In this blog I will describe an experience I had several years ago while hunting "big woods" in the Hiawatha National Forest located in Delta County, Michigan. This is a wild and beautiful part of this country and place I have had many great outdoor adventures from hunting whitetail deer and partridge (ruffed grouse) to simply hiking and shooting photographs. Part one runs today and part two will run Monday 9-8-08. I hope you enjoy it.
By: Ray Hansen
I wasn’t exactly lost. Even though I was not sure where I was, a dirt road ran east to west somewhere north of me, so becoming completely lost was not possible. A sure way out of the woods was to walk a compass line straight north to the road, and that would take me back to my truck.
The real problem was that I was not where I wanted to be. A new section of the Hiawatha National Forest in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula beckoned earlier that fall, so I did some deer stand scouting while bird hunting in September.
A nice clearing a half-mile or so back into the interior looked like it had not been visited by anyone for many years. Old tree rubs, trails, tracks, and a combination of habitat styles around the spot told me bucks ran the area.
I found a stump next to a smaller live spruce tree, and piled some brush around it to fashion a ground blind, and thought I had a sure winner for the November 15 rifle season deer season opener. I was even sure I could find the spot again in the pre-dawn darkness on opening day.
Well… I couldn’t, and it was frustrating me. Stumbling around the woods in complete darkness and hauling a back-pack with supplies for an all-day sit along with my rifle left me confused and disappointed. As dawn neared, I decided to sit down right where I was and wait until it was light enough to see. Then I would find my spot.
It seemed that I could not have chosen a worse place to stop. Heavy cedar cover blocked visibility and the area was on low ground with some standing water. Worse, I knew I would be there at prime time when I should have been watching the clearing chosen in September.
Setting my gear on the ground next to an overturned cedar, I sat on the trunk and leaned back against the base roots. At least it was fairly comfortable – a seat cushion provided a buffer from the solid wood. Checking my watch, I found that I had some time before legal shooting hour arrived (thirty minutes before sunrise) so I simply let the woods settle down around me and relaxed. The spot was nearly as quiet and dark as a cathedral at midnight.
Check back on this site Monday 9-8-08 for part 2. See you then!
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
HOW TO CATCH BIG FISH THIS FALL - PART 2
By: Ray Hansen
COVERING THE STRUCTURE
On a drop-off, start at some point upwind of the area you mark fish, and drift down through the spot using an electric trolling motor to slow your pace. Try to stay at approximately the mid-zone of the depth change, working both shallower and deeper as you progress along. Even if the wind is blowing straight into the breakline, you can use the electric motor to “zig-zag” up and down the depth change. On a favorite breakline of mine, I find fish at different depths on different days. Sometimes they are as shallow as eight feet, and at other times as deep as thirty-two feet.
A point that extends out underwater often has deeper water on both sides, so start on the upwind side, drift across the shallower part, and work the other side. Again, use the electric motor to cross and re-cross the structure.
A hump is basically the same. Start upwind, and run the motor in reverse to slow your drift. After crossing the spot, return upwind and repeat the maneuver over a slightly different part of the hump. You may want to toss out a floating marker, or note the position of the spot on a GPS unit to stay in the “strike zone”.
In all spots, watch your locator. If fish are hugging bottom, keep your bait down, touching bottom frequently. If they show as marks higher off bottom, raise and lower your bait in higher “arcs” as it moves along.
Above all, fish confidently. Visualize your bait bumping alomg among fish. Stay alert for signs of a hit. Pike and smallmouth bass often smash the bait, giving you a strong feel of the bite. Largemouth bass and walleyes often lightly inhale it, and all you detect is a gradual "heavy" feeling while drifting along. If you are moving through a spot and you suddenly feel your minnow struggling hard, a big fish is likely nearby and will soon hit. Be ready!
Use this fairly simple approach on larger lakes in your area that have a variety of bottom structure if one is available, but it will work almost anywhere.
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
COVERING THE STRUCTURE
On a drop-off, start at some point upwind of the area you mark fish, and drift down through the spot using an electric trolling motor to slow your pace. Try to stay at approximately the mid-zone of the depth change, working both shallower and deeper as you progress along. Even if the wind is blowing straight into the breakline, you can use the electric motor to “zig-zag” up and down the depth change. On a favorite breakline of mine, I find fish at different depths on different days. Sometimes they are as shallow as eight feet, and at other times as deep as thirty-two feet.
A point that extends out underwater often has deeper water on both sides, so start on the upwind side, drift across the shallower part, and work the other side. Again, use the electric motor to cross and re-cross the structure.
A hump is basically the same. Start upwind, and run the motor in reverse to slow your drift. After crossing the spot, return upwind and repeat the maneuver over a slightly different part of the hump. You may want to toss out a floating marker, or note the position of the spot on a GPS unit to stay in the “strike zone”.
