Plastics vs Live Bait - What You Need To Know

 You might be thinking, "I grew up using live bait and caught plenty of fish."

 Well, I'm not going to lie to you, I grew fishing with live bait too. But here is why plastics can be better especially for bass fishing.

According to Bass Master, here are some pros and cons:

Pros: 

• Less mess
• Easy to change.
• Can be retrieved faster.
• Unactive fish can be persuaded. 

Cons:

• Cost, they can be expensive.
• Don't always work.
• More of a challenge 
• (Convincing a fish that something not real, is real)

One of the most important Pro's to using plastics or artificial baits is that it is the most catch and release friendly. The first are LESS likely to swallow artificial bait whereas they almost always swallow live bait. Click the picture to check out a great YouTube video.

Largemouth Bass & Lakes

If you follow the blog, you would have noticed that I did a post on why smallmouth bass prefer rivers. You're guessing it right. This is why largemouth bass prefer lakes and ponds as habitat. 

According to Bass Habitat, largemouth bass prefer deeper waters during the day 8-15ft and tend to prefer shallow waters in the evenings and mornings at 1-5ft.

Largemouth bass prefer temperatures over 60 degrees. Unlike small mouths who can tolerate cooler waters. Lakes typically offer a lot of cover for the largemouth which they thrive having. Lakes can provide lily pads, down trees, and other vegetation. A big difference is that a small mouth requires current to survive where as a largemouth, just prefers it. Smallmouth bass can be found in lakes, but the largemouth bass typically out breeds them. 

This is why you can see a distinction between the habitat of the two, however this is some over lap in certain areas.

Kayak Fishing - Eliot’s Park To Shawville

Start Point: Eliots Park, Clearfield Pa

End Point: Shawville Powerplant 

Anyone into bass fishing, this is a must take trip. My dad and I killed it the whole time. I feel like this stretch of river isn't fished heavily and it allowed for great bass fishing. The river was low, and the trip took about 9 hours.

Here's some pictures from the trip. My recommendation for this trip is soft plastics and top water. 

Canoe Creek - Hollidaysburg, PA

Canoe Creek is a 961-acre State Park and features a 155-acre lake located in Hollidaysburg, PA. The lake is fed by two cold-water trout streams. 

I recently took my first trip the canoe creek, and as the name suggests, it is a great place to canoe or kayak. The bottom launch by the beach area and spill way has ALOT of vegetation. If you plan on fishing this area, you will need to use something weedless. The next place is going to be the breast of the dam, which I think is potentially the best area to fish. I fished with a crankbait. 

Unfortunately, I did not catch any fish on my trip, it wasn't a great day to fish. But, this place has a lot of potential and is honestly nice if you want to just paddle around on a canoe or kayak for the day. 

The lake is stocked with:

• Walleye
• Muskellunge
• Trout

Other fish include.:

• Bass
• Trout
• Chain pickerel
• Perch
• Catfish
• Crappies
• Panfish

Review: Limestone Bait Co. 5in Worms

 Hello everyone. I just wanted to start out by saying that when I reached out to Limestone Bait Co. that I promised the owner I would write a true review. Nothing scripted or garbage my own honest opinion. So here we go.

I recently took a trip on the Susquehanna River kayak fishing and the top water bite was phenomenal. This left me some time to try out the Green Pumpkin Chaos 5in worms from Limestone Bait Co.

When I opened the bag, I noticed they were garlic infused. I have use scent additives before but I was a bit worried not going to lie. There was nothing to be worried about though, they absolutely rocked it. I ended up catching a couple fish and I think they are great. 

Pros: The garlic infusion seems to work very well, they have a good fall rate, you get a lot in one bag, price is good, they work well on EWG hooks. Shipping for my items was fast. The owner is nice and great customer service.

Cons: They only lasted for me I’d say 1-2 fish catches with the EWG hooks. But this is typical, I would compare them to the Gary Yamotos in that sense. (I’ve said previously I think yamotos are better worms than Yums, but the Yums are more cost effective. The limestone bait co worms are cost effective in my opinion. You get a lot in the bag so I wouldn’t let this influence your decision. They are definitely a good worm) and lastly my real only complaint is that I didn’t know they were garlic infused. I wish they had an option for regular or garlic. I did speak with the owner about this, and he said that the 5in worm is the only one that is garlic infused. If you purchase any others they will be plain.

Rating Scale: I’m going to give these a 9/10. I think they’re very comparable to a name brand Senko, with a better price and the option to support a local PA Business. The green pumpkin chaos is crazy good & I can’t wait to try out some more colors! 

If you want to purchase or check out their plastics please visit Limestone Bait Co - Trout Worms, Trout, Fishing, Trout Worms (godaddysites.com)

Types Of Life Jackets – How Do I Choose?

PFD – Personal Floatation Device

Before I start this post. I want to personally say how strong I feel about life jackets. THEY SAVE LIVES! I know you think, “I don’t need that I’m just going on a short float.” Well, that may be true. You may never need one. Until you do and you don’t have one. So PLEASE! Make sure you keep a life jacket with you, not only is it the law, but it is so.

Important: According to Boat US                                         

• Type 1 – Indented for use in racing, fishing offshore, boating alone, or in stormy conditions. Will turn MOST unconscious wearers face-up.
• Type 2 – Intended for fishing & sailing & boating in light crafts. Will turn MOST unconscious wearers face up. However, has a poor performance in rough water. It is more comfortable than a Type 1 but provides far less floatation.
• Type 3 – Intended for supervised activities, water skiing, fishing, canoeing and jet skis. These are best used where the chance of rescue is immediate, they are not suited for extended survival and not designed to turn unconscious people right side up. These are considered more comfortable than a type 1 or type 2 but offer less floatation than a type 1.
• Type 4 – These are throwable devices and are not intended to be worn. They are intended to be thrown overboard to a victim or added as supplementation until help can arrive.
• Type 5 – Special use life jackets. These are which each is designed, for example: sailboard harness, deck suit, paddling vest, commercial white-water vest or float coats.

PA Kayaking Laws - What You Need To Know

 

In Pennsylvania we have several laws designed to protect the life of boaters and anglers. It is very important to follow these laws, or you could be subject to fines.

If you plan on using any state launches, (Make sure you check your launch entrance and exit before floating, to see if they are state launches), you will need a state launch permit. This can be purchased online or at any place that sells fishing licenses.

In cold water season November 1- April 30 you MUST wear your life jacket. Also, children 12 years of age and younger must always wear a life jacket. If we are not in cold water season, you may have the life jacket in the boat. BUT you must have one and one that fits! I normally tuck mine behind my seat (easily accessible places) in the summertime, however if I feel uncomfortable about the water, I will put it on.  Life jackets must be USCG approved. They also need to be FUNCTIONAL. This is defined as no tears or defects; all buckles and straps must be operational, and the life jacket must FIT the person using it.  (I have never found one that wasn’t) According to the PA boating handbook you also need a sound device. This can be an airhorn or something as simple as an athletic coach whistle. (Which is what I have, strapped to my life jacket).

Just a warning, if you are planning to kayak on lakes or places that allow motorized boats, just be careful of changing weather conditions, and other boaters.

One last thing, if you plan on doing an overnight trip or just going for the day. Make sure you let someone know where you are going and an expected return time. The PFBC does also offer a kayak/canoe planning paper, you can submit it to them in case you were to run into any issues on the water and someone will know where you are or are expected to be.

If you are wanting any more information, the PFBC offers a safe boating course. (Which must be completed to drive a jet ski or any other motorized boat in PA) I took the boating course about 5 years ago and it was very interesting and helpful. Stay safe and enjoy your float!