tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54086888103461656392024-03-21T04:51:30.335-04:00Bass Fishing For BeginnersIf you want to learn bass fishing...join this 25 year experienced pro guide as he shares his | bass fishing tips | techniques | and secrets | to help you catch more bassFISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-17293367389043635072018-03-20T13:11:00.000-04:002018-03-23T10:12:06.279-04:00Wacky Worm For Bass<span style="font-size: large;"><b>How to rig, and fish with a wacky worm</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I think last time I talked about <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2015/09/how-to-find-bass-consistently.html" target="_blank">how to find bass</a>. Today, with Spring just around the corner, I'm going to talk about one of my favorite techniques of rigging a soft plastic bait not only in the Spring, but basically any time of year. The term "wacky worm" is not a brand or particular type of plastic bait. It is simply a different method of hooking a plastic worm or other soft plastic lure which gives it an erratic fish attracting action and folks believe me when I say it's deadly! on bass.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>How To Rig A Bait Wacky Style</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Rigging a worm or whatever soft plastic you choose to use wacky style is not complicated or difficult. In fact it's the easiest of all the popular rigs. And the method can be used on almost any rig. It can be rigged to fish shallow with nothing more than a hook tied to the line, Or fished deep on a drop shot, carolina or texas rig.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">To rig a worm or soft plastic wacky style, you can simply estimate where halfway is in the length of the worm or bait and stick the hook through the center of the bait. Or use the kid in this video's cool idea.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>How to fish a wacky worm shallow</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What makes this method of rigging a soft plastic lure so deadly, is the action that it gives the bait. When bass aren't in a feeding mood, it's important to keep in mind that you need to trip their killer instinct and get them to strike out of reaction. And rigging the worm wacky style allows the angler to give the bait lots
of strike triggering action while keeping the bait in the strike zone.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As I mentioned, the wacky worm can be extremely effective fished deep or shallow. But it's most often used much like a <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010/02/best-bass-lure.html" target="_blank">jerkbait</a>, but on a weightless rig to fish shallow cover such as wood, vegetation or rock. The rig can be used on <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010/03/mastering-baitcaster.html" target="_blank">bait cast </a>or spinning tackle. I personally prefer spinning reels for this technique.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">To fish the rig around shallow cover, simply cast to the target, holding the rod tip low in a downward position give it a couple of short twitches. I like to use the twitch and pause method. I give the bait 2 very short twitches then pause for a few seconds and let it sink then repeat. The strike will usually come while the bait is slowly sinking. It's very important to remember, this is simply the standard wacky worm retrieve. If you're not getting bites using it, you should ALWAYS! experiment with different retrieve's until the fish tell you how they want it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>2 methods of fishing the wacky worm deep</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Rigging a bait wacky style is equally as effective on bass in deep water, as it is in shallow. Probably the most used technique to fish wacky style in deep water these days, is to fish it on a drop shot rig. The rigging method for the bait is no different on the drop shot than for fishing the rig shallow. The difference is in the size of the bait and hook. The wacky worm on the drop shot rig will usually be most effective when its downsized to a small 3 to 4 inch worm and fished in a more vertical fashion. I don't think I've written anything on the drop shot yet, but I will very soon. The drop shot is a very effective deep finesse fishing method. which allows the angler to present the wacky worm to fish on deep water cover or structure with the same erratic action as in shallow water with the weightless rig.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A second method of getting a wacky worm down to those deeper bass is one of my personal favorites, the <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/03/plastic-worms.html" target="_blank">carolina rig</a>. This rig can be just as effective on deep water bass as the drop shot. However It's a more horizonal fishing method that works best for fishing structure such as points with scattered stumps or rocks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tips for fishing the wacky worm</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. One very useful tip for fishing a bait wacky style in shallow water on a weightless rig, is to use a 16 to 18 inch leader connected to the main line with a small barrel swivel. the erratic action of the bait fished wacky style causes a lot of line twist. Using the barrel swivel and leader will minimize or completely eliminate this problem.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. when fishing the wacky worm weightless in shallow clear water you will often be able to visually see the fish come up and hit the bait but not completely engulf it. The first reaction is to immediately set the hook. However you will have a much higher chance of hooking and catching the fish, if you wait until you can no longer see the bait in the fish's mouth to set the hook.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. This tip is a good rule with a wacky worm as well as any other lure. If you are seeing fish chase the bait but not hitting it, try changing to a different color or size lure. Many times the simple color or size of a lure can be the difference in catching a limit of bass, or catching nothing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I hope this has been helpful. If you have questions just use the comment section and I'll do my best to give answers. Meanwhile if you find yourself having trouble catching bass this Spring, Try a wacky worm! </span><br />
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FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-31527998026627991912015-09-26T19:19:00.002-04:002015-10-15T08:15:03.143-04:00How To Consistently Find Bass <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tips for locating bass</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's been quite a while since I last posted, as I've been really busy with a lot of different projects. In fact my last post was on<span style="color: lime;"><a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2012/01/winter-bass-fishing-tips.html" target="_blank"> winter fishing</a>.</span> Today I want to give you as an angler a tip that I consider to be the most important thing you can do to learn to find bass consistently and catch them what ever time of year you may be fishing. Just so you know in advance I'm also going to shamelessly promote the best resource I know for learning this. The reason its the best is because I created it of coarse.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you've had any experience at all at bass fishing, I'm sure you've had one of those days when catching fish was as easy as casting a lure out and reeling in a fish. And you've went back to the same spot with the same bait a day later or even a couple hours later and the fish seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Well the fish didn't disappear. They simply did what bass do. They adjusted what they were doing to meet their needs in the environment that they live in. They may have moved or they may just be in a different mood due to some small subtle change in weather, water temp or any of 1000 other different things that can cause fish to do what they do. And as a bass fisherman, it's pretty much impossible to know what the fish are going to do and be able to find bass and catch them in any given condition, unless you know something about their habits, what their needs are and how they meet their needs in the under water environment they live in. And knowing this is the difference between anglers such as pros who are able to consistently find bass and catch them and those who depend completely on luck or an article they read to catch fish.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Today I'm going to give just a quick overview of what the fish need in different seasons which may or may not help you find bass. <b>But if you're serious about learning this stuff, The resource I mentioned is an ebook that I've written. It will help you learn what you need to know to be able to consistently find and catch bass at any time of year and under any conditions that mother nature may present on any given day<a href="http://www.thinklikeabass.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> see it here</a>.</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Since we are in the beginning of Fall I'll start there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Finding bass in the Fall</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Bass being cold blooded, will slow their metabolism as the water temps cool to below the mid 50's. they are most active in water temps ranging from the mid 50's to the mid 70's. when the water temps reach these levels in fall, bass will start to feed up for the cold winter ahead when they will be much less active. The shallower the water cools first before deep areas and that's a good place to look for them to be feeding. Feeding is their number one priority this time of year. Look for bass in the very backs of creeks, on shallow flats and in the backs of coves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Finding bass in Winter</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When water temps fall below the mid 50's bass will normally be very inactive. They will feed but usually will not move very far or spend a lot of energy chasing a bait. the best places to look for bass at this time of year are normally around deep water structure such as the ends of points, creek or river channel ledges, in the deeper areas where abundant bait fish or some other prey are located.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Finding bass in spring</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Once again, when the water temps reach that mid 50's range, bass will have spawning on their mind and will start heading for the shallows to spawn. they will stage on structure near shallow area's first and move on up into the shallows as the water temps start to reach the 60 degree mark. Once again the shallow area's will warm first before deeper area's.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Finding bass in Summer</b> <b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Summer is the most stressful time of year for bass. When water temps climb above the mid 70's bass will look for cooler water. They may find it on the same deep water structure as they winter on, or at the mouth of a cooler water tributary such as a creek<b> </b>or spring, or the may just find shade in or under vegitation like pads grass or trees. whether they move deep or stay shallow will normally depend on the availability of food or prey and cover. </span><br />
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FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-84952409272065217072012-01-04T12:46:00.004-05:002015-09-25T16:59:24.091-04:00Winter Bass Fishing Tips<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Cold Water Winter Bass Fishing Tips</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Last time I talked about <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-to-use-fishing-reports.html">fishing reports</a>. Since it's now Winter, today I'm going to give some tips for fishing cold water. Cold Winter weather can present quite a challenge when it comes to catching bass. However fishing can be very good at this time of year. And with a little knowledge and persistence Winter offers an opportunity to catch what very well may be the biggest bass of your life. Today I'm going to share some important tips to remember when fishing cold water.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Preparation and safety tips</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Boring yes, but extremely important. Being out on the water in cold weather adds to the risk of boating and fishing accidents. When water temps fall below the mid 50's an accidental fall into the water can become very deadly; even if you're wearing a life jacket. Hypothermia can set-in in a matter of a few minutes. Always take an extra change of warm clothing with you when fishing in Winter. If you or your partner fall into the water get out, as quickly as possible, and get out of your wet clothing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">You should never fish alone at anytime of year. But it's even more true in Winter. Having help if something goes wrong can be the difference in life or death.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When air temps fall below freezing, concrete or asphalt boat ramps can quickly become a sheet of ice. it's always a good idea to have a couple bags of rock salt with you to melt the ice when fishing in cold weather.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tips for finding fish</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In general bass move to deep water at this time of year. This is when your <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010/12/fish-finder-part-2.html">fish finder </a>becomes an almost essential tool for locating bass. However, even if water temps are cold, it's important to remember that shallow water warms much faster than deep water. If the weather is unstable over a period of a few days, finding fish can become very tricky. As an example of what I mean by this, If the weather has been consistently cold and suddenly warms for a couple days, the shallows can quickly become warmer than the deep water. If this happens, bass will move to where the warmer water is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Look for large schools of bait fish. This is the time when bait fish pack up into huge schools. Look for these schools to be on deep water structure such as points, humps rocks, creek channels or man made structures in deep water. Find the big schools of bait and the fish will be near them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Look for small shallow pockets that get sun all or most of the day. Usually the best place to look for these are on the Northeast or Northwest side of the lake. If you find a shallow pocket or flat area where the water temp is a couple degrees warmer than the rest of the lake or area, there's a good chance it will be loaded with fish.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Lure Tips</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When choosing a lure for cold water bass its important to keep in mind that bass are cold blooded. When the water is cold the fish are cold as well. Bass don't like to expend a lot of energy to get a meal as they will in warmer water. So in general you'll need to slow down and fish slow moving baits. Some of my personal favorites are.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Jigs: Over the years I've probably caught more and bigger fish in cold water on <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2011/01/jig-fishing-for-bass.html">jigs </a>than any other lure. Bass jigs are basically a craw fish imitation. Crawfish are a very highly nutritional food for bass and if they have the opportunity to eat one in Winter without spending much energy, they usually will.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Spoons: As I've already mentioned, bass will follow the huge schools of baitfish in Winter. When you find bass holding under schools of bait in deep water the jigging spoon can be a real killer. This pattern requires a vertical presentation. Position the boat directly over the school, drop the spoon to the bottom or to the level where the fish are holding, pop it up with the rod tip and let it flutter back down. In the right situation you can often catch a limit of nice fish very quickly with this lure.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Zoom Trick Worm: The trick worm is a very simple soft plastic<a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010/02/best-bass-lure.html"> jerk bait</a> This type of worm is made by a number of different companies and most all of them will catch fish; Zoom just happens to be my personal favorite. The Trick worm is most effective in shallow water situations such as I mentioned above. What makes this lure so effective in cold water is the fact that like the jigging spoon, it can be fished with a very erratic action while only actually moving the lure a very short distance. This lure is generally thought of as a warm water bait; however I learned many years ago, it can also be extremely effective in cold water as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There's lots of reasons to fish in winter and a lot to learn about catching bass in cold water. If I could give any angler only 1 tip for catching bass in cold water, that tip would be to slow down. Use lures that can be fished slow, and slow down your presentation of those lures. Fish as slow as you can, and then slow down even more. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Keep these bass fishing tips in mind this winter and you just may enjoy some great bass fishing, as well as catch the biggest bass of your life.</span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-43728480899929316952011-04-20T16:33:00.011-04:002011-05-06T13:08:12.016-04:00How To Use Fishing Reports<span style="font-size:130%;">Did you ever wonder why the fishing is almost never like the fishing reports say it is?<br /><br />Fishing reports are a good source of information when they come from a reliable source. Even pros like <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-kvd-became-best-in-bass-fishing.html">KVD</a> use reports. But you should never take any bass fishing report that's more than 1 hour old literally.<br /><br />This is a lesson that took me years to learn. Today I'm going to help you learn this lesson much earlier than I did. I'm going to share a tip with you on how to use fishing reports to actually help you catch more fish.