Thursday, July 30, 2015

Guide To Aquatic Vegetation

It's a beautiful, sunny afternoon and you're out on your boat for a great day of bass fishing after work. It's the first time you've been on this new lake, and you're excited to see what it holds. You read on the internet that people have been catching them deep recently. You fish ledges with a deep diving crankbait for a while with no luck and you're ready to make a change. You run to the other end of the lake and find a large patch of emergent vegetation. Immediately you tie on a punch rig and start flipping the vegetation. You find them stacked up in the vegetation by flipping your favorite creature bait. The only problem is, you have no idea what kind of vegetation it is or the properties of it. Many fishermen, including myself, have had this problem at one point. A lot of people refer to most vegetation as just "weeds," but there's a lot more to it than that. Once you learn the properties of certain aquatic plants, you can better understand why and how bass relate to those certain plants. Knowing properties of the "weeds" you're fishing can help you understand why the bass were there, and in turn, can help you replicate your results.


General Information on Aquatic Vegetation
Aquatic vegetation always plays a factor when bass fishing. If there's any type of aquatic plant in a lake, and there's bass in that lake, I guarantee you there is a population of bass there almost year round. As a rule of thumb, target the greenest vegetation possible. Healthy, green plants produce a lot of oxygen. In turn, the bass find that patch of green vegetation and stay there because of the high amounts of oxygen. In high oxygen areas, bass tend to be much more aggressive and in higher abundance. Another reason bass like vegetation is the ease of ambushing prey such as bluegill, sunfish, and shad. They can hide in the vegetation and wait for a bait fish to pass by. These principles apply most to largemouth because they relate to cover more and would rather let prey come to them, but smallmouth and spotted bass can also be found in vegetation.

Water Hyacinth is an emergent, floating aquatic plant that is native to the Amazon Basin. It has since been introduced to the United States and is a highly invasive plant. Water hyacinth is most commonly found in Florida and California, but can be found elsewhere as well.

Water hyacinth looks like something you might see in your mother's garden. It has very green, curved leaves with strong stems. During the certain times of the year, water hyacinth can develop bright, pinkish-purple flowers above its leaves. This can become an easy way to decipher if a plant is hyacinth or not.

At this point, you're probably wondering when I'll start talking about how bass relate to water hyacinth. In that case, here it is...bass love canopy-like vegetation. It gives them a sense of safety and can be a key factor when they're spawning. Since water hyacinth is floating and emergent, bass love sitting under that canopy and waiting for bait fish to swim past. Your best bet is to use a punch rig or punching jig with a heavy weight (my favorite is the Santone Lures Rattle Hog) to get through the hyacinth to where the bass are. You can also use other lures such as a frog, buzzbait, swimbait, or chatterbait to fish the edge of the hyacinth and cover more water.

Patch of Water Hyacinth (bhelas.co.uk)

Lily Pads are definitely the most commonly-known aquatic plant of them all. I believe this is because they are visible and have a distinct shape. Although there are many different species of lily pad, they all look very similar.

A lily pad is a floating, flowering aquatic plant with a long stem that hangs from the bottom. Lily pads are round in shape and fairly thin. They provide an excellent canopy with added cover underwater from the stems.

Although we all know what a lily pad is, it's still a very interesting plant. The canopy it creates is a magnet to the bass especially during the spring or summer months. The stem that hangs down can create cover and oxygen for the bass. When fishing around emergent vegetation that covers the surface such as lily pads, you don't need to be as worried about spooking the fish by sight. What you do need to remember, however, is that bumping a clump of pads with your boat could spook fish nearby. There is really no wrong way to fish pads. A hollow body frog is the most common way to fish them. One thing to keep in mind is when your frog is sitting on a pad, all the bass see is a slight silhouette. It's better to pause your frog when between pads, so the bass can see it easier. You can fish reaction baits such as spinnerbaits or chatterbaits in between pads, you can punch thicker clumps of pads, or drag and hop a craw bait under the pads. There are really endless options for fishing pads, so knock yourself out with your bait selection!

