07-02-2007, 06:59 PM
Depends on how you fish. If you want to catch a lot of fish, then troll. They will all be small. If you want to catch BIG fish, then jig. Somedays you will catch a lot, somedays you will only catch a few, but they will all be BIG.
I'll share a little story with you. One day, either last summer or the summer before, I went to Strawberry with MGB. We got situated and threw out the anchor and since I already had my pole rigged with a spinner, I immediately started casting all around the boat. I was very proud of the fact that I caught a fish before Mike even had his pole in the water. It was a whopping 16 incher. (If you know Strawberry, you know that a 16 incher at Strawberry is like a minnow...) Mike just laughed and said "The big fish are on the bottom...".
I still troll or cast occasionally, but jigging is where it's at on the Berry.
Also, yes there is mortality rate on catch and release fish. Jigging and the use of lip grippers will lower the mortality rate considerably since most fish are caught in the lip.
Some reports say that the mortality rate of catch and release fish is as high as 30%. I like to think that the mortality rate of the fish I catch is closer to 5%. I try to not take them out of the water if at all possible and use lip grippers. I've witnessed some fisherman with a mortality rate of 50%. Dead fish floating all around them.
However, the biggest fish are still in that lake for a reason. They are smart.
Randy
[signature]
I'll share a little story with you. One day, either last summer or the summer before, I went to Strawberry with MGB. We got situated and threw out the anchor and since I already had my pole rigged with a spinner, I immediately started casting all around the boat. I was very proud of the fact that I caught a fish before Mike even had his pole in the water. It was a whopping 16 incher. (If you know Strawberry, you know that a 16 incher at Strawberry is like a minnow...) Mike just laughed and said "The big fish are on the bottom...".
I still troll or cast occasionally, but jigging is where it's at on the Berry.
Also, yes there is mortality rate on catch and release fish. Jigging and the use of lip grippers will lower the mortality rate considerably since most fish are caught in the lip.
Some reports say that the mortality rate of catch and release fish is as high as 30%. I like to think that the mortality rate of the fish I catch is closer to 5%. I try to not take them out of the water if at all possible and use lip grippers. I've witnessed some fisherman with a mortality rate of 50%. Dead fish floating all around them.
However, the biggest fish are still in that lake for a reason. They are smart.
Randy
[signature]
I used to N.ot have E.nough T.ime O.ff to go fishing. Then I retired. Now I have less time than I had before. Sheesh.