<br /><br />In my early days of bass fishing, before a tournament or before just going out for some fun fishing, I would literally spend hours looking for and reading fishing reports 1 day or even several days before my trip. Slowly but surely I decided that everyone who gave a report was a liar and I started to realize that the reports were not helping me catch more fish. In fact, it seemed that I caught more fish when I didn't read the reports at all. Eventually I learned that the reason reports were not helping me catch more fish, was I was taking every report literally. If NC fishing reports said that they were biting <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/03/plastic-worms.html">plastic worms</a> on points 2 days ago, I spent the whole day casting worms on points; whether I was catching fish or not.<br /><br />Folks, bass fishing is a constantly changing game. This is a fact, because bass are a constantly changing query. Weather conditions, water conditions or any one of a thousand factors can and usually does change what bass are doing not only daily but even hourly. This is why fishing reports usually do not help you catch more fish.<br /><br />So are reports useless? Absolutely not! reports are very helpful, You just have to change the way you interpret them. The correct way to use fishing reports, is to gather as many recent ones as possible, put them all together to form a big picture of what the bass are doing in general. Then take this information and use your common sense and experience to develop a pattern.<br /><br />For example, if you're fishing in Michigan, gather as many Michigan fishing reports as you can find that pertain to not only the particular lake or waterway that you will be fishing, but for the entire area of the state. Then compare the reports and isolate the factors that all the reports have in common. As an example, if it's springtime, and most of the fishermen who are giving reports seem to be catching fish shallow, then this tells you that the spawn is probably in effect and that you probably should start looking for bass in shallow water. However keep in mind that if weather conditions have changed since the reports were written, the bass have likely adjusted to the changes and may have moved to deeper water.<br /><br />Bass fishing reports should be used strictly as a method of determining what the bass are doing in general. Once you've determined this, you should then fine tune your search for fish based on the current conditions; which will likely be different from the conditions when the reports were written.</span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-39489886823632735882011-03-08T13:34:00.009-05:002011-03-19T20:38:50.363-04:00How KVD Became The Best In Bass Fishing<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">How Kevin Vandam became the best bass fisherman in the world. And what it takes to get to where he is.</span><br /><br />KVd took his fourth Bass Masters classic title in New Orleans this year. Proving once again that he is the best <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2011/01/day-in-life-of-fishing-guide.html">Pro bass fisherman</a> in the business. The guy is amazing. He is living the dream that thousands of bass fishermen dream, and he thoroughly deserves to be where he is. I'm sure there are lots of beginning bass fisherman, who are dreaming of being where Kevin is today. So let's look at how he got to this level in bass fishing and what it takes to get there.<br /><br />I first met a 20 year old Kevin Vandam in 1991 at a Bass Masters BP top 100 tournament on Lake Lanier in Georgia. He was in his 3rd year of professional bass fishing and until this tournament had not had a win. But he had been consistently at the pay window and was already drawing some attention. This tournament was in early December. The day before the event started a huge cold front blew in, and the first day was brutal to put it lightly. Below freezing temps, blue bird sky's and a 25 mph north wind had most of the competitors fishing deep water for the lakes spotted bass. Most of the weights for that first day were small; up until Kevin weighed in a near 20 lb. sack of largemouth bass to take the lead. His weights only improved over the next 2 days and he took his first big win.<br /><br />During and after the tournament, I heard talk among the competitors that dubed Kevins win as a fluke. Statements like "the kid lucked up on this one. but he'll drop his bubble gum for the rest of the year." However I had had a chance to talk to Kevin and get to know him slightly during those 3 days; and I had a feeling that this statement was way off base. It turned out I was right. As he went on to finish in the top 3 in 3 more tournaments in the following year.<br /><br />KVD, even at his young age then, knew more about bass than anyone I had ever met. The guy was, and is even more so now, an absolute expert on what bass do. And not only is he an expert on what bass do, when, and why they do it. But he is a machine when it comes to catching them, and you could see his love for the sport shinning in his eyes. He works and fishes harder than anyone I've ever met. He is indeed one of those special people that you only meet once in a lifetime. This is exactly what it takes to get to the level where he is today. But it's not all that it takes.<br /><br />Why few anglers ever make it to Kevin's level in bass fishing.<br /><br />Kevin Vandam's passion for fishing is much stronger than the average fisherman. Back in the days of the Top 100 at Lake Lanier, the guy had a one track mind. He ate drank and lived bass fishing. Most anglers have a passion for the sport. but it comes and goes with the seasons. And after a few years, they lose it completely. Guys like KVD have the passion 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and they never lose it. To get to the level of these guys, it takes true dedication. Without that driving ever lasting passion for fishing, it's impossible to maintain the dedication that it takes to get there. That's why very few ever get to that level.<br /><br />The driving passion, hard work and knowledge is not all that it takes. Pro Bass Fishermen are not just fishermen. Most people don't realize it. But they're salesman as well. Sponsors are the bread and butter of the business. Without corporate sponsorship, nobody goes anywhere in the game of professional bass fishing. Kevin Vandam with his knowledge, good looks and personality, is also one of, if not the best in this aspect of the business as well. KVD has no problem driving 500 miles to tournament, fishing at break neck speed for 3 grueling days and leaving the night after the tournament to drive 500 more miles to help sell Strike King Lures for 3 days. He loves this stuff.<br /><br />So, what does it take to be the best fisherman in the world?<br /><br />I believe that the key is having a driving, never ending passion for the sport. Some say that it takes raw talent; which is true. However a passion, like raw talent, is something that is not learned. You either have it or you don't. If you have that type of passion, then you have the talent. Next it takes total dedication. Again, if have the passion you will be able to develop the dedication. The bottom line is, if you have that driving love for the sport and competition, you will be able to put in the tons of work, and make the sacrifices that getting to that level of the sport where KVD sits today. It's been many years since I spoke to Kevin; but I can tell by his accomplishments that passion and drive is still there for him.<br /><br />If you are one of the few that have what it takes and you are willing to do what it takes, you may be wondering, if it's worth going for from the financial standpoint? Well, in 2010 alone KVD took home $650,000. Over his 23 year career so far, he's made over $5,000,000 and that's just tournament winnings. Not taking into consideration all the money for endorsements.<br /><br />If you think that you have what it takes to be the best bass fisherman in the world, I say go for it with everything you have in you. You just may get there!</span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-86629480546469553052011-01-22T19:32:00.004-05:002011-01-26T20:13:33.198-05:00A Day In The Life Of A Fishing Guide<span style="font-size:130%;">What it's like to go fishing for a living<br /><br />I often get comments reminding me how easy I have it. And how my job must be the easiest and most enjoyable job in the world. Well, It just may be the best job in the world; that is if you love fishing, have tons of patience and love meeting people from all walks of life and helping them learn to catch fish: as I certainly do. But the simple truth is, it's far from being as easy as many people seem to think; and not always as fun. I also often get the question, "whats it like to guide fishing trips for a living?" Well I'm going to walk you through a typical day here.<br /><br />I'm up at 4 am after working until 11:30 pm the night before to get all my tackle back in order from the previous day of fishing with 2 drunken stock brokers who wanted to go catch a bunch of bass; even though one of them had only been fishing once in his life 25 years ago. And the other never tried fishing but was sure that he would catch the new lake record and likely go straight to the bass masters classic after this trip, and win. Oh, and getting the beer cans full of pee out of the cooler and the chicken bones out of the livewell in my boat.<br /><br />First thing I do is turn on the weather channel to see what the weather for the day is going to be. Chance of severe thunderstorms with a tornado watch in effect. Hmmm should I call off the trip for today? I mean my clients booked this trip 5 months ago and they're here on vacation and have to leave tomorrow. So I check the noa weather radar online. looks like most of the storms are moving to the south of here so I'm fishing.<br /><br />6:am, Since I'm meeting my clients at the boat ramp, I swing by the tackle shop to gas up, pick up some <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2011/01/jig-fishing-for-bass.html">jigs</a>, get a cup of coffee and a chicken biscuit. As I'm pulling into the parking lot I hear a thumping noise coming from the boat trailer. So I ease on up to the gas pumps get out to check it and see that I have a flat tire on my trailer. Since it looks like a piece of shredded up black rag, the tire must have been flat for several miles. Luckily I have a spare. It lacks any sign of tread and looks more like a peeled onion than a tire but with some luck it'll get me to the water and back home. So I quickly get some gas pull to the side and change the tire. By this time I'm running late; so I skip the breakfast and head for the lake.<br /><br />6:45 am, I'm back on the road. As I'm driving I think about what my game plan is for the day. My client is a first time customer who's bringing his 2 twin sons of 9 yrs old fishing. He told me that his sons had never actually been fishing but they have a bass fishing video game, think its cool and want to try the real thing. I have some good fish located from the day before but they're pretty finicky and I don't think these kids will be able to finesse a jig well enough catch them. So I'll just give it a try and play it by ear.<br /><br />7:05 am, I pull into the boat ramp parking lot. One of those storms that were moving south of us is now over the lake and rain is pouring and thunder is rumbling. My clients are already there huddled in the car to stay dry while waiting for me. They see me pull in; the dad rings my cell and we agree that the storm should pass shortly and we'll just wait it out.<br /><br />7: 45 am, The rain has stopped; so I go over to the car to meet my clients. As they get out of the car, I notice that there's a lady with them. The dad shakes my hand and informs me that the mom decided to come along if that's okay? 4 people plus me is a little crowded in my boat; but I agree, and back the boat down and unload. After managing to get the huge family cooler, the moms suit case / purse and what seems like the entire family wardrobe positioned and stowed in the boat and a 20 minute argument between the family over who is going to were which life jacket and who needs sunscreen and who is refusing, We are off for a 4 mile run up the lake to my first fishing spot.<br /><br />8:15 am, We pull up on my spot. The storm is over and the sky has cleared. But the front is now starting to come in and there's a 15 mph wind out of the south. I have two 9 year olds in the boat who have never been fishing in there life, a mom and dad who are counting on me to help them catch these finicky bass that are tough for even an experienced fishermen. But I've been in this situation before. I know these fish are holding out on top of a point on fairly clean bottom. So I get out a couple rods with <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/03/plastic-worms.html">carolina rigs</a> and 3/4 oz weights already tied on. I put a plastic craw on each, cast them out, stick them in the rod holders and begin slow trolling with my trolling motor. in no time twin A's rod begins to bounce, he grabs it and yells "should I reel"? I help him out and he lands a fat 2lb spotted bass. Twin B is pissed and starts to pout.<br /><br />9:00 am Mom has to pee. The closest bathroom is at the park 4 miles down the lake. so we're off for the bathroom.<br /><br />9:30 we're back on the fishing hole again and begin trolling. Twin A gets another good fish on twin B is now red faced, extremely pissed and insists on swapping sides and rods with twin A. After some words from Dad twin A agrees and proceeds to catch another fish on twin B's old side and rod. Twin B is irate and refuses to fish anymore. I neutralize the situation by telling twin B that he gets to catch the next one no matter which side it bites on.<br /><br />10:45 we're still trolling and the fish have stopped biting. Twin B is starting to get more upset by the minute and Mom has to pee again. So we're off 4 miles back to the bathroom. While waiting for Mom at the bathrooms I remember a great spot just around the corner from the bathrooms that should be holding some fish. So Mom returns to the boat and I head for that spot.<br /><br />11:30 am we begin trolling on the new fishing hole. Twin B finely catches a one! and it's a fat 4 .5 pounder. Bigger than any of twin A's fish. So now Dad wants to catch one. at this point Mom is grossed out by the fish smell and ready to leave but agrees to stay a while longer. This area is protected from the wind so we decide to try casting and let Dad fish. I work with the twins helping them learn to cast at the front of the boat while Dad fishes from the back. Dad lands a small fish and twin b manages to land another 1 pounder.<br /><br />1:30 pm Mom is ready to leave and the twins are tired so we call it a day early and head in. Back at the ramp the twins are happy and excited about there new experience. Dad settles up with me and they head to the lodge.<br /><br />2:15 pm I'm happy to get off the water early because I have to go by the tire store before going home as I'm driving I calculate my profit for the day. Lets see I'm up $250.00 for the trip - $60.00 for a new tire - $40.00 for gas - $5.00 boat launch fee. I should clear around $130.00 for the day. Oh but my liability insurance premium is due. Crap there goes my profit for today.<br /><br />Oh well, on the other side of the coin, tomorrow will be better and today I helped give a couple kids an experience that they'll never forget and they'll likely be hooked on fishing for the rest of their life. Yaaa this is the best job in the world! without a doubt.<br /><br />4:30 pm, I get home walk in the door and the Wife informs me that since she has a job and is tired, and all I do is fish all day, I will be cooking dinner. I smile, agree and head for the kitchen.<br /><br />Until Next Time<br />fishhound</span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-55900860392145112852011-01-17T09:33:00.011-05:002011-01-18T11:09:01.827-05:00Jig Fishing For Bass<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >An overview of bass fishing with jigs</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br />I've been putting off posting on jig fishing for a while now. Mostly because when I get started talking or writing about one of my favorite baits, I tend to ramble on and on and usually end up with a long post that some may find a bit boring. But today I'm a bit bored myself so whata heck I may as well bore anyone else that has nothing better to do than read my ramblings on bass jigs.<br /><br />Jigs or the jig and pig as it is commonly known as, has been one of the most popular baits available among pro's and </span><a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2011/01/learning-from-bass-fishing-tournaments.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">tournament</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> fisherman for as long as tournaments have been in existence. Among the reasons they're so popular is the fact that they are so versatile and are well known as a great lure specifically for big bass. The average size of the bass caught on a jig is usually much bigger than those caught on most other lures.<br /><br />Jigs come in so many different styles and forms that I will not even attempt to explain each one and how to fish it in one post. There are jigs that imitate craw fish some that imitate shad, minnows, grubs and just about any other form of life that walks, crawls or swims. Today I'm going to focus on just 2 types of jig which are most commonly used for bass.<br /><br />The typical basic bass jig</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58P_HVnHN47xNjwiAyZ909au8OoR_Vi3ip1st12AlMlQI8-pYwFnjNNmW3swaH5D52kLjVa6yj4pWY4h2ysFeBK5am5-puMfiwVW8noUcRklw8OM53CWPbCCYrnsPnaQel7I_4E6m8GU/s1600/90782_90782-t.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58P_HVnHN47xNjwiAyZ909au8OoR_Vi3ip1st12AlMlQI8-pYwFnjNNmW3swaH5D52kLjVa6yj4pWY4h2ysFeBK5am5-puMfiwVW8noUcRklw8OM53CWPbCCYrnsPnaQel7I_4E6m8GU/s200/90782_90782-t.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563180275378404754" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The most popular and widely used is the silicone skirt jig with a fiber weed guard. This type of jig is designed to mimic a craw fish. A trailer is almost always added to the hook to give the bait legs and added action. And the weed guard makes this lure one of if not the best lure available for getting to bass in thick cover.