JUST GOING FISHING
By Bob Jensen

Have you ever noticed that some anglers consider themselves to be a particular species fisherman? They often refer to themselves as being a “walleye fisherman” or a “bass fisherman” or a “musky fisherman”. If those anglers want to limit themselves to chasing just one particular specie of fish that’s ok, but much of the time they are going to miss out on the action and the fun part of fishing. Most of the really good anglers that I know don’t think of themselves as a particular species fisherman, they just refer to themselves as a “fisherman”. 

When you go fishing, you need to have a specie in mind much of the time. There are some techniques and some areas in a lake that are better for certain species.

For instance, if you want to catch walleyes in the summer, you might want to try Roach Rigs with a crawler or leech over a sunken island. If there are walleyes in the area, they will probably eat that presentation.

However, there are times when the walleye bite is going to be tough. But, when the walleye bite is tough, the bass might be really aggressive in a different area of the same lake on a different type of lure presentation. This is when you have to decide if you want to keep trying to catch a few walleyes, or if you want to catch a bunch of bass. For me, the bass option will win every time. I would much rather catch a bunch of bass than just a few walleyes. And if the situation was reversed, the walleyes were really biting and the bass were slow, I would chase the walleyes. I really think that most people just want to get their line stretched most of the time.

One of my favorite ways to just get bit is to throw a jig/plastic combination to a weedline. The plastic might be a worm or a tube or a grub, but it would be some form of Power Bait. Lots of species of fish live along a weedline, and they will all hit a jig/plastic presentation.

If I was limited to one presentation, it would probably be a seven-inch Power Worm shortened to about five inches. Take the two inches off the head of the worm, not the tail. By doing so, the bait is short enough to appeal to smaller fish, but bulky enough to attract the big guys.

Rig the worm on one of the new Mimic Minnow heads. These heads hold plastic in place very well, and also pull through the weeds nicely. And the hook is big enough to allow for good hooksets. The eighth ounce size will be just right in most situations.

Start with a worm that is some shade of blue, black, or purple and go from there. Sometimes one color will be more productive than others.

Six or eight pound test Trilene XT will do an excellent job. Swim the jig over the tops of the weeds, then let it fall along the deep edge. If there is a fish there, it will take the bait.

Next time your fish of choice doesn’t want to get caught, tie on a jig and plastic and just go fishing. You will probably have some action, and on some days, a little action is better than no action.