Last Day Of 2022 - Walkaround

David Hutton
Palmetto Fly N Fish
December 31, 2022

Today, as this is written, it is December 31, the last day of 2022. I thought it would be a dandy day to go to the lake.

    Oddly, it didn't really register with me that it was the last day of 2022. Everyone ELSE is ready for parties, champagne, Auld Lang Syne,... and here I am, indifferent.

    The reason is simple - my wife was diagnosed with lung cancer in October.
We are working through that, and there is hope for the future. But, as you might imagine, that tends to absorb your focus.
2022 has been in my rear view mirror for a while now.

    But, I didn't go to the lake today to dwell on that. No, I went to get a positive head start on 2023!

Goals and Lures
    One of my 2023 goals is to fish a certain number of days per month, using certain lures and flies, targeting certain fish from my Big 5 List.
Is that THREE goals? Hmmm, maybe so. 
    Nonetheless, I took one of the lures I'll be concentrating on, to run it through its paces.
    What lure, you ask?
    Why, the venerable old Flatfish.

(I tested a new fly, too, but that will be for another day.)

    In this case, I recently got my hands on some un-painted Flatfish knock-offs, and it was necessary to see how they performed. Knock-offs can often be junk, so I had to know ahead of the season.
Here is how they look, "in the raw..."

Blank Flatfish knock-offs, with a once-broken, now refurbished original

Here is one of the knock-offs, ready to go...

I'm calling this color scheme, "Mud and Blue."
Hopefully, it looks like a crawfish….

 
    So how did this Flatfish copy work out? Well, in a word - perfectly.
    It functions as well as any original Flatfish in my collection, and fits right into the largemouth bass size. I'm not going into details about the Flatfish, today, because an in-depth article is coming soon. Suffice it to say that these should make fine spinning-casting lures, when that is needed. 

    For you anglers that may not know much about the Flatfish, or its reputation (one of the most sold lures in history,) ...I snagged a few vids of its wide, characteristic wobble, over a range of speeds...

Flatfish - slow retrieve



Flatfish - fast retrieve



Flatfish - moderate retrieve

Water Down Low
    Being a power generating reservoir, this lake has its water level drawn down during the winter. This makes room for the Spring rains to come, and it allows for needed maintenance to be done around the lake. It may be disheartening to see the low level, but it is a perfectly normal part of the lake ecology. 

Normally underwater





Floating dock without water



High and dry



End of the boat ramp

Here is a short video to give you some idea of the drawdowns' scope...

 

Mucho Mussels
    You'll see in the above foto's that the lake bed is covered with what looks broken glass, or shells. And that is exactly right - They are mussel shells. 

The lake is home to an infinite number of freshwater clams and mussels, from about a dozen or more different species.

You don't really grasp how many are there, until the water is down....

Mussel shell
(wrinkly fingers - cold, wet, rainy day)

The Trash Baboons
    It is my usual habit to collect whatever trash I can pick up while at these lake sites, boat ramps, etc.  Plastic bags for this purpose are part of normal kit, and a garbage walk around is standard procedure.
But today it was slim pickings; I actually believe someone beat me to it.
    Normally, I can fill several bags with refuse left behind by the The Trash Baboons, but not this day. Maybe there's hope for the future. LOL 
 

Trash, but not total trash...
fishing tackle, and some re-purposing possibilities 



Legitimately trashy trash



The tackle, as found

Humongous stainless circle hook w/ 60 lb +  line.
Cleaned up, it could be used again, but I'm no fan of stainless hooks in fresh water.
Into my "randoms box" with it.

Resurrected tackle 
Split shot reformed, hook resharpened,  jig re-worked.

Fish and Birds
    My area lake is also home to a big striped bass fishery - good old Morone saxatilis, the much sought after, "striper," ... or, more locally, "rockfish."
The striped bass is the state fish of South Carolina, and this fishery is a huge draw for anglers, and profit-makers, alike.
Striper are also on my Big 5 List, so...

