06-05-2011, 03:46 AM
Location: Des Plaines River, Illinois
Time of day: 3:00 pm
Moon phase: new (?)
Date: 6/3/11
Fish:
•Channel Catfish
•24"
•6-7 lb.
The bait:
•industrial stinkbait/ (turtle) bloodbait wrapped in a piece of cloth (old sock, actually)
2' off of bottom
The Rig:
The only reason I was fishing was to find the right rig for rain-bloated river with an accelerated current. I tested a 3-way swivel rig. While this seemed to work for keeping the bait stationary without sinking it to the bottom, I was frustrated that: 1). it snagged submerged objects a lot 2). It couldn't be casted very powerfully 3). All-around awkward
I ditched the 3-way swivel and improvised a different rig by tying an extra-long loop for my knot and using the extra line to tie on a weight 5" below the hook. This made the hook more sensitive to strikes, although having a hook on taught line can be a di
vantage because the hook can be felt more quickly by the fish (yet this, conversely makes hook-sets easier).
It was on this set-up that the fish was caught. Unfortunately, I was woefully underprepared for landing a fish because this afternoon was meant to be for testing rigs. I had neither my camera on-hand (a bittersweet loss) nor did I have my pliers/ hook-removers (which was just stupid of me; turtles are known to strike stinkbaits). They only evidence I have of this fish is a thumb that looks like it was chewed on by sandpaper.
A few notes about the bait: the conventional cloth used to keep stinkbait together is panty-hose; however, I was using strips of an old sock because I could see where it was through the murky water (I was out there to test rigs in faster currents and deeper water).
So goes the story of my fish caught with a sock. I hope my failures in the face of success are helpful.
[signature]
Time of day: 3:00 pm
Moon phase: new (?)
Date: 6/3/11
Fish:
•Channel Catfish
•24"
•6-7 lb.
The bait:
•industrial stinkbait/ (turtle) bloodbait wrapped in a piece of cloth (old sock, actually)
2' off of bottom
The Rig:
The only reason I was fishing was to find the right rig for rain-bloated river with an accelerated current. I tested a 3-way swivel rig. While this seemed to work for keeping the bait stationary without sinking it to the bottom, I was frustrated that: 1). it snagged submerged objects a lot 2). It couldn't be casted very powerfully 3). All-around awkward
I ditched the 3-way swivel and improvised a different rig by tying an extra-long loop for my knot and using the extra line to tie on a weight 5" below the hook. This made the hook more sensitive to strikes, although having a hook on taught line can be a di
vantage because the hook can be felt more quickly by the fish (yet this, conversely makes hook-sets easier).It was on this set-up that the fish was caught. Unfortunately, I was woefully underprepared for landing a fish because this afternoon was meant to be for testing rigs. I had neither my camera on-hand (a bittersweet loss) nor did I have my pliers/ hook-removers (which was just stupid of me; turtles are known to strike stinkbaits). They only evidence I have of this fish is a thumb that looks like it was chewed on by sandpaper.
A few notes about the bait: the conventional cloth used to keep stinkbait together is panty-hose; however, I was using strips of an old sock because I could see where it was through the murky water (I was out there to test rigs in faster currents and deeper water).
So goes the story of my fish caught with a sock. I hope my failures in the face of success are helpful.
[signature]