This was my secoond best pickerel of the day.

My Friend Mat and I were talking Saturday and decided that we would go fishing on Sunday.  We decided to go pickerel fishing at French Lake.  We went to the French Lake that is connected to Indian Lake about 15 minutes past Jemseg.  There is another French Lake by Oromocto.  Mat has a 12 foot aluminum boat so we took that.  We arrived at French Lake around 9am.  We used the boat launch on Sand Point Road.  We went right and then turned left and made our way down the long channel and started fishing when we saw some lily pads.  We got some action right away and I landed two smaller pickerel fairly quickly.  I was using a red senko, which has been extremely productive for me this year pickerel fishing.

We then continued going along this stretch of the lake as I knew a couple of spots that I wanted to try.  We got to a spot where you can continue in the same direction or take a left to go down another channel.  We went to the mouth of this channel and dropped anchor and started to make casts to move edges of the lake.  We were both getting good action around the lily pads but also by some grass patches in the middle of the water.  We both must have landed 3 or 4 fish at the spot.  We started to go this channel a little farther but the grass got very thick so we decided to make our way back to the main part of the lake.  We then went to a spot that is a dead end and was productive when I was there about a month ago with James and Casey.  We saw a few pickerel but nothing much as the water was quite low and the grass was very thick, which is normal for this time of year.  We drifted down a little ways to a point just in front of another channel and we dropped the anchor.  We were making long casts and started to get a lot of action. This spot was a little deeper but there was still grass in the water.  We started landing quite a few fish and some of them were getting to be a fairly good size.  Mat was changing up his baits quite a bit and was getting some success on different colors.  They were hitting some orange, solver, and reddish worms.  I was basically sticking with the red senko as it was still being successful.

We then decided to go down the other channel to give it a try.  We did not get a lot of action until we found another point.  We fished off this point for a bit and each landed two more pickerel.  We decided that since we had such good luck back at that other point that we would go back and try it again.  When we got there we anchored in the same spot and started casting again.  Right away we got into a bunch more pickerel.  This was right around 4 pm and it must have been their supper time because they were very aggressive.  We also got into our biggest pickerel of the day.  Mat caught two in a row that were very nice and then got a real nice one on.  He fought it for a bit but then it snapped his line.  The very next cast I made after this I had a really nice hit and I knew I had a very nice fish on my how heavy it felt when I was reeling it in.  When we got it in to Mat’s net, which has rubber netting, we knew it was a very long and thick fish.

Mat with one his many pickerel on the day.

Casey will get mad at me because we did not have a tape to measure it but we did a rough measurement and we said it was 26 inched long beating by personal best by an inch and 3/8.  As you can see in the picture it was a very thick fish and was great fun to catch.  Before the second time we went to fish off this point Mat started using a pink solid tube.  I had never seen them before and thought it would be productive because I have caught many pickerel using a pink senko.  It turned out to be very successful for Mat as he ended up catching many of his pickerel using it and I caught that personal best using one of them as well.  During the winter I will certainly being getting some for next season.

My new personal best at 26 inches.

Thanks Mat for the invite and the great company as usual.  I look forward to getting out with you again, if not this season, then next for sure.  For anyone interested in pickerel fishing I strongly suggest French Lake in New Brunswick. James and Casey went to French Lake a few days after Matt and I went.  Take a few minutes and read about their day.

A nice open spot on the Kennebecasis with some tree cover as well.

This post will be directed more towards people who are new to fly fishing so if you read this and have been trout fly fishing for awhile feel free to add anything extra in the comments section as I am certainly no expert.  I have been trout fly fishing in New Brunswick now for 20 years and truly enjoy everytime I get a chance to get the fly rod out and try to catch some trout.  I have tried many different spots in New Brunswick  fly fishing for trout but like I mentioned in one of my previous posts, my favorite place is Crooked Creek in Riverside Albert.  I have also spent countless hours on the Kennebecasis River in the Sussex area.

If you are new to trout fly fishing I would strongly suggest that you try some places that are fairly open as you do not want to spend most of your time getting your fly out of the trees or bush.  We all get caught up here and there but if you are new and practicing your casting you will want to have some open space.  The above mentioned Kennebecasis River is pretty good for this as you can get right in the middle of the river and mainly be free from the trees.  As I just mentioned standing in the middle of the river you really do need to get some waders if you want to get into fly fishing.  There are many different kinds and brands that you can get.  I use chest waders and I have the green rubber kind.  They work great but do not breathe so on a hot day you are certain to sweat in them.  You can buy this kind at pretty well any department store (Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire) for around $70.  Some have felt on the bottom of the shoe and some do not.  The felt do help if you are walking on a lot of rocks (Crooked Creek).

