Central Arizona Lakes Kayak Launches

Central Arizona Lakes Kayak Launches:

The point of this posting is to help fellow kayak anglers discover new waters to fish and help grow the sport of kayak fishing in Arizona.  I will revisit from time to time to update this posting with more information as it becomes available.  If I have inadvertently given away your secret honey hole stacked with 6+ pounders, please let us know in the comments below.  To report a spoiler, please include the specific techniques and lure colors used to catch your secret fish and the posting will be removed within 48 hours.

Warning: Not all launches below are open year round.  Do your research before you leave to ensure the area is open to the public at the time. Also note that all launches below require the proper pass to park a vehicle.  For more information on parking requirements, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/tonto/, and http://www.maricopacountyparks.net/park-locator/lake-pleasant-regional-park/.

Saguaro Lake

A:  Boat Ramps - Pros: Trailer parking, easy access to water's edge, courtesy docks, great fishing near marina and dam.  Cons:  Busy boat ramps, lots of power boat activity/wakes.

B:  Butcher Jones Recreation Area - Pros:  Motorless area, wide variety of cover/structure.  Cons:  Busy and pressured waters, 50 yards of beach to carry kayak across.

C:  Cove No. 1 - Pros:  Great fishing.  Cons:  Accessible only by 4x4, no trailer access.

Canyon Lake:

A:  First Water Creek - Pros: Big, big fish neighborhood, easy access to western side of lake.  Cons:  Tough launch, steep hill down to water's edge, roadside parking only, popular party spot for pleasure boaters.

B:  Accacia Recreation Area - Pros:  Extremely easy launch, short paddle to anywhere on the main lake.  Cons:  Very busy during the warm seasons, lots of power boats/wakes to watch out for, no trailer parking.

C:  Paloverde Ramp - Pros:  Easy launch, trailer parking, short paddle to Boulder Motorless Area.  Cons:  Single vehicle parking is a long walk from the water, the dumbest people on Earth seem to be drawn to this ramp, somebody will absolutely do something stupid.

D:  Boulder Recreation Area - Pros:  Large motorless area, great fishing.  Cons:  Difficult to launch on your own, busy/pressured waters, old nudist couple that lives on a houseboat at the marina, no trailer parking.

E:  Laguna Ramp - Pros:  Easy launch, trailer parking.  Cons:  Long paddle from most of the lake.

Apache Lake:

A:  Apach Lake Marina - Pros:  Easy launch, trailer parking.  Cons:  Dirt road access only, competition with power boats/wakes.

B:  Davis Wash - Pros:  Short paddle to Mazatzal Bay and other great fishing spots, very secluded launch area.  Cons: Dirt road access only, road periodically closes without notice.

C:  Burnt Coral Campgrounds - Pros:  Easy launch at boat ramp, lakeside campgrounds, great smallmouth fishing.  Cons:  Dirt road access only, fairly busy on weekends, always windy.

D:  Three Mile Wash - Pros:  Great smallmouth fishing.  Cons:  Dirt road access only, long drive from Phoenix area.  Note: Three Mile Wash is further upriver than labeled on the map.

Roosevelt Lake (Salt End)

A:  Windy Hill Recreation Site - Pros:  Lots of launching options with several beaches and boat ramps, launch from either east or west side of Windy Hill, lots of parking available, nearby camping available.  Cons:  Long drive from Phoenix, fishing has slowed down in recent years, can get busy on weekends.

B:  Grapevine Point - Pros:  Easy launch from boat ramp, good winter/summer fishing in the area with deep structure nearby.  Cons:  Long drive from Phoenix, fishing has slowed down in recent years.

C:  Schoolhouse Point - Pros:  Ramp is often out of the water leaving plenty of space for kayak launch, tons of shallow cover, unnavigable for most powerboats, a kayak flipping and pitching paradise.  Cons:  Long drive from Phoenix.

Roosevelt Lake (Tonto End)

A:  Horse Pasture Rec Area - Pros:  Drive down to water's edge for easy launch, lake side camping available, easy access to Tonto end of lake.  Cons:  Very busy on weekends, long drive from Phoenix, 4x4 vehicle is recommended for driving near the shore

B:  Cholla Campground - Pros:  Easy launch at ramp, trailer parking available, easy access to Tonto end of lake.  Cons:  Long drive from Phoenix, long paddle from productive fishing areas.

C:  Soltera Cove - Pros:  Drive down to water's edge for easy launch, rarely busy.  Cons:  Long drive from Phoenix, 4x4 vehicle is recommended for driving near the shore, long paddle from productive fishing areas.

D:  Vinyard Canyon Picnic Site - Pros:  Short paddle to great fishing to the west.  Cons:  No trailer parking, difficult launch down a rocky slope, long drive from Phoenix.

E:  Roosevelt Lake Marina - Pros:  Short paddle to great fishing in all directions, easy launch from ramps.  Cons: No public boat ramps at the marina, you need to make arrangements ahead of time through rlmaz.com.

F:  Windy Hill Recreation Site - Pros:  Lots of launching options with several beaches and boat ramps, launch from either east or west side of Windy Hill, lots of parking available, nearby camping available.  Cons:  Long drive from Phoenix, fishing has slowed down in recent years, can get busy on weekends.

Bartlett Lake:

A:  South Cove, Jojoba Ramp, Marina, ect. - Pros:  Easy launch from ramp, close to North Phoenix/Scottsdale, short paddle to great fishing, good numbers of bass.  Cons:  This place doesn't seem to have an official name and it makes it difficult to discuss with others, gets very busy during the summer, over populated with small fish.

B:  Rattle Snake Cove - Pros:  Motorless area, relatively close to the Phoenix area, good numbers of bass.  Cons:  Difficult launch, long haul for a kayak, a kayak dolly is practically required, no trailer parking, over populated with small fish.