<br /><br />The selection of trailers that are available is almost endless. Commonly used trailers are soft plastic craws or pork chunks. The soft plastic trailers are the most preferred by bass fishermen these days. But many of the old farts including me, still prefer pork trailers. By the way if you havn't figured it out yet, the pork chunk trailer is where the name jig & pig comes from.<br /><br />How to fish with a bass jig<br /><br />This lure with its weed guard is designed to be used in thick cover such as wood, grass, mats and lily pads. But it is so versatile that with the exception of casting it into bushes and trees which are on the bank and no where near the water, there is really no wrong way to fish a jig. However there are common techniques that work best most of the time.<br /><br />Flipping and Pitching<br /><br />Flipping is a technique that usually works best in stained or dirty water; as it requires the fisherman to move the boat up very close to the cover where the bass are holding without spooking them. The technique usually involves using a long seven foot rod and heavy line to pull the bass out of the cover. Flipping is a really effective technique of catching bass out of thick matted cover and the technique doesn't just work with jigs it is a also very effective using other weedless baits such as <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/03/plastic-worms.html"><span>plastic worms</span></a>, creepy crawlers, spider jigs or any other soft plastic critter.<br /><br />Check out this video made by Tim Horton, on flipping and pitching jigs</span><br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mBT0eZZi5k0?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mBT0eZZi5k0?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Swimming a jig<br /><br />Swimming a jig is pretty much what it sounds like. This is a good technique to use when bass are suspended in, or holding on the outside of cover. To swim the jig you want to cast the bait and reel it through or past the cover. Basically fish it just as you would a <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010/06/spinnerbait-fishing.html"><span>spinnerbait</span></a>. I like to swim the bait along the outside edges cover and give it short twitches with the rod tips. This gives a little more erratic action and will often trigger more strikes.<br /><br />Deep water jig fishing<br /><br />This lure is not just for fishing shallow cover. In fact, the jig is one of my personal favorite lures for catching bass off of steep rock banks, bluffs and deep water structure. Again here, I normally fish the jig with the same basic presentation as a plastic worm. That being said there are 2 presentations that usually work best for me when fishing the jig in deep water. The first is called hopping the jig. With this method I simply cast the jig out onto the structure, let it sink to the bottom. Then I use the rod tip to pop the jig up about 8" off the bottom; and then let it sink back to the bottom on a tight line. As with most other lures fished in this manner the strike will usually come as the lure is falling.<br />The second presentation I use is simply dragging the jig along the bottom very slowly keeping contact with the bottom. Just let the bait sink to the bottom. Then lift the rod tip very slowly from 9: o clock position to the 11: o clock postiton. Then reel up the slack line and repeat. This presentation is deadly on those inactive, lethargic fish; especially in cold water.<br /><br />Hopefully this has given you a good overview of jig fishing for bass. As I mentioned I love to ramble on about my favorite bass baits and the bass jig is certainly one of them. I did say that I would be talking about 2 types of jigs today but this thing has already gotten long so I'm going to leave off here and discuss Hair jigs and give some jig fishing tips another day soon.<br />Meanwhile if you have not tried jig fishing, I recommend you get a few and get started. You just may catch your biggest bass yet.</span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-18747118585423979802011-01-05T15:41:00.011-05:002011-01-07T22:36:45.216-05:00Try Bass Fishing Tournaments<span style="font-size:130%;">Bass tournaments can teach you a lot about bass fishing.<br /><br />Along with <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010/12/fish-finder-part-2.html">learning about fish finders</a> Out of all my fishing experiences through the years, I would have to say that bass tournaments have taught me more lessons about catching bass than any other.<br /><br />I doubt if there are more than a handful of bass fishermen in the entire world who have not dreamed of being a pro tournament fisherman. Even though very few who dream the dream ever realize it; most all do try their hand at tournament fishing at some level during their time.<br /><br />One of the most often asked questions I get from those who are new to the sport of bass fishing is "how long do you think it will take to learn enough to be able to fish in tournaments?" My answer is, as long as it takes you to pay the entry fee and get on the water. You do not have to be a good or even an experienced bass angler to get in a bass tournament. In fact I encourage all beginners to get involved in tournaments as soon as possible.<br /><br />Now, before you start thinking that my motives are sinister and I want you to lose all your money fishing tournaments that you have no chance of winning, let me explain. I'm not telling anyone to go throw down big bucks to fish against pro's or much more experienced fishermen. I'm simply saying that bass fishing competitions with other anglers whether it be more experienced, less experienced or at the same level as you, is an extremely valuable tool for learning bass fishing even if you yourself do not catch a single fish.<br /><br />How you will learn from </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >bass tournaments</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br />When you fish at the same time and on the same water with a group of other fishermen who are all willing to share their information with each other, its equivalent to getting a month of experience in 1 day.<br /><br />Whether it's for money, trophy or just bragging rights, each time a tournament is launched, there are a number of different fishermen using different lures and techniques on different parts of the lake or river and the results of this scenario is a world of fishing information if shared by all. You will learn what worked and what didn't work even if you don't catch a fish.<br /><br />The best bass tournaments for learning are those that involve little or no money. When dollars are at stake in competition it motivates fishermen to keep the information they gain secret or even worse they lie. As a beginner you should look for small pot tournaments or even start your own. It doesn't take very many fishermen or even any money to have a bass fishing tournament that can be extremely beneficial to all who participate in terms of a learning experience.<br /><br />How to start your own bass tournament<br /><br />If you have a few friends who like bass fishing then you have a potential bass tournament. You don't even have to have boats; you can have a bank fishing tournament. Make up your rules, set a date and place, call up your friends and tell them about your tournament. You can buy a small trophy or plaque for $20 show it to everyone and tell them this is the prize for the winner. I guarantee that at least some of them will show up if a trophy is at stake; people love trophies.<br /><br />If you don't want to buy a trophy you can have a pot tournament. In the pot tournament format everyone puts a set amount of money into the pot. it can be per person or per boat; and the winner gets the pot. the entry fee can be whatever amount you decide on. However I recommend that you keep the entry fees low. The more money that's involved the less willing the fishermen will be to share information. On the other hand, the smaller the pot the less fishermen you will draw to your tournament. But those who are only interested in the money are not likely to honestly share fishing information with competitors so you don't need them anyway.<br /><br />Whatever tournament format you decide on, since your motive for putting on a tournament is to learn; one of your rules should be that the winner has to tell everyone how he caught his fish. You should make it known to all the competitors that the tournament is about learning to catch bass. and everyone will be expected to share fishing information honestly.<br /><br />Bass club tournaments<br /><br />Joining a bass club is another great way to learn to catch more bass. There are hundreds of bass clubs located in most every state here in the US. If you live in this country, odds are good that there's a local bass fishing club near you. While being in a club can be a little more expensive and require more of your time; joining a club is certainly a great way to learn and have a lot of fun fishing. You should understand before joining a club however, most clubs are extremely competitive and not every member will be willing to share information with others.<br /><br />There are clubs who use a tournament format of fishing against other clubs. In this format the club works together in tournaments as a team to catch more fish than the other club. This format is designed for learning bass fishing and is in my opinion the very best and most beneficial to all who participate. In this format all the members of the club are much more motivated and willing to share fishing information with other members of their club.<br /><br />No matter what format is used, what the stakes are, whether you just use bass fishing as a relaxation method or you plan to make it a career, a bass fishing tournament is a ton of fun and one of the very best ways to learn and gain experience as a bass fisherman. So no matter what your experience level is, I encourage you to get involved in tournaments at some level.</span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-8016944457274511002010-12-25T13:47:00.010-05:002011-05-06T21:30:11.176-04:00The Fish Finder - Part 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMfflJkfJuCWHCTXTM69IUlpctUZFr9BbFRB0yfo9OdErVzIWUJ_BrV0HfMVAUYymeh6-auNfPMQpS6EUA_R_5Dxz0XNfXXhde-VdVkuI7lv_1Lyk2-8S7hNIQIRjaKcBdRo8YT6J2oXE/s1600/lowrance350+fish+finder.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 164px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMfflJkfJuCWHCTXTM69IUlpctUZFr9BbFRB0yfo9OdErVzIWUJ_BrV0HfMVAUYymeh6-auNfPMQpS6EUA_R_5Dxz0XNfXXhde-VdVkuI7lv_1Lyk2-8S7hNIQIRjaKcBdRo8YT6J2oXE/s200/lowrance350+fish+finder.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554702421238773394" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">How To Use a Fish Finder</span><br /><br />Last time I talked about <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010/12/fish-finder-for-bass-fishing-part-1.html">choosing the best fish finder</a>. So today I'm going to help you learn how to use your fish finder.<br /><br />I'll never forget when I was starting out as a young bass fishermen; I had never even heard of a fish finder. Until I saw a guy on tv with this new contraption that looked like a small TV which allowed him to actually see the fish under the the water. I was absolutely fascinated! I was sure that if I only had one of these, I could catch all the bass I wanted. All I would have to do is ride around until I saw a bunch of fish under the boat and catch them. It seemed like this fish finder thing would make catching fish a snap.<br /><br />Well, needless to say, it didn't work quite that way. Although, after a few years of experimenting with, and using fish finders, I did come to realize that they are an extremely valuable and almost essential tool for catching bass in deep water.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fish Finder Settings</span><br /><br />In order to get a clear accurate reading on a fish finder, it's extremely important to set it up correctly. Settings and functions vary depending on the brand and type of fish finder you have; if you have a new 3D unit, I'm sorry, but I have no experience with those; settings may or may not be the same. Most units however will allow you to set the following.<br /><br />For settings I'm going to start with the <span style="font-weight: bold;">depth scale</span>. In Part 1 of this post I touched on the depth scale. I believe it's essential that any fish finder have a manual mode function for the depth scale. This is even more important if you're learning to use a fish finder.<br /><br />The<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>automatic depth scal<span style="font-weight: bold;">e</span> allows the unit to show bottom depth in different scales. For example if your boat is in 10 ft of water the side scale on the screen will be showing 0 to 10 ft then you come over a spot where the bottom drops off to 20 ft, the scale will change automatically from 0 to 10 ft to 0 to 20 ft.<br /><br />The default depth scale setting for most fish finders out of the box is set on automatic. I recommend changing the setting to manual. Running the automatic scale takes away from the power and can become confusing if it's constantly changing scales as you move over bottom changes. If you're not interested in anything that's more than 40 ft deep, manually set the scale at 0 to 40 and leave it. You can change it anytime if need arises.<br /><br />Next is the <span style="font-weight: bold;">digital depth setting</span>. If your unit allows, turn it off. This function is another power sucker and you can use the side scale to read depth.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sensitivity</span>, The sensitivity basically turns the units power up or down. For the maximum clarity and detailed readings you will want to run the the sensitivity as high as possible without getting noise or static on your screen. This setting will often need to be re adjusted to compensate for water conditions. For example if you're in muddy or dirty water and are getting static on your screen turn the sensitivity down just enough to get rid of the interference.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Grey Line</span>. The grey line represents the bottom on your fish finders screen. This function can give you much much more information than just the depth and contour of the bottom. I'm going to talk more about grey line in a moment but for the settings you'll want it just dark enough to give good contrast in the lower and upper.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Chart Speed</span>, Chart speed controls the speed that the chart scrolls across the screen. This setting should be set at maximum speed<br />The only time it should be set slower is for extreme depths such as 100 ft or more which never comes into play in bass fishing.<br /><br />That has your main settings ready. I recommend you turn off any and all bells and whistles such as alarms etc. These things can be fun to play with and useful in certain situations but if you're learning to use your fish finder they're just a distraction. Most are simply put in units as a selling point. The only exception to these is the <span style="font-weight: bold;">chart cursor</span>. The chart cursor is a very useful function for pinpointing the exact depth of fish or other objects. You should keep this function turned on.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How To Read Your Fish Finder</span><br /><br />A fish finder does find fish; but not always in the way you may think. After a few years of experience with my fish finder, I realized that it is much more valuable for finding the places fish live or the schools of bait that they feed on than for seeing the actual fish themselves.<br />This is especially true with bass. Bass are very cover oriented. When they get inside thick cover such as weeds or brush, you may see the cover on your graph but not the fish. If you do see fish around the cover it's a plus. But NEVER EVER let not marking any fish on your fish finder when you run over a good piece of cover or structure be a reason for not fishing it. I can't tell you how many times I've caught limits of nice bass off a spot that I graphed with my electronics and never saw a single fish.<br /><br />There is no magic article or book that can instantly teach you to read your fish finder . However, with experience you will eventually be able to read your graph well enough to know what you're seeing on the screen at all times. Once you become experienced with this tool, you will be amazed how much information the fish finder can give you about whats under the surface of the water.<br />Just for example, a couple things that you may not know the fish finder can tell you: 1 the grey line which represents bottom can tell you the bottoms composition. A wide darker, or double grey line represents hard bottom and a narrow or weak gray line represents soft bottom. 2. A darker band on the screen between the bottom and surface is usually a thermocline. A thermocline is the depth where water temperature changes. This will normally come into play in summer when the upper layer of water is warmer than the deeper water. Bass like to be near the thermocline when water surface temps are very warm.<br /><br />For those of you who have never used a fish finder at all, here are a couple good videos that should help give an idea of what fish, schools of bait and different types of structure and cover look like on a fish finder. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jcup7MjaXuw&NR=1">fish finder Video 1</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GXTmg8hfug&feature=related">fish finder video 2</a><br /><br /><span>How to know where objects or fish are in relation to the boat</span>.<br /><br />The transducers cone angle determines how large the area you view on your fish finder. To give a more detailed explanation, the signal leaves the transducer and spreads wider as it travels down, hence the term cone angle.<br /><br />I briefly touched on transducers and cone angle in the last post. I recommended that beginners use a standard 20 degree cone angle transducer which is commonly included with most fish finders. Without getting too technical, just to give you an example of the size of the area you'll be viewing on your graph: With a 20 degree cone angle transducer over a 20 foot deep bottom, you will be viewing a 15 foot radius of the bottom. Basically when you are traveling at idle speed, as soon as an object comes on to your screen the object or fish is directly under the boat. Once the fish or object is in the center of your screen it is behind you.<br /><br />If you have your units settings correct. Arch shaped lines will indicate fish. However unlike the simulations you see on fish finder ads, you will seldom see complete arches. The reason for this is, the fish must be directly under the center of the transducer to get a complete arch. Normally fish will be to the sides causing your reading to be half arches or if the fish are moving, you will see a continuous long line; sometimes all the way across your screen.