Month: March 2008

Bluegill Jig Trailer

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While perusing my many Japanese lure magazines I came across a familiar lure I have used before with some success being used in a way I had never thought of. Being kind of a goofy looking combo it got me thinking a little, so I thought I better give it a whirl the next time I go fishing.

The bait is a Basstrix bluegill bait used as a jig trailer to replace the more common crawfish imitation. I have used the bluegill alone to drop shot along weed lines and tules before, which made me realize these are places where I throw jigs and where small bluegill and sunfish live. Sure, this is kind of an akward looking bait – but after trying it, I realized it has a lot of potential. It swims and darts pretty well, and anything that makes my jig have a new look that bass have not seen a ton of I’m all for. A lot of time when you’re swimming a jig you trying to imitate a small bluegill or sunfish anyway. Give it a try.

The Big Bite Crank Bait – A Delta, Clear Lake Secret

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This is a bait I have been using for years and every year about this time I break it out. It is also a bait with a pretty long history. I originally came across this bait while working with an old friend who owned a small online business called Fanguard Tackle.

Ed Jerbic originally purchaced the shop from an old timer in Novato in Marin County, and soon changed the name to Specialty Tackle.
Ed specialized in Japanese tackle and, believe it or not, was one of the first people in the U.S. to carry Lucky Craft and Megabass and other now well known Japanese brands.

The bait was made by a company in Japan and sold under the name Zenith lures. Now you can see why I say the bait has a long story – well I'm not done yet.

After years of selling it mostly to people back east, the company decided they were not going to make the bait anymore. When he heard the news Ed decided to offer the company a deal: he would buy enough of the baits to make it worth their while to keep making it – yes he sold that many of them!
After convincing them, he decided to sell the bait under his shop name of Specialty Tackle and even had some new colors made. I was deep into the new craze of Japanese tackle at this time and offered to work for him to get a discount on these $15.00 gems. I tried to rep for him for a while but I hate sales, so that did not work to well.
Ed eventually partnered up with Mark from the Bass Tackle Depot to help order the amounts needed to keep the ball rolling and has recently got out of the tackle business.

Specialty Tackle is now once again moved and is operating under the name Japan Fishing Line. It has been a bumpy road for this bait but let me tell you it's worth a try.

About the Big Bite Crank Bait:

The Big Bite it is a 3/4 oz bait with one big lead rattle in the center it dives to around 2 or 3 feet and is a slow rising floating bait. I love to fish it shallow and rip it off tules and slam it into rocks to get some voracious strikes. Tackle tour did a review on the bait a number of years ago and received almost 9 points, how often does that happen? Tackle Tour

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To get your hands on one of these little jewels, here is another couple of sites
Japan Fishing line
Bass Tackle Depot

Jig Monster Online Bass Tackle Shop

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I want to point out the cool online tackle store owned by my friends Joe & Emily: JigMonster.com. They have a wide variety of bass fishing soft baits, including all the latest Baitsmith swimbaits, as well as the new Maverick swimbaits. You can also find a great selection of soft plastics including Gambler toads, flippin’ baits and jig trailers. They also just started carrying a Northern California favorite: Maverick worms. There’s also a wide selection of specialty worm hooks and some pretty cool t-shirt designs.

Joe has been working in the tackle industry for many years and attends all the inside industry events. He hand picks all the best bass tackle he comes across.

Within the next couple of months Joe will be introducing a whole line of jigs that he designed himself – and they are going to be worth the wait. So be sure to add it to your favorites and check back soon.

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Tim Horton Trademark Doughnut Scandal

I thought this was pretty funny link, a little ridiculous on both of the parties involved. The dough nut shop gets lots of press and Tim Horton’s head explodes simultaneously. I don’t think there products are confusingly similar. Would you like some powdered sugar or some cream filling for that crankbait? He is still one of my favorite guys on tour. . . we could always use the South Park approach to this. Link

Crank Bait And Swimbait Paint Chip

This is a problem most of us have faced, and not all of us even have the time or expertise to remade it by repainting our baits and even if we did would it happen again?
Well here is a link that talks about Propionate or propionic acid a product which will effectively seal wooden lures and keep them it good shape for at least a longer time period. A lot of lures are being made overseas now and the time and care is not being put into one of the most important aspects of bait manufacturing, the finish!
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The Spawn is On

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Well, it’s that time of year again. The fish are moving up and are starting to cruise the shallows. I have already seen a couple of bed fish, and have seen some pretty aggressive males. With the full moon this week, there should be a whole wave of new fish coming up and starting their migrations into the spawning areas. With this in mind, I have started to put together a bed bait box, and I thought I would share my thoughts.

