Catch More Fish Out of One Hole

[Matt Johnson]

We’re starting to embark on the time of year where fish tend to meander more frequently. Staying on top of the fish can be very difficult at times and it seems as if we’re only catching one or two fish out of a hole before the school moves on. If this appears to be a routine trip for you then don’t loose hope. There are ways to help you catch more fish out of each hole…

Staying on top of a school of fish is oftentimes more than half the battle. If you could only get one or two more drops down before the fish move on. Then you move to the next hole in hopes that the school went in that direction but you only find an empty water column on your flasher. Sound about right? These fish need something to help them stick around and they need to obtain a certain level of comfort, especially when dealing with trophy-size fish.

Adding some sort of attractor is very critical in situations like this. Dropping down something loud and flashy can sometimes draw fish in (although at times noise can be a detriment to finicky fish, so use noise more sparingly than visual appeal). Something flashy is more likely to attract fish to the area. A shiny jigging spoon or a gold or nickel jig can draw fish in. Grab their attention and then let them decide if they want to eat.

Another option is to drop down a lively minnow out of a separate hole nearby. It doesn’t have to be drastic. A simple crappie minnow can even do the trick. What this does is draw fish in and more often than not keeps them in the area. The curious fish will relate to the struggling minnow, and even though they might not be interested in eating it, they still find it somewhat appealing. Result factor being that you get more swings at that cruising school of fish.

The minnow trick can work for all species; you just might have to upsize the offering in order to entice the desired specie. Sucker minnows are great walleye and even perch attractors. Even panfish will relate to a struggling sucker or shiner minnow, so don’t neglect the fact that smaller fish will target larger prey. Again, we’re not expecting these fish to necessarily eat the offering; we just want them to be attracted by it.

Keep in mind however, that this decoy line is considered one of your two lines (if in Minnesota), so now its up to you to catch the fish with your jig rod.

Yes the minnow trick is nifty, but when I’m looking for that added punch I turn towards my artificial structure in the form of Reel Weeds. We’ve all seen its recent wave of popularity in recent years, and its no secret that these fake weeds work. Adding structure into a structure less area is worth its weight in gold during certain conditions… and if you ask me, one of those conditions is right now when we’re trying to keep the wandering school underneath us.

Dropping down a series of Structure on a String will increase your chances at keeping those schooling fish in your area. Even in areas where weeds are currently present, adding a piece of structure out of the norm with grab the fishes attention. Just look at it this way… when we see a new steakhouse open up on our favorite highway we notice it, and more often than not we soon decide to stop in for a bite. Consider that new addition of structure to be that brand new steakhouse.

Now, we’re not looking for the fish to stay there forever, all we’re looking for at this time is to have an extra swing at the ball, or even a swing at all. Instead of watching the school move, you now have more opportunities to set the hook. Even the most negative of fish will stop in to take a peek.

Fish equate green weeds with forage… forage oftentimes equates to hungry fish… and hungry fish equates to more pictures of you holding trophy fish. Even though Reel Weeds might not produce oxygen, we’re dealing with fish who do in fact believe the appeal and color are indeed real. Fish are simple creatures really. Drop something shiny down and they flock towards it. Drop something down that moves and they’ll swing in for a look. But drop something down that looks real and provides comfort… well then, you might just have found yourself a hole with more than one fish.

***Reel Weeds are designed by LaDredge Outdoors and come in several different options. To learn more about Reel Weeds and to watch underwater footage of Reel Weeds in action please visit http://www.reelweeds.com. If you're interested in purchasing Reel Weeds please visit http://www.thornebros.com.

[Shack]

First off, great post and nice images.

 Originally Posted By: Matt Johnson

Another option is to drop down a lively minnow out of a separate hole nearby. It doesn’t have to be drastic. A simple crappie minnow can even do the trick. What this does is draw fish in and more often than not keeps them in the area. The curious fish will relate to the struggling minnow, and even though they might not be interested in eating it, they still find it somewhat appealing. Result factor being that you get more swings at that cruising school of fish.

I have found this very effective on local lakes, as well as Mill Laces. Some times on the big pond, I will get a half dozen small-med. suckers or rainbows for this sole purpose. I like to suspend the line with the larger minnow, about 2-3 feet off of bottom or a couple feet under ice (depends on the depth one is fishing in). I always felt this was a very effective beacon to draw fish in (perch mostly) and then finesse them with my small presentation. This works wonders in conjunction with a minnow head on a jig spoon. Two guys, four lines equals one large minnow line down.

Matt, for those sunny slabs what presentation are you using on your “get them up the hole” rig? Are you using grubs, larva or an unbaited jig?