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fish Finder Tips</span><br /><br />Always check the fish finder transducer before putting your boat in the water. Make sure the transducer is level and not pointing back or forward.<br /><br />Most fish finders have a simulation mode. You can use this to practice with your unit before you even put it into use on the water. It will also help you learn to identify what you're seeing on the screen once you get on the water.<br /><br />Use a buoy marker on deep water structure or cover. When you see fish or structure that you want to try on your fish finder, drop the marker to mark the location. Keep in mind that the actual spot will be behind you when you drop the buoy.<br /><br />Mount a fish finder on front of your boat and the transducer on bottom of your trolling motor. With your sensitivity setting turned up, you can actually see your lure on the screen and its location in relation to the fish or cover. Many time you can see the fish move up and strike your lure.<br /><br />Once you are experienced with your fish finder, you will realize just how valuable this tool is for catching bass. There's a lot to learn about using electronics in bass fishing. I know I have not addressed every question that you may have on the subject. So feel free to use the comments below to ask any questions you may have on how to use a your fish finder; I'll be happy to answer all questions as best as I can.</span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-54641592192478470142010-12-10T12:54:00.010-05:002018-04-03T13:27:41.950-04:00The Fish Finder - Part 1<span style="font-size: large;"> <b>Tips to help you choose the best fish finder for your bass fishing needs.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Whether you're going after Fall bass, Winter bass or getting ready for Spring, a good fish finder is a tool that every bass fisherman should consider seriously. Your fishfinder / depth finder is your eyes under the surface of the water.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Since marine electronics can be a sizable investment, you should make sure you don't spend more than you need to; and get a unit that fits your needs.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The fact is, most people who own a boat with a fish finder never learn to use it correctly. It's easy to find information on the internet on how to use a fish finder. The problem is, it's mostly geared to promote a particular brand or sales there of. And most give you nothing really useful. So this will be a 2 part post. Today I'm going to help you decide what unit would be best for you. Later I'm going to have another post on how to use a fish finder. There is a lot to learn on both these subjects; so get a cup of coffee and get ready to learn about fish finders.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Fish Finder Power</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The power or wattage of a fish finder is most important for deeper water aplications. If you fish mostly visible cover in extremely shallow water (2 to 4 ft) and never fish deep water structure, you may only need something to tell you how deep the water is and show you whats on bottom . In this case most any cheap unit on the market will give you an accurate depth reading and will work just fine for you.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">On the other hand If you fish deep water structure at all (deeper than 6ft) Your needs are going to be met best by a unit with at least 3000 watts peak to peak power. The more power the better readings / detail you will get.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Fish finder Pixel</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Pixel as in power is also the more the better. The picture you get on the screen of your fish LCD is made up of individual pixels. Simply put the more pixels the unit has per vertical line, the more clear and distinguishable the readings will be. Pixels also play a huge role in giving you detailed readings are vital for distinguishing fish from other objects. If you fish deep water at all, a minimum of 640 vertical pixels is going to meet your needs best.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Fish Finder Transducers</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Basically fish finders are under water sonar. The transducer is the component which mounts on or inside the boats hull. It sends down a signal which bounces off the bottom back to the transducer which sends the information back through the transducers cable to your screen translated into a picture of whats under the water. I Know, it's amazing isn't it?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As complicated as it may sound, transducers are fairly simple when it comes to choosing one. Most fish finders come with 1 basic, standard 20 degree cone angle transducer and a bracket which mounts the transducer to the outside Bottom of the boat. This transducer will work just fine.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Because it's Important and relates to learning to use your fish finder, (Which I'll be focusing on in the next post) I'm going to elaborate a little more on the transducer.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">If you've read my blog in the past you know that I believe in keeping my tackle choices simple; and the same is true when it comes to electronics used for fishing. If you've been looking at electronics recently, you probably know that today's fish finders are very advanced and most include a wide variety of bells and whistles such as gps, side finder, and color view capabilities just to name a few.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">All these features are great; but can make things very complicated for you if your just learning to use a fish finder. So I recommend starting with a good simple unit with adequate power, pixel and a standard 20 degree cone angle transducer. Unless you fish extremely shallow water as I mentioned above in this case it's fine to go with a wider cone angle transducer. You'll understand my reasoning for this when we get into learning to use your fish finder.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://redirect.viglink.com/?key=f69ac0dfa6214ad8917e55ea961b7d32&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsmansguide.com%2Fproductlist%3Fk%3Dfish%2Bfinder" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Fish Finder Brands And Prices</span></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img alt="https://redirect.viglink.com?key=f69ac0dfa6214ad8917e55ea961b7d32&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsmansguide.com%2Fproductlist%3Fk%3Dfish%2Bfinder" border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="385" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicjhHNL-GN0lrX9dcjCBUhdfw1q5J2Ywrb5WXyM8kBlRRHcnfiaAQAmPTW9EC7KeCjYykr-o8x_cBim_YDaXG1HZdpkp5GqecWr4Zy__29vcp4M4GW7TCI9cpZTvB91hk0nDnRYvMg3ls/s320/678893_ts.jpg" width="320" /></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Before I talk about brands, just for the record, I am not affiliated with or sponsored by any of the companies that I may mention. Any recommendations or reviews I give are strictly based on my personal experience with the product.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">There are lots of good fish finders on the market. And you don't have to spend your kids college fund or your own retirement to get a decent unit that will meet your needs.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Some of the best cheaper units that I've used are sold by Eagle Electronics. If you don't mind spending a little more for your fish finder <a href="http://www.lowrance.com/">Lowrance</a> is the parent company of Eagle and makes what I believe to be the best. I've used Lowrance units on my own boat for 25 years. They have always been very dependable and I've never had any reason to change.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Another good brand that I've used on occasion is <a href="http://www.garmin.com/garmin/cms/site/us">Garmin</a> . I have lot's of friends who use Garmin consistently and I have not heard any complaints about their product. <a href="http://www.humminbird.com/">Hummingbird</a> also makes a good fish finder. However it has been my experience that some of their cheaper units don't have a manual depth scale, which I consider a very important feature.<a href="http://www.humminbird.com/"><br />
</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Whether you choose a bare bones cheaper unit or a top of the line with all the bells and whistles, there is one very important feature that your fish finder should have. That feature is a manual depth scale mode. This allows you to set the depth scale at the depths you desire and stops the scale (which is usually in automatic mode as the default setting on most units) from changing automatically. A constantly changing depth scale can become confusing; especially for an angler who is learning. Also the automatic depth scale setting takes away from the power of the unit and can sometimes cause distorted or false readings. I consider a manual depth scale mode feature to be a must on any LCD fish finder. I will also elaborate on this in the next post.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Hopefully what I've talked about so far will help those of you who have not gotten a fish finder yet choose one. For those who already have one, I'll be talking about learning to use a fish finder next time.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I know there are lots of questions you may have on this subject. Please feel free to use the comments to ask any questions you may have about fish finders.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Fishhound</span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-40398072774440456102010-09-18T16:00:00.005-04:002015-09-26T16:38:35.218-04:00Fall Bass<span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fall bass fishing tips</span><br /><br />I was just thinking back trying to remember my last post which was <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010/07/frogs-for-bass.html">topwater frogs</a>. Fall is a great time for topwater fishing as well as for many other techniques. So today I'm going to touch on Fall bass.<br /><br />It's that time of year again. Fall is one of my personal favorite times for bass fishing. Things are happening at this time of year. The water is cooling and the bass are on the move. The mood of Fall bass, is very similar to <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/03/pre-spawn-fishing-basics.html">bass in the Spring</a>; however the bass have a different motive for being very active. In Spring the motive is the spawn. Fall bass on the other hand have feeding on their mind.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Where to find bass in the Fall</span><br /><br />As I mentioned bass become very active in fall as they do in Spring and they will often be found in the same area's as in Spring. When the water begins to cool in the fall, bait fish and craw fish start to migrate toward shallow areas where the water cools first. These areas on reservoirs are, the very backs of creeks, shallow flats, secondary points and the backs of coves. My main objective when looking for fall bass is to find bait. The bass are looking to prepare for the long cold Winter ahead; this means they have one thing in mind; Food. When you find large concentrations of bait fish in the Fall, the bass will be there.<br /><br />I begin my search for bass in the Fall season, in the back of major creeks and work my way back toward the mouth. I'll be idling my boat, watching<span style="color: lime;"> <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010/12/fish-finder-part-2.html" target="_blank">my graph</a></span> and looking for any signs of large schools of shad or other bait fish. Some of the things that can signal bait is in an area, are birds such as loons, or herring. These birds often feed on bait fish. If they are in an area there's a good chance there's a concentration of bait there as well. Also watch for signs of feeding fish shad skipping along the surface of the water or bass actually busting the bait. once I locate an area that's holding bait, start fishing any visible shallow cover that's present.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lures for Fall bass</span><br /><br />Generally the bass are active and will feed aggressively in the Fall. So there's a very good chance they will chase a fast moving lure. I will start with one of my favorites for Fall the <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010/06/spinnerbait-fishing.html">spinnerbait</a> or a lipless crankbait. However as I always preach, keep an open mind and let the conditions dictate your methods; until the bass tell you what they want and how they want it. See <span style="color: lime;"><a href="http://www.thinklikeabass.com/" target="_blank">Learn to Think Like A Bass</a></span><span style="background-color: lime;"></span><br /><br />Some of the other lures which can be very good in the fall are topwater lures, jigs, and<a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010/02/best-bass-lure.html"> jerkbaits</a>.<br /><br />Fall is a great time to be on the water. The bass are bitting and nature is putting on the best show of the year. There is no better time to enjoy bass fishing. so get out and chase those Fall bass.</span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-82308242608573815722010-07-09T11:03:00.004-04:002018-04-16T16:47:04.932-04:00Frogs For Bass<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rQT3RudCq89JIc4_GCYaSqJuBc28bNIeYKxPdVu2KlmgKrEDxlMFQmOQGs_bmuxlKSVojhlcpiuwZXAXpYEGkI70ub1ppf4wVugdd5bDLBR4sdvzym3XV7kq80RbByxVx5aQbztOBrc/s1600/topwater+frogs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rQT3RudCq89JIc4_GCYaSqJuBc28bNIeYKxPdVu2KlmgKrEDxlMFQmOQGs_bmuxlKSVojhlcpiuwZXAXpYEGkI70ub1ppf4wVugdd5bDLBR4sdvzym3XV7kq80RbByxVx5aQbztOBrc/s1600/topwater+frogs.JPG" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: 130%;">When, Where and How to Fish With Topwater Frogs</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">Of
all the topwater lures and techniques used these days, very few are
more effective than bass fishing with frogs. When the season and other
condition call for this type of lure, frogs are deadly!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />
If you read my last post on <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010/06/choosing-best-fishing-line.html">fishing line </a>or
any of the other posts, you should realize how important it is to
consider fishing conditions in choosing your lure, as well as every
other aspect of fishing. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">frogs
in my opinion, are one of the most misunderstood and mis-used lures
available. Most fishermen try a frog once or twice in the wrong place or
at the wrong time and chalk it up as a failed experiment. This is a
mistake. Like every other lure, you should consider the frog as a tool;
you need the right tool for the particular task that you want to get
done.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: 130%;">Where to fish with frogs</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />
Frogs work best in places where they are a natural prey of bass. In
other words places where frogs actually live. Typically this will be
shallow water area's with thick vegetation such as weeds, matts, lily
pads or thick brush and stumps. As a good indicator, if an area is
shallow and looks swampy, it may be a good place to fish a frog.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: 130%;">When to fish with a frogs</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">The
frog lure that we're discussing today in general is a topwater lure;
and should be used accordingly. While topwater baits can be effective in
many different conditions and situations. Typically they work best in
warmer water situations with surface temps from 60 to 80 degrees. The
frog is no exception. The frogs spawn coincides with the bass in most
parts of the country; making early summer one of the more productive
times to fish frogs. However this lure may be productive any time bass
are in shallow warm water.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: 130%;">How to fish the frog</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">The
frog is one of the most weedless lures available and it's design is
perfect for fishing in or on top of thick vegetation and brush. The
ability to fish this lure move across or through those thick nasty
matted places without snagging is one of the things that makes this lure
(or tool) so effective on big bass in the places they like to hide and
ambush prey.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">As
with any bass lure no one presentation works best all the time. Every
day is different and you should experiment with your presentation and
let the fish tell you how they want the bait presented. That being said
one method that has worked best for me many times is a very slow twitch
and stop retrieve. I cast the frog up on top of the mats or next to
brush or stumps, twitch the bait once or twice and let it sit for a few
seconds. I repeat this action all the way back to the boat.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">If
I'm fishing the frog on lily pads, milfoil or some other type of
vegetation mat, I like to pull the frog off of the vegetation into an
opening or hole in the mat and give it 2 short twitches and let it sit
for 10 seconds. The strike will often come as the frog sits motionless
on the water.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: 130%;">How to set the hook</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">The
most common of mistakes that most beginners make with topwater lures,
frogs included is in the hookset. The mistake is setting the hook too
soon after the strike. Given the sudden explosive action when a big bass
blows up on a frog or any topwater lure, it's easy to understand why.
It's a natural reaction to jerk the moment the strike occurs. You must
learn to delay your hookset until you feel the weight of the fish on the
rod.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: 130%;">Different types of topwater frogs</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">The
two most common types of topwater frog lures are the Popper frog and
the kicking leg frog. Both will catch bass and you should try both in
your own fishing situation to determine which works best on a given day.
