PREFACE to"The Lost Art of Jig-Stick Fishing ~Open Water Flippin' UnReeled"
It's the late Spring of 1990 and earlier in the year in the month of January, I suffered a major injury to my right hand (dominant hand) after getting into a bit of a scrape with a table saw. After several corrective surgeries and a few trips a week/every week for rehabilitation, it was still quite tender and sensitive and needless to saythat it was in no condition to be pitching baits for several hours at a time on a given outing without risking it to swell up like a balloon.
Now seeing as I wasn't ineptly ambidextrous back in those days, I honestly thought that my fishing season was going to beOne Big Bust and yet nothing could have been further from the truth as I went on to break "personal bests" in 3 categories for Largemouth Bass, Walleye and Crappie. My 7+lb Largemouth Bass out of Sturgeon Lake near Emily Creek still stands for me to this day and I owe this mainly to The Lost Art of Jig-Pole Fishing and the know-how associated to Open Water Flippin' - a Combination of Both Old and Modern Techniques with Practical Influences and References ranging from my Ice-Fishing Mentor (a former First Nation's National Champion) to my old pet Snakehead(a Predator Species of Tropical Freshwater Fish that is today banned from public captivity in North America) that did take some years for me to streamline for simplicity, repeatability and most of all "productivity"... All to be found in this, my 2nd book revealing some of the most highly guarded and sought after methods that cannot be bought or sold anywhere in North America - up until now that is...
The "real kicker" is that I did the majorityof my fishing Left-Handed that year. You see, by the time I had arrived at the hospital on the morning of Jan.4th, 1990 ( Affectionately known to my wife as the 2nd worst day of my life - LOL ), I had lost a few liters of blood and it took 4 surgeons roughly 10hrsto patch my right hand back together by way of 2 fused knuckles, 200 stitches, 6 weeks in the hospital and a couple of corrective surgeries to boot -soenough about the gory details- let's talk about Jig-Stick Fishing and "No" I don't mean using a long section of "Cane Stick" for a pole or how to work a "Stick Bait" properly via "Walkin' The Dog"... and to think that one should even have to pay for a magazine subscription just to be able to read up on that technique as a featured article after "wading your way" through pages full of advertisements and countless other distractions is another story altogether. If you haven't heard me say this before, I'll say it again, "Most Lures on the market today do a better job of catching most fisherman than their intended species of fish."
So I get the call on a Sunday afternoon as if my prayers are being answeredin some strange fashion. It's the May 24 long weekend and I'm doing nothing more than sulking at home and feeling depressed. When the phone rings, it's my good friend Frank (and later on God father to my kids) asking me if I'd like to accompanyhim to the cottage on Rice Lake near Peterborough, Ontario to do some fishing on the Holiday Monday as his extended family would be packing up early and how this would resultantly free up some space for the two of us to go as well? I respectfully and thankfully declined with no need to explain why as he too was one of the friends and family that came to visit periodically during my 6 week stint in the hospital earlier that year.
He responds to my lack of enthusiasm by telling me that I don't have to fish if I don't feel up to the task and that I can simply drive the boat and be his "wing-man" or "net-man" for lack of a better word. Back in those days we didn't have a boat, motor and trailer and would almost always be shelling out a rental fee of roughly $60-$80/day wheneverwe went lake fishing, so there's two things that I might point out here... a) we spent a lot of money on boat rentals and b) wheneverthere was a friend's boat waiting for us at a dock with an open invitation - we always jumped on it and almost never let the opportunity pass us bye - but unfortunately my answer was still "No Thank You." At this point Frank begins to get crafty by implying that under conditions of a friendly rivalry that perhaps I'd somehow be afraid to watch him produce all the fish - I began to laugh aloud.
Finally, he lets the cat out of the bagand says "...Swann there's something I haven't been telling you?" Accordingly, I reply "what thing?" Frank says, "My Fiancee'sFather introduced me to a style of fishing that suits your present condition (or moreso disposition) perfectly and not only that, you don't need to use a reel...You can hold a pole and Jig Fish can't you?" (Now he has my full attention) to which I reply "Yeah? I can do that...Anyone can do that?"
Frank's closing statements of that conversation went something like this... "Good. You bring the coffee and be at my place by 5am tomorrow morning. Leave your gear at home But be sure to bring a good pair of Polarized Lenses and by the way, be ready for a Good Time - because We're Gonna Produce Alot Of Fish!" Well I think you can picture what was going through my mind after that conversation and am quite certain that I didn't sleep much that night - if at all.
It was the late spring of 1990 then and the Summer of 2010 now and needless to say that I have learned to refine this technique to an exact science over the past 20 years and intend to deliver it to you in similar fashion as my 1st Book entitled "The Secret Methods of Ice Fishing ~Deepwater Tactics UnLeashed". In that book I made mention of a Spring/Early Summer SpooningTechnique for WhiteFish that I said I would write about and will make certain to do so and also how that technique can and will relate to Spring LakeTroutFishing long after Ice-Out bye way of a few subtle adjustments.
You see, not everyone has the luxury of a Boat with a good Fish Finder and Trolling Motor to properly execute such a species specific technique like "SpooningFor Early Summer Whiteys" and since my key criteria for writing such a book is that "Just about Anyone should be able to Extract The Info, Execute Effectively and have a certain degree of Almost Instant Success"- only makes sense to add it as a brief closing chapter in this, my 2nd book.
Bye doing so, my readers will possessthe same highly productive methods that I use personally that can and will assistthem for virtual Year Round Success with our target species of this book being the infamous Mr. Walleye. The very nature of this technique will almost automatically bag us some Largemouth Bass and Crappie too, where the need to "Zero-In" on any of these 3 species is simply a matter of (once again) "a few subtle adjustments" by way of understanding some of their most common traits / characteristics with respect invariably to habitat throughout the Summer months. If there are any lakes or bodies of water in close proximityto your home with potentially good fish populations that you just can't seem to fish properly with a traditional rod and reel due to Thick Cover and/or Poor Water Clarity... This Book Could Very Well Be Just What The Doctor Ordered!
For Further Information Regarding This Highly Productive and yet Grossly Over Looked Little Known Tactic for Walleye, Bass and Crappie - Please Feel Free To Contact The Author Directly via Email or Search Parameter(s) Containing The Information Listed Below:
Book Title: The Lost Art of Jig-Stick Fishing
Sub Title: ~Open Water Flippin' UnReeled
Author: Sandro (Swann) Brilli
Email Direct: TopFishingTactics@live.com
Ebay ID: TopTactics