When I think of all the trico-fattened porkies we catch in the fly fishing universe, I realize that our differences are not so great. To catch more fish - and to reduce damage to them - the bait experts also use smaller hooks and baits than would seem logical for the size of the fish they’re after and the scale of the fisheries steelhead on broad Great Lakes rivers for example.
Or maybe these guys are just good.Īt the mere touch of a fish, the float goes down, and the angler sets the hook before the fish has a chance to swallow. On a lake, softly jigging the bait brings solid strikes. On a stream, this float method is what we fly fishermen call “indicator fishing,” and if I’d known about it when I was a kid, I might never have gotten off the bait fishing. Suspended eggs, worms and hoppers between a float and small weight is all the rage now, and deadly sensitive. Maybe this is old news for some, but the experts seem to have moved away from the standard method of sending a weighted rig to the bottom, establishing tension, and waiting for a strong thud signifying that a fish has gulped the bait. Bait fishing for trout is getting more sophisticated. On lakes and streams big and small, these anglers have developed a variety of methods for detecting strikes quickly and lip-hooking tons of fish. I’ve been geeking out to some videos made by a bait company that - fun trivia - sells more jars of salmon eggs in New Mexico than in any other state. I’ve been impressed by the extent to which catch and release is practiced, and responsibly, among some bait aficionados.
Seriously, what are bait fishers to do? When they blow through their limits within a couple hours of starting, do they knowingly release their fish to certain death? It’s embarrassing to realize that I’d never fully considered these questions. They want a week of easy, staying at hotels and eating at family restaurants, fishing for trout they don’t have to cook. When fishing with the family, it’s often easiest to set the kids up with bobbers and bait, a method generally incompatible with the vacation ideal of not keeping (killing) fish. Of course many fish caught under these circumstances are released to the lake bottom. Many Eagle Rock anglers are Red River vacationers escaping the heat of Texas and Oklahoma. “I’m afraid we can’t do that?” the mother responded. Posing for a picture with a fish in her fists, one little girl begged her mom to cook it for dinner. We took turns with my rod for about an hour, until everyone who wanted to catch a fish had done so.
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