Category: Time-Based Plans (60–120 Minutes)
Time-Based Plans (60-120 Minutes) Posts
NC Weekly Bite Intel, Time-Based Plans (60–120 Minutes)
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Grouper Jig 101: Barefoot Crab Decoy Jigs for Large Gags
A Grouper Jig for Coastal Anglers: The Barefoot Crab Decoy Jigs
December is well known for gag fishing on the east coast. As the month winds down, the fishing grounds are active for these bottom dwellers. When the winds allow boats to get out of the inlets off the beaches, gag grouper fishing has been consistent with cigar minnows on Barefoot Decoy jigs.
Barefoot Crab Decoy Jigs baited with cigar minnows produce many gags, reds, and scamp grouper. The Barefoot Crab Decoy’s stinger hook found a home in this gag’s jaw (photo at the end of this article). It’s a Mustad assist hook on a braided tether slightly smaller than the jig hook, snaring short-striking grouper and other bottom fish.
Live baits like jigged-up cigar minnows are candy for grouper.
As seen in the video “North Carolina Gag Fishing using Barefoot Crab Decoy Jigs Rigged with Cigar Minnows,” the rigging is quite simple. Once the jig descends, minimal movement of the rod suspends the bait right where the gag grouper wait.
This featured video show how the 4 oz. Crab Decoy Jig is the “weight and bait” all in one. At just 4 ounces it gets to the bottom with a bait attached, and only a fluorocarbon leader. It’s the cleanest tackle possible.
Get Your Grouper Jig Today!
Black sea bass fishing with Crab Decoy Jigs.This video shows how to properly rig and bait a Crab Decoy Jig using live and frozen cigar minnows for bait.
NOTHING OUT-FISHES A BAREFOOT CRAB DECOY JIG FOR GAGS … PERIOD!
SALTWATER TACKLE YOU MAY WANT TO TRY:
7/0 and 11/0 J-Hook Chin Weights: Target fish include Tuna, Wahoo, Mahi or Common Dolphin, King Mackerel, Wahoo, and more. Easy to rig!
4 oz. Crab Decoy Jig: Target fish for Striped Bass, nearshore Drum, Snook, Grouper, west coast bottom fish, and more.
4 oz. Tuna Squid Decoy Jig: From the eastern, western, Alaskan, and gulf coasts, target fish include: Tuna, Dolphin, Wahoo, Fluke, Flounder, Striped Bass, Seabass, Amberjack (east coast), Yellow Tail (west coast), California White Sea Bass (west coast), Grouper, Snapper, Halibut, Ling cod, and all Alaskan bottom fish.
8 oz. - 12 oz. 10/0 Squid Decoy Jig: Catch BIG Grouper, Amberjack, Giant Stripers, and more.
Fishing The Night Shift
Years ago, before I had access to a boat slip at the marina, I frequently pulled the boat to work entirely ready for the water and fish by five or 5:30. This time of year, when it gets dark at 5:30 in the afternoon, this was the only time I had to fish, but it wound up being the BEST time of the day/season to fish. My favorite time of the entire month is the full moon of December, the time of year to catch some GATOR trout, and with all the pressure on these fish, some of the big girls may get completely nocturnal. I would be putting the boat in the water when everyone would be taking theirs out, and my constant question would be, “Did you catch ‘em today?” On quite a few occasions, I would get the answer I was looking for, “We didn’t catch sheet.” That meant the fish were going to eat after dark. You see when a lot of boats are buzzing around, and on top of them, it can put them in the “lockjaw” mode. Let it turn dark, and all the “day-timers” go home; that’s when the numbers of bites increase, and some of the big girls eat.
NOTE: I can’t talk but so much smack… The most considerable speck I’ve ever caught at night was 7.75 pounds, but I have hooked up on some pretty impressive numbers. For example, one night, we had 42 good ones before there was a “limit,” so my limit was when I had a cooler FULL. Many other days/nights, I had a LARGE cooler full, for a “limit.” Of course, back then, I was selling them, so I didn’t have a problem keeping big numbers.
One of the nighttime standout colors was chartreuse, which produced more bites than anything else, and was the color I was looking for. The more I fished the (old faithful) chartreuse MirrOlure, the more I loved it. But then we discovered the Rattle Trap, and it was a complete game-changer. Not only could you keep “in touch” with it due to the resistance and/or vibration on the plug, but you could cast it into the wind and a long distance. So now I have come full circle back to fishing what they eat best of all: shrimp. A soft plastic (DOA) shrimp on a jig head the 3/8 oz. 4/0 Barefoot Jig. Tim Barefoot’s has recently added the 3/4 oz. 6/0 Barefoot Jig to his arsenal of saltwater tackle.
Primarily, I have been talking about speckled trout up to this point, but drum and snook are outstanding candidates for a night bite. All three of these species are “programmed” to eat shrimp in the current.
SALTWATER TACKLE YOU MAY WANT TO TRY:
7/0 and 11/0 J-Hook Chin Weights: Target fish include Tuna, Wahoo, Mahi or Common Dolphin, King Mackerel, Wahoo, and more. Easy to rig!
