Hug the Bottom to Find the Fish
My friend and fishing buddy, John Stewart, asked me recently if I would be a guest speaker at an informal event to help educate and inform a group of neophyte kayak anglers. In particular, John wanted me to address the subject of bottom fishing. It's nice to know that when he thinks of bottom feeders, my name comes to mind. Thanks, John! As promised at the workshop, I said I would make my notes available for anyone who wanted to know more about some of my favorite bottom fishing rigs for the local inshore creeks and rivers.
All kidding aside, I'm certainly not anexpert on the subject of inshore angling. However, I wil admit that fishing some sort of bait or lure on or near the bottom pays off for me more often than not. I'll describe four basic rigs that I use to target flounder, redfish, black drum and seatrout. Going from simple to complex, those four rigs are: a simple lead head jig, weighted flutter hooks, carolina rigs, and the dropshot rig. All of them are easy to set up and even easier to fish.
Lead Head Jigs
These come in a variety of sizes, weights and colors. For most of the local saltmarsh creeks in Northeast Florida, an assortment of jigs weighing 1/16, 1/8 or 1/4 ounce will do the trick. Use the heavier jigs where the current flows faster. Anything over 1/4 ounce is likely to be overkill. As for color, some anglers swear by red or chartreuse, but I honestly don't think it makes a huge difference. As with lures, select dark colors for dark water, and lighter colors for clear water.
Once you've selected your favorite color and an appropriate weight, it is time to select your bait. Popular natural baits include shrimp (alive or dead), mud minnows, and fiddler crabs. Dead shrimp are excellent bait for black drum and sheepshead. Simply thread the shrimp onto the hook, starting at the end of the tail and pushing the shrimp over the barb, allowing the shrimp to take on the shape of the hook. For live shrimp, you will want them to wiggle and jump around, so hook them through the last segment of their body, just in front of the tail. Pass the hook up from the bottom of the shrimp and out through the top. Hook mud minnows through both lips, from bottom to top.
Live fiddler crabs are excellent bait for redfish, black drum, and sheepshead. Insert the hook near one of the crab's back legs, and carefully push it out through the shell. If you are careful, this won't kill the crab right away. John also introduced me to his "crab kabob" concept using fiddlers to target reds and sheepshead. He likes to use a jig with a long shank and threads at least three fiddler crabs at a time onto the hook. This creates a larger meal for the fish, causing them to linger longer at the "dinner table," which gives you more time to feel the bite and set the hook before the fish steals your bait.
You can fish an assortment of artificial baits using jig heads. D.O.A CAL paddle tails and jerk shads are popular soft plastics. Products from Berkley Gulp! and Fishbites(tm) are biodegradeable artificial baits that are enhanced with fish attracting scents. These baits come in a variey of shapes an sizes that mimc everything from shrimp to minnows and small crabs. If you can't or don't want to lug along live bait, these make handy alternatives and are easily fished on a jig head. You can crawl them slowly along the bottom or use a twitch-n-rest retrieve to entice the fish to strike.
Weighted or "Flutter" Hooks
These are basically a variation on the lead head jig. Instead of placing a blob of lead near the eye of the hook, a flutter hook contains an oblong lead weight along the length of its shank. The eye is bent in an offset to make it easy to pass th eye of the hook through the nose of a soft plastic lure. The barb is then pushed up through the bottom of the lure and out through the top. With this arrangment, you can create a nearly weedless rig that allows the barb of the hook to ride flush against the top of the lure. The weight stays below the lure, giving it the appearance of a natural fall or glide as you twitch it through the water and allow it to fall back to the bottom.
Captain Eric Mannino, host of the Inshore Fishing Techniques TV show, also likes to use flutter hooks to fish live bait. When the bite slows down, he uses a secret weapon called the "twisty treat." He puts two live finger mullet on the same hook, hooking one through the tail and the other through the lips. When he tosses this bait into a likely fishing spot, the two baitfish try to swim in opposite directions, creating a commotion that attracts gamefish over to see what is going on. The result is known as "dinner."
Carolina Rig (A.K.A. "Fish Finder" Rig)
The carolina or fish finder rig is popular for targeting flounder and redfish, and it will catch other species as well. You will need a little more hardware to set up the carolina rig: a 1/4 ounce egg or bullet sinker, plastic bead, barrel swivel, 12 to 18 inches of fluorocarbon leader, and a circle hook or other hook of your choice. Holding the line from your rod, first thread on the egg sinker, followed by the plastic bead. Tie on the barrel swivel. The plastic bead is to protect your knot from becoming frayed by the sliding sinker. Tie the leader to the other end of the barrel swivel and finish with a hook on the opposite end of the leader.
If you plan to use live or dead bait, tie on a circle hook to the leader. When you feel a strike, resist the urge to set the hook, or you may just yank the circle hook right out of the fish's mouth. To let the circle hook do its job, start reeling in slowly, gradually increasing speed. Even if the fish swallowed the bait, the circle hook will usuall come back out and lodge in the corner of the mouth. Better still, set this rod into a rod holder and fish it passively while you toss a bait or lure to a different spot with a second rod. When a fish picks up the carolina rig and swims away with it, he will hook himself. Be sure to set the rod into a sturdy rod holder so a big redfish won't pull your rod into the water!
