Techniques - unconventional

[porgy75]

What are some of the unconventional techniques you have used or seen used?

[DarkSkies]

Porgy, first one that comes to mind is a guy using a double shad rig when the surf had 4' waves crashing on the beach. That didn't work because the fish were out further and you can't get casting distance with a rig like that. Metal was the ticket that day, and the furthest casts got the fish. As told by OGB.


Bunker head on a Hopkins:
The 2nd recent one is when I ran into Roger, his Dad, and their 2 friends one afternoon in Ocean county this fall. They had bunker heads and huge bunker chunks on their Hopkins metals as they threw them out to wait for strikes.

I thought they were nuts, and they were, but in a good way.

Big blues, and some bass, had big schools of bunker pinned tight to the beach. The only thing they wanted was meat, and these guys figured it out. They were catching while everyone else was "watching".

Here's the story of their day:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ead.php?t=5425

Moral of the story?
Don't judge what someone else is using or doing unless you're sure it won't work.

[williehookem]

If you want to catch small bass schooled up in a harbor or near a dock, try throwing a sabiki rig with a small rubber curly tube jig when the herring are around. You will get the herring and also maybe a surprise bass.

[Jackbass]

This Kid i fish with has great luck with a Polaris popper at night. He is always catching fish on his polaris popper at night? Never would have figured? But he does very well with it. I think he is on here at times.

The other unconventional item I have used int he past is tin at night. Not my original idea but Toss a tin at night on sand beaches and jig it like a bucktail popping sand off the bottom and wait for the hit on the drop or on the initial pick up.

[clamchucker]

Pensil poppers can be very effective at night with an erratic retrieve. What works for me is to stop or slow them down after some fast action, you will sometimes get that strike right before you start up again.

[johnnysaxatilis]

This Kid i fish with has great luck with a Polaris popper at night. He is always catching fish on his polaris popper at night? Never would have figured? But he does very well with it. I think he is on here at times.

heheheeeee

the date isnt correct by the way..... montauk 09

I love that freakin plug. never caught a monster on it, but its usually always guna get thrown if im fishing

[stripercrazy]

heheheeeee

the date isnt correct by the way..... montauk 09

I love that freakin plug. never caught a monster on it, but its usually always guna get thrown if im fishing

Good choice, I have done well with them also particularly on the new moon, and I vary the retrieve, sometimes just letting it sit still for a brief sec.

[fishinmission78]

The only thing they wanted was meat, and these guys figured it out.

Try putting a small bunker fillet on a bucktail at certain places in the back. See how it improves your catch vs a guy throwing rubber, or a buck without the rind.

[clamchucker]

^^ Very good. That is an old secret technique. When I first started fishing the old timers did that from the bridges.

[rockhopper]

Anyone ever try a live eel with a small sluggo on top?

[DarkSkies]

Anyone ever try a live eel with a small sluggo on top?

Rockhopper, I'm sorry that no one answered this, and I just saw it. Fishing live eels requires concentration so they don't ball up on you. Respectfully, the technique you're describing is a recipe for disaster. Too much can go wrong, and it just doesn't make sense to me. Hope that helped.

[clamchucker]

You hit on an old school technique dark skies. When I was younger you could not buy poppers and fancy lures. We used to wade the flats at night and toss out pieces of cork floats with bbs stuck into them to make them heavier. Then we would carve slots and indentations on the front part to make them gurgle. Put a heavy leader through it attached to a hook buried partly in the cork. We would throw them out and try to tease the fish into hitting. You would be surprised at the kinds of fish we caught doing that. We would catch bluefish, small stripers and the occasional weakfish. The key is the presentation as you are finding out. You brought back memories with your report. Keep up the good work. Us older folk who can't get out as much enjoy them.

[jigfreak]

You hit on an old school technique dark skies. When I was younger you could not buy poppers and fancy lures. We used to wade the flats at night and toss out pieces of cork floats with bbs stuck into them to make them heavier. Then we would carve slots and indentations on the front part to make them gurgle. Put a heavy leader through it attached to a hook buried partly in the cork. We would throw them out and try to tease the fish into hitting.

Love this thread. Old-school cred.
Haven't read a report from you in awhile. Hope you are doing ok clamchucker.

[basshunter]

nice tips guys thanks for sharing.

[DarkSkies]

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Some fish I've been getting at night....mostly blues to 7#,,,and one bass.
The bass hooked in the back wasn't an accident....I also got a bluefish in the back like that....they were feeding on small bait....it seemed they kept missing it as the strikes were more reactionary than aggressive...

Most of my rear hooks have been changed to singles for ease of release and minimal injury.....
Unfortunately that one bluefish hit so awkwardly he got stuck in the eye....I took some time to get that hook out, so hopefully he wasnt blinded.

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** One of the most effective ways to get these fish to hit, is to "tease" them with poppers at night, almost forcing them to hit.