C:  Srv Rd 459 - Pros:  Drive up right to the water's edge for an easy launch, great fishing in the immediate area.  Cons:  4x4 recommended when driving on the wash, check before hand if road is currently open to the public, over populated with small fish.

D:  SB Cove - Pros:  Easy launch from ramp, trailer parking available, short paddle from great fishing.  Cons:  Over populated with small fish, busy during the warm seasons.

E:  Cat Bay - Pros: Drive up right to the water's edge for an easy launch, great fishing in the immediate area.  Cons:  Often muddy due to low/changing water levels, 4x4 recommended for driving on sand, road closes periodically so check before driving up.

F:  Echo Bay - Pros: Drive up right to the water's edge for an easy launch, great fishing in the immediate area.  Cons:  Often muddy due to low/changing water levels, 4x4 recommended for driving on sand, road closes periodically so check before driving up.

G:  Jacks Cove - Pros:  Secluded launch.  Cons:  Often muddy due to low/changing water levels, 4x4 required for driving on sand, road closes periodically so check before driving up.

Lake Pleasent:

A:  Lake Pleasent Marina, South Ramp - Pros:  Easy launch from ramp, trailer and single vehicle parking near ramp.  Cons:  Poor fishing in the immediate area, competition against power boats/wakes.

B:  Lake Pleasent Marina, North Ramp - Pros:  Easy launch from ramp, trailer and single vehicle parking near ramp.  Cons:  Competition against power boats/wakes.

C:  10 Lane Boat Ramp/Shriff's Station - Pros:  n/a. Cons:  Poor fishing in the immediate area, ramp is always busy and filled with the overflow of stupid people from the ramps at Canyon Lake.

D:  Fireman's Cove - Pros: Drive up right to the water's edge for an easy launch, great fishing in the immediate area.  Cons:  Often muddy due to low/changing water levels, 4x4 recommended for driving on sand, parking permit is cash only via the envelope system.

E:  Castle Creek Boat Ramp - Pros:  Easy launch from ramp, trailer parking available, short paddle from great fishing, easy access to Castle Creek and great striper fishing.  Cons:  Lots of drunk idiots out with power boats disregarding the no wake regulations.

F:  The Northern Coves - Pros:  Great fishing in all of the northern coves, lots of easy launch areas where you can drive right up to the water's edge.  Cons:  4x4 vehicle is required to navigate the dirt roads and sandy washes leading to the water, go with someone who knows the way, or be real good at reading a map... A paper map, Google won't help you up there.

G:  Agua Fria River Access - Pros:  Easy launch and parking for trailers and single vehicles, great fishing in unpressured waters.  Cons:  Only open certain weekends throughout the year, check ahead online before you go out.

Did I miss your favorite spot?  Feel free to let us know about it in the comments, or of course you could always keep it a secret as well!

Tight lines!

Boat Ramp 101

Boat Ramp 101 (aka, how not to be a dick):

The sport of kayak fishing is quickly growing, and so are our kayaks!  It's no longer unusual to have kayaks in access of 13 feet long and over 150lbs.  Moving the kayak from the top of your Subaru and onto a trailer pulled by a 3/4 ton pick up is more common than ever.  With more and more of us abandoning the long haul across the beach with our kayak dollies and opting for a simple trailer-launch at the boat ramp, it's time that we lay out some simple rules of boat ramp etiquette.  It's important to note that you don't need a trailer to launch at the ramp.  Car-toppers are more than welcome as well, and most (if not all) of these rules apply to you as well.  Follow these simple rules and you'll never have to worry about becoming the star of the show at the boat ramp:

Staging area/before you get to the ramp:

-Load your gear into your kayak.

-Take off the straps.  Leave just one for security if needed.

-Make sure any drain plug is inserted.

-Make sure any electronics you have power up correctly (lights, graph, ect.)

-Tie a rope to the bow to use for tying up after you've launched.

-Disconnect your trailer lights.

Backing down the ramp:

-Turn your headlights off.

-Stay in one lane (practice backing down your trailer ahead of time in an empty lot).

-Back down to the water's edge and disconnect the last strap.

-If your kayak sits on the trailer upright, back down far enough to where you can slide your boat right off the back safely into the water.

-Using the rope you tied on earlier, pull your kayak over to the dock and secure both the bow and stern to the dock.

-Get your vehicle out of there quickly.

-Don't turn your headlights back on until you are off the ramp.

Retrieving your kayak:

-Turn your headlights off.

-Stay in one lane.

-Back down to the water's edge.  Again, make sure you're far enough down that you can slide the boat onto the trailer easily.

-Untie your kayak from the dock and pull it into position and onto the trailer with the rope.

-Use that rope to quickly tie off to the trailer.

-Get back in your vehicle and pull up to the loading zone.

In the loading zone:

-Move quickly if people are waiting.

-Unload any gear back into your vehicle.

-Pull the drain plug.

-Wipe down the hull and check for any invasive species that may have attached themselves.

-Strap your kayak down securely.

-Reconnect your trailer lights.

Common Courtesy:

-Prepare for launching/loading away from the boat ramp.  Unless it absolutely has to be done at the ramp, you can do it in the parking lot, or out in the no-wake zone.

-Turn off your headlights while on the ramp.  It makes it incredibly difficult for others to back down the ramp looking into your headlights.

-If you are not there to launch/retrieve a boat, get off the ramp!  On that note, get your dog off the ramp too!  He doesn't have any thumbs, he is of no help when it comes to any activities on the ramp.

-Never leave your vehicle or kayak unattended on the ramp.  That's what parking lots and courtesy docks are for.  If you leave your kayak sitting unattended on a busy ramp, you deserve to have your paddle stolen.  You don't see guys beach their Skeeters up on the ramp, you don't get to either just because your boat is smaller.