Awesome Picture of Lily Pads (tampabay.com)

Matted grass is not necessarily one plant, but a combination of many types. Matted grass is formed when vegetation such as hydrilla, milfoil, and tules (information below) die or detach from the ground. This causes them to float up and clump together, which forms a thick layer of plant above the surface. Algae often combines with these plants to create a heavy pile of slop.

Matted grass can look different depending on which species of plant form it. Typically it will just look like a bunch of vegetation mashed together-simple enough. Since the mat is floating, it can move pretty easily when the wind is blowing. Matted grass provides a layer of shade and protection above the water.

Since bass like protection and canopy-like vegetation, matted grass often holds an abundance of bass-especially when they are looking for shade in the hot summer months. When fishing matted grass, you have to take into account the properties of it. If the grass is still fresh and stiff, it will be easy to get through the mat with a texas/ punch rig with a heavy weight. If it's sloppy and dead, don't count it out, but turn to a weedless topwater lure like a frog to fish the mat. This is your best bet to catch bass out of a sloppy mat.

Great Example of a Grass Mat (advancedangler.com)

Cattails, Bulrush, and Tules are all names for a tall, grass-like aquatic plant. This plant is native to the United States, and is one of the most common aquatic plants of all. Most bodies of water have some sort of cattail-like plant in or around them.

All the names I listed describe a general group of plants. All of these plants have a couple things in common. They are all fairly tall, and they grow from the ground (they are not floating plants). Cattails and bulrush typically describe a plant that grows a corn dog-looking flower around the top part of the stem of the plant. Tules, also known as "California bulrushes," have the same stem structure as a cattail, but do not have the corn dog-looking flower around them. Most tules don't flower at all, but some have small (typically beige colored) flowers at the top of the stem. The reasons I don't put these plants into separate categories are the names can be used interchangeably, and they are all fished exactly the same because they provide the same cover underwater.

These plants are not floating like the previous types of vegetation. They provide thick cover for bass to disappear in. These types of aquatic plant can produce very well, and are at their best, during the spawn, spring, or the fall. They can also produce very well on a cloudy summer day. The method to fish these types of plants really depends on how abundant they are. If they are extremely thick (such as in the picture below), your only options may be a punch rig/ jig. Granted you can use other lures, but you'll be able to fish vegetation like this much more efficiently with those lures. If it is very sparse vegetation, you can get almost any lure through it efficiently as long as it doesn't have an overly exposed hook or treble hooks.

Large Area Packed with Tules (coastalanglermag.com)


Milfoil, Hydrilla, and Coontail...although these are all different species of aquatic plant, they all act the same. These three types of plant are all invasive aquatic plants. They are commonly sprayed out and removed from ecosystems for multiple reasons. New ways to remove this plant are always being invented. The most recent method for destroying it is the "Milfoil Weevil." This bug slowly eats away at plants such as milfoil and removes a large amount for the size of the bug.

The only way I can explain to you what these plants look like without a diagram or picture is "soft pine needles." This may sound ridiculous, but it's probably the best description of the appearance of these types of plants. They are all green, non-floating, non-flowering aquatic plants that rarely emerge above water surface unless they are detached or matted. The differences between milfoil and coontail are subtle, but distinguishable. Milfoil is thicker and softer, while coontail tends to be much stiffer and a brighter green color. Hydrilla is longer and less mushy than the other two. Hydrilla is the most dominant species of the three. Milfoil is more common up north and hydrilla can be found more down south.

