THE JOURNAL OF FRESHWATER FISHING FEBRUARY 2004

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TOP TACTICSFO R RIVER W ALLEYES

HOTTEST SMALLMOUTH LURES THIS SEASON! PAGE 44

36 IN-FISHERMAN®

n the top Florida lakes, at least 90 percent of bass over 10 pounds are caught on wild shiners.” That’s

the word from Captain James Jackson, renowned guideon West Lake Tohopekaliga, affectionately known as“Toho” by her fans across the continent.

For vacationing anglers, Florida is the place to goonce winter shuts down fishing in the northern andcentral regions. Central Florida contains scores ofexcellent largemouth bass fisheries, most worked byknowledgeable guides ready to escort anglers, fromnovices on a side-trip from Disney World to tourna-ment veterans looking for an edge in an upcomingcompetition. But the top guides are only ready if youbook a trip well in advance of the prime times fromlate December through March.

Shiner fishing, of course, is far from new. Florida’searliest anglers, 19th century gents who visited via

railroad, rigged these large and abundant natural baitson steel poles, revolving spool reels, and coarse braidedline. Refinements in tackle have occurred, but tacticsremain down to earth, as anglers imitate the primor-dial hunt of the bass for its preferred prey. In the sce-nario, the angler sets the stage by offering a bait, thenwatches and feels the reactions of predator and preyto the presentation.

Shiner fishing has remained popular in Floridabecause it’s so effective. Ten-pounders can be caughton plastic worms or topwaters, but success will be spo-radic in comparison. Outside Florida, shiner fishingis a dwindling or even lost art. But wherever you fishfor big largemouths (smallmouths too), live shinerscan be deadly. Combined with careful hook removalprocedures and a selective harvest philosophy, baitfishing does not damage bass fisheries.

NATURE’S

BY STEVE QUINN

WAYAN INSIDE LOOK AT SHINER FISHING FOR LUNKER BASS

“IM

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ABOUT BAITIn Florida, guides or bait collectors

gather wild golden shiners, techni-cally known as Notomigonus chrysoleu-cas. The golden shiner occupies nearlyall suitable waters from the AtlanticCoast west through the Dakotas andTexas and as far north as central Man-itoba. Because of its wide use as a bait-fish, it’s unclear where the species isnative and where it has been intro-duced. But it’s certainly adaptable,and tasty.

Bass in an aquarium will gulp shinerafter shiner while ignoring bluegills,crawfish, and frogs. The only bait moreeagerly eaten is the waterdog. “Shin-ers are the prevalent prey in Toho, withthreadfin shad a secondary choice,”Jackson says. “In winter, bass eat craw-fish, but not during the other seasons.We have plenty of gizzard shad,bluegills, and crappies, but they’re notcommon prey.

Golden shiners are broad-bodiedminnows, offering a caloric boost, andthey lack spines or other defenses. Inproductive waters from Massachusetts to Florida, theycommonly reach 10 inches and over half a pound, on adiet of zooplankton, insect larvae, small snails, and algae.

Pond-raised shiners are widely available, but expertsprefer wild shiners caught locally, as they exhibit a nat-ural fear reaction when a bass approaches, teasing it tostrike instead of finning along unaware of danger. They’refun to catch on a light spinning outfit, tiny hook (#10 to#12), and a bit of bread or worm. Commercial collectorsprefer cast nets, and in baited areas (they love QuakerOats), they can corral dozens with a well-placed throw.Not a bad business, as they sell for around $14 a dozen.

“On an 8-hour guide trip, I plan to go through sixdozen,” Jackson notes. “It’s important to have freshactive bait. They stay lively for three or four casts, thencan be discarded. It’s one bait per fish, and we often getbites from gar, bowfin, and pickerel.”

To keep baits fresh onboard, you need a well aerated,recirculating livewell. Large round tanks with aerationor an oxygen system and fine air stones are better, withadditives in the water, particularly in warmer weather.A round tank about 30 inches in diameter and 20 inchesdeep holds 6 or 8 dozen shiners.

RIGGINGHooks—Most Florida guides favor wide-gap or Kahle

hooks, due to the way they hold a lip-hooked shiner inthe bend of the hook, and because their large gap makesfor sure hookups. James Jackson prefers a 6/0 modelmade by Gamakatsu. Matzuo’s red shiner hook withpatented “sickle design” also is catching on.“I’ve had

smaller hooks bend out under heavy pressure from abig bass,” Jackson says. “With the tackle I use, settingthat big hook generally isn’t a problem, although I haveto set hard and reel fast to get stretch out of monofila-ment when the fish is a ways off.

