Set Your Hook

Archive for June, 2010

Do you remember how I said that there are now Northern Pike in Ashurst Lake? Well, I did a bit more digging into that and I found out that not only are the pike a non-native, invasive species, they were also introduced into Ashurst Lake by somebody OTHER than Game & Fish.

Now, that might not seem like a big deal to you. Ashurst Lake can easily support a population of pike. However, Ashurst has always been managed as a trout and catfish lake. By some angler moving Northern Pike from another lake (probably Upper Lake Mary which IS managed for pike) into Ashurst, that person effectively killed the trout population.

There are invasive species that get introduced into our waterways through all types of means. Sometimes a well meaning person “frees” the crayfish a 5-year-old caught, not knowing that it was just introduced into a new water area. Or the invasive species hitchhikes from one lake to another on the bottom of a boat, like the quagga mussels that are invading Arizona.

And another way is somebody just DECIDING to introduce a species.

However it happens we all have to do our part to not knowingly continue the spread of invasive species.

Game and Fish Department officials are asking for all boaters and anglers to help fight the continuing spread of these and other invaders by routinely taking simple precautionary steps:

Know Your Fishing Regulations:

For example, any Northern Pike that is caught in Ashurst Lake must be killed. It doesn’t matter the size of the fish, it cannot be caught and released back into the water. But, if you didn’t know that and caught a little one, you might think you were doing everyone a favor to release it back into the lake for it to grow a bit more!

Game & Fish officials are usually the nicest people around. They are passionate about maintain habitats for everybody to enjoy. Before you head to a new fishing area, give them a call and find out if there’s anything specific you need to know.

Kill Your Catch At The Lake-Side

One major rule in Arizona prohibits the transportation of any live fish. If you catch a fish (or a crayfish) it must be killed at the lake before transported.

If you can’t clean the fish at the lake because there are no facilities or trash service, then usually you can put it on ice until you get home. That’s how we transport the crayfish we catch at a lake when we’re taking them back to camp to cook.

Know What Species Are Invasive

Again, being familiar with your state’s invasive species and the state’s policies goes a long way towards helping maintain healthy waterways.

The quagga mussel invasion in Arizona has advanced from the Colorado River lakes to the state’s interior. Arizona Game & Fish got very concerned over finding just one mussel since they knew that it there was one, there were more.

A single quagga mussel can produce 30,000 to 40,000 fertilized eggs in a single breeding cycle, and one adult female quagga can release up to a million eggs in a single year.

Yuck!

Maintain Your Boat

Before leaving a lake or other waterway, always:

• CLEAN the hull of your boat
• DRAIN the water from the boat, livewell and the lower unit
• DRY the boat, fishing gear, and equipment
• INSPECT all exposed surfaces
• REMOVE all plant and animal material

After you leave a lake or other body of water, please wait five days before launching your boat someplace else. This five-day-waiting period will aid tremendously in killing those hidden hitchhikers on your boat, such as the microscopic quagga mussel larvae.

Also, it is a good idea to wash the hull of your boat with high-pressure water either at the lake, if washers are available, or after leaving the waterway.

Remember, many of these aquatic hitchhikers can harm your boat as well. These invaders will attach themselves to boats, and can cause damage to boat motors if they block the flow of cooling water through the engine.

It’s a lot easier to prevent the spread of an invasive species than it is to get rid of it after it has a foothold in a waterway.

Readers Weigh In:

• What species have invaded your area?
• What steps do you take to prevent the spread of invasive species?

I was supposed to be able to report on how our Homemade Fishing Baits did at Ashurst Lake on last weekend’s camping trip. But I can’t! When I got to Flagstaff I found out that all the trout in Ashurst Lake have been eaten by Northern Pike.

Yuck!

Since all my baits were pretty much for any fish species BUT pike, I have to save that until I can fish a local lake. So I will tell you how my 5 homemade fishing baits perform, but not until I can test them out!

Frankly I’ve never fished for Northern Pike before. I’ve caught one or two on accident, though!

ESP Boss’ friend and hunting partner, Dave, had come up to visit my folks just before I got to camp. Dave has fished for pike before and offered us these suggestions:

Supplies

• Use at least 10-pound-test fishing line. (I actually set up a different rod & reel for pike, since I fish for trout on my lightweight pole with 4-pound test line)
• Use steel leaders when fishing for pike. (I did know that part!) Unlike trout, pike have big, sharp and scary teeth that can bite right through a traditional monofilament leader.
  

  Leaders come in different weights and lengths.

