It’s
funny how a fisherman’s perception is varied from angler to angler. Last
March I was chatting with an old timer out on Lake Simcoe. He asked me
how I was making out on this particular day. I responded honestly,
“We’re having a pretty good day, we’ve landed about a dozen lakers
between the two of us.” He looked at me dumbfounded, and called Bull. He
says, we’ve caught 15 lakers all season in our hut and this is one of
the best years in recent memory. Let me tell you, techniques can make
the biggest difference in the world, and I’m going to share with you one
of my favourites.
The Technique
The technique is called the yo-yo and the concept is very simple. I will
allow my bait to fall to the bottom. I bang the bait off bottom a couple
times to create some disturbance in the silt then I proceed to reel it
up about a quarter of the way to the surface. I then immediately drop it
back down to bottom. Now I’ll bang it on bottom a couple more times and
proceed to reel it up about half way to the surface and drop it back
down. This technique is extremely effective, especially when nothing
else is working!
Why? This
particular technique is a very active way of finding fish, and will
appeal to the most active fish, but I have seen it work wonders in
turning non-biters into biters. As a fishing guide, this has helped to
put many, many fish on the ice for my clients. The concept is to trigger
the predatory instincts in the fish. Think about how many times these
fish see a big spoon jigged in their face, or a big white tube jig
dancing around on bottom and its always the same, the fish can take 3-4
minutes if it wants to examine your false offering. Sure, they catch
fish and they always will, but why not increase your odds? To start
with, banging your bait on bottom creates noise and bottom disturbance,
which in turn, attracts predatory fish to check out the situation. Next,
your bait fleeing ¼ and ½ way up the water column can be seen from a
greater distance away and will also attract fish from greater distances
and you also appeal to the fish suspended higher up in the water column.
Finally, the fish see the bait being reeled away as the bait attempting
to flee and it triggers their predatory instinct, where the need to
either eat now or miss their opportunity, and with no time to truly
examine the bait, they need to make a choice, and they often choose to
eat!
Equipment
For me, the yo-yo technique revolves around two particular baits: a
4 inch tube jig and the Impact Laker Taker. Both baits have an
excellent darting action and offer a very enticing action when
yo-yoed. I have both baits hooked up to 26 inch Medium action St.
Croix Premier ice rods, Mitchell Avocet 1000 spinning reels, 10 lbs
Berkley Fireline and a 6 foot leader of 10lbs fluorocarbon line.
When choosing colour for both baits, I have just two colours for
each that I use, and they relate to weather. On a sunny day, I
choose a smoke/silver fleck tube or an emerald shiner Laker Taker.
On a cloudy day, I choose a white tube or a natural shiner Laker
Taker. Give this technique a shot this year and you’ll put more
trout on the ice!
Steve
Rowbotham is the 2008 and 2010
Barrie Bassmasters Angler of the Year and has been guiding on Lake
Simcoe since 2005. To inquire about his services, please visit www.sircatchalot.piczo.com
It’s
funny how a fisherman’s perception is varied from angler to angler. Last
March I was chatting with an old timer out on Lake Simcoe. He asked me
how I was making out on this particular day. I responded honestly,
“We’re having a pretty good day, we’ve landed about a dozen lakers
between the two of us.” He looked at me dumbfounded, and called Bull. He
says, we’ve caught 15 lakers all season in our hut and this is one of
the best years in recent memory. Let me tell you, techniques can make
the biggest difference in the world, and I’m going to share with you one
of my favourites.
This
particular technique is a very active way of finding fish, and will
appeal to the most active fish, but I have seen it work wonders in
turning non-biters into biters. As a fishing guide, this has helped to
put many, many fish on the ice for my clients. The concept is to trigger
the predatory instincts in the fish. Think about how many times these
fish see a big spoon jigged in their face, or a big white tube jig
dancing around on bottom and its always the same, the fish can take 3-4
minutes if it wants to examine your false offering. Sure, they catch
fish and they always will, but why not increase your odds? To start
with, banging your bait on bottom creates noise and bottom disturbance,
which in turn, attracts predatory fish to check out the situation. Next,
your bait fleeing ¼ and ½ way up the water column can be seen from a
greater distance away and will also attract fish from greater distances
and you also appeal to the fish suspended higher up in the water column.
Finally, the fish see the bait being reeled away as the bait attempting
to flee and it triggers their predatory instinct, where the need to
either eat now or miss their opportunity, and with no time to truly
examine the bait, they need to make a choice, and they often choose to
eat!