# Back to the Roots



## Matulemj (May 29, 2012)

With all these threads being locked and butts getting hurt as of late, let us get back to the roots and talk about what is important: Fishing. A lot of things have been changing on the local streams and many people are starting to get back out and do what we all love. 

I have been getting out as often as I can this last week. Sometimes alone, sometimes with the "Little Miami Clown Posse."










Many spots that produced well last year have changed dramatically. Some of them would almost be unrecognizable if it weren't for the surrounding shrubbery. This is one of many reasons why I love fishing rivers so much.

Another reason is simply because you never know what you are going to get on the other end of your line when it is casted. As the weather is starting to warm up and the water temperatures continue to rise, I find myself having more multi-species days then I have in the last couple months. 

Crappie









Smallie









Channel Cat









Small, but a true Striper.









Sauger









Slowly, but surely, the fish are starting to move closer towards faster waters. I have been continuing to jig soft plastic baits and have had some success. I have been utilizing "Road Runner" jigheads and I can honestly say that they make a huge difference. I have been making the presentation as natural as possible and continuing to retrieve my lure at a slow and modest speed. When I got impatient and speed things up, I came up empty. 










I have noticed that the Smallies have been hitting on Tubes and Craw imitations/cranks. I brought out the Ol' "All American Special" Rebel Craw and had some success. 










I think in the next couple days the local streams will be on fire. The rivers are still up slightly, but the clarity makes it fishable. Good luck.


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## fischa (May 26, 2011)

Great report!

I fished the LMR today in Loveland and it's still high and I had no success!

May I ask where you got the smallies??

More downstream of Loveland??


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## co-angler (Jan 3, 2010)

Matulemj are you crazy? Posting pictures if actual caught fish, and what you are catching them on? Crazy talk I say!!!
I was thinking the trend was to just comment about fishing and lurking.
Way to step outta the box!

Congrats on the impressive catches of late....


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## co-angler (Jan 3, 2010)

Matulemj are you crazy? Posting pictures if actual caught fish, and what you are catching them on? Crazy talk I say!!!
I was thinking the trend was to just comment about fishing and lurking.
Way to step outta the box!

Congrats on the impressive catches of late....


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## nforkoutfitters (Jan 25, 2010)

I love saugers! That little guy is so cool



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## fisherFL (Oct 23, 2012)

Matulemj said:


> With all these threads being locked and butts getting hurt as of late, let us get back to the roots and talk about what is important: Fishing. A lot of things have been changing on the local streams and many people are starting to get back out and do what we all love.
> 
> I have been getting out as often as I can this last week. Sometimes alone, sometimes with the "Little Miami Clown Posse."
> 
> ...


That picture with the smallie are you using braid? I've been looking at braid because of its strength but since i fish the rivers mostly and a lot of snagging comes with it, isn't the braid a pain to brake along with fraying?


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## Matulemj (May 29, 2012)

It's actually cajun red mono line. All though I do use braid in the river, I tend to avoid it. When I get snagged with mono I can pull back on the line and let it go like a sling-shot and the lure will shoot out from where it's snagged on (in most cases), but you can't do that with braid. I have never had braid fray on me.


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## fisherFL (Oct 23, 2012)

Matulemj said:


> It's actually cajun red mono line. All though I do use braid in the river, I tend to avoid it. When I get snagged with mono I can pull back on the line and let it go like a sling-shot and the lure will shoot out from where it's snagged on (in most cases), but you can't do that with braid. I have never had braid fray on me.
> 
> 
> Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


High visibility mono sounds cool, you don't worry about it spooking the fish at all?


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## ghurlag (Apr 27, 2013)

As a lurker, I take offense... 

J/K - on every forum I've ever been on I've witnessed the call to return to the roots of the forum. I'm a reefkeeper (hey, man, I love fish), and we've had some real doozies, which can be summed up with, "guys, we're talking about fish, here"...

At any rate, I love this report, and the photographic evidences. Thanks for sharing!


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## Matulemj (May 29, 2012)

Fisherfourlife said:


> High visibility mono sounds cool, you don't worry about it spooking the fish at all?
> 
> 
> Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


Technically speaking, red is the least visible color in the water. Applying the color spectrum principles (ROYGBIV) to light reflection, red being the least reflective and violet being the most reflective, red line works out pretty well. Clear would probably be the safest beat, but I figured I'd give it a try. It hasn't affected my bite yet.

When the river is muddy, I tend to utilize colors on the right side of the color spectrum, such as violets or blues, heck even black. At certain depths, color won't matter anyways because there is no light that far down into the muddy waters. This is why myself and others had such great success using blade baits in the winter time. The vibration of the lure creates a reaction from the fish as opposed to the visibility of the lure itself.


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## Britam05 (Jun 16, 2012)

Matulemj said:


> Technically speaking, red is the least visible color in the water. Applying the color spectrum principles (ROYGBIV) to light reflection, red being the least reflective and violet being the most reflective, red line works out pretty well. Clear would probably be the safest beat, but I figured I'd give it a try. It hasn't affected my bite yet.
> 
> When the river is muddy, I tend to utilize colors on the right side of the color spectrum, such as violets or blues, heck even black. At certain depths, color won't matter anyways because there is no light that far down into the muddy waters. This is why myself and others had such great success using blade baits in the winter time. The vibration of the lure creates a reaction from the fish as opposed to the visibility of the lure itself.