As with other rigs, you can also fish the carolina rig using a variety of soft plastic artificial baits. In particular, I like using the Strike King Zulu baits with this rig, because they float just off the bottom. As I retrieve the rig, the weight bounces along the bottom, stirring up mud and making a bit of noise to attract fish to my lure presentation hovering behind and above.
Dropshot Rig
Sometimes used by bass anglers, this versatile rig often saves the day for me when other lures and rigs aren’t doing the job. I’ve caught flounder, spotted seatrout, black drum, redfish and even sheepshead on this rig. The rig has a weight on the bottom, with a hook tied directly to the line a foot or more above the weight. Tying this rig is fairly simple. Start by tying on a circle hook using a palomar knot, and leave the tag end long – the distance you want the hook to be above the bottom. After tying the hook bring the tag end back through the hook eye from the front (the side of the eye that faces the barb) and pull the line tight to make the hook stand out at a right angle when you hold the line vertically. Attach a couple of split shots at the tag end of the line, using enough weight to keep your line down in the current. If you need more weight, slip on an egg sinker, followed by a plastic bead, then tie a couple of knots in the tag end to hold the weight on the line. Finish up by tying a loop or barrel swivel on the other end of the rig and attach it to your main line. You can now fish this rig vertically in deep water, or troll it slowly behind your kayak while you are on the move. I find the trolling method helps me not only locate fish, but it also maximizes my fishing time by keeping a bait in the water the entire time I’m out. If your weight gets hung up on a snag, just give your line a good pull to free it. The weight may slip off, but you save your hook, bait and leader. Just slip on another weight and resume fishing.
If you are fishing in an area where snags on the bottom are not too much of a problem, consider using a variation called the double dropshot rig. Instead of using an egg sinker on the end of the line, replace it with a lead head jig. You can now fish two different baits on the same line and see which the fish prefer that day. Be careful not to hook yourself on the second hook when you are releasing fish!
For more info on how to tie a dropshot rig, click here.
Finally, don't throw back blue crabs (unless they are egg bearing females) if you catch one stealing your bait. Turn the tables on the bait stealing crabs and use them for bait. Big redfish love fresh blue crab! To use a blue crab for bait, carefully remove the pincers with a pair of pliers and pull off the top half of the shell. Remove the legs and cut the crab into quarters. Select your favorite fishing rig from among the those discussed above and put one quarter of the fresh crab onto the hook. Toss this bait into your favorite fishing spot and hold on for some excitement when a big red sniffs out your tasty offering and chows down on it!
If you have the opportunity to try any of these techniques for yourself, feel free to drop me a line and let me know how they worked out for you. You can reach me at: mark@neflkayakfishing.com. Have fun and be safe out there!
All kidding aside, I'm certainly not anexpert on the subject of inshore angling. However, I wil admit that fishing some sort of bait or lure on or near the bottom pays off for me more often than not. I'll describe four basic rigs that I use to target flounder, redfish, black drum and seatrout. Going from simple to complex, those four rigs are: a simple lead head jig, weighted flutter hooks, carolina rigs, and the dropshot rig. All of them are easy to set up and even easier to fish.
Lead Head Jigs
These come in a variety of sizes, weights and colors. For most of the local saltmarsh creeks in Northeast Florida, an assortment of jigs weighing 1/16, 1/8 or 1/4 ounce will do the trick. Use the heavier jigs where the current flows faster. Anything over 1/4 ounce is likely to be overkill. As for color, some anglers swear by red or chartreuse, but I honestly don't think it makes a huge difference. As with lures, select dark colors for dark water, and lighter colors for clear water.
Once you've selected your favorite color and an appropriate weight, it is time to select your bait. Popular natural baits include shrimp (alive or dead), mud minnows, and fiddler crabs. Dead shrimp are excellent bait for black drum and sheepshead. Simply thread the shrimp onto the hook, starting at the end of the tail and pushing the shrimp over the barb, allowing the shrimp to take on the shape of the hook. For live shrimp, you will want them to wiggle and jump around, so hook them through the last segment of their body, just in front of the tail. Pass the hook up from the bottom of the shrimp and out through the top. Hook mud minnows through both lips, from bottom to top.
Live fiddler crabs are excellent bait for redfish, black drum, and sheepshead. Insert the hook near one of the crab's back legs, and carefully push it out through the shell. If you are careful, this won't kill the crab right away. John also introduced me to his "crab kabob" concept using fiddlers to target reds and sheepshead. He likes to use a jig with a long shank and threads at least three fiddler crabs at a time onto the hook. This creates a larger meal for the fish, causing them to linger longer at the "dinner table," which gives you more time to feel the bite and set the hook before the fish steals your bait.
You can fish an assortment of artificial baits using jig heads. D.O.A CAL paddle tails and jerk shads are popular soft plastics. Products from Berkley Gulp! and Fishbites(tm) are biodegradeable artificial baits that are enhanced with fish attracting scents. These baits come in a variey of shapes an sizes that mimc everything from shrimp to minnows and small crabs. If you can't or don't want to lug along live bait, these make handy alternatives and are easily fished on a jig head. You can crawl them slowly along the bottom or use a twitch-n-rest retrieve to entice the fish to strike.
