I haven't been out much lately with a slow spike in business. Instead, I took advantage of the down time and got a few loose ends handled on the boat. I got a new Minn Kota Ulterra TM installed this week. Mike over at Morning Star did a great job on the install. She works like a dream. You get some funny looks from people when you roll up with the boat still in motion and a TM putting itself in the water. This thing has already started saving me from quite a bit of lost fishing time. Those slower days where I'm moving from spot to spot, trying to find a decent bite are the worst. Those precious minutes anchoring and pulling anchor add up.
I managed to get out and experiment with the new Ulterra 2 days this week. The first Day, I decided to change things up a bit and check on the Ring Tails. Last year, my buddy Javier came out with me and tried out a Crappy Float Rig for the Porgies. He got so sick of breaking off in the rocks that he was looking for a way around the snag issues. The idea worked very well. So well in fact, I adopted the system for myself.
Using the rig is simple. The only tricky part is figuring out what depth to set the bobber stopper to. Initially, I make a guess at the depth, set the bobber stopper and cast over to the rocks. If the float lays on it's side, I immediately know I'm set too deep. From there I'll bring the stopper up a foot. Ill continue adjusting until the float sits up right. Also, if on the first cast(the guess cast) I'm finding that the bobber is already sitting correctly, I'll start lowering the stopper until the float lays on it's side. This way I know for a fact that I'm near enough to the bottom to catch fish. Ideally, you want to be about a foot off the bottom when targeting Ring Tails. These fish do suspend somewhat depending on the spot but being a foot off the bottom is a good starting point. This way you're catching fish and your high enough off the bottom to not snag.
There is one other variable to consider when setting your depth and that is Swell Hight. Obviously, if you have a 3 foot ground swell rolling in and you set the bobber stopper to allow the bait to sit a foot off the bottom, your gonna get sat on the bottom between swells and eventually end up snagged. Compensate for this by setting the stopper higher up. Now, if the ground swell is any higher than that, this rig becomes ineffective and you'll need to consider other options. On a calm, flat day, it doesn't get any more fun or simpler that this system.
Ring Tails bite similarly to Sheepshead. This is why we go with a Crappy Float. It requires less weight to pull it down making those very subtle nibbles noticeable. With such a small float you'll need to use a very small amount of weight for the hook end. You can achieve this two ways, either with a light weight Crappy Jig or a small split shot above a #4 hook. Both work well.
The bait of choice is Fresh dead Shrimp. Bring a cutting board and a sharp knife. You'll want to cut the shrimp into tiny segments. Each piece should be no bigger than your pinky nail. You'll be surprised how big of a Porgy will hammer such a small piece of Shrimp. Using bigger pieces will result in you getting robbed a LOT. These fish are crafty so expect to get robbed far more often that you will hook up. Be patient though, the rewards far out weigh the effort. These fish are among the finest eating species inshore fishing has to offer. Better than Sheepshead and WAY easier to clean imo. The best part, the schools are massive, hundreds strong. Once your on them, the bite is none stop(if fished correctly).
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Danny Pardue