Oh wow I never really knew that. That by the way was a Bill Nye "the science guy" type answer very impressive


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## IGbullshark (Aug 10, 2012)

the clown posse pic made my night. thank you


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## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

Nice report! Representin' the LMRCP! Rockin' the ugly stik!


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## FishDoctor (Aug 9, 2012)

Fisherfourlife said:


> That picture with the smallie are you using braid? I've been looking at braid because of its strength but since i fish the rivers mostly and a lot of snagging comes with it, isn't the braid a pain to brake along with fraying?
> 
> 
> Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


I use almost exclusively braid on the river. I like 14 or 20 lb smoke fireline. The sensitivity is wicked. When you snag I do the line snap with the pole up at a 45 degree angle and normally get it off. If I am fishing on the bottom where I can snag, I'm normally working it slow so don't tend to get hung up too bad. 

In the event I get hung up and the snap trick doesn't work, the braid is often strong enough I can actually bend a hook and get my lure back if it isn't hung up too bad. Then either just bend the hook back with the pliers or throw the bait back in the tackle box and fix it later. 

Also I use a light swivel most of the time I'm throwing stuff. If I'm hung up with a swivel, holding the rod low and cranking down the drag you can pop the swivel open and "break" off at the lure that is stuck. 

If I'm hung up on rocks I can get the lure back 99% of the time. Fishing deadfall and trees is a different story. A sharp hook lodged in wood isn't coming back unless your on something that will break off. 

The smoke color I think works great on the rivers. I've never had a problem with it spooking fish or reducing hook ups.


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## FishDoctor (Aug 9, 2012)

Matulemj said:


> Technically speaking, red is the least visible color in the water. Applying the color spectrum principles (ROYGBIV) to light reflection, red being the least reflective and violet being the most reflective, red line works out pretty well. Clear would probably be the safest beat, but I figured I'd give it a try. It hasn't affected my bite yet.
> 
> When the river is muddy, I tend to utilize colors on the right side of the color spectrum, such as violets or blues, heck even black. At certain depths, color won't matter anyways because there is no light that far down into the muddy waters. This is why myself and others had such great success using blade baits in the winter time. The vibration of the lure creates a reaction from the fish as opposed to the visibility of the lure itself.


The black bass (LM, smallies, redeyes, Alabamas, spots, Guadalupes etc) have 2 cones for color vision, I've read. These cones overlapping frequencies are more toward the red end of the spectrum which would give them better color differentiation on ol' ROYs end rather BIVs. Its the overlap in frequencies that lets your eyes distinguish variations of color.

I don't think reflection of colors works like that. A color is perceived as a color, because the photons being reflected have a certain wavelength and frequency. When "all" colors of the visible spectrum (ROYGBIV) strike your eye at once white light is perceived, when photons aren't being reflected and rather being "absorbed" you perceive the "color" black. 

So technically speaking white or black aren't colors of light--They are either combinations of photons (white) or lack of photons (black). Dull, Dark colors are actually better at absorbing light (less reflection). So a flat blue would be better than a shiny yellow in terms of reflection. 

A red fishing line isn't reflecting more photons than say a violet one necessarily, its just reflecting photons with different _energy_. What probably matters much more in terms of what lines reflect more light is the property of an object called *luster*. A red line with a brilliant (think high gloss) luster is going to be much more visible than a even a yellow line with with a drab luster. 

I think the bottom line, at least for me, is color of lines are less important for fish and more important for anglers. About the only time I think I would consider it is if you are stalking skiddish fish on some crystal clear trout stream. Even then, when hi-vis fly line first came out and was all the rage, everyone was using them and still catching fish. I've caught bass in quarries with crystal clear water with 20 ft of visibility using hi-vis yellow spiderline. I think the presentation, in the end, is much more important.

Just my 2¢ for what its worth.

And nice fish btw, good to see some LMR smallies and such a healthy range of species!


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## Matulemj (May 29, 2012)

What are you, a doctor? 

Directly from their site:

http://www.cajunline.com/technology.html


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## FishDoctor (Aug 9, 2012)

Matulemj said:


> What are you, a doctor?
> 
> Directly from their site:
> 
> ...




You know I was going to add a disclaimer too that things change in water because of refraction (different from reflection). Longer wavelengths (like red) get refracted at shorter angles to the surface IIRC so less penetration, so that would make sense. A dull red would probably be second only to a dull clear line in terms of visibility under water.


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## deltaoscar (Apr 4, 2009)

Great post Matulemj. 



Matulemj said:


> Directly from their site:
> 
> http://www.cajunline.com/technology.html



lol...That bass in the beginning of that video is like, "What is up with these two crazy a** worms?"


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## TRAILGATOR (Jul 3, 2011)

Matulemj said:


> What are you, a doctor?
> 
> Directly from their site:
> 
> ...


Great Thread! Back to the basics....
Loved the Bill Nye answer, to back that up here is a great explanation of the visibility. Sorry that the link is from another fishing forum but here it is:
http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=247


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## trailbreaker (Oct 11, 2008)

deltaoscar said:


> Great post Matulemj.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


+1 nice pics


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## Matulemj (May 29, 2012)

TRAILGATOR said:


> Great Thread! Back to the basics....
> Loved the Bill Nye answer, to back that up here is a great explanation of the visibility. Sorry that the link is from another fishing forum but here it is:
> http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=247


Excellent information, thanks for sharing. 


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