Focused Fishing Web Log

Kimberling City Area: The deep bite is changing daily; some days the fish are on points others they are on flats and roll offs you just need to find the bait and the fish will be close by. Best news has been the increasing numbers of fish being caught on spinnerbaits and crankbaits, windy channel swing banks have been holding most of the fish as have secondary mixed rock points. Jewel Lavender Shad spinnerbaits and Storm wiggle warts in phantom green have both been productive.

James River: The Super Bass tournament was won up the James this past weekend on a double Colorado white spinnerbait, while the winners didn’t mention the brand I would suggest a Jewel tandem rush with dbl Colorado blades. The winners had over 20lbs and reported catching their fish on windy mixed rock points through out the day.

White River: From Baxter to Campbell point there is a still a pretty good deep bite going on, look for schools of shad on the main lake near points, bluff ends, and roll offs near flats where ever you find bait you will find fish. White spoons, drop shot worms and single tail grubs have all been taking fish, once you locate a couple of fish stay with them, most of the fish have been pretty bunched up and holding tight to the bottom.

Dam Area: Much like the Kimberling City area the deep bite near the dam is changing every day, you need to find the shad to be successful and finding them can be a bit of a mystery. We’ve been finding bait and fish on main lake flats, roll offs, points, saddles and bluff ends, unfortunately you just need to look until you find them. Spoons, drop shot worms and grubs are working here as well and you may need to “work� the fish to entice them to bite.

Main Lake: The colder temps have started to move fish shallower, on the main lake the deeper points are still the ticket fished with an Eakins’ jig and Chomper 4� jig trailer combo brown / green pumpkin. In the creek arms look for schools of shad migrating toward to back of the creek in search of plankton, the fish will be at ambush points through out the creek; points, tree rows and channel bends will all hold fish. A Jewel tandem rush spinnerbait in white or white / chartreuse will work well if the wind is blowing and a white Eakins’ jig or white tube will work if it is calm.

Above the bridges: Still plenty of stuff to hit up the river; if you are not familiar with the river don’t try to run it. There is still pretty good spinnerbait bite on windy combination rock points and flats with some rock mixed in a wht / chrt Jewel tandem rush spinnerbait is my favorite choice on these banks. On calm days an Eakins’ flippin finesse jig in black / blue flash with a flippin blue super chunk jr.

Walleye are moving up with the cooler weather and can be caught on crankbaits on both main lake and secondary points.

Crappie fishing is getting stronger everyday, 2� grubs and tubes have been productive over wood cover 10’ – 20’ deep.

Whites have been really good, windy points fished with 3/8oz. white rooster tails.

Dam area to Lead Hill: Most of the fish are still coming out of deep water; Kentuckies have been suspended around 20’ deep over as much as 70’ it just depends on where the shad are at. Smallmouth are still holding on deep points and humps and can be caught on Jewel football and spider jigs in PB&J or brown / purple flash with a Chomper 4� cinnamon / purple / jelly jig trailer, they seem to be in more of a roaming mood so you will need to cover a lot of water in avariety of depths to be successful.

Lead Hill to Power site: There is a lot more color in the upper reaches of the major creeks around and above Lead Hill. A Jewel Lavender Shad spinnerbait fished tight to a windy chunk rock bank will produce some nice fish through out the day. If it is calm switch over to Jewel football or spider jig and concentrate on transition and channel swing banks toward the backs of the creeks.

Small crankbaits like a Norman deep little N or a bandit 200 have been producing several fish each day on points and flats through out the main lake. The river bite is still strong as well with Jewel tandem rush spinnerbaits, rattle traps, and pop-r’s producing fish around schools of shad. If you are having trouble finding the shad switch over to an Eakins’ flippin’ finesse jig in black / blue flash with a super chunk jr. trailer and start flipping the log jams and laydowns.

Every week the crappie fishing just gets better 2’ tubes, grubs as well as live minnows have all been producing nice slabs over brush in 15’ of water.

Best fly patterns for the week: Sculpins and big woolies have been producing a few browns each day while tan and grey scuds continue to catch several rainbows below the dam.

Best spinning tackle: Rooster tails, buoyant spoons, little Cleos and Rapalas will still produce and live night crawlers, yellow and white power eggs on drift rigs are working.