These plants spread rapidly and (unlike tules and cattails) produce a lot of oxygen underwater. This is the main reason tules and cattails don't produce as well in the summer months. In the summer, bass are aggressive and require a lot of oxygen to stay active. Milfoil, hydrilla, and coontail produce the oxygen to keep them active and healthy. The best way to fish around these plants depends on the depth of the water. If you can fit a reaction-style lure between the surface and top of the plants, that is probably the best way to fish it. In deeper water, you can use crankbaits to barely tick the tops of the plants to produce a reaction strike from a fish.
From Left to Right: Milfoil, Coontail, Hydrilla
(fishinglakeguntersville.com)

In conclusion, one thing to always keep in mind when fishing in or around aquatic vegetation is to look for changes in the vegetation. Say there are many clumps of hyacinth, but one clump has tules mixed in with the hyacinth. That clump is more likely to be holding bass in it. Also, when it comes to aquatic plants, the greener the better. I tried to mention this as much as possible, but high oxygen areas = more active and abundant bass. Greener plants produce much more oxygen, which is why bass relate to them more often.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Make Your Livewell Work Better

As a tournament fisherman keeping fish alive is as important as catching them in the first place.  No one wants to show up to the weigh-in with dead fish.  Not only do dead fish give you deductions in weight they are also very embarrassing.  Besides all of us ethical fishermen want to release our catch as healthy as possible so they can be caught again.  Plus those big girls will reproduce so that there are even more fish for us to catch.  So how can we make our livewells better to help ensure our fish stay healthy?  Well you could spend a lot of money on one of those expensive oxygen systems that pump oxygen into the water in your livewell.  They are very expensive to install and then you have to keep buying oxygen for the system.  Also oxygen is dangerous from a fire stand point so who needs the hassle.  So what is a good solutions the average fisherman can afford and once installed it keeps working without having any upkeep or continuous costs?  The answer to that question is the V-T2 vents from New Pro Products.

The V-T2 vents install in the lids of your livewell.  The installation is very easy and yes I think even the average non-mechanical guys/gals can do this if they follow the instructions provided.   They sit really flush on the lid so they don't get in the way or induce a tripping hazard.  The big plus is what they do for you in helping to keep your fish alive.  

There are many factors in the standard livewell that is not good for your fish.  The aeration system even helps to cause the first of these issues.  As your pumps work they actually get hot and that heat is transferred to the water they are pumping.  This isn't a huge issue if you are pumping fresh water into your tanks but if you have switched to recirculate the heat can build up really fast.  There is no place for the heat to go as most livewells aren't vented so the heat will actually start to cook your fish.  It is bad enough when the weather is nice outside but down here during the summer in Texas it will get bad very fast.  Sometimes the fresh water we are pumping into the tank is 85-95 degrees and add pump heat and no where for that heat to excape, what you get is dead fish.   Well the V-T2 vents gives that heat somewhere to go and we all know that heat rises and with these vents in your lids, out it goes.   At the same time as the heat is leaving, cooler air is being pulled into tank to help cool things down and help keep your fish alive.

The next issue we have with our livewells is a reduction in oxygen.  Again our livewells don't come with vents for oxygen to get into the tank.  You could put one of those oxygen pumping systems in at great cost, but you don't need too.  The V-T2s have you covered again.  Remember with the heat problem the V-T2s let the heat out and as it escapes cooler air is being pulled into the tank, well that cooler air also contains fresh oxygen.  That fresh oxygen is then used by your aeration system and put into the water. So now you don't have an oxygen reduction issue anymore helping to keep your fish alive.

Now last but far from least of your problems is a build up of Metabolic Gases.  These gases are byproducts of the fish's natural functions as well as bacterial organism and other living microbes in the water.  Every living thing will produce these gases but even though they are naturally produced a build up of them in your tank is not healthy for your fish.  Well yes I'm sure you have guessed by now that the V-T2s will also take care of these gases.  You are right as these gases are generally lighter than oxygen and become even lighter when heated so the same process that removes the heat from your tank will also remove a lot of these gases helping to keep your fish alive.