In all spots, watch your locator. If fish are hugging bottom, keep your bait down, touching bottom frequently. If they show as marks higher off bottom, raise and lower your bait in higher “arcs” as it moves along.
Above all, fish confidently. Visualize your bait bumping alomg among fish. Stay alert for signs of a hit. Pike and smallmouth bass often smash the bait, giving you a strong feel of the bite. Largemouth bass and walleyes often lightly inhale it, and all you detect is a gradual "heavy" feeling while drifting along. If you are moving through a spot and you suddenly feel your minnow struggling hard, a big fish is likely nearby and will soon hit. Be ready!
Use this fairly simple approach on larger lakes in your area that have a variety of bottom structure if one is available, but it will work almost anywhere.
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
HOW TO CATCH BIG FISH THIS FALL - PART 1
By: Ray Hansen
I like to keep things as simple as possible when chasing larger fish during the fall season here in the Midwest. A favorite strategy is to drift breaklines (drop-offs) with an electric trolling motor ready to provide course corrections, while I work a live bait rig. I’m actually targeting walleyes, but largemouth and smallmouth bass, pike, muskies, channel catfish, and a few other species have come aboard long enough for me to unhook and release them in this way. In this blog I’ll pass along some ideas that can help you catch some heavyweights this year.
THE BASIC RIG
I generally use a six-foot, one-piece medium/heavy action spinning rod and reel spooled with ten-pound test monofilament, or a high-tech line in twenty-pound test, six-pound diameter. You might consider a medium action rod and lighter line, but the slightly heavier action with stronger line is standard. This method targets larger fish.
As a terminal rig, tie on a one-half ounce bottom bouncer like the Northland “Rock Runner”. On the free arm of the bouncer, tie on a three to five foot leader (usually ten-pound test monofilament line) and finish with a size 2 hook. There are a few variations on this set-up, which may more closely fit the situation you are facing. One of my favorites is to use a Northland Tackle brand Gum-Drop Floater jig with the “built-in” stinger hook. This rig allows the use of larger baits such as chubs and small suckers.
Bait should be something substantial. Among my favorites are four or five inch suckers, but roach minnows, chubs, and big shiners will all work. If you can get some jumbo leeches, they are worth a shot. Remember, you can downsize this rig somewhat, using a one-quarter ounce weight and smaller bait if you want to use a smaller rod and lighter line.
BASIC STRUCTURE
As I mentioned, sharper drop-offs leading to main basin areas are a great starting point. You might also elect to follow the base of the breaklines while running a locator, and stop to work any larger fish you show on the screen. On some lakes however, this will result in you spending time inadvertently working a school of carp or other rough fish. Some anglers use cameras to check out what their locators are showing them, but most (including me) just work the area for a while to see if they can trigger a hit.
On some lakes an abundance of structure presents varied opportunities. In this case also try points that taper out underwater toward a deep basin area, and humps or rock piles found out on deeper flats or at the base of the drop-offs you have chosen.
In part 2 of this blog I'll pass along some additional details. Watch for it tomorrow!
I like to keep things as simple as possible when chasing larger fish during the fall season here in the Midwest. A favorite strategy is to drift breaklines (drop-offs) with an electric trolling motor ready to provide course corrections, while I work a live bait rig. I’m actually targeting walleyes, but largemouth and smallmouth bass, pike, muskies, channel catfish, and a few other species have come aboard long enough for me to unhook and release them in this way. In this blog I’ll pass along some ideas that can help you catch some heavyweights this year.
THE BASIC RIG
I generally use a six-foot, one-piece medium/heavy action spinning rod and reel spooled with ten-pound test monofilament, or a high-tech line in twenty-pound test, six-pound diameter. You might consider a medium action rod and lighter line, but the slightly heavier action with stronger line is standard. This method targets larger fish.
As a terminal rig, tie on a one-half ounce bottom bouncer like the Northland “Rock Runner”. On the free arm of the bouncer, tie on a three to five foot leader (usually ten-pound test monofilament line) and finish with a size 2 hook. There are a few variations on this set-up, which may more closely fit the situation you are facing. One of my favorites is to use a Northland Tackle brand Gum-Drop Floater jig with the “built-in” stinger hook. This rig allows the use of larger baits such as chubs and small suckers.
Bait should be something substantial. Among my favorites are four or five inch suckers, but roach minnows, chubs, and big shiners will all work. If you can get some jumbo leeches, they are worth a shot. Remember, you can downsize this rig somewhat, using a one-quarter ounce weight and smaller bait if you want to use a smaller rod and lighter line.
