Ep. 51: Wall Tactics, Spotty Palooza Tournament & [FISH]rx on Tackle Supply

Hosts: Daniel Dahlin ([FISH]rx), El Charly, Luke Dean (Bait Slingers / Artemis Charters)

No guest for Episode 51, recorded live on August 6, 2024 — Daniel, Charly, and Luke on what’s been working at the wall, the Spotty Palooza tournament coming up, and [FISH]rx going live on Tackle Supply. A technique-heavy no-guest episode that covers wall fishing mechanics in more detail than most guest episodes manage.

In This Episode

• Wall fishing mechanics — the 36-fish-in-40-minutes session and what made it work: correct bait weight for the current, keeping bottom contact through the drift, and moving every few casts rather than working a single spot
• Only two fish off the wall, everything else off alternate structure — Daniel’s observation that on this session the wall itself underperformed while nearby alternate structure produced. The wall as a starting point, not a destination
• Spotty Palooza tournament — upcoming spotted bay bass tournament. Format, timing, and what to expect for anglers entering their first competitive spotty event
• [FISH]rx now live on Tackle Supply — [FISH]rx baits available through Tackle Supply. The distribution expansion and what it means for anglers outside the direct-ship customer base
• Crankbait troll as a search technique — Daniel mentions trolling a crankbait to cover water quickly when the bite is slow and locating fish before committing to a presentation. The troll as a legitimate search tool even if he’d never brag about it
• Slip-to-slip approach in the harbor — going from slip to slip systematically and picking off active fish rather than anchoring on one spot. The moving approach producing more fish than stationary presentations in this session

Beyond the Rod & Reel on Spotty Palooza

The 36-fish-in-40-minutes detail is interesting because of what came before it: they’d been fishing hard and couldn’t buy a bite. Then everything clicked. What changed wasn’t the bait — it was finding the fish. Once they were on active fish, almost anything would have worked. That’s the lesson: location matters more than presentation until you’ve found the fish. Then presentation matters.

The “only two fish off the wall” note is a useful reminder that the wall as structure doesn’t produce on every tide and every session. Daniel’s approach: fish the wall, read the result, move to alternate structure if the wall isn’t feeding. The wall is the starting point. The session’s job is to figure out where the fish actually are.

Watch the full episode on the Time On The Water YouTube channel. New episodes every Tuesday at 6 PM.