WEBVTT 00:00:01.699 --> 00:00:05.500 It's the Terrible at Fishing radio show on Gold 00:00:05.500 --> 00:00:08.679 Country Radio. Here's your fishing expert and 00:00:08.679 --> 00:00:16.859 host Michael Ruffino. Welcome back to Terrible 00:00:16.859 --> 00:00:19.460 at Fishing everybody. Well, I hope you've had 00:00:19.460 --> 00:00:24.480 a great week. Now last week, I talked a lot about 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:28.079 topwater fishing in the different manners. I 00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:30.120 kind of ran out of time towards the end, so I 00:00:30.120 --> 00:00:34.539 really wanted to focus on Lily Pad Fishing this 00:00:34.539 --> 00:00:38.299 week. And Lily Pad Fishing is one of those types 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:43.700 of fishing that, well, you really, really, really 00:00:43.700 --> 00:00:47.759 are surprised by what's inside the Lily Pads. 00:00:51.939 --> 00:00:57.450 Lily Pad Fishing, there's a lot of life hiding 00:00:57.450 --> 00:01:00.710 inside the lily pads. And you're thinking, how 00:01:00.710 --> 00:01:05.170 do I get a hook without getting snagged on every 00:01:05.170 --> 00:01:09.629 single cast over into the lily pads? Well, we're 00:01:09.629 --> 00:01:13.950 going to talk about that. But this right here, 00:01:14.390 --> 00:01:20.709 we want to imitate sort of what the fish are 00:01:20.709 --> 00:01:24.370 eating, right? So the fish, they love eating 00:01:24.370 --> 00:01:26.920 little fish, of course, that are hiding in the 00:01:26.920 --> 00:01:32.280 lily pads, but also frogs, rats, bulls, all sorts 00:01:32.280 --> 00:01:36.120 of things that will...birds too, believe it or 00:01:36.120 --> 00:01:42.879 not. The fish, they'll see movement up on top 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:47.200 of the lily pads and then they break surface. 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:50.879 We talked about that last week. And they break 00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:57.280 surface and they hit them. Now, Again, if you 00:01:57.280 --> 00:01:59.879 go to my Terrible at Fishing YouTube channel, 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:04.079 you'll see this video. And behind me right now, 00:02:04.260 --> 00:02:09.879 I've got a lot of footage of fish hiding in what 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:15.580 we call cover. And lily pads offer the best cover. 00:02:16.439 --> 00:02:20.479 It allows freedom of movement. It allows good 00:02:20.349 --> 00:02:25.669 cover for the fish. And there's a lot of fish 00:02:25.669 --> 00:02:29.530 down there. There just is. It's just the trick 00:02:29.530 --> 00:02:34.189 of enticing them to come up and break surface 00:02:34.189 --> 00:02:37.930 so you can catch them. And there's tricks to 00:02:37.930 --> 00:02:43.310 catching fish with what we call soft bodies or 00:02:43.310 --> 00:02:49.270 frogs. And frogs are, well, it's one of those 00:02:49.270 --> 00:02:55.879 things that they eat. We're going to talk about, 00:02:55.900 --> 00:03:00.900 you know, how to get baits to swim in between 00:03:00.900 --> 00:03:06.159 the lily pads to swim or to jump on top of the 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:11.539 lily pads and how to and what are the best baits 00:03:11.539 --> 00:03:21.289 for it. So, let's start with frogs. Start with 00:03:21.289 --> 00:03:23.949 frogs. Now, last week I went into it a little 00:03:23.949 --> 00:03:30.949 bit on frogs, but my favorite brand of frogs, 00:03:30.949 --> 00:03:34.969 which has the best hookup rate, which is really 00:03:34.969 --> 00:03:37.090 important, you're going to find out when you 00:03:37.090 --> 00:03:40.849 fish with frogs, your hookup rate goes way down, 00:03:41.169 --> 00:03:44.090 because there are tricks that you're fighting 00:03:44.090 --> 00:03:49.539 your natural inclinations. in order to set the 00:03:49.539 --> 00:03:52.439 hook better. You're just fighting yourself more 00:03:52.439 --> 00:03:57.180 than the fish. So this brand is called Toad Thumper. 00:03:57.479 --> 00:04:00.219 I'll put a link down below for on my YouTube 00:04:00.219 --> 00:04:05.560 channel. Toad Thumper. And Toad Thumper does 00:04:05.560 --> 00:04:08.599 something a couple things very, very different. 