Use Small Baits for Big Fish
by Ken Sturdivant
Southern Fishing Schools Inc.
The full moons during the early spring
months draw almost all the game fish shallow to feed and spawn. At this
time of the year fish feed on a lot of bait fish. Matching the sizes
of the bait fish can make or break a fishing trip at this time. One of
the
common mistakes anglers make is to use a lure that is too large.
Bait
fish are blue back herring, thread fin and gizzard shad. These forage
fish spawn
on full moons as soon as the water temperatures break the mid fifties.
They spawn on sandy banks and around rocks and will stay in the warmest
water they can find for several weeks. In many instances anglers over
size lures trying to catch that next larger size of fish. This can
make for
a long day when other anglers are catching limits of fish.
Small live
shiners, small all white buck tails, small shad and Shad Raps and
even tiny tube
baits will catch a lot more fish in a days fishing. And the quality
of the fish taken on these tiny baits can be quite surprising. Since
the
bait fish are small these small baits look and swim exactly like
the food they
are already feeding on.
Another good bait in the early spring is
the spot tail minnow. Many lakes are full of these little fish catchers.
But getting
this bait can be a challenge because of their body size and shape.
Spot tail minnows are too thin and too fast to catch in a cast net.
Minnow
jars and tiny number ten hooks and some bread is the ticket. Spot
tail minnows
live around docks and ramps anywhere on the lakes. Use small Kahle
hooks
and 6 pound test line and a small float will take their share of
numbers and sizes of fish.
Keep line sizes as small as possible. Line
sizes
from 4 to 6 pound test will allow the baits to swim freely and
the light tackle
is quiet when presented to shallow and sometimes spooky fish.
One overlooked bait that is deadly all year and especially in the early
spring is
the all white buck tail jig. Locally Guide Mack Farr makes a Super
jig with
silver tinsel in the bait. These little baits on light 6 or 8
pound
test line on a spinning reel are deadly. Add a trailer and the
bait will fall
slower and this makes the bait look bigger as well as making
it easier to cast. Just cast them to the points and reel them back. Down
size
baits to up size the fish. Another bonus on small baits will numbers
of fish
on every trip.
