flounderjoe
Angler
Hi all ,we who wait thru the winter waiting to wet a line anticipate the coming of the stocking trucks as a harbringer of a new season.The trucks come the word gets out the ponds and streams come to life and the crowds all have a ball as the hits and the trout all come easy.Ahead 3 days now everyone starts saying they didnt stock that many this year,the bucket brigade wiped them all out etc.While there is some basis to that there is usually plenty of trout left to catch the problem is if it really is a problem is they have become trout now.Hey even an oldtime bluefish blitz to me were only fun for about 20 minutes.Now one has to fish for them and by nature trout have an uncany ability to learn even with such a small brain what is and what is not good to eat.Once a good portion of the dumb i should say hungry and curios ones are gone or have been released they learn quick about shiny things that vibrate and bite back are to be avoided.Secret number one show them something different There are only 3 types of popular trout lures spinners , tins including spoons and minnow baits rapalas etc.About ten or so years ago the mighty little trout magnet showed up ,to me the number one trout lure today and why is it such a good fish catcher it doesnt spin vibrate or have too much flash making it the something different that makes fish eat it.Yes if fished correctly you will catch more trout with it (let alone for panfish with these diminutive lures you never have to worry about needing bait for the kiddies).Secret #2 of all fish trout and salmon have the most acute sence of smell and taste by day 3 you will see trout following you offerings and not commiting .Well a simple drop of scent will make those followers into takers.I use smelly jelly flavor really does not matter i use their Bass Feast and a tiny drop even on the trout magnets since they have gotten quite popular lately make a huge difference.And lastly trout have a habit of becoming extremely line shy and I being one who dosent' fall for fads that easily I proved it to myself that flourocarbon is almost manditory yes it gets you more bites even a juicey worm on a presnelled package hook with 10lb test snell will be totally ignored. Use 4lb even 2lb flouro as a leader does make a world of difference I tie on a 5 ft section as a leader.And I am one who sees no need for flouro in our inshore bays and inlets with the exception of tuna chunk and jig fishing but our fresh water on long island gets plenty of pressure and our lakes and ponds are so small the the fish that live in it have seen it all on a daily basis thats why the senko was such a hot lure years ago it was different.S think outside the box and do your best to confuse that pea sized brain we are up against and instead of waiting for the truck to show up again youll catch fish when the crowds are gone and these days thats the only way we can fish.P.S these rules apply to fly fishing too cause even Conneqout trout get the blues too some times.
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