Speckled Truth - Choosing the right Jig Head

Get Organized....Save Money; Catch More Fish

     

Its wintertime and although I should be wading the flats of Baffin Bay, I find myself sticking to the mantra "Wishin' I was Fishin'". See, I have about 5 more weeks of this hell, I mean finishing my master's thesis, but until the day I can firmly say I'll never take a minute of school again. I'll continue to look at my neglected "tackle store" in the corner of my shed.  Until one day I got the urge, between weekly assignments, to finally do something about my tackle "situation" and take an active approach at getting my gear organized.  In doing so, I reached out to a good friend of mine, who shares my pain, mostly because he lives in the D.C. area, who through discussion turns out took that step weeks earlier. As he was sharing his success, I felt they might be good tips for him to pass along in order to help you get organized. I know I've heeded his advice and whenever the teacher clears me hot from my academic achievements, I'll be ready to sling some baits at some unsuspecting trout.

Take it away Kyle.... 

Separate by function/Brand

Any fisherman who has accumulated even the smallest amount of tackle can agree that organized tackle is easier to keep track of then an unorganized mess.  Of course, the very nature of being an avid fisherman can get in the way of getting organized.  We would rather be fishing, so we typically do! 

                For most of my fishing life, over twenty years, my tackle could usually be found in a pile in the corner of the garage or closet.   It wasn’t until I moved to a more northern state, where we have a real winter and at least a few weeks of very little fishing, that I finally began to seriously organize my tackle.  This is truly the biggest obstacle.  The “decision” to get organized.  Otherwise, there is plenty of information on the internet with all kinds of ideas on how best to organize your tackle. 

                First and foremost, I needed to take a step back and look at how I fish (boat, shore, kayak, or canoe), what species I fish for, and where I would be storing my tackle.   This is important to deciding what kind of storage containers to purchase.  

Easily Stackable

                I fish for everything, and I fish for everything 99% of the time with lures.   So, I have a ton of tackle.   Considering any of my fishing trips could be targeting a different species, or even several in one trip, I needed to maximize efficiency in the process of pulling specific tackle together for a specific trip.  It would take an excessive amount of time to put together a hundred bags of soft plastics or hard baits one by one for a crappie and bass fishing trip.  

                These days, the majority of my fishing trips are out of a 16 ft JVX, Carolina Skiff.  I have a decent amount of storage under the deck of my boat, and a small amount of room under my side console.  I came up with a basic plan that would keep trip preparation simple from the garage to my boat and back.  



                I chose to organize my lures by design and purpose, and also considered the purpose of the storage bins.  I kept it simple for shelf storage, choosing to go with cheap 1.5 liter storage bins with basic snap on lids.  They are just sitting on a shelf in a garage, so there was no need to have a locking lid or anything heavy duty.   Each lid has a description written with sharpie for easy identification.   As you can see, all lures are kept in their original packaging inside these containers.  

$1 - great for keeping them on a shelf

                On the other hand, the storage containers underneath my deck would need to be heavier duty to handle rough water and conditions.   I went with a locking lid design and heavier plastic.   In these containers I keep tackle that needs to stay on the boat at all times, i.e., terminal tackle, tools, and fishing line.   The terminal tackle consists of bass hooks of all kinds, weighted hooks, jigheads, shakyheads, swingheads, bullet weights, pegs, drop shot tackle, etc.   I can adjust this as necessary based off seasonal type of fishing.   I also have a larger locking bin that fits 3-4 tackle trays.   I switch these out as needed from a pool of 10 tackle trays consisting of everything from hard baits to soft plastics not in their original bags.  I also stow under the deck a few canvas lure binders with the zip lock type bags inside.   These are easy to switch in an out to the boat. 

Canvas binder for bulk bought soft plastics

 

Heavy duty stowaway containers
Contents include: Tools, Line, change of clothes/towel, etc..

 

                Last but not least, I have a more mobile storage system consisting of a large waterproof/dry bag from Mustad.  This is stored underneath my side console for easy access.   Half of it holds up to 6 tackle trays, and the other half typically consists of mix and match various bags of soft plastics or any other lures I want to bring on that specific trip.  It also has room for my Lowrance HD7 Chartplotter/Fish finder combo and Go Pro during transit.   Additionally, this would be my tackle bag to bring if fishing on someone else’s boat. 

Dry bag for "On the water"

As you can see, getting organized is a conscience decision,  and it takes some planning and forethought. That said, it can also be incredibly useful. From pre trip planning to on the water supplies, simply getting organized can make sure your ready for the next trip or day on the water. 