Some of the better brands I've used are</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />
</span><a href="https://redirect.viglink.com/?key=f69ac0dfa6214ad8917e55ea961b7d32&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cabelas.com%2Fbrowse.cmd%3FcategoryId%3D734095080%26CQ_search%3Dtopwater%2Bfrog%26CQ_zstype%3DREG" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: 130%;">The Spro Bonzye frog, Stanley Ribbit, Scum Frog</span></b></a><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: 130%;">Frog Lure Colors</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">I
use the same principal for choosing color in frog fishing that I use
with any other lure. The darker colors, Black, amber or darker green for
dark water or low light situations and lighter or natural colors for
clear water situations.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">When
used in the right places and at the right time, frogs are a very
effective lure; especially on those big momma hawg bass. So dig down
into that box of discarded lures and go fishing with frogs this summer.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">Until next time</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">Fishhound</span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-88828450200154749582010-06-26T14:25:00.007-04:002017-02-14T08:23:05.343-05:00Choosing The Best Fishing Line<span style="font-size: 130%;"> </span><b><span style="font-size: 130%;">How to choose the best fishing line based on bass fishing conditions</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">My last post on <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010/06/spinnerbait-fishing.html">spinnerbait fishing</a>,
seems to have triggered a lot of email questions on the best fishing
line to use; so today I'm going to try to address some of those
questions. </span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: 130%;">How to Choose the Best Line Size</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">The
right line size to use depends on fishing conditions. In general I like
to spool my reels with the largest strongest line that I can get away
with.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">Water clarity and line visibility are the first factors to consider when choosing line size. The more clear the water, the easier it is for the fish to see the fishing line and be spooked by it. If you fish stained or dark colored water heavy fishing line may be best.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: 130%;">The Best Line For Clear Water</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">When fishing very clear water such as found on most deep highland reservoirs and using slow moving finesse baits such as <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/03/plastic-worms.html">plastic worms </a> jigs, or dropshot riggs, I often go down to line as small as 8 lb test; sometimes even 6 lb if not in heavy cover. I have experimented a lot with the best fishing lines over the years and I have come to the definite conclusion that It doesn’t seem to matter as much with faster moving reaction type lures but overall in clear water, the smaller the line size the more bites I get.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">Some anglers seem to be programmed to believe that it's just impossible to pull big bass out of heavy cover unless you use big, heavy fishing line. This simply is not true. That being said, when conditions call for the use of light line sizes, there are a few ways to help compensate for the light line.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">1. Use tough abrasion resistant line. One of the best fishing lines I've used for this situation is Berkley Trilene XT (extra tough) this fishing line has a very tough coating on it that resists abrasion when fishing in heavy cover. Just for the record I am not affiliated with or sponsored by Berkley.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">2. Always keep the drag on your reel set light enough to compensate for light line. The drag is what makes it possible to land big bass on light line. Even the best fishing line in the world is going to break on a big fish if your reels drag doesn’t do its job. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">3. Check the line for nicks or damage by sliding it through your fingers , from the lure 6 feet up the fishing line every 10 casts. If you feel any roughness or nicks in the line cut it off and re-tie above the damage. One small nick in your fishing line can be the difference in landing a big bass or losing it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><b><span style="font-size: 130%;">The Best Type Of Fishing Line</span></b></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: 130%;">Monofilament Line</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">Even
with all the advanced fishing line technology today, monofilament
fishing line is still one of the best fishing line choices; and still
used by most bass anglers in most fishing conditions today. Three
factors are the reason for this. Low visibility, strength, and it's
lower cost than most of the new high tech lines. Mono line has a higher stretch factor than most of the new line types. Stretch in fishing line does take away some of it's sensitivity; however stretch is not always a bad thing. mono with its high stretch can be much more forgiving for mistakes; such as a reel drag set to tight or a bad hook set when a big bass is on the line. For most all round fishing situations Monofilament is my personal choice for the best fishing line.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"> </span><b><span style="font-size: 130%;">Braided Line</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">Braid
is one of the hottest new line technologies on the market today. This
type of line is extremely strong with very small diameter. Braid is one
of the best choices for heavy cover in stained or dirty water
conditions. With its high strength small diameter it can also be very
good in relatively clear water.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />
Braided line has no stretch at all, making it very sensitive; this is one of the best lines for fishing finesse style baits in vegetation. In my personal experience, the biggest drawback with most braided line is, I have found it to be far from the best line for heavy wood cover because of it's low resistance to abrasion.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: 130%;">Fluorocarbon Line</span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">Fluorocarbon line is one of the best new fishing line technologies that has been introduced in many years; especially for clear water fishing conditions. This line becomes almost invisible in the water. It has great abrasion resistance, good strength, low stretch and is in my opinion and experience, the best fishing line available for fishing any type of cover in clear water. The only drawback to fluorocarbon is the price. It cost is on average about 50% more than mono.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 130%;">The Best Fishing line Color</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">Line color, like lure color is a big controversial subject. Many anglers these days swear red fishing line is best; others, myself included, don't buy into the theory that red line is less visible under water than other color lines. I've experimented with red line, and have found it to be neither an advantage or disadvantage over clear line. My thought on the subject is, if the color red is so invisible under water, then why are red colors on lures and hooks marketed as being so effective? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">When it comes to fishing line color, my goal is to keep my line as invisible to the bass as possible. So I match my line to the color water that I fish. i.e. green water green line clear water clear line. Dirty water doesn't seem to matter much.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">Now that being said, hopefully this will help you with line selection based on conditions. However I have my own ways of doing things that work for my bass fishing. This doesn't mean that my ways are best for your particular fishing conditions on your water; and I encourage you to keep an open mind and experiment to find the best fishing line for you, in your waters. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">Until Next Time<br />
Fishhound</span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-71843776801570462012010-06-08T16:59:00.010-04:002011-07-18T19:05:18.449-04:00Spinnerbait Fishing<b><span style="font-size: 130%;">Tips & Techniques on Spinnerbait fishing for Bass</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=hubp0142-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B00019N5PW&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=FFFFFF&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>In my last post <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-06-08T16%3A59%3A00-04%3A00&max-results=1">Night Fishing</a>, I touched on spinnerbait fishing in that particular application. since then I've had several request for more info on bass fishing with spinnerbaits; so today I'm going to talk more about the subject. There's a lot of information that you should know about this lure, so this will not be my only post on this subject.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">Spinnerbaits or blade baits are one of, if not the, most versatile lures that a bass fisherman can have in his or her tackle box. And they don't just come in many different sizes and colors, but there's also a couple different types that you should know about and add to your tackle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">First I'm going to talk about the component of this lure that gives its name to get those of you that may not be familiar with spinnerbait fishing educated on the different blade types. The best spinnerbait blade to use depends on the fishing conditions. If you would like to know more about how to approach fishing based on conditions, you need to see </span><a href="http://www.thinklikeabass.com/"><span style="font-size: 130%;">Learn to Think Like a Bass</span></a><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 130%;">Spinnerbait Blades</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 130%;">Colorado Blade</span></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIqOQ_I8PQgEgu1ENRDAGQxpdAqKFGTjpaZPxE5EZkbpvzwZFNOFveYBYgBWsRjsBEbfiqN5QEr_WRAoZqaVB95F3AxQvrra1uwpL0EohKGRjWAG6I0_3Gr9sor6-mExkeRww1mfk26mE/s1600/colorado-metal-web.jpg"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480512241458701234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIqOQ_I8PQgEgu1ENRDAGQxpdAqKFGTjpaZPxE5EZkbpvzwZFNOFveYBYgBWsRjsBEbfiqN5QEr_WRAoZqaVB95F3AxQvrra1uwpL0EohKGRjWAG6I0_3Gr9sor6-mExkeRww1mfk26mE/s200/colorado-metal-web.jpg" style="float: left; height: 93px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px;" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">The Colorado blade as you can see in the photo is the shorter more round shaped blade. This blade gives of more vibration but less flash than the willow leaf or Indiana blade; and typically works better in low light or dirty water situations where the bass are more dependant on hearing or picking up on vibration through the lateral line than finding prey visually.<br />
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<b>Indiana Blade</b> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApy8FR-QZVNbLzFtRNQpT1BhIr9_oELKzpxBOin0j3aVd6NV2M7xvhGIpDC4HaKJ6HiPBCzqZpLCDbjByNv8xB3Z9ajNAOEwMu3CxqwgPFmaYCaIY2y5qUdPnedFHlAhoBe4ALBCI2LI/s1600/indiana-metal-net.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480513086852487106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApy8FR-QZVNbLzFtRNQpT1BhIr9_oELKzpxBOin0j3aVd6NV2M7xvhGIpDC4HaKJ6HiPBCzqZpLCDbjByNv8xB3Z9ajNAOEwMu3CxqwgPFmaYCaIY2y5qUdPnedFHlAhoBe4ALBCI2LI/s200/indiana-metal-net.jpg" style="float: left; height: 65px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">The Indiana blade is a happy medium for vibration as well as flash. This is a blade that you should consider in most any spinnerbait fishing situation</span><br />
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<b>Willow Leaf Blade</b> </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0S7uFTNpUpohooxT4NjstVL8FL_LOG2Yurg1Qx4d5c_1cZZxrn0MTDTj54CnbQg1uCGuLrdJFq705oYleVsd75GLtEG9u-DlrFtnHOZKMH4yDDB3YH-1fDZ121WyKYk5Gx6oYKyMGv_E/s1600/willowleaf-metal-all-net.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480513834481176210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0S7uFTNpUpohooxT4NjstVL8FL_LOG2Yurg1Qx4d5c_1cZZxrn0MTDTj54CnbQg1uCGuLrdJFq705oYleVsd75GLtEG9u-DlrFtnHOZKMH4yDDB3YH-1fDZ121WyKYk5Gx6oYKyMGv_E/s200/willowleaf-metal-all-net.jpg" style="float: left; height: 67px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
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The willow leaf gives less vibration, more flash and the shape mimics a bait fish very well. This blade is typically best in clear water situations where a more natural looking lure works best.<br />
All the different types of blades can be mixed and matched on a single lure as well, when using the<br />
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<b>Safety Pin Spinnnerbait</b><br />
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This is the most common type of spinnerbait used for bass. These come in weights from 1 1/2 oz down to 1/32 oz and lots of different blades and blade combinations. As you can see, this type bait has a stainless steel or some brands such as the <a href="http://www.terminatorlures.com/">terminator</a> have a titanium wire arm which the blade and swivel are attached to. This arm also acts as a weed guard making the lure much more weedless and more suited for fishing in heavy cover such as brush grass or stumps. I use baits with both the stainless wire and the titanium. Personally I prefer the titanium; because when they bend they snap back into place. However they are quite a bit more expensive.<br />
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<b>Inline Spinnerbait</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNYALrXaLkwjbeGfl5TTigjcx_vEV8kNGjM1RcetBt9VXSW2WCSPOVXkR5aQ2we35G4vndEi8ys6Vk-7icdfJE2Noe5uDNQUW48nGDZV7vTxcyZH9Vt0DSOd7V4iXEgFTmMrjR4B-Zf6E/s1600/300px-Inlinespinner.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483086177821810050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNYALrXaLkwjbeGfl5TTigjcx_vEV8kNGjM1RcetBt9VXSW2WCSPOVXkR5aQ2we35G4vndEi8ys6Vk-7icdfJE2Noe5uDNQUW48nGDZV7vTxcyZH9Vt0DSOd7V4iXEgFTmMrjR4B-Zf6E/s200/300px-Inlinespinner.JPG" style="float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
This type of spinner bait is normally smaller and usually can be found in sizes 1/32 up to 1/2 oz the inline as you can see doesn't have an arm and is more commonly used for trout or pan fish than for bass. However don't be put off by this fact. The inline can be a deadly bait for bass in situations of very clear water, heavy fishing pressure, or when bass are feeding on smaller bait fish; which calls for a smaller profile lure; and should definately be incorporated into you spinnerbait fishing tackle.<br />
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<b>Spinnerbait trailers</b><br />
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It's common practice and usually a good idea to ad a trailer to your spinnerbait. A trailer is simply added to the hook on the lure to give the bait a little more or different action or larger profile. There are many different types of trailers available in different sizes, with different actions. However I personally prefer to use a pork chunk or pinch a 6 inch plastic U tail worm in half and use the end with the U for a trailer.<br />
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<b>Trailer Hook</b><br />
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<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=hubp0142-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B0043FRZSS&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=FFFFFF&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>A trailer hook is commonly added to the hook. This is simply a common type hook with an enlarged eye which slips over the point of the primary hook. Personally, I only ad a trailer hook if I'm getting strikes but having a problem hooking the fish; as the extra extended hook takes away much of the weedless aspect of the bait. However the trailer hook can be very useful in situations that don't require a weedless bait.<br />
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<b>Spinnerbait Tactics</b><br />
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As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, Spinnerbaits are one of the most versatile lures used by bass fishermen. They can catch bass at any time of year, in most any type cover, or structure shallow or deep. I have caught fish on this lure in 8 inches of water and as deep as 50 feet on brush, rocks, grass and clean bottom as well.<br />
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<b>Slow Rolling</b><br />
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This is a very effective spinnerbait fishing tactic and one of my favorite tricks for deep water bass. I normally like to use a heavier weight bait for this method. I use a 3/4 oz if I'm fishing depths down to 15 ft. Deeper than 15 I go to a larger 1 oz spinnerbait. The reaseon for the heavy bait is because I want to keep the bait down on bottom.<br />
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I typically use the slow roll method when fishing on structure such as ledges or points. I cast the bait up on the structure, let it sink to the bottom. Then I reel just fast enough to make the blades on the bait spin without losing contact with the bottom. You always want to keep the lure bumping into rocks, stumps or whatever is on bottom. If you're not beating the paint off the head of your spinnerbait, you're not fishing it correctly.<br />
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<b>Bump and Flutter</b><br />
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This is a spinnerbait fishing technique that I use often when fishing shallow cover such as grass, weeds or brush. I will normally use a lighter weight bait for this; a 1/4 to 1/2 oz. Cast the lure into the cover and reel; when you feel the bait hit something stop your retrieve and let it flutter down on a tight line counting to 5, then resume and repeat. The strike will usually come while the bait is falling so be alert.<br />
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<b>Pump and Fall</b><br />
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This is another very effective deep water tactic. This method is deadly on deep ledges, bluff walls or steep banks.<br />
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I cast the lure up to the bank or out on the ledge and let it sink to the bottom. Then I slowly pull the rod tip up from the 9 o clock position to the 11 o clock position and then let it fall back to the bottom on a tight line; then real up the slack and repete all the way back to the boat. Again the strike will often come when the bait is falling so be alert and ready to set the hook.<br />
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<b>Burning the Spinnerbait</b><br />
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This is a tactic that seems to work very well in clear water and windy conditions and has been extremely productive for me on spotted bass on points or humps in the fall season. I normally want a 1/4 to 3/8 oz bait and a single or double willow leaf blade for this spinnerbait fishing technique. Also, a high speed reel helps. 6:1 or 7:1 gear ratio.<br />
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Simply make long cast up onto the structure and real the bait back very fast keeping it just below the surface no more than 3 inches. In clear water, bass will often come up from very deep water and nail the bait like a mack truck using this technique.<br />
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<b>Spinnerbait Color</b><br />
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The same color principals apply to this lure that apply to all the others. I plan to devote a post to talking about lure color sometime soon but for now you can get more tips in the post <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010/02/best-bass-lure.html">Best Bass Lure</a>.<br />
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The key to successfully getting a bass to strike a spinnerbait is to make the bait act erratic or different from every thing else in the bass environment; as is the same with many other lures . Always keep your bait bumping into obstacles, hitting the bottom, or change retreive speed. Keep experimenting until you figure out what the bass want and capitalize on that.<br />