Like everything else, I try to keep my approach simple. But unlike other fishing techniques I think it is more important to keep your gear ready at a split second’s notice during the spring time. I usually have 3-4 rods rigged up on the deck of my boat for fishing beds. All bass on beds act differently. I like to move in very slowly, and watch the fish long before I even think about casting. There are a handful of things I am looking for:

  • A flare of the gills, a dash towards the bait, actual contact with the bait, picking up of the bait, versus complete disinterest in the bait – this will help you determine whether or not to pursue the fish.

  • The sweet spot: most all beds have one small spot that really pisses the fish off pretty badly. It can be as big as a couple of feet, or as small as a couple of inches. Most of the time, this is going to be somewhere near where the fish return and centers on the bed, and the most likely place for a strike.

  • Entrance & exit: most fish will enter and exit from specific spots on a bed. First you want to determine these spots, and make sure you don’t block their cruising areas if they do get worked up and leave the bed.
    Location: This will determine how you set up an approach to fishing a particular bed.

  • Location of the sun: Try and keep the sun at your back, but at the same time make sure not to cast a shadow over the bed. This puts you more in the fish’s blind spot.

  • Stealth: be a quiet as possible when stalking bedding fish. Keep your trolling motor use to a minimum. Do everything you can to not create a trolling motor wash towards the bed. And in shallow water, use a push pole if you can.

  • Slow down: I know it’s hard to do when you spot some of the big fish you see on beds, but if you are not patient, most of the time the fish will win.

  • Baits: One of my favorite baits without a doubt is the Matt Lures Bluegill. I like to start with this bait to establish my relationship with the fish. Another bait that I have already used on some bed fish and have already gotten a great response from is the River2Sea Nest Raider.

    I’ll swim the bigger baits through the area and see what kind of reaction I get. If the fish are super hot, sometimes you’ll catch them right off the bat. Most of the time, though, this is not the case. This is the reason I like to keep those rods on the deck, rigged and ready to go. This lets me get another bait in the water in that critical moment, when a fish may be worked up. A lot of time you will have to play around with different baits, to see what really makes them mad. Some of my secondary baits include a jig, a Huddleston Huddlebug crawdad, a Senko, and sometime even a small worm or drop shot. I like to use big stout hooks with all of my bed baits. Because you usually only get one chance at a hook set.

    Drive the hook home pretty hard, and make sure you always have the net ready. These bass are usually pretty unhappy.

    I really like bed fishing because it can be such a head game between you and the bass.
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    • Questions, Comments

    I have been working pretty hard on getting my swimbaits into production and keeping the site updated. Please let me know what you think of the site so far, you can leave comments or just e-mail me, also if you have any article Ideas or questions. There is an e-mail link at the top right of the site.
    Thanks everyone….. Josh St.John

    Google Earth For The Bass Fisherman

    What it is:
    Satellite images of anywhere on Earth at the click of a mouse. Google Earth is a download that runs a web program on your computer that lets you access constantly updated satellite images.

    Why you want it:
    Bird’s eye views of any lake, anywhere: Fishing a new lake next weekend? Check out the shallows, weed beds and points ahead of time. Investigate where the last tournament winner caught the big fish last time. Thinking about a peacock fishing expedition in the Amazon basin? Zoom in and plot a plan of attack.

    Plus:
    The tilt feature allows you to swivel down and get a topographical view of your destination.
    Photos and notes added by other users provide extra detail
    Print out overhead views for use on the lake

    Add notes: Make it your own: add notes or your own photos to GoogleEarth. You can choose to share them or keep them private, just for your own use.
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    “My Places” you can mark places on your Google Earth that you want to revisit or remember
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    Synch it up with your GPS unit
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    Find out more here
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