-The line is formed by vehicles with trailers, not by the boats in the water.  This is just common sense.  If your trailer isn't here yet, get out of my way!

-Move quickly!  Nothing is more annoying than watching a young, fit, able-bodied 25 year-old taking his time at the ramp, BSing with his buddies while finishing his last beer for the road home.  If you're an old geezer with arthritis and gout, we understand if you don't move as quickly.

-Communicate with other boaters.  If the person in front of you in the staging area isn't ready yet, but you are, ask them if they mind if you jump ahead of them.  Assuming they won't mind will just make you look like a wiener.

-Don't be afraid to ask someone for help backing down the ramp if you suck at backing down trailers and it's busy.  I'd rather just do it for you than have to wait longer.  Just present them with your man-card.  They will tear off one corner and do it for you.  After all four corners are torn off, you will need to re-apply for a new man card, or be forced to wear a dress each time you go to the lake.

All I'm asking is, don't be "that guy".  Be courteous at the ramp.  Be friendly.  Be helpful to others who are struggling, and if you're the one struggling, be "man enough" to ask for help for the sake of everyone in line behind you.  Together, we can make Ramp Rage a thing of the past.

Thank you.

Kayak Fishing Game Plan: Pre-Spawn

Kayak Fishing Game Plan: Pre-Spawn

Spring is here!  Well, sort of.  While we still have one week of winter left, technically speaking, the bass in Arizona's desert reservoirs don't seem to know it.  As early as February water temps started hitting that magical 55 degree mark that so many anglers use to gauge the romance level of those little green beauties.  Well the fishing is picking up, and now is as good of a time as any to dive into one of the most productive seasons of bass fishing, the Pre-Spawn.

There are countless numbers of pre-spawn articles out there that discuss what lures and techniques should be used this time of year, and how you can go about locating the fish.  I would suggest you read as many as possible, but keep in mind that not everything you read necessarily applies to Arizona, or to kayak fishing.  The goal of this particular blog is to help synthesize all that information and discover how it applies to the desert kayak angler.  But first, a quick rundown on the behavior of bass this time of year:

Bass Behavior:

Bass, like many other species, rely on patterns and habits throughout their life.  Understanding these habits will give the angler insight on where bass will be found at any given time.  Spring time is especially predictable due to the spawn.  You see kids, when two fish love each other, they get together and make a wish...  Ah screw it, we're all adults here, they bang.  The water heats up and so does their sexual appetite.

Bass will begin to move up shallow over the course of several weeks.  As this transition into Spring progresses, they will begin to relate more heavily to cover rather than structure.  In the winter, bass will move down deep and sit atop underwater humps and points.  Imagine a game of King of the Hill.  A bass wants to be up high on that hill while inactive watching over a large deep area.  They don't feed as often in the winter and this underwater structure gives them the opportunity to go into standby mode and just wait for an easy meal to come by.  The warming waters speed up the bass's metabolism leading to more feeding activity and the bass will leave this deep structure in search of food and a lady-friend.

To find these migrating bass, check out a contour map of the lake you're on and look for areas of tightly grouped contour lines that lead in the direction of a spawning flat (generally in a cove that ranges from five to 15 feet deep).  Below is an example:

I like to think of this migration as the first "phase" of the pre-spawn.  Depending on how far away the winter home is from the spawning grounds it could take the bass up to two or three weeks to complete this migration phase.  The important thing for you to know is that they are hungry right now!  They may still be deep, but they are active and on the move.  They need to eat to complete their trek.

Phase 2 is what many anglers refer to as "staging".  Once they reach the outer edges of the spawning flat, they will wait until the time is right to move up on beds.  This generally begins happening when the water temp is around 60 degrees, but there are so many factors that the best way to know is to get up there shallow and start looking for them.  Below is a diagram that shows how a bass might stage and move up to beds.  Notice how in this diagram the fish relates more to cover (brush piles, stumps, ect. than it does to structure like in phase 1).

Here, A and B represent some sort of cover like a brush pile.  This is where a bass will hang out to feed while waiting for the right time to move up.  Target these kinds of areas and you'll find them.  Don't be afraid to really get into the middle of this cover with something weedless like a Texas rig or jig.  C is the nest.  You will probably see smaller males cruising up and down the bank looking for a place to build their nest.  These fish are very tough to catch if you can see them, but relatively easy if you stay back off the bank and pound them with small reaction baits.  Don't fall into the trap of trying to sight fish these fish, you'll just get frustrated and leave empty handed.

D in the diagram above is the pre-spawn pot of gold.  D represents the female.  The big girls are smart, they stay in bed and let their boyfriends do all the work.  They stay in the deeper areas, usually just deep enough to be out of sight from the anglers above the surface.  I like to start shallow and figure out how clear the water is.  If I have about 10 feet of water clarity, then I'll back out to about 15 feet and look for ledges and drop offs on my depth finder.  This is where the females will be cruising around and feeding heavily gearing up for the spawn.  Big lures are important here as these fish are looking for easy calories.  They won't be in the mood to chase down small baitfish, it's not worth it to them to spend that energy for a small meal.  Think big and slow and you'll have a shot at a pre-spawn monster.

Pre-Game:

A successful day of kayak fishing starts the days before your trip.  As I discussed in a previous post, a kayak angler needs to be able to find the fish before even getting to the lake.  Mapping website like the Navionics Web App, and Google Earth are a great place to begin your "internet pre-fishing".  Using what we know about bass behavior this time of year can help us pinpoint which areas to focus on.  As the old saying goes, 90% of the fish are in 10% of the water.  We've got to be able to find that 10% as quickly as possible so that we spend most of our time fishing in productive waters.

Let's take a look at a real life example: Lake Pleasant, just a short drive north west of Phoenix.

