't go to Mexico," warned Game Warden
Capt. Fernando Cervantes. "We can not cross over onto that side. If a
boat goes across, that's it. We stop there at the line."

One man fishing on the lake Thursday, Lucas Garza, said he'd be
staying away from the boundary. "We're not planning on going to that
side," he said. "We just know there's no good news on that side."
He and his friends have heard the warnings about Zeta cartel pirates
ambushing boats on the Mexican side, operating with virtual impunity as
they steal cash and electronics at machine gun-point."

What's really interesting about this is to see the different ways that people are responding to the story.

Comments from the San Antonio news site:

"If we don't secure are borders real soon it is going to be too late! A
couple of helicopter gunships could clean up this mess. Just don't ask
for any I.D.'s. We wouldn't want to offend."

"This is a great reason to endorse open carry laws here in Texas. You have a right to protect yourself."

"Arrrrr! Gather around Maties ! Belay that passive attitude and load the
12 pound guns ! We will toast them tacos and rip out their hearts
before their fading eyes!"

Comments from BoingBoing.net where I first saw the story:

"The unstated assumption is that Americans are entitled to cross this
border freely, but I don't think this is really the case. If the
pirates weren't making Americans afraid to cross the border illegally,
the Americans would be fishing in Mexican waters. Isn't that like
poaching?"

"It would be interesting to see what the reaction would be if the
situation were reversed, with armed bands of Americans waiting for
Mexicans to cross the border."

It is also interesting to note that the story seems to kind of gloss over the fact that Texas boaters are crossing over into Mexican waters, presumably without passports or permission, which is a whole other can of worms, obviously.

Video here on BoingBoing.net

May 17, 2010

How to Protect Your Cork Rod Handles

Whenever I get a new cork-handled rod I always immediately seal the cork with U-40 Cork Seal. Over time, cork can get broken down from all the sweat and dirt from your hands, and it ends up looking pretty bad. The U-40 Cork seal is available from Netcraft and is only $5.00 and really easy to use.

Just after application, before drying.

I just apply a ton of it with a big horse hair brush until the cork starts to soak it up. When it will not soak any more up I wipe off some of the excess with a rag and hit it with a hair dryer. This will dry it in less than a minute. Order some now so next time you buy a new rod it will be there ready for you. I say this only because it works the best when applied to new cork. If you don't have it around when you bring your new rods home they will end up in use before being sealed.

After drying the natural color comes back.

Even after a year of hard use this cork looks great after being sealed.

May 13, 2010

Trout falling from the sky

I just discovered a new blog that has a terrific introduction to the history of Rainbow Trout on the West Coast.

There's a new book called An Entirely Synthetic Fish about the introduction of Rainbow Trout into our waterways, that documents some of the ways that these fish were introduced by very novel means.

It turns out that in the 1950s apparently they decided that dropping trout from the sky into California lakes was a good idea.

"In one of the more surreal sections of the book, Halverson describes
the origins of aerial fish-stocking missions, as surplus World War II
planes and demobilised pilots were successfully redeployed in the 1950s
to introduce the rainbow trout to previously fishless lakes, high in
the California mountains. Even as you anticipate the disastrous
ecological consequences, it’s hard not to be amazed by the gung-ho
ingenuity of former crop duster and California Department of Fish and Game pilot Al Reese:

First, Reese tried freezing the fish in ice blocks and
parachuting them in ice cream containers. Both of these techniques,
though, proved dangerous and difficult. And so, one day, Reese and his
assistants tried a simpler technique. They put fifty trout and some
water into a five-gallon can and threw it out the window toward a
hatchery pond about 350 feet below. They missed, and the can bounced
along the rocks nearby instead. But when observers recovered the
twisted metal debris, they found sixteen fish still swimming in the
small amount of water that remained.

Ultimately, Reese and the team ditched the barrels altogether in
favour of releasing fish that would hit the water “with a vertical
speed of about thirty miles per hour,” in a scene described by
observers as “a cloud of mist that suddenly appeared behind the plane,
full of the barely distinguishable dark shapes of small fish.”

Read the rest here: The Amazing Allegorical Synthetic Fish

May 12, 2010

Breaking Down Spring Fishing Conditions And Adjusting

Some of the most frustrating days on the water are day when you cant seem to figure the fish out. Some days its a result of trying to force a bite on a pattern you want to fish, other days you just flat out cant figure the bite out.

I recently had one of these days this last weekend, I have had one two many of these days lately and have been spending a lot of time thinking back on them. I am a firm believer that you can learn more from your bad days on the water than your good ones. What I mean by this is that if you can think back through your day and make adjustments a lot of times you can go back and get them pretty good.