So by now you are saying hey these V-T2s sound great but do they really work?  Well I can tell you they do work and I was able to find out just how good they work this past weekend.   Before I tell you that story I have a question to ask; How many saltwater boats have you seen with livewells?   The answer is very few saltwater boats have livewells.  Why don't they have livewells, well that is a very easy answer, saltwater fish are very hard to keep alive.  Most of the saltwater tournaments are either not catch and release or the fishermen spend a lot of extra money to have livewells with those oxygen pumps installed.  For the most part saltwater fishermen take coolers with ice to put their catch in to keep until they get to the weigh-in or where the fish will be cleaned.  I told you this because this past weekend my son and I made a run down the bayou to where the water gets pretty salty so that we could catch some flounder.  My wife had asked for some to eat so my son and I delivered.  However being a bass fisherman first and foremost I forgot to take a cooler with ice for our catch.  So when the first flounder hit the deck I didn't have any option but to crank up the livewell and put him in.  Once we were finished fishing and the boat was on the trailer I switched my system to recirculation and we headed home.  Now I should mention that it was the end of July in Texas and the heat index that day was 105 degrees.  I really expected to have dead flounder when we got home after an hours drive, but I was in for a surprise.  Not only were all the flounder alive, they were so feisty I had to drain the tanks so I could get them out.  I also had to wait a while before cleaning them as they were just too lively to try and clean.  This proved to me once and for all that the V-T2s are a huge asset and I'll be recommending them to everyone I know!!!  For more information or to order your own V-T2s here is the link New Pro Products.

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing!!!

You can also Follow me on
Twitter - @BHOAdventures
FaceBook - Bounty Hunter Outdoor Adventures
YouTube - Bounty Hunter Outdoor Adventures

Also Checkout the great folks that help make my fishing adventure possible and the tackle I use and trust.
Santone Lures
Throw-n-Thunder
Creme Lures
Dunamis Rods
Liquid Mayhem Fish Attractants
Stealth Rod Holders
 

Sunday, July 26, 2015

An Awesome Rod Holder!

I received and tested out the Stealth QR-1 rod holder recently and wanted to pass along what I've learned.  The bottom line is this is the best rod holder I've ever used, hands down!  The QR-1 is packed with features that other rod holders don't have or just can't measure up too.  For starters it has a mounting bracket that can be installed in multiple ways, which means you can put the rod holder where you need it.  The holder itself can be removed from the mount and stowed out of the way when it is not in use.  When you need it then you can position it in the mounting bracket for how you need it that day.  This is not one of those rod holders that once installed it is always in the same position all the time.

The mounting bracket and multiple positioning is not what I consider the best features of the QR-1.  Its best feature is the means it uses to secure your rod.  Let me tell you it secures your rod so you do not have any fear of a fish pulling your rod overboard.  I fish with some very top end Dunimas Rods custom built rods and I don't trust these beauties to just any old rod hold and that is especially true when there is a chance of a Redfish hitting my bait.  I'm not sure if all of you have had the good fortune of fishing for and catching Redfish and for those of you that haven't let me tell you they are a "Mack Truck" from initial hit until you are able to get them in the net.  Pound for Pound they are one of the strongest fighting fish that swim in water.  Now I could try and explain all the features of the QR-1 to you in writing but I think you will get a better understand of these features from a video.  So here is a short video.



I'm sure after watching that video many of you will agree with me, the QR-1 is one Awesome Rod Holder.  I plan on installing more on my boat for use in the future.  Sure I'm a bass fisherman first and foremost, but there are times I like to fish for something other than bass.  These rod holders will come in very handy when I take a day to go catfish, crappie, and redfish fishing along with many others.  My bottom line to all you folks is; Throw out all those other rod holders you have and get yourself some Stealth QR-1 holders, you will be glad you did!  You can get more information on the Stealth QR-1 on their website at this link: Stealth QR-1.  Hey and the good news is Stealth offers free shipping in the good ole U.S.A so get your orders in now!!

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing!!!