As you can see, this is a big lake.  You can't cover this entire lake in a weekend with a bass boat, so where do you start with a kayak?  One thing to focus on is water temperatures, we want the warmest water possible.  While looking at a map won't tell you how hot or cold something is, we can put the pieces of the puzzle together to tell us which areas will be warmer than others.  1.  Because of where the sun is this time of year, the north side of the lake will get the most sunlight and warm up the quickest.  2.  Shallow water warms up faster than deep water.  3.  Areas protected from the wind will warm up quicker than windy areas.  Due to these factors, we can eliminate the southern half of the lake and focus on the shallower northern arms.

So now what?  Each one of those three main arms are basically individual lakes to the kayak angler.  Pick the wrong one and you're going to have a long day as you won't be able to fire up the outboard and check out the next one over.  This time of year, I'm looking for as many small coves and pockets as possible, mostly shallow spawning flats with deep water near by.  I'm not as concerned with bottom structure as I am with visible shallow cover during the pre-spawn.  Bass will spawn just about anywhere that's shallow enough, but the big bass will claim the obvious places.  Look for big boulders, brush piles, overhanging trees, ect.  The same kind of cover that feeding bass will use as ambush points, spawning bass will use as defensive barriers to help protect their nest.  So let's pick an arm and zoom in.

Let's zoom in more....

Ah, now we're talking.  On the right side, we have a shallow cove filled with trees and other cover.  That's where the bass are headed, so that's where you should start.  As we come out of that cove we see a long shallow point.  This is the perfect area for bass to hang out in the weeks before spawn to rest and feed up before getting down to business.  On the left we have dirt roads.  That's a great sign for kayak anglers, roads don't just show up on their own, this area is clearly accessible as long as you have a capable vehicle to transport your kayak there.  (On this point, make sure you find several potential areas before heading out.  Google Earth won't show you the roads that have been closed off, or it may look like your Honda Civic will make it out there, but the "real life road" may be much more rugged than what it appears to be from a satellite image.)

Baits and Presentations:

When you're rigging up your rods the night before it's important to consider as many factors as possible.  Will it be windy, or calm?  Is the lake muddy, or clear?  Are the bass Trump supporters, or are they #feelingthebern?  Will it be overcast, or sunny?  These conditions will effect the finer details of your lures like weights, depths, and colors, but there are four general techniques that I'm going to prepare for every time I head out durning pre-spawn:

Deep-Diving Crankbaits

Regardless of the conditions a deep diver is going to catch fish.  There is one requirement however, you MUST fish it slow!  When thinking of crankbaits, most of us think of fleeing bait fish, deflecting off hard cover, creating reaction bites as the bait flies through an ambush point.  That's not the case here.  We are targeting big hungry females who are just "waking up" from the cold depths of the lake.  These fish aren't going to be in the mood to chase down their breakfast.  They want a large plate of pancakes slow rolled right by their pillows.  Big and slow is key when hunting for these big pre-spawn females.

There is one major factor that kayak anglers have to take account of when fishing a deep diver, and that is the weight of your kayak.  After just a few casts, you may notice your boat positioning has changed.  The drag of these heavy baits is enough to pull you along quite a bit, and that leads to several negative consequences.  The most obvious is that it will pull you off your spot.  Not a big deal if you're cruising down a shoreline, but if you're targeting a specific piece of cover or structure, you'll have to readjust each cast.  Secondly, your bait won't run as deep as it is intended to with the less resistance of a light kayak pulling on it.  And finally, your hooksets won't have the same force behind them as the kayak will give quite a bit when you pull.

So how can we counter these effects?  Anchoring is one option, but that's generally quite a hassle that most of us don't want to deal with, especially if we're covering water quickly to find fish.  The quickest and simplest thing you can do is to cast off to the side, perpendicular to your kayak.  Your kayak will have much more resistance as its pulled through the water sideways than it would nose first.  Another option is something I call Troll Casting.  It's a hybrid of casting and trolling a lure.  I make a long cast out behind me, past my target.  Before engaging the spool, paddle forward a few strokes to gain some momentum, then engage the reel and begin reeling slowly.  Super slowly.  Remember, you still have the speed of the kayak moving forward too, so you should reel even slower than usual.  Warning:  This may be against the rules of tournaments that don't allow trolling, if so make sure no one sees you do it.  ;)

Suspending Jerkbaits

The bigger, the better.  Remember, these fish are still moving pretty slow and they want big easy meals.  I prefer baits with three treble hooks on them just because they are bigger, but the smaller variety will still catch fish too.  Deeper is also better in most situations as most of the bigger fish will still be closer to the bottom in deeper water.  A bait that can suspend in 8 feet or deeper is ideal during the pre-spawn.

The first step is making sure your bait suspends properly.  Most jerkbaits will float, even the ones marketed as "suspending jerkbaits" will slowly rise to the surface.  I will usually add an extra split ring hanging off the split rings on the front two hooks.  If that's still not enough weight, I will put larger hooks on.  If that still doesn't cut it, I'll find a new brand of jerkbaits.

Working the jerkbait from a kayak can be difficult for two reasons: being low to the water, and the wind.  If you can stand in your kayak, do it!  To give the bait the best action, you want to pop the rod tip downwards.  That's not easy to do while sitting down at water level.  If you can't stand, you can still get by with popping the rod to the side.  Just be careful not to get yourself in an awkward position to where you can't set the hook when you get bit. 

