jude Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 I was on the river for a little while today with no luck. I got hung up on rocks several times, and every time, I used the "banjo pluck" to free my spinning bait. It's second nature now, but a few years ago I would have tugged and tugged til my line broke. I'm not sure where I got the "banjo pluck" tip, but it's one of the best I've ever gotten. What's the best tip you've gotten? (other than the three horse in the ninth race) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm M Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 If you ain't snagging now and then, you ain't fishing deep enough for them[pick your species] in this heah river. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rich mc Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 i learned the banjo pluck two years ago while in ky. my son in laws friend used it and i just said what did you just do . he said it works 3out of 4 times. my favorite tip was to use a loop knot on most of my flies. rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Trybul Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 If you spend enough time fishing spring walleye runs below dams, you will see enough banjo pucking that you will just pick up on it after awhile. I never heard it called that but I know exactly what you're talking about by the context. I picked that tip up when I first moved to Rockford 10 years ago and started chasing walleyes. I think the best tip I ever learned, I learned on this website about 6-7 years ago. That was to fish your plastics on a charlie brewer slider head in snaggy rivers. This was probably the biggest reason I went from a guy that caught 150-250 smallmouth a year to 800-1400. It really opened up the rockiest snaggiest parts of the river that used to be very frustrating for me to fish when I was more of a bait dunker. Plus when you fish the sliderhead, the banjo pluck doesn't come into play very often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kast Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 The best tip I ever got was to tie a Palomar Knot when using braided line. I learned how to tie it after an ISA outing, where as I was stepping out of the river my swim jig just fell off the line. I had been using the Improved Clinch but learned that night that it wasn't suited for braid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve S. Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 I was on the river for a little while today with no luck. I got hung up on rocks several times, and every time, I used the "banjo pluck" to free my spinning bait. It's second nature now, but a few years ago I would have tugged and tugged til my line broke. I'm not sure where I got the "banjo pluck" tip, but it's one of the best I've ever gotten. What's the best tip you've gotten? (other than the three horse in the ninth race) Not sure what a "banjo pluck" is, but as a kid, my uncle taught me to pop the lure (when using spinning gear) by opening the bail and securing the line with your index finger, just as if you were going to cast. Pull back as hard as you can to apply tension (which "loads the rod" , then release the line which makes the lure pop free. Not as easily to accomplish with casting gear, but I've done it to some extent. Still working on freeing my flies. Up to now I've been roll casting ahead of the snag and then pulling the fly upstream to free a hangup. Any other tips for us fly fisher "peeps"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotth Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 If you ain't snagging now and then, you ain't fishing deep enough for them[pick your species] in this heah river. now, THAT is a good tip in itself. fish the ugliest, scariest area you can, there will be a fish there. i've seen rick clunn discuss the "banjo pluck", use it quite frequently. and....using snaps on crankbaits, not swivel snaps, just snaps, more action to the bait and quicker lure changes. scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark K Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 Not sure what a "banjo pluck" is, but as a kid, my uncle taught me to pop the lure (when using spinning gear) by opening the bail and securing the line with your index finger, just as if you were going to cast. Pull back as hard as you can to apply tension (which "loads the rod" , then release the line which makes the lure pop free. Not as easily to accomplish with casting gear, but I've done it to some extent. This is a better method. If you use superline, snapping a jig out of the rocks repeatedly is a good way to toast a spinning reel. It's very hard on the clutch. Learned this the hard way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve S. Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 This is a better method. If you use superline, snapping a jig out of the rocks repeatedly is a good way to toast a spinning reel. It's very hard on the clutch. Learned this the hard way. Good thing I don't use that crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Clifford Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Have to go with the snagging tip. "If you ain't losing lead, you ain't fishing the right places" was the mantra. We used to fish cats and northern quite a bit on the Kankakee from my Jon boat. Would use 2 anchors to park over a particularly good hole. 1 ounce egg sinkers vertical jigged down the line with crawlers over nasty brush piles/root balls. Right over the side of the boat. Laying it down just enough to feel sand vs. rock vs. wood. Yes, you can feel exactly what it is with that kind of ammunition on the line. We'd lose all kinds of lead setting the hook on wood, but the bites were always giant fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Ferguson Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 I don't know if any one person gave me this tip, but the number one tip I can pass along is, if you want to catch river smallies, learn to recognize current breaks. Smallmouth can be caught off a number of different features in moving water but if you only fished the breakline between faster moving water and slower or still waters, you'd catch a pretty fair number of bass. The seams are not always easy to detect but they are the number one thing I look for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted March 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 I agree, Scott. The seams tip is a good one. It took years for it to finally set in, though. I'd read about seams, but never really understood or believed it. Then one slow day, I noticed a seam in area I'd floated over a million times. What the heck, I'll fish the seam, even though it seemed featureless otherwise. Sure enough, I caught a couple of fat 12-13 inchers from an area I never would have paid attention to except for the seam. Funny how a lesson learned from your own experience sticks with you ten times better than something you read about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Ferguson Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 I'd heard and read about breaklines a number of times but I can remember the day it really sank in. It was during an ISA outing on the Kankakee. The Kank is the easiest river I've ever been on to find breaklines. You can stand on one side of the river and count 5 or more between you and the opposite shore. Just like you said Jude, after that I went back to spots on other rivers and realized why areas that looked like nothing, nearly always had some fish. Ahhhhhhh..... Huge improvement on my fishing after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Draz Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 1) Fish in the water... you aren't likely to catch too many fish in your garage! 