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So no matter what time of year, or what kind of conditions you may encounter on the water, always keep spinnerbait fishing in your list of bass fishing tactics.<br />
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Unitl next time<br />
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Fishhound</span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-56945350905901049722010-05-27T11:51:00.012-04:002011-06-04T14:44:02.238-04:00Night Fishing<span style="font-size: 130%;"><b><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=hubp0142-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B001RN3YDY&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=FFFFFF&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Tips on Night Bass Fishing</b></span> <br />
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<div><span style="font-size: 130%;">Last time I talked about <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010/03/mastering-baitcaster.html">using the baitcast reel</a>. Since we're getting into the summertime, today I'm going to give you some tips on night fishing.</span></div><span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />
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<div>Summer brings hot weather in most parts of the country and hot weather can and often does mean <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html">inactive bass</a>. When water surface temps approach the 80's and above, bass start to slow down their metabolism just as they do in the colder water periods and become less active. This does not mean they don't feed; it just means that their feeding periods change. Fishing at night can be one of the best tactics to catch bass during these times because the water temps cool slightly after dark and the bass become more aggressive and active.</div><br />
<div><b>Night Fishing Safety First</b></div><br />
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<div>Ok, I'll get the most boring, but most important aspect of this tactic out of the way first. There's always certain risk involved in being on the water in a boat; but the danger is tripled when operating a boat at night. But it can be done safely. you just need to use common sense and take a few more precautions when night fishing. Here are a few safety tips.</div><br />
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<div>1. Always become familiar with the waters you fish during the daylight hours before fishing at night. Know where all the obstacle that could be a danger are before you get on the water.</div><br />
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<div>2. never run faster than idle speed after dark no matter how well you know the water. It's very easy to become confused as to your exact location in relation to obstacles in the dark. The slower your speed the more time you have to correct and avoid a collision.</div><br />
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<div>3. NEVER EVER! be on the water at night without running lights. This is a mistake I see people make very frequently. And some of those fishermen are no longer with us.. Some people think they are ok without lights because they can see other boats that do have lights and stay out of the way. All that it takes is 2 boat operators with this mind set on a collision course to turn a night of fun fishing into a tragedy. Plus it will get you a hefty fine from the dnr in most states.</div><br />
<div>4. I hate to sound like a broken record but ALWAYS wear your life jacket, Your life may depend on it.</div><br />
<div><b>Finding bass at night</b></div><br />
<div>Finding bass at night is really no different than finding them in the daytime. Bass on most lakes or reservoirs will typically be on some type of deepwater structure or cover during the daylight hours in summer; and move up to nearby shallow water when they get ready to feed. If one is available, a good topo map can help you find likely places where bass will be.</div><br />
<div>Look for shallow area's on or near the main lake, that are close to deeper water drop offs or ledges. A good example of this on most lakes is a long tapering point. Bass will hold on deep water cover or structure off the sides or end of the point during the day; and move up on top of the point to feed at night. Points that have a creek or river channel adjacent can be particularly good during the summer months.</div><br />
<div></div><div><b>Lures for Night Bass Fishing</b></div><br />
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<div>Most of the same lures that work well in the daylight such as I talked about in the recent springtime post <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html">best bass lures </a>will work at night. Generally when bass fishing at night you're targeting actively feeding bass; so this is a good time to try those faster moving reaction baits. However, as always, you should keep an open mind. If one type of lure isn’t working, try something else. Although the fish may be active, a slow moving finesse bait such as the <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/03/plastic-worms.html">plastic worm </a>or jig may be the favorite for the bass on a given night. Here are some of my favorite night bass fishing baits.</div><br />
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<div><b>Night Fishing Top Water Lures</b></div><br />
<div>Bass feeding at night are often aggressive and will readily come up and bash a lure on the surface. Some of the best for my clients and myself have been.</div><br />
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<div><b>The Buzzbait</b>: </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUL1qsjaAHse1Ymjpg0G3Z3qbNLXh7m_Hvnfuj1nRnF0510x6e93r8oqKucAPzX6KHn1ZkU2KNfW6p2q5I0w7FrLtyD2goy4T4qg65den33yoRfeAZZkKjbCk9akNszd7On4RUkExWO90/s1600/buzzbait.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476021003568778930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUL1qsjaAHse1Ymjpg0G3Z3qbNLXh7m_Hvnfuj1nRnF0510x6e93r8oqKucAPzX6KHn1ZkU2KNfW6p2q5I0w7FrLtyD2goy4T4qg65den33yoRfeAZZkKjbCk9akNszd7On4RUkExWO90/s200/buzzbait.jpg" style="float: left; height: 100px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 100px;" /></a><br />
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<div>These are made by most all the same companies who make spinnerbaits.</div><br />
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<div><b>Heddon Zara Spook or Lucky Crafts Sammy</b></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMxvzuPVn0axQ76VZVUg8swvJWMPKnwOavvtXeLr48Zn6U_nwsDEsZag3KUbn4JEUpFsinq40SDDGNc3jqVlVVhfZ2_3m7AXjyu5pOZzCneAx3DX1bnVYU20c5BvWvX-A2-nXLIOxwulE/s1600/Night+fishing+spook.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476022880365943986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMxvzuPVn0axQ76VZVUg8swvJWMPKnwOavvtXeLr48Zn6U_nwsDEsZag3KUbn4JEUpFsinq40SDDGNc3jqVlVVhfZ2_3m7AXjyu5pOZzCneAx3DX1bnVYU20c5BvWvX-A2-nXLIOxwulE/s200/Night+fishing+spook.jpg" style="float: left; height: 100px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 100px;" /></a><br />
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<b>Rebel Pop'R</b></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBFsqVzbXSL6NDSovPpyEGv_fUPwvQ9gvgfs-kJy_2OxY33IpMp4oLVWUw3f05qIMdTm5jsDATUWtannRVUk5rDkZ5K_0NfZyWRBQaLlGXDkfm2yIqgaWmN2mLIo4lMjBoN_15nTTBNc/s1600/Night+fishing+pop%27r.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476023828566758018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBFsqVzbXSL6NDSovPpyEGv_fUPwvQ9gvgfs-kJy_2OxY33IpMp4oLVWUw3f05qIMdTm5jsDATUWtannRVUk5rDkZ5K_0NfZyWRBQaLlGXDkfm2yIqgaWmN2mLIo4lMjBoN_15nTTBNc/s200/Night+fishing+pop%27r.jpg" style="float: left; height: 100px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 100px;" /></a><br />
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<b>The Spinnerbait</b></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXgzIdyF94j8Sw3e42gkNq51qhxdvhiOMjeB_JwtWYz8T63LR0wF_YUo-iCXKjzHgdLgfyc2CN2zfh43Gx6pTNIkMAU7tBz7UDrOpdMnmCJG_ZSBc2WasfohWlUrXm7i6AeMDkwZxljXo/s1600/Night+spinnerbait.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476022040818907458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXgzIdyF94j8Sw3e42gkNq51qhxdvhiOMjeB_JwtWYz8T63LR0wF_YUo-iCXKjzHgdLgfyc2CN2zfh43Gx6pTNIkMAU7tBz7UDrOpdMnmCJG_ZSBc2WasfohWlUrXm7i6AeMDkwZxljXo/s200/Night+spinnerbait.jpg" style="float: left; height: 100px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 100px;" /></a><br />
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Spinnerbaits have been the most consistent night fishing lure in my tackle box over the years; and have been responsible for catching more of my clients <b>big bass at night</b> than any other lure.</div><br />
<div>Spinnerbaits for bass are made by lots of different companies and the quality varies. some of the better ones I've used are made by <b>Strike King</b>, <b>Manns</b>, and <b>Booyah</b>. The most important quality components to look for in a good spinnerbait are a good sharp hook, and a ball bearing swivel. some of the cheaper baits will use bad hooks and plain barrel swivel's as opposed to the ball bearing swivel.</div><br />
<div>Typically I use a ½ or 3/8 oz with a single large # 3 or # 4 Colorado blade. The Colorado blade gives off maximum vibration which seems to draw the fish from long distances at night. I use the heavier weight baits because I like to slow roll the bait along the bottom and keep it bumping into any rocks, stumps or other structure that may be present.</div><br />
<div>A word of caution when using this technique, when bigger bass hit this bait at night they will often slam the lure like a mack truck. I have had them laterally take the rod out of my clients hand; so be alert hold on tight to your rod.</div><br />
<div><b>Night Fishing Lure Color</b></div><br />
<div>Common sense may tell you that lure color would not be as important when fishing in the dark. Well, in this case don't listen to your common sense. I have found that color seems to be just as important at night as in the day. However the choice is easier. Dark colors work best 99% of the time. I use 3 colors in my night fishing applications no matter what type of lure I'm using. Those colors are Black, Black & Red and June Bug (June Bug is a dark blue with purple flake)</div><br />
<div>Summertime can be a challenging time to catch bass for most beginners as well as experienced fishermen. But remember, It's not because the bass aren’t feeding; it's because their feeding periods have changed. Summertime fishing is often a matter of timing. So, If your bass fishing has become more fishing and less catching during the hot summer months, try night bass fishing. It just may open up a whole new world of fun fishing for you.</div><br />
<div>Until Next Time</div><br />
<div>Fishhound</div></span></div></div></div>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-2751388782260646722010-03-25T16:11:00.004-04:002018-04-02T10:19:45.510-04:00Mastering The Baitcaster<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5CdmKsSGSZr_WMcNMm-_ML7Gb03SwmKrNP6PuAQ9BKfm-ekDsRerEskR-tYJhaR5wTW6QvYLK2fgmtMlFoHrxOHPolRpXGnKWXCwa_rP9nsbN7NrbMbr1L_glPwZst2I-X5cnm8OOiQM/s1600/P-CURADO_70.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5CdmKsSGSZr_WMcNMm-_ML7Gb03SwmKrNP6PuAQ9BKfm-ekDsRerEskR-tYJhaR5wTW6QvYLK2fgmtMlFoHrxOHPolRpXGnKWXCwa_rP9nsbN7NrbMbr1L_glPwZst2I-X5cnm8OOiQM/s320/P-CURADO_70.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tips for Using The Baitcast Reel</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Just as important as<a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2010/02/best-bass-lure.html" target="_blank"> the best lure</a> It's very important to have a good reel to cast, flip or pitch that lure with. There are two basic types of reels commonly used by most experienced bass fishermen. One is the baitcaster; the other is the spinning reel. The spinning reel (often referred to as an "open face reel") is generally used for deeper, clear water, light line applications or finesse fishing; and the baitcaster for everything else.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Unlike other types of reel, the baitcaster does take some practice and patience to learn to use effectively. but I strongly recomend that anyone who is serious about becoming a good bass fisherman take the time to learn it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The number one problem that most inexperienced fishermen have with the baitcast reel is the dreaded backlash or also known as the birds nest. The backlash happens when the lure is cast. The lure hits the water and stops but the reels spool continues to spin resulting in a wadded up, tangled mess of line in the reel. Everyone who has ever used a baitcaster including pro bass fishermen has experienced this to some degree. And if you use one it will happen to you as well. Just accept the fact, use the tips I'm about to give you, and practice. Before you know it, you'll be casting very well and the backlash will never enter your mind.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: 130%;">How To Avoid Backlashes in your Baitcaster</span></b></span><br />
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The first and most important lesson in avoiding a tangled mess in your reel is learning how to properly adjust it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most more modern baitcast reels have two adjustments which allows the user to adjust the reels spin to the weight of the lure, which helps prevent backlash. The adjustment which adjust the reel to the weight of the bait is located just beside or below the reel handle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is the first adjustment that should be made each time you change lures or lure weight.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>How to adjust the baitcaster</b> </span><br />
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Step 1: Tie on your lure, pull out 6 inches of line and hold the baitcaster in your left hand (reverse if you're reel is left handed) with the rod straight out in the 3 o clock position tighten the adjustment knob down snug. Step 2: with the left hand press the thumb bar to release the spool. step 3: with the right thumb and forefinger loosen the adjustment knob until the lure begins to slowly drop toward the ground or water. As soon as the lure begins to fall stop. this should give you the correct weight adjustment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The second adjustment is normally located on the opposite side of the baitcast reel. This adjustment is basically meant to help compensate for wind when you're casting into the wind. Your reel will cast its best when this adjustment is set low at 1 or 2 clicks. However, if you have your weight adjustment is set correctly but are still getting spool over run, set this adustment up one click or number at a time until you eliminate the problem. eventually you will learn to control the spool with your thumb as the line comes off. Then you will be able to loosen up both adjustments and make very long accurate cast without the worry of baitcaster backlash. A quick tip, spray a little wd-40 or silicone on your line and spool. This will lubricate and make for much smoother casts and lessen backlash as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>How to cast the baitcast reel</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There's not alot to be said on this subject. Basically the baitcaster can be cast just the same as your old spincast reel; with two exceptions. There is only 2 exceptions but they are important. exception number 1, unlike the spincast, the baitcaster should be held reel handle up in the 12 o clock position, this puts the spool vertical instead of horizontal and helps tremendously with eliminating backlash problems. Just hold the rod and reel just as you would a common spincast, then twist the wrist 1/4 round to the left (right if you're left handed) and cast.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Exception number two, Unlike the spincast reel which keeps the line from spooling off until you make your cast by holding the release button down. The baitcaster spool is secured by holding your thumb directly on it. One tip here is, when you cast let your thumb ride very lightly on the spool as the line goes out until the lure hits the water. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: 130%;">How to choose the best baitcaster</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There's tons of baitcasters on the market and prices vary from $10 up. I encourage the beginner to buy a good reel to start. The mistake I see time after time is beginners who buy a very cheap reel. Some of the extremely cheap reels are almost impossible to adjust correctly and they have problems with extreme backlashing. This frustrates them and they give up on using the baitcaster completely. This is not to say that you must spend a lot of money. You can buy a decent reel for around $40.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some of the best brands are <a href="https://redirect.viglink.com/?key=f69ac0dfa6214ad8917e55ea961b7d32&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsmansguide.com%2Fproductlist%3Fk%3Dbaitcast%2Breels" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Shimano</b>, <b>Abu Garcia</b>, <b>Quantum</b>, <b>Pflueger</b>, <b>Okuma</b>, and <b>Diawa</b></a>. Each brand will have several different models with a couple different gear ratio's. The gear ratio is important. If you're not sure what gear ratio means, for example. a 5:1 gear ratio means that the spool turns five rounds to each one round of the real handle. In other words the higher the first number the faster the reel will retrieve line. A good common medium that will work just fine for fishing most any type of lure is the 5:1 ratio.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you decide to go with a lower priced reel, which I do reccomend for your first experience with a baitcaster. I reccomend Shimano. All the brands make great reels but Shimano seems to be better on the lower priced reels. If you decide to go ahead and spend a little more and get a great reel right out of the gate, I reccomend Shimano also. My favorite is the <b>Shimano Curado</b>. In my personal opinion the curado is the best reel on the market at any price. I'm not sponsored by the company and I don't get paid to say this. I simply like the reel. You can pick one up for just over $100 if you shop around.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you're serious about bass fishing I recommend that you get yourself a baitcaster. With a little practice and patience, you'll be casting like a pro and catching bass before you know it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Until Next Time</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Fishhound</span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-84518149809510251692010-02-27T16:00:00.006-05:002010-02-28T12:28:15.661-05:00The Best Bass Lure<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>The Best Lures for Springtime Bass Fishing</strong><br /><br /><br />Last time I talked about the best </span><a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/09/bass-fishing-knots.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">fishing knots</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">. Since spring is just around the corner, today I'm going to discuss some of the best lures for the </span><a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/03/pre-spawn-fishing-basics.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">pre-spawn </span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">season and give some tips on where, when and how to use them.<br /><br />Lets start with early pre-spawn, which has already began in the southern states and will soon begin in the northern states as well.<br /><br />If you have some experience or have studied some of the bass fishing literature such as </span><a href="http://thinklikeabass.com/"><span style="font-size:130%;">Learn to Think Like a Bass</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> that I recommend, you probably know that when the daylight hours start to become longer as springtime approaches, the fish start to become much more active and visit the shallow water and look for spawning area's. They'll be feeding heavily as the water warms and will much more readily chase faster moving lures than during winter.<br /><br />There are literally hundreds of lures which will catch bass during early spring. However if you try them all you'll spend all of your fishing time tying on, and casting different lures instead of catching bass.. So my approach is to keep things simple. I base my lure choice as well as presentation on fishing conditions.