The bigger problem is the wind, and that leads us down to a Catch-22 of catching fish.  Jerkbaits typically work great in the wind.  In fact, many people will only throw a jerkbait when it's windy.  The problem here is obvious: kayak fishing sucks in the wind.  It's nearly impossible to hold your position and work the bait at the same time.  Long pauses are important when fishing jerkbaits this time of year, and if you're being blown across the surface, your bait isn't going to pause, it'll get dragged along with you.  If you don't have the "Hobie advantage" of hands-free paddling, you need to anchor.  A drag anchor won't cut it.  You need to be absolutely stationary.  Rather than deploying an anchor, I prefer to tie off to buoys, it's just quicker and easier.  In many of our Phoenix area lakes, many major ledges and points just happen to be marked off with buoys.  You could travel along a long buoy line tying off to each one, fan cast the area, move to the next and catch fish all day.  I could give you examples, but you're better off to check it out for yourself.  So next time you're out on a lake, check out the depth changes along buoy lines, or just check it out on a contour map.

Jigs

If you haven't noticed yet, the theme of pre-spawn is big and slow.  What's bigger and slower than a jig dragged along the bottom?  I'll tell you what is, the building of the Great Pyramids of Giza.  However, gigantic monuments built in honor of ancient leaders aren't the best bass fishing lures.  So let's just stick with jigs.

If you're catching fish with red lips (quite common this time of year) then the fish are zoned in on eating crawfish.  A jig can be one of the best crawfish imitators there is.  If you're catching fish on cranks or jerkbaits and the bite dies down, before moving on to a new spot, give the jig a try.  If you were catching fish, then there are fish in the area.  Rarely do they move from one area to the next that quickly, so they are still home but have just wised up to your presentation.

I work a jig very little this time of year.  The deep water is still quite cold and nothing down there moves around too fast.  Hopping and swimming a jig is just going to spook off any bass, it's simply unnatural and the fish won't want to touch it.  I use a retrieve that's just one degree above dead sticking.  I cast it out to a target, maybe across a rocky point, or on top of a ledge, then I let my drifting kayak slowly pull it along.  You'll feel it getting caught up in rocks and what not but just shake it free and pull it over the top.  Don't let it pop free and hop off the bottom, just keep slowly dragging it.  When you get hit you may feel a slight tick, but most of the time a fish is just going to calmly pick it up and you'll lose contact with the bottom.  When you stop feeling those rocks, set the hook!

Spinner Baits/Chatter Baits

Everything that applies to deep diving crankbaits applies to spinner baits and chatter baits.  Honestly, if feel that the differences are more angler preferences than the preference of the fish.  There's really only one reason I prefer cranks over blades personally, and it's really quite silly.  But it's storage.  I use a Plano box system for tackle storage, and spinners just don't fit in there as nicely as cranks.  However, I keep a handful with me just incase I run into two conditions.  1. An algae-filled mucky bottom.  The kind of bottom when you have to pull green slime off your crankbait after every cast.  The single hook on a spinner or chatter bait will come through that gunk much cleaner.  2.  Muddy water.  Like, really muddy water.  When visibility is less than a foot, I'll use a chatter bait, or a spinner with a Colorado blade.  The reason is because I can load the plastic trailer up with scent, and the blades put off more vibration than cranks.  The less you can rely on sight, the more you have to focus on the other senses to get the fish's attention.

So there it is, my game plan for kayak fishing in the early spring.  As I put the finishing touches on this article, many fish are already up on beds as the water temp is on the rise.  But here comes the most important hint for spring time fishing:  THE PRE-SPAWN IS NOT OVER JUST BECAUSE FISH ARE ON BEDS.  They don't all spawn at the same time. They move up and spawn in waves, usually three to five waves per year.  This is nature's way of protecting the species and preventing an entire year's class of new bass from dying in the case of some catastrophic event like a flood or sudden cold front that kills the eggs.

Sight fishing is fun, and it's an easy way to catch one of the biggest fish of the year.  But don't let it consume your fishing trip.  It's easy to get pulled in by a bass on a bed and then realize that you've spent an hour on a fish that ultimately won't take the bait anyway.  Sight fishing is one of 500 ways to catch a fish this time of year.  So go hit those migration routs and pull in big fish after big fish while your buddy sits up in the shallows hunting those little males protecting the nests.

Tight Lines!

Things Your Grandpa Didn't Have

Things Your Grandpa Didn't Have:

     Very few of us figured out how to fish on our own.  Did you know that "93% of all anglers nation-wide were taught how to fish by their grandfathers" is a fact I just pulled straight out of my ass?  Or how about the fact that "every current member of the Bassmaster Elite Series reported that their grandfathers were present for their first ever fishing experience" isn't actually a fact at all, but just a statement I made up to make it seem like my blog is based on research and statistical analysis?

     I'm sure many of us recall memories from our childhood of hanging out on the lake with grandpa all weekend long.  Our grandpas were the ones that tied our lures on before we knew how to tie our shoes, dug our crankbaits out of trees before we knew how to adjust the distance of our cast, and actually owned paper maps and knew how to read them (with out the help of YouTube and BassResource.com).

     Grandpas are a wealth of information that no website today could reproduce.  They have fishing holes that Google doesn't know about, and they have grandma always pack a second pudding cup for their "little fishing buddy".  However, there are plenty of technological tools that the modern day fisherman has that Grandpa never had.  Like all industries, the Internet has revolutionized the fishing industry.  With just a few mouse clicks, anybody can listen to what Ish Monroe has to say about punching grass mats on the California Delta, or how Mike Iaconelli fishes a squarebill crankbait through submerged timber while plugging Abu Garcia.  Below is my list of things your grandpa didn't have (yet he could still out fish you any day):

YouTube

     The days of $150/month cable TV subscriptions are over.  No longer do you need to pay for high-dollar small cable channels and wake up at 3:00 am in order to watch your favorite fishing shows.  Anyone with a camera and access to the Internet has all they need to produce their own fishing show.  There is so much content on YouTube!  Even in a relatively small market of bass fishing, no one could possibly watch all of it (and trust me, I've been trying).