00:04:09.460 --> 00:04:13.900 Toad Thumper takes those upturn hooks and they 00:04:13.900 --> 00:04:19.959 mold them. The tip into the body itself. Now, 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:27.579 typically, with a frog, they will stand up above, 00:04:27.579 --> 00:04:30.279 and then you've got to sort of bend them down, 00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:35.100 which I do. I do bend them into the body, but 00:04:35.100 --> 00:04:37.579 the problem about that, sometimes it hooks its 00:04:37.579 --> 00:04:42.040 own body, and then you just don't get a hookup 00:04:42.040 --> 00:04:46.819 at all, and that's what ends up happening. Then, 00:04:47.660 --> 00:04:53.300 with a good soft body, you want it to be soft. 00:04:54.579 --> 00:04:59.199 So, some plastics are thicker and they don't 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:05.620 crush as easily as some. And there's a Goldilocks 00:05:05.620 --> 00:05:11.860 in the making of this rubber. And Toe Thumper 00:05:11.860 --> 00:05:16.199 seems to have found the Goldilocks. So when the 00:05:16.199 --> 00:05:20.579 fish bites down, they hook themselves much easier. 00:05:21.379 --> 00:05:25.079 That's why your hook -up rate is better. Also, 00:05:25.300 --> 00:05:32.899 if that wasn't enough, they don't fill up with 00:05:32.899 --> 00:05:37.160 water as fast. And there are some, you know, 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:40.160 like these spiders, they fill up with water all 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:43.100 the time. every third cast I'm always squeezing 00:05:43.100 --> 00:05:45.500 them and you squeeze them and you squeeze the 00:05:45.500 --> 00:05:47.980 water out. The problem about them filling up 00:05:47.980 --> 00:05:52.019 with water is that they sink and you don't want 00:05:52.019 --> 00:05:54.040 them to sink. You want them to stay on top of 00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:57.079 the water. The spiders are really fun. They just 00:05:57.079 --> 00:06:01.019 don't last very long. They're fun though and 00:06:01.019 --> 00:06:03.579 like I said last week it's fun to toss them towards 00:06:03.579 --> 00:06:08.939 you know swimmers and let them freak out. But 00:06:08.939 --> 00:06:13.180 with the Toe Thumper Frogs, these guys, I could 00:06:13.180 --> 00:06:18.319 go, you know, 15 -20 casts with these without 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:21.579 squeezing them. And they have a little, you know, 00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:24.379 valve on them that when you squeeze them, it'll 00:06:24.379 --> 00:06:27.639 squirt it out any kind of water that they take 00:06:27.639 --> 00:06:30.899 in. They're actually really, really good at not 00:06:30.899 --> 00:06:36.560 taking in water. And those are really the three 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:40.930 keys to why I like this brand, Toad Thumper. 00:06:41.910 --> 00:06:46.889 And so, you know, check them out online. See 00:06:46.889 --> 00:06:51.310 what you think of them. But they are, they do 00:06:51.310 --> 00:06:55.050 make, I do get better hookup ratios with these 00:06:55.050 --> 00:06:57.930 than I do with other brands like Sixth Sense 00:06:57.930 --> 00:07:04.680 or Drawing a Blank. I got a lot of them up there. 00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:07.019 I can't remember all the brands, but you get 00:07:07.019 --> 00:07:11.139 my head. Now, last week I talked about the two 00:07:11.139 --> 00:07:15.879 types of frogs. Now, there's the popper and then 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:22.360 there's the walker. Okay, I prefer... Well, actually, 00:07:22.360 --> 00:07:24.839 you know what? I don't really lean one way or 00:07:24.839 --> 00:07:28.439 another. I'll usually start with a popper and 00:07:28.439 --> 00:07:33.939 then maybe advance to the walker. Now, Poppers 00:07:33.939 --> 00:07:38.899 splash more. They splash more. Walkers are more 00:07:38.899 --> 00:07:45.839 subtle, and depending on the disposition of the 00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:48.500 fish, one's going to work better than the other, 00:07:49.180 --> 00:07:51.699 and that's what's going to end up happening. 