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.

Wired Angler 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.

Wired Angler 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

Wired Angler 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

A real pack of rats

May 4, 2010

Some Recent Paintwork

I just finished doing some custom paint jobs and figured I would post up some photos.

A Zenith Big Bite in baby bass

An 8" Wood Punker in Clear Lake Hitch

An 8" inject punker in Bass

April 29, 2010

Stick Jackets Fishing Rod Protectors Rock

I have been eyeballing these for a while now and finally broke down and bought some.

Stick Jackets are a long rod sleeve you put over your rod for storage. They solve a few problems I have been having for years on my boat. First and foremost, they keep my rods from getting tangled up. They also keep my longer rod tips from getting damaged on the inside front of my boat. Having to strip down 7 feet of line and a re-tying every time I pull a new rod out of my locker is a pain in the ass. Last but not least, my guides are not going to get banged up any more. These things rock.

Stick Jackets on Monster Tackle

April 19, 2010

Weekend Bass Boat and Trailer Mods

This weekend I helped Jeremy Anderson from Black Dog Bait Co do some mods on his boat and trailer. Jeremy is in the process of redoing a bunch of stuff on his boat like replacing the carpet, repainting his trailer, fixing all the fiberglass issues, buffing the whole boat out, new upholstery, new motor . . . and the list goes on. He has a mid 90s, 20 foot Champion bass boat, and really, a new boat does not always mean a better boat.

We got a lot done in just a small amount of time.

The carpet on all the lids has been done already, so before the deck get redone all the glass work and modification needs to be done. Also, before the trailer gets repainted the old fucked up parts needed to be banged out and replaced. We started by cutting his old fenders off – they were rusty and banged up so they had to go.

After cutting them off with a 6" cut off wheel we cleaned all the old welds up. At this point we fitted up the new stainless steel fenders and welded them on.

Jeremy had his laser cut guy throw some paw prints in the center of the fenders for a cool detail. He is going to later back them with blue L.E.D lights.

The new fender welded in place, it will be repainted just past the weld.

The paw print in the center of the two wheels turned out pretty nice, it will look really good when its back lit.

After the fenders were done we fitted up the new trolling motor tub. We started cutting out the corners with a hole saw. Then we finished the cut with a jig saw.

We then cut out the foam to fit the trolling motor recess pedal with a drywall punch saw.

The recessed pedal tub fit very nicely, it wont be permanently attached until the carpet is installed. We will keep you updated as more work gets done to the boat.

In the meantime, here's some of the other bass boat mods I've done

Basic Bass Boat repair: Fixing minor dings – part one>

Basic Bass Boat repair: Fixing minor dings – part two>

Hand-pinstriped boat numbers>

April 16, 2010

“There’s no such thing as a reckless octopus hunter. You’re either careful or dead.”

On the list of other watery hobbies we could be enjoying:

Apparently in the 60s it seemed like a good idea to dive into the cold waters of the Pacific Northwest and wrestle octopi from the watery depths.

In April 1963 the "World Octopus Wresting Championships" were held in Puget Sound, Washington. 111 divers brought up 25 giant octopus weighing in at up to 57 pounds, and had as many as 5000 spectators.

I'd like to see the trophies.

In 1965 an article about the sport in "True: The Man's Magazine" they talked about a guy called the "Father of Octopus Wrestling."

". . He knew how to outmaneuver them, to outflank them, and to outthink
them. He knew full well, many years ago, what today's octopus wrestlers
are just beginning to learn–that it is impossible for a man with two
arms to apply a full nelson on an octopus; he knew full well the
futility of trying for a crotch hold on an opponent with eight crotches."

From Time Magazine circa 1965:

"Merely to minnow about underwater is no longer enough, and such sports
as octopus wrestling are coming increasingly into vogue, particularly
in the Pacific Northwest, where the critters grow up to 90 Ibs. and can
be exceedingly tough customers. Although there are several accepted
techniques for octopus wrestling, the really sporty way requires that
the human diver go without artificial breathing apparatus"

And this awesome illustration comes from a 1949 Mechanix Illustrated, from an article called "Octopus Wrestling is my Hobby"

According to them, this is some serious business.

"Like to wrestle an octopus? I realize it all sounds like a loathsome
sport but it’s really more fun than hunting some poor harmless
creature. When you wrestle and kill an octopus, you’re ridding the
marine world of a treacherous enemy.