BASIC STRUCTURE
As I mentioned, sharper drop-offs leading to main basin areas are a great starting point. You might also elect to follow the base of the breaklines while running a locator, and stop to work any larger fish you show on the screen. On some lakes however, this will result in you spending time inadvertently working a school of carp or other rough fish. Some anglers use cameras to check out what their locators are showing them, but most (including me) just work the area for a while to see if they can trigger a hit.
On some lakes an abundance of structure presents varied opportunities. In this case also try points that taper out underwater toward a deep basin area, and humps or rock piles found out on deeper flats or at the base of the drop-offs you have chosen.
In part 2 of this blog I'll pass along some additional details. Watch for it tomorrow!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
CHUMMING FOR FISH
By: Ray Hansen
Chumming – using some type of bait or scent at attempt to attract fish to a certain spot – has been used by anglers on both open water and frozen lakes for many years. I’ve seen some fairly unusual practices, and others that were simply clever.
Old-timers on the Fox Chain-O-Lakes in northeastern Illinois (and many other places, I’m sure) would eat hard-boiled eggs while fishing, and drop tiny pieces of egg shell into the water. Others swore by sardine tails dropped into the hole after eating the rest of the oily treat. I’ve also seen anglers eat sardines and save the tin with oil in the bottom. This was placed on the ice, and their lures dipped in the oil before fishing with them.
Using the “sardine scent” was a precursor to the practice of using commercially available fish attractant scent commonly sold in baitshops. In fact, some anglers squirt scent of one sort or another on their ice fishing lures as a standard practice. They hope that releasing the scent triggers a feeding response in nearby fish. A related practice is to place a sponge inside a small wire mesh enclosure and tying a heavy line to it. This is lowered down to bottom occasionally, in hopes of arousing fish to bite.
A trick I’ve used many times is to squirt scent into a storage container of “old-fashioned style” oatmeal flakes. The scented flakes are then tossed into the water a pinch at a time. They swing side to side while sinking, and release scent while dropping. Both the motion and aroma may be attractive to fish. They eat it too. I’ve found it in perch cleaned after the catch.
Sometimes things get a little silly. Life-long friend Duane Deno and I once dropped a few tiny pieces of his home-made venison sausage to the water while perch fishing on Little Bay De Noc in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We made a respectable catch, and of course he took credit for the feat, claiming that his sausage “was totally irresistible to fish” and that it would be “irresponsible for us to use more than a tiny amount, since every fish for hundreds of yards around would crowd into our spot”.
As strong as the bite was while we fished, I’m not sure he was totally wrong!
So chumming can add to the enjoyment you receive from a dayspent fishing. You do need to check local regulations however. Some places have restrictions on what is allowable, and of course you need to exercise common sense.
And bring along some venison sausage!
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
Chumming – using some type of bait or scent at attempt to attract fish to a certain spot – has been used by anglers on both open water and frozen lakes for many years. I’ve seen some fairly unusual practices, and others that were simply clever.
Old-timers on the Fox Chain-O-Lakes in northeastern Illinois (and many other places, I’m sure) would eat hard-boiled eggs while fishing, and drop tiny pieces of egg shell into the water. Others swore by sardine tails dropped into the hole after eating the rest of the oily treat. I’ve also seen anglers eat sardines and save the tin with oil in the bottom. This was placed on the ice, and their lures dipped in the oil before fishing with them.
Using the “sardine scent” was a precursor to the practice of using commercially available fish attractant scent commonly sold in baitshops. In fact, some anglers squirt scent of one sort or another on their ice fishing lures as a standard practice. They hope that releasing the scent triggers a feeding response in nearby fish. A related practice is to place a sponge inside a small wire mesh enclosure and tying a heavy line to it. This is lowered down to bottom occasionally, in hopes of arousing fish to bite.
A trick I’ve used many times is to squirt scent into a storage container of “old-fashioned style” oatmeal flakes. The scented flakes are then tossed into the water a pinch at a time. They swing side to side while sinking, and release scent while dropping. Both the motion and aroma may be attractive to fish. They eat it too. I’ve found it in perch cleaned after the catch.
Sometimes things get a little silly. Life-long friend Duane Deno and I once dropped a few tiny pieces of his home-made venison sausage to the water while perch fishing on Little Bay De Noc in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We made a respectable catch, and of course he took credit for the feat, claiming that his sausage “was totally irresistible to fish” and that it would be “irresponsible for us to use more than a tiny amount, since every fish for hundreds of yards around would crowd into our spot”.
As strong as the bite was while we fished, I’m not sure he was totally wrong!
So chumming can add to the enjoyment you receive from a dayspent fishing. You do need to check local regulations however. Some places have restrictions on what is allowable, and of course you need to exercise common sense.
And bring along some venison sausage!
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008
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