00:07:54.240 --> 00:08:00.240 Next, when it comes to frogs, you're going to 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:05.800 see lots of colors. Lots of colors. Some will 00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:09.939 look like frogs. Some will look just like a real 00:08:09.939 --> 00:08:12.500 frog. And you're thinking, wow, isn't that what 00:08:12.500 --> 00:08:16.779 I should buy? Some will be white. Some will be 00:08:16.779 --> 00:08:19.860 black with a little bit of, like, chartreuse 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:26.100 on it. So, you're thinking, well, which one do 00:08:26.100 --> 00:08:30.019 I buy? Well, I can tell you from my experience. 00:08:30.269 --> 00:08:35.110 I can tell you from my experience, at least here 00:08:35.110 --> 00:08:42.490 in our area, no one color is going to be foolproof. 00:08:43.649 --> 00:08:49.590 But black ones, strangely enough, a black frog 00:08:49.590 --> 00:08:55.629 works really, really well for me. And it might 00:08:55.629 --> 00:08:59.909 just be me, I don't know. But black frogs do 00:08:59.909 --> 00:09:05.049 very, very well. In fact, strangely enough, black 00:09:05.049 --> 00:09:12.669 baits work very, very well for me. So, typically, 00:09:12.669 --> 00:09:15.750 and I've taught you guys this on my show before, 00:09:16.690 --> 00:09:20.230 dark baits for dark water, light baits for light 00:09:20.230 --> 00:09:26.529 water. What's it like underneath the lily pad 00:09:26.529 --> 00:09:31.570 area? It's dark, right? The lily pads are shading 00:09:31.570 --> 00:09:35.250 it, right? So this is actually a dark environment. 00:09:35.669 --> 00:09:37.490 But when you come out of the lily pads, like 00:09:37.490 --> 00:09:40.669 at Lake of the Woods, it's nice and clear. So 00:09:40.669 --> 00:09:44.610 it's weird that you can have dark water next 00:09:44.610 --> 00:09:52.649 to bright water. Maybe, maybe that's why the 00:09:52.649 --> 00:10:00.720 black baits work better. in the lily pads. But 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:06.019 one thing about a frog, and this is why I told 00:10:06.019 --> 00:10:08.320 you that this is the hardest form of fishing, 00:10:08.919 --> 00:10:12.379 but it's very, very rewarding because of the 00:10:12.379 --> 00:10:18.399 challenge it puts upon the fisherman. The challenge 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:23.840 is fighting your instincts. So what you do is 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:32.679 you're going to toss this baby okay toss it over 00:10:32.679 --> 00:10:39.299 to on top of the the lily pads you're just gonna 00:10:39.299 --> 00:10:42.120 toss it over there as far as you can they fly 00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:46.659 pretty far and they're kind of heavy you know 00:10:46.659 --> 00:10:51.679 relatively speaking and when you pull it back 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:55.039 you're just gonna walk it or pop it depending 00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:58.539 on which one you have, and then all of a sudden 00:10:58.539 --> 00:11:02.919 a big wake is going to happen and it's going 00:11:02.919 --> 00:11:06.620 to push, the fish will push it up out of the 00:11:06.620 --> 00:11:11.919 water and bite on it. What's your instinct? You 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:16.080 got it. You know, pull really, really hard right 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:23.019 when you see the splash, right? What ends up 00:11:23.019 --> 00:11:26.240 happening? Well, largemouth bass have big mouths. 00:11:26.679 --> 00:11:28.440 What you're going to do is you're going to pull 00:11:28.440 --> 00:11:31.120 it right out of their mouth, and you're not going 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:36.059 to catch your fish. Very frustrating because 00:11:36.059 --> 00:11:42.919 normally that would work. But with the topwater 00:11:42.919 --> 00:11:49.340 bait, they've got a bite down on it. So if you 00:11:49.340 --> 00:11:52.850 try to set the hook, If you try to set the hook 00:11:52.850 --> 00:11:55.929 when their mouth is still open, you're just going 00:11:55.929 --> 00:11:59.289 to pull it right out of their mouth, right? Because 00:11:59.289 --> 00:12:02.730 they got to bite down and crush the body, and 00:12:02.730 --> 00:12:06.029 then you can set the hook. Then you can set the 00:12:06.029 --> 00:12:09.350 hook. So when the fish comes up out of the water, 00:12:09.710 --> 00:12:13.350 their mouth is open, right? Their mouth won't 00:12:13.350 --> 00:12:16.269 close until they dive back down into the water. 