     Just about anything you could want to watch can be found with just a simple search.  Interviews with the Bass Master Elites, product reviews, technique tutorials, compilations of top water explosions, it's all on there.  One of my favorite channels is "Flukemaster".  Not just for Gene Jensen's highly informative lessons, but because he is the epitome of the average Joe who started from nowhere and rose to Internet-fame through hard work.  Gene's entire story is documented throughout his videos, all of which are RIGHT HERE, for free!

Bass Resource/Fishhound

     Website like Bass Resource and Fishhound offer not only great articles and videos to help you become a better fisherman, but online forums that connect you with pros and experts across the country within minutes.

     Have an odd-ball question that can't seem to be answered with a Google search?  Someone in the community section of these sites has an answer.  Post up a question and check back in the afternoon to see what folks across the country have to say.  However, all these online forums need to be approached cautiously.  There's a very small amount of people who actually know what they're talking about, and there's a much larger portion of people who only THINK they know what they're talking about.  (Huh, I wonder which one people think I am...)  Spend a week or two looking through the forum section, and you'll begin to identify which members are the truly helpful ones.

Google Earth

     Google Earth is amazing.  I probably use this free program more than any thing else when it comes to "internet pre-fishing", which is an incredibly important, and often overlooked part of fishing, especially kayak fishing!

     Google Earth will probably be the basis of it's own blog posting soon so I won't go into too much detail about it here, but two quick points are:  1. The detailed satellite view can zoom in on any potential fishing spot so you can get a real life feel of the area before you go out (sometimes even underwater structure).  2. You can view back roads that may not be listed on regular maps to find lake access to areas you otherwise can't reach (huge advantage to kayak anglers).

Navionics Web App

     The Navionics Web App gives you free access to the same maps the pros use on their $5,000 sonar/GPS units.  It's certainly lacking in features and detail, but it's also free so stop whining!  Contour maps are important when you're tracking bass migration from season to season.  In the middle of summer and the dead of winter, your best bet for finding fish is locating bottom structure.  To find that structure, you have three options: 1. Zig-zag across the entire lake watching and recording data from your depth finder, 2. Drag a Carolina Rig across the entire lake, or 3. Look at a map.  I think I'll take a map.

     If you have cell service at the lake, you can load this up on your phone or tablet and use it as a pseudo-gps, something that might come in handy if you're a kayak fisherman on a budget.  Just make sure to have a waterproof case and plenty of data left on your monthly cellphone plan!

Local Message Boards like AZ Bass Zone

     Never mind... AZ Bass Zone is the armpit of the Internet.  Avoid it like the Zika Virus.

Social Media

     Social Media fascinates me.  I was in middle school when MySpace became popular, I was part of Facebook back when you could only register with a ".edu" email account.  In a weird way, I feel that social media and I grew up together.  I've seen the way it's changed over the last 15 years as a user from the beginning, and it just amazes me to see what it's become.

     If you're reading this, you know about social media.  And if you're a fisherman on social media, you know the impacts it has on the business side of the sport.  Tournament Series get many of their participants interested via Facebook.  Sites like LinkedIn make it easy for businesses looking for anglers for sponsorship opportunities.  Instagram makes it simple for pros and armatures alike to share pictures of their double digit bass.  And Twitter is still kind of just as annoying as it's ever been.

Insight Genesis

     I am so excited about this new website!  Insight Genesis is currently in beta (that means it's still new and they're working out the kinks) but anyone with a valid email address can sign up and start checking the site out.  In a nutshell, the website is an online community of anglers who upload the data recorded from their sonar units.  The end result is some of the most detailed and up to date contour maps you'll find online.  The free version allows access to all of the "social maps" across the country, the ability to upload your own custom maps, set way points, record comments, and more.  For $100 the paid version allows you to see not only the bottom contour lines, but also the bottom composition so you can quickly find grass flats, rocky points, sandy washes, and more!

     As a kayak angler, I can't stress enough the importance of digital pre-fishing!  The old saying goes "90% of the fish are in 10% of the water", and I believe the numbers are probably more extreme than that.  Kayak anglers don't have the option of firing up the outboard and running across the lake to every point, cove, ledge, and hump we come across over a 10 mile stretch.  If you want to catch fish from a kayak on a big lake, you need to find them before you even leave the living room!  All of these websites are just another tool the modern day angler has in their digital tackle box, and they're free!  Do yourself a favor and check them out before your next trip.  The more you know before you go, the more confident you'll be out there on the water!

     Comment below if you have any favorite tools in your digital tackle box, and follow along with me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at DaveJakesFishin.

Tight lines!

The Six Seasons of Arizona Kayak Bass Fishing

The Six Seasons of Arizona Kayak Bass Fishing:

     Throughout the year, I will be posting a series of articles discussing all six seasons of bass fishing, but before I do I would like to give you a quick overview of the seasons from somebody who, unlike me has actually made a name for himself in this sport, Kevin VanDam.  To read about KVD's bass fishing seasons, click HERE.  Now obviously VanDam and others have discussed this topic at length all over the Internet, my goal isn't to just write a carbon copy of old information.  I will outline several extra steps that kayak fishermen need to consider that may not seem obvious at first, as well as add an Arizona twist to the concepts.  My goal with this series of articles is two-fold; to make you a more successful angler (kayak angler or otherwise), but also to help spread the spirit of kayak fishing across the state of Arizona to aid in the development of one of the most exciting and fastest growing outdoor sports; kayak fishing.

     Kevin VanDam, just the mention of his name gets bass fishermen of all ages giggling like a school girl at a Katy Perry concert.  KVD is arguably one of the most successful tournament anglers in bass fishing history.  With four Bassmaster Classic wins and seven Angler of the Year awards, it's safe to say the guy knows his stuff, and he didn't even need to deflate any football heads to get there.  A couple years back, VanDam agreed to share one of his most kept secrets with bassmaster.com: his "seasonal guide".  You can check out the full article HERE, but if you're an Arizona bass angler hold off on memorizing those numbers for just a moment, they aren't going to be much help for you!

