Trophy Fishing Tips

By: Tim Fey

As a seasoned fishing guide in the central Florida area, Tim Fey shares some of his secrets of success in an effort to help you catch the BIGGEST fish of your life. New Tips will be added often. Contact Tim at 321-303-9207 to arrange a private guided fishing tour or visit www.bassfishingfl.com

The Grass Snake lands a nice one

Working Flooded Timber
When working flooded timber, many anglers flip lures and work an area as they troll along. Instead, pull up to a log, or tree in the water and tie off to it. Flip the Original Fishing Snake™ around and really give the area a good work over, slow twitch-and-pause retrieve. Flip it at a tree and let it actually hit the tree allowing it to fall back into the water, giving it the affect that the snake has just fallen from the tree. I have hammered many good-sized hawgs doing this. Most of all, don’t forget those trees that may not look like such a sweet spot. A solitary tree quite often harbors a solitary monster.

Working Floating Mats
Find those floating grass and hydrilla mats in the lakes. Stay off the mats about 10 feet and flip the Original Fishing Snake™ about 5 to 10 feet into the mat. Work a slow twitch-and-pause retrieve. Once you get to the edge, STOP. Let it rest there for 10 seconds, give it a little twitch and hold on. I have seen and caught many 8 and 10 pounders using this method and the explosion on the water is enough to excite even the most experienced angler.

Lily Pad Fishing
Fishing lily pads with the Original Fishing Snake™ can be an awesome experience, but a lot of times you drift away from the sweet spots. So instead of dropping your anchor, scaring all the fish away, go to your local hardware store and get an extending pole used by painters. Use your trolling motor to sneak up to the edge of the lily pads, then stick the pole into the water about 2 or 3 feet into the bottom and tie off to it. With a quick release rope, one snap, and you can go into the pads when you hook that monster bass.

Tim with an 11.4 hawg

Fishing the Shoreline
When working the shoreline with the Original Fishing SnakeT, flip the snake onto the shore and then twitch it back into the water. Give it a little pause for a second or two to give it the life-like effect of a snake that just entered the water. Then continue with a slow twitch-and-pause retrieve. Always remember be the snake, think like a snake and you too will be slamming the hawgs.

Practice CPR - Catch, Photograph, and Release. Let them get bigger for your kids to catch

Work Those Reeds
Find some good Reed and flip the Original Fishing SnakeT up into them. Slowly twitching the Snake and allowing it to bump the reeds can really stir up some good action. Those big hawgs you have been looking for hide in there and nothing is more exciting than watching the water explode in the reeds when the Snake gets hit.