gil1
Well-Known Member
[size]Dr. Kevorkian Duct Tape Turtle[/size]
[size]By GIL LACKEY[/size]
Chrysemys picta, the painted turtle
Hook: Daiichi Stinger hook, size 5/0
Body: Fluorescent green duct tape
Note: Tape duct tape over itself 3 times each for top and bottom. Cut out turtle shape, and Superglue top and bottom together with hook in between. Color with markers if desired.
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[color:#FF6666]�Baby turtle imitations are the best kept secret in the fishing world!�
Legendary bass angler, Bill Dance
[/color]
High atop my flyfishing stepladder, I had a panoramic view of the action. Unfortunately for me and the other early season striper fishermen, we weren�t in on it. My Clouser Minnow shared Old Hickory Cove with about half a dozen 5-inch Fluke Minnows, all hastily retrieved by baitcasters and spinning reels. The antiquated spincast rig resting in the hands of a veteran bank-walker was, however, the only pole that had seen a bend all afternoon. I couldn�t resist wading over to see if the old man would spill his secret.
Correctly assessing that my wimpy little fly rod and I were no threat to the local fish population, Mr. Pickens told a fishing tale I could hardly believe. Even if I subtracted the 20% tip that diners and fishermen customarily add to their tally, Mr. Pickens caught more fish than any five tournament fishermen combined. Judging by his stringer of lunker largemouth, this guy was the real deal.
The old man had grown up during the Great Depression, a time when knowing how to catch fish meant supper on the table. In the spring, he and most everyone in his hometown of Frogsboro, North Carolina, filled their creels and their bellies by using the deadliest bait ever used on black bass, the freshwater turtle. Chrysemys picta, otherwise known as the painted turtle, is the most common turtle in North America, ranging from Canada to Mexico. Painted turtles have a varied diet, but it is believed that nature timed their hatch to coincide with the bass spawning period so that the baby turtles could gorge on bass eggs to sustain them throughout infancy.
Sometimes, coaxing a bedded bass to bite can be harder than rocket surgery, but luckily, bass instinctively know that baby turtles are a serious threat, and the protective parents attack the marauders almost without fail. Newly hatched painted turtles are only about an inch and a half long, and their shells stay soft and malleable until they harden at about a month old. In their infancy, they are the perfect defenseless snack for an irritable spawning bass.
As a child, Mr. Pickens learned how to set up homemade baby turtle traps to snare his favorite bass bait. In the 1970�s, scientists discovered that young painted turtles were major carriers of the Salmonella bacteria, and the federal government made it illegal to handle, transport, or sell them. Mr. Pickens overcame this obstacle by fabricating his own painted turtle lures. He�s been slaying spring spawners with artificials ever since.
I brought the turtle fly idea to creative fly tyer and guide, Steve Sylvis of Game Fair Ltd. Steve came up with a simple, inexpensive pattern that anybody can create with materials most any good outdoorsman already carries in the truck. If you�ve got duct tape, a hook, and some glue, you�re good to go. Like the famous assisted suicide doctor, the �Dr. Kevorkian Turtle� is deadly.
The fishing technique is simple and can be used with either fly or conventional tackle. If the spawning bed is visible, cast the fly directly into it and let it sit there until momma or poppa bass swims by. Set the hook quickly before the bass spits out the fake. If casting blind, just fancast into the shallows during the spawn, let it sink, and slowly strip or reel the turtle across the bottom. Bass will travel great distances to annihilate their mortal enemy. With the hook point tied facing upwards, it�s virtually snag-free. Using this method, I�ve caught phenomenal numbers of smallmouth, largemouth, and spotted bass, many of which have been trophies. This is the most productive and easiest fishing technique I�ve ever used. For most of us in Tennessee, the bass are spawning right now. Get out there and �go Kevorkian� on �em!
Author�s note: APRIL FOOL�S! Can you believe you just fell for this cockamamie story?
[size]By GIL LACKEY[/size]
Chrysemys picta, the painted turtle
Hook: Daiichi Stinger hook, size 5/0
Body: Fluorescent green duct tape
Note: Tape duct tape over itself 3 times each for top and bottom. Cut out turtle shape, and Superglue top and bottom together with hook in between. Color with markers if desired.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[color:#FF6666]�Baby turtle imitations are the best kept secret in the fishing world!�
Legendary bass angler, Bill Dance
[/color]
High atop my flyfishing stepladder, I had a panoramic view of the action. Unfortunately for me and the other early season striper fishermen, we weren�t in on it. My Clouser Minnow shared Old Hickory Cove with about half a dozen 5-inch Fluke Minnows, all hastily retrieved by baitcasters and spinning reels. The antiquated spincast rig resting in the hands of a veteran bank-walker was, however, the only pole that had seen a bend all afternoon. I couldn�t resist wading over to see if the old man would spill his secret.
Correctly assessing that my wimpy little fly rod and I were no threat to the local fish population, Mr. Pickens told a fishing tale I could hardly believe. Even if I subtracted the 20% tip that diners and fishermen customarily add to their tally, Mr. Pickens caught more fish than any five tournament fishermen combined. Judging by his stringer of lunker largemouth, this guy was the real deal.
The old man had grown up during the Great Depression, a time when knowing how to catch fish meant supper on the table. In the spring, he and most everyone in his hometown of Frogsboro, North Carolina, filled their creels and their bellies by using the deadliest bait ever used on black bass, the freshwater turtle. Chrysemys picta, otherwise known as the painted turtle, is the most common turtle in North America, ranging from Canada to Mexico. Painted turtles have a varied diet, but it is believed that nature timed their hatch to coincide with the bass spawning period so that the baby turtles could gorge on bass eggs to sustain them throughout infancy.
Sometimes, coaxing a bedded bass to bite can be harder than rocket surgery, but luckily, bass instinctively know that baby turtles are a serious threat, and the protective parents attack the marauders almost without fail. Newly hatched painted turtles are only about an inch and a half long, and their shells stay soft and malleable until they harden at about a month old. In their infancy, they are the perfect defenseless snack for an irritable spawning bass.
As a child, Mr. Pickens learned how to set up homemade baby turtle traps to snare his favorite bass bait. In the 1970�s, scientists discovered that young painted turtles were major carriers of the Salmonella bacteria, and the federal government made it illegal to handle, transport, or sell them. Mr. Pickens overcame this obstacle by fabricating his own painted turtle lures. He�s been slaying spring spawners with artificials ever since.
I brought the turtle fly idea to creative fly tyer and guide, Steve Sylvis of Game Fair Ltd. Steve came up with a simple, inexpensive pattern that anybody can create with materials most any good outdoorsman already carries in the truck. If you�ve got duct tape, a hook, and some glue, you�re good to go. Like the famous assisted suicide doctor, the �Dr. Kevorkian Turtle� is deadly.
The fishing technique is simple and can be used with either fly or conventional tackle. If the spawning bed is visible, cast the fly directly into it and let it sit there until momma or poppa bass swims by. Set the hook quickly before the bass spits out the fake. If casting blind, just fancast into the shallows during the spawn, let it sink, and slowly strip or reel the turtle across the bottom. Bass will travel great distances to annihilate their mortal enemy. With the hook point tied facing upwards, it�s virtually snag-free. Using this method, I�ve caught phenomenal numbers of smallmouth, largemouth, and spotted bass, many of which have been trophies. This is the most productive and easiest fishing technique I�ve ever used. For most of us in Tennessee, the bass are spawning right now. Get out there and �go Kevorkian� on �em!
Author�s note: APRIL FOOL�S! Can you believe you just fell for this cockamamie story?