• Buy whole, frozen anchovies as bait. You’ll want to keep them frozen until you’re ready to stick them on a hook! (Be sure the lake you’re fishing at allows for this type of bait — some fishing areas will only allow artificial baits!)
  

  Whole, frozen anchovies are available at sporting goods stores.

Attaching The Bait

(Now this is so gross, I didn’t take photos when I was at the lake!)

1. Using a good-sized hook (hook size depends on the size of the anchovy and the size of the Northern Pike you want to catch!) thread the hook through both eyes. Pull all the leader through the eyes until the head of the fish is nearly at the start of the fishing line.
2. Wrap the leader around the body of the anchovy, moving from the head toward the tail. Be careful not to draw the leader so tight as to cut or damage the body of the anchovy.
3. Thread the hook back into the body of the anchovy. Make sure most of the hook (especially the barb) is buried in the body of the anchovy.
   

   Pretend this is an anchovy! The black "hook" is about where I shoved the hook into the body of the bait-fish.

4. Cast your line out and pray that the whole thing doesn’t fly off in mid-air!

Since I had never fished for Northern Pike before I wasn’t sure if the whole set-up would work or not. I was able to cast the whole rig out without losing the bait. And I was really pleased to see how FAR the cast went since I’m not really used to tossing that much weight out at the end of the line.

Did it work?

I didn’t get a single nibble! When we were ready to call it a day (cold, windy, and raining) I pulled in my bait to find that a crayfish or three had stripped all the flesh from my anchovy and left me with just a skeleton.

What About You?

• Have you ever fished for Northern Pike?
• What bait did you use?
• Have you ever heard this technique that Dave shared with us? Did it work for you?

I’m heading off for a long weekend of camping, fishing, and geocaching today. One of my favorite lakes near Flagstaff is Ashurst Lake. Just looking at the lake, you can tell that it is a volcanic rock depression that was dammed to form the lake. (There are few natural lakes in Arizona!)

What that means is that the lakebed is full of jagged volcanic rocks that are only interested in one thing:

Snagging my tackle and dragging it to the watery depths, never to be seen again!

3 Tips For Fishing Rocky Lakes

Tip #1:

You know the feeling: something just nibbled your bait and you want to make sure it’s still there. In a rocky lake, resist the urge to reel in slowly, thinking of course, that a trout can’t resist a moving target. What happens when you reel in slowly is that your weights and bait are on the lake bottom and can easily fall into the crevices between rocks and become trapped. If you reel in quickly and steadily, the weights and bait will rise above the lake bottom and minimize the chances to get snagged.

Tip #2:

Okay, it happened: your line is caught in something under the water and you want your tackle back! The first thing is to reel in any slack so your line is tight, but your pole isn’t bending. Then, walk up the shore, keeping the tension on your line, while you jerk your line up and down. (When I say ‘jerk’ I mean using abrupt motions, I don’t mean trying to rip your tackle out of the water!) If that doesn’t work, try releasing the line and then reeling in again. And the last part of the tip: with the line tight, hold your rod parallel to the ground and gently pull backwards. As soon as you feel the rocky lake bottom give up your tackle, follow Tip #1!

Tip #3:

There’s no avoiding it, you’re going to lose your bait and all your tackle; you just can’t get it unstuck. Well, believe it or not, there’s a right way to break your line. Instead of jerking and pulling on your line until it snaps, you’re going to have to cut it. First, release the line and set your pole up on the shore where you’re not going to step on the tip. (I like to prop my pole against my chair- way out of the way and safe.)

Then, get as close to the water as you can, bend down and grab your line. (If you squat or kneel at the edge of the water, you’re less likely to fall in!) Reaching out, pull your line towards you and, as close to the water as possible, cut the line. Be sure to check your line for fraying and signs of stress before putting any more tackle on.

Some great cutting tools are a pair of fingernail clippers, a pocket knife with scissors, or needle nose pliers.

Oh, you might also want to consider moving to a new bit of shore- if there’s a tackle-eating-snag down there, it will be after your new tackle for dessert to the first set it ate!

Readers Weigh In:

• What type of lakes do you fish? (Rocky, weedy, sandy, etc)
• What are your suggestions for getting your line out of the snags?

For a lot of people, fishing and boating go hand in hand. Since I’ll be doing some fishing from my kayak next weekend, I wanted to write about life jackets. Life jackets are also known as a life vest. The proper name of a life jacket is actually Personal Floatation Device or PFD.

But come, on, who really says: “Be sure to wear your personal floatation device today, honey, when you’re catching our dinner!”? Life jacket, life vests, life preservers, personal floatation device: it all comes down to what type do you need and when do you need to wear it.