When learning to cast many people say to focus on the 2 o’clock for your back cast and 10 o’clock for your forward cast.  It is also important to keep your casting arm straight. Give your line time to get behind you before you start you forward cast. Following these tips will help from your line slapping the water.  The better you get with this technique the longer you will be able to cast, which will be important when you get to wide open places where the fish might spook easily.  Do not worry to much about making long casts right away.  Just practice the 2 and 10 and keeping your arm straight.

When you get to a river or brook and start walking it, always be on the lookout for some deeper pools, some nice looking runs, tree covered areas(careful of those tress ), bigger rocks in the river.  Trout will hold in deeper pools as the water is usually cooler in the deeper water.  If you are walking up to a pool I would suggest to start casting to it as you are walking towards it. This allows your fly to be seen by the trout before you are.  Continue to fish up the pool until you get to the top of the pool.  Usually at the top of the pool there will be some rapids going into the pool. If you are dry fly fishing (which I love to so) cast the dry fly into the running water and let it run down into the pool and through the pool.  Try this a handful of times.  If you do not see any action but feel it is a good spot then try a few different flies.  Part of fly fishing is having patience and to be willing to change you fly constantly.    Also, when are are walking the river you might see some areas that look like a  nice run.  What I mean by a run is that the water might be a little deeper and is running a little harder than other parts of the river.  Trout will hold in these areas because the water is cooler, there is more oxygen in this water, and there is usually more food supply in the running water.  You could also come across some spots that there is a tree over hanging or some branches or anything that might give some cover to the trout.  If you are able to get your fly to run through the spot I would certainly give it a try as there could be some nice trout sitting there as they feel protected by the tree cover.   You may also find some rocks that are sticking above the water.  These are good spots to try because the rock makes a break in the water and the fish may hide behind the rock waiting for some food to float by in the current or rapids.

A spot on Crooked Creek where we always catch some trout.

When trout fly fishing you can use wet flies or dry flies.  Wet flies are flies that sink in the water.  The trout hit these under the water.  You usually cast a wet fly into the current and let it go until your line tightens and then pull the wet fly back towards you in the rapids, current, or in the pool.  If you are wet fly fishing a pool I would suggest getting on top of the pool so you can cast out and drag your wet fly back towards you through the pool.  When dry fly fishing it is best to cast up into the current or rapids and let the dry fly float down towards you.  Same thing when dry fly fishing the pools.  Stand back of or beside the pool and cast up and let your dry fly float down into or through the pool.  I absolutely love dry fly fishing because I love seeing the action on top of the water.  It is very exciting to see a trout come up from it’s hiding place and smack your dry fly.  Unless the conditions are not good at all I would say I pretty well always use dry flies.  My favorite dry flies to use are the Royal Coachman, the Adams. and the Mosquito. I may lose out on some fish because of this but I enjoy watching the fly float on the water and love the top water action when a fish hits the fly.

A nice pool at Crooked Creek. Careful of those trees.

It is useful to have a wide variety of flies in your fly case so you can try many different flies.  It is funny, you can try a spot with a certain fly and have no action and then try a different color and the fishing turns right on.  It is also important to have different colors because when you are fishing on a river or a brook you will see a hatch start.  This is when you see a bunch of insects flying around or near the water.  When this happens you would like to be able to match the hatch with a fly as the trout will most likely go after that color at that certain time. You can build your collection over time.  Do not feel you have to spend hundreds of dollars all at once.  I am sure you can find someone close to your house who sells flies.  If not you can buy some at the store or order some online.  If you are going to look at buying online feel free to message me and I can tell you some that I have had good luck with.

Again, if you are new to fly fishing I would not spend a crazy amount of money on your rod, reel, and line.  I say this because perhaps you will give it a try and not enjoy it.  Yes, having good (more expensive) equipment can give you an advantage on the water but my rod, reel, and line are from either Wal-Mart or Canadian Tire and are certainly not the most expensive around and I catch plenty of trout while fly fishing.  If you enjoy it and have the money then go for it and get what you want.  I may treat myself soon and buy a new fly reel.