You can also Follow me on
Twitter - @BHOAdventures
FaceBook - Bounty Hunter Outdoor Adventures
YouTube - Bounty Hunter Outdoor Adventures

Also Checkout the great folks that help make my fishing adventure possible and the tackle I use and trust.
Santone Lures
Throw-n-Thunder
Creme Lures
Dunamis Rods
Liquid Mayhem Fish Attractants

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Ready to Fish Anytime!!!

I just received a Flip Reel by Squiddies and let me tell you my first reaction is Awesome with a capital A!!  You never have to be without a means of fishing anymore.  I mean how many times have you been out and see a spot that looks fishy but you don't have a rod along with you?  If you are anything like me then it happens a lot, but for me not anymore.   This thing will tuck easily out of the way in my truck.  Heck if I have to go on a business trip it will tuck in my carry on bag and should pass through TSA security with no problems.  I know I've stayed a lot of hotels that have ponds or lakes on the property and I'm stuck without a means to try my luck, well never again.  The back of the package points out a lot of the features that come on the Flip Reel and the side of the package contains some very clear and easy directions on how to cast the reel. 


Once I opened the package I was really impressed with the construction and even the feel of this reel.   I've done some hand fishing in the past and never had anything like this before.  Hey this would have been great in my schoolboy days when I ran around with a short stick in my pocket that had line, a bobber and a hook wrapped around it.   No more sticks for this guy and hey the package even includes a hook, sinker and swivel.
The reel itself is made from a hard plastic with an infused rubber outer bell that flips back to safely cover your line and tackle when not in use.   When you are ready to fish then you flip the rubber bell out and you have a very castable looking reel.  The directions does say to wet the bell before casting and I understand why as the rubber is very tacky.  That tacky rubber serves a good purpose as it will keep your reel from sliding all over the place and hey if you are fishing you shouldn't have problems wetting the reel, right.
Needless to say I'm a little impressed by this thing and I believe there are a lot of other folks out there that will be impressed also.  You can always have a reel to fish handy with the Flip Reel, so hey you backpackers and survivalist this thing is right up your alley.  It is actually right up the alley of anyone that wants a convenient and stow-able fishing capability.  I know you are asking if this little hand reel can really catch fish, well the answer is yes and it is pretty easy after you get use to using this reel.  In fact here is a video of me taking this reel to my favorite catfish hole for a field test.


 As you saw in the video this thing can really cast pretty good and I'm sure with a little more practice I'd be able to cast it even further.  I hope to get it out when the weather cools down her in Texas for a little bass fishing so there will be more videos to come.  Until then here is the link where you can get more information on the Flip Reel.  Squiddies Flip Reel

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing!!!

You can also Follow me on
Twitter - @BHOAdventures
FaceBook - Bounty Hunter Outdoor Adventures
YouTube - Bounty Hunter Outdoor Adventures

Also Checkout the great folks that help make my fishing adventure possible and the tackle I use and trust.
Santone Lures
Throw-n-Thunder
Creme Lures
Dunamis Rods
Liquid Mayhem Fish Attractants
 



Monday, July 13, 2015

Halls Bayou Report 7/12/2015

My son-in-law and I decided to give Halls Bayou a shot Sunday morning.  It had been a while since our last attempt which yielded only one strike and we have grown tired of driving hours to fish for bass.  After 6 months of way above average rain fall in the Houston area all of the bayous looked more like the muddy Mississippi than Southeast Texas Bayous.   The water Sunday wasn't the normal greenish color we expect from the bayous but it was much better than the chocolate milk we had been seeing the past few months.  Even though the water had a little brownish stain it was very fishable and we knew from past experience there were a number of colors that work very well under these conditions.  Now the one note that I did make was that the water temps were in the upper 80s so I figured it was going to be a tough day.  Normally this time of year when the water temps get in that range you are lucky to get 4-5 bites all day.