Weighted or "Flutter" Hooks
These are basically a variation on the lead head jig. Instead of placing a blob of lead near the eye of the hook, a flutter hook contains an oblong lead weight along the length of its shank. The eye is bent in an offset to make it easy to pass th eye of the hook through the nose of a soft plastic lure. The barb is then pushed up through the bottom of the lure and out through the top. With this arrangment, you can create a nearly weedless rig that allows the barb of the hook to ride flush against the top of the lure. The weight stays below the lure, giving it the appearance of a natural fall or glide as you twitch it through the water and allow it to fall back to the bottom.
Captain Eric Mannino, host of the Inshore Fishing Techniques TV show, also likes to use flutter hooks to fish live bait. When the bite slows down, he uses a secret weapon called the "twisty treat." He puts two live finger mullet on the same hook, hooking one through the tail and the other through the lips. When he tosses this bait into a likely fishing spot, the two baitfish try to swim in opposite directions, creating a commotion that attracts gamefish over to see what is going on. The result is known as "dinner."
Carolina Rig (A.K.A. "Fish Finder" Rig)
The carolina or fish finder rig is popular for targeting flounder and redfish, and it will catch other species as well. You will need a little more hardware to set up the carolina rig: a 1/4 ounce egg or bullet sinker, plastic bead, barrel swivel, 12 to 18 inches of fluorocarbon leader, and a circle hook or other hook of your choice. Holding the line from your rod, first thread on the egg sinker, followed by the plastic bead. Tie on the barrel swivel. The plastic bead is to protect your knot from becoming frayed by the sliding sinker. Tie the leader to the other end of the barrel swivel and finish with a hook on the opposite end of the leader.
If you plan to use live or dead bait, tie on a circle hook to the leader. When you feel a strike, resist the urge to set the hook, or you may just yank the circle hook right out of the fish's mouth. To let the circle hook do its job, start reeling in slowly, gradually increasing speed. Even if the fish swallowed the bait, the circle hook will usuall come back out and lodge in the corner of the mouth. Better still, set this rod into a rod holder and fish it passively while you toss a bait or lure to a different spot with a second rod. When a fish picks up the carolina rig and swims away with it, he will hook himself. Be sure to set the rod into a sturdy rod holder so a big redfish won't pull your rod into the water!
As with other rigs, you can also fish the carolina rig using a variety of soft plastic artificial baits. In particular, I like using the Strike King Zulu baits with this rig, because they float just off the bottom. As I retrieve the rig, the weight bounces along the bottom, stirring up mud and making a bit of noise to attract fish to my lure presentation hovering behind and above.
Dropshot Rig
Sometimes used by bass anglers, this versatile rig often saves the day for me when other lures and rigs aren’t doing the job. I’ve caught flounder, spotted seatrout, black drum, redfish and even sheepshead on this rig. The rig has a weight on the bottom, with a hook tied directly to the line a foot or more above the weight. Tying this rig is fairly simple. Start by tying on a circle hook using a palomar knot, and leave the tag end long – the distance you want the hook to be above the bottom. After tying the hook bring the tag end back through the hook eye from the front (the side of the eye that faces the barb) and pull the line tight to make the hook stand out at a right angle when you hold the line vertically. Attach a couple of split shots at the tag end of the line, using enough weight to keep your line down in the current. If you need more weight, slip on an egg sinker, followed by a plastic bead, then tie a couple of knots in the tag end to hold the weight on the line. Finish up by tying a loop or barrel swivel on the other end of the rig and attach it to your main line. You can now fish this rig vertically in deep water, or troll it slowly behind your kayak while you are on the move. I find the trolling method helps me not only locate fish, but it also maximizes my fishing time by keeping a bait in the water the entire time I’m out. If your weight gets hung up on a snag, just give your line a good pull to free it. The weight may slip off, but you save your hook, bait and leader. Just slip on another weight and resume fishing.
If you are fishing in an area where snags on the bottom are not too much of a problem, consider using a variation called the double dropshot rig. Instead of using an egg sinker on the end of the line, replace it with a lead head jig. You can now fish two different baits on the same line and see which the fish prefer that day. Be careful not to hook yourself on the second hook when you are releasing fish!
For more info on how to tie a dropshot rig, click here.
Finally, don't throw back blue crabs (unless they are egg bearing females) if you catch one stealing your bait. Turn the tables on the bait stealing crabs and use them for bait. Big redfish love fresh blue crab! To use a blue crab for bait, carefully remove the pincers with a pair of pliers and pull off the top half of the shell. Remove the legs and cut the crab into quarters. Select your favorite fishing rig from among the those discussed above and put one quarter of the fresh crab onto the hook. Toss this bait into your favorite fishing spot and hold on for some excitement when a big red sniffs out your tasty offering and chows down on it!
If you have the opportunity to try any of these techniques for yourself, feel free to drop me a line and let me know how they worked out for you. You can reach me at: mark@neflkayakfishing.com. Have fun and be safe out there!
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