CONNECT THE DOTS….2
All of North American sport fish have one thing in common. They are all predators. The prey can differ depending on the size of the predator. In fact, a large predator will must definitely feed on other predators or even smaller versions of its own species. When most people think of bait fish in this area, one always comes to mind, and that is shad. Shad is indeed the main forage base here in Illinois, but itis not the only one. Predators will prey on any easy meal that presents itself. Case in point how many of you have had a nice Bluegill or Crappie on the line and had a Muskie or Pike lash out and grab it?? All you have to do to prove this is look at the all the different sizes, colors, and shapes Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s sell.
There is bream, crappie, bass, and even walleye, muskie and pike color combinations, as well as some stuff that looks like it is from another planet. Finding the forage means finding the source of food for the particular predator you are fishing is eating at that specific time of the year. There are several ways to accomplish this.
The first is to research the lake or river you are going to fish. Doing your homework before you get on the water will greatly increase your chances of having a productive day. There is no excuse not to be informed with the internet available to us all. Find what type of bait is available in the particular body of water that you intend to fish. Then research that prey, find out when it spawns where it spawns, does it relate to open water or is it more structure orientated, how big is it at the time of year you are fishing, is it a fingerling or mature adult when you are going to fish that body of water. The second is to pay careful attention to the surroundings. Turn off the motor and sit, looking for any signs of active feeding fish. These signs may be as subtle as a flock of seagulls or diving ducks feeding on bait fish being chased to the surface by predators or as extreme as actually seeing bait leaping from the water fleeing predators. Third check your weather several days prior to your trip, remember wind moves bait, you can’t always rely on fishing the windy side, for example, if the wind was blowing out of the south for 3 days then switched out of the north the day you fish the bait may not have been pushed up against the windy shore yet it may be somewhere in-between where the wind was and where it is at the time you on the body of water. If I still do not have any clues to where the bait is holding, I will switch to my Hummingbird electronics to locate them. I use 2 units running at the same time on the dash of my Targa, the first unit I run in 2-D looking for bait as I pass over it, the second is my side finder that looks out to each side of my boat. This unit is very important when hunting bait in shallow or extremely clear water where spooking bait is a concern.
There is no greater thrill than spotting a cloud of bait fish with some large arcs just below them. The reason for my excitement is simple. Aggressive fish are easier to catch. Once you find the food, matching your bait size and presentation to imitate the forage is the next step in the equation. Tournament fishermen carry so many types and colors of baits for this reason. Each body of water has its own flavor, if I may call it that. In other words, color and size variations change with different bodies of water. For example, in our Illinois mud and clay bottom lakes and rivers, our crayfish have a green to brown color. The farther south you go, they can turn a bright red. That is why there are so many color variations of that bait. Color is also important depending on water clarity, if they can’t see it, they can’t eat it but that’s a whole other article. So, by connecting the dots you too can spend more time catching and less time Bi……
SEE YA ON THE WATER…