      If you didn't read the article, here's the important part:  There are six "seasons" of bass fishing.  VanDam identifies those seasons based on changing water temps.  

Winter: 48 degrees and below

Pre-Spawn: 48-55 degrees

Spawn: 55-70 degrees

Post-Spawn: 70-75 degrees

Summer: 75-90 degrees

Fall: 75-55 degrees

(I guess KVD doesn't fish in late Fall when the water temp is between 48 and 55 degrees...)

     If only it were this easy, we'd all be catching fish like KVD.  I'm not going to make the claim that he is wrong.  I'm not going to make the claim that I know better than him.  And I'm not going to make the claim that KVD, nor I, could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not loose any supporters over it, because well, that's just silly.  I'll let you make your own judgments on his system (or at least the system he told us about), and while you're at it feel free to make judgments about me and my thoughts too!

     The claim I will make, is that KVD isn't talking about any specific region, especially not about Arizona lakes!  He's speaking generally, to a national audience.  To say that post-spawn and summer is separated by only five degrees at all lakes is ludicrous, and I'm sure he'd probably agree.  After all, lakes can change five degrees from noon to midnight all year long, but you wouldn't say it's two different seasons.  This strategy is just a starting point for him, and I don't think he's starting in Arizona.  If you follow his advise on Guntersville, I'm sure you'll catch some fish.  If you follow his advise on our deep canyon reservoirs, you may find yourself having some trouble even finding their neighborhoods.

This is Mike-the-Bass.

Mike is a January fish.

Mike doesn't hang out in 60 feet of water.

Mike is staging for spawn.

Be like Mike-the-Bass.

Below is what I've found to be a more reliable timeline from my experience as an Arizona native:

Winter:  December/January

Pre-Spawn:  January-March

Spawn:  March/April

Post-Spawn:  March-June

Summer:  June-October

Fall:  One random weekend in late October/early November

Notice two important points:

     1. I don't use water temp when considering the season.  Arizona is just too different than the rest of the country for me to rely on what I hear about and read from national sources.  This past weekend (January 23rd) Saguaro Lake was 57 degrees at 9:00am.  All winter long, the lowest temp I saw was 53, a full "post-spawn" away from the warmest "winter" according to KVD.  (And yes, a "post-spawn" is now a unit of measurement equaling five degrees.  You may use it for measuring temperatures, or angles.  My blog, my rules.)

     2. Seasons overlap.  Especially in the spring.  Bass don't all spawn at the same time.  Bass will move up in waves, usually 3 to 5 waves per spring depending on the weather.  They may even move backwards!  A fish may be searching out a mate, maybe just starting to sweet talk her up a bit when a cold front runs through that pushes them both back to deeper water for another week or so.  And of course there's a transition between every other season as well.  Fall, especially in Arizona, you will find bass scattered all around from 2 to 80 feet deep.

     So why is this important?  How does it affect the way we fish?  The six "seasons" outline the yearly migration schedule of bass.  For those anglers that fish the same area year long using the same bait every time, (Yes, I'm talking to you, guy I see under the bridge at Canyon Lake throwing spinnerbaits every time I'm there) the seasons may explain why you think bass don't bite in the winter, or it may explain why "the bite is really hot lately".  The truth is, you can find a consistent bite year round if you know where to look.  If you understand bass migration, you'll know where to look.  You will find them, and you will catch them.

     For more information on seasonal patterns and bass migration in general, check out all of THESE videos.  Then, be sure to check back in February to read about kayak fishing for pre-spawn bass, one of my favorite times of the year.  I'll tell you everything I do on the days leading up to my trip, how I develop a game plan, and how I adjust that plan on the water once I realize I'm wrong.  Until then, here's an unnecessary plug for my favorite local lure company:  Go HERE and purchase everything they sell.  Rig up and dropshots and shakeyheads, toss them out into 20 to 30 feet of water and start catching some fish regardless of the season!

     Tight lines!

Fishing Resolutions For A New Year

Fishing Resolutions For A New Year:

I've never been the kind of person to set New Year's Resolutions for myself.  I live my life fairly regret free, and I'm content with my every day lifestyle.  So why even try to quit my beloved Dr. Pepper until my non-peppered actual doctor tells me to?  It's not like I'm going to actually succeed in that anyway!

With that said, I have some things I'd like to do, and some changes I'd like to experiment with when it comes to bass fishing.  These things aren't necessarily "resolutions".  They aren't even necessarily changes for the better.  Honestly, they may not even be things that I want to do all year.  They are just some things I want to do, or experiment with just for the hell of it.  However, since it just happens to be New Year's Eve, let's go ahead and call these my New Years Fishing Resolutions:

1. Catch a fish on a lure I make myself.

I've made a few jigs and inline spinners the last few months but haven't given them a real shot yet.  Fishing has been slow lately so I've been sticking with the tried and true methods to at least get a few bites each trip.  Once these waters get warmed up and the fish are hungry again, I will catch something on those homemade lures!

2. Find a line I like and stick with it, then buy it in bulk to save money.

I just want to make each trip to the store a bit simpler.  Every time I step into a Bass Pro or Sportman's Warehouse I remember that one reel sitting on the shelf and I think of the myriad options of what I could do with it.  Then I stand in front of the wall of available fishing line and stress about the perfect choice.  It would be so much easier just knowing I have 5 bulk spools at home to do whatever I want with.

3. To save more money, make that line a copolymer and use it on everything (except finesse rods).

I know how important line is.  And I know that not using the "right" line for the technique might affect how many fish I catch.  However, I'll never really know unless I give it a good honest shot.  This is one I want to do all year long so I can compare my catch rates to last year when I did it the "right" way.

