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Shaky-head
The shaky-head worm consists of a light jig-head from 1/16 to of an ounce and a small 4 to 6 straight-tailed worm. I use light line, usually 8- 10 lb test fluorocarbon for this technique because I want the bait to sink faster and the fluorocarbon line provides a better feel for whats going on. This little bait will catch fish 12 months out of the year from water 6 inches to 60 feet deep. Ive caught bass up to 9 lbs on this rig and it also catches all species of bass. I throw some shade of green pumpkin as a color on my shaky-head 90 percent of the time. There is no wrong way to fish this bait as long as you are fishing it slowly. Ill cast it out on structure, near docks, near shallow bushes, on rock-piles, or any other likely looking area. Let it sink to the bottom and sit for a few seconds, if a fish doesnt grab it, begin a series of very light shakes and hops with intermittent pauses making sure to keep it on the bottom. Generally the more you let this bait soak near a likely looking spot without moving it, the better it works. I like the Gambler Giggy-heads or Spot Removers for jig-heads because they have models with screw-locks which will allow you to catch multiple fish off of a single worm. You want to make sure and tex-pose the point of the hook back into the worm to assist in making it more weed-less.
Jigs
The jig is another lure that I will always have tied on while fishing both Belton and Stillhouse. Let me qualify that there are several different categories of jigs, but for the purposes of this article, I am concerned with two categories, standard flipping jigs and football head jigs. For a standard flipping jig, choose weights in the 3/8 to ounce size and football head jigs from to ounce. Youll want to use heavy line for both techniques, I always use at least 20 pound test flourocarbon, although you can get away with 15, I wouldnt chance it. Use the flipping jigs for fishing shallow, visible cover and the football head jigs for fishing deeper structure such as rocks, points, etc I like a Lunker Lure Rattle-back Jig for flipping and an Oldhams jig for the football style. You want to select your skirt colors based on the water clarity, so for clear water stick with shades of green pumpkin and watermelon with a few light orange or blue strands. For stained water, try any combination of black, blue, and/or chartreuse. I normally always match the trailer of my jig with the color of the skirt. In the fall, white can be a very good color for your flipping jig if you get in a creek with lots of shad flipping on the surface. Between these two styles of jigs, you can catch fish 12 months out of the year on both lakes.
As a side note here, if you are flipping a jig into visible cover and not getting bites, try using a tube or beaver-style bait in the same colors on a pegged Texas rig instead. This will sometimes generate more bites than the jig because they have a slightly different action falling through the cover.
Topwaters
Probably one of the most important baits to have tied on during the day is some sort of top-water, especially if fishing the main-lake area. A Zoom Super Fluke, Zara Spook, or a Pop-R may just put the biggest fish in your live-well for the day. If you are sitting on main-lake structure, have one at the ready because you never know when fish will chase bait up to the surface. As for colors, anything that looks like a shad will work. I generally like a Zara Spook Jr. for this application because it throws so much farther than any of the other top-waters. If fish do come up to the surface, being able to throw just past the splash and work the bait into the fish as quickly as possible is key. If you are up the lake in stained water, a white buzz-bait will usually call up a good kicker fish. Reel it slowly past any visible cover like lay-downs, stumps, bushes, or rocks on the bank. If you are working down a bank casting at visible targets, a fluke or a Pop-R is an excellent bait that will draw fish in from long distances.
Crankbaits
This time of year, you will generally only need two types of crank-baits in two primary colors. Include a square-bill or shallow-running crankbait for fishing shallow water and visible cover and a deep diver for probing offshore structure. The main key with crank-baits is to make them deflect off of something, whether it be a rock, a log, a lay-down, or a drop-off. Make the bait do something different to trigger fish into biting. Mix up your retrieve and let the fish tell you how they want it. You can limit your colors to anything that looks like a shad one with a white hue to it and another with a chartreuse hue. That should have you covered on crank-baits for this time of the year. Hang-ups are common with these baits and expected. If you are getting the bait snagged every so often in lay-downs or rocks, it probably means you are fishing it in the right areas. A good way to free your bait without going up to it is to just give it slack, which will allow it to back out of the cover. If that doesnt work, you can then try and pop it free by short quick jerks of the rod tip.
Texas Rig and Carolina Rig
Another staple on Belton during this time of year is fishing plastics slowly through deep trees, points, brush-piles, and off-shore rock-piles. The Texas rig where the bullet weight meets the eye of the hook; and the Carolina rig, where the weight and hook are separated by a length on leader can both be very productive this time of year. I usually use a to 3/8 oz sinker on my Texas Rig and a to 1 oz sinker on my Carolina rig. Its hard to beat a 7 inch Berkley power worm on a Texas rig on Belton, or a baby brush-hawg in watermelon seed on a Carolina rig. To rig a Carolina rig, slide the weight on first, then a small plastic bead, and then tie a swivel to your tag end. Next tie a length of line to the other end of the swivel usually about 2-3 feet, then tie on the hook. This allows the bait to follow the weight very naturally on the bottom and will usually get bites during the middle of the day when nothing else will.
