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Hybrid Basics
#3837128
08/19/09 09:35 PM
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 510
LRS
OP
Pro Angler
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OP
Pro Angler
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 510 |
This is my first year for fishing with a boat. I have trolled around Lake Conroe, on the south side, with various crank baits, and the hel-pet combination. I have not caught many, but I have caught a few. Do hybrids have any type of annual pattern? What depths do they like? Are there other ways of catching them than with trolling? I know this is 1st grade stuf to many of you, but I would appreciate anything you can pass on.
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Re: Hybrid Basics
[Re: LRS]
#3837227
08/19/09 09:52 PM
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 26,018
redfin
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 26,018 |
What kind of depth finder do you have? Do you have a map of Conroe? Spend some time using your depth finder in different areas you find on your map - if you have a GPS, mark those humps, deep points, river channel ledges. Hybrids relate to structure as long as the bait is there or nearby.
Use your eyes - survey everything - wind direction, wave action, water surface for feeding fish chasing shad, land structure along the water edge. Watch for birds (in the air and along the windblown shorelines) because they will be where the bait is and that's where the fish could probably be as well.
Wind blown shorelines/points would be an excellent place to start casting swim baits/slabs. Wind creates current which pushes bait onto these structures and they become easy pickings for predators.
If there's chop on the water, look for "slick" spots - these appear as "oil slicks" which break up the chop and generally indicate a school of baitfish (shad exude oil which is lighter than water) on the upwind side of the slick.
Pay attention to what the birds and wind is doing and watch your depth finder. Pick a depth (18-20 feet) and just idle along at 3-4 mph trying to stay on that depth and think about the turns you make in relation to the shoreline features which could indicate the end of a point coming out into the lake.
Look for big schools of baitfish on your depth finder, stop and slab the area when you find bait.
I know more old alcoholics than I know old doctors - Me. "If you think women are the weaker sex, try pulling the blankets back over on your side."
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Re: Hybrid Basics
[Re: redfin]
#3837562
08/19/09 11:05 PM
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Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 576
Duece
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 576 |
"""If there's chop on the water, look for "slick" spots - these appear as "oil slicks" which break up the chop and generally indicate a school of baitfish (shad exude oil which is lighter than water) on the upwind side of the slick."""
I mentioned this a few weeks ago and was passed on like a a plain girl at a hoe down.
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Re: Hybrid Basics
[Re: Duece]
#3837695
08/19/09 11:45 PM
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 3,974
luv to fish
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 3,974 |
Hey duece I heard about this too,and thought it sounded crazy.But was fishin the other day in steady 10mph winds,saw this oilslisk to speak of ran straight over it with my fish finder and it was stacked with shad.So I'm a beliver.Good luck LRS.
10 lb. hybrid, 54 lb. cat on 3/4 ounce slab-- Hubbard
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Re: Hybrid Basics
[Re: luv to fish]
#3837929
08/20/09 12:53 AM
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 510
LRS
OP
Pro Angler
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OP
Pro Angler
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 510 |
Surf fishing is more my line of experience, and yes, you look for birds and oil slicks there as well.
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Re: Hybrid Basics
[Re: LRS]
#3845675
08/21/09 05:44 PM
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,806
Tx Tree Grower
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,806 |
Focus your time initially studying a good map of the lake. I like to start out finding humps in the lake that have easy access to deep water. Seems like these humps hold the bigger fish. Once you mark these drift or troll those humps. Focus on the side the wind is blowing into. That is usually where the bait fish are. One other thing that is a big help, especially if you don't feel real confident in your ability to convert what the graph is showing you into usable info, make yourself a mental note to take a good look at the graph when you start getting bites in a given area. This is a good way to train your eye on what to look for next time. Good luck!
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Re: Hybrid Basics
[Re: Duece]
#3848306
08/22/09 04:22 AM
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 4,175
"Da" NITRO
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 4,175 |
"""If there's chop on the water, look for "slick" spots - these appear as "oil slicks" which break up the chop and generally indicate a school of baitfish (shad exude oil which is lighter than water) on the upwind side of the slick."""
I mentioned this a few weeks ago and was passed on like a a plain girl at a hoe down. I think you were passed on like an ugly girl at a hoe down Not sure about the oil slick theory. I have been fishing Hubbard steady for good amount of time and haven't seen such a thing. However, I have seen this while at the coast fishing for specs and reds and is caused by the reds and specs feeding on the mullet. But, that is saltwater, where the oil levels in the fish are greater than freshwater fish. Also, if shad are the cause of this, I would think that other lakes with shad would have experienced the same phenomenon If you know where to look, what time to look and what to use the big hybrids are there for the taking on Hubbard
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Re: Hybrid Basics
[Re: "Da" NITRO]
#3848352
08/22/09 04:40 AM
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 64
eleanor
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 64 |
Heck, in salt water, when fishing for bluefish, not only do you see oil slicks, you can sometimes smell the fish.
So far, I've not experienced anything like that in fresh water.
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Re: Hybrid Basics
[Re: eleanor]
#3848824
08/22/09 12:29 PM
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 4,175
"Da" NITRO
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 4,175 |
Heck, in salt water, when fishing for bluefish, not only do you see oil slicks, you can sometimes smell the fish.
So far, I've not experienced anything like that in fresh water. It kind of smells like watermelon and you could smell it from a good distance off, if you were downwind
Last edited by "THE" NITRO; 08/22/09 12:30 PM.
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Re: Hybrid Basics
[Re: Duece]
#3849197
08/22/09 03:45 PM
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 4,027
Bluwave Mike
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 4,027 |
"""If there's chop on the water, look for "slick" spots - these appear as "oil slicks" which break up the chop and generally indicate a school of baitfish (shad exude oil which is lighter than water) on the upwind side of the slick."""
I mentioned this a few weeks ago and was passed on like a a plain girl at a hoe down. What? This is not spec-trout fishing.
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Re: Hybrid Basics
[Re: Bluwave Mike]
#3850412
08/23/09 01:16 AM
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Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,018
Guide Chuck Rollins
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,018 |
I'll stick to finding fish on humps, points, & creek channels. I've never had any success here on CC with that theory and dont know anyone that fishes that way here. If your finding fish in the middle of the lake there generally relating to something like an under water hump, point, or creek channel. Find what there relating to and you can find fish in other similair spots. Current is the single most important thing for predicting fish location in my book. Learn to read it and it will pay off if you fish it correctly.
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Re: Hybrid Basics
[Re: Guide Chuck Rollins]
#3850901
08/23/09 05:55 AM
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,725
Capt'n Wings
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,725 |
I agree with Chuck, but the oil slick process does exist. However, it's not something you can count on.
"Faith requires one to elevate the practice of not thinking to a virtue," Mark Twain
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Re: Hybrid Basics
[Re: Capt'n Wings]
#3855446
08/24/09 06:03 PM
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 4,175
"Da" NITRO
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 4,175 |
I agree with Chuck, but the oil slick process does exist. However, it's not something you can count on. The next time you spot one, please take a pic and post it. I'd be interested to see it
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