4. Before buying a new rod, sell an old rod.

I need a heavy flipping and pitching rod. I have four crankbait rods.  If you're looking for a decent used crankin' stick, let me know in the comments!

5. Actually act on one of my ideas to try to make some extra money on the side through fishing.

I have three ideas.  One of them might just turn out to be a promising business endeavor...  If you have a degree in business, if you know your way around web design, or if you own a fishing guide business and are looking to expand, let me know that in the comments too!

6. Help my wife catch her first fish.

Seeing as my wedding is in two days, I feel as though I should add in something about her in my New Year's Resolutions... If that is what these are....

There it is, six things that I might actually do this new year.  I've also told myself that I'm going to stop drinking energy drinks.  So if we're fishing together in the future and you notice a Monster in my hand, feel free to give me crap about it, not that it's actually going to make me stop drinking it, but it's always fun to give each other crap.

So do you have any fishing related resolutions this New Years?  If so let us know in the comments below or on Facebook!

Tight Lines to you all in 2016!

A New Way To Organize Soft Plastics

Organizing your tackle, specifically soft plastics, is a discussion that comes up time and time again in bass clubs and on internet forums. Keeping your gear organized can mean the difference between catching a twenty-pound limit and weighing in just a handful of dinks.  Wether you're a tournament angler or a weekend warrior, organization is vital to keeping the frustration out of the boat and a hook in the water longer; which is really the key to catching fish.  You can't catch them if you're busy tying on hooks and juggling your terminal tackle.

When you're fishing from a small boat or kayak, issues with organization seem to magnify and simple frustrations can lead to dangerous situations if you're hit with an unexpected wind gust or boat wake.  Many of the common solutions for organizing soft plastics may be sufficient in a bass boat or when you're fishing from shore, but there's added struggle when trying to work in such limited space while kayak fishing.  After two years of kayak fishing, I have finally developed a system that works for me, maybe it will work for you too.

The system is basically the same system that I, and many anglers, have been using for years to organize hard baits: technique specific Plano boxes.  Almost every serious bass angler has several Plano boxes, one for jerkbaits, one for deep diving cranks, one for top waters and so on.  Why not adapt that same system to our soft baits?  Say you're fishing medium diving crank baits, my strategy would be to leave my crankbait box out until I find just the right depth and color needed to get hit.  If I'm fishing Texas rigs, trying that strategy will result in a mess.  I'd end up having ziplock bags of plastics, hook boxes, weight boxes, and other various terminal tackle all over the place.  So it finally hit me, I need a Texas rig box!

Texas Rigs

Now, certainly this one box of stuff isn't all of my potential gear for Texas rigs, but it will suffice for a day or two of kayak fishing.  The colors, size, or shape of the baits I bring will slightly change throughout the seasons and at different lakes, but the majority of this box stays simple and consistent all year round.  I prefer offset round bend hooks on Texas rigs, and I generally match the weight with the hook.  This allows me to keep things that would normally be in two separate boxes into just three compartments in one box.  I don't need a separate box filled with all sorts of hooks if I know I'm only going to be using three all day.

Dropshot

Just like the Texas rig box above, my dropshot box holds all the plastics, hooks, and weights needed for the technique.  If you dropshot often you'll know that the weights break off often and such small worms don't last more than a few fish.  Having one box on the deck with everything you need makes retying the rig a quicker process so you can get that hook out there again sooner.

Small Swimbaits

Like the above examples I keep with me just a small selection of colors and sizes.  If one of those colors or sizes won't get hit, then I'm probably going to switch to a whole new technique rather than trying other slight variants of swimbaits.  Again, I use different hooks with swimbaits than with other plastics, so instead of having a second box with twenty different hooks to sort through, I just keep a few types of swimbait hooks in the same box.

Shaky Heads

For the longest time I had a "Finesse Box" where I kept all my dropshot, shakey heads, and weightless stuff all together.  I quickly found though, especially in Arizona lakes, that finesse techniques are important enough and deserving enough for their own boxes.

Senkos

There's only three ways I ever fish Senkos: weightless wacky, weightless t-rig, and nail weighted.  This one simple box covers it all.  This is also the only technique I use extra-wide gap hooks.  So rather than getting them all mixed up in other various hooks I just keep them with the other Senko stuff.  I keep the O-ring tool right in there too because once again Senkos are the only thing I use it for, so why keep it anywhere else?

Jigs

Most of us already have a jig box.  Leave a couple compartments free and before your trip toss in three or four different trailers.

Bed Fishing (Stop reading now if you have a stick stuck up your butt):

This one box is probably responsible for more fish than any other box, and it's only used about two months out of the year.  When bed fishing it's even more important to re-tie and switch lures quickly.  If you have a fish agitated and ready to strike but it won't hit that size or color of lure, you don't want to give it five minutes to relax while you're fumbling around with your tackle.  The quicker you can get a bait out there, the sooner you can get that bed fish to bite.

Since I've started this system, I really haven't encountered any major issues.  The particular boxes I take with me are designed around whichever lake I'm going to and the current season.  There may be trips where I only take one or two boxes.  On other days I may take six or seven.  One of my biggest struggles when I first started kayak fishing was feeling the need to take everything with me.  Unfortunately we don't have rod lockers and acres of storage like you would find on a 20 foot bass boat.  You need to do your homework in advance to know what techniques to focus on as taking every lure you own may not be practical.  My next post will be a write up on the "homework" involved with kayak fishing and will be filled with information to help you decide which boxes to take and which to leave behind.

Think this solution might work for you?  Do you have another solution to the soft plastics fiasco that resides in kayak crates across the country?  Let me know in the comments below!

Tight lines!