Fizzing Bass
A guide to the proper technique for deflating black bass swim bladders

By Eric Prey
Sponsors include: Ranger Boats, Bill’s Marine, Jewel Bait Co., Table Rock Tackle, Angler’s Tackle Box and K.A.S.T.

With the advent of more powerful, easy to use and affordable electronics many anglers have started fishing for bass in depths that most thought fish couldn’t survive in a few years ago. Many of these anglers are finding success on a much more consistent basis than their counterparts beating the banks with traditional methods. Unfortunately, while many have learned the proper techniques to catch these fish most have not learned how to properly release them. Please note; if you are immediately releasing fish caught over 25’ deep there are rarely any adverse effects on the fish from being caught. Simply release the fish back into the lake as soon as possible and it will return to the depth it was caught unharmed. On the other hand if you are placing the fish into a livewell for a tournament, future photographs or any other reason and plan to release it later you must learn the proper technique for deflating the fish’s air bladder or it will not survive. With this in mind I would like to go over the proper deflation or “fizzing� technique, tools and tips so you will be able to release these fish back to the lake unharmed.

First off it helps to know a little bass physiology.

In the above illustration you can see the location of the swim bladder, when a fish is rapidly depressurized by being brought to the surface this bladder becomes enlarged and must be deflated if the fish is to survive. This deflation is done with a 16 – 20 gage 3� – 5� long hypodermic needle, available at most pharmacies, veterinary supply and some tackle stores. Make sure you do not use a needle larger than 16 gage. The key to the procedure is to deflate the bladder without injuring or damaging any other organs so take note of where the swim bladder is in relationship to the other organs.

Step By Step Deflation:

Step 1: Lay the fish on its side on a firm wet surface.
Step 2: Locate the dorsal notch or area where the dorsal fins meet
Step 3: Draw an imaginary line from that notch to the lateral line
Step 4: Mark a spot approximately 1� below the lateral line, in line with the dorsal notch and remove one scale with the tip of the needle.
Step 5: Insert the needle at a 45 degree angle toward the fish’s head, you may or may not hear a release of air at this time.
Step 6: Place the fish under the waters surface and watch for air bubbles, if there is air coning out of the end allow the air to flow naturally but do not remove all of the air from the fish. If there is no air flow, remove the fish from the water, remove the needle and check for any blockage then repeat step 5 & 6.
Step 7: Place the fish back into the livewell if it still cannot right itself repeat the procedure, if it can right itself, it is ready to be released.

This illustration shows the approximate location for needle insertion.

Fizzing Tools

The tools are pretty simple and can be kept in your pocket, the lid of you livewell or any other convenient place.

1. 16-20 gage 3� – 5� hypodermic needle
2. A piece of wire to clean the needle with, I use an old mojo rig tool, insert it into the needle and clean it out after every fish.

That’s all you will need.

Deep fishing pioneer Don Iovino offers a fizzing kit for $5.00, it includes a needle, wire all in a compact case.

Don Iovino’s Fizzing kit contact http://www.iovino.com/fizzkit.htm to purchase.

Tips
The first couple of time you attempt to fizz a bass may be difficult:
Remember that you will likely need to exert more pressure than you think to puncture the air bladder.
The air bladder is going to be oversized so it will fairly easy to hit if you line everything up right.
The fish will die if you don’t release the air out of it so you need to try.
The most common cause of no air coming out of the needle is blockage so make sure your needle is clear of debris.
In the late winter / early spring the air bladder may be pushed upward on females by their egg sac so you may need to aim a little higher.

Closing Comments

While difficult at first the technique of Fizzing a bass is not hard to master, take your time, follow the instructions and you will be successful. If you are going to fish you owe it to the future of angling to learn and practice safe and effective catch and release which includes having the tools and the knowledge of fizzing if you plan on fishing deeper than 25’ deep. If you have any questions or would like further information feel free to contact me at eric@focusedfishing.com and I will be glad to help out.

Kimberling City Area: There is still a good deep bite in the Kimberling City area; drop shot rigs, spoons and grubs are all producing fish on deep roll offs and bluff ends, find the shad and you will find the fish. Eakins’ jigs in brown / purple flash or PBJ with a green pumpkin Eakins’ craw will still catch a few around docks, you will need to spend some time finding where they are holding on the dock and if they are suspended or not, but they are there.

