by Jack Mitchell
Splitshotting can mean the difference between taking a cold boat
ride and a great day of
catching fish. Invest
the time to practice
this technique and you
will have more fun bass
fishing in the cold
winter months. This and
other Bass fishing
techniques are required
to master the art of
bass fishing. If you
put the time in, you
will soon learn how to
master the fall and
winter bass fishery in
British Columbia. Your
efforts will be rewarded
with exceptional
smallmouth bass of
trophy sizes. Remember
though it takes roughly
8 to 10 years for a
smallmouth bass to
attain a weight in
excess of 5 lbs., so
conserve your catch by
practicing responsible
catch and release
methods. Well the
cold weather has put the
bass into their winter
patterns. Forget about
rip baits, spinner baits
and crank baits. Now is
the time to break out
the finesse gear. One of
the most common
techniques for getting
bass to bite during this
season is splitshotting.
It is a fairly
straightforward
technique and requires
little investment in
terminal tackle. The
hardest thing there is
to teach a bass angler
learning to splitshot is
detecting the bite. The
bite will vary according
to the activity level of
the fish. There will be
times when they pop the
bait hard and you will
know immediately that
they are eating the
bait. Other times there
will be a soft, almost
imperceptible tick and
then nothing. And
finally there is the
dreaded pressure bite.
The pressure bite will
take two forms. The
first way to describe a
pressure bite is you
will feel a slight
resistance to pulling
your line forward. This
is somewhat like hooking
a soft, spongy rubber
band. The second
pressure bite is when
you lose contact with
the bottom. A bass
has picked up your lure
and is just following
along with your forward
movement. This is why it
is so important to
maintain bottom contact.
Once you realize that
you've lost the feel of
the weight against the
bottom, and your depth
hasn't changed
significantly, you have
to put two and two
together and get ready
to set the hook. The
preferred hook set for
this technique is called
a sweep set. Once you
have detected a fish
holding your bait drop
the rod tip towards the
fish, reel down to the
point of feeling
resistance (or just shy
of that point) and
'sweep' the rod
horizontally away from
the fish. If the rod
loads up good and you're
sure that you've got the
hook in the fish just
fight him to the boat.
If you set the hook and
it didn't feel solid you
may want to set the hook
a second time. The drag
on your reel should be
set tight enough that it
doesn't give on the
initial hook set. But it
shouldn't be set so
tight that a larger fish
can't take the line if
needed. British
Columbia, Canada's
foremost sport fishing
web site containing BC
saltwater fishing, BC
freshwater fishing,
maps, fishing tackle
news, sport fishing
destinations, fishing
tips and techniques,
editorials, articles and
much, much more. Inside
you'll find everything
you need to tackle
trophy fish of all
varieties including
salmon, halibut,
steelhead, trout, bass,
and sturgeon to name a
few. They also had their
own approach and
techniques regarding
bass fishing. Since
the best spot to catch
bass is never on weeds
and cover, use weedless
lures when possible.
This will cut down on
the expense of losing
lures. Bass exist in
a wide variety of
temperatures, but tend
to get inactive during a
cold front. Fish swim
deeper during the
sunniest part of the
day. Sun seems to
adversely affect bass
fishing. Seek out shady
spots or deeper water
with cover. On cloudy or
overcast days try
shallower waters. In
cold water, retrieve
your bait slower. Fish
tend to react slower in
colder temperatures.
Freshwater Fish
Identification is
another technique used
by anglers. So whether
you're watching a
consummate professional
angler check-in fish
during a tournament, or
listening to an on-air
running commentary on a
television fishing
program, you know that
he'll be speaking the
truth of the matter.
google
About the Author For free
bass fishing tips
and
Florida bass fishing
secrets, visit
http://www.bassfishingsystem.com/
today.
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