Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/306042
Interstate Sportsman Continued 10 ProTruckerOnline.com May • 2014 One of everyone's favorite sh that begin biting this time of year is the sun sh. e bluegill is found every state, and are most of its not so abundant cousins like the shellcracker, redbreast, pumpkinseed and others. Found in clusters along shoreline areas and almost always willing to bite, sun sh rank as the most easily caught sh in many waters. Every bait shop carries the "big three" natural for catching these gamesters. ese are the redworm, cricket and waxworm. Although quite di erent from each other, they all are irresistible o erings to all varieties of sun sh. Red- worms are delicacies bluegill love, but they messy and often require cool storage. Crickets are not messy, but mastering the art of spiking one of these agile critters under the thorax takes some practice. May is peak shing time for crappie in many parts of the country. One of the popular pan sh when it comes to dinning on them, this time of year crappie school up in shallow, shoreline waters to spawn. Live minnows are the universal natural bait used by crappie shermen across the coun- try. Rarely exceeding three pounds, crappie are not especially large sh and seem to prefer proportionally small sh for food. Bait stores sell "crappie size" minnows, which generally speaking are the smallest and least expensive minnows they o er for sale. When crappie shing, the key to get- ting the most from minnows is the fresh- ness of your bait. is means frequently changing the water in your minnow bucket with fresh, well oxygenated water. Cor- rectly hooking a minnow through its lips or tail reduces the drama of the injury, allowing you to o er fresh, seductive lively minnows. Once they expire, discard the and put on a fresh minnow. Smallmouth bass are a favorite fresh- water quarry this time of year. Nothing catches these battlers faster than when you o er them natural foods they are focused on eating this time of year. In rivers and streams the best natural o er- ings are the ones you collect from the water you are shing. Using a seine it is possible to catch an assortment of natural water borne foods that will get the atten- tion of these predators. When I go sein- ing for smallmouth bass baits, naturally occurring bait sh such as darters, chubs, shiners and daces are welcomed sights in my net. Generally it is a mixed bag haul that along with a smattering of various minnows, also nets me a few cray sh and grampus. Smallmouth bass not only feed on minnows, but also cray sh. Grampus, or hellgrammites as they are also known, are the big aquatic larvae stage of the dragon y. Pretty awe inspiring invertebrates, they are armed with powerful mandible jaws that are more than adequate for bringing blood from your ngers if you are careless handling them. Grampus are more than worth the trouble to collect and handle, as a grampus in hand is roughly the equivalent of a smallmouth bass on the end of you line. It would be remiss to overlook baits for catching spring trout. ese list of proven natural baits for trout is quite long. It includes salmon eggs, doughballs, marsh- mallows, waxworms, crickets, canned corn, and of course nightcrawlers and redworms. If you are looking for a bet- ter shot at catching an old resident trout though, being a bit more resourceful can be rewarding. e pulpy larva from a wasp or hornet's nest is unbeatable, as "stick- bait." Stickbait is the larva of the caddis y that are found in the streams attached to the large rocks. Removed from their stick and debris "homes" caddis larva resemble a maggot and are relished by trout.• Don Kirk is the publisher of Southern Trout Mag- azine (www.southerntrout.com), a free, online pub- lication dedicated to fi shing for trout. If you have questions or comments, he can be contacted at don@southerntrout.com PROTR0514__InterstateSportsman.indd 2 4/10/14 9:56 AM