New Mexico Angling

When is the last time you went fishing on Elephant Butte and caught more largemouth than smallmouth? If you’re like me, you probably have to think about your answer for while. Well guess what… last weekend that happened to me, and not because I was flipping brush in the backs of coves all day. I split time between Long Point Island (can you believe that thing is actually an island again?) , a couple of main lake rock piles in about 10 feet of water, and main lake points; places where I expected to find walleye and smallmouth on the Butte.

I’m not complaining. In fact, I’d love to see this trend continue. Not because of any bias toward largemouth bass on my part, but just because more fish equals more fun for all of us.

So what gives? Is it just me, or is there some reason that the largemouth are fairing better on the Butte these days? I called Frank Vilorio to find out.

With over 15 years of experience helping clients catch Stripers, White Bass, Walleye, and Black Bass, Frank Vilorio knows the Butte. Frank spends over 280 days a year on the water, so I knew he would have a few answers for us.

“All the water covering the salt cedars is helping the habitat tremendously,” says Vilorio. And with water levels on Elephant Butte recovering from 25 year lows, there are a lot more submerged salt cedars to be found. “Salt cedars are what forms the majority of the structure besides rock and cliffs on the Butte,” says Vilorio, who feels that all that new vegetation in the water is providing smaller territorial fish, like largemouth, with some much needed cover.

A recent study, “Aquatic vegetation and largemouth bass population responses to water-level variations in Lake Okeechobee, Florida,” agrees with Frank. This study observed how 5 years of drought and low lake conditions resulted in smaller populations of young bass. However, during the low lake levels, vegetation on exposed shoreline flourished, and when lake levels returned to normal, bass populations increased as well.

Bass aren’t the only things that benefit from all this new vegetation; young shad and crawfish need shallow cover to survive as well.  “We have a great population of gizzard and threadfin shad,” says Frank, adding that the shad provide the main forage for the sport fish on Elephant Butte. “The fish don’t start feeding on crawfish till the summertime when there is a crawfish hatch, and that’s a good time to start throwing an orange colored crankbait.”

So where should you be looking for bass now? According to Frank, the blacks are pre-spawn at the moment, and even if there are a few on the beds, the water has been a little too murky for him to try any sight fishing. “Look for points and drop offs in 10 to 15 feet of water right now. The bass are waiting to ambush shad in these areas.”
Frank recommends a chartreuse colored bait now due to the water clarity, and when asked how the wind affected the fishing he added, “It’s an often overlooked pattern in the springtime, but, when it’s windy, the best bank to fish is where the waves are breaking.” Vilorio likes crankbaits with a firetiger pattern, as well as shad colored Lucky Craft InShore Game Pointer 78 or 100 Lures  for tricking these pre-spawn fish.

Hopefully, we all have great luck finding largemouth on the Butte this year and, with a little luck, water levels will continue to rise and things will only get better. In the mean time, if you’d like a guided trip to the Butte with a knowledgeable fisherman and a real nice guy, give Frank Vilorio a call.

Frank can be reached by phone at (575) 744-4346 or (800) 580-8992, or by email at frankvilorio@sbcglobal.net. Frank’s sponsor’s include; Ugly Stick, American Rod & Gun, Driftmaster,  and Super Spreader Cast Nets.

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Last week we talked about how zooming in on your subject can improve the pictures you capture on your New Mexico fishing trips, or any other trips for that matter. However, there are times when zooming out could be even better.

For me, the deciding factor is scenery. If I’m in a spot that doesn’t have a lot of visual interest when the fish is caught, like the middle of the lake or along some featureless bank, then zooming in tight on the fish and fisherman works best. But if there is something interesting nearby then it can be a nice touch.

But how should you frame your shot to include some background while still keeping the focus on your catch? That’s where the rule of thirds comes in…

Wikipedia defines the rule of thirds like this, “an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.” That sounds pretty complicated, but its really not so bad in practice.

 In this shot, I’m fishing on a small pond in Georgia that I wanted to include in the picture. By centering the fish on the right vertical line instead of the center of the frame, the fish shares the stage nicely with the pond.

Most photo editing software has a function to include the rule of thirds gridlines to help you line everything up. But even if you don’t have access to any editing software, you can still spice things up by keeping the rule in mind as you take the picture.

 In this shot, I wanted to include Kettle Top without completely ignoring this fine white bass. Again, by placing the fish along the vertical line dividing the left two thirds of the frame, I’m able to show more scenery without taking all the focus away from the fish.

I hope this helps you take better pictures on your next fishing trip.

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 The textbooks on walleye tell us that spawning occurs when the water temperatures reach the mid 40s. But, if you’ve been to Elephant Butte lately, you’ve been seeing water temps in the 50s. Does that mean all the walleyes have left the shallow water? Brian Stangel says, “not at all.”