Proof I can catch rainbow trout with my fly fishing setup

I think I have rambled on long enough   Again I am no expert but the things I mentioned above have helped me catch lots of trout over the past twenty years of fly fishing.  Again, please feel free to add any other tips or comments you may have in the comments section.  I will look forward to reading them and adding them to my arsenal for catching fish while trout fly fishing.

A weed bed that will hold lots of pickerel.

Pickerel fishing is a type of fishing that many people have not tried for what ever reason. I was introduced to pickerel fishing a couple of years ago by my friend James and have not looked back since. Over these past few years I have learned what baits to use, what line to use, where to look for the pickerel, what techniques to use, and the pickerels tendencies.

I live in New Brunswick and have found a handful of places to fish for pickerel that are not too far from home. Two of these places have produced very good fishing. These two places are French Lake and Chipman. I have spent many days at Chipman fishing off Salmon River. What is important about both of these places is that weeds and lily pads grow in these two spots. If you are new to pickerel fishing you need to know that chain pickerel love to stay under cover. Once the lily pads are out the pickerel seem to love these spots. They will hide under these weeds or lily pads and ambush their prey, or more importantly, your bait or lure.

Since pickerel like to stay in these weeds or pads it is important that you use baits or lures that can be rigged up weedless. You can certainly use other regular baits or setups if you fish the weed lines but you will have much more success if you get set up weedless and get right in the middle of the weeds. A bait that James and I have learned to really enjoy using when pickerel fishing is the 6 inch senko (rubber worm). Our favorite colors we like to use because they give us our best action are pink and red. You can buy these at most stores in the fishing department. I buy many of mine on Ebay. There are countless colors and lengths to choose from. We set these up weedless and cast them right into the weeds and reel them in right across the top of the weeds. We have had countless times where we have had multiple strikes from a certain weed bed. It is important that when you put the senko on the EWG hook that the worm is straight. If it is not straight it will affects its movement in the water. The pictures below will show you how to rig up a senko so that it is straight and weedless.

When the weeds are thick I find the senko works the best when you cast it out and begin reeling in just before the worm hits the weeds. I find this is important because sometimes if the senko hits the weeds and stays still for a second or two it has a better chance of getting caught up in the weeds, even if it is rigged weedless. What I mean by this is sometimes weeds or grass will get caught up at the front of the bait.

Since chain pickerel have very sharp teeth it is important that you use the proper line when fishing for them. If you are using regular fishing line I will pretty well guarantee that you will have your line cut a handful of times by their teeth. I have used braided line in the past which can withstand their teeth quite well but I have had difficulties with it getting knotted up when casting. I have gone to use Berkley Smooth Cast line and using a steel leader. I find using a black steel leader has given me better luck that the silver ones. I have been using the Mustad 20lb black leaders. When I land a pickerel I also using a glove made for fishing. It has rubber dots on the palm which help keep a hold of the pickerel. It may look a little silly but I like using it because I can keep a good hold and do not worry as much about getting cut by their sharp teeth.

The technique I use the most when fishing with the senko is to cast right at or near the weeds and like I said earlier start reeling in just before the bait hits the water. I normally reel in quite fast. The pickerel seem to like the fast moving baits. I will cast around a certain weed spot a few times seeing if I can induce a strike. If I see some movement or get a hit but do not hook the fish I will cast back to the same spot as the pickerel will usually strike again. They are an extremely aggressive fish this way. Reeling in fast keeps the senko at the top of the water. I like this because you get to see all the strikes and many of the strikes that the pickerel make are very impressive.

If you are new to pickerel fishing or are thinking about giving it a try I hope this information has been useful and hope you get into some pickerel because it is some fun when you do.

A very nice rainbow trout caught at Crooked Creek.

I know there are a lot of people who fish who like to keep “their” places secret. If I was one of those people this is one place I would never tell anyone about. This place is Crooked Creek in Rivervside Albert. I have been fishing here for over ten years now and I make multiple trips each fishing season. I enjoy fishing here so much I get excited on the drive there every time. I live in Riverview so it only takes about 45 minutes to get there.

I fish here alone most times and have great fun but my most memorable times I have had fishing here have been with my brother-in-law Dave, who comes home from Calgary each summer. We usually get to fish here 3-4 times when he is home. The last couple of years he has been home we have used our handheld GPSs to try new entry points further up the brook.