“When fishing pockets in hydrilla, we use an openhook (no weedguard) because this hook generally ridesabove the level of the vegetation, as bass typically feedupward in our lakes. The hook point rides up in thesnout of the shiner and only hangs grass when a hookedbass dives into it.

“Around maidencane, however, we fish weedless hooksthat I make by soldering a portion of a guitar string aroundthe shank just below the eye. Then I place a piece of heat-shrink tubing over the solder to hide the silver. There’s alot of shiner fishing pressure, and these fish get wise.”

Lake Okeechobee guide Glen Hunter occasionallyopts for a weighted shiner rig to hold baits near an edge,breakline, or piece of cover. A 2-ounce sinker anchorsthe rig while a float keeps the rig upright and signalsbites. The shiner swims on a tether set at a variable dis-tance between the surface and the bottom.

Rods and Reels—For setting the hook, often at longrange, Jackson favors 7- to 8-foot medium-heavy-powerand medium-fast-action rods. He advises clients to bringflippin’ sticks, as they work well and virtually all bassanglers have one. Some experts have custom rods withsomewhat faster tips, more parabolic midsections, andeven stouter butts. When In-Fisherman Editor-in-ChiefDoug Stange filmed a television segment with Jacksonlast spring, he fished Shakespeare’s 71⁄2-foot Intrepid flippin’

www.in-fisherman.com 37

“In the top Floridalakes, at least 90percent of bass

over 10 pounds arecaught on wild

shiners.”][

stick, and it worked admirably. The reels were PfluegerTrion 66s. (This episode airs beginning the weekend ofJanuary 23-24, about the time subscribers receive this issue.)

Match with a high-capacity baitcasting reel with alow to moderate gear ratio, which provides greater crank-ing power. Jackson calls ‘em “catfish reels.” You wanta tough reel with a clicker. Anglers set the hook as soonas the float submerges fully. Reels like the Ambassadeur6500 C3, Pflueger Trion 66, Shimano Catala 400, or Shake-speare Catera 4311A work well.

Line—Jackson favors heavy mono, such as BerkleyTrilene XT or Big Game in 25- or 30-pound test. “No onefishes less than 25-pound in my boat,” he says. “Someanglers and guides fish braids, but in my experience,they don’t work well in this situation. I fish with thedrag cranked way down, and no-stretch lines and tightdrags don’t go together.

“First, a powerful hookset with braided line canpull the hook out of the bait and the bass’ mouthbefore it sets. I had fewer hookups when I tried it.Also, when a big bass gets near the boat, it often bolts.

“Pulling hard against a heavy rod and no-stretchline can cause the hook to tear loose. The tissuesin the throat will even tear under thatpressure, as well as the mouth. Also,a sudden head shake can create slackand allow a fish to spit the hook.Mono keeps steady pressureon a hooked bass, and offersa degree of shock resistance.”

Jackson has another trickfor fishing mono. He carriesa small tub of silicone pasteused to make fly-lines float. “If I’mfishing with the wind at my back,I run the mono through a pad coatedwith the silicone paste, to make itfloat. It’s easier to watch lines, andthey stay straight to the bait. If, on theother hand, we are set up to fish cross-wind, I fish mono without the floatant,so it sinks. Wind creates a huge bowin floating line, making it difficult to

set the hook. Paste silicone stays onthe line longer than the spray type.”

Floats—Most shiner guides favora Styrofoam float, as they’re func-tional, tough, and cheap. Jacksonfavors a pear-shape model 2 inchesin height. “In shiner fishing, youwant your presentation to be as nat-ural as possible, and a larger floatcauses more drag on the shiner.That’s also why I prefer Styrofoamover balloons. If a float is too small,large shiners can pull it under andyou won’t know when a light-bitingbass has taken it.

“Float color is important, in myopinion,” he adds. “I’ve experimentedwith camouflage, natural cork, andvarious paint schemes. I always go

back to red-and-white striped floats. Doug Hannonreported the same thing years ago, when he was doing alot of shiner fishing. Perhaps the white on the float resem-bles the belly of a baitfish.

