A person can’t successfully charter fish for 28 years without accumulating a bag of tricks. Zutie Auenson is no exception. Here are some of his.
I’m always looking around when I’m fishing. Shrimp don’t jump for nothing. Something is making them jump.
Look for currents and eddies when you are running along the beach, especially where a current is running from the back to the outside.
Clear water is good, but you can still catch fish in murky, even dirty, water. Unlike plastic lures, live croakers make noise. That betters your chances.
Always look for feeding birds when fishing on the beaches. Don’t fish under small “liar birds” that are always dipping and diving. Even if you are a live-bait fisherman, keep a rod rigged with plastic for fishing under birds.
Trout will not be found on a whole reef. They are in 20-foot spots — at most 40-foot. Fish are in tight spots.
“Boats stay too long in one place,” he said. “If in 15 minutes, I don’t have an idea that the fish are there, I leave. I don’t stay a half-hour.”
When you use live bait, hold your rod straight up, then lower it to set the hook. During the retrieve, keep the rod tip up, not to the side like a bass fisherman.
Anchoring when using plastic is a waste of time. Use a trolling motor.
“A lot of what I do is repetition,” he said. “If I catch fish somewhere today, I go there tomorrow. If they don’t bite there, I go where I caught them recently. All good fishermen do that.”
