Bait fishermen, on the other hand, usually opt for longer
rods, including noodle-stick styles from 8 to 14 feet
long. These buggy-whip rods are typically made of sensitive
graphite, which helps anglers to feel the soft tap of
an interested salmon or trout and to set hooks. A straight
butt section that is at least 12 inches long permits
two-handed casting, helpful for delivering bait as far
out as possible. Many veterans spool their reels with
monofilament as delicate as 2- or 4-pound test, which
also aids in making long casts.
Most
attach spawn bags under the knot or thread chunks of
air-dried or borax-treated steelhead spawn still in
the skein onto a small hook. A bait offering is only
as effective as the hook that presents it. Some anglers
like a treble style; others prefer the single-barb egg
hook, insisting upon a turned-up eye or turned-down
eye for better hook set. Then, using a sinker from 1/2
oz. to 3 ozs. positioned 18 to 30 inches above the bait,
they toss the bait as far into the lake — at a
right angle to the structure — as possible. A good
trick is to add a small chip of Styrofoam or miniature
marshmallow to a spawn bag to help keep it just off
bottom, where it will move to and fro with the waves.
For
the same reason, some use bobbers with spawn and other
bait. One trick is to remove the stem spring from a
pencil-style bobber and run the monofilament through
the notch. Add a thin rubber band to the notch to keep
line from slipping and then pull a piece of surgical
tubing over both the stem and notch. The rubber tubing
will hold everything in place.
The length of mono below the bobber should be just
enough to keep a spawn bag riding 6 to 8 inches above
bottom. Cast the offering out and allow it to float
parallel to the breakwater. When the bobber reaches
the structure, reel in the line and make another cast.
A
variation of the bobber trick is to tie a 3-way swivel
to the mono a few inches below the bobber. Drop a 30-
to 36-inch line to the second loop of the swivel and
attach a sinker heavy enough to make the bobber ride
straight up. To the third loop add the spawn bag to
a piece of mono that is 24 to 30 inches long. Cast the
rig out and allow it to drift shoreward until the sinker
touches bottom. If you’ve applied enough weight,
the sinker will hold and the spawn bag will drift back
and forth naturally.
These tactics, perfected largely by stream steelhead
anglers, work when there is wind or current to move
the bait along. Some anglers rely on slip bobbers, which
free slide to any depth, to keep bait along bottom or
just off bottom. Others add a dropper line to carry
a series of split shot below the bait on a leader. A
few attach a piece of surgical tubing below the 3-way
swivel and then insert just enough weight to achieve
the stated purpose. These methods permit weight to bounce
along vertically, thus minimizing snagging. If a foul
up does occur, you’ll lose the weight and not the
entire rig.
No matter what bait you use, once you have cast it
out, reel in all slack and slide the rod butt into a
rod holder — usually a piece of 2-inch diameter
PVC pipe. Some structures feature rod holders built
into the concrete cap every few yards; however, most
do not. Anglers can make their own rod holders from
scrap plastic pipe, then use duct tape to secure an
18-inch-long piece of steel rod to the pipe. The rod
keeps the holder secure in the sand or in cracks between
rocks and concrete cap sections.
Set the drag for slight tension, then sit back and
wait for a strike. Some anglers leave the bail open
on open-faced reels so that a fish can run with the
bait for a few feet without feeling pressure. Then the
angler sets the hook with a hard snap of the wrist while
closing the bail. Another tip is to add a bell or a
small bobber to the monofilament near the rod tip to
register strikes while you cast with another outfit.
A
word about sinkers — use the minimum amount of
weight needed to hold the rig on bottom. The prescribed
amount depends upon current or wind and wave action.
On calm days 1/2 ounce to 1 ounce may be enough; rough
days may call for 3 ounces or more. Some anglers prefer
pyramid-shaped weights because they cast better and
are easier to retrieve. They typically attach the pyramid
sinker to one drop of a 3-way swivel. Line to the reel
goes on the second loop, and a leader of 12 to 20 inches
containing the bait goes on the third loop.
Others like a barrel sinker or egg-shaped sinker because
the hollow weight will slide up and down the line. When
the weight is stopped with a split shot or swivel 18
to 30 inches above the bait, a fish may pick up the
tidbit and not feel the weight resting on bottom.
Whatever bait you choose, the objective is to present
it as naturally as possible. Keeping sinker weight to
a minimum is one way. Properly hooking the bait is another.