My favorite topwater search baits: a couple Punkers and a Snack Size Trout.

I have a love/hate relationship with spring time fish, there is that deep set desire to stay shallow and look for bed fish. The topwater bite is usually started to turn on under perfect conditions.This can change on a day to day basis depending on weather and temps. Fish are also spooky while in the shallow now clearing waters as well.

So here is where I usually start, sort of on the edge. I'll fish topwater paralleling the shore to start. This will do two things: allow you to cast in front of the boat with your search bait while checking areas for bed fish. Two things will either come of this: you will locate bed fish while every once in a while catching a fish or two, or not find jack shit and get a big frustrating follower every once in a while.

This is the first point at which if you are smart enough you can make an on the water adjustment.

Case in point: my last Saturday on the water. A lot of people like myself see those big fish and stick with the top water all day. This is what happened to me, at the end of the day I had one fish in the boat and about 10 fish stories of blow ups

Some back off area covering baits, pointer 128, Little Creeper Trash Fish, Zoom lizard and a creature bait.

I don't take this lightly, and have spent all week thinking about this and other days similar things have happened. Granted I am usually one of the first people I know every year to get them on top water. This is because I am as stubborn as a mule.

Here are a few approaches to this situation that have worked for me in the past.

First: back the fuck off. This fish are either spooky or just not on that bite yet.

Second: my next approach is to next try a big jerk bait. A lot of these fish that came up on that top water are either bed fish that swam off their beds to look at the bait, or just shallow spooky cruisers. These are both hard fish to catch. By backing way off the shoreline and presenting them with a smaller subsurface bait such as a Lucky Craft 128 or fluke, a lot of these fish may bite a bit more readily.

Another approach would be a Carolina rigged baits such as a lizard, a swimbait, or a lightly weighted creature bait. All those baits can cover large areas by fan casting spots that you may have already seen fish in. The biggest problem before was probably that they could see you as well.

Third: I may try for staging areas such as points or shore lines leading to these traps. I call them "traps" because there is a real psychology to seeing fish that keeps you shallow even if they are not biting. I cover a lot more water at this point using baits such as a DD22 in deeper water. A lot of these fish are gonna be easier to catch on a reaction bite. This is a great bait for reservoirs. On water such as Clear Lake or the Delta the points you may be covering most likely will have structure on them such as reeds or trees. I would try a flippin' these fish or running a weedless swimbait or jig in these areas.

DD22 a deeper water search bait

When the shit hits the fan.

Last resort here people, the bite still sucks what the fuck is next? I hate to admit it but some of my best fish this time of year have come on either a my bubba drop shot worm rig or a Senco.

Fish are going to be very structure oriented as they move in and out of areas so target the same stuff as last mentioned with these baits.

Drop it all and go home, or go deep

A football head jig and a heavy 10" Baitsmith

Screw these damn shallow fish anyway – it's deep water time. Keep moving out onto the main lake or more towards main points.

Unfortunately, at this point you're pretty much starting over. This can do one of two things: bring you new hope, or make you sit down and sadly eat lunch while wallowing in self pity. I do this and more.

This is also when I pull out a whole new arsenal. This will usually include an six to ten inch swimbait and a jig. I slow my approach a lot, paying attention to my graphs. I am going to be video game fishing from here on out. These are either gonna be pre-spawn fish or chewing post-spawners back out in the safety of their deep water haunts.

Eventually your gonna find them by going though a similar scenario, the best thing you can do this time of year is to stay open minded. The fish can be here one day, gone the next, just keep in mind they are probably not far away you just need the patience to track them down. Or you can be like me 90% of the time and just be the first guy to have that epic day on topwater following a month of near misses.

May 5, 2010

New JSJ Bait Co. Pack Rat Teaser Pics

Cat's out of the bag.

Well, its been a year and a half in the making. This little sucker put me and my good friend Benno Heune through the ringer, but I am finally in the process of building my final molds. My goal is to get them out to you guys for the prime summer bite.

The Pack Rat was designed to be fished in, around, on top of and under just about anything. It has an enticing double foot kick and a curl tail to close the deal. It is amazing how this bait darts through the thickest cover. The JSJ Pack Rat must be fished on a large bottom-weighted swimbait hook, just like many smaller swimbaits on the market. I have pulled this bait by people's boats and fooled them into thinking it was a real rat on my line. Thanks to all who have kept this bait a secret for me as I did not want to hit the soft bait market quietly.

This is the one and only truly weedless rat to hit the market. The first to be released is a 4 1/2 inch body not including the tail. We are currently working on a smaller version (The Rug Rat) that will be sold in a multiple pack. We have a magnum size we played with in the prototyping stages as well . . .time will tell.

The JSJ Pack Rat