These rigs and lures should cover your bases for the tournament, no matter what end of the lake you fish and I hope that this article will help you to catch more and bigger fish on Belton for this event and in the future. If you need tackle for the event, Chuck Guthrie at Tightlines Premium Fishing Tackle has an excellent selection of all of the tackle mentioned above in all the right colors for Belton. He is also a good source for current lake conditions and information on Belton and Stillhouse. He can be reached at (254) 690-3474. If you need any boat supplies, I would recommend Marine Outlet in Temple, Texas. They carry a full selection of marine parts and accessories and have mechanics on stand-by to get you up and running again.
-Adrian Barnes <><
Sports News Article
8 August 2010
For Immediate Release
On the Dock with Rick Smith
Recreational Boat & RV Financing
The downturn in the economy hit area boat and recreational vehicle (RV) dealers very hard. If you travel the Interstate you probably have noticed that there are several Central Texas dealerships that have either consolidated or closed up shop. Our local area started seeing a downturn in June 2007 due to heavy rains flooding area lakes resulting in the closing of most boat launching ramps and the lakeside RV campgrounds. Due to lack of federal funding for repairs some of these parks did not reopen until the spring of this year. Then the drought started along with extremely high gasoline prices. The rising cost of fuel resulted in the increasing cost of many essential goods and services. Finally the economy sputtered and took a nose dive. Unemployment rose dramatically. The housing market collapsed in many areas of the nation and banks pulled back on financing discretionary purchases. Major corporations required government assistance to survive and it appeared we were headed for an economic depression. Bottom-line banks were no longer interested in financing boats and RVs. Dealers were unable to acquire floor plan financing to stock product and consumers discovered that even with credit scores in the 700s , they were either unable to secure financing or were being asked for substantial down payments to get approved. All of this was happening while families wanted to stay closer to home to vacation, hence the new word staycation.
National banks pulled back from recreational financing while regional credit unions increased their media exposure hoping to acquire new account holders by offering extended services and financing opportunities. Many credit unions saw this financial void and began to offer excellent boat and RV financing with competitive rates and terms with some offering up to 10 year payouts. Dealers and consumers increasingly sought out credit unions as an alternative to bank financing.
Unless something changes dramatically on the national level, I believe we have seen the crest of the wave and financing will continue to become more readily available. Currently we are seeing interest rates as low 6 to 7% on tier one credit (credit scores of 720 and higher), but the average contract will normally be between 7.99 to 8.99% with a 10 to 15 % down payment. As an example a boat purchase in the $20,000 range with $2,000 down will result in a monthly payment of about $225 per month for 120 equal monthly payments.
If you are looking to purchase a pre-owned boat or a new boat that may be a couple of model years old, you will find that the banks and credit unions will probably ask for additional money down in the range of 20 to 30%. The financial institutions use values developed by independent sources like N.A.D.A. These are national averages and do not reflect regional preferences or variances, so unfortunately even though N.A.D.A. is considered the bible of the industry for boats and RVs, I find it to be inaccurate in many cases. Personally, to determine values, I prefer to use comparables by going to websites like www.boattraderonline.com or www.boats.com to see what is happening on similar boats within the Central Texas region.
The good news is that there is financing available for anyone who has had comparable credit for at least three years and who has made timely payments. So dont believe the national news that recreational loans are not available. Check out your local financial institution or visit your area boat or RV dealer for complete details.
Sports News Article
1 August 2010
For Immediate Release
On the Dock with Rick Smith
Boater 101
Water safety is important to all of us: power boaters, sailors, fishermen, swimmers, divers and hunters. For this reason the marine industry has made a commitment to bring the water safety message to everyone. Common sense is common only if you have had the experience. So it is important to train instructors that can go out to the community to educate everyone how important it is to be safe anytime you are around the water. It has been said that water is the strongest force on earth and anyone who has seen a flooded river knows exactly how true this statement is.
A group of outdoor enthusiasts recently took a day out of their busy schedules to attend a one day training seminar at Franks Marina on Lake Belton. Captain Ned Stone of Florida representing Marine Universitys Boater 101 course visited only two cities in Texas-Austin and Belton-to train and certify local boating safety instructors. The course was provided through a grant in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Program. The Belton seminar consisted of four hours of classroom review and two hours of on the water hands on training. Five future instructors, Billy Conway, Bob Kujan, Patrick McCarty all from Belton, Mark Prentice of Harker Heights, and I, participated.
After the course the students then take an on-line exam to receive their certifications. On completion of the course each instructor will be asked to teach a boating safety class. The class will last approximately eight hours with four of the hours being in the classroom and four being on the water. The goals of this program are to give boaters a basic overview of boating while having fun and promoting water safety. In many states this training is mandatory but in Texas it is only required for boaters ages 13 to 18 who wish to operate a boat by themselves.