    The ramp I visited today is one of my faves; it is clean, well maintained, and a little off the beaten path. I've used it more than any other of the 20 or so launch sites around the lake.

Red arrow - ramp
Green - channel(s)
Yellow circle - the "bay" 

    The site in question is situated at the mouth of a long, upper arm of the lake, with a 25-50' deep creek channel running the length.

For most of the year, the striper are down in the main lake, in the wide open water - miles and miles of it. But during winter, these fish come up-lake to shallower waters, and the wide "bay" fronting the ramp is one of the areas they frequent.
Take a look at the image above to see what I mean. 

    As far as I can tell, the striper "set up camp" here for the season, holding along the edges of the channel. From that vantage point, they may rise up to the surface to do fishy things - maybe feed on schools of forage fish as they pass through, for example. Or perhaps, they just do it out of habit..., I dunno.
    This means it is pretty normal to see them around this area, rising to the surface, then disappearing as they go back to sanctuary depth. 
    Here's a visual to help get the idea across ....

ref. (1)

    On occasion, these fish may also come up from their deep base and scrounge around the adjacent structure and flats - this is shown on the image as point, "X".
    You can't predict just when they might do this, and they don't stay for long.
But if you're there when they make one of these shallow migrations, it is super exciting. Large fish splashing and rolling all around you  - and the year's best chance to catch them from the shore!
    With the water down so far, I hoped I might be able to cast far enough for that to happen - but they stayed out in deeper water. Dang it!

    But, here comes the kicker.... the resident seagulls and other aquatic birds know those fish are there, too. These birds literally hang around, either in floating 'bird rafts' or aimlessly circling the area on the wing. They, too, are "on station," waiting for the striper to rise shallow so they might scavenge a free meal off of them. 
    In fact, this is probably the best way to know where the striper are positioned.
    Should the fish rise to the surface to feed, the birds all reel in, diving and swooping, hoping to grab some morsel. It's chaos, and you can see it from a long way off. Most 'striper guys' live for this, in fact. They race all over the lake in their powerful boats, homing in on any sign of these crashing, diving birds,.. and hoping THEY can get in on one of these feeding events.
    But very few of them ever recognize that the mere PRESENCE of the birds, loafing around the vicinity, signals something very important:

The fish are down below, right there, and the birds are there waiting. They are literally telling you where the fish are holed up. You don't have to chase all over looking for a feeding frenzy!

    For a more in-depth discussion of this subject, see my recent blog post, here:

A Different View of Striper

    In the meantime, watch this video to get a feel for what I'm talking about....

Adios Old Year... come on New!

Writers should always strive for a job well done... even mediocre ones like me. So if you found value in this article, please like, comment, and share it. 

Would you like to add the catching pattern(s) seen here to your own fly or tackle box? Do you have questions, gripes, or suggestions?
If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com

If you appreciate a no-drama, no-hype Facebook group, follow this link and come join us at:  Palmetto Fly n Fish

Thanks so much for reading, and...

Tight Lines,

Dave Hutton

© All rights reserved, David Hutton/Palmetto Fly N Fish 2022, 2023 

references:

1. "Spoonplugging," Elwood "Buck" Perry, 1974  All Rights Reserved

 

 

A Different Look At Striper

David Hutton
Palmetto Fly N Fish
Dec 29, 2022

Have you ever heard of, Elwood "Buck" Perry?

    Most of you reading this won't know who he was - and those that may know the name, usually know little about him.
However, between Buck Perry and Carl Lowrance, few men have done more for sport fishing... yet almost no one knows much of about these guys. 

    Lowrance developed the first practical depth sounder, that which we lean on so heavily today. But it was Buck Perry's ideas about structure fishing that opened so many doors for us.

    While the discipline of structure fishing is generally misunderstood in our time, much like the man himself, Buck Perry knew more about what fish actually DO, than most anyone.