Two reasons I love Crooked Creek so much are the rainbow trout we catch and the beautiful scenery. This is the only place I know of around here that you can catch rainbow trout. It is a great place to fly fish as the river is wide enough that you will not always get caught up in the trees. I love to fly fish with dry flies because I love watching the fish come up and hit the fly. The fly that I have the most success with at Crooked Creek is my personally made Royal Coachman. I have caught many rainbow trout at Crooked Creek with this fly. Dave has even asked me to use one on more than one occasion .:) Dave and I usually fish up the system as it is usually the least fished part of the river. We have had luck catching the rainbows in the rapids but catch most of them in the pools that you come across on the way up the river. The rainbows spook very easily so you have to be careful not to get too close to the pools as you fish them. There are also brook trout in the system but each trip there is in hope of catching some rainbow trout. It is great fun catching the rainbows on a fly rod. Usually when they hit you can see a quick streak of silver. You also know it is a rainbow as soon as it hits because they are much stronger than the brook trout. When you catch a rainbow out of a pool there are usually no more in that spot. I say usually because there have been a few times that Dave and I have each caught a rainbow out of the same spot in a short period of time.

Caught this rainbow a few years ago.

Crooked Creek is also a beautiful place to spend the day. It is located in the Caledonia Gorge so the river runs between the mountains. You can see long stretches of the river and trees lining the river system. It is especially beautiful in the fall when the leaves are changing colors. When you are just about to drive onto the dirt road to get to the fishing spots there is a lookout that gives an amazing view of the gorge. I have made it a point the past couple of years to take pictures every time I go there.

Brother-in-law Dave getting a fly ready.

We have had great luck fishing here over the years but I do need to say that we have also been skunked on a few occasions. Since it is in the gorge, there are times that we have been there and the water has been running very hard. If it has rained hard it is best to wait a few days to go there because the water runs down the mountains into the river. We have not had good luck when the water has been running hard. I do not usually start fishing here each season until the first part of July for the same reason.

If you enjoy fly fishing, would like to try to catch some rainbow trout, and enjoy a day in a beautiful spot then I strongly recommend a trip to Crooked Creek.

If you are thinking about trying fly fishing or are new to it perhaps you would be interested in this ebook: Fly Fishing From Scratch.

James and I decided to go pickerel fishing yesterday in Chipman, New Brunswick. We have not been there is awhile so I was anxious to see what the fishing was going to be like. This summer has also been quite windy but the forecast was calling for only 5km winds so I was hoping that would be the case.

I picked James up and at 6am and we were ready to start fishing around 7:45. I usually do not bring the trolling motor to Chipman because it is so weedy but I brought it as we discussed we might try to cover more water than normal. This is what is needed and how to set up the trolling motor for a canoe.

James

We started fishing in our regular area, which is a cove off of Salmon River. We were very pleased that the water was like a mirror it was so calm. We looped around this cover a couple of times each catching a handful of pickerel and having many others hit. We found that quite a few of the pickerel were out on the edge of the weeds in a little deeper water. We were both using a red 6 inch senko. I used a bubblegum color for awhile as well. Both of us used the red senko for most of the day as it continued to produce for us.

We decided to use the trolling motor and try a few different parts of the river system. We got to one point and fished along the edge and caught a few fish. As we were leaving this spot we decided to troll with the senkos out from a point. The water looked fairly deep and we could see seeds below the water. No sooner did I tell James that the area looked pretty good I got a strike from a pickerel. After I brought it in and released it James got a strike while casting out. We got into some very good action in the area and decided to stay for awhile. We were casting and also trolling some. We were getting strikes with both methods. We must have stayed here for a good hour or so on this point because we were having so much fun.

The water stayed calm all day.

When we finished at the point we back back to our starting point and fished the cove again for an hour or so. The pickerel were hitting well in the far end of the cove. By about 7pm our bodies were sore enough from sitting in the canoe all day that we decided to call it a day. We loaded the car back up and were on our way back home.

Throughout the day, James and I had countless strikes. I landed 10 pickerel while James must have landed 25 or more. I can take a little consolation in the fact that I caught the biggest pickerel of the day. It actually nips James’ personal best by 1/8 of an inch by measuring in at 24 5/8 inches. This pickerel now becomes my personal best.

If you having never given pickerel fishing in Chipman, New Brunswick a try, I strongly suggest you do as we have never been disappointed.

