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FISHNTEXAS.COM RIGGING BALLYHOO WITH LURES The Weather has been bad for a few weeks so I got restless and I decided to come up with some Ballyhoo ideas. I also added some tried and trued rigs and put it on the webpage with descriptions, Pictures & video. I hope this helps someone, somewhere! Check it out in full at: http://www.fishntexas.com/tips_ballyhoo_and_lure_rigs.htm Tight Lines! Capt. Scott McCune

Yep...I use those hooks too for Gulp...I haven't heard of that float though...I use the smaller Mansfield Mauler quite a bit too! Capt. Scott McCune

That sure does work...we go through periods here when we can't get live shrimp for a multitude of reasons and that is when I use that method...Live Shrimp is always better though...the fish always seem smaller on the artificial rig... Capt. Scott McCune www.fishntexas.com

Thanks! Capt. Scott McCune

Bay Fishing with Bait 101: Windy - Popping Cork and Shrimp 2nd of 5 Articles This is the 2nd in a series of articles written for the average bay fisherman who would like to know a little more about approaching a day of fishing. Lets imagine you are arriving at the boat ramp on a Spring morning and the wind has been blowing since before you sat down for breakfast at that greasy spoon restaurant, a solid 18 knots! Not to worry that is a typical day down on the middle coast, you have to learn to adjust your tactics or have an empty fish box at the end of the day! A couple of the most important decisions you'll make is what type of bait you decide to buy and the way you will present it to the fish. Your presentation will be decided in great part by the weather and time of year! Shrimp and Popping cork is a great way to fish 8 or 9 months out of the year on windy days (Fall, Winter and Spring)! This style of fishing is used by only a few guides, it seems there is a contingent that has become opposed to teaching their customers how to cast, work the bait and set the hook…Not Me! Let me have a day of my clients casting over a day of anchoring up and casting for them! I have spent a lot of time working with the young and old alike, for example the 70 year old Yeagers, yes the nephew of Chuck Yeager and also a war fighter pilot, were able to catch a whole mess of fish during an afternoon half day trip this Spring. I like my customers to fish, this is a great style of fishing, even for children! There are times when the anchor up guys catch more Redfish however they havent let their customers touch a rod other than to hand them the rod and reel when the fish is on. Now dont get me wrong there are days when that is productive and Im forced into that type of routine also, however the good catch on those days are limits of Reds and a couple of Drum maybe…Shrimp and Popping cork good days are limits of Reds, near limits of Trout with maybe a huge Trout RELEASED, a couple of Drum and a ton of fish in between! Now this is going to get the attention of any stray lure aficionados reading this, consistently successful Shrimp and Popping cork fishing is more technical than any lure I know! Here are some of the things I have learned over the years of doing one of my favorite styles of guided fishing: Corks I predominantly use Cajun Thunders, however on deeper reefs Rattle Corks work well. On lighter wind days the old Mansfield Mauler could be and option too. I even save old corks for those days that the Redfish dont want a lot of sound! Colors I always start with two primary colors, pink and chartreuse. Most of the time you will find Redfish like one and not the other and the same for Trout…however they may be hitting both or you can select the color depending on when you are fishing an area more conducive to the fish you expect to catch. Leader Easy, I use only 20# fluorocarbon! The leader length when fishing the flats should be just above the grass you are drifting over, I keep varying lengths available to change on the fly. Leader lengths are increased when fishing the deeper bay which I seldom do using this style of fishing. Hooks - #2 or #4 laser sharp trebles depending on the shrimp size. I have found smaller to medium size shrimp work better than the big ones. The larger shrimp do not work under a popping cork, you might as well save them as an appetizer with the corn battered Trout! Knots Use an improved clinch knot from the line to the cork. Do not use a snap swivel, it makes the cork lay over! I use a loop knot to the bottom of the cork for quick changing leader lengths and loop knots to the treble hook for more realistic movement. Accessories - Beads are a VERY important part and sometimes not a part of the rig all together! The general rule of thumb is to start with small beads on most of the rigs and at least one rig without a bead. Really make sure your buddys is fishing the bait properly before ruling out any package! Sometimes going to a larger bead when the water is very muddy or stirred up makes a difference! Now that the terminal gear has been laid out it is time to talk about presentation! The cast should be made in an arch and as the cork is floating down flip the bail on the reel over by hand to make a softer presentation pop the cork once or twice immediately after it hits the water…did I say immediately…I meant it…I believe that is a major key to being effective! I start out the day by popping the cork (learn to pop it WITHOUT moving it toward the boat) in about 5 second intervals on windy days pop it more! Remember that even on windy days Redfish may not like a lot of popping so alternate presentation to find what works. This style of fishing isnt like bobber fishing for perch, so the perfected Bass angler hook set (Bill Dancing) is worthless here! The proper way to set the hook is to: 1) Hold the rod at 10 O'clock during the retrieve (only making up the line as boat drifts to the cork) 2) Drop the rod tip when the cork goes down 3) Reel up to set the hook 4) When you feel the weight of the fish firmly lift the rod back to the 10 Oclock position If you follow the actions listed above you will get fish in the box! You'll also want to learn to stop the bait within a couple of feet if you don't feel the weight of the fish and pop the cork if it comes back to the surface, you dont want to keep reeling the bait out of the strike zone! Remember the retrieve is a steady reeling, if you let slack get in then try to catch up you will not even come close to realizing your potential catch at the end of the day! In closing remember that nothing about fishing is set in stone, pay attention, vary your approach and find what works! If fishing gets slow after a couple of good catches I find that the angler gets a little pumped and is working the cork faster than before the hook ups! In an additional note lets not over look popping cork and piggies on the occasional early summer day! Use the same popping cork rig but instead of a treble use an appropriate size kahle hook! This can be an incredible way to fish when nobody else has had a good bite, keep the bait fresh, they dont last long casting under a cork (expensive but effective)! I hope you've enjoyed this article and remember if you dont eat it release it and try to release all big Trout, get a picture it will last longer, save some for the kids!

