There are tons of different fishing techniques out there. How the heck do you learn all of them to become a better angler? Here’s one trick that I have learned.

About ten years ago I realized I had all these different baits that I enjoyed using, but if you asked me my favorites, or more importantly, what I had the most confidence in, I was stumped. I decided I needed to do something. So, you know how the Chinese have the different animals representing different years? Well I took that idea and added a fisherman’s twist. For me, it was now a different bait for each year. From that point on I picked a new bait at the beginning of each year and focused on learning it throughout the year.  I started off pretty dedicated. This was before I was fishing tournaments, so I was pretty literal, and I used that same bait more or less all the time. And for those of you who do not tournament fish, I recommend this to learn the intricacies of a single lure type.

My first year, I chose the crankbait. That year, that was pretty much all I fished. And by the end of the year, I sure knew a lot more about crankbait fishing. And better yet, I had a handful of baits that I had a huge amount of confidence in that I still carry with me today.

The next year was the year of the jig. Let’s just say, the next TWO years was the year of the jig. That’s how much I liked it. Today, you are going to find a jig rod on the deck of my boat pretty much all the time.

The year of the frog – sometimes baits are more season specific, and you’ll only be able to use them for a handful of months. I started that summer off with a bang. I went out on a guided trip on the Delta with Gary Dobyns, and got the low-down on frog fishing. That day I realized that Gary had probably forgotten more about frog fishing than I ever knew in the first place. These seasonal baits can be great because you can fish them really hard for a short period of time while the bite is phenomenal. This can build your confidence in a new bait really fast. But because of this, you may end up needing to spend a couple of years honing your skills during the on season. You can take advantage of this by rotating in a more fitting seasonal bait in the other months.

As I started tournament fishing, I was not able to intently focus on one bait as much any more, at least during competitions. But I still use my personal fishing time to focus in and learn new baits, and I still keep that one bait on my deck staring at me, and I use it any chance I get.

By intentionally limiting your lure choices like this, you’ll learn how a lot of techniques have similar uses, and over time realize the subtle differences as to when one might be slightly better than the other.

This has helped me a lot over the years, especially for learning techniques that I did not necessarily originally favor, such as the drop shot. Originally, I thought this was only a finesse fishing technique, but throughout my drop shot year  I adapted it in many new and different ways. And to this day some of my biggest fish on Clear Lake have been caught on my power drop shot.

So now as I get to the end of a couple of satisfying years getting to know the swimbait, I am gearing up for  new things for 2008. I have already started building up the arsenal, and I can now say that I am truly looking forward to the Year of the Rat.

     

The Falcon Hook & Screw Lock Hook
The most basic way to fish these baits, this method makes more of a shallow water rig, usually 1/16 oz. to 1/4 oz. This is a great rig for running these baits slow, steady, and fast, depending on weight size. Great for heavy cover.

Adding a Stinger – 2 techniques
This is more of an open-water tactic for short striking fish. Starting with the rig shown above:

#1 – The Split Ring Setup
Start with a strong split ring with an inside diameter smaller than the eye of the hook and a good quality sharp treble. Mount the split ring around the shaft of the hook between the lead and the eye. This will lock your stinger hook in place and prevent it from sliding up your line.

#2 – Drop Shot Type Setup
Starting with a Palomar knot through your main hook leaving at least 6” of line. Next feed the line back through the eye towards the bottom. Now tie the treble onto the tag line with you favorite knot , making sure to leave no more than 2” or so of line between knots after cinching up. This may take a few tries before you get the right length between the two. Now you’re ready to hook your stinger anywhere on the bait – I usually hook it off the bottom.

Chatter Bait Jig Head
As if these baits don’t have enough action to them already. . Well who cares, you can give them even more. Strip the skirt off your favorite chatter bait and peg your favorite Basstrix style bait on to it. I usually slice the nose open a little and bury the weight and all then glue it back shut with some Mend It or Super Glue.

Hornet Head Rigging
Mixing up with another bait made famous by Aaron Martins. This rig is great for suspended fish. I usually use the smaller 4” Basstrix with this method. This is pretty self explanatory but a very effective technique.

Flippin’ Rig
So get yourself a big old #4 or #5 flippin’ tube hook with the weight attached to the eye. Shove the weight into the nose and rig up the hook through your bait. I like to next take a glass rattle and shove it up the backside of the bait for some extra sound as the baits drops down into cover. I left the weight of the hook exposed in the photo so you could see the set up.

Blade Runner Tackle Head
This head is made by Blade Runner Tackle, out of Sacramento, Ca. It was specifically designed for this bait, and has been a West Coast secret for years. They are made all the way up to more than 1 oz. This is a very versatile set up. You can fish it shallow, deep, through cover, suspended – whatever. Just hang on, because the fish hit this one hard.

Swimbait Head
Going old school with this one. With a head from Revenge Bait Company, yet another West Coast, Bay Area company, this is another simple setup. You can swim it or jig it on the bottom, from 1 foot to eighty feet – just fish it wherever the fish are.

The Chaser Rig aka “The Predator & Prey Rig”
This is one of my favorites, using two Basstrix products at once. Using a predatory color bait (bass, blue gill, etc.) with a minnow flavored drop shot bait. Thread your line through the drop shot bait from nose to tail. I keep a large sewing needle on my boat for this purpose. Next, tie it up to your main bait hook. I fish this setup extra erratic to make it look like the bass or bluegill is chasing the minnow. I sometimes run the minnow up to a foot up my line, but most of the time, let it settle at the nose of my main bait.

Finesse West Coast Style – Split Shot or Carolina Rig
Once again start with the smaller 4” baits with a #3 or #4 weightless wide gap hook, and a large split-shot weight, 3/8 to 1/2 oz. This can be also be set up as a Carolina rig, with your weight wherever you like to fish it. By using the weightless hook, you’re actually letting your bait roll over and flip, simulating a dying shad. This is a great setup when the water gets cold as there is a shad die off. It is very important with this technique to try to match the hatch.
I have a couple of others that I am just not ready to share yet but who knows – keep checking into the site and I may just let a few more cats out of the bag. Here are some of the baits used for these techniques. From the top down:

• 6” Lucky Strike
• 5.5” Lucky Strike
• 6” Basstrix
• 5” Basstrix
• 5” Money Minnow
• 5” Phantom Shad
• 4.5” Maverick Bait Company Shad