<br /><br />As I have talked about many times, bass are very moody creatures.. Basically there are two moods which dominate in early Spring, either the bass are active or inactive. The variables which determine the mood of the bass are almost endless; and much too extensive to begin discussion in this article. However I'll say this. whether the bass are active or inactive is basically controlled by weather conditions.. For example if the weather has been consitently warm and stable for several days, I expect the bass to be crusing shallow water, ready and willing to pounce on a fast moving lure. If the weather has been consistetnly warm and suddenly turns nasty or cold just before my fishing trip, I expect the fish to be deeper staging on structure and not very active.<br /><br /><strong>Best lures for inactive Bass</strong><br /><br />When bass get in the inactive mood. they simply move tight into cover or some type of structure and sit there. they're not interested in feeding. However this doesn't mean that you can't catch them. Bass are opportunist; even though they are not actively seeking food, if given an opportunity to eat a nourishing meal without moving off of their resting spot they'll usually eat it. and that meal could be your lure. In this situation I choose a lure that I can fish with a very slow and deliberate presentation.<br />Here are my best lures for inactive bass in Springtime<br /><br /><strong>Plastic lizard</strong><br /><br />This lure has been one of my favorite lures for spring bass fishing for many years. When a bass see's a lizard in the spring, he has two great reasons to eat it. one, lizards are an enemy to bass because they are notorious for eating fish eggs and the bass are about to spawn. Two, the lizard is a nice meal for the bass and full of nutrition. The plastic lizard lure can be rigged and fished in several different ways. Two of the best rigs for spingtime are the carolina rig and the texas rigg. The texas rig will work best when the bass are tight to cover such as brush or tree limbs. The carolina will work best when the bass in grass, weeds or structure such as points, humps, or stumps. Both riggs are finesse lures and fished basically the same. For info on how to rig and fish this lure see </span><a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/03/plastic-worms.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">plastic worms</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><strong>Jig and Craw</strong> or <strong>Jig and Pig</strong><br /><br />The jig and craw and jig and pig are basically the same; both are crawfish imitations. the difference is the trailer which is hooked onto the jig which gives the lure a more natural realistic appearance. the jig&craw has a plastic crawfish trailer, the jig&pig uses a trailer made of pig skin. In recent years the plastic trailers have become much more popular; but personally I prefer pork. Both will catch fish at any time of the year.<br /><br />Just as with the lizard, crawfish are a favorite food of the bass and they also are known to feed on fish eggs making them an especially favorite food of bass in springtime.<br />Both these lures can be fished slowly on bottom or in cover making them very effective lures for inactive bass.<br /><br /><strong>Best lures for active bass</strong><br /><br /><strong>Diving Cankbait</strong><br /><br />Most </span><a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/04/crankbait-basics.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">diving crankbaits </span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">are meant to imitate baitfish such as shad, small perch or other types of fish which bass feed on. These lures are extremely effective when bass are actively feeding. Because most crankbaits are equiped with multiple treble hooks they can be tough to fish in thick woody cover. However, when bass are active, they will readily come out of the cover and smash a bait which is moving past his hiding place.<br /><br /><strong>Jerkbaits</strong><br /><br />The term jerkbait refers to the action which the angler uses to make the lure act erratic and trigger a strike. Jerk baits cover a wide variety of different lures but there are two basic types. one is the hard lure which resembles the crankbait but will normally have a much slimmer profile and smaller lip than the diving lures. The other type is the soft plastic jerkbait. to simplify, her are a few of my favorites of each type. In soft plastic I like the </span><a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/04/yamamoto-senko.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">Senko</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> and <strong>Zoom trick worm</strong>. For the hard baits, the 4 or 6" <strong>Bomber long A</strong>, or <strong>Cordell Redfin. Rapala </strong>also makes a number of very good jerkbaits.<br /><br /><strong>Choosing the Best Lure Color</strong><br /><br />I could write a book on this one element of lure choice; and there have probobly been a few written. You can buy any of the lures mentioned here in most any color in the rainbow and some colors not in the rainbow. Ask 10 different fishermen what's the best lure color for bass and I can almost guarantee that you'll get 10 different answers. Lure color is important but don't let this make bass fishing complicated for you, as so many fishermen do. Keep things simple and basic. Let the water conditions tell you what color to use; It's as simple as that..<br /><br />As a rule I keep in my box 2 to 3 different colors of each lure. If the water is clear I normally stay with natural colors. By natural I mean matching as close as possible the actual color of the prey which the bass are feeding on, such as the darker greens, pumpkin or whites.. If the water is stained or muddy then I'll start with some of the brighter or more exotic colors such as chartreuse, red, pink or blues. If your unsure what color to use, you normally you cant go wrong with either chartreause or white in any condition your faced with.<br /><br />Hopefully this will help you be better educated on choosing the best bass lure this Spring<br />Until next time good luck and good fishing.<br /><br />Fishhound</span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-63344531043202954542009-09-16T11:03:00.005-04:002011-01-07T22:05:25.008-05:00Bass Fishing Knots<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Learn to tie and apply these fishing knots to your Bass Fishing</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Here's another very <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/06/ultimate-bass-fishing-tip.html">Important tip </a> . The most important link between you and the big bass that bites your lure or hook is the knot. Most beginners have a misconception that you need to know how to tie a lot of complicated fishing knots. Not true.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I use 2 basic knots for 99% of my fishing applications no matter what species I'm targeting. These two fishing knots will work great regardless of whether you're using light line, heavy line, live bait or lures.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>How to tie the Palomar Knot</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The Palomar is the strongest as well as the most simple to tie knot that you can use. Tests prove that the palomar knot will hold beyond the strength of the line its self. The only drawback to palomar knot is the fact that it's almost impossible tie it when using a a bait or method that calls for a long leader.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-tie-the-palomar-fishing-knot-250530/"><span style="font-size:130%;">See this Video for the palomar</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The second knot you should learn is the improved clinch knot. I use this knot when I can't use the palomar.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>How to Tie the Improved Clinch Knot</strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJnL80VAeTM">See This Video</a> The video is for fly fishing but the knot is the same.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Learn tie these two fishing knots. your fishing will become much simpler and you'll land more big bass.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Until Next Time</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Fishhound</span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-50218609532988140462009-06-27T14:11:00.006-04:002021-12-18T12:35:21.154-05:00The Ultimate Bass Fishing Tip<span style="font-size: 130%;"><b>The Most Important Bass Fishing Tip That You Will Ever Get.</b><br /><br />So far I have discussed several lures such as the </span><a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/04/yamamoto-senko.html"><span style="font-size: 130%;">senko</span></a><span style="font-size: 130%;"> and how to use them. Today I’m going to give everyone what I believe is the one most important tip that beginners or any other bass fisherman should learn and practice above and beyond all others. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">In my 35 years of <b>bass fishing</b> and guiding, there is one mistake that I see almost every beginner make. This mistake is so prevalent that I even see experienced fishermen make it. I have even seen bass fishermen spend years and years building their whole fishing attitude and fishing style around this mistake and due to their failure to realize their mistake they never reach their potential as a <b>bass fisherman</b>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">It’s very understandable why this mistake is so prevalent in the sport. It’s actually very heavily promoted by the tackle, and boat companies and the pros who they sponsor in the industry.<br />Today’s bass fishermen are basically programmed or brainwashed by ads and commercials to believe that they can become a better bass fisherman by spending money on products. I see the results of this almost every day. People who think they can spend their way to being a great fisherman.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />First of all let me make it clear that I’m not against anyone marketing products or anyone buying the products. There’s tons of great <b>bass fishing products</b> on the market and good equipment and the skills to use that equipment are essential tools for a good bass fisherman. However, the tools do not make the mechanic. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">Let me explain with an example. If someone calls himself a mechanic, has $40,000 worth of mechanics tools but no experience or knowledge of cars, how good of a mechanic is he? See my point? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">Well my true point here is, to be a good bass fisherman you should not make equipment your priority. A couple decent rod & reels a good selection of lures and a decent dependable boat if the water you fish demands a boat, is all you really need!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />Don’t focus your approach to bass fishing on equipment.. Focus your approach on learning everything you can about your query THE BASS. This is the most important <b>bass fishing tip</b> that you’ll ever get.. If you know where he lives at any given time of year and what he’s eating, then you’ll know exactly what lure to use and where to use it. Get the point? While your buddy in his $30,000 bass boat is out rummaging through his $5000 tackle boxes full of lures and casting at every thing all over the lake, you’ll be <b>catching fish</b>!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />Spend that time that you’ve been spending druweling over the Bass Pro Shop or Cabelas catalog reading books on bass or better yet, out on the water. Before I go, Here is one good source for learning <b>the habits of bass</b>.</span><span style="font-size: 130%;"> Take this bass fishing tip to heart and I promise you’ll be a better fisherman.<br /><br /><br />Until next time</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><br />Fishhound</span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-84018024218541191162009-04-16T14:28:00.007-04:002011-05-03T12:52:40.872-04:00The Yamamoto Senko<strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Senko For Bass</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The Senko is a plain plastic worm looking lure; but in fact is a soft plastic jerkbait and is anything but plain. This thing is a fish catching machine. Like the <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/04/crankbait-basics.html">crankbait</a>, when rigged and used correctly it’s a killer lure in and around shallow water cover and structure.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The senko is a Gary Yamamoto lure. And in my opinion, it’s the best thing Gary Yamamoto ever put on the market. It comes in most any color that you could desire.</span><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325363243367492178" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 144px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_j3LJScL21ZXc8BC1pyUFTPX9j8k82lLx_Svp1QbQbRQ_WSpBWdKtgNZ3XiazUgT30SS8M1qBWl8muYoZ6xFpYzPrZqlIMzWaCAard05KFcPT9Zr_ZVOwJi3gU7S6qZipEg_1K-idG6Y/s320/senko.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-size:130%;">Senkos are made of the same type plastic silicone material as most all plastic worms; however much more dense. This gives it much more weight; allowing it to cast better and sink faster when fished weightless as it was originally designed to be fished.<br /></span><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">How to rig the senko</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">This bait is most effective when used as a jerkbait. Basically you should rig the senko the same as a carolina rig; however without the weight and with a shorter leader.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">You’ll need a senko, a 3/0 or 4/0 worm hook (preferably an offset shank worm hook) a barrel swivel and a 12 to 16 inch piece of line for the leader. The purpose of using the barrel swivel and leader with this lure is to reduce line twist caused by the eratic action of the bait.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">First tie the barrel swivel to your line. Then tie your leader to the opposite end of the barrel swivel and tie on your hook. Now insert the hook point into the head of the senko about 1/4 inch and bring the hook point out the side of the bait. Then pull the lure up onto the offset shank and rotate the hook so that the point is facing the body of the senko. Insert the hook point completely through the body of the bait then pull it back in just enough to keep the hook point unexposed. Now your ready to go</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Senko fishing</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The senko is designed to be fished as a jerk bait; however can be used for deep water applications as well. It works great on a carolina rig with a weight, but is most often fished wieghtless and in shallow cover. Fish the senko just as you would any other jerkbait but be aware that this type bait has an obvious distinct advantage over hard plastic or wood baits with multiple treble hooks when it come to fishing heavy cover. Cast it to the cover and work it back with a short twitching motion pausing between each twitch to let the bait sink.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The twitch and pause of this bait is what makes it so deadly for bass fishing. the action perfectly imiatates injured or dying prey. This triggers the bass predatory instinct to strike. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">If the fish aren't coming up to get the bait don't be afraid to let the bait sink deep into the cover. Many times I have made several cast to a piece of cover without a strike. And then cast the senko into the cover and let it sink completely to the bottom and come out with a nice fish.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Fishing the senko is a very visual presentation in clear water. If you see a fish strike the bait wait until the bait is no longer visible in the fishes mouth to set the hook.<br />This bait can be a killer. So anytime fish are shallow don’t forget to try a senko</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Until next time</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Fishhound </span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-9988314278490884132009-04-02T19:21:00.007-04:002009-04-11T16:25:46.087-04:00Crankbait Basics<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Crankbaits for Bass Fishing</strong></span> <div><div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">The crankbait or crankbait lure, is one of the many tools used in bass fishing for catching bass off of structure. As with </span><a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/03/plastic-worms.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">plastic worms</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> which I discussed in the last post and most all bass lures, these baits come in many different styles, shapes, colors and designs for many different applications. I’ll go over each basic type here and do my best to help you understand there characteristics and the fishing situation that each is suited for.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Diving Crank Bait</strong></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">The diving baits have a lip or bill fitted to the front of the lure which causes the bait to dive. The depth to which the bait will dive is controlled by the length of the lip. The longer the lip, the deeper the bait will dive. The shape and width of the lip and the lure determines the action or wobble. Some have a short or tight wobble. Others have a wide wobble action.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Deep Diving Crankbait</strong> - 8 to 20 ft depth</span></div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320240774589855602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 129px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 104px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZWgWg3sPvQ6ShhfcnFJk4NXNN8SQv0qnXi1WmV0XoQbj1SB2eiGNNmFpoddUIB4slSE2mUreknDFt6tW5udJcgF26qhqKAbAKzxY9l9lPXgPIPnXJJ_UDIVfU8roSnAafahIXlQOs7Q/s320/deepcrank.jpg" border="0" /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Medium Diving Crankbait</strong> - 4 to 8 ft depth<br /></span></div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320241639353794050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 100px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 100px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFm7ihrOMjoig2-Lkkdx7vsNpL56A3ytQn-u45NhySBZ_Dwbgipd51dBW0md7L0hAHAhEiseKnz28Fpm45jndCfrwtHrdClzsrqpKgjx0mK-xiC1cJ0ApzLULRMBC9NrvE15G5EuDSLE/s320/mediumcrank.jpg" border="0" /><br /><strong>Shallow Diving Crankbait</strong> - 1 to 4 ft depth<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320242121167111554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 100px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 100px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih0x5FGbfP22YSNtFxSVwSlRNN9iNCHbYi8hTS2CGbD4Qfk4iiDkOhPrgSTZM_6ppdKTJ3oPOsRo1b-qfmTb8HVUAoHL_u30OdOGiTzAz3b1xb-iy0JsivLam8Rek2rRdKssWZO6g0kLE/s320/shallowcrank.jpg" border="0" /><br /><strong>Diving lures</strong> are typically used to catch fish on structure or cover located at a particular depth. For example, if bass are holding on stumps or some other cover or structure in 10 ft of water, a deep diving bait would be a good choice.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Don’t be fooled into thinking that because the crank baits package indicates that it runs down to a particular depth that it’s going to run exactly that depth. There are many variables that dictate exactly how deep your bait will dive. One is line size. Using larger or smaller diameter line can vary the depth to which your lure will dive. Smaller line can get you more depth. Larger line can keep your bait up.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Your retrieve can also control the depth to which the bait will dive. To get the maximum depth slow the retrieve to get the lure to run shallower speed up the retrieve. </span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Crankbait Techniques</strong> </span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">As with any other lure, it’s always good to experiment with your crankbait presentation until you determine what’s working in your particular fishing situation. However, typically you can trigger more strikes with a crankbait by getting the bait to act erratic. I like to make the bait bounce off of the cover, dig the bottom or bump into things. I want to feel the bait making contact with something at all times.