Yes, I do indeed go by the moniker the Show Me Fly Guy and not the Show Me Bait Guy. With that being said, I recognize the idea that one has to try new things to become a better angler. Seeing as how the fishing at this time of year can get a little tough, I decided to switch tactics on a recent outing. For years, I had heard about catching hybrid striped bass by using chicken livers as bait.
For a long time, I flat out didn’t believe it was possible. In my mind, I couldn’t help to question why a baitfish eating machine like a hybrid striped bass would ever eat chicken livers. However, I watched a guy one day catch about six hybrid stripers from the bank of Watkins Mill State Park on chicken livers. From that day on, I was intrigued and I had to give it a shot.
So there I was, on a boat with a medium-heavy action spinning rod, a circle hook, and some chicken livers. I was joined by my buddy Justin who was also intrigued by the premise. He hadn't ever caught a hybrid striper and I was hopeful that our tactic would work. Our strategy was to put a few split shots on a line about 6 inches above the hook and drop it down to where we were marking fish in the main channel. I figured that the hybrids would be around the thermocline which was between 6 and 8 feet deep.
Prior to our trip, I watched a video on how to put chicken livers on a hook. They are pretty soft and can fall off pretty easily with a strong cast. As a result, I decided that just dropping the baits down into the water off the side of the boat would probably be the best approach. In the video, I watched the host pierce the liver with the hook and then wrap the liver onto the hook while leaving the point of the hook exposed. The video that I watched can be found below.
We had a plan in place, were marking fish on the electronics, and it was time to give this unproven method (to me) a shot. I have to admit, it was a little intimidating. I hadn't tried such an unfamiliar fishing tactic in so long that I had forgotten how it feels to try something new. The fact that the bites did not come fast and furious gave me some pause, but eventually, I got a bite. While I missed the fish, the boost of confidence was tremendous. A little voice in my head told me, "Hey, this might work." I think the mistake that I made was that I set the hook too hard. What I have been told about circle hooks is that you aren't supposed to set the hook, but apply slow, steady pressure.
While this tactic was completely against my instincts, the next bite pretty much did the work for me! The next fish hit so hard that hooked itself. I landed that fish and after that, Justin and I started catching fish! While we missed a lot of fish, we ended up boating about 15-20 fish with this technique. We kept the baits about 6-8 feet deep and while the bites weren't fast and furious, they were steady.
The fish we landed were mostly in the 12 inch range with a couple being around 15 inches and fish being 20 inches. The bigger fish tipped the scales at 3 pounds, 3 ounces and was not only a new boat record but also the biggest hybrid that I had caught in that lake. Regardless of size, they all fought really hard with the bigger fish peeling drag and putting a heck of a bend in a spinning rod.
At the end of the morning, Justin and I were thrilled with the results. We had tried something new and got results that were better than we expected. We ended up with a new fishing tactic and a new trick that we can utilize in the future. Of course I would have rather caught ever fish on a fly rod, but I have to admit that I enjoyed the simplicity of bait fishing. It took less work (there wasn't even casting for Pete's sake), and if I'm being completely honest, it was more relaxing.
I love the intensity and focus that fly fishing requires, but fishing with bait took me back to my roots. I was raised on sinking worms to the bottom of a pond for channel cats and my new-to-me technique reminded me of that. Of course now that I am in my 40's, I have a little more patience and can wait a little longer for a bite than the 6 year old version of me. No, I'm not changing my nickname to the Show Me Bait Guy, but I WILL be using this technique again!
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