Sportsman’s Tips – April 2007
I do a lot of fluke fishing in the summer, and nothing works better for me than a bucktail and strip-bait combo. Squid and mackerel strips do the job, but I’ve also had great success tipping my jigs with a strip of raw bacon. First, I’ll soak the strips in menhaden or shedder-crab oil, which mingles with the natural grease in the bacon to leave a long scent trail the fish can follow. The bacon is really durable and one piece will catch quite a few fish.
– Bill Clark, Ridge, New York Ed Lutero
Sportsman’s Tips – April 2007
Nail clippers really come in handy on the water, but once you get bait and fish slime on your hands, they can be tricky to hold. To create some grip, I bought a small bag of fine-grain sand at a craft store and poured it into a salt shaker. Then I coated the back of the clippers and top of the lever with clear nail polish. After sprinkling on some sand, adding a topcoat and letting it dry, I had a nonslip surface that allowed me to cut lines no matter how much slime I got on my hands.
– Joseph Kugelman, Lebanon, New Jersey Ed Lutero
Sportsman’s Tips – April 2007
Filleting my catch in the kitchen often made a mess and left a fishy odor in the house. But with no convenient work surface outside, I didn’t have much choice. That’s when I came up with the idea to use an old ironing board. I just traced the outline of the board onto a piece of plywood and cut out the shape. Then I screwed the wood onto the board and ended up with a fillet table that was just the right height and stowed away easily.
– Mark Kovack, Mystic Island, New Jersey Ed Lutero
