PROFESSIONAL ANGLER PROVIDES THE WHOLE HOOK, LINE AND SINKER

Professional Angler Provides the Whole Hook, Line and Sinker

(ARA) - While fishing can be a leisurely and relaxing summer pastime, it’s always more fun when you can end your day on the water with a wealth of fish and stories to take back to land. However if you’re like most fishermen, your skills may not extend beyond bait and tackle.

To help you get more nibbles on your line the next time you hit the lake, professional bass angler Frank Scalish, the 2003 Bassmaster Rookie of the Year, offers tips and techniques to help you reel in that big catch.

Sinking soft stick-baits

Soft stick-baits have become an increasing popular form of bait, used when fishing in depths less than ten feet. Made of high-density plastic, the bait contains less air, so it sinks instead of floating. When throwing soft stick baits, such as a Yum Dinger, the most critical component to get a strike on the line is to concentrate on the fall of the lure. Scalish recommends using silver thread fluorocarbon, since it sinks naturally. This helps the soft stick-bait fall naturally with no additional weight. To determine your line size, you must consider how fast or slow you want your lure to sink, the clarity of the water and the type of cover present.

Reel maintenance

Proper cleaning of your rod and reel is an important job for all anglers. A trick Scalish uses is to lay out the parts in the order that you took them off. Then clean each component in warm soapy water and pat dry and lubricate all moving parts. Be careful not to use too much lubricant, since it may prevent the reel from casting properly. The rule of thumb is to place one drop of oil on your fingertip and then rub the oil on the part to be lubricated. Then wipe the excess oil with a paper towel. Since your parts are laid out in order, you rod will be easy to put back together!

Tuning a buzz bait

Buzz bait is often referred to as the “idiot-proof lure,” since you just toss it out and reel it back, making it a perfect lure for newcomers and children. But, there are still ways to improve upon even the easiest tasks. For example, to tune a buzz bait, cast the lure and retrieve it. If it runs to the right slightly, bend the arm with the blade to the left. Vice versa, if it runs to the left, bend the arm to the right. However, there are times when you may not want to tune your buzz bait in order to achieve a strategic effect. For example, if you are fishing near boat docks, you may want your buzz bait to run to the right or left in order to run under the dock on the retrieve. This is an excellent technique that will draw explosive strikes.

Cranking the grass

Grass and vegetation are comfort zones for fish, so if you find the grass, you’ll find the fish. Cranking the grass is a technique of searching for vegetation to find the fish, which can produce outstanding catches of bass in the summer and fall. For the best results, Scalish will rig three rods with different line sizes, such as 12 pound, 14 pound and 17 pound silver thread using the same lure, such as a 6A or 7A Bomber, and same bait. Depth is important. The crank bait should just tick the top of grass, so the different line sizes will control the depth of bait. For example, the smaller the line, the deeper the bait will run. Then, when “cranking the grass,” he looks for places where the grass forms underwater points, hard edges or where the grass becomes broken and sparse.

Control sink rate with jig trailers

Jig trailers, which are baits that resemble crawfish to attract fish, are also a good way to control how a jig will fall. In early spring or during cold-front conditions, Scalish rigs his jig with a slow falling presentation, such as a Yum Wooly Hawg Craw, since it is bulky and will slow the jig down. Similarly, if you are looking for a medium fall, but still need to move a lot of water, he recommends using one half of a Zellamander lizard, which has a twin tail action that displaces the water helping the fish to locate the jig. Finally, if conditions are optimal, using a Yum Chunk will sink the jig fast producing a reaction strike as well as a hunger strike!

To find out more about professional angler Frank Scalish or to see where he’ll be fishing next, visit www.osiproseries.com.

Courtesy of ARA Content

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information, contact Kristi Stolarski, Program Manager, Liggett-Stashower Public Relations at (216) 373-8215.