You can read about James’ experiences fishing this summer as well at his site.

During the winter after we bought the canoe I started doing some research about the possibility of using a trolling motor on the canoe. I did research on trolling motors, marine batteries, and how to mount it to the canoe.

Two of the items, the trolling motor and the battery led me to Canadian Tire. They had a handful of each to look at. I decided on the Minn Kota Endura 30. Once I got the trolling motor I needed to decide which battery to get. I looked to see what Canadian Tire had and decided on the the Motormaster Nautilus Deep Cycle Battery. I also had to buy a battery charger because as you use the trolling motor it does not keep the battery charged as other devices might. This was all new to me so this is why I am mentioning it. Once you get home from your day on the water charge the battery right away.

Once I got the trolling motor and the battery I then had to find a product that I could use to attach the motor to the canoe. Again, I was completely new to this so I simply started searching on the internet. Once I figured out what I needed I went to Ebay and did a search for a canoe side mount. The search led me to a few different sellers. The one I ended up getting is very well made and cost roughly $60 Canadian.

I now had all the items I needed to give this a try. I went to the part of the Petitcodiac close to Turtle Creek. My buddy and I put the canoe in the water. I put the battery close to the center of the canoe(the cables on the motor are not too long), I then attached the side mount to the canoe. This is done simply with pliers or you could use a ratchet. Attaching the trolling motor to the side mount was very easy. You can tighten it securely just with your hands. I then connected the cables to the battery and we were ready.

This is what the setup looks like on the canoe.

I must say that as we pushed off I was very nervous that something would be wrong and the motor would not work. To use the motor you simply rotate the handle one way to go forward (5 speeds) and the other way to go backwards (3 speeds). I gave the handle a turn and happily the propeller started and off we went. I gave all the speeds a try. The slowest speed is great for trolling slowly with your baits. High speed sent us along at about 10km/h. I felt this was a great speed for having two adults, the battery, and our gear in the canoe. To steer the canoe you simply pull the handle towards you or push it out from you.

I used the trolling motor a handful of times on the Petitcodiac River, Shepody River, French Lake, and Cassidy Lake. When we fished for chain pickerel we did not use the motor as the area is full of weeds and the propeller would continuously get caught up. This area is quite small and is not hard to paddle in.

It did cost a bit to get what I needed but I think the cost is well worth it.

The motor was around $150. The battery was $140, the mount was around $60, and the charger was around $20(on sale).

I hope this info will be helpful for anyone that might be looking into getting a trolling motor for their small boat or canoe. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions on my experiences with mine.

My friend and I decided to go Atlantic salmon fishing last week in the Miramichi. I am still fairly new to salmon fishing as I have focused on trout, smallmouth bass, and chain pickerel fishing so my friend has been giving me tips on what to do if I hook a salmon and what flies to use, which I will write about in a bit. He picked me up bright and early at 4:30am. When it comes to fishing I do not mind getting up early. It was a beautiful morning when we got to the water. We walked onto the river right at a hole he has fished many times in the past. It was my first time at this spot. I started fishing the hole from the back at while he was getting rigged up.

I really enjoy watching fish hit lures and flies on top of the water so it is no secret that when I am fly fishing for trout or salmon I love to use dry flies. I started using different dry flies (which I will write a section about) At this hole I kept switching up every once in awhile. I was also using different wet flies. When my friend was ready he started fishing the top of the hole that had some rapids. Within five casts he had a grilse on! I was a little ways away so I just stayed there and watched. He fought this fish for a few minutes and then it got off. For me, it was exciting to see a grilse get hooked that early and to watch him fight it for a few minutes. We fished the hole for quite awhile with him raising another grilse but it did not take.

We decided to walk down the river some as he has never done that before at that location. We walked probably for 10 minutes and came across a nice run. It did not look terribly deep but we thought it was worth a try. I had a green machine on and floated it down beside a big rock that was sitting in the middle of the run. I did this a few times and then my line went down and I realized I had a salmon on. He jumped out right away and spit my hook. It was very excited but disappointing at the same time. I brought my fly in to make sure everything was alright and casted out to the same spot again. To both of our amazement I got another hit right away. This time I fought this Atlantic salmon for a good ten minutes and had it within a foot of the shore and it spit my hook out. Again I was very pumped up for having the salmon on that long but was again disappointed that I had it that close to shore and lost it.