 

Thanks everyone...tight lines!

 

Kyle

 

A picture of the finished product

 

Fill in the Blank

In south Louisiana trout fishing is….

We’ve all been there, we’ve all tried to describe it and for many of us across the coast, particularly in South Louisiana, we can finish that sentence with a lot of words. However, often times what we fail to do in our description is adequately convey the passion that simple sentence can create. In addition, it probably varies from angler to angler across the coastal states that have speckled trout roaming their waters. For instance it may differ in Texas, where trout fishing is a test of skill and angling ability, or in Florida, where trout fishing may take a back seat to snook and tarpon fishing in the keys, glades or the flats. Despite your upbringing and angling ability or frequency, if you’ve chased speckled trout and enjoy catching them, you’ve undoubtedly had to fill in the blank.

For the anglers in South Louisiana, 2 years ago, that sentence may have ended with “in trouble.” As I’ve written in a blog post titled “Louisiana Speck 5 Years Later” featured on Vanishing Paradise’s national webpage. I concluded from a report by the National Wildlife Federation that speckled trout recruitment for the 2010 and 2011 year groups were significantly hampered by the effects of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster. As a result, I felt as if this almost totally contributed to the reduction in trout harvested in 2013 and 2014. It also didn’t help that we had 2 of the harshest winters on top of this disaster, which I’m sure didn’t play into the avid trout fisherman’s favor. Fortunately, Mother Nature decided to give Old Man Winter a pair of Simms and a brand new Revo SX, and as expected the trout fishing is right back on track. I still think 25 trout/day/person is totally ridiculous, but hey that’s another blog post. 

Speaking of which, my dad of all people, a baby boomer born in the 1940’s, who grew up in a time when the limits were limitless in S. LA., and he and his buddies judged their angling success like Jesus and his disciples, as to whether they caught so many fish the boat would barely stay afloat. So, when he became the top tagger of speckled trout in the state of Louisiana in 2015 I was beyond proud. So to him that opening sentence, probably ends with “a resource we need to manage due to my selfishness when I was younger.” In all seriousness, I have to give my pops some serious props. As I mentioned last January, my dad had set his sights on becoming the Top Tagger in the state of LA for 2015 and he achieved that feat. He did so in astonishing fashion. For starters he was the only angler, participating in the program to eclipse 2000 trout, 2086 to be exact. He did that over 85 trips…now I’m not too good at Math being from New Orleans and everything, but I can add, subtract and even divide a little, but that comes out to 24.54 trout/trip. That means in the 12 weeks my dad decided to go fishing, he caught a LA limit every trip. In addition, he’s already had 56 recaptures and more importantly provided invaluable data for the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to help study and manage the resource. I wouldn’t say he’s made up for all that catching and keeping when he was younger, but he’s working on it. Shoot, he’s already tagged another 650 trout this year, which is better than the pace he set last year….repeat?!?

Can you tell who's better? I'll give you a hint...

Now it’s my turn to finish the sentence. As you can probably tell by my blog, podcast, Facebook page and Instagram account…I love to trout fish J I’ve written a few to many blog post covering my emotion about these fish, to the point where my wife kinda jokes about the only girls she’s worried about me cheating on her with is 30+”s and has specks on her back and eats plastic lures. I’ve described about as in-depth as possible the feeling of “The Tap” when a trout hits a jig, and I’ve even tried to artistically detail the environment in which they can be caught (hard shell/oyster reefs/sandy or muddy bottom).  All that said, I really can’t remember the first time I caught my first trout, but I can remember me and my buddies swimming in the surf after we caught a limit of trout wadefishing in Bay Joe Wise. I can’t remember the first time I saw a trout shake its head, but I can remember waking up to “Dixieland Delight” by Alabama that would play on my dad’s alarm clock. I also can’t remember the first time I felt “the tap” but I can remember letting my son Ramsey steer the boat to a set of rocks by the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, MS and watch him catch his first trout. You see, for me, trout fishing isn’t only about the notable characteristics, the characteristics which draws us to these fish. In fact the more I reflect on that sentence I find that its way more important than that. I recently heard a quote lately in a fishing video posted on the Simms website and it said, “For me the deeper I get into fishing, the fish becomes secondary to the experience.” So to close out this blog post, all I can say is that growing up in South Louisiana, trout fishing is....Life.

Tight Lines and God Bless!

Chris

Me, My Pops and My Bro - Chaland Pass, Empire, LA