00:12:17.149 --> 00:12:21.809 That's when you set the hook. This way, when 00:12:21.809 --> 00:12:25.070 they're going up, you pull the hook right out. 00:12:25.169 --> 00:12:27.330 You pull the bait right back out of their mouth. 00:12:27.809 --> 00:12:31.370 You gotta wait. They bite down on the bite, and 00:12:31.370 --> 00:12:37.230 now you can set the hook. That entire motion 00:12:37.230 --> 00:12:47.710 typically takes one to two seconds. I know. You 00:12:47.710 --> 00:12:53.720 have to fight. every instinct in your body to 00:12:53.720 --> 00:12:58.779 not react to the splash. Because what you need 00:12:58.779 --> 00:13:02.799 is that fish to dive. And at that point, they 00:13:02.799 --> 00:13:06.039 close their mouth. That's when you set the hook. 00:13:06.139 --> 00:13:11.240 Otherwise, just pop it right back out. And you're 00:13:11.240 --> 00:13:14.679 thinking, man! You know immediately what you 00:13:14.679 --> 00:13:19.909 did. You reacted on instinct. You have to delay 00:13:19.909 --> 00:13:24.889 your set. So when they jump out and hit this, 00:13:25.169 --> 00:13:28.230 then they, then they dive. And you got to think 00:13:28.230 --> 00:13:32.470 1001, 1002, you know, right in that area 1001, 00:13:32.830 --> 00:13:37.009 1002, right? That one plus second area to set 00:13:37.009 --> 00:13:41.350 the hook. Sometimes I take a deep breath. So 00:13:41.350 --> 00:13:45.090 as soon as they come out, I go, and then I set 00:13:45.090 --> 00:13:48.679 the hook. I take a deep breath as soon as it 00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:52.220 comes out of the water and then you can set the 00:13:52.220 --> 00:13:59.200 hook. That makes this the toughest form of fishing. 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:04.299 It really is the hardest form of fishing because 00:14:04.299 --> 00:14:11.559 every fisherman sets the hook immediately. Because 00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:15.480 that's what we do, right? We throw it in the 00:14:15.480 --> 00:14:18.419 water, we fill it, and then we set the hook. 00:14:19.220 --> 00:14:26.299 Well, on frog fishing, or soft body, this, you 00:14:26.299 --> 00:14:28.860 have to take a deep breath, wait one, maybe two 00:14:28.860 --> 00:14:32.779 seconds, depending how big the jump is, and then 00:14:32.779 --> 00:14:35.879 set the hook. But you cannot set the hook until 00:14:35.879 --> 00:14:40.220 the fish starts to go down in the water, dives 00:14:40.220 --> 00:14:44.169 down. that's when they bite down onto the soft 00:14:44.169 --> 00:14:48.450 body and now the hook is exposed. Otherwise, 00:14:49.029 --> 00:14:51.610 the hook won't be exposed and it's just going 00:14:51.610 --> 00:14:55.129 to slip right out of their mouth. So if you're 00:14:55.129 --> 00:14:59.250 wondering why soft bodies and frog fishing, to 00:14:59.250 --> 00:15:06.269 be honest, frog fishing is really rewarding because 00:15:06.269 --> 00:15:09.830 of the life that's underneath those. So, okay, 00:15:09.870 --> 00:15:11.970 we're going to take a break because we're also 00:15:11.970 --> 00:15:15.649 recording this for our radio show on Friday nights. 00:15:16.049 --> 00:15:18.330 I want to thank you guys. Please listen to our 00:15:18.330 --> 00:15:21.009 sponsors and we'll be right back. We're going 00:15:21.009 --> 00:15:24.830 to talk about more about swimming baits in the 00:15:24.830 --> 00:15:29.409 lily pads and what type of gear we need to have. 00:15:29.830 --> 00:15:45.629 So we'll be right back. This is Dave. Dave makes 00:15:45.629 --> 00:15:48.970 the tastiest burritos in town. But... Nobody 00:15:48.970 --> 00:15:52.509 knows I exist. I'm serving culinary masterpieces 00:15:52.509 --> 00:15:56.029 to my mom and a raccoon named Dennis. Then came 00:15:56.029 --> 00:15:58.370 Jenny. Dave, have you tried radio? Radio? Isn't 00:15:58.370 --> 00:16:00.629 that for traffic reports and late night alien 00:16:00.629 --> 00:16:03.070 talk? It's also for thousands of people who don't 00:16:03.070 --> 00:16:06.929 know you exist. Yet, radio is affordable, reliable, 00:16:07.110 --> 00:16:10.789 and it works. Not instant burrito fame, but people 00:16:10.789 --> 00:16:18.370 start showing up kind of results. So I partnered 00:16:18.370 --> 00:16:22.110 with Gold Country Radio, and now people know 00:16:22.110 --> 00:16:25.309 I exist. I've got new customers, catering calls, 00:16:25.509 --> 00:16:27.269 and Dennis brought a possum. I think they're 00:16:27.269 --> 00:16:29.809 dating. I told you. Radio gets your business 00:16:29.809 --> 00:16:33.529 heard. Next up for your second table, maybe indoor 00:16:33.529 --> 00:16:36.389 seating. Want to get your business heard? Visit 00:16:36.389 --> 00:16:39.889 goldcountryradio .org and click contact to get 00:16:39.889 --> 00:16:44.110 started. Radio, small budget, big reach, real 00:16:44.110 --> 00:16:48.190 results. Out in the backwoods under the stars. 