We decided to head up the bayou to start with on this morning and see what the water looked like.  The further up the bayou we went the better the water looked.   We also noticed there were big schools of shad everywhere and also a lot of gar playing, including a couple gator gar in the 5 foot plus range.  I figured with that many shad in the bayou the bass just might be wanting a shad like bait so I tied on an Acid Perch Finesse Rayburn Swim Jig with a salt and pepper 4 inch curly tail trailer.  This time of the year a lot of bass will slap at your baits but won't take them, I wanted to make sure that wasn't the case so I applied some Liquid Mayhem Garlic Minnow to the end of the trailer. Not only does this attractant taste good once the bass get it in their mouths, but it also gets them to take the bait in their mouth.  I know using Liquid Mayhem on my favorite baits like the Rayburn Swim Jigs gives me an advantage over the bass and other fishermen.  Now our game plan was to fish different baits to start so we wouldn't be missing a potential bite.  My son-in-law decided to go with another Halls bayou favorite which is a spinner bait in the Cole Slaw color.  Cole Slaw is pretty close to the same color as the Acid Perch Rayburn Swim Jig.  

We went about 3/4 of a mile up the bayou from the FM 2004 bridge to a spot that looked like a good place to start fishing.We were working the shady areas next to structure along the banks of the bayou.  It didn't take too long for me to have the first bass in the boat.  It wasn't close to being a keeper but it was a bass and it proved the swim jig might the way to go for the day.  That the swim jig was the bait of the day was affirmed in not too many more casts as I had the second bass on and this one was a keeper for sure.  After my third bass it was time for my son-in-law to follow suit and put on a swim jig.   Now he didn't go with a Rayburn Swim Jig as him and his cousin have been playing around with making their own jigs.  They have some very good color combination I will have to say, but I'll be sticking with Santone Lures for all my jigs.  The Cole Slaw jig he tied on did make a difference in his catching well that and he also decided to put some Liquid Mayhem on his jig.  After this it was in short order his fish bass of the day was on the boat.  Though he started to put some fish in the boat I was still maintaining my 2 to 1 advantage with my old faithful Rayburn Swim Jigs.

From time to time we didn't try a few other baits and in fact for the course of the day I caught 2 bass on Creme Lures Scoundrel worms and one on a Santone Rattlin' Jig with a Creme Lures Same Thing Beaver trailer.  My son-in-law also added a bass on a Texas Rigged Same Thing Beaver.  However we both seem to get back to the swim jigs.   There was however the big ole Catfish that hammered my son-in-law's spinnerbait mid morning.   Heck that ole whiskers would have likely tipped the scales in the 8 pound ranges, he was huge and would have made a fine dinner, but he decide he was happier not being dinner and threw the hook.   I also lost a really good fish but we aren't sure what it was.  It hit the Rayburn Swim Jig and did not fight like a bass and it was big Redfish, Catfish or Gar is all I can say.  It was at about this point my son-in-law decided to switch to a black and red swim jig.  When he did this he closed the numbers gap really fast.  I didn't have a jig in that color so I couldn't match him, so I guess I'll be making an order to Santone Lures.   The rise of the sun into the midday sky is the only thing I think that stopped him from catching me in numbers.   He did catch the 2 best bass on the day though and the one was a really good bayou bass.

So in short, Halls Bayou is back and for mid July is hot not just in temperatures.  So if you folks want to have a good day on the bayou get yourselves some Finesse Rayburn Swim Jigs and some Garlic Minnow Liquid Mayhem.   Cast them into the shaded cover along the bank and work them out slowly at first but speed up your retrieve until you find out what the bass want that day.  Oh by the way the count ended up with me catching 9 and my son-in-law catching 6.

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing!!!

You can also Follow me on
Twitter - @BHOAdventures
FaceBook - Bounty Hunter Outdoor Adventures
YouTube - Bounty Hunter Outdoor Adventures

Also Checkout the great folks that help make my fishing adventure possible and the tackle I use and trust.
Santone Lures
Throw-n-Thunder
Creme Lures
Dunamis Rods
Liquid Mayhem Fish Attractants