I thought this information on flies for the different regions of the country were interesting. I have notice that a lot of the same flies would work anywhere in the country. I know I would add the bugger and the grey ghost streamer to the South Region for sure. Take a look at your region and see if the flies listed are the ones you would actually be using. In other words have these guys pretty much peg the flies for all the regions? Check out your region
Well for the past couple of days I have been assembling Porcupine fish attractors. For those of you have never heard of this contraption, it is a fish attracting magnet. For those of you who know of its capabilities then you can relate to its ability to attract and hold fish in the particular area you have placed the attractor. I have been using them for the past three years and have had great success catching everything from the big crappie you have seen on some of my post to bluegills and of course bass. You can fish off of it year round and with practically any fishing rig. My brother and I fish them in the hot summer months for monster crappie, bluegill and bass. The main fishing rig in the summer time is the crappie 11ft. long rod, with a tube or buck tail jig. Why the crappie pole, the fish are holding tight in the attractor so you need to keep the lure in the strike zone for longer periods of time and this is the perfect rig for that application. Another good time to fish the attractor is in the dead of the winter, and again the long crappie rod is the perfect setup. The fish are not going to move much to attack the lure so patience is the key for the hit. Fall is great because you can fish faster using the micro light rigs using curly tail jigs tipped with crappie nibblets. The nibblet is a must for all crappie fishing when near the attractors. It just adds that extra bump you may get on that slow day. Spring is the least desirable time to fish the attractors because most of your fish are in the spawning mode and have moved out of deep water to shallower water to spawn. I am not saying you can’t catch fish at this time of the year on the attractors but it is much slower.
This is the 6 1/2 ft. version, I like this size better than any size I have worked with. There are 26 holes you will need to fill with your PVC pipe, but as you can see it makes for a cozy place for fish to take up residence. Check out the footage in this video to see the results.
The last accessory you need but not an absolute must is the color selector. This unit is perfect on those days when the fish is in a finicky mood. Once you have fish a lake for a while you can gauge what color the fish want most of time. I do know that on those off days the color selector has turned a slow day into a productive one for me.
The attractors can be pricy, so if you know anything about me when it comes to purchasing fishing equipment, you know I am in for the bargain. Amazon sells the complete unit with the green ball or sphere and the ¾” PVC pipes at 55.00 a unit with shipping. I have found it is best to buy the sphere ball from Mack's Prairie Wings, with free shipping. Buy your PVC pipe at a place like Marvin’s and the whole unit will run you about 18.00. For 18.00 you are getting an attractor 6 ½ ft. in dia or any size you want to make it. I have found the 6 ½ ft. to be the very best size to deal with for me and at the same time will cover a good area in the water column. This price is much better for my budget. As for placement that is left up to the individual, but you want to be sure and place them far enough away from the bank that your average bank fisherman on the bank and in a boat will not find them easily. All the units I have placed are in deeper water far away from the bank. I do know with some of the advance depth finders out on the market they stand a chance of them being found, but most of the time this is your bass fisherman who may be fishing with a worm or jig and has no interest in crappie or bluegill. Never put the units together on the water, always put them together on the bank and carry it out to your spot which, should already be marked with a marker. Always select a time of the day at daybreak or just before dark to drop the units that way hopefully no one will see what you are doing. The very best time to drop them is in the dead of the winter when no on is on the lake.
In closing the very best advantage in fishing the attractor, is the lifetime fishing one will get from it. You your kids, their kids and so on can fish them for as long as there is water in the lake. I will be putting three out on Wednesday of this week; with the air temps in the lower 40’s hopefully no one will see what we are doing that day. I will be doing some more posts on their progress. By the way I am getting no cut in sales of this product for this post, it is something I just want to share with you guys.
What kind of role does scent play when you are fishing? For me as far as warm water fishing is concerned it is paramount in attracting fish. I know I have been on the water number of times and not catching fish and added a scent attractor to the lure and got the hit. This is especially true when I am using spinning gear. There are lots of attractor brands on the market, not to mention the scent impregnated plastic lures. One of my favorite is the crappie nibblet. I can add a tiny crappie nibblet to one of the hooks on my lure and get the fish to take the lure quicker, especially on those slow days. I have used the sprays and liquids but got away from those some years ago when I realized that the nibblet stays with the lure longer than the sprays and liquid, which usually washed off after numbers of cast.
As for trout fishing attractors, for me there is no substitute better than a well tied fly to imitate the real thing. I feel that using attractor would inhibit the performance of the fly. If you are really into using a scent attractor on your flies then try some mud at the bottom of the stream rubbed over your fly, that is about as close as I would come to odor on flies.
I am a firm believer in masking human scent especially when I am trout fishing. According to research trout have amazing powers of smell, in fact much, much better than humans. Let's say you have used Ole Spice aftershave the morning you are hitting the stream. You get to the stream and tie on your favorite fly and you immediately transfer the smell of the aftershave onto the fly. This sends an alarm to the trout that this particular fly is not real and in a heartbeat the trout is gone. I am not as careful masking scent in warm water situations but when it come to trout you are dealing with a fish that is much smarter and more wary of its surrounding, so you need every advantage you can muster to be successful. What's your take on the scent attractor factor when you are fishing?
I know it may be difficult for some to remember the time they caught that trophy fish, or the time they caught all those fish in one particular place, but I have a feeling that most you guys know that TIME. When it comes to fishing I seldom ever forget the trips or the fish that really stood out in my mind. I can still remember the trip at daylight some 25 years ago with my brother and landed not one but two largemouth on buzzbaits that morning. I have both mounted and both were between 7 and 8 lbs. I can also remember the largest crappie I ever landed in Mississippi a couple of years ago, which was 14" long, really don't know the weight. The bluegills are too many to remember, but the 14 through 16 oz. really stand out in my mind. Most all of the big gills were landed using the fly rod. With all that said----My most memorable trip or fish had to be the 3 1/2 lb. spot I caught last October using the fly rod with a big popper. I hope someday I can best that record. I am curious to know what's the time or fish that you will never forget.