4 oz. Crab Decoy Jig: Target fish for Striped Bass, nearshore Drum, Snook, Grouper, west coast bottom fish, and more.
4 oz. Tuna Squid Decoy Jig: From the eastern, western, Alaskan, and gulf coasts, target fish include: Tuna, Dolphin, Wahoo, Fluke, Flounder, Striped Bass, Seabass, Amberjack (east coast), Yellow Tail (west coast), California White Sea Bass (west coast), Grouper, Snapper, Halibut, Ling cod, and all Alaskan bottom fish.
8 oz. - 12 oz. 10/0 Squid Decoy Jig: Catch BIG Grouper, Amberjack, Giant Stripers, and more.
How to Hide Your Braided Line From Fish
Fish see color, but how they see color is a complicated conversation that involves terminology like wavelength and attenuation. We won’t go there because even scientists don’t really know precisely what translates from a fish’s eyes to its brain.
Note that color is essential in fishing for luring and disguising what you don’t want them to see. Color is crucial for me, as I use high-visibility braided lines paired with fluorocarbon leaders for all my fishing, from bluegills to bluewater.
The main reason I use a bright braid, or hi-visibility braided line, is I like to see where my line is, which tells me where my jig is. I also want to see where other people’s lines are, especially when casting in a side current while anchored or on the trolling motor. These conditions exist in a river or when the tide is pumping through an inlet. Locating everyone’s gear helps avoid foul-ups, and watching that high-visibility line also tells you when you get a bite.
High-vis. braid is easy for people to see above the surface. Unfortunately, it’s also visible to the fish you’re trying to catch. The way I “hide” high-vis. braid from the fish is by coloring it with a Sharpie marker.
Since no one really knows what fish see, especially when adding different conditions and water clarity to the equation, trial and error was my best option for finding the hue that best hid my line. I’ve tried various colors over the years, and I’ll tell you, black is NOT the best choice.
In my experience, a red Sharpie does the best job of making a yellow braided line disappear in clear water. I’ve tried brown, green, and black in clear water, and the red goes away much better than the darker colors. I especially like the red when bottom fishing. I don’t dive, but from what I’ve heard from divers, red turns green in deeper water and blends into the surroundings. A blue Sharpie works great on a high-visibility braided line when offshore trolling in blue water with a wind-on leader of the new BLUEWATER fluoro from Hi-Seas.
It’s best to apply several coats of Sharpie marker when the line is dry because multiple coats of the permanent marker embed into the fibers of the braided line. In addition, the color will fade and let the original color shine through after some time, so red or blue must be re-applied on an “as-needed” basis.
When jigging, I typically color 4 or 5 feet of the braided line above my fluorocarbon leader. It has the added benefit of letting you know how deep your jig is. When you see the red-colored line at the surface, you know your jig is only a few feet deep.
For smaller freshwater fish, try:
Size #6: Target fish include Panfish, like Bluegill (Bream), Sunfish, and Crappie. Also great for Trout, Carp, White Perch, and more.
For larger freshwater fish, try:
Size 1/0: Target fish include Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Larger Trout, Carp, Walleye, and more.
Barefoot Jig: Target fish include Trout (speckled and gray), Drum (red and black), Flounder, Striped and Hybrid Bass, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, and more!
For larger catfish fish, try:
7/0 Catfish Circle Hook: Target fish include Blue, Bullhead, Channel, Flathead, and White Catfish.
All of these tackles can be purchased at barefootcatsandtackle.com.
What Does Your Popping Cork Sound Like?
I have started using fixed-position as well as sliding corks more and more over the past few years. Recognizing the effectiveness of different styles of cork is vital for different situations. Considerations include water depth and temperature, current—or lack of current—and target species.
Also, it has become evident that not all corks make the same noise. That can be a turn-on—or a turn-off—to fish at different times of the day, especially in different currents and depths.
For example, a few weekends ago, we had a great morning bite from striped bass using a 2-inch oval (chugging) cork. It was one of those bite-on-every-cast situations that everyone dreams about.
We noticed the bite slowing down a little as the sun got higher. A simple switch to a much quieter pencil-shaped cork brought the bite back to almost every cast again. We were fishing the same lure under the cork; the only change we made was the cork itself.
The more current and broken-up current you have, the more noise you want your cork to make as an attractant. Of course, this holds for almost every species, but let’s explore the topic a little deeper. The reasoning behind creating a specific type of noise with your cork is to imitate the sound of fish busting bait on the surface.
Striped bass and snook make a popping sound when they eat bait on the surface. Likewise, speckled trout “slurp” the bait off the surface. A red drum’s mouth is on the underside of its head and has to get on top of the bait to eat it.
There’s much to unpack here concerning sizes, shapes, and weight suspended below the cork. But, unfortunately, it’s too much to cover in this article.
The point is, don’t just stick with the same cork you’ve always fished. Just like you change lures or baits when the bite slows, try experimenting with different cork sizes and styles. Please pay attention to how your lure or bait presents itself and how the fish react.