And you’d better watch your step, too. For there’s no such thing as a reckless octopus hunter. You’re either careful or dead."

Found via this site, which has lots of other good stuff, most of which has nothing to do with Octopus: Futility Closet

April 11, 2010

Walk Through a Bluegill Paint Job At JSJ Baits

So the pictures turned out kinda blurry on this one, my normal camera is having a "moment" right now, but was doing some painting today for some orders and figured I would do a walk through on a basic blue gill paint job.

I always start with a white super secret squirrel primer that is a trade secret and the reason the paint holds up so well on my baits. So I won't give you that one. After a good white base coat you want lay down a good coat of sparkly silver. I spray from the back down avoiding the belly. Make sure to hit inside the joints. Next spray a white translucent pearl on the belly. Be sure to spray up the sides of the bait slightly over lapping the silver. You also want to hit the gill area and mouth. This will blend everything together nicely.

Next is a bit of orange on the belly and anal fin area. This is followed by a light base of black on the rear of the gill area and lightly towards the eye. I use a cutout to prevent over-spray onto the body of the bait.

Next is a heavy coating of translucent blue pearl on the gill, eye area, belly and side of the bait. This will give the base for your blue gills (blue gill).

Next is the first layer of light green on the back and bars on the side of the bait. I use a single action airbrush for this step for more control. I also start to blend out the eyes and gill area at this point. This step is followed by a slightly darker green for a layered effect.

At this point details can be added. scale tipping for example,shading,gill flare color etc. My stock colors are fairly simple, my customs will usually have more texture added using different methods.
I like to add some light blue gill stripes on my light bluegill patterns, these really give off good flash in the water.

For the final steps I will add some color shift paint lightly over the back and gills. I will also mist the bait with some silver and gold fine flake to add flash. After all that I like to glue my eyes in before the clear coat. I use epoxy to glue the eyes in. epoxy is super strong and leaves a natural looking membrane around the eye.

The bait is now ready for numbering and a few coats of polyurethane clear coat. This is a very basic process without to many steps for a great realistic result. This is also one of my favorite crank bait colors on the Delta and Clear Lake.

March 31, 2010

How To Rig an Osprey with a Top Hook

Top rigging an Osprey, or similar flat-backed style bait is a great way to make them more weedless and opens the bait to countless new retrieve options. The procedure required to modify the bait is quite simple and can be done by anyone with just a few simple tools. In order to get started you will need the following:

Super glue
Counter weight, in this case 3/8 oz
.357 magnum shell (or other cutting tool)
Weed eater fuel line or coffee stirring straw
Heavy gauge metal wire
Scissors (or other cutting tool)

To begin: insert the metal wire into the end of the weed eater fuel line until snug. Find where the through-line exits the belly of the bait, move back approximately 1/4" and insert the metal wire. Push clean through the bait until the wire exits through the bait's back. Continue to pull until the fuel line has pulled clear through the back.

Once you have pulled through the bait, pull the wire free of the fuel line. Next, super glue the tube securely in place. The super glue will keep the tube in place while fighting a fish and keeps the bait from tearing prematurely.

After the super glue has dried, simply trim off the excess ends of the tube on the top and bottom of the bait. You now have a line-through swimbait that is rigged to fish with a treble on top, instead of the bottom. However, you aren't done. Doing this disturbs the bait's natural balance and keel and counter-weighting is needed. I typically insert the weight right in front of the rear-most belly fins. For this I use the .357 shell, as it is the right diameter and the metal rim easily cuts through the plastic. Using a twisting motion I push the shell down through the bait to the desired depth then carefully remove the inner material. This leaves a perfect hole for the weight to sit in.

Once this step is complete, I simply drop the counter-weight in the hole and super glue in place. I have found no need to cover this weight with excess glue to hide it. Typically it represents such a small part of the bait that the fish don't even notice its presence.

Now that the bait is counter-weighted to offset the top hook, it should have no problems with rolling on its side at high speed. If you still have problems continue adding additional weights until the bait balances out. To fish the bait, run the line through the nose and out the belly, just as you did when the bait was stock. However, instead of tying on the hook you now run vertically up through the second tube, exit the back, then secure your hook.

As stated above, this is a simple procedure that will allow you to adapt a slow-sinking bait to a deeper style of fishing or will allow you to probe the shallows at much higher speeds. Best of luck this spring!