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:53.639 I turn in the radio from my old car Go country 00:16:53.639 --> 00:16:58.080 radio on Friday night terrible at fishing, but 00:16:58.080 --> 00:17:02.740 it feels just right Okay, welcome back to terrible 00:17:02.740 --> 00:17:06.039 at fishing. Well, I'm very happy that you guys 00:17:06.039 --> 00:17:15.579 found my show Friday nights here on 103 .3 our 00:17:15.579 --> 00:17:18.759 community channel here in Klamath Falls. You 00:17:18.759 --> 00:17:24.539 can always find me. But here on also A Terrible 00:17:24.539 --> 00:17:27.140 at Fishing on YouTube is another great place 00:17:27.140 --> 00:17:30.099 to find me. So, plus you get to see the video. 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:38.099 So you get to see it. Now, what gear? We'll take 00:17:38.099 --> 00:17:42.039 a break from the baits. What gear do you need? 00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:47.980 Now, this is Lillipad fishing requires what we 00:17:47.980 --> 00:17:54.819 call a heavy or extra heavy gear. Or else you're 00:17:54.819 --> 00:18:01.680 just going to break a rod. Extra heavy gear can 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:07.779 handle a lot of pull. These fish are big, but 00:18:07.779 --> 00:18:10.940 also you can pick up a lot of what I call salad. 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:16.960 This particular rod that I have in my hand is 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:21.440 made from a company called iRod. Now normally 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:24.039 I use Cajun rods for everything but they don't 00:18:24.039 --> 00:18:30.259 make an extra heavy. So my frogging rod is an 00:18:30.259 --> 00:18:34.160 iRod. It is the only Chinese made rod I have. 00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:38.799 I tried to call and try to get a hold of some 00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:43.549 American made companies but It's really hard 00:18:43.549 --> 00:18:48.250 to get companies online or on the phone. So this 00:18:48.250 --> 00:18:57.210 particular rod is a Genesis II Junior Swim. But 00:18:57.210 --> 00:19:04.470 it is a heavy rod and it can handle lures up 00:19:04.470 --> 00:19:08.250 to four ounces, which is pretty heavy, and is 00:19:08.250 --> 00:19:10.940 seven foot eight inch. It's actually a pretty 00:19:10.940 --> 00:19:15.579 long rod for a frogging rod, but it does very, 00:19:15.579 --> 00:19:22.460 very well. I love using bait casters. Now, you 00:19:22.460 --> 00:19:25.460 can use spinning reels if you want, but I enjoy 00:19:25.460 --> 00:19:31.599 bait casters. And you're going to, with your 00:19:31.599 --> 00:19:34.579 drag, you know, this is an Abu Garcia Max Pro. 00:19:35.099 --> 00:19:40.869 I love this, only $80. It's an $80 reel, but 00:19:40.869 --> 00:19:44.089 it's a really good reel. I have them on my heavy 00:19:44.089 --> 00:19:48.849 and my extra heavy rods and they don't backlash 00:19:48.849 --> 00:19:54.930 easily, so they do very, very well and they have 00:19:54.930 --> 00:19:59.690 a really good drag on them. So these right here, 00:19:59.730 --> 00:20:04.329 I've put on there a Power Pro line, a braided 00:20:04.329 --> 00:20:08.700 line. Now, Why do I use braid? Because braid 00:20:08.700 --> 00:20:12.740 does not stretch. Okay, braid line does not stretch, 00:20:12.839 --> 00:20:16.319 and it's very, very strong. So on this I've got 00:20:16.319 --> 00:20:23.539 a 40 pound test braid on here. Put this down. 00:20:24.220 --> 00:20:27.619 I'm trying to, you know, it's a very low ceiling 00:20:27.619 --> 00:20:33.799 in my basement. So, but a 40 pound test. Now, 00:20:33.849 --> 00:20:37.710 You do not have to put a liter on your frogging 00:20:37.710 --> 00:20:43.450 rod. Now typically you would put a liter like 00:20:43.450 --> 00:20:50.990 a fluorocarbon liter on your line. You don't 00:20:50.990 --> 00:20:52.710 have to do that when you're doing top water. 