    With that in mind, here are his observations on the popular striped bass (Morone saxatilis), aka, "striper," or “rockfish," now found in so many of our large inland reservoirs.

“The salt water striper has been introduced into many freshwater lakes and reservoirs, and since we're on the subject of live bait, I'll be the first to say it can be the best bet for them (also “dead bait”). 

Here again, you’ll have your best control of your bait/lure during the colder part of the season.

Much too often, though, the majority of fishermen have trouble finding these fish, unless they are “schooling“ - that is, tearing up the water as they feed on bait fish near the surface. 

And, of course, most “striper guys” live for just this kind of fishing.

But a simple fact is overlooked by most of the fishermen:

These fish orient on structure as a base,  just as any other fish. 

To exploit this trait, particularly during the colder parts of the season, they should be sought at the break-line edges near channels. Since the habit of these fish is to suspend themselves near the structure, the modern day fisherman can “see” them with the depth sounder.*

Want a second opinion on this?...

* The depth sounder is an important piece of equipment. Its not a magic bullet, and it won't replace sound fishing knowledge. But it is a big part of your success. Get the best one you can afford, and you won't regret it.

Striper are open-water fish, it’s true. But contrary to popular belief, they suspend near certain types of structure much of the time. When they are migrating around, or moving (from these bases), they tend to follow underwater structure contour, (such as breaklines), along the edge of a flat, or a river channel. By pinpointing these types of cover with a depth finder, you can continually pull your offerings through potential pay-dirt zones.

In addition to pinpointing prime structure, depth finders help you locate forage fish. When you find a school of shad, herring or alewives, stripers are usually close by."

- Gerald Almy (2)

Now, look at the figure included above … it shows a side view of a structure, such as a bar, with striper suspended in their usual way at the edge of a channel drop-off.

This represents their deep water sanctuary, their ‘base of operations,’ so to speak. 

This is the area where they are before any movements occur, normally 25 to 35 feet. 

When in this position, live bait such as minnows, native forage fish, etc., when fished here, offer the best opportunity you’ll get at depth and speed control.
Dead bait of the same kind can be as effective.

When they are in the position shown, and not migrating around, the bait does not have to be directly on the bottom; it can be suspended at a near depth. Should these fish eventually move up on the structure during a migration, they still remain primarily bottom zone feeders.  

Now, you’ll see I have marked the figure with arrows.

These arrows indicate the fish leaving the break-line base area, moving directly to the surface to pounce upon, and feed on passing schools of bait fish… after which they drop back to the break-line. 

This surface feeding is the “Hot Time” the striper guys are eager for.

This vertical movement can also occur after the fish have moved up on a structure… rising and dropping back to the bottom, such as as seen in position “X.”

It is during these upward movements that most striper fishermen, “score.” They burn up gas in high speed boats, rushing to areas where the fish are “schooling,” typically relying on birds, like gulls, to indicate where the surface movement is taking place. 

I can’t remember all the times I have watched these fishermen flying around the lake, to get onto a schooling event. 

Then, when the fish have retreated back to sanctuary, and the surface action is over - they immediately crank up and zoom off to another area where they think they see more surface action…. often getting there too late. 

They may spend the whole day like this, racing from spot to spot and chasing after each other, trying to work any schooling fish that pop up. 

I have also watched them when water and weather conditions are unfavorable, sitting for hours “looking” and hoping - and not fishing at all. 

Where this type of fishing is being done, that is, “school chasing,” I have little trouble finding the fish I want to catch.

I just wait until the schools have moved back down to sanctuary, and all the fishermen zoom away. They have done me a favor with their antics… because they point out to me just where the fish are holding down below.

I motor over at my leisure, after they have gone, and catch the fish off of their break-line stations.

In colder weather I will try a jump lure instead of live bait at these break-line locations. Something like a jig or spinner bait, one that can be "jumped up and down" on the bottom us what I mean. But many times, live or dead bait gives better depth and speed control.

