Tips and Tricks

Some of these tips may not be legal where you are fishing, so make sure you are aware of local regulations before using them.

Find out what the fish are feeding on.
When you get back in the fish house and clean your catch for the day, make a point of dissecting one or two of each species you have caught. You want to determine what they are feeding on so that you can adjust your baits and lures to an equivalent color, size and shape for the next day’s fishing.  Some anglers will do this immediately upon catching their first fish of the day.

Make some cut bait.
When you filet your Perch catch of the day, save some side pieces of the skin. Even if they dry out over night, once in the water they will become pliable again. The skin of the perch is very durable and makes a great adornment for your hook. You can trim them to the size and shape appropriate to the hook etc. They will add a life like flavor and scent to your hook. I have even seen anglers tip their hooks with the eyes of the Perch.

Fish the other direction.

When I was first told this, I laughed out loud. But when I tested the concept I quickly apologized. If you are following a shore line trolling or drifting a jig, and the fish are not biting, then turn around and back track over the water you just fished, slowing returning to where you started. My first reaction was, “that is silly”, the fish did not bite the first time and why waste my time, they are not there or are not interested.

Well, my experience is that this trick works often enough for me to keep it in my arsenal. The last time I did this I was at Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada. Using the trolling motor to maintain water depth, distance from shore and direction, we slowly “drifted” down the shoreline for 100 yards in about 10 feet of water jigging for Walleye. We had not a bite the entire drift. So we turned the boat around and slowly worked our way back. We had good solid bites and caught fish on the way back. Then we turned back and worked the same stretch again with not a single bite. Turning around and heading once again back to the starting point produced more bites and more Walleye. Two trips back and forth with the same result, but action only in one direction. Weird! This trick will not always work, but it does work!