00:20:52.829 --> 00:20:57.269 You just don't because the lung is not visible 00:20:57.269 --> 00:21:00.069 to the fish. Everything's on top of the water, 00:21:00.069 --> 00:21:06.359 right? I don't find it necessary to put a leader 00:21:06.359 --> 00:21:13.200 on my topwater, my frogging rods. So, this right 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:18.200 here is my, this is my frogging setup. It works 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:23.480 really, really well. The Yabu Garcia Max Pro 00:21:23.480 --> 00:21:27.700 is fantastic, or Pro Max, I don't know, I switched 00:21:27.700 --> 00:21:33.259 the names on them. The drag, I mean, if you like 00:21:33.259 --> 00:21:36.559 bait casters, bait casters, I have a really good 00:21:36.559 --> 00:21:40.400 tutorial on Terrible at Fishing on YouTube that 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:44.359 will teach you how to use a bait caster. Also 00:21:44.359 --> 00:21:48.019 my book, Terrible at Fishing, which you can get 00:21:48.019 --> 00:21:52.259 on Amazon, I have a really good section on how 00:21:52.259 --> 00:21:55.680 to use a bait caster. Bait casters can drive 00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:58.019 you nuts when you first get it because you get 00:21:58.019 --> 00:22:01.339 a lot of backlashes. But there is a method to 00:22:01.339 --> 00:22:05.480 learning them that in 30 minutes I can have you 00:22:05.480 --> 00:22:09.539 casting a bait caster without backlash. You're 00:22:09.539 --> 00:22:11.759 always going to get a backlash once in a while. 00:22:12.180 --> 00:22:16.400 Nobody's foolproof. And I have reels that are 00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:21.259 $500 and the, you know, it can backlash and it 00:22:21.259 --> 00:22:27.329 does. so it happens sometimes you just stop paying 00:22:27.329 --> 00:22:30.410 attention or something and it's just you just 00:22:30.410 --> 00:22:34.390 get it so that's kind of you need a heavy rod 00:22:34.390 --> 00:22:40.630 really strong line okay really good reel that's 00:22:40.630 --> 00:22:43.210 what you need to go lily pad fishing and this 00:22:43.210 --> 00:22:46.210 time of year you cannot go wrong with lily pad 00:22:46.210 --> 00:22:49.029 fishing right now that's why we're talking about 00:22:49.029 --> 00:22:53.609 it because lily pads are very abundant and they're 00:22:53.609 --> 00:22:56.769 very productive. At Lake of the Woods you got 00:22:56.769 --> 00:22:59.730 three sets of lily pads pretty much. You got 00:22:59.730 --> 00:23:02.890 them on the north end, just north of the Boy 00:23:02.890 --> 00:23:06.670 Scout area. You got it in Rainbow Bay and the 00:23:06.670 --> 00:23:11.710 best is the very southern end of the lake. It's 00:23:11.710 --> 00:23:14.789 just huge and it's really, really a lot of fun. 00:23:15.820 --> 00:23:18.819 There are other lakes like Dog Lake. I mean if 00:23:18.819 --> 00:23:23.140 you don't mind driving a couple hours. Dog Lake 00:23:23.140 --> 00:23:27.359 is a beast of lake for lily pad fishing and big 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:35.039 bass. Really, really, really, really good little 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:39.019 lake. They do not allow motors, gas motors on 00:23:39.019 --> 00:23:42.759 the lake. They don't allow it. So if you actually 00:23:44.340 --> 00:23:47.619 If you have a boat, you can only use a trolling 00:23:47.619 --> 00:23:51.579 motor, but it's a great kayaking lake, small 00:23:51.579 --> 00:23:56.559 boat, float tube, anything like that. It's a 00:23:56.559 --> 00:24:00.119 great lake, and boy, you will catch some big, 00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:03.400 old, nice, beautiful bass on Dog Lake. They got 00:24:03.400 --> 00:24:09.519 a lot of chewy chubs in that lake, so you're 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:12.019 going to get a lot of those too. So, no big deal. 00:24:12.740 --> 00:24:15.799 They actually talk. They're kind of weird. Then 00:24:15.799 --> 00:24:22.200 you just toss them back. Kind of weird. But that's, 00:24:22.200 --> 00:24:24.940 you know, another really, really good lake in 00:24:24.940 --> 00:24:31.400 order to hit. Thompson Reservoir, not bad. Right 00:24:31.400 --> 00:24:34.200 along the shoreline there you can find some nice 00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:39.059 ones. So now we're going to talk about swimming 00:24:39.059 --> 00:24:43.819 a bait. swimming a bait. Now, how do you swim 00:24:43.819 --> 00:24:50.359 a bait in between lily pads? I mean, you're thinking, 00:24:50.380 --> 00:24:53.240 okay, well, don't you? That would be really, 00:24:53.240 --> 00:24:59.940 really hard to do, but it's not. So, I actually... 