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Another effective crankbait presentation is the old "stop and go" retrieve. Crank the bait down and stop it. Let it suspend for a few seconds and repeat. Or crank it down until you feel the bait hit something and stop. This is DEADLY the bass can’t stand it. </span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Lipless Crankbait</strong><br /></span></div><span style="font-size:130%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320242572994991186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 100px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 100px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7fFW_tYCe3H0sR3fcn_qjf2H71E28lH7JaQTANl6ZM1etrOD3leHlXikU2tdOajWYTnv1uNDAhZy-XCYxuNdJTaaiybdKz03ljiJ4r0ie0zFtAZrKB52G6w78nuOuUgZwQlC__d83QnE/s320/liplesscrank.jpg" border="0" /><br />The lipless crankbait is the most versatile of all crankbaits. It can be fished in virtually any depth and with any presentation. There are floating lipless crankbaits available. However typically Unlike the lip baits, this lure sinks. You can vary the depth at which it runs by speeding up, or slowing your retrieve.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />This bait is great for fishing situations which the diving lures are not favorable. For example fishing over or in grass or weeds, or in deeper water than a diving bait will reach. However it can also be used on the same type situations as the diving baits.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />The disadvantage of the lipless lure is that you may not be able to work it as slow as a diving bait. So if the fish are favoring a slow moving lure, the diving bait may be a better choice.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />One lipless crankbait presentation that has worked well for me in deeper water fishing situations, is to cast the bait out, let it sink to the bottom and use the rod tip to jerk the bait up off the bottom about 12 inches and then let it fall back on a tight line. The fish will usually strike as the bait is falling. </span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Crankbait rod</strong> </span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">A question I get very! often. What’s the best crankbait rod. The best rod for fishing crankbaits is not going to be the same as you need for fishing finesse baits such as plastic worms and jigs. You don’t need the same stiff action and sensitivity.. For this application I prefer a much softer and much less sensitive action. </span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Many pro’s including myself opt for fiberglass rods for fishing crankbaits. The fiberglass fishing rod typically has a softer action and is much more suited for fishing lures that are fitted with multiple treble hooks and basically create their own action. </span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The exceptions to this however, for me personally, is the lipless crankbait, jerkbaits and topwater lures which require the angler to create the action of the bait. For these I prefer the stiffer action graphite rods.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />So what’s the best crankbait rod? Do you need to spend a lot of money? No, you can buy a Shakespear ugly stik for around $30.00 It’s a great crankbait rod. </span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Crankbait Tips</strong></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />I hope I have given you a good overview of crankbait fishing. I'm going to end this post with a couple tips. </span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Get yourself a good lure retriever. Good crankbaits, are slightly more expensive than some bass lures and if you are using them correctly you will get snagged. A good lure retriever will pay for it’s self in no time.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Keep your hooks rust free. Spray a little WD40 on them a couple times each year. WD 40 is also a good fish attractant ( NO Im not kidding)</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Use clear plastic boxes to store your baits and separate them into different categories. This will save you from wasting precious fishing time rummaging through your tackle box looking for the right crankbait </span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Until next time </span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Fishhound</span> </div>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-74906376449384701592009-03-25T17:43:00.008-04:002010-12-31T10:00:40.733-05:00Plastic Worms<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6QQR6OQA4TCQA7cwGVwfDitDUk21PVvurQsRGndCLjjM3J17JdNC6d4yJmpOP5YRxWRWPtaRNpT2A1KSeD-N7EE4QWCFB2tHdbcKcqfhZP3LeBiw9L4UcXvf-277yFzWy84eFum3yic/s1600-h/texas+rig+worm.jpg"></a><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>How to use plastic worms for bass fishing</strong><br /><br />Last I talked about some lures for <a href="http://bassfishing-forbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/03/pre-spawn-fishing-basics.html">pre spawn</a> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>fishing. One being Plastic worms. Worms catch more bass each year than any other lure. There’s lots of good reasons why they catch so many bass; but the number one reason is, bass love them!<br />A few other reasons they catch lots of bass are, they're one of the most versatile baits available, they’re simple to use, they come in many different sizes and shapes, and you can get them in every color of the rainbow.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />The most common way to use this lure is rigged on a "Texas rig" this rig consists of a hook a "bullet weight" and the worm.</span> </div><br /><div></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Texas rig fishing</strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Bullet weights come in all sizes. From 1/16oz up to 2oz. A good medium that will normally work well in any texas rig situation is 3/8oz. Plastic worm hooks also come in a variety of types sizes. I suggest you start with a 3/0 or 4/0.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />To do a texas rig, you will need to first thread the line through the bullet sinker small end first. Then tie on your hook. That’s it.. all that’s left is to thread the plastic worm on to the hook and you’re ready to fish. To thread the worm on, first insert the hook point into the end of the worm about 1/4 inch. Then push the hook point out the side and pull the worm head up onto the eye of the hook. Now rotate the hook so that the point is facing the body of the plastic worm. Then push the hook point into the worm leaving the point just inside the worm enough to keep it from being exposed. This keeps you worm rig weedless and prevents snagging on cover.<br />See video </span><a href="http://www.bassfishin.com/video-tips/texas-rig/"><span style="font-size:130%;">How to tie a texas rig </span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">for a visual example.</span> </div><br /><div></div><br /><div align="center">This is how your rig should look</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317566510179515922" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 73px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BQhEnvuO8GiOo5CB3q9Omx8svhiy0h4mkxBaoZyGlOS-i1PXHIeZTH0_L45Uou0RH9RtrQWUDKWkmTjXUIgEAeVb722eqVrAMIwRFHJXnbJuE9HQftdewBEP-7ZTFcqo3UKfxXE10yM/s320/texas+rig+worm.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>How to fish with the texas rigged worm</strong> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The design of the texas rigged plastic worm is perfect for fishing heavy cover where bass hide. It can be fished directly in thick brush weeds or any other heavy cover easily without snagging.<br />There’s countless methods used to fish this rig. The standard method however, is to cast, flip, or pitch the bait into the cover, let it sink to the bottom and use the rod tip to slowly work the worm through the cover as you keep slack out of the line with the reel. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The strike will normally feel like a light tap on the bait. When you feel the tap lower the rod tip, reel up the slack in the line and set the hook by swiftly jerking the rod tip upward. </span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">The Carolina Rig</span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />The carolina rig is used with the same baits as the texas rig however is more suited for fishing structure as apposed to heavy cover. </span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">How to carolina rig a plastic worm</span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />To tie the carolina rig, you’ll need a bullet weight, a worm hook, a barrel swivel and a small glass or plastic bead. The bead which will be placed between the bullet weight and the barrel swivel serves 2 purposes. It keeps the weight which is normally much heavier than that used with the texas rig from beating against the knot on the barrel swivel. The other purpose it serves is as an attraction for the fish by creating a clicking sound when the weight which slides freely on the line hits the bead. This sound is similar to the clicking sounds made by crawfish and can ad a great attraction aspect to the presentation. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">As I mentioned above, a much heavier weight is typically used with this rig than with the texas rig. Generally a ½ to 3/4oz. The purpose of the heavier weight is also an attraction. As the heavy weight is dragged along the bottom, it kicks up silt and simulates a crawfish or other crustation scurrying along the bottom. The whole rig when presented correctly simulates a small predator (your plastic worm) chasing a small crawfish or other small prey along the bottom.<br />First thread the bullet weight onto the line small end first. Then thread on the bead, and tie on the barrel swivel.<br />Next you will need to tie on a leader. Typically the leader is just a separate length of the same line as on your reel. A good practice however is to use a slightly smaller test line for your leader. This may help as if you get snagged many times you will just break off the leader and bait saving your weight and barrel swivel. </span></div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Leader length</strong> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The length of the leader can vary. As a general rule I never use shorter 18 to 24 inches of leader in clear water. However always be willing to experiment with your leader length until you find what works best.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Now tie one end of your leader to the opposite end of your barrel swivel, tie on your hook to the end of your leader, thread on the plastic worm the same as with the texas rig and you’re ready to catch bass. </span></div><p align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;">Should look like this</span></p><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317567386841706578" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 73px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvHxw2JsdbRMHTaWprZaTLuceAEvIgFlS4UDA0l5XBmHI71HbXQOA2ic79CfLB0REcCdqyJd3DHHjy6fEJxgTvZsi0hvVTqQHSPl8_9NDvNFEPyW1vHADz695xQE-Ri5sw5uR-h1nSDY/s320/carolina+rig+worm.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">How to fish the carolina rig</span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />The design of this rig is not feasible for catching bass in heavy brush or thick matted cover as is the teaxs rig. The carolina rig works very well in sparse weeds or on structure such as humps or points with stumps or scattered rocks.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Cast the rig out, let it sink to the bottom, then slowly raise the rod tip from the 3:00 clock position to the 11:00 clock position then lower the rod back to the 3:00 clock position as you reel up the slack line. Repeat this action slowly dragging the bait along the bottom.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Because of the heavier weight, the strike is sometimes more difficult to detect. I like to keep a finger on the line just in front of the reel as I work the bait. This helps me better detect the tap tap of a strike. When a strike is detected reel up the slack and jerk with a side sweeping motion to set the hook. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Choosing the right rod for plastic worm fishing</strong> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">It’s critical that you have the right rod for fishing plastic worms. The two most important factors in choosing a good rod for this application are a stiff action and sensitivity. The stiffness of the rod is needed to help insure a good hook set and maximizes the sensitivity which allows you to better detect strikes. A stiff action rod helps to compensate for line stretch and the fact that your hook point is inside the plastic worm and must penetrate the worm when you set the hook. I suggest a medium heavy to heavy action 6 to 7 ft graphite rod. It’s a common myth that you have to spend a lot of money for a decent rod. The fact is, you can buy a rod that will work just fine for around $30.00 </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">A good way to test the sensitivity of a rod is to ask someone to help you, with one hand on the rods handle place the rod tip on their throat and ask them to speak. If you can feel the vibration of the person speaking through the rod, it has good sensitvity.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><strong>The right reel</strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />The reel is not so important as the rod for fishing plastic worms. Any good medium to heavy reel will work just fine as long as it holds at least 50 yards of 10 to 20lb test line and has a good drag system. Spinning reel, bait caster or spin cast are all good choices. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">One of the most attractive aspects of the plastic worm as a bass fishing lure is its versatility. It can be rigged and fished many different ways for most any fishing situation. Next time I’ll discuss some of the other methods of using plastic worms. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Until then Good Fishing </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Fishhound </span></div>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408688810346165639.post-50378667267415394472009-03-18T23:43:00.005-04:002009-03-19T10:13:24.696-04:00Pre Spawn Fishing Basics<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>How to Find and Catch Pre Spawn Bass</strong><br /><br />The first order in catching pre spawn bass is being able to find them - so I’ll get straight to that task first.<br /><br />Finding bass during the pre spawn period can be a challenge for bass anglers anywhere in the country. However this stage of the spawn offers one of the best opportunities of the year to catch those really <strong>big bass</strong>.<br /><br />On lakes and reservoirs, I always begin my search for <strong>pre spawners</strong> by first determining what part of the lake the fish are most likely to be in a <strong>pre spawn pattern</strong>. I’m looking for water temperatures in the low 50's to low 60's.<br /><br />Water temps on most large lakes or reservoirs vary from one section of the lake to another as the season progresses and so does <strong>the spawn</strong>. On large bodies of water It’s very possible to have fish in all three stages of the spawn on different sections of the lake at the same time.<br /><br />The shallow or upper end of the lake normally will warm first; so bass there will be the first to go into a pre spawn pattern. So in early Spring, I will begin there. If it’s later in spring I may start looking for those 50 to 60 degree temps on the lower end or mid part of the lake.<br /><br />Once I determine what part of the lake has the water temps I’m looking for, I begin by looking for <strong>bass migration routes</strong>. Migration routes defined as it pertains to bass fishing, is a route bass travel from the deeper water winter holding places to the shallow water cover or structure.<br /><br />Normally a migration route consists of a ditch, creek channel, point, weed line, road bed or some other structure that leads from deep water to shallow water <strong>spawning areas</strong>. For example a creek channel leads from the main lake and progressively shallows as you move back toward the back end. The back of the creek or shallow pockets on the sides of the creek may be good spawning areas and the creek channel would be the route bass travel from the shallows back to deeper water wintering areas.<br /><br />Once I locate a likely migration corridor that leads to a shallow cove, flat, or other good spawning area, I decide whether to start looking for fish in the shallows or on the deeper part of the structure by taking in to consideration the weather conditions. If the weather has been warm and stable for several days, I will start looking for bass on the shallow part and work my way toward the deeper end of the structure keying on any cover such as weeds, stumps, rocks or brush within or on the migration route.<br /><br /><strong>Keep this in mind when looking for pre spwan fish</strong><br /><br />The smaller male bass have the responsibility of preparing beds for the bigger female bass to lay her eggs. So they will normally be the first to move up into the shallower water. On warm days they will move up and begin cruising the shallows looking for places to build beds while the big females lay back in the deeper water. As the season progresses and water temps warm, the females will also move up into the shallows and cruise as they prepare to go on bed. But if the weather turns nasty i.e. a strong front rolls in; all the pre spawn fish will usually draw back into the deeper water. And wait for conditions to stabilize.<br /><br /><strong>How to catch bass in pre spawn</strong><br /><br />While bass are generally active and ready to feed during this time, several factors may come into play in catching them.<br /><br /><strong>Choosing the right lure</strong><br /><br />and<br /><br /><strong>Lure presentation</strong><br /><br />Again weather plays a huge role in how bass may react to your lure and your presentation during the pre spawn.<br /><br />If you are at all experienced in bass fishing you probably know that cold fronts and unstable weather can have a very detrimental effect on bass activity.<br /><br />The pre spawn takes place in <strong>early spring</strong> in most parts of the country; and this time of year is notorious for unstable weather. The weather is always my first consideration when choosing a bait.<br /><br />If the weather is stable and warm, I’m expecting bigger fish to be cruising on or near the spawning area’s in shallow water. I will normally start in the shallows with a bait that I can fish fast and cover lots of water.<br /><br />Everyone has a favorite bait and you should have confidence in any bait you use. But this is a whole other can of worms that I’ll get into in another post.<br /><br />In this particular situation, I start with a <strong>soft plastic jerkbait</strong> and try other baits if needed. I move right into the spawning area and fish any visible cover and work my way back toward the migration route.<br /><br />Now, if I’m faced with adverse weather-a front. I expect the fish to be holding in deeper water on the migration route but near the spawning area. In this case, I would normally reverse my method. I start on the deeper part of the migration route with a bait that can be fished slowly on deep water structure. My personal favorite pre spawn bait for this situation, is a <strong>carolina rig</strong> with a plastic lizard. I position my boat parallel to the migration structure and cast across or to it and work my way toward the spawning area.<br /><br />My goal of coarse is to is to pattern the larger fish. Once I figure out what they are doing I can fine tune my bait and presentation to what is working best.<br /><br />The pre spawn is a very exciting time of year for most bass fishermen. It means that the end to winters slow deep fishing is near, and it’s an opportunity to catch the bass of a lifetime. And if you’re armed with knowledge of how bass act during pre spawn, it ups your chances of catching them tremendously.<br /><br />Good luck with your <strong>pre spawn bass fishing</strong>.<br /><br />Fishhound</span>FISHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03629743898229552274noreply@blogger.com0