Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3812 May 24- June 7 2019 | Page 12

10 May 24 - June 7, 2019 HOW TO... VOL.38 • ISS. 12 Lures That Create Spring Hook Ups! presents ^ When bass are on the menu one of author Cal Kellogg’s confidence baits is a Robo worm hooked Texas style and paired with a split shot rig. This husky Lake Berryessa smallmouth couldn’t lay off a Robo worm dragged right along the bottom in 14 feet of water. A Spring Presentations That Catch Fish! bait have disappeared and then using h yes, spring! The season when our fisheries heat up and anglers both the reel and rod tip I twitch the minnow beneath the surface, propel it feel most alive. On some spring days, forward for a foot or two and then allow the fishing is great and the possibilities it to float back up to the surface. seem boundless. On other days’ things After that I wait once again backslide to a winter like for any rings and surface pattern and the fish develop disturbance to dissipate. a severe case of lockjaw. Generally, the strike will occur Never the less there during this period, but if no are some time tested strike comes I continue the approaches and presen- twitch and wait retrieve until tations that consistently the bait is out of the strike zone produce fish during the or back to the rod tip. spring, provided you don’t The colder the water the find yourself fishing during slower I work the bait. In one of the doldrums days general I find that this approach when nothing seems to works best during the early work. Let’s approach this morning hours before the sun on a species by species by Cal Kellogg hits the water and late in the basis. evening once the sun is off the water. I have my best results when the water Black Bass clarity is good. I catch largemouths, There are two presentations that I spots and smallmouths this way, but find really like to employ for reservoir bass during the spring. One approach is super it particularly deadly on smallmouths. My second spring bass presentation is exciting. The other, while being less really old news. Actually, it’s so old, it exciting produces lots of fish. is sort of new again. I’m talking about My “exciting” presentation is built a plain old fashion Texas rigged worm around either a 4 3/8 inch F11 or a 5 teamed with a ¼ or 3/8-ounce weight. ¼ inch F13 Rapala floating minnow, In my experience, it has become but you can substitute a floating/diving increasingly rare to see an angler tossing minnow from other manufacturers too. a worm on a classic Texas rig with the My favorite color for most situations is bullet weigh resting right up against silver/black but other finishes are also the worm. More often you’ll see them effective and it seems like everyone has tossing a split shot rig or some sort of their personal favorite. Carolina rig variation. The presentation works like this. During the summer and fall, I favor a After knotting a Rapala to a spinning split shot rig typically, but during the late or baitcasting outfit rigged with winter and early spring I love the classic 10-pound mono I cast the bait out near Texas Rig. At this time of the year the rocky structure along the bank that has bass tend to hold tight to the bottom and immediate access to deep water. stage offshore of spawning structure in Once the bait hits the water I reel up water that ranges from 10 to 30 feet deep the slack, but take care not to move the CONTINUED ON PG 21 bait. I wait until all the rings around the FISH SNIFFER HOW – TO ^ Yo-Zuri L Minnows are deadly trout baits whether trolled, casted from the bank of a lake or reservoir or worked in a river. These baits sink, can be cast long distances and feature an intense wobble that really triggers strikes. > Fish Sniffer editor Cal Kellogg rounded up this limit of spring stripers while trolling Yo-Zuri’s but Cal doesn’t always troll for his bass in the spring time. Often, he will soak bait for them and when bait fishing is the order of the day, bloodworms are his favorite spring bait. ^ When it comes to spoons for fast trolling, the Speedy Shiner is one of the best. Fish Sniffer contributor and avid Norcal trout angler Kristy Carpentier tempted this quality rainbow while pulling a pink and chrome Speedy Shiner!