|
The spawn has just about finished up all across the South and is slowly working its way up.
ο»Ώ
ο»ΏGot on the phone with AL/MS/FL/CA guide Jamison Carr β he guides all over the place because he's ate up! β about how he's seeing a lot of post-spawners in AL and MS right now that are getting real moody and picky. Here's how he's fighting that lull:ο»Ώ
ο»Ώ
> "Right now we're in the post-spawn on Grenada, Sardis, Enid and on the TN River. You're in a post-spawn pattern and these fish are in a lull.
> "They're in that transition period when fish are scattered. You're only fishing for less than half the fish β males are still up with the fry, females just spawned out and are laying around on the bottom. They're not going to feed for another week or 2...."
What's your plan to combat that lull?
ο»Ώ> "About the only thing you can do is just try to go fish brush and [find] fish that spawned earlier."
Is there anything different you do with baits or presentation when they get in that weird mood?
> "I will downsize a lot to something real small..a [2-inch] BoneHead Tackle Brush Glider or even a [1.75-inch] Stump Bug.
> "[With a Stump Bug] I'll pull some of the back tentacles off and make it real small β make it something that, when they're not really hungry, might get a reaction bite out of them.
> "If I can get one sitting stationary, I'll go to a real light weight β a 1/32- or 1/16-oz β and stall it over top of his head and bump and bounce it a little bit...get him to reaction-hit it."
Are you primarily casting to them or long-poling them when they're like this?
> "On Grenada, Sardis and Enid [MS], I'm still long-poling. The water is still super muddy. The fish are still lethargic. They're not in a chasing mood.
> "Outside of there, I'm casting."
What types of areas are you targeting to catch them coming out off the spawn?
> "If I'm fishing like on Pickwick [AL/TN], I'm targeting off-the-bank structure...out in 10-15' of water where they are holding on...where some of the fish have started going out, staging off the spawn and holding on.
> "On Grenada, I'm targeting shallow water. Some of your males are still setting up on bottom. Fry is sitting up close in 2-3' of water out to about 5', and we're just trying to pick [fry guarding males] off the bottom."
What are the behaviors people need to look for to realize these fish have entered the lull?
> "If you're casting on a fish and you get him to follow, but he just will not commit, I start switching up.
> "If I've got a big bait on, I may go to a smaller-profile bait. If that doesn't work, I'll go bigger. I've seen times where big white crappie won't touch a small bait. They want a 3-inch bait.
> "On Grenada and Sardis, if you put a bait on a fish 2 or 3 times and he noses up to it and just won't eat, I'll be honest, there ain't a whole lot you can do to them. Fish are just not going to commit.
> "In that really muddy water, I don't think color plays a real major role in it because they're hitting a lot of times on a silhouette.
> "Don't waste a lot of time on those fish. You can sit there and follow them around and drop it 10 or 15 times. Most of the time if they're going to eat, when they see the drop they're going to commit. If not, find you another fish."
On Pickwick or a lake where color matters a little more, are you changing anything from spawn to post-spawn?
> "I'm a big 'monkey milk' to 'chartreuse' user. When it's bright sunny outside, I use what we call a 'slick' in BoneHead ['slick' is a 'monkey milk' color].
> "When it's dark and overcast, I will go to an orange/chartreuse, maybe a green/black [or] chartreuse/black. I'll go with a darker color and I'll play around with that a little bit.
> "Overall I'm an all-natural color kind of guy β I like to match the hatch. I'm either gonna stay with something around a 'slick' color, or something that matches a silver/black, or a green/black. Something that matches what I believe the fish are eating and targeting in the water."
|
