2010 Episode Synopsis
by Charlie Wray
Episode 206: Slow Death Walleye and Lunkerhunt Goby
Today, the Mercury Marine Destination starts us up in Cochrane Ontario, then down to Lake Erie near Port Colborne. Polar Bear outfitters in Cochrane offers fly in services to a number of lakes they have cabins on for Pike and Walleye www.polarbearoutfitters.com or 866-550-5680. Walleye is the main focus today, and so is one of Charlie’s favourites, the Mustad Slow Death hook.
When properly tipped with a worm, the Mustad Slow Death Hook #33862 has an incredible cork screw action at a slow trolling speed, but the more Charlie uses this, the more he realizes that even at a moderate drift speed, the cork screw action turns to a side to side wobble like a dodger action, and is fantastic on inactive fish! Most people make the mistake of leaving too much worm on the hook, thread the worm on and over the knot, and no more than half an inch of tail, break off the excess. Looks a little odd the first time, but it works!! Four to six feet of leader is recommended, but shorter works fine in murky water. A high quality ball bearing swivel is an absolute must to keep the twisting out of your leader and main line. Today, leaders of abrasion resistant 10 lb test Seaguar Fluorocarbon leader material is a must along a rocky bottom, and the no stretch Tuf-Line Duracast is ideal as a no stretch main line designed for spinning reels. The Okuma Epixor reels have been a rock solid performer for Okuma, and available in a size for any of your outings. When matched with the Okuma Reflexions rod, this makes an incredibly sensitive and high end feeling combo without breaking the bank.
Besides the obvious fishing equipment, three items Charlie lists as a must on a fly in. The portable fish finder with the Humminbird 385C being Charlie’s favourite. This one has a rechargeable battery and built in GPS. A drift sock for those windy days to slow the drift speed, and the Minn Kota trolling motor for boat control. Light in weight and easy on your battery, the new Minn Kota Traxxis is ideal for this. Even on small fly in lakes, these are a must, and if the outfitters allow, Charlie even brings in his own 6 hp 4 stroke Mercury outboard.
With all this great boat control, you need to see what is down below. The Humminbird 385 also has a built in GPS, so when you do find the hot spot, you can stay on it. Until you start using a GPS, it is amazing how quickly you can lose track of your spots, even when you think you have it lined up with landmarks. Trust me, you will love this Humminbird 385 with the GPS already built in. And during travel from spot to spot, or when the wind picks up and you feel it is time to reach for the life jacket, look to the Salus Angler Fisherman’s vest, this is designed for unrestricted movement and flexibility.
Then, over to Lake Erie for some deep water Bass action, this is late in the season and time to stay warm in the Salus Float suits. Salus makes a great two piece float suit that is extremely comfortable, and when temperatures warm up by mid day, the coat can come off leaving you still in the comfort and safety of the float pants. The Crestliner Raptor 1850 TE is ideal for this fishing, still loads of room for an 18 ½ foot boat, and a generous sized casting deck at the front. Powered by the Mercury Verado 175 hp 4 stroke, not only does this boat fly, but fuel efficient and as dependable as you could ever dream for. Wanting to find a hidden hot spot for himself, Charlie trolls a known area looking for unknown secondary areas. Using the side imaging on the Humminbird 1197C, it is incredible what can be seen to the sides, and these are the area you could never map out with a transducer. Finding a great holding area, the Minn Kota is dropped in to hold the spot, but this is no regular Minn Kota, this is the I-Pilot. The I-Pilot has an incredible anchor feature that will hold you on the exact GPS coordinate no matter what the wind or current tries to do to your boat control. An ideal recipe for drop shoting deep water Bass.
Drop Shoting is a finesse system that requires a patient touch. A few giggles to attract attention, then a motionless presentation to allow the inactive fish to be tempted long enough to engulf your offering. No takers, then a few giggles of movement again followed by 15 – 30 seconds of inactivity again. There are variation of this, but this is the standard approach, slow and close to the bottom, and very little boat drift. Using a Palomar knot, the Mustad # 10546BLN is tied so the hook rides upwards on the line, in a better position to hook the Bass in the roof of their mouth. This small, but very strong Mustad hook is also a thin wire allowing you to give your presentation a natural look. With a small weight, you tie your hook anywhere from 6 inches from the bottom, to 10 feet up your line, it all depends on if you are fishing suspended fish or not. Today, a foot and a half is just about right.
Seaguar has long been known as the leader in Fluorocarbon, and now they even have a premium main line fluorocarbon called Tatsu. This line is made with double structure technology, an outer coating that makes this line incredibly limp and easy to cast with incredible knot strength, and a high density inner core that gives a higher tensile strength. Add it up, and you have an abrasion resistant, invisible line that is easy and limp to cast, that is surprisingly sensitive to the lightest take. The no stretch lines often favoured for other methods of fishing, simply are a draw back for drop shoting. Having a little stretch in your fluorocarbon not only helps keep the small hooks locked in place, but the additional unwanted movement from waves and boat movement is not noticed as much at the end of the line. The big plus with the Seaguar fluorocabon line, the entire main line is invisible leader now, you don’t need to worry about adding leaders, even with the 8 lb test used today. Add a light and sensitive Okuma Reflexions graphite rod and an Okuma V System reel, and this makes for one beautiful drop shot combo. With Lake Erie full of Gobies it was no wonder that the soft and realistic looking Lunkerhunt Goby was eaten quickly when used as a drop shot bait. With large eyes and a paddle tail, this was simply too good to resist. For all your fishing and outdoor needs, check your closest SAIL location or www.sail.ca
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