03-14-2014, 06:54 PM
[#0000FF]There have been so many times that I have caught fish right under my tube that I suspect it is sometimes perceived (by the fish) as floating structure. This is especially true when I am just casually drifting and not actively kicking a lot.
One time on Pineview I was absorbed in rerigging and then looked down into the clear water to see a whole bunch of fish...bluegills, small bass and crappies...all looking up at me. For a moment, I got the impression that they were saying "Okay guys, on three we pull him under." Glad there weren't any tiger muskies in Pineview back in those days.
Another time...on Willard...I was pitching small plastics to a hump that often held crappies at that time of year. Neither me nor my fellow tuber fishing buddy had been doing much...but it was a sunny afternoon and the crappies were inactive. Then, after dropping my jig straight down to work out a loop of line on my reel, I flipped the bail to reel it back in and got munched by a crappie. Hmmm. I dropped down a few feet again and got another one. Then I noticed that the fish were hanging in the shade of my float tube...about six or seven feet down...over about 15 feet of water. I managed to catch three or four more before I had either caught them all or educated them. My fishing buddy was freaking out and didn't believe my story. Never duplicated that again.
There have been other times that fish have moved in behind me as I kicked across a shallow area. They seemed to be attracted by food items the turbulence of my fins kicked up. Even had a big ol' largemouth almost jump into my tube with me once as it chased a fleeing crawdad. Wouldn't come back for my plastic though.
These days, one of my most effective prospecting techniques is to vertical jig a tandem rig right below and slightly behind my tube as I move slowly across a given area...trying to find active fish. Some of my best fish of the trip often come on that close-in, short-line method. And...in keeping with the subject question that started this discussion...the fish I catch seldom show up on sonar first. They just zip in from the side...not visible on sonar...and smack the jigs. But...being the open-minded guy I am...I accept their intrusions.
Here's a pic I posted last fall of a walleye I caught that way at Willard...virtually right under my fins...in about 8 feet of water...while fishing for perch.
[inline "AWWW RIGHT.jpg"]
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One time on Pineview I was absorbed in rerigging and then looked down into the clear water to see a whole bunch of fish...bluegills, small bass and crappies...all looking up at me. For a moment, I got the impression that they were saying "Okay guys, on three we pull him under." Glad there weren't any tiger muskies in Pineview back in those days.
Another time...on Willard...I was pitching small plastics to a hump that often held crappies at that time of year. Neither me nor my fellow tuber fishing buddy had been doing much...but it was a sunny afternoon and the crappies were inactive. Then, after dropping my jig straight down to work out a loop of line on my reel, I flipped the bail to reel it back in and got munched by a crappie. Hmmm. I dropped down a few feet again and got another one. Then I noticed that the fish were hanging in the shade of my float tube...about six or seven feet down...over about 15 feet of water. I managed to catch three or four more before I had either caught them all or educated them. My fishing buddy was freaking out and didn't believe my story. Never duplicated that again.
There have been other times that fish have moved in behind me as I kicked across a shallow area. They seemed to be attracted by food items the turbulence of my fins kicked up. Even had a big ol' largemouth almost jump into my tube with me once as it chased a fleeing crawdad. Wouldn't come back for my plastic though.
These days, one of my most effective prospecting techniques is to vertical jig a tandem rig right below and slightly behind my tube as I move slowly across a given area...trying to find active fish. Some of my best fish of the trip often come on that close-in, short-line method. And...in keeping with the subject question that started this discussion...the fish I catch seldom show up on sonar first. They just zip in from the side...not visible on sonar...and smack the jigs. But...being the open-minded guy I am...I accept their intrusions.
Here's a pic I posted last fall of a walleye I caught that way at Willard...virtually right under my fins...in about 8 feet of water...while fishing for perch.
[inline "AWWW RIGHT.jpg"]
[/#0000FF]
[signature]