We continued down the river but did not really see any other water that was worth fishing so we made our way back to the original spot where we started. My friend put his fly down the middle of the run and a very nice salmon hit his fly and must have jumped three feet out of the water, which was awesome to see. Unfortunately it spit the hook. After fishing here a bit longer we decided to leave this area and try another spot farther down the river.

After a 15 minute drive we made it to the next hole. It was a nice long run with lots of deep water. After casting my fly out a handful of times a salmon came up to take a look but did not hit the fly. It was nice to see there were some Atlantic salmon holding in the pool. My friend had a quick 10 minute nap and then jokingly said it was time for him to catch a fish. He worked his way to the back of the pool and got a strike. This grilse was very active and must have jumped out of the water five or six times. He was able to land it fairly easily after it finished jumping. He said I should wait awhile to let the pool settle down and then try it again. I decided to fish the top part of the pool and then about 15 minutes later I tried where he caught his. I was not paying the greatest attention when I got a strike. It hit basically the same spot as the other one. My friend did an excellent job coaching me as I tired to land this Atlantic salmon. This is how he coached me. This may help for any other beginners out there. He told me to always make sure my line was tight. He said when I felt or saw my leader wiggle that meant it was going to make a run. He was right as after every wiggle it did make a run. He said to let it run and then to reel in as soon as it was done running. He also said that if it jumped to let the head of my rod down. This let the line go slack during the jump. I followed his instructions and about fifteen minutes later I landed my very first Atlantic salmon. Let me tell you that it was an awesome feeling. I am certainly getting hooked on salmon fishing and a day like we had certainly helps with that. Overall, we caught 2 grilse and hooked into seven fish and saw a handful of others.

I hooked into two of my Atlantic salmon using the very popular green machine salmon fly. Here is a picture for anyone unfamiliar with the fly.

This fly if very popular on the Miramichi.

A few other dry flies that I used on the day were the Green Bomber and the Brown Bomber. Both are pictured below.

Now the salmon fly that I caught my very first Atlantic salmon on was a Carters Bug. It is an excellent dry fly for fishing salmon. It is big like the bombers above. I am certainly going to be picking up more of them.

This is the fly I used to catch my first salmon.

As I am in the process of adding to my collection of salmon flies I have been searching the internet to find some salmon flies that are decently priced. I do support our local people who tie flies but I am also going to buy online if I can save some money. The other day I did find an online store that I gave a try. This online store sells trout and salmon flies along with other items.

I was very pleased to see that they have a very good selection of trout and salmon flies. Even though I wanted to buy a handful of trout flies I did focus of buying salmon flies. Their sidebar has these flies under steelhead/salmon. I also decided to look under the heading bass flies and I did decide to buy some of those flies as I think they would work for fishing salmon as well.

When I was finished placing my order I bought a total of 13 salmon flies, with me buy multiples of some same flies. Not one of the flies cost more than a dollar (US) and shipping to Canada for fishing flies was only $2.88, which if you ask me is an excellent deal.

The store is located in Arlington, Texas but that did not scare me away because of their very low shipping cost. I received an email the other night saying the order was shipped so I will post again post a comment to this post when they arrive to say how long the order took to arrive and what the quality of the flies is like. I am sure they are going to be just fine.

So, if you are someone who likes to go salmon fishing and are always looking for places to buy salmon flies online, why not give this company a try. The name of their company is The Angler’s Dream Fly Shop. Give their name a click and give them a look.

If you are new to fly fishing you may be interested in these ebooks called Fly Fishing From Scratch and Fly Fishing Mastery.

This is the Skitter Pop that I use.

I have been smallmouth bass fishing in New Brunswick for a few years now and I am starting to build up a tackle box of smallmouth bass fishing lures.  I am someone who loves to see the fish hit the bait so I have been collecting quite a few top water lures.  Right now my favorite is the Skitter Pop lure from Rapala that is fire tiger in color.  It has an open mouth at the front so when you drag it across the top of the water it pushes water with it and makes quite a commotion on top of the water.  I find the best way to retrieve the Skitter Pop lure is to pull your rod towards you when you are reeling in to make the lure jerk towards you as you reel in it.  If you do not do this then the lure just comes in to you in a straight forward motion.  I find the smallmouth bass really like the erratic movements and I get more strikes when I use this motion.

I have started using this lure more and more.

I use these when it gets windy and for chain pickerel.

I use these a lot if I know there is not a lot of weeds.