Then, when the fish move up to “crash the school,” I often find free swimming lures are better. I will throw a bucktail jig into the school, for example, and just let it sink. If I make any retrieve it all, it will be quite slow.   

By contrast, during warmer conditions, I use bottom bumping/bottom walking lures with fairly fast speeds to work the break-line.

When they move up to the surface and do their schooling thing during these seasons, I use a fast working jig or a free swimming lure with an erratic, fast action. Changing retrieve speeds, together with sweeping rod movements usually does the trick. (This is the same tactic used on other species of schooling fish, as well).

Normally schooling occurs shortly after day break, but it can also occur any time water and weather conditions permit.

When there is no schooling action taking place, I have to locate striper just as I would any other species of game fish. 

How is that?

This is accomplished with my usual bottom-bumping lure on the troll, following structure break-lines from shallow, out into deep water, until contact is made.” (1) 

- Buck Perry, from the book, “Spoonplugging,” 1974

                                             

Writers should always strive for a job well done... even half-baked ones like me. So if you found value in this article, please like, comment, and share it. 

Do you have questions, compliments, or suggestions?

If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com

If you appreciate a no-drama, no-hype Facebook group, follow this link and come join us at:  Palmetto Fly n Fish

Thanks so much for reading, and...

Tight Lines,

Dave Hutton

© All rights reserved, David Hutton/Palmetto Fly N Fish 2023 

references:

• 
  

  1. "Spoonplugging," Elwood "Buck" Perry, 1974  All Rights Reserved
  
  Buck Perry very thoughtfully allowed limited excerpts and illustrations from his book, to be reproduced and shared for educational purposes. We can thank him for that, along with his other contributions.
  
  2. Trolling For Freshwater Stripers 
  https://guide.sportsmansguide.com/tips/trolling-freshwater-stripers/

THE EYES HAVE IT - For Catching More Fish!

David Hutton, Dec 28, 2022

I have always believed that eyes on a fly or lure make it appear more realistic. In my mind, if the creature which the lure or fly mimic's has obvious eyes in real life, then, the fake should as well. This leads one to the obvious idea that the fish will then see it as "more" real, which should lead to more strikes. 

    To give this a little "unofficial" test, put two similar lures or flies on a table, one with eyes, one without. Now, ask someone to examine them, being careful of the hooks.
Invariably, they go for the one with the eyes - it is just more identifiable to them, and more appealing. 
I expect it is the same for fish, at least where there is enough light for them to see the lure.

    Note, I said, "I expect it is the same for fish”... as I’ve never actually done any thorough experimenting with the idea. 

I’m not a research scientist, and I don’t get to fish as much or as often as would be needed to develop proper sample data.
So I have mostly just come to "believe" in the idea, with little else to go on.

    That is, until now.

    Because, buried in the pages of the January 1944 issue of The Pennsylvania Angler we see the results of just such an experiment. It was well conducted, duplicable, meticulously documented and recorded, and, according to the article, it was conducted over multiple seasons by a reputable individual. That is a proper test!

    Included here are the results for your review.

    I will leave you to draw your conclusions, but in my eyes (pun intended)... well, the eyes have it!  👀

(This image was fuzzy, so I made it "pop" as best I could. I hope it works for you as a cleaned-up jpeg image.

BONUS: It’s pretty neat to look back at pages from 1944…. WWII was in full swing when this was published, and references to that conflict appear. There's even a funny little joke thrown in. I strongly encourage you to look through the entire issue if this is your kinda thing. See link in the references)

Writers should always strive for a job well done... even mediocre ones like me. So if you found value in this article, please like, comment, and share it. 

Do you have questions, gripes, or suggestions?
If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com

If you appreciate a no-drama, no-hype Facebook group, follow this link and come join us at:  Palmetto Fly n Fish

Thanks so much for reading, and...

