Watching weight
Weight might be one of the more overlooked aspects of fishing.
Sure, the early season trout angler keys in on the precise weight to tick nymphs along the bottom. But all in all, the weight factor often is down the pecking order in presentation considerations.
Take for example a trip Dave Keith and I made last weekend to Keystone Lake.
The trip took place during the afternoon and evening hours during a dreadfully hot, sunny day.
Going in to the outing I expected fairly slow fishing.
And we definitely worked for our bass. But toward the end of the session it was apparent I was working harder, as Dave was getting about three bites to every one of mine. We were both using Texas-rigged plastic worms. His was a Senko-style worm, while mine an action tail. But switching to a Senko didn’t up my production.
And the colors we used were proven ones on Keystone.
I think the biggest factor was slip weight size. Dave was fishing an eighth-ounce bullet sinker; mine was quarter.
While my heavier sinker got the worm down to the base of the weeds much quicker — we were hitting the outside edges of submerged weeds in 12 to 15 feet of water — the slower sink rate of his setup offered a more tantalizing look, one they preferred at least that day. The point was driven home when he hooked several quality bass, in the evening twilight, ones that ate the worm right after splashdown. His best largemouth was a solid four pounder that cleared the water by two feet during a jump.
Going light isn’t always possible. Had the day been a windy one a heavier sinker would have been needed to provide a level of feel and control. But if wind had been present perhaps the fish would have been more aggressive. And going light as light as possible isn’t always the best approach.
My friend Deron Eck is one of the most skilled bass anglers I’ve shared a boat with. One of his favorite summertime options is to fish a heavy jig, one in the three-quarter or one-ounce range. Making short pitch casts as he moves the boat along as he methodically works the edge of weeds or structure. The fall to the bottom is fast. When the jig hits bottom it undoubtedly kicks up some sediment. He doesn’t all it to sit long, then he gives it a sharp upward snap. Just like a spinnerbait deflecting off of wood, the jig is making aggressive bounces of the bottom (or nearby weeds). And like the spinnerbait, the bites the jig provokes are likely of the reaction nature.
Speaking of heavy jigs, I recall a late fall day on the Allegheny River when Andy Vetula put on a clinic with one of his hand tied bucktail jigs. Using a three-eighths ounce jig (rather than the lighter quarter once we’d normally use in that situation) he hovered the jig-big minnow combo right in front of the noses of a school of walleyes. The fish weren’t active – they wanted something fished slowly, and with no additional action – but several of them went home in the livewell.
Soft jerkbaits – commonly called flukes – are one of my favorite river smallmouth choices during the summer. Typically I fish them without any additional weight. But there are times — when the fish seem reluctant to rise up eat a fluke close to the surface — when added weight can make a difference. A swimbait style hook, one with the weight molded along the shank of the hook, is a good option. Even just one-sixteenth of weight will make the bait fish deeper, and potentially more productively.
So the next time your favorite setup isn’t working, consider altering the weight a bit to change up the look.
Jeff Knapp is a fishing columnist for the Butler Eagle.