 Brian has years of experience as a guide in New Mexico; helping clients find walleye on Ute, Conchas, Abiquiu, and the Butte.  Brian also maintains one of New Mexico’s best online resources: ABQ Sportfishing. So when I went looking for information to improve all of our early spring walleye fishing, he was my first stop.

 So where should we be looking for walleyes in early spring? “If the water’s dead slick early in the morning, you’re going to find them skinny. If there’s even the slightest ripple on the water, they’ll stay skinny all day.”

 But the water temps are in the 50s now, why haven’t all the fish spawned and moved to deep water? According to Brian, the fish don’t come with internal thermometers that tell them to spawn the instant the water hits 45 degrees.  “The water temp has to go down through its winter cycle, bottom out, and then start trending back up. Once you start getting water temps in that area, then that’s an indication that you can start to look for spawning walleye. That process can continue for over a month depending on the group of fish that you’re on, or there can be different groups of fish that come through the same area.”

 Ok, so the fish are shallow, but there is a lot of shallow water out there. What should we look for to narrow the search? “Your best places to fish are going to be the places you least want to fish, and that is wind blown shoreline with gravel to fist sized rock on it.” Brian prefers a clay bank for this tactic, working the mudline with jerk baits like these;
Smithwick Suspending Limited Rogue Hardbaits
Lucky Craft InShore Game Pointer 78 or 100 Lures
Lucky Craft Hardbaits – Staysee 90 SP.
As for colors, Brian prefers opaque baits like Lucky Craft’s Chartreuse Shad in the often stained waters we have here in New Mexico.

 I put Brian’s advice to the test this weekend on my latest New Mexico fishing trip, and had some great results. As you can tell from the pictures on this page, my fish were mostly caught on grubs and creatures ( the creature was an Ozark Smoke colored
Yum Flavor-Enhanced Soft Baits – Wooly Hawgtail)on a 1/4oz jig head worked on, or very close to, the bottom. I was never deeper than 10 feet of water, and I even caught a few nice white bass and several blacks (both large and smallmouths) in the same areas. I guess it’s like Brian says, “If you’re fishing skinny water in the spring in New Mexico, you will trip into everything.”

Brian is on Pro Staff with the following sponsors:  Mercury Marine, Charlie’s Sporting Goods, G.Loomis, Navionics, Mack’s Lure, and ReelBait.

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Everyone knows that swim baits work. They’re catching bass all over the country, including several of the entries in the Top 25 Largest Largemouth of All Time . Then again, few anglers have a problem fishing a creature bait as a jig or a jig trailer for big bass either. But what if we get chocolate on our peanut butter? For the last couple years on New Mexico lakes, I’ve been swimming creature baits. Here’s why you should too.

Most of us agree that fish don’t only bite lures that look exactly like the forage they are currently feeding on. Good thing too, or else no one would ever catch anything on creature baits. They look funny, they have arms and legs and tentacles all over, and they come in every color under the sun. But rig one onto a jig head, and you have a bait that can cover the entire water column.

When I enter a new section of water that I want to probe for fish, I follow a top to bottom, fast to slow approach. I start off fan casting the area; keeping the lure high in the water column and moving at a pretty fast pace. At this point I fish the lure in the same basic way that I would fish a spinner bait.

Next I step down a notch. If I’ve seen any fish on the graph, then I count the bait down to that level before retrieving through the same areas I just worked. If I haven’t seen any fish, I shoot for the middle. i.e. count down 5 seconds in 10 feet of water.

If this still doesn’t produced fish, I take the bait all the way to the bottom. Now I treat the creature like the jig that it is, and work it right along the bottom; stopping to bump and wiggle around any submerged structure I find. Don’t forget to pitch to visible structure the same way you would with a tube or a jig and pig too.

Fish are attracted to lures for a variety of reasons. They use sight, sound, and smell, but they also detect vibrations through their lateral lines. Creatures don’t do much for us in the sound department, and who can say how much fish are effected by their look or smell. But there is no denying that these baits produce vibrations. Don’t expect to feel a thump like you would with a spinner bait or a crank bait, but all those waving appendages definitely move the water around as they move.

Variety may be the spice of life, but its definitely the key to consistently catching bass. If you’ve been fishing long, then you’ve already seen a few “hot new” lures go cold. And if you’ve been fishing a little longer, you’ve seen a few “cold old” lures get hot again. The fish get conditioned to the lures that trick them, and seem to bite them less and less. The great thing about creature baits is the almost endless variety of creatures you can choose. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to show the bass lots of new looks.

In most situations on New Mexico waters, I use a jig head in the 1/8 to ¼ oz range. The larger head size is more versatile and lets you reach deep fish easier. There are times though when the smaller jig head will catch more fish, like cooler water. There are almost as many different jig heads as there are creatures, but I’ve had good luck with
Bass Pro Shops XPS Round Jigheads with Gamakatsu Black Nickel Hooks.