Tight Lines,

Dave Hutton

© All rights reserved, David Hutton/Palmetto Fly N Fish 2022, 2023 

reference:

1. PA Angler, January, 1944
https://www.fishandboat.com/Transact/AnglerBoater/LegacyIssues/1940s/Documents/01january1944.pdf

ANOTHER LOOK AT LURE COLOR

Dec 11, 2022
David Hutton, editor
Palmetto Fly N Fish

When I found this article, I liked the nice graphics. But it was full of ads and phishing links, so I dumped that junk.

Fortunately, this is personal blog; I can protect my readers from that if I want to.

But I don't want to be thought a plagiarist, and those other authors might feel cheated if you don't see their sponsors and affiliate links. Therefore, the original page link is included here (and in the references): https://www.liveoutdoors.com/fishing/214357-how-fish-see-lures-depth/
If you are a glutton for punishment, feel free to check it out.
Edited for content, All source credit due the original authors

++++++ ++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ 

    
     Take a walk through the fishing department at any retailer, and you’ll see that fishing lures come in a wide variety of colors. You can close your eyes, reach into any display, and you'll come out with mostly the same kind of lure, across any number of makers. The only real difference just might BE their colors. 

    But does the color of a lure really matter?
    The answer depends not on how they look in your hand, but on depth and clarity of water, and how fish see (<- - - click the link).

    A great many lures try to mimic prey items realistically, and most do a great job. The other half of the lure market is made up of vivid lures that DON'T look natural, but which play on a contrast of color.

    What is missing, however, is that there is no color without light... and almost nothing addresses the amount of light IN THE WATER.
    We don't actually "see color," after all. We see the frequencies of light reflected to our eyes from an object. If green light is reflected, we call it green. If red frequencies reflect, we call it red.
    However, the color you see in the store, or when you open the box, is different from what color the fish get in the water.

The Thin Red Line

    Color is a hot topic among anglers, with everyone touting their favorite color combinations and pet theories ABOUT color.
    One guy catches a fish on the color, "Funky Lightshow" and it has to be THAT color that does it from now on. The problem is, that with all this noise, it is hard to put your finger on just what matters.
    
    But it isn't "color" we should focus on - it is color appearance vs. available light in the water.
    We can illustrate this concept by examining the popular red fishing lines, such as the original Shakespeare, "Cajun Red."*

    The idea behind these red lines is two-fold...

1. The deeper you go, the less available light there is. 

2. The visible light wavelengths associated with the color red are disappear first as water depth increases and light diminishes). 
 
    In short, as water depth and turbidity cuts out the red light wavelengths, these red lines supposedly become "invisible" to fish. This sounds like marketing hokum to me, but at least the idea has some basis in fact.
    
    On a side note, some like to complain that this Cajun Red isn't the highest quality line out there, or that it is mostly used by rednecks. While that latter point may have some truth to it, I also reckon that something favored by rednecks probably works. So I don't know why THAT would be grounds for complaint.

    And yes..., I said "reckon."
    
* - going by the internet, the Cajun Red brand seems to now be out of production, but, it looks like the torch has been taken up by Zebco (<- - - click the link).

WHAT HAPPENS WITH DEPTH
    So back to the concept that water depth decreases available light..., which diminishes color.

    In crystal clear ocean water, at one meter depth (3 ft), only 45% of the solar energy that falls on the ocean surface remains.
 At 10 meters (30 ft), only 16% of the light is still present.
At 100 meters (300 feet) only 1% of the original light remains.  No light penetrates beyond 1,000 meters.

And this is in crystal clear water. This light reducion is worse in fresh water, like lakes.

    Why does this happen? For a number of reasons, actually:

1. Its an inherent quality of water - it is a more dense medium than air.

2. The water we fish in is not crystal clear; it has impurities of all kinds, and these serve to dampen the intensity of light in the water.