00:24:59.940 --> 00:25:04.299 You guys know I make my own baits. So, I pour 00:25:04.299 --> 00:25:07.619 baits. I paint baits. I do all sorts of things 00:25:07.619 --> 00:25:13.339 with baits. I like making baits. And so one of 00:25:13.339 --> 00:25:17.380 the things I pour is basically it's a swim bait. 00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:22.859 It's a three inch, four inch, six inch, all sorts 00:25:22.859 --> 00:25:27.119 of sizes of a swim bait with a paddle tail. A 00:25:27.119 --> 00:25:30.740 neat thing about this is that when you get, I 00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:34.519 use a weighted hook. I use a weighted hook. It's 00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:38.980 got a weight on the hook itself. And then when 00:25:38.980 --> 00:25:43.289 you put it through the bait, the tip of the hook, 00:25:44.210 --> 00:25:47.670 the very tip of the hook, I do what I call it, 00:25:47.869 --> 00:25:51.809 I skin hook it. So on the back, as this hook 00:25:51.809 --> 00:25:56.769 comes up out of the bait, I push the tip into 00:25:56.769 --> 00:26:02.390 the bait itself. It's a soft bait. Now it's completely 00:26:02.390 --> 00:26:06.690 weedless. It's completely weedless. I throw this 00:26:06.690 --> 00:26:13.470 on top of the the lily pads, and then there are 00:26:13.470 --> 00:26:17.250 gaps in the lily pads, right? There's gaps. What 00:26:17.250 --> 00:26:19.930 this does is that it'll jump on top, you know, 00:26:20.109 --> 00:26:22.910 sort of flop on top of the lily pads, and then 00:26:22.910 --> 00:26:26.650 when I get it to a gap, I let it sink, and it's 00:26:26.650 --> 00:26:30.309 going to swim down, because it's got a paddle 00:26:30.309 --> 00:26:35.009 tilt, and it's going to swim down in between 00:26:35.009 --> 00:26:38.059 the lily pads, and then I'll pull it back up 00:26:38.059 --> 00:26:40.460 and it's going to swim back up, get on top of 00:26:40.460 --> 00:26:45.299 the lily pads until I drop it down again. This 00:26:45.299 --> 00:26:51.759 method of using a soft swim bait with a weighted 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:58.740 hook, all right, skin hook it. This method works 00:26:58.740 --> 00:27:05.940 very, very well also and you get a higher hookup 00:27:05.940 --> 00:27:10.630 rate. So, you're fighting your instincts with 00:27:10.630 --> 00:27:14.029 a hollow body, right? Because you gotta wait. 00:27:14.250 --> 00:27:16.549 But the beautiful thing about it is that they 00:27:16.549 --> 00:27:19.869 break surface. They push themselves up through 00:27:19.869 --> 00:27:23.109 the lily pads and it's like it's an explosion. 00:27:24.269 --> 00:27:26.690 Don't tell me that ain't fun to watch, because 00:27:26.690 --> 00:27:33.549 it is fun to watch. With a swim -bait skin -hooked 00:27:33.549 --> 00:27:38.910 with a weighted hook. This will go down and they'll 00:27:38.910 --> 00:27:43.109 bite it. You don't see it. But I'll also tell 00:27:43.109 --> 00:27:46.329 you too, even though this is very, very effective, 00:27:47.869 --> 00:27:53.069 they're underwater inside all of that vegetation. 00:27:54.529 --> 00:28:00.210 And you've got, this is why you have very strong 00:28:00.210 --> 00:28:04.559 line and a strong rod. because these fish are 00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:09.500 going to shake and travel. If they wrap themselves 00:28:09.500 --> 00:28:13.059 around some of that vegetation, it's going to 00:28:13.059 --> 00:28:18.859 take you a while in order to get that fish out. 00:28:19.700 --> 00:28:25.619 With a soft body, you have an advantage. They're 00:28:25.619 --> 00:28:30.700 going to be above the water line and when they 00:28:30.700 --> 00:28:32.769 dive, you're going to set the hook and you're 00:28:32.769 --> 00:28:38.150 going to try to keep them on top of the lily 00:28:38.150 --> 00:28:42.349 pads, on top of the water. And if they dive too 00:28:42.349 --> 00:28:46.930 fast, and they dive too deep, the odds of landing 00:28:46.930 --> 00:28:51.750 it is minimized because they can swim around 00:28:51.750 --> 00:28:55.470 and wrap that line around all that vegetation. 