Found via the TackleTog blog over at TackleTour:
Canadian comedian and competition bass angler Dave Mercer has launched a weekly bass fishing show on YouTube. Says TackleTog:
"Dave is an awesome angler, proven by his success on the Canadian trail, but his comedy is even better. . . Only Dave and his semi-twisted mind could come up with something like this and I think you’ll all like what he’s done."
We've all been there: shredded our favorite baits while on the water and had no back up plan.
Well, how many of you actually went home and said "this will never happen to me again"? Probably not too many of you. I have devised a plan for my baits in peril – it's called the Swimbait Surgery Box.
Having a bait first aid box like this can save a ruined day and turn it into one of the best days of fishing you have ever had. The beauty of it is that you don't need another full size box to build one. I just used some cheapo small box I got in a tackle giveaway at a tournament or something. I started by thinking of all the little things I might need to modify or fix a bait on the water. Here's whats in my Surgery Box:
Save your baits: contents of a good Bait Surgery Box:
These little basics can really save your day on the water.
I'd like to welcome Dirty Jigs to the Wired Angler web site. Dirty Jigs puts out some of the toughest jigs I have ever used. Curt, the owner, is downright compulsive about putting out the best product he possibly can. You have seen them mentioned in some of our past articles here on the Wired Angler. Be sure to check out his full line of jigs here: Dirty Jigs>
Over the last few weeks we've been working on joining up with some of our favorite companies, and we will be posting up ad space for some of these new sponsors over the next month or so. So what's in it for you? Well lets get down to it: we will be doing periodic product giveaways and contests. Who doesn't like a shot at some free stuff? All of these new sponsors are really going to help us keep bringing you all the great info you have been enjoying over the last couple years so please help support them when ever you can.
Here's a 10.1 pound fish Matt Allen caught on a No-Jack Flippin' Jig:
Over on Twitter, I recently had a few requests to do a post on how to straighten swimbait tails. I find this happens mostly in the summer time when rod lockers heat up. The next thing you know half of your swimbait box looks like a drunken Twister game.
The process of straightening is very easy: all you need is a pot with water and a stove. Soft plastic swimbaits are made of materials that turns into liquid when heated. Boiling water is just under the temp that will remelt the plastic into its liquid state. Once you have heated some water to the boiling point on your stove, simply dip you swimbait tails for about 10 seconds at a time. Most of the time they will straighten simply by their own weight. Sometimes they will need to be bent in the opposite way slightly – just be careful in doing this to avoid breaking the tails.
To avoid bent tails from happening, what you have to do is try and keep your swimbaits in an orderly fashion in the first place. I am not a fan of hanging swimbait boxes. I think they are a waste of time, money and space in your boat. I realize swimbaits are expensive but come on! I think if people spent half the time fishing these baits as they do looking at them. . . ok I'll stop right there! My favorite swimbait box is actually from OSH Hardware it is a from a company called Akromils (part number 74-090). I use this to store almost all of my bigger baits, hard and soft.
Apparently, they are known for their tool-using.
Quoting from the ever-reliable Wikipedia: "These herons are tool-using animals. They are regularly seen picking up objects to use as a fishing lure, attracting prey fish." (link)
Here's video of one fishing in mountain View, CA
Anyone know more about this, or what kind of bird this is?
This new website is a collaborative bass patterning tool. The idea is that if everyone logs on and puts in their local info about catches, then everyone else can log in and find the sweet spots on any lake. I think the challenge they are going to face is that we are secretive bastards who don't like to give up our sweet spots. But good luck with that!
The membership is $20/year
One cool thing they do have on there is a printable PDF log sheet you can use to record your fishing days – its downloadable from the link on the FAQ page
Website: Find the Bass
This underwater shot was sent to us by my friend Paul.
You have to wonder on any given day how many times this scenario plays out: a crayfish leaves the protection of his lair and meets his worst nightmare, looking into the eyes of a hungry bass
We are lucky here in California that we can fish through the winter. Things can get tough at times, but it is my favorite time to fish. You don't have to deal with all the other yahoo boaters on the water, and if you dress up nice and warm it can be enjoyable.
A 4.20 Spot caught in the begining of February on Lake Shasta.
In general I believe that big fish are a little easier to catch in the winter. I am usually looking to fish deep water or somewhere right near it. I like to fish slowly and very intentionally. I pay close attention to my graph, always looking for bait and fish arches. I fish a lot of heavy baits that I have good control of and can keep good contact with. Most of the time I will not even fish until I locate fish on my fish finder. The great thing about this time of year is that fish have a tendency to school up. Once you get a bite there are usually more bass around.
There are a few techniques I focus on: slow-rolling at a controlled depth where I have located fish, jigging spoons on suspended fish, or hopping down steep banks for active fish.
Fishing Slow and Deep
When I locate fish on the bottom this is when they are usually the least active. A lot of times these fish will not even show up as arches on your graph. They will appear more as rocks but look closer – especially if you're really familiar with the bottom contour. I will usually target these fish with a big swimbait, a football head jig or a 6" darter head worm such as a Robo Worm. I will slow-roll the swimbait and drag the worm or jig painfully slow over these areas watching to see if any fish arches rise off the bottom.
Playing the Spoons
Secondly, I will locate bait balls with arches under and around them. This is when I bust out the spoon such as the Hopkins or tail spinner such as the Revenge shown below. Fishing becomes much like a video game at this point. If you pay close attention you can see you baits drop down on your graph and put them right on the fish arches. It is very satisfying to see a fish arch move towards your line and feel your rod load up.
Hopping the bait
Finally, I will target steep walls and hop either a jig or swimbait down to the bottom. I will usaully do this on warmer days or days with rain when I have a good idea the fish are more active. I really like the Blade Runner Spintrix for this aproach. For the most part I don't pay to much attention to water temp exept on these sunny days. I really feel that fish will hold close to rocks that pull warmth from the sun.
If things get real tough don't be afraid to have some fun and go buy some minnows. A lot of people get so caught up on artificial lures sometimes that they forget how fun it can be to fish live bait. These can be fished either on a bobber or split shot rig.