As a general rule, bury the hook in the bait to avoid
detection, an important consideration when finesse fishing
with a single salmon egg or a waxworm. Hook a minnow
in the head, pushing the barb from the lower jaw out
the top of the head. Hook leeches through their suckers.
Attach a night crawler through the head.
Anglers
that fish with dead smelt or alewives generally like
to attach a stinger hook — essentially a second
hook about 2 inches behind the original barb. They insert
the stinger hook in the upper back of the bait, just
behind the dorsal. This practice makes it harder for
a fish to steal the prize, and it helps align the bait
naturally.
Perch
fishermen often use hook spreaders — a wire device
that spaces a pair of hooks far enough apart to avoid
a tangle — to fish two baits at once. Hooks may
be parallel to each other or one above the other with
the sinker placed below.
To
catch soft-hitting steelhead or brown trout, slide an
egg-shaped sinker onto your fishing line. Add a small
split shot (to stop the sinker) about 6 inches from
the end of the line. Next, tie on a 3-way swivel to
the end of the line, then add one 12-inch weight and
one 18-inch weight to the remaining loops of the 3-way
swivel. Add a No. 12 light-wire hook to each weight.
Cover each hook with a pair of waxworms and fish the
bait among drowned rocks along the structure.
This method will also take light-tapping menominee
if you pin a single salmon egg, which has been boiled,
to the hook and eliminate the egg-shaped sinker. Use
the smallest split shot necessary to send the bait to
bottom and then vertically jig it ever so slightly.
Most
attach spawn bags under the knot or thread chunks of
air-dried or borax-treated steelhead spawn still in
the skein onto a small hook. A bait offering is only
as effective as the hook that presents it. Some anglers
like a treble style; others prefer the single-barb egg
hook, insisting upon a turned-up eye or turned-down
eye for better hook set. Then, using a sinker from 1/2
oz. to 3 ozs. positioned 18 to 30 inches above the bait,
they toss the bait as far into the lake — at a
right angle to the structure — as possible. A good
trick is to add a small chip of Styrofoam or miniature
marshmallow to a spawn bag to help keep it just off
bottom, where it will move to and fro with the waves. 
For
the same reason, some use bobbers with spawn and other
bait. One trick is to remove the stem spring from a
pencil-style bobber and run the monofilament through
the notch. Add a thin rubber band to the notch to keep
line from slipping and then pull a piece of surgical
tubing over both the stem and notch. The rubber tubing
will hold everything in place. 
A
variation of the bobber trick is to tie a 3-way swivel
to the mono a few inches below the bobber. Drop a 30-
to 36-inch line to the second loop of the swivel and
attach a sinker heavy enough to make the bobber ride
straight up. To the third loop add the spawn bag to
a piece of mono that is 24 to 30 inches long. Cast the
rig out and allow it to drift shoreward until the sinker
touches bottom. If you’ve applied enough weight,
the sinker will hold and the spawn bag will drift back
and forth naturally. 
A
word about sinkers — use the minimum amount of
weight needed to hold the rig on bottom. The prescribed
amount depends upon current or wind and wave action.
On calm days 1/2 ounce to 1 ounce may be enough; rough
days may call for 3 ounces or more. Some anglers prefer
pyramid-shaped weights because they cast better and
are easier to retrieve. They typically attach the pyramid
sinker to one drop of a 3-way swivel. Line to the reel
goes on the second loop, and a leader of 12 to 20 inches
containing the bait goes on the third loop. 
Anglers
that fish with dead smelt or alewives generally like
to attach a stinger hook — essentially a second
hook about 2 inches behind the original barb. They insert
the stinger hook in the upper back of the bait, just
behind the dorsal. This practice makes it harder for
a fish to steal the prize, and it helps align the bait
naturally. 
Perch
fishermen often use hook spreaders — a wire device
that spaces a pair of hooks far enough apart to avoid
a tangle — to fish two baits at once. Hooks may
be parallel to each other or one above the other with
the sinker placed below.
To
catch soft-hitting steelhead or brown trout, slide an
egg-shaped sinker onto your fishing line. Add a small
split shot (to stop the sinker) about 6 inches from
the end of the line. Next, tie on a 3-way swivel to
the end of the line, then add one 12-inch weight and
one 18-inch weight to the remaining loops of the 3-way
swivel. Add a No. 12 light-wire hook to each weight.
Cover each hook with a pair of waxworms and fish the
bait among drowned rocks along the structure.