00:28:57.190 --> 00:29:01.529 Another advantage to braided line. Braided line 00:29:01.529 --> 00:29:10.250 is sharp, okay? It can cut the vegetation better 00:29:10.250 --> 00:29:16.670 than mono or fluoro. So plastic lines just don't 00:29:16.670 --> 00:29:20.849 have the abrasive quality as braided lines. Now, 00:29:20.849 --> 00:29:24.930 I use a four -braid line by Power Pro, or yeah, 00:29:25.089 --> 00:29:28.809 Power Pro, and four -braid works best for me. 00:29:29.079 --> 00:29:32.240 You'll see lots of other lines out there with 00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:36.079 8 braids, 10 braids, 12 braids, and you're thinking 00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:41.220 more is better, right? No! More is not better. 00:29:41.880 --> 00:29:45.339 It's just not better. You know why? It's because 00:29:45.339 --> 00:29:52.500 in order for them to wind 10 or 12 or 8 lines, 00:29:52.599 --> 00:29:57.319 those are smaller. They have smaller diameters. 00:29:59.480 --> 00:30:04.859 strands are thicker diameter, so I've just had 00:30:04.859 --> 00:30:08.359 much better success, especially working in environments 00:30:08.359 --> 00:30:13.019 like this, with a knot breaking. I've had a lot 00:30:13.019 --> 00:30:17.539 of 10 strands break on me. It drove me nuts, 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:21.680 but when I started researching it and thinking 00:30:21.680 --> 00:30:26.480 about it, it's because they're smaller diameters. 00:30:26.839 --> 00:30:32.400 So each strand is more fragile than a four strand 00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:35.440 because those strands are thicker. I hope that 00:30:35.440 --> 00:30:40.680 makes sense to you. One of my most successful 00:30:40.680 --> 00:30:44.660 videos on my YouTube channel is, you know, lines 00:30:44.660 --> 00:30:49.480 breaking. And it also was the reason that Casking 00:30:49.480 --> 00:30:55.819 and I separated. we went our separate ways, because 00:30:55.819 --> 00:30:59.500 I was affiliated with them at one time. They 00:30:59.500 --> 00:31:02.859 make a lot of fishing line, and a lot of it you 00:31:02.859 --> 00:31:08.720 can buy over at Sportsman's, but they can't make 00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:13.059 a good line. They just cannot. They're just terrible 00:31:13.059 --> 00:31:16.240 lines, and when it came down, you know, push 00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:19.619 come to shove, I wasn't going to change my story 00:31:19.619 --> 00:31:24.259 when they wanted me to change my story. And it 00:31:24.259 --> 00:31:28.119 wasn't going to happen because I was losing baits, 00:31:28.119 --> 00:31:30.299 I was losing catches, I was losing all sorts 00:31:30.299 --> 00:31:33.900 of stuff on what I thought was a poorly made 00:31:33.900 --> 00:31:38.079 line. Buying good line is worth it. You gotta 00:31:38.079 --> 00:31:42.480 buy good line. If you don't buy good line, then 00:31:42.480 --> 00:31:45.880 you're just going to lose a lot of stuff. So 00:31:45.880 --> 00:31:54.240 I use floral, I use braided. Power Pro braided 00:31:54.240 --> 00:31:59.480 4 strand and the color I use is moss green. Now 00:31:59.480 --> 00:32:02.359 a lot of people, there's lots of colors and but 00:32:02.359 --> 00:32:04.940 I use moss green and that seems to work really 00:32:04.940 --> 00:32:11.480 really well for me. But I hope this week we've 00:32:11.480 --> 00:32:18.039 helped you out on lily pad fishing. And then 00:32:18.039 --> 00:32:20.539 go to my YouTube channel. I have videos behind 00:32:20.539 --> 00:32:23.519 me right here and you can see some underwater 00:32:23.519 --> 00:32:27.819 footage of what the fish look like in these thick 00:32:27.819 --> 00:32:31.099 habitats. But anyway, thank you very much for 00:32:31.099 --> 00:32:35.400 tuning in. I appreciate it very much and so does 00:32:35.400 --> 00:32:39.039 our radio station. So thank you. Tight lines 00:32:39.039 --> 00:32:41.099 to each and every one of you. Hopefully I'll 00:32:41.099 --> 00:32:46.420 see you guys out on the water. That was terrible 00:32:46.420 --> 00:32:50.140 at fishing the radio show with fishing expert 00:32:50.140 --> 00:32:53.259 Michael Ruffino Check out terrible at fishing 00:32:53.259 --> 00:32:56.619 on YouTube and tune in next week for the next 00:32:56.619 --> 00:32:59.819 episode and more great fishing tips terrible 00:32:59.819 --> 00:33:04.180 at fishing Fridays at 7 p .m.. On gold country 00:33:04.180 --> 00:33:04.660 radio