| Because people fish in so many different ways and | | | | sides and a blue back. |
| most have a favorite way to fish, picking just two | | | | And you can fish it a few different ways, but by far, |
| baits from the hundreds is difficult. | | | | the best way is to bring it back about as fast as you |
| This is not an article for "experts" or people set in | | | | can. They are wind resistant and very easy to cast |
| their ways. It's for the guys and gals who just like to | | | | long distances on either baitcasting or spinning |
| fish and sure would like to go out sometime and | | | | equipment, using 10- or 12-pound test line. |
| catch a whole bunch of fish. | | | | The other is a Mepps or Rooster Tail in-line spinner, |
| The best time to do that is during the fall, especially | | | | again in one-quarter ounce. Choose the whiter or |
| here on Barkley and Kentucky lakes, as well as on | | | | lighter colors. Sometimes, when it is overcast, those |
| most other lakes on this general latitude. | | | | with a gold blade work better, but bass and other |
| Spring is when most people who don't fish every | | | | game fish bust minnow pods most frequently when it |
| weekend think about wetting a line. Being cooped up | | | | is clear, so in-line spinners with a chrome blade are |
| for most of the winter has a lot to do with that. And | | | | best. |
| spring is a great time to fish because bass and other | | | | In contrast, in-line spinners are best fished slowly, |
| game species are moving shallow where they | | | | just fast enough to make the blade rotate, and the |
| become more vulnerable to the average fisherman. | | | | best equipment to cast them is a spinning outfit with |
| During the fall, however, game fish again move | | | | 10-pound-test line. It, too, is very easy to cast long |
| shallow, but for a very different and important | | | | distances and all you have to do is bring them back |
| reason: During the spring, their primary motive is to | | | | slowly and steadily. If you bring them back slowly, |
| spawn. During the fall, all they're thinking about is | | | | they won't twist the line, either, so you don't need a |
| putting on their winter fat. | | | | swivel and all those extra knots that could break. |
| All those little fish they spent so much time making | | | | Just tie them directly to the line. |
| and guarding during the spring are nothing more than | | | | You may have noticed that you can fish both baits |
| delicious, bite-sized morsels during the fall, and the | | | | quite well on a spinning outfit with 10-pound-test line, |
| truth is, they don't care who made them. | | | | and that's really what I'd recommend, but I'd like to |
| These bait fish of various species, but mostly shad | | | | stress that the reel you choose should have a fast |
| around here, travel around in tightly-packed pods that | | | | retrieve rate of 6-1 or better for the Rat-L-Traps. |
| can number in the thousands. There is some safety | | | | For this bait, speed kills, and you can always slow |
| in numbers, but this natural instinct also makes it | | | | down for the in-line spinners, if that is what the fish |
| much easier for bigger fish to find and attack them. | | | | prefer. |
| Because the food these little fellers eat is found on | | | | These two baits are so great, because they closely |
| or near the surface, these massive groups of | | | | resemble the action, color, flash and size of the |
| synchronized swimmers are silhouetted against a | | | | young-of-the-year minnows, especially during October |
| clear sky like a flashing neon sign that says "eat | | | | and November, when this kind of fishing is at its |
| here." | | | | peak. |
| There is no more predictable pattern at any time of | | | | With just one rod and two simple baits, you can go |
| year. I'd be hard pressed to pick just two baits that I | | | | out and catch fish all day long by simply moving from |
| would call best for the spring, but during the fall I can | | | | pod to pod. These pods not only are highly visible |
| do so with great confidence. These baits not only are | | | | and attractive to gluttonous game fish; it is simple for |
| the best, they are designed to be fished in a way | | | | a fisherman to see which ones are being ravaged |
| that anyone can master in a few minutes, regardless | | | | because of the splashy surface shows these game |
| their experience. | | | | fish perform as they tear into them with predatory |
| One is a Rat-L-Trap. You can fish just about any size | | | | exuberance. |
| and color of this lipless bait, and the other similar baits | | | | It may be not only the easiest, but the best fishing |
| by other manufacturers, and catch some fish, but by | | | | of the year. |
| far, the best size is a one-quarter-ounce with chrome | | | | |