Tips: Big Fish, Big Baits

Big fish need a big bait, the size of a fish's mouth determines how big of a meal he can eat. You can catch a big fish on a small bait, but most big fish are caught on larger offerings. You won't get as many bites on the big baits, but when you do it will be a whopper!

When I fish for trout in So. Cal's pay to fish trout lakes, I see most people using baits that are much too small for the giants that they stock in these lakes. They catch plenty of trout, but the people who consistently
catch the big fish are using big baits. Take for example, Berkley Power Bait, a multi-colored floating bait that the trout seem to love. Most fishermen use a little ball the size of the tip of your little finger, or they roll it into a worm-shaped tube the size of a pencil. I use a light-wire laser sharp hook, # 8, and wrap a inch of pipe cleaner around the hook near the eye of the hook, this holds the power bait on. A drop of superglue holds it to the hook.

I make up a couple dozen in several sizes in advance, so I don't waste fishing time while at the lake. When fishing for trout I spool my reels 95% of the time with Berkley Vanish Fluorocarbon, as it is virtually invisible. My main line is 8# test, if the water is clear I will use a 4# test leader, or 2# test if the fish seem spooky. The reason for the two separate line tests is with the larger main line, I can cast a heavier sinker without fear of snapping the line if I need to make an extra-long cast, and since there are lots of other fishermen around, if I get tangled in their lines, I have a much better chance of not breaking off.

Come back tomorrow to see how I rig my baits for big fish!
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Magic Fish part 2

I have been fishing this lake for many years, and had never hooked anything like this before! This fish ran like a Salmon, but none were in here, the largest bass in the lake were about five or six lbs. I once caught a 14 lb bass and it didn't pull this hard. 10, 15, 20, 30 minutes went by and still this fish was out near the middle of the lake. I dare not pull too hard with the 2# test line or it would snap, 45 minutes had come and gone but I had gained about 30 ft of line. By now there was about 25 people following me up and down the shore as I fought this very large fish.

Now I could feel the fish was tiring, he was letting me pull him closer and his runs back towards the center were getting more feeble. That was good because I was getting "feeble arm." A common malady among fishermen who fight a large fish for a long time. Your arm feels like it is going to fall off, and various other parts off your body don't feel much better.

Finally the fish was close enough to net, a big cheer went up from the crowd as I lifted it from the water. My gosh! It was a giant Koi carp and one of the most beautiful fish I had ever seen. These fish are prized by the Japanese, and a large fish like this could be worth a couple thousand dollars. Koi can live up to 80 yrs. and very large ones are considered very lucky by the people who keep them in their backyard pools. I was thinking how can I get it to the pet store nearby, they would surely buy it.

Suddenly my wife was at my side and said " Roy you have to let it go, it was talking to me, it said if I let it go I would be very lucky. I said, " you want me to throw a couple thousand dollars away?" " YES YOU MUST ", she said. Now I seemed to be hearing the same things inside my head, this was very strange, to hear a fish talking to me. Without further ado I removed the hook and slipped the fish back in the water, he swam a few feet and turned a little toward us then sped away. A groan went up from the onlookers and several complained that fish would have fed their families for many days if I had given it to them. I walked away knowing I did the right thing.

On the ride home Virginia said to me, "that fish winked at me before he swam away!" A couple weeks later, we were in a Indian Casino, and Virginia saw a machine with fish symbols on it, "I want to play this one" she said. She put ten dollars in the machine, pulled the handle and got five fish symbols in a row. Bells rang, lights flashed and $2000.00 winner flashed across the screen.

Just coincidence? Yeah RIGHT!!
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Magic Fish part 1

My wife and I were fishing at a small lake in Santa Fe Dam park 10 miles east of Pasadena. It was the middle of November, and we were experiencing the weather So. California is famous for, a warm and sunny fall day. This is one of the lakes the Calif Dept of Fish and Game stocks with trout in the winter and catfish in the warmer months. It is close to a million people and gets heavy fishing pressure, but it's close by, and the park like setting makes it a perfect place for a quick getaway.

We had been fishing for about an hour and had caught several nice trout. Because of the heavy fishing pressure this small lake gets you have to use very light line to be successful, as the fish that aren't caught right away quickly become wary.

We were using ultra-light spinning gear. The reels were spooled with Berkley Vanish, a fluorocarbon line in 2# test that I have used to catch trout up to 13 lbs with. Fluorocarbon is a line that is almost invisible underwater and I would recommend it in any situation where you have clear water and spooky fish. Our rods were 6ft light action models. Our rigs consisted of a small float and a very small split shot that had the float only about 20% above the water, this gave us casting weight and allowed us to make long casts and since the floats were mostly underwater, the fish felt no resistance when they pulled it down. The distance to the hook is adjusted up and down depending on water depth or the depth you get the most bites at. Early and late in the day, closer to the surface, and during the day close to the bottom. The hooks were #18 laser sharp models. I always use laser sharp hooks as they give you 50% more hookups than regular hooks.

We were using red worms for bait. The floats bobbing in the light breeze gave the worms an up and down swimming action that most of the species of fish in the lake found irresistible.We made our casts upwind and let the breeze drift our baits downwind, at the end of the drift, reel in and make another cast just a little closer or farther. This way you are searching different areas, when you start getting bites continue casting to the same area until the action slows, then cast to a new area.

This cast was no different than many others I had made, the float stopped then slowly sank out of sight, I gently lifted the rod tip as I turned the reel handle, ( with light line and small sharp hooks there is no need to set the hook, the hook will penetrate when the line comes tight without danger of breaking the light line ) as the line came tight and the fish felt the hook, it took off in a powerful run, my rodtip was pulled down to the water and I had to run along the shoreline to keep up with the fish. What was this?

I had never hooked such a large powerful fish in this lake...
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