River trout with bibbed lures By Scott Gray Fishing News - Page 32
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pinning with bibbed minnow patterns can be as simple or as technical as you like. Sure you can just tie on a lure and throw it around relentlessly until you get a strike, but by learning some simple techniques and carefully selecting your lure you can efficiently increase the number of fish you encounter and catch. There are essentially 3 different models of bibbed minnows that I use regularly these include floating, sinking and neutral suspending minnows. Each model has a different application Floating diving lures are fantastic tools to use in running water and are my favourite selection. These lures are ideal for fishing the shallower runs and riffles or on smelting fish in open pools. They can be cast upstream past a likely looking rock or log then floated over the structure and retrieved. As these lures dive when retrieved you can reach down into the deeper pocket water where the fish will hopefully be holding and search the water. To work these lures simply dip your rod tip towards the water to help the lure dive and if you come across some shallow rocks it is just a matter of pausing on the retrieve and letting the lure float up and over
the object. This reduces the likelihood of snagging significantly and allows you to thoroughly work the water. Alternatively to make the lure swim close to the surface simply hold you rod tip high in the air and retrieve. In the open pools, they are effective on smelting fish because they float, they won’t snag and all you need to do is cast out the lure where you see the fish moving, let it sit and wait until the fish comes up before retrieving. While I spend most of my time targeting fish in the moving water by walking and casting upstream (as the fish face into the current) fishing lures downstream and across is also very effective as you can let the current impart action to your lure as it swings across the river. All you need to do is cast, hold the rod and let the current do the work. When the lure has finished swinging across the river you can slowly retrieve it back to the rod tip along the bank. Sinking minnows can be fished in a similar way to floating lures, however, they give you the versatility of allowing your lure to sink. These models are ideal for fishing the deeper holes or drop-offs when you need to search the water column to find fish. They often weigh
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