1) Fishing in a Spot with No Fish
This particular one appears to be a no-brainer, but it occurs too frequently. Just because you are fishing around a widely recognized "hot spot" for instance , the Ledge, Race Point, Devil's Bridge or the Fingers, it does not mean that you are in a hot spot for this specific fishing trip. The entire area could very well be vacant of bait and bass.
Take a glance around the next instance you find yourself on the water. In Cape Cod Bay in particular, the bass could be nearly any where. There's loads of water all around to investigate! I hardly ever place a line in the drink unless I mark at least one fish on my sonar unit. Locating even just one striped bass, amongst all of this open ocean, is a huge deal. Probabilities are that specific bass under your transducer is but one of countless striped bass within the immediate vicinity. Finding bass is often like finding a needle in a haystack. Once you mark one or two fish, there is a good chance that you have found an area containing a lot of fishy activity.
Next time you head out, try out searching in a planned pattern all over many of the hot spots in your area until you commence marking striped bass or prey items. After that put the tubes within the water and fish around for 20 minutes. If hardly anything else is seen on the sonar, continue digging around. Burning off a couple of additional gallons of gasoline, because you are cruising around looking for fish, is really worth it-have faith in me!
2) Experimenting with various tube colors first, rather then depth and tube length
There area more than likely a boat load of people who will differ with me on this (that is definitely A-OK) however I do not see a need to hold tube colors apart from red, black and perhaps orange. I used to fish with orange yet I do not any longer.
If you are not catching any bass, but folks around you are catching striped bass, try paying closer attention to the depth and tube length they are using instead of color. Often times the color of the tube is irrelevant.
This happened to me not too long ago. The action was scorching, but without warning it strangely died. I actually first decided the bite had ended, but I saw that my fishing bud was still reeling them in. I first tried switching the number of colors I'd been trolling followed by changing the color of the tube. I went on hooking nothing at all. It proved quite frustrating.
It took a bit, but I then figured out that my fishing bud was trolling an 18 inch red tube, rather than the 24 inch red tubes we had been trolling all trip. Unluckily I only had 18 inch black tubes on the boat. It didn't make any difference to the stripers, and as quickly as the striped bass found that 18 inch black tube they attacked it and we began catching just as before. I know, crazy! Striped bass can certainly be fickle creatures when they choose to be.
I've also had a great number of situations where I happen to be hooking fish utilizing 3 1/2 colors all day or night. Then simply, for some unknown reason, we could no longer get a bite with 3 1/2 colors. The odd thing was we continued marking bass. Making a simple depth switch to 4 colors was all we needed and we began catching once more. I might in no way ever have an understanding of the effect a half of a color can make to the stripers-yet I will never ever underestimate the importance.
If I find myself not getting bit, but I am still seeing bass on my sonar unit I will usually:
1) First play with the number of colors (depth) 2) Make changes to the tube length 3) Make adjustments with tube color
3) Trolling only 2 tubes instead of 3
A number of years ago I would to troll 4 tube and worm rigs from my 21 foot boat, the Miss Loretta. Now when I take folks out for a day or night of fishing, I've noticed that fishing 3 tubes, all on leadcore, will work somewhat smoother. Let me explain why.
Always having that 3rd tube and worm rig in the water is beneficial for a few good reasons.
1) It is yet another hook in the water for bass to attack. This will easily raise your fish catching potential. All other parameters held constant, the crew using 3 lines will, at all times catch more fish than the angler utilizing only 2.
2) It will allow you to play around a lot more with tube depth. It will also be easier to vary tube length and color. That way you'll be able to easily discover what the striped bass desire.
3) For some odd reason, most bass hit that tube trolled down the center of the boat. I believe this is due to how striped bass naturally hunt prey. By fishing three tubes at once, an angler can take advantage of a striped bass' natural instincts.
Frequently once I find a successful color (depth) and a effective tube color and length, I will go ahead and fish all three lines in the same fashion. To paraphrase, all three tubes would be set at the same exact depth, will be the same exact color, and are going to be identical in length. Because of how my rod holders are positioned on my boat, the Miss Loretta, the 3rd line is placed exactly down the middle of the boat and is set slightly more towards the stern of the Miss Loretta than the other rods. This keeps the lines tangle free, while also allowing me to tap into a striper's natural feeding instincts.
Doing this produces in the water a bit of a convenient "trolling spread." The 3 tube and worms are trolling the same depth, but the one tube that is being trolled off the 3 rd line (which is fished right down the center of the spread) is fished marginally behind the two other tube and worm rigs. This is due to the fact that middle rod holder is set nearer to the back of the boat than my other two rod holders.
It's the same idea that goes into squid bars and umbrella rigs. The rule of thumb is that you generally troll one lure or bait that trails slightly behind the school. With three tubes at once, your are putting together a "school of worms" wiggling through the water. One of the tubes (worms) has slipped a bit behind the other two tube rigs (worms). Striped bass typically focus in on the prey items that fall behind the rest of the pack. I imagine this is the reason why my center tube generally out-fishes the other two rigs. It's the small details like this that can help you catch more fish on your next outing.
