Match the Hatch
Fishing the mouth of the tidal river in the Northeast for striped bass it was the spring of 2007. This was the perfect catching season. In fact, stripers of up to 25 pounds could be caught in shallow water on artificial lures. However, one interesting day it was if somebody had changed everything around, and the fish seem to be almost nonexistent.
As the day proceeded in the sun got higher, the water became easier to see through it was simple to see fish moving along in small groups. It seemed that no matter how hard I tried to catch of fish they were simply not interested in any of my lures. It was almost as if they were distracted by something that I could not see.
As it turned out, this was exactly what was happening. After much frustration and changing the floors down to smaller tackle, I finally caught a small fish. When I got him into the boat, he coughed up his breakfast. Then I saw it – the culprit turned out to be tiny translucent crabs.
These are precisely the situations we you can steal a lesson from the fly fishing world. It is called “match the hatch” and in essence what it means is that you need to find the bait that is similar to what the fish are feeding on. Not only does the size have to match, but the appearance has to be close. It has often been noted that some fish neglect any offerings that are not similar in nature to the current insect hatch. Saltwater species also share this trait. They get fixated on a certain size and type of bait and nothing else will attract them.
In shallow waters like salt ponds and estuaries, this is pretty common. For example, assume the worm hatch occurs in many of these small ponds. The fish that inhabit these areas tend to only go after bait that is similar. Fly fishermen are very adept at handling this type of change. They are able to take tiny worm imitations that are typically 2 to 3 inches long and not have a problem. However, spinning anglers have a little bit more difficulty. They not only have to worry about scaling down below, but also their tackle.
10 pound test braid line and a medium action spinning rod will allow you to use these smaller offerings and still allow you to catch a fairly large fish.The Lunker City Slug-O usually the 3” size, preferably rigged with an offset worm is a fairly good substitute. You will have to experiment with bold colors and sizes to find out which ones will work best.
Long known as one of the least discriminatory fishes in the ocean, the bluefish will from time to time focus on tiny baitfish and regardless of what you offer them, they simply refused to strike. This is especially common is the season grows longer and the baitfish invade the shallow waters. Fishermen will find the tackle box stocked with small spoons and soft plastics allow them to still have a great fishing day. The secret to this is to keep an eye on what the fish coughed up on the boat deck. That will help you determine what size, shape, and color they are really after.
The situations are not unique, and nearly every saltwater angler will run into them at one time or another. For whatever reason, fish will be particular at times however, are prepared fishermen will likely have the resources to still get the job done. These fishermen will almost always have the tools on hand to effectively “match the hatch”.
When you are out saltwater fishing it is important to make sure you have the right supplies. Some of the most popular brands include Shimano Reels, Penn Reels, and Team Daiwa Reels.
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