Eyeing Corkies
You have to think like a fish to catch one.
Timothy Kusherets
I think about it all the time. The hurry fishermen get
into the closer to the river they get. For the most part you can see
that many fishermen take the time to supply themselves with all the
tackle they'll need for the trip; but you can't really see just how
well they're prepared until fish are being hooked and landed. Eyeing
the corkie, also known as Lil' Corky, is a step no drift-fisherman
should overlook. It's an essential step in disguising the corkie to
make it look as natural as possible. Steelhead and salmon will take
the time to scrutinize each offering the clearer the water is which
is why you hear about professionals using very small lures and baits
when rivers and lakes are low and clear. They know that these fish
will get extremely close when taking a look, and we're talking millimeters
not inches. Eyeing a corkie is a great way to disguise the center
of it. It involves placing a toothpick in the center of it and clipping
the tip off as close to the corkie as you can get it without damaging
the fishing line going through it. After the tip has been clipped
it should be forced down into the corkie with the needle nose pliers
used to clip it. Match the color of the corkie against a felt-tip
marker and dot the toothpick until it looks like a solid dot. The
finished product will simulate eggs that are eyed "fertilized" which
garner a strike from either salmon or steelhead. Look, fish aren't
that smart to begin with but they do no when something is wrong. Once
they are put on alert it's hard to get them to bite for a few hours.
Without a colored toothpick to hide the center of a corkie it looks
hollow and a-typical from many positions. Frank Amato, publisher of
Frank Amato Publications, and I were discussing the reasons for eyeing
a corkie. He thought the whole idea was peculiar and asked if coloring
a toothpick was going a little too far. I asked Frank if he believed
that spooked fish would take closer look at offerings coming downstream
when the river is running gin clear. He agreed that they would and
I went on to tell him that as a corkie makes its way downstream the
buoyancy of the corkie will cause the hook to float above the corkie.
In almost all cases strikes will come from fish either in front of
it or below it. Spooked fish will get within a couple of inches from
it and take a look deciding whether or not to strike. If the fish
perceives it to be an egg, especially one that isn't of its own species,
it will take it into its mouth. However, if it looks anomalous fish
will simply swim out of its way and let it pass on by. Fishermen have
seen it happen exactly that way countless times and as long as the
center of the corkie isn't eyed then it will continue to happen to
most anglers. Frank seemed to take it in and agreed that eyeing the
corkie was a very good idea. In my book I discuss the myriad of pressures
that put fish "on the bite" and this is one of them. It works all
the time. You have to think like a fish to catch a fish.
© Timothy Kusherets, 2004/10