When it comes to the creatures, you should definitely experiment with different types, but here’s a few of my favorites: Northland Slurpies Brush Beaver, Zoom Soft Plastic Baits – Tiny Brush Hog, and Yum Flavor-Enhanced Soft Baits – Wooly Hawgtail.

One last note on lure selection… I have had better luck with the smaller profile 3 inch baits than I’ve had with the larger sizes. Then again, I tend more towards quantity over quality when I fish, so your results may differ.

Till next time. I hope you have as much fun swimming creatures on your next New Mexico fishing trip as I’ve had. And for more New Mexico fishing articles.

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If you’ve been keeping up with bass fishing lately, then you’ve heard about the shaky head rig. Everybody’s talking about it. The pros are winning tournaments with it. Apparently, the fish are biting it. But how do you get started using this technique for yourself? Here are 7 tips that’ll have you shaking like a pro in no time.

1. How to rig it

      I could write a lot of words here and still not be clear, so take a look at this short video to get an idea for how to properly set up your shaky rig: .
I’ve personally only used the screw-on type jig heads like these Chompers Roundball Shaky Jigheads, and while these jig heads do hold the worm on well, they will tear the tip of the worm up pretty good after a few fish. This really isn’t a problem though. Just trim the tip off of the worm and rethread. It’s the back of the worm that creates the action and that won’t be affected by losing a quarter of an inch a couple of times.

2. It’s all in the action

      Fishing with the shaky really couldn’t be easier. Cast out, let the lure sink to the bottom, and then lightly bump the lure with your rod tip to give the worm a little action. Take a look at this video to get an idea of what I’m talking about: . Personally, I imagine that I’m making the rod wag like the tail of a dog. This doesn’t have to be hard either; just a gentle bump on the lure. Not necessarily enough to move the jig forward, but just enough to make it vibrate.

3. The rod and reel make a big difference

      Spinning tackle is the norm for the shaky rig. When it comes to the rod, think long and limber. My personal shaky rod is a 7′ All Star GT40X Graphite Spinning Rods with a medium action, but others would work equally well. Just make sure the rod is limber to help detect light bites and to make the “bumping” action easier, and make sure that it’s long enough to help with hook sets on fish in deep water.

      Shaky fishing can work wherever the fish are located, but most of my experience has been in 15 to 30 feet of water. For these depths, I prefer a reel with a faster retrieve speed to help take up slack quickly if needed. Then again, I’m sure you could get by just fine with a slower speed reel, but the Pflueger Supreme XT Spinning Reels with a 6.2:1 ratio has worked well for me.

4. The end of my line

      Bites can be very light with this technique, and a stretchy line can make detecting them tough. I spool up with 10lb 
SpiderWire UltraCast? Ultimate Braid Fishing Line and then attach a 7 to 10 feet long leader. I use 10lb 
Berkley Vanish Fluorocarbon Fishing Line
for my leader. If you’ve never tied flouro before, check out this site:The Fluorocarbon Advantage . This setup allows for very little stretch, yet, because I’m fishing 10lb line, the castability is still very good.

5. Boat Positioning

      Shaky doesn’t work when you cast in the direction that your boat is moving. The movement of the boat keeps slack in your line that you have to constantly reel out. This affects the amount of time you can “shake” the rig in one spot, and keeps you from covering more water. If wind or waves – a constant factor in New Mexico fishing – make remaining steady in the water tough, then let the boat pull the rig along as you shake the rod tip. This tactic helps you cover a lot of water, and can be used as a semi-fast search technique.

6. Fast or Slow?

      Don’t assume that just because this is considered a finesse technique, that you have to fish it slow. Bites often come after you give the rig a good tug and make it jump a foot or so off the bottom. Most bites do seem to come while giving the rig a steady shake, but a jerk can be just the thing to get a reaction strike out of a fish that can’t make up his mind.

7. The Worm

      As with most presentations, you have to listen to the fish on this one. Personally, I start with a big 7″ worm in a natural color like Pumpkin Seed or Watermelon Seed, and the bigger profile doesn’t seem to scare the dinks. But in colder water (below 55 degrees), or if fish aren’t responding to the bigger worm, try downsizing to a 5 inch worm. Most manufacturers have a shaky worm these days and I’m sure all work fine, but my favorites are
Berkley PowerBait Shaky Worms, and Chompers Shaky Worms.

Personally, it took me a while to give the shaky a try. I already had tricks in my bag that put fish in the boat, and here was this new technique that required a new rod and a new reel. But after taking the plunge, I’ve been impressed by the number and quality of fish I’m landing. I hope these tips make your first shaky experiences go as well as mine.

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