Welcome to the Fishful Thinker channel! For the last 14 years we've traveled around fishing and filming public waters and bringing them to life on TV in a casual and educational format. We've included show guests of all sorts while trying to be as diverse as possible with both fish species and techniques. Bass to bonefish, fly or conventional, we've filmed it all...and we even include cooking segments to highlight our favorite fish and game recipes. While we still air on World Fishing Network and Altitude Sports, here on our channel you'll find full episodes, custom edits, fish and game cooking, and unseen footage. It's all focussed on increasing your angling success in a light-hearted, down to earth format. Please consider subscribing while you're here. Fish big!
Nice to see you knocking it out if the park again. I was searching for smoked trout and you were the second one that come up on my list. Nice to see a long time friend on here!
Congrats on getting the Crawdad! I've had mine for over 30 years, but only recently got serious about it. It's a great river and lake boat. I'm designing a sail for mine.
Thanks for following along. I don’t tip jigs with bait at all for any species. This was filmed the last week of May. Funny thing is that was the one and only time I ever fished lake trout there. 🤷♂️
Hey Chad are you using Rapala Original Floaters at times in this video? Or are those Husky Jerks? I thought original floaters technically are not jerkbaits. Just curious because I have a bunch but usually just straight retrieve them. Thank you!
Yes, there are some original Floating Rapalas in this vid. They fish very well as shallow jerkbaits. Keep in mind. This video is fairly old as you can tell from looking at it. The techniques are still 100% applicable, but the specific lures have changed for me based on advancements and lures. I don’t floating Rapalas at all anymore, instead preferring Berkley Hit Sticks which run almost the same but are far more consistent in their action, durable, and less expensive as well. The problem with the Rapalas is that they are made out of wood, which is not a consistent product and the foil finish is easily damaged, which allows water to get in and ruin the lure. Having said that, good ones still catch plenty of fish so if you have some throw them and don’t be afraid to work them like a jerk bait or on a consistent retrieve, or on a stop and go as a twitch bait.
Wow - super thoughtful response, thank you! I learn a ton from your videos and I’m here in Denver as well. I have a few hit sticks already as well as an arsenal of flicker shads specifically from watching your content. Keep it coming, thanks again. -Mike
Great stuff Chad thanks for sharing your knowledge. One of my bucket list items is to hook into an Aurora Res Wiper. I have seen them cruising the shallow areas of the dam and even watched them try and get stocker trout from a stringer. I have thrown imitation rainbow trout lures only to see them swim away in fear. hahaha. I'm not giving up and will try some of your techniques.
You cooked that fish to perfection how could you wait to dig in, might have to cook my sauce first, great recipe thanks. I think I have had salmon prepared this way once at a very nice restaurant!
I love Chad’s understanding of how to properly catch and release. Most TV fisherman hold them improperly and out of the water for way way too long. Thanks Chad!,
Thanks for watching and being attentive to fish handling...it's a pet peeve of mine when fish that are to be released are not handled with care and diligence!
Presentation techniques…can you elaborate (continuous reel, pause and reel)? Choppo, Bullet Pop (topwater). Hit Stick, Stuna. (Depth base). #BuildingConfidence #Fundamentals
Choppo I start with a straight reel and vary from there if that doesn't work. Bullet Pop is always tip down with short crisp pops. with some slack in between. Hit Stick and Stunna are both similar in that i start with a typical twitch-pause cadence and the retrieve varies widely from there. Lots of slack line before and after each rod tip snap. Rarely, I will straight retrieve a Hit Stick or conversely work it very slowly, allowing it to break the surface film between pops. That works especially well in the post spawn for bass. Hope it helps!
@@DavidStauffacher yes for sure. The key is using the rod to pull the slack out of the presentation before reeling line in...basically I reel the rod back to the bait, not vice versa, while working the presentation.
With any technique, I will always start with the fastest one and make the fish force me to slow down. That means yes I start with a constant even retrieve, but may add pauses or speed changes or direction changes if the fish won’t bite the easiest one. Same with the jerk bait, crank bait, or anything else that I’m winding
Just saw a reddit comment that called you out as a local Colorado fisherman RU-vidr, subscribed immediately. I'm gonna enjoy your collection sir, thanks!
Thanks for subbing...this channel is a labor of love. Full original episodes air weekly on World Fishing Network and also Altitude Sports Channel as well.
I want my Bonny dam back, I was a kid during the 2000’s and it was the closest “lake” you could go to. As an adult now, I wish I could just go there and fish and camp there, so many memories from childhood just lost now
Which campground would you recommend for a fifth wheel to camp and also have a boat ramp for putting in our pontoon? We prefer more dispersed camping. We are planning on middle of June, would the fishing be optimal mid June?
@@nlrzach9270 I used my connections at Ranger Boats to get some pultruded scraps to use....that might be tough for you. A good sub would be HDPE cutting board material. I used some of it in this boat as well to bolster the thickness for hre clamps to grab on the bow motor. It's physically lighter than pultruded material which could be a bonus.
I totally understand that. My main point is get the best polarized glasses you can afford; pick your lens color, intelligently, and make sure you get a frame that fits your face. Well Costa makes less expensive polycarbonate options, and several of their sister brands make even less expensive options as well. I’m of the opinion that an investment in quality sunglasses will catch you more fish than an extra hundred dollars in lures will.
Everybody’s got a budget, I get that. I thought that or should I say…still think that way. Value is subjective and seen through the eyes of beholder. Yet, if you really enjoy something, be it fishing , boating, or exploring nature’s offering, find the best glass polarized eyewear. The investment is worth the price. I wear my #costa all the time…3 pair.
Mostly by the conditions combined wiht knowledge of the specific lure. When I adopt new lures into my arsenal, I'll run them through a series of tests to see how they are affected by leader/line choices, speed differences and other variables. I know I prefer suspend or slow rise in spring and suspend or slow sink in spring so i work towards that. In warm months, I rarely pause the jerkbait enough for leader to matter much.