I’ve evolved to fishing a ¾-ounce jig and 7-inch Super Fluke under a cork for larger fish, so a 3-inch cigar float is not an option for this size bait. However, the 3-inch cigar float is perfect for the 3/8-ounce jig/shrimp combo, and it makes the perfect sound for speckled trout and drum in the backwater.
I’ll close with this; watch this video that describes the different sizes and shapes of floats I use and what type of sounds they make. Here’s a teaser: Have you ever thought of using a popping cork offshore? For more details, check all this out on the website.
Simply put, HEAVY DUTY popping cork for the Barefoot Jig casts like a bullet, never fouls, and makes the correct sound(s). Even better, the (balanced) Barefoot Jig head will keep the (DOA) shrimp, (Zoom) Superfluke, or any other soft plastic sitting perfectly horizontal under the cork or without a cork. This jig head gives the superfluke the same action as a gotcha plug but with a black nickel 4/0 single hook.
SALTWATER TACKLE YOU MAY WANT TO TRY:
7/0 and 11/0 J-Hook Chin Weights: Target fish include Tuna, Wahoo, Mahi or Common Dolphin, King Mackerel, Wahoo, and more. Easy to rig!
4 oz. Crab Decoy Jig: Target fish for Striped Bass, nearshore Drum, Snook, Grouper, west coast bottom fish, and more.
4 oz. Tuna Squid Decoy Jig: From the eastern, western, Alaskan, and gulf coasts, target fish include: Tuna, Dolphin, Wahoo, Fluke, Flounder, Striped Bass, Seabass, Amberjack (east coast), Yellow Tail (west coast), California White Sea Bass (west coast), Grouper, Snapper, Halibut, Ling cod, and all Alaskan bottom fish.
8 oz. - 12 oz. 10/0 Squid Decoy Jig: Catch BIG Grouper, Amberjack, Giant Stripers, and more.
Slow Down and Cover the Entire Water Column
Squid could and should be called the “rice of the oceans.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: wahoo and tuna don’t wear Maui Jims. Instead, they use depth to regulate the sunlight they take in.
So, while normally trolling at 6 to 8 knots and high-speed trolling at 15 to 20 knots are good things at first light and up to 10:30 or 11 a.m., it’s time to slow down once the sun gets directly overhead. I slow it to a crawl and even fish some baits deep under a sliding cork on the drift. Spreading baits across the water column is thebest way to continue that morning bite when the mid-day doldrums arrive.
Darker-colored baits like red-and-black or purple-and-black work well when fish are looking up to feed. The dark silhouettes of darker-colored baits show up well against the bright surface. Yet, it doesn’t make sense to continue trying to convince fish to come to the surface to eat a bait 50 or 75 feet above them when pelagics drop down in the water column; it is better to put a bait right in the “strike zone” where they are.
Several baits provide a natural presentation down deep, but a big beautiful squid checks all the boxes on this one. Squids rise to the surface at night and descend to the depths as the sun gets higher, just like the fish. They are a natural choice, as you are trying to match the hatch, so to speak. Nothing in all the seven oceans of the world is more common than the squid. Squids could and should be called the “rice of the oceans.”
Frozen squid is readily available for bait, and everything in the ocean eats them. I have the ultimate example of this: one day, we were on anchor grouper fishing when a couple of nice dolphin swam under the boat 20 to 30 feet below. I could tell they were nice ones and started throwing out cigar minnows and sardines to get them fired up. But they didn’t want any part of the free minnows. So, I pulled out an entire frozen squid, hooked it up on light tackle, and threw it out about 50 feet. Then, I just let it start sinking. After they let the minnows go by and drop out of sight, the largest dolphin of the pair saw that sinking squid and inhaled it! It shows they will eat a squid when all else fails.
The other good news is a squid is so easy to rig to swim perfectly.
Whether you are fishing a natural frozen squid, a live one, or an artificial one, just slow down a little to allow the bait to get down to the level where the fish are during the middle of the day for some serious bites.
SALTWATER TACKLE YOU MAY WANT TO TRY:
7/0 and 11/0 J-Hook Chin Weights: Target fish include Tuna, Wahoo, Mahi or Common Dolphin, King Mackerel, Wahoo, and more. Easy to rig!
4 oz. Crab Decoy Jig: Target fish for Striped Bass, nearshore Drum, Snook, Grouper, west coast bottom fish, and more.
4 oz. Tuna Squid Decoy Jig: From the eastern, western, Alaskan, and gulf coasts, target fish include: Tuna, Dolphin, Wahoo, Fluke, Flounder, Striped Bass, Seabass, Amberjack (east coast), Yellow Tail (west coast), California White Sea Bass (west coast), Grouper, Snapper, Halibut, Ling cod, and all Alaskan bottom fish.
8 oz. - 12 oz. 10/0 Squid Decoy Jig: Catch BIG Grouper, Amberjack, Giant Stripers, and more.