Bay Fishing with Bait 101 1st of 5 Articles I see weekend fisherman that spend a lot of time on the water not really adapting to the methods that professionals use to catch fish consistently. If you are a lure aficionado or tournament angler then this article is not for you, sorry! I see a lot of authors writing about how fast to work your chartreuse, pumpkin seed, gold flakey, curly tailed fish whackers or to find sandy, shelly, grassy flats drop offs…so I thought Id write something most of you could really use to catch fish more consistently! I will go over the four or really five major types of fishing bait that we use as fishing guides. The first way to fish although many guides have given up this method because it requires more effort to train the customers is shrimp and popping cork (SPC). The Second is anchoring up and fishing the sand pockets located in the flats. The third is anchoring up and fishing guts and isolated deep water areas locked within the flats systems. The four and fifth way are fishing with Piggies (piggy perch not pin perch) and Croaker. Now that I have the described the types of fishing we choose, let me explain when we use them…this is the most important part! Wind, is the most important indicator of what method we will use. I personally pray for wind so we can use the most popular, successful and frequently engaged method Shrimp and popping cork. SPC can be used for the longest time frame during the year! The SPC method also allows my customers more of a chance to do the fishing themselves instead of feeling all they do is reel in the fish! When the wind is blowing 15 knots or more this is the best option to catch fish! This is only an option in the Fall, Winter and Spring as the bait fish mature and others invade the flats system this methods becomes unfeasible, also the larger fish dont seem to gobble up the shrimp as readily. If you use the SPC method in the summer on the big bay the fish seem to range in the 14 and under category which will leave you hungry at the end of the day! If there is no wind…put the shrimp and popping cork aside…seriously…youve got to get used to fishing the sand pockets (Pot Holes) and put your time in doing it! This is a very important tip, dont try to revert back to drift fishing with shrimp and popping cork. It will take time to have confidence to do this type of fishing but it is worth the effort because nothing is more effective on light wind or windless day. This type of fishing can be done with live mullet, cut mullet, dead shrimp, live shrimp, pin perch, piggy perch, ballyhoo or crabs. I like to use live bait predominantly when there is little wind however I will almost always mix it up with cut bait too just to add scent to the water. You can use everything from a jig head to a Carolina rig with various weights, we also add a water corks at times to get extra casting distance which is very important on the days without wind! The next style of fishing is low tide fishing. Hopefully youve studied your map or taken note when you have been crossing he flats on normal days, if you did you will have areas in the back of your mind to try when these conditions present themselves. Be very careful if you dont know the area well, maybe watch another boat enter that area and wait your turn to try it. Remember some lanes into the deeper guts in the flats system arent even as wide as your boat. We use the anchor up method of fishing on these days too, however the big difference in choosing bait. Since a low tide day can either be windy or calm the way I determine my primary bait is based on this rule; windy days use any type of bait that will create a scent on calm days use live bait. The simple analysis is that windy days the water is murky and hard to see through and calm days the fish can actually see what they inhale from quite a distance! Now the forth and fifth method are very similar and I will combine them; Piggies and Croaker. The reason I made them two different styles is because of the areas we use them, Croaker seem to stay effective way longer in the area north and south of Port Aransas such as the Laguna to the South and San Antonio Bay to the north. In the Rockport and Port Aransas areas Croaker mature faster to be used as bait than Piggies, but when Piggies start coming in look out! Piggies and Croaker are held very fondly by fishing guides because when you are on fish and the time is right you cant find a hotter trout bait, not without saying Redfish will tearem up too! We fish these types of bait at the rigs, grass edges off the deeper bay islands, reefs, Intercoastal waterway and sand pockets in the flats. The preferred rig is a size appropriate kahle hook tied to a 20# leader attached with a swivel or knot to the main line. The time of year we use this bait is from the about the middle of May into September, at that time the bait is predominantly too large and the schools start migrating. Now that you know why and when we fish certain baits we can start talking about the various techniques that make a difference in presenting it to our prey, but that we have to save that for the next article! After all I do have to make some time to fish instead of write! With all kidding aside I want to spend time covering each of these methods in depth as they all have their place in our fishing arsenal! I hope you've enjoyed this article and remember if you don't eat it release it and try to release all big Trout, get a picture it will last longer, save some for the kids!