Do you always go to the same place to fish?  Do you always use the same tackle and set up?  Do you always use the same bait and will not leave the dock without live bait of some description?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, I have bad news for you!  You are suffering from TUNNEL VISION and the eye doctor cannot do a gosh darn thing about it!  There's a whole world of plastics, crankbaits and sundry other baits out there and you don't have to be a pro to have a reasonable success rate with them.

An easy and economical bait to start with is a tube bait.  It's easy to rig and can be fished drifting or anchored.   The best way to start tube fishing is to leave the dock with only a selection of tubes and heads with you and a good graphite rod in the 5' 5" - 6' range. 

Early season locate a piece of structure in the 16 - 18' range and key in on the fish that are holding to the structure.  If there is a large school of fish quietly move to an easy casting range and very carefully anchor your boat.  REMEMBER sound travels 7 times faster in water than it does in air, so any bumping or banging is going to directly affect your ability to catch fish.  Cast over your structure and slowly sweep your rod while maintaining contact with the bottom.  While reeling up the line for your next sweep, maintain contact with the lure and be ready to strike as the lure drops. If the lure hits a rock or ledge and hangs up for a moment, be ready for a hit when the lure pops loose.

When drifting due to disbursed fish maintaining contact with the bottom is imperative.  If necessary, use a drift sock to slow your drift to maintain your bottom contact.  After a little practice the difference between a rock or obstruction and a hit becomes obvious and very exciting.  Set the hook and maintain the rod in an upright position to allow it to do its job as a shock absorber.  With a correctly set drag and a quality rod you can look forward to lots of fish with this method.  With a little practice you can add another fishing method to your repertoire and have lots of fun.

In the Colchester Southwestern Lake Erie Basin area, a good tube to start with is a Power Bait Smoke 3" tube.  Should you not be in this area an enquiry at a local bait or fishing shop will normally produce a friendly response and a good color for the area.

Hopefully the information here will help you to be a better fisherman without TUNNEL VISION and will encourage you to try many more different methods.

By checking this web page often, I'm sure you will find much more information to improve and expand your personal fishing skills.

Good Fishing
Colin


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