[Doop]

Great info Matt

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

[Schloogs]

Very good, Thanks Matt

[blackdog1101]

Thank you for the tips. Very helpful!

[wallmounter]

Thanks Matt. Just got my SOS from Thorne this week, can't wait to use it this weekend.

[zamboni]

Nice 'Gills Matt!!

[Nate McVey]

Great Post Matt! Thanks for sharing with everyone.

[hugonian1]

Nice post Matt.

I'm going out panning tomorrow.

Seeing the pics gets me excited.

[Matt Johnson]

I would like to post a small disclaimer...

All of those fish in the second picture were released. They were kept in a Today's Tackle Ice Well on 40 degree day until ready for the picture taking

shackbash,

Both of those fish came on a size 8 Ratso with a blood red body. We also caught a lot of fish on Little-Atom Nuggies and Micro Nuggies. All fish that day were caught on artificial baits...

[Todd_J]

Great write--up

This was certainly the case for me yesterday on a small local lake. I used the ol' "bait and switch" method just as you wrote about. Very effective at getting the panfish to come in, linger, and bite on a smaller offering.

[Shack]

Thanks Matt.

[Sandmannd]

Awesome post Matt, always learn a lot from your posts.

[zamboni]

Matt, when you say artificial baits- were you using plastics, or something like Berkeley Gulp or Crappie Nibbles?

[Matt Johnson]

I use a lot of plastic baits. Little-Atom, Custom Jigs and Spins, Lindy, Berkley... those types of artificials.

Here are a few of my favroite...

2-inch Berkley Power Minnows

Little-Atom Nuggies and Micro Nuggies

Custom Jigs and Spins Ratsos

Lindy Tiny Tails

There are several other options to choose from, but I find myself using those ones more consistently.

For Ratsos I'll all sizes depending on the situation. A lot of size 6 and 4 for crappies, and the size 8 seems to see a lot of sunfish attention...

I've played around with the Gulp products and I'm beginning to use those more and more. Some of the newer models are better designed and seem to work better than the older, plain types. The new maggots are really cool...

I generally stay away from any livebait. Every once in a while I'll hook on a euro larva but not too often. I'm firm believer that artificials will help catch you more and bigger fish...

[DTro]

Nice post Matt. Them are some bruiser gills!

[blackdog1101]

 Originally Posted By: Matt Johnson

I'm firm believer that artificials will help catch you more and bigger fish...

I'm a total rookie, and am learning as much as I can from reading this bulletin board. Yesterday I went out on Minnetonka for pannies, and using Matt's advice, fished with a small perch colored horizontal jig with a transluscent white Wedgee tail. I had a flat spring bobber on my rod. The bites were light, but when the spring bobber wiggled, I set the hook, and oftentimes was fast to a fish. I'm more used to feeling the bite with my hand, so I had to retrain myself to set the hook even if there was only just a gentle wiggle in the spring bobber.

I also used up about 10 crappie minnows I had in my bucket from last weekend. I used a small Swedish Pimple jig (their size #2), one side chartreuse, with a single hook.

The crappies I caught on the jig with minnows were definitely smaller on average than the crappies I caught on the jig with the plastic tail. I realize this isn't a "conclusive" experiment, but it certainly seemed to work for me.

[rockman]

On my last two trips out fishing for crappies,trip #1 I used a Genz Fatboy jig with a Little Atom glow Nuggie tail.I caught a nice mix of crappies with a few dandy sized individuals.Trip #2 the bite was a bit tougher, and I had to resort to using eurolarvae after the fish refused the plastics.The fish size, on trip 2 to the same exact spot, was smaller on average.Matt J is right on with the plastics producing larger sized fish on a regular basis.

[sodajerk]

If you can field another question, Matt, what's your opinion on the Gulp Alive products?

Do they work, and do they come in smaller sizes like a 2" minnow for pannies and stuff through the ice?

[Matt Johnson]

Gulp Alive is definitely a cool product. They are going to work wonders for guys making the trip into Canada where you can't bring bait across the border and bait up there costs you an arm and a leg.

As far as using Gulp Alive through the ice, I really haven't experimented a whole lot with it yet. I did get the chance to use it last fall and it worked very well. Very life-like and much more potent then the regular Gulp. I will have more Gulp Alive with me in the boat this upcoming open water season.

I'm not sure if they have the minnow in a 2-inch yet, at least I haven't seen or heard of one. They do have a 2.5-inch in the regular Gulp though, which is definitely something to take a look at. A lot of cool colors that are not offered by other companies...

[sodajerk]

Thanks for the response.

I was looking at some Gulp Alive stuff today in a store, and the smallest available was 3". It would be nice if they made some smaller sizes.

Quite a hefty price tag on it too, but they're reusable so one container of them should last a long time.