Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3826 Dec 6-20 | Page 20

by Cal Kellogg 18 FRESHWATER Dec 6 - 20, 2019 VOL.38 • ISS. 26 Worms: The One Bait No Trout Angler Should Leave Home Without! W orms are low down and dirty. After all, they spend their lives crawling around in dirt or worse… manure! However worms do have a positive side, namely their value as top notch fishing bait. Bass, trout, panfish, catfish and even bright fresh from the sea steelhead have a soft spot for fat juicy worms. Traditionally speaking, when it comes to using worms for bait, worms and trout fishing go together like fried chicken and potato salad on the 4th of July! Yet it seems like every year I encounter fewer and fewer trout anglers employing worms. The vast majority of trout targeting boaters I meet troll with lures and plugs exclusively, while most shore anglers I come across spend nearly all of their time soaking floating dough baits. Has the current generation of trout anglers come to conclusion that their modern sexy offerings outdistance the effectiveness of their grandfathers’ night crawlers or have the advertising campaigns of tackle and trout bait companies simply overshadowed the effectiveness of the low crawling worm? I tend to believe that most of the trout anglers entering the sport these days simply overlook worms, because they don’t truly grasp how effective they can be. Let’s face it you’ll never meet a night crawler being represented by an adver- tising agency! For the uninitiated anglers out there, I’m going to share a dirty little secret with you. Not only are worms one of the most effective trout baits available, but are also among the simplest to employ effectively whether you are firmly seated on the bank or trolling from the stern of a high tech aluminum trout sled. Let’s exploring the art of trout worming from the bank of a lake or reservoir. For the still water bank angler there are really two ways to present a worm, either off the bottom or suspending beneath the water’s surface. Most of the time, trout can be found feeding and holding near the bottom, so that’s were you should present your bait most of the time. The key here is presenting your bait NEAR the bottom, not ON the bottom. This is why Power Bait and other trout dough concoctions float. When teamed with a sliding sinker rig and a 1 to 3 foot leader these baits float up off the bottom right into the cruising zone of the trout. Taking a cue from your dough soaking brothers, you’ll want to float your worm off the bottom too. This can be accomplished by teaming your worm with a marshmallow or injecting your worm with air using a worm blower or hypodermic needle. In most cases I prefer to float my HOW TO worms with an injection of air, because this makes for a more natural looking offering. I firmly believe that a worm gives me two distinct advantages over dough baits. First of all, experience has demonstrated that worms provide me with the best shot at hooking holdovers and wild trout such as the elusive brown trout that call many of our lakes and reservoirs home simply because worms represent a “natural” bait. A worm is “real” meat and the trout know it. Secondly unlike dough baits, worms appeal to all of a trout senses. Dough baits put out lots of scent, but their visual attractiveness is limited to an array of bright colors. Worms take things a step farther. Like dough baits worms put off By Cal Kellogg continued from page 5 trout fishing can be very productive as a low moves in. When the low peaks and then begins to pass the fishing typically becomes tough. This is a direct result of the barometric pressure increasing. As the baro- metric pressure goes up the relative pressure the trout feel also increases. This increase makes the fish feel less energetic, they move less, their metabolism slows and they feed less. In the simplest terms trout that are feeding are a whole lot easier to catch than those that are not feeding. A dropping barometer prompts them to feed while an increasing barometer encourages them to stop feeding. This explains why we anglers experi- ence good fishing as a storm approaches and poor fishing after it passes. Trout are hardwired for survival. I believe another factor in the increased feeding trout partake in as a storm approaches stems from the fact that on an instinctive level they understand that there is an upcoming period of hours or possibly even days when they will be doing very little feeding. As a result, they try to pack the pantry in preparation for the lean We carry Lead Free Pistol ammo for period ahead. the hunter who wants to carry his Since I’ve never actually spoken to a trout, I’m speculating about this phenomenon, but handgun in Lead Free Hunting Zones. I’m confident that this is how it works. Fish Available in a variety of calibers... and game are very much in tune with their environments. If they weren’t they could CALL FOR DETAILS! never survive and I think that the heavy THE LARGEST SELECTION OF AIR GUN PELLETS feeding trout display with the approach of a ON THE WEST COAST – GUARANTEED!! storm is just an example of the instincts trout 10% have developed helping to ensure the survival of the species. OFF! In a perfect world, we would never go “Burst Fire” .20 gram premium high grade airsoft bb’s 5000 count - now only $12.99 fishing after an abrupt temperature drop or AIRGUN Largest selection of on the retreating edge of a low-pressure area. 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When the weather is stable and the barometric pressure is steady the pressure changes very little. When a low-pressure area approaches and the barometric pressure begins to drop the relative pressure the trout feel decreases. Once the area of low press passes through the region the barometric pressure begins to push up and the relative pressure the trout feel increases. When the relative pressure the trout feel decreases they feel more energetic and are able to move about more easily. This increased activity increases the metabolism of the trout and they feed. This in part explains why the LEAD FREE PISTOL AMMO! ALL PELLETS AND SUPPLIES 5207 Madison Ave, Ste. H, Sacramento, CA 95838 scent, but they also offer eye-catching movement as they wriggle and undulate. These subtle movements can be the differ- ence between a hookup and a rejection, especially when the trout concerned in an experienced holdover or wild fish. In situations when I have reason to believe that the trout in a given lake are suspended, I clip off my sliding sinker rigs and replace them with a slip bobber rigs. A slip bobber allows me to cast my worm a good distance offshore and fish it at a set depth anywhere from 5 to 30 or more feet deep. In this situation, I don’t inject my worm with air, since I don’t want it floating up. I just want it to hang wiggling in the water column. Worms….Trout anglers should never leave home without them! hungry and can be found holding near the surface, making getting a lure or bait in front of them an easy task, yet there are special challenges associated with winter fishing. Long periods of cold weather that strike during the dead of winter can drive surface temperatures down so low that rainbows and browns go into a semi-dormant state. Their metabolism and need to feed decreases greatly, they feed less and are much harder to hook as a result. You can expect pretty good fishing until the water tempera- ture gets into the lower 40’s. Once the temperature drops below 40 I often abandon trolling and concentrate my efforts on bait fishing. When trout slow down, it is crucial to present them with a passive bait that stays in the strike zone for an extended period of time. Once again, I use Pro-Cure at these times, since scent gives me an added edge. JC BASS FISHING GUIDE SERVICE With Pro Bass Fisherman Jason Cordiale Learn Progressive Techniques for Bass On The Delta, Clear Lake & Berryessa ALL SKILL LEVELS WELCOME www.jcbassfishing.com (925) 216-2757 jasoncordiale79@gmail.com 3811 Fish Lake Tahoe! 3204 5 hours DaiLy Trips 90 $ All Gear Provided (800) 877–1462 • Discounts for Cash • • Large or Small Groups • Group Discounts • Gift Certificates Over 50 Years Experience on The Lake P.O. Box 488 Carnelian Bay, CA 96140 (530)546–4444 E-mail: bigmack-2@att.net • www.mickeysbigmack.com