This particular one appears to be a no-brainer, but it occurs too frequently. Just because you are fishing around a widely recognized "hot spot" for instance , the Ledge, Race Point, Devil's Bridge or the Fingers, it does not mean that you are in a hot spot for this specific fishing trip. The entire area could very well be vacant of bait and bass.
Take a glance around the next instance you find yourself on the water. In Cape Cod Bay in particular, the bass could be nearly any where. There's loads of water all around to investigate! I hardly ever place a line in the drink unless I mark at least one fish on my sonar unit. Locating even just one striped bass, amongst all of this open ocean, is a huge deal. Probabilities are that specific bass under your transducer is but one of countless striped bass within the immediate vicinity. Finding bass is often like finding a needle in a haystack. Once you mark one or two fish, there is a good chance that you have found an area containing a lot of fishy activity.
Next time you head out, try out searching in a planned pattern all over many of the hot spots in your area until you commence marking striped bass or prey items. After that put the tubes within the water and fish around for 20 minutes. If hardly anything else is seen on the sonar, continue digging around. Burning off a couple of additional gallons of gasoline, because you are cruising around looking for fish, is really worth it-have faith in me!
2) Experimenting with various tube colors first, rather then depth and tube length
There area more than likely a boat load of people who will differ with me on this (that is definitely A-OK) however I do not see a need to hold tube colors apart from red, black and perhaps orange. I used to fish with orange yet I do not any longer.
If you are not catching any bass, but folks around you are catching striped bass, try paying closer attention to the depth and tube length they are using instead of color. Often times the color of the tube is irrelevant.
This happened to me not too long ago. The action was scorching, but without warning it strangely died. I actually first decided the bite had ended, but I saw that my fishing bud was still reeling them in. I first tried switching the number of colors I'd been trolling followed by changing the color of the tube. I went on hooking nothing at all. It proved quite frustrating.
It took a bit, but I then figured out that my fishing bud was trolling an 18 inch red tube, rather than the 24 inch red tubes we had been trolling all trip. Unluckily I only had 18 inch black tubes on the boat. It didn't make any difference to the stripers, and as quickly as the striped bass found that 18 inch black tube they attacked it and we began catching just as before. I know, crazy! Striped bass can certainly be fickle creatures when they choose to be.
I've also had a great number of situations where I happen to be hooking fish utilizing 3 1/2 colors all day or night. Then simply, for some unknown reason, we could no longer get a bite with 3 1/2 colors. The odd thing was we continued marking bass. Making a simple depth switch to 4 colors was all we needed and we began catching once more. I might in no way ever have an understanding of the effect a half of a color can make to the stripers-yet I will never ever underestimate the importance.
If I find myself not getting bit, but I am still seeing bass on my sonar unit I will usually:
1) First play with the number of colors (depth) 2) Make changes to the tube length 3) Make adjustments with tube color
3) Trolling only 2 tubes instead of 3
A number of years ago I would to troll 4 tube and worm rigs from my 21 foot boat, the Miss Loretta. Now when I take folks out for a day or night of fishing, I've noticed that fishing 3 tubes, all on leadcore, will work somewhat smoother. Let me explain why.
Always having that 3rd tube and worm rig in the water is beneficial for a few good reasons.
1) It is yet another hook in the water for bass to attack. This will easily raise your fish catching potential. All other parameters held constant, the crew using 3 lines will, at all times catch more fish than the angler utilizing only 2.
2) It will allow you to play around a lot more with tube depth. It will also be easier to vary tube length and color. That way you'll be able to easily discover what the striped bass desire.
3) For some odd reason, most bass hit that tube trolled down the center of the boat. I believe this is due to how striped bass naturally hunt prey. By fishing three tubes at once, an angler can take advantage of a striped bass' natural instincts.
Frequently once I find a successful color (depth) and a effective tube color and length, I will go ahead and fish all three lines in the same fashion. To paraphrase, all three tubes would be set at the same exact depth, will be the same exact color, and are going to be identical in length. Because of how my rod holders are positioned on my boat, the Miss Loretta, the 3rd line is placed exactly down the middle of the boat and is set slightly more towards the stern of the Miss Loretta than the other rods. This keeps the lines tangle free, while also allowing me to tap into a striper's natural feeding instincts.
Doing this produces in the water a bit of a convenient "trolling spread." The 3 tube and worms are trolling the same depth, but the one tube that is being trolled off the 3 rd line (which is fished right down the center of the spread) is fished marginally behind the two other tube and worm rigs. This is due to the fact that middle rod holder is set nearer to the back of the boat than my other two rod holders.
It's the same idea that goes into squid bars and umbrella rigs. The rule of thumb is that you generally troll one lure or bait that trails slightly behind the school. With three tubes at once, your are putting together a "school of worms" wiggling through the water. One of the tubes (worms) has slipped a bit behind the other two tube rigs (worms). Striped bass typically focus in on the prey items that fall behind the rest of the pack. I imagine this is the reason why my center tube generally out-fishes the other two rigs. It's the small details like this that can help you catch more fish on your next outing.
About the Author:
For more informatiabout about trolling the tube and worm and how to target big striped bass using the tube and worm be sure to head over to my website MyFishingCapeCod.com. Check here for free reprint license: 3 Mistakes Fishermen Make When Trolling The Tube And Worm.