“Bass in our shallow Florida lakes feed upward, soyou should set the bait slightly above the level of thegrass. I never set it more than 30 inches above the bait.When I see surface action or bass start chasing shinersto the surface, I shorten the distance, lengthening it ifbass are spitting out baits, or on a slow bite due to acold front. In those conditions, I also freeline shiners,removing the float and allowing the shiner to swimdown into the pockets in the grass where the bass areholding.” In those situations, Glen Hunter deploys hisweighted rig.

Jackson prefers to set out three float lines, occasion-ally adding a fourth line with a freelined shiner.

“A fourth float line means that you’re alwaysreeling lines back in, as you sometimes want toclear lines when you have a good bass on. Thattires out the shiners, so you waste bait. I fishthree floats whether I have 1, 2, or 3 clients in the

boat.”

LOCATIONOn Toho, Okeechobee, Stick Marsh, Lake

Walk-In-Water, and other great fisheries,nearly all bass action takes place in lessthen seven feet of water. Florida lakescontain many species of submerged, float-

ing, and emergent plants. They createprime growing conditions for insects and

small fish, and a productive ecosystem forlargemouth bass. So you’re always fishing

around weeds.Pockets and edges tend to hold bass, as do

patches of bulrushes or maidencane. And whenyou find one bass, chances are there are dozensnearby. “If I don’t have a big concentration of

bass located, I often troll shiners slowly overpotential areas. It’s a great way to find fish. Thenwe may anchor up and stay in a productive spotfor several hours, catching fish after fish.”

38 IN-FISHERMAN®

]Pear-shape styrofoamfloats about 2 inches in

height are ideal forshiner fishing.[

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Years ago, I fished shin-ers over similar areas in thenatural lakes of New Yorkand Connecticut. Thoughmy technique was far fromthe sophisticated systemsguides employ, I caught lotsof bass and some real sportyones too.

In Minnesota, shiners aren’tfished much for bass, as lurefishing, along with the regionaluse of live frogs, has been tra-ditional since the 1950s. ButNorth Country guides, whotypically seek walleyes, oftenturn to livebait to load theboat with bass when the ‘eyesturn finicky. Fishing shinersor other minnow species ona slipsinker Lindy rig keepsthe action hot, when baits aredragged along the outside ofthe deep weedline in 10 to 18feet of water. Alternately,impaling a shiner on a ball-head jig is deadly when basshold among weed clumps orbreaks. A head from 1/16 to1/8 ounce allows a slowdescent, and bites often comeon the fall.

In other regions, varioustypes of structure and covercan be successfully fished with liveshiners or shad. A heavier slip-sinkerrig, more like a Carolina rig, is effec-tive when bass hold along deep under-water points, over roadbeds, or onsubmerged river ledges. If brush andtimber are present, a weedless hookhelps. If you’ve never fished for basswith live shiners, you’ll be surprisedby how eagerly bass eat them whilerefusing various artificial presenta-tions.

TIMING THE BITE“Down here, bass bite on a time

clock,” Jackson says. “The times ofmoonrise and moonset, known assolunar majors and minors, absolutelycreate feeding windows for bass.You will find that conditions beingequal, a strong bite will begin about25 minutes before the start of a sol-unar major. Be sure to be on a primespot at that time.

Jackson uses his Casio watch totime these periods, setting the locallongitude and latitude for the mostaccurate definition of the solunartimes. “Of course, these feeding peaksare particularly strong if they coin-cide with low-light conditions in the

morning or evening, or with a fallingbarometer. Similarly, activity aroundthe solunar periods are somewhatsuppressed if they fall around mid-day.

“In midmorning or afternoon, Ican tell you when bass will start feed-ing. These feeding periods hold allyear long, not just around the spawn.I feel that bass living in shallow water,as they do here in Florida, are par-ticularly tuned to lunar periods.

“Full and new moons also affectthe bass bite,” he says. “The best periodof the month is the week precedingthe full moon. My regular customersalways reserve early to be sure theycan fish with me during that time.And again, this moon effect is a year-round phenomenon. The full moon,however, is a two-edged sword.

“The week following the fullmoon is the poorest time of themonth. Bass, shiners, and other fishseem to be stressed and appear inpoorer condition. Shiners sloughtheir slime coat after the full moonand are listless. The new moon, onthe other hand, has a positive effecton feeding activity that starts beforethe dark of the moon and lasts sev-

[ Golden shiners arebroad-bodied minnows,offering a caloric boost,and they lack spines or

other defenses. ]

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