2) Make Time to Go Fishing... Life's too short! 3) Lastly, take a kid fishing. Not only is it rewarding to watch your child (grandchild) catch fish and enjoy him/herself BUT it has an added benefit: Your spouse can never ever question the fact that you're going fishing again?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonn Graham Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 My best tip was gleaned many, many years ago when I was just a youngster. I don't know who gave me the tip, or if I read it somewhere, but it simply said, "Smallies are much too valuable to be caught only once!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregg S Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 There was a time when I was a serious student of photography. I was in attendance for some very technical discussions of light, camera settings, etc. The most successful nature photographer to participate was asked his secret. He answered "F8 and be there." He was saying if you want to take good pictures, take pictures whenever the opportunity arrives. What is the fishing equivalent of F8 and be there? Maybe, "You can't catch fish while watching TV." or "The fish are never biting in your office." Whatever the fishing equivalent of "F8 and be there" is is my best fishing advice. "If you want to catch more fish, go fishing more often." Gregg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted P Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 I was on the river for a little while today with no luck. I got hung up on rocks several times, and every time, I used the "banjo pluck" to free my spinning bait. It's second nature now, but a few years ago I would have tugged and tugged til my line broke. I'm not sure where I got the "banjo pluck" tip, but it's one of the best I've ever gotten. What's the best tip you've gotten? (other than the three horse in the ninth race) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKollmann Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 I agree, Scott. The seams tip is a good one. It took years for it to finally set in, though. I'd read about seams, but never really understood or believed it. Then one slow day, I noticed a seam in area I'd floated over a million times. What the heck, I'll fish the seam, even though it seemed featureless otherwise. Sure enough, I caught a couple of fat 12-13 inchers from an area I never would have paid attention to except for the seam. Funny how a lesson learned from your own experience sticks with you ten times better than something you read about. Right on the mark, Scott and Dan! I'm also a fan of seams in the water after reading a lot about them in various sources. Then several years ago, I applied the knowledge I had absorbed while attending an April ISA outing at the 3K State Park. River was extremely high with a powerful current, so wading was out. We shore fished while standing in muck with our waders. Saw a classic seam in the water about 10 yards away, so I cast a brand new BPS red/white spinnerbait past the seam on my first cast of the year. Just as the lure crossed the seam on the retrieve . . . Bam! A 17' smallie took it. Quick picture and then released her, of course! This was followed by a 15" and 12" smallie within the next half hour with the same lure crossing the same seam. Mike Cliffford was beside himself as I was pulling them in! This experience was drilled in even further after I won the silent auction at a Bronzeback Blowout event several years ago and accompanied Bob Long, Jr. for a "fishing class" on the Fox River. He's a "Master" at fishing the seams, evidenced by the number of smallmouth we caught that day. I'm sure we'll hear more about this when he speaks to our ISA group next Saturday at Bass Pro Shops in Bolingbrook. Pleased to report that I won this year's outing with Bob again, only this year the focus will be on fly fishing for smallies on either the Fox or DuPage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Clifford Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 I remember it like it was yesterday, Steve! Remarkably, I have not had much success at the same location on the river since. Used to be about every other day or so the smallies would be on fire. I think the immense pressure is affecting the bite, but the bass still inhabit the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKollmann Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 I remember it like it was yesterday, Steve! Remarkably, I have not had much success at the same location on the river since. Used to be about every other day or so the smallies would be on fire. I think the immense pressure is affecting the bite, but the bass still inhabit the area. It was undoubtedly one of my best days at catching smallies, Mike . . . other than up in Canada during a mayfly hatch last year when four of us caught 16 smallmouth in two hours with an average length of 20". Looking forward to joining you once again at the April 3K River outing . . . a day after I tote my canoe to the Kish to paddle with Jude. Will indeed be bringing along my red/white spinnerbaits . . . will be happy to lend you one this year . . . I just hate to see grown men cry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Clifford Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 It was undoubtedly one of my best days at catching smallies, Mike . . . other than up in Canada during a mayfly hatch last year when four of us caught 16 smallmouth in two hours with an average length of 20". Looking forward to joining you once again at the April KKK River outing . . . a day after I tote my canoe to the Kish to paddle with Jude. Will indeed be bringing along my red/white spinnerbaits . . . will be happy to lend you one this year . . . I just hate to see grown men cry! Wish I had some more of those "Rodent" lures. You'd be begging me to show leniency.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotth Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 ok, you guys talking about SEAMS. now is that the line you see between the fast water and slower water? i've never heard that term before. excuse my ignorance.. scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted March 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 ok, you guys talking about SEAMS. now is that the line you see between the fast water and slower water? i've never heard that term before. excuse my ignorance.. scott Exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotth Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 whew, ok i feel better. thanks. yes, i have fished those without knowing the exact term and yes they are productive. another tip learned from you guys, thanks. scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary L Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 The Best Tip I have gotten was to Join the Illinois Smallmouth Alliance. The next best Tip was when using a Spinning Reel always close the bail by hand to prevent loops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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