More new Hydra news

As I told you guys, I have had some really interesting discoveries about new ways to fish the Hydra. Earlier this season we were fortunate to fish the fabulous waters of the Mohawk reservation at Akwasasne NY. Here the St. Regis and Racquette rivers flow into the St. Lawrence and all species of the main river abound in the feeders. While most folks concentrate on the smallmouths that spawn in these two lesser rivers, I have always been fascinated by the big largemouths that abound in the bays.

My longtime friend and fishing buddy Will Klute grew up fishing these waters, and has always supported our video efforts. We had decided to fish the bogs and weed edges that make up the shoreline of one of the inflowing creeks. Will is an avid “flip and pitch” angler and felt that this approach would take best advantage of the conditions. He chose a jig and creature combination that had become one of his favorites.

Since Will had first crack at the select spots, I decided to take a different approach and cast parallel to the structure keeping my 25 crawfish Hydra about ten feet out from shore. This involved throwing over Will’s line as he continued to drop his jig into every hole and crevice. I didn’t really expect to catch bass, but thought there might be northern pike hanging off the drops and knew I would be happy with any type of action.

On my second cast, a hard strike occurred almost as soon as I began the retrieve. I was surprised when a three pound largemouth came to the surface. Perhaps this was a fluke, as Will was yet to get a strike. After releasing the fish, I resumed the parallel-to-shore casting and was soon fast to a strong fighting fish. “This feels like a really big pike”, I cautioned Will. “I might need some help.”

It has been awhile since I have visited all of you but now that a new season is in full swing, it is time to compare notes and go fishing. I have had some pretty interesting results in this early season and wish to pass on my findings in the hope that these observations will help us all be better fishermen.

Our season usually begins with the May pike opener, although I have discovered that the early season smallmouth action can be fantastic. Smallmouth bass become active soon after ice-out, and will eagerly strike in water temperatures that will render largemouths fairly dormant. I stumbled onto this phenomenon while searching for early season panfish, and have had days where hundred fish counts have been possible. The Hydra 25 is the perfect tool for this type of fishing.

I must state that I have always been opposed to fishing bass on their beds; however, pre-spawn fish are not as vulnerable, and the consequences of removing them from the water are far less catastrophic. It must also be added that fish are less stressed when taken from cold water than they are as the season progresses. Therefore, I feel that taking early season bass can be a great experience providing the angler practices careful conservation practices.

There is a small lake that lies within a few miles of my home, and because it is less than a hundred acres in size, it is easier for me to fish from my canoe. This lake is very deep, and has decent populations of native lake trout and walleyes. Both smallmouth and largemouth bass are present in good numbers, and structural preferences are the woody shorelines where the bottom drops abruptly to depths of over forty feet.

I caught dozens of smallies using a crawfish colored 25, although at times the 15 was more effective because of its smaller profile. The interesting aspect of these outings was that I used several other top bass lures to help assure that I was always using the preferred bait. With few exceptions, the Hydras worked best, and while you might expect me to say that, my purpose here is to aid rather than mislead you.

There are times when some other lure will work better. There was one time when a Texas rigged four inch Magic Stick (salt impregnated pencil shaped worm) out fished the Hydra. The fish were not particularly active, and the worm dropped over them was the only trigger. The very next day, these fish battled each other to see who could catch the Hydra first. Since this water is crystal clear, I was able to watch the fish as they swam in and out of cover. On this day they would watch the worm drop but would not pick it up.