Categories of Personal Flotation Devices:

The United States Coast Guard has broken the types of personal floatation devices into 5 categories:

Type I – Offshore Lifejacket

This PFD is designed for extended survival in rough, open water. It usually will turn an unconscious person face up. See the life vest at Amazon.com

Type II – Near Shore Buoyant Vest

The “classic” Personal Floatation Device comes in several sizes for adults and children and is for calm inland water where there is chance of fast rescue. It is less bulky and less expensive than a Type I, and many will turn an unconscious person face-up in the water.  See the life vest at Amazon.com

Type III – Flotation Aid

These life jackets are generally considered the most comfortable, with styles for different boating activities and sports. They are for use in calm water where there is good chance of fast rescue since they will generally not turn an unconscious person face-up. See the live vest at Amazon.com

Type IV – Throwable Device

These are designed to be thrown to a person in the water. Throwable devices include boat cushions, ring buoys, and horseshoe buoys. They are not designed to be worn and must be supplemented by wearable PFD. It is important to keep these devices immediately available for emergencies, and they should not be used for small children, non-swimmers, or unconscious people. See the flotation device at Amazon.com

Type V – Special Use Device

Special use PFDs include work vests, deck suits, and hybrids for restricted use. Hybrid vests contain some internal buoyancy and are inflatable to provide additional flotation. See the life vest at Amazon.com

Inflatable Life Jackets

Inflatable life jackets rely on inflatable chambers that provide buoyancy when inflated. Uninflated, inflatable life jackets are less bulky than inherently buoyant life jackets. All inflatables contain a backup oral inflation tube (which also serves as the deflation tube).

Most people will use a personal floatation device in a recreational setting only. So types II & III are very common.

Picking a Life Vest

The summer I graduated from high school, I worked at my local YMCA as a lifeguard. I took my job extremely seriously: I was responsible for the life of somebody’s child and it was my job to make sure they were able to swim safely. I would always freak me out when my boss would hire a new lifeguard since I was never sure if my fellow guards quite understood the gravity of our job.

I’m only bringing this up to impress upon you the importance of picking the RIGHT floatation device for each member of your family. I know that when a family is just getting into boating, and spending all that money getting set up with gear, it’s tempting to try to do things on the cheap.

A life jacket is NOT where you want to save money!

Match the Vest To Your Activity

Many water activities have specific life jackets. For example, the vest I wear in my kayak not only has great safety ratings, it is specially designed for woman kayakers.

Size It Correctly

Just like clothes, life jackets come in a variety of sizes. The sizing chart is not only for the chest size and height of the person, but also the weight.

Try It On!

If the life vest is uncomfortable you won’t wear it. You also want to make sure it fits correctly. A properly adjusted life jacket should be snug but still allow the wearer to breathe and have freedom of movement.

If you’ve never purchased a personal floatation device before, I recommend buying your first one from an outdoors store. Have a sales associate (who knows what they’re doing!) help you find a life vest that matches your activity, buoyancy requirements, and body size. The sales associate should also be able to show you how to adjust it for correct fit.

When I bought my kayaking life jacket, I spent about twenty minutes with a very knowledgeable employee who helped me pick the perfect vest.

Kid’s Personal Flotation Devices

While some children weighing between 30 and 50 pounds may like the freedom of movement that a Type III lifejacket provides, most children in this weight range, especially those who cannot swim, should wear a Type I or Type II lifejacket.

Remember that water wings are NOT a flotation device and will not save your child in the case of an emergency.

When To Wear It

Every state has different rules governing personal flotation devices. In my opinion, wearing a life jacket is just like lifeguarding: not something to take lightly. For that reason, I recommend that no matter what, you wear it when you’re on the water.

I am a very good swimmer but I am never without my life jacket when I’m in our family row boat or in my kayak.

Arizona Game & Fish will issue tickets for PFD violations so be sure you know the laws in your state! I’ve looked and looked but I can’t find a list that has each state’s agency listed. I would recommend to contact your state’s department Game & Fish and ask about the boating safety requirements.

For a real, and funny, story of what happens when you don’t wear your life vest, check out this article written by John M of Muddy Feet Gang:  Fishing or Swimming?

If you’d like to start your research or ready to buy, I recommend taking a look at Overton’s. They’re a large boating retailer and have lots of personal flotation devices to choose from.

Readers weigh in:

1. What type of personal flotation device do you wear?
2. Do you have any stories about where the life jacket helped in an emergency?