Live bait attempts, quick striking
For the last few weeks there has been a pretty incredible crappie bite at the mouth of a popular creek near me on the Potomac. This creek is the ideal musky situation. I must put in over 100 hours a year there searching for them and have yet to get my first sighting. Two years ago I missed a giant blow up from a fish on top water at night there but it could have been a largemouth..... maybe not. So… I keep trying. I thought the deep freeze we had would have put the crappie down but they were back on the feed yesterday. Although not as well as it was. Mostly bluegill around but some good size ones. You knew they were there when they would rise to a midge on the surface. Then cast your crappie jig under a float and try to hook the short strike. This time I had the boat and tried the quick strike rig. The bluegill picture was from a couple weeks ago but the poor quality fall fish was from yesterday. I could have sworn the fall fish would have been the ticket. But I guess I have to fish where there are actually fish. Very very few musky down by me and I know it’s starting to sound like a broken record but I think it will pay off eventually. I have this feeling when I do find a musky closer to home, it's going to be a giant. Now I just need to find more fall fish. They are a hardy bait, this guy stayed alive for the whole time with this rig. The j hook went in the lips and the two trebles in his back with the hooks riding up, unlike the bluegill. Not sure if I should hook panfish in the dorsal region or not? This quick strike rig had a slide on it. I bought it on MTO, came with a huge cork bobber too and I used a .5oz rubber core sinker to keep the bait down. Simple to deploy and keep fishing other lures. If there were more current it could pose a problem but I kept it behind the boat most of the time. Only once did I almost snag the line in the transom trolling motor.
Best of all, you can eat your bait afterwards.
For the last few weeks there has been a pretty incredible crappie bite at the mouth of a popular creek near me on the Potomac. This creek is the ideal musky situation. I must put in over 100 hours a year there searching for them and have yet to get my first sighting. Two years ago I missed a giant blow up from a fish on top water at night there but it could have been a largemouth..... maybe not. So… I keep trying. I thought the deep freeze we had would have put the crappie down but they were back on the feed yesterday. Although not as well as it was. Mostly bluegill around but some good size ones. You knew they were there when they would rise to a midge on the surface. Then cast your crappie jig under a float and try to hook the short strike. This time I had the boat and tried the quick strike rig. The bluegill picture was from a couple weeks ago but the poor quality fall fish was from yesterday. I could have sworn the fall fish would have been the ticket. But I guess I have to fish where there are actually fish. Very very few musky down by me and I know it’s starting to sound like a broken record but I think it will pay off eventually. I have this feeling when I do find a musky closer to home, it's going to be a giant. Now I just need to find more fall fish. They are a hardy bait, this guy stayed alive for the whole time with this rig. The j hook went in the lips and the two trebles in his back with the hooks riding up, unlike the bluegill. Not sure if I should hook panfish in the dorsal region or not? This quick strike rig had a slide on it. I bought it on MTO, came with a huge cork bobber too and I used a .5oz rubber core sinker to keep the bait down. Simple to deploy and keep fishing other lures. If there were more current it could pose a problem but I kept it behind the boat most of the time. Only once did I almost snag the line in the transom trolling motor.
Best of all, you can eat your bait afterwards.