3. Other factors come into play; The angle of the sun, the amount of surface wind or chop, cloud cover,... and these are just some examples.

    This light reduction occurs for different wavelengths of light, too.
    Long wavelengths like red, they have their strength reduced first. So a red object in deep water will not appear red, because the red light available is practically gone.
    Blues and greens reflect short wavelength light, and they are the most color persistent as depth increases. This is why things appear blue in deep water.
    Beyond that, light in the ultraviolet, or UV spectrum has the greatest ability to penetrate water. We can't see it, but we hope fish can.

    It stands to reason, then, that very clear water, under bright sun and dead calm conditions will allow more light to penetrate deeper. This means your lure’s color should remain visible for a while longer under these conditions. 

    Too bad we don't all fish in 2 feet of tropic water, at noon, under dead calm conditions!

   
TURBIDITY
    Among the things that affect light penetration, turbidity, or murkiness, is possibly number one. How will water impurities, aka turbidity, affect lure selection?

Check out this chart...

depth

BY 20 FEET

    All colors will gradually dull as they go from shallow to deeper water, but "warm," long-wavelength colors like red are the first colors to fade. To a fish, lures in these colors will remain vibrant up to maybe 20 feet deep under ideal conditions.
    But the more impurities in the water, or the deeper you go, the sooner these colors fade to brown, and then gray.

30 FEET

    Orange is the next color to fade out. Bright crawfish and firetiger patterns may do well until around 30 feet or so. But, again, this depends on the light at those depths, so there is no absolute value here.

50 FEET

    This is where yellow lures will begin to lose their color. Hall of Fame great, Buck Perry, used to consider yellow a NEUTRAL color, because it is bright in shallow water, but once it fades with depth - it becomes just an easily seen light-ish tone. 
    You can expect that at these depths, in fresh water, most lures will NOT retain their crisp, absolute color as WE see it. By the time this depth is reached, it is more about light tones versus dark tones, over real color.

BEYOND 60 FEET

    Blue lures, and green to some degree, will remain visible for as deep as the light will penetrate the water. In waters with current, sediment, turbidity, or pretty much anything else that reduces clarity, they just become "dark."

FISH EYES AND YOU
    Aside from how depth, turbidity, and light affect the appearance of color, it’s also important to consider how the eyes of a fish work.
    Some fun facts about the eyes of a fish:
- They are very much like ours. They have a retina, as we do, and it contains the same two types of cells: cones and rods.
- The cones are used primarily in the day, and are able to discern relatively simple colors.
- The rods are used for seeing at night and under low light conditions, but they don't discern color.
- Marine fishes have a greater range of color sense than their fresh water cousins.
- Fishes adapted to live in shallow water will have the greatest ability to see color.

    Regardless, the fact remains that as depth increases, the available light drops out,... and the fish can't see much in the way of color, one way or another.

    In the following video, he says it this way:

"When fishing in shallow water, objects will only appear in their real colors near the surface where all wavelengths of light are still available. So, you might want a variety of lure colors for that type fishing.

But as depth increases, well, most color washes out and becomes just faded shades of something like the color it once was." 

    My take on all of this, for what it is worth? I reckon that whatever kind of lures lures you use, you should have them in two "tone palettes"" - light tones and dark tones.
    Which absolute color hue you choose probably matters very little.

And yes, I said, "reckon."

------------<~~>-------------

    Writers should always strive for a job well done... even mediocre ones like me. So if you found value in this article, please like, comment, and share it. 

    Do you have questions, gripes, or suggestions? If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com

    If you appreciate a no-drama, no-hype Facebook group, follow this link and join us at:  Palmetto Fly n Fish

Thanks so much for reading, and...

Tight Lines,

Dave Hutton

© All rights reserved, David Hutton/Palmetto Fly N Fish 2022, 2023

- references

https://www.liveoutdoors.com/fishing/214357-how-fish-see-lures-depth/