Need Fishing Gear Advice

[chouliha]

Originally Posted by Serapium

The general consensus I'm getting from the responses is that 'squid' looking lures (whether mass produced or homemade) tend to be the most effective. Is that an accurate statement?

Yes squid type lures work very well if you have enough speed say 5-6 knots. Under that they will be less effective and the Rapala's or similar type lures with a big nose come into there own. IMO..... Fishing a lot from the dink you really only need 3 knots of speed for the Rapala or Yo-Zuri to get results. Don't forget about those cedar plugs we have had excellent results using them along with our potato chip bag lures haha!



www.jacarandajourney.com

[Terra Nova]

When we were kids, back in the 50's we fished often. One day my kid brother was fishing from the rowboat when he ran out of bait. Instead of giving up he found a small piece of soggy cardboard in the (wet) bottom of the boat and proceeded to catch fish with that.

The reason I bring this up is just to say that you need not spend a lot of money to catch fish: a hand line wrapped around an empty can, a hook and a strip of pork rind (or cardboard) will do. With a light line and hook you can easily catch small fish using almost any food scrap you can get to remain on the hook. These small fish can be used whole, live or dead, or cut up to make bait for yet larger fish. Whole, small fish can be trolled at virtually any sailing speed when properly rigged.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Serapium

The general consensus I'm getting from the responses is that 'squid' looking lures (whether mass produced or homemade) tend to be the most effective. Is that an accurate statement?

"Condom on a hook" is quite popular in many parts

[Serapium]

These cedar plugs several of you have mentioned... is it just that? A piece of cedar and a hook?

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Serapium

These cedar plugs several of you have mentioned... is it just that? A piece of cedar and a hook?

Yep. A slightly tapered, bullet-shaped piece of wood with a bit of lead weight in the front, a line running through to a hook in the back. Some are painted different colors, while others are just unfinished wood. There is a picture of one earlier in the thread.

Mark

[belizesailor]

You can buy cedar plugs complete, as a kit, or DIY, but if DIY its hard to get the plug shape symetrical by hand...some type of jig/guide or lathe is needed.

[hzcruiser]

Originally Posted by chouliha

You can see a detailed write up on how to make your own chip bag lures on our website under "Other Good Stuff". Also listed there are some tips we jotted down from 4 summers fishing in the Sea of Cortez.



jacaranda-journey

Thanks Chuck, you got some great tips on your website! I've bookmarked it to read your stories, too, one day.

[Delancey]

Originally Posted by Serapium

These cedar plugs several of you have mentioned... is it just that? A piece of cedar and a hook?

Keep in mind the predatory fish swim at a lower depth and swim around looking up so mostly what they are seeing is the silhouette.

I really like the chip bag lures. Have to make some for myself.

[mgabor]

guys,

if you use basic trolling handline only (no gear: no rod, no reel), what is your fish strike indicator? how do you know if there is a fish hooked on?
sorry if it's a dummy question but I'm really wondering..
thx

[Terra Nova]

You should rig a shock cord, where some slack in the line can have a bobber or bell hanging on the slack.

[colemj]

I tie the line to a cleat, then pull it up to the top of a stanchion and connect it to a down-rigger clip (a clothespin will also work if there is low drag).

When a strike happens, the line releases from the clip. Not only do you see the line released from the clip, you also hear a "snick" sound when it happens. Funny, but while this sound is very soft, you WILL hear it - even if sound asleep.

Mark

[chouliha]

Recently on our trip from Ua Huka to Hiva Oa in the Marquesas we were running a hand line(300lb test tuna cord) with a length of 150lb mono and then a 100lb ss leader. We always use a bungee but in this case it did no good at all as we had a huge strike. The bungee stretched all the way out and hit the end of the loop of line. So I got a quick look at a very big splash before the 100lb test wire leader just blew up.

I learned that I need a much longer loop in the line as I had never seen the bungee stretch out so much and it looked about the size of a pencil.

Damn lost a very good jet head cedar plug. Why couldn't it have bit the potato chip bag lure that cost me 75 cents instead of $20. haha oh well that's why they call it fishing.

Happy Fishing

Chuck
Jacaranda
Hiva Oa, Marquesas



www.jacarandajourney.com

[Tafa]

Would love to learn more about the splicing paracord w the leader....

Speaking of leader... I have really good results when I use fluoro-carbon leader material in great lakes..... Just curious if that's the case in saltwater.....

[Cheechako]

Rubber squid. maybe 8" long. Blue/white, Green/white are good. Weighted head, the weights are bought separate. Large hook. I forget the size maybe 2-0. From hook tip to shank maybe 1.5" across. SS leader wire maybe 3 ft long or more. 60 lb test mono minimum. 80-100 better. This will catch most everything.