Fishing Fridays

My first official Fishing Fridays post and it’s already Saturday on the East Coast (and pretty close to being Sat here in Central Texas as well!). I had a really neat idea of doing my first Video Blog with fishing Friday and posting it right from my phone. On our way out to go fishing, though, I was informed my website was down, so I was working from my phone to fix it! It seems there was a hosting issue, and I apologize to anyone who visited during that time! So I got a little distracted plus we ended up going to a completely new spot because the water at our “usual” spot was very low due to the lack of rain, so we headed out to the big lake! One thing is for sure – the scenery was BEAUTIFUL and the “beach like” shore was perfect for the kids! Good for fishing, though? Debatable. We didn’t catch anything, but my husband and I both had some hits, so we know there are fish there!

 
This brings me to our first Fishing Fridays topics – bait and poles. When you’re new to an area or new to a specific spot there are ways to do research to know what type of fish are there so you can plan your bait accordingly. Me? I just wing it! haha Our now “usual” spot I started off with the traditional worm on my hook with a bobber – just like the kids. It’s a nice, relaxed way to fish depending on what is around! We used to fish like this all the time in Northern Virginia (where we lived a little over 6 months ago), and you could catch a catfish that way. That tends to be the main catch up there. Even when I stringed my line with a small hook so I WOULDN’T catch a catfish I still caught one! LOL Although there are catfish here it’s much different and they are in different areas. Starting off with that traditional set up was really frustrating, though! As soon as my bobber hit the water it was bouncing around and moving and my worm would be gone – ALL of our poles’ worms would be gone! haha After observing what was happening more closely I realized what I had dubbed the “ninja fish” – little fish! I figured they were some type of sun fish. I set up a smaller hook and caught one right away. Yep, just what I had suspected, and there are tons of them, so they’d actually snatch your worm off in a school of them! Well, catching “ninja fish” is fine for the kids, but I wanted to know what else was out there, so even if a worm might catch a catfish it wasn’t worth losing them constantly to or catching the “ninja fish.” We honestly had no real idea what else was there, though! So I put on a little pink jig and hoped for the best! That’s when I caught my first bass there! It was a nice sized bass, too! I had some technical issues with my pole because well, it wasn’t exactly a high-quality pole and was getting pretty old. The next time we went out there I had a new pole (again not the highest quality but better than my old pole – I’ll touch on this one in a bit) and spinner bait. Good thing I did because that when I caught the big bass I featured in last week’s Wordless Wednesday! Joey (my husband) was also using a spinner bait when he caught that clam, but that is seriously a random fluke! LOL I still crack up about that!
So how do you know which bait to use? Well, it depends on the type of fish are there as well as what type you want to catch. Obviously young kids like ours aren’t going to be using anything more than the simple bobber and bait set-up whether it’s a minnow or a worm, and at our “usual spot” they will continue to catch just the little fish, which they love (if they even fish – most of the time they’d rather play). Since we know there are bass there we’d obviously prefer to catch bass. Generally I would use a spinner for bass, though, the pink jig obviously worked, too! I didn’t expect that! The day I caught the large bass there were many people out there fishing that didn’t catch anything – even the little fish. So what is the difference? I’m clearly not a professional, and although I’ve been fishing since I was young I definitely don’t think it’s my “skill.” haha The biggest mistake I think people make with bait is using hooks that are too big. They want the big fish (like the size of bass I caught), but they want ONLY the big fish. In their attempt to catch the big fish they actually end up catching nothing! Yes, you don’t want bait or a hook that is too small, but using one that is too big can also make for poor results. Go out there with the intent to catch an average size bass and you could still catch a big bass because the big bass will go after that spinner, too! I did not have a huge spinner on my line, and yes, even my new pole isn’t top notch! It’s an easy mistake to avoid! I’ll talk even more about bait in depth on another Friday! 🙂 It’s a broad topic, and it’s already late!

So my pole – why didn’t I get a really sturdy, professional grade pole? Because we have them. We have some really cool, awesome, fancy poles with the newest reels, different varieties of lines, etc. This type of fishing, though, when we fish as a family doesn’t require the big fancy stuff. I can catch a bass (or other fish) on the pole I have without any issues. So why did I choose this one? It’s bigger and sturdier than my old pole and it looks cool! Yes, I’m serious. I chose this pole because it was better than what I had and it still looks girly! haha The reel lights up when you’re reeling it, which the kids really enjoyed, too. I almost got a fancier pole, but they REALLY wanted me to get this one. Since this is my “family time” pole, why not? 🙂 My previous pole was light action, and this is a medium action. It has a more comfortable grip and it’s more sensitive as far as being easier to feel when I get hits. How you choose your pole should depend on just that – what are you looking to use it for? Casual fishing, serious fishing, or maybe even professional fishing? I guarantee if you have 3 kids ages 6 and under running around beside you, you aren’t going to need a big, fancy pole at that time! 🙂

 

Happy Fishing Friday (ok, well, now it’s DEFINITELY Saturday here), so go out and enjoy your weekend! 🙂