Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3802 Jan 4-18 | Page 28

26 January 4-18, 2019 FRESHWATER VOL.38 • ISS. 2 Kittle’s: Outfitting Anglers & Hunters Since 1999! K ittle’s Outdoor & Sport was estab- lished in 1999 by Scott and Patrick Kittle. It continues to be a family owned operation located in Colusa, CA. Kittle’s is known throughout California for its large inventory of waterfowl supplies. Being one block from the Colu- sa-Sacramento River State Park, and near the Grey Life Wildlife Area, as well as the Delevan, Sutter and Colusa National Wildlife Refuges, Kittle’s has a vast fishing department and carries live bait. The bass fishing department is second to none. The employees at Kittle’s have a lot of experience with hunting and fishing. It is important for our customers to not only get the right equipment for their outdoor adventure but also have the right informa- GONE FISHING between the hook point and the shank. I like to allow the bait to hang freely from the bend of the hook. Stripers aren’t hook-shy, so don’t worry about hiding the hook inside of the bait. I’ve had success using shad, pile worms, sardines, and anchovies, but chicken livers are my favorite when using circle hooks. When using baits like whole shad or anchovies, the baits have a tendency to slide up the shank and block the gap or foul the hook point. To compensate for this, slide a bait button either side of the bait to pin it to the bend of the hook. With soft baits like chicken livers, just glob the bait onto the hook and secure it with some elastic thread. Rig up with a typical sliding-sinker setup. Clip on a sinker just heavy enough to hold the bait to the bottom. Typically, two to four ounces will do. Next, bait your hook and cast out. Put the rod in a fixed holder at a 45-degree angle to the sky, and keep the reel in gear with a fairly tight drag. When the fish takes the bait, and swims off, it will hook itself when the line pulls tight. This is really helpful for kids or beginners who don’t have experience with setting the hook at the right time. Just put the rods in holders as if you are trolling and let the fish do the work. I have a rule that the rod doesn’t come out of the holder until the fish is hooked and loaded up. If a bite lasts more than about five seconds, I slowly reel with the rod still in the holder. If the fish drops the bait I stop and they usually come back. Once the rod doubles over, you know you are hooked up and can pull the rod out to fight the fish. The key to circle hooks is that you DO NOT SET THE HOOK. Just slowly reel until the fish is really loaded up and clearly hooked. If you get bit but the fish doesn’t take the bait, try dragging your bait across the bottom very slowly a few feet at a time. If you don’t get bit, peel out a few feet of line to allow your bait to drift back. Pause for about twenty seconds and repeat. In many cases, the fish will start biting while the bait is in motion. When this happens, slowly pull the bait forward until the fish loads up on the hook. If they drop it, just peel out some line and they will come back. You’ll be surprised at how many times nibble bites you thought were shakers turn out to be big stripers mouthing at the bait without running with it. I think this is the biggest advantage of circle hooks over conventional J-hooks. You will turn unsus- pecting nibbles into hookups. During the winter when the water tempera- ture is below 52 degrees, slowly pull the bait forward whenever you get a tap. The cold water makes the fish less aggressive and they will rarely run with the bait. In cold water, I downsize my baits and use smaller 6/0 circle hooks. Sometimes I will switch over to 3/0 J-Hooks when the winter bite gets really slow. Now that I have switched to circle hooks, I will never go back. I’ve caught way tion about where, how, and when. For the hunter Kittle’s features everything and anything for the California hunting scene and beyond including, shotguns, rifles and handguns, ammu- nition, archery gear, black powder guns and accessories, optics and a full line of clothing to match a broad range of weather conditions. Of course, for the angler there are hooks and lures, rods and reels, line and every- thing in between! Not sure what the sportsman in your life needs, the staff at Kittle’s will be happy to work with you or you can purchase at gift certificate, insuring that the sports enthusiast in your life will find the perfect piece of gear! Kittle’s is located at 888 Market St. in Colusa. You can give them a call at (530) 458-4868. Kittle’s has an extensive website including a large online store, www.kittlesoutdoor.com. continued from page 1 more stripers than I ever did using J-hooks and rod balancers. The tips I’ve outlined here should help you to increase your hookup ratios, especially if you are a beginner or have kids. Try running circle hooks on one of your rods and compare the results. I hope that you will be just as surprised as I was. Jack Naves’ 8/0 circle hook rig. Notice how the snelled leader comes through the hook eye on the same side as the hook point to drive the hook home. Photo by JACK NAVES, Fish Sniffer Staff. Your Dealer for: 888 Market St. in Colusa (530) 458-4868 www.kittlesoutdoor.com 3702