James River: On windy mornings and evening s look for fish to be holding tight to cedar trees on chunk rock banks, throw a Jewel Lavender Shad spinnerbait through the limbs of the tree and kill it when ever you make contact with a limb. Most of your strikes will come as the bait is falling. When you find shad in the backs of creeks and pocks a Lucky Craft RC 1.5 or BDS 3 will produce a few fish wherever there is cover for them to hold tight to.

White River: From The mouth of the James to Campbell point your best be is still a deep bite, look for schools of shad holding on deep roll offs and points, then use your electronics to find the fish. Many times you will only see one of two fish holding tight to the bottom, you will need to “work� those fish until one will bite. Once you get one to bite the bottom will usually explode with a few more fish that were holding tight to it.

Dam Area: Main lake hum[s, roll offs and saddles are all producing some nice fish from 35’ – 65’ deep on spoons, drop shot worms and grubs. Just like in any other deep pattern you will need to find the bait to be successful. In addition there are some big small mouth being caught on Jewel 5/8 oz. football jigs in PB&J with a 5� cinnamon / purple / jelly jig trailer, main lake transition points and bluff ends have been the most productive areas.

Main Lake: Deeper points and cuts have been producing some nice smallmouth lately. Look for areas where large rock changes to small chunk rock and work an Eakins’ jig in brown / chartreuse with a 4� green pumpkin jig trailer from around 4’ – 25’ deep. Most of the bites will come as the bait is falling off of a ledge or large rock and will just make the jig feel heavy so you will need to pay close attention.

Above the bridges: It is still very dangerous in the upper arms of the lake so be careful running. Channel swing banks with a combination of wood and rock cover have been the most productive, Jewel tandem rush spinnerbaits in wht / chrt with gold willow blades have been productive early and late, while a Chomper Ultra tube in green pumpkin / orange has been better once the sun gets above the tree line. It is important with either bait that you make contact with whatever cover is there, the fish are really holding tight to cover especially once the sun gets up.

Walleye are really relating to points both main lake and secondary, anywhere there is shad present. Trolling or casting mid depth crankbaits like wiggle warts, glass shad or deep middle “N� have all been productive.

Crappie fishing is getting better, live minnows, 2� grubs and tubes fished in tight to brush piles is producing some nice fish.

Whites have been on windy flats and points, try pea gravel then chunk rock with 3/8oz rooster tails.

Dam area to Lead Hill: The deep bite is becoming more dominate in the dam area of the lake. Look for schools of shad being “Herded� into pockets by schools of Kentuckies, fish these areas with white spoons, drop shot or needle worms and grubs. Bigger fish are on the bottom in deeper water near points and roll offs; Jewel 7/16 oz. spider jigs, 5/8 and ¾ oz. football jigs all in PB&J or green pumpkin / green flash with matching jig trailers as well as Carolina rigged French fries and finesse worms will all catch better quality smallmouth from 20’ – 35’ deep.

Lead Hill to Power site: The upper end of the lake has gotten a lot more active over the past week, Jewel lavender shad spinnerbaits, keel banger buzz baits, wiggle warts, and Lucky Craft RC 1.5 7 BDS 4 have all been taking fish. Look for windy transition banks where big rock breaks down to pea gravel and you have a sharp depth change to hold several fish; any bait in the area will be a big plus.

The bite up the river continues to be pretty good, a variety of reaction baits are working around the big schools of shad in the deep pools and channel bends, Jewel tandem rush spinnerbaits, keel banger buzz baits, rattle traps, Lucky Craft RC 1.5 and even a few fish on spooks and pop-r’s. Fish on the main lake are still being caught a little deeper on Eakins’ jigs in Missouri craw with a green pumpkin 4� jig trailer, Chomper green pumpkin Super sinkers Texas rigged with a ¼ oz weight and watermelon needle worms all fished in brush and other wood cover 6’ – 15’ deep.

Crappie fishing continues to improve; live minnows, 2� tubes and grubs will produce fish 15’ – 25’ deep over wood.