I finally got some video edited together of the new JSJ 10" Wake Bait for all of you that have been asking.
More Videos on The Wired Angler:
Author: Josh St. John
First Look at Little Creeper “Trash Fish” Prototypes
I just got my hands on a few prototype soft fishing lures from Little Creeper Baits. Benno, the designer of the baits, is working on a whole line to be released this year. Some of the new designs are true masterpieces to say the least. Some of his prototypes have been seen trailing behind jigs in posts on this site.
The swimbait is going to be called the "All American Trash Fish". The idea behind Benno's design was just to create a good representation of an all-around bait fish attractive to bass. The fins are unbelievable in the water as they flutter back and forth. It is the best 6" soft plastic swimbait in this size category I have ever seen.
Shown here in chartreuse shad above, also some in a prototype light ayu and baby hitch
All of Benno's new baits will be hand poured and injected, and the color results are amazing so far. Prototype colors can be seen in person at Outdoor Pro Shop in Cotati, Ca. Once they are released they will be available at Monster fishing tackle online. You can also e-mail Benno about availability at littlecreeperbaits@gmail.com.
More Little Creeper baits on The Wired Angler
BassJam 2009: Four New Soft Plastic Creatures from Little Creeper
Bub Tosh in two JSJ Demo Tank videos from the ISE Show in San Mateo
I just put up a couple of new videos of Bub Tosh throwing some JSJ Baits on the demo tank at last week's ISE show:
It was awesome to see them up there and get to watch them move underwater.
More Videos on The Wired Angler:
My Top Ten Bass Fishing Baits From The Last Decade
I got the idea for this post from Rich Lindgren's Bassin Blog, where he did a wrap up of his favorite bass baits from the last ten years. It got me thinking about the fishing lures that really have been my go-to proven baits over the last decade. Here's what I came up with (in no particular order):
6" Robo Worm Drop Shot
Staring off with my bubba drop shot rig consisting of a 6" Robo Worm in Aarons' Magic. Always on the same set up for me, I use a 7" custom spinning rod wrapped on a casting rod blank, 15 pound CXX -Line, a Gammi G Lock hook and a minimum of 3/8 oz weight. This is a great bait around docks, tullies and just about anywhere you can throw it. I caught my first bag of 5 bass over 20 pounds on this set up from the back of the boat. This pissed off my pro angler in a tournament on Clear Lake – whatever, it was a shared weight event – sorry you sucked that day buddy!
6" Robo Worm with Darter Head
I know you're thinking 'what the fuck, I thought you were a power fisherman!' Well I like to consider my self a smart fisherman (at times), hence the 6" Robo Worm on a darter head. Like the drop shot, there are times when nothing else fucking works no matter how long you try. This bait has saved my ass on many occasion. Don't always think of this 6" worm as a cop-out, but yet just a way to get the job done and beat the fish. I fish this on a Powell 702 extra fast darter head rod with a Quantum titanium spinning reel and 8 pound P-line flouroclear.
3/4 oz. Football Head Jig
Working our way through, I have a 3/4 once football head jig. Shown here is a Jig Monster Chaos Jig with Little Creeper prototype craw trailer. Where do you start with the jig? Well, I would have to say if I had to pick only one bait I could ever fish period, the jig would have to be it. I have caught more fish in the 5 to 8 pound range on a football head in over 20 feet of water than I can even count. I fish this bait on a Dobyns' 734 fast action rod with 12 to 15 pound Sunline Flourocarbon.
Crank Baits
Picking up the pace a little: when I have to cover water and get the job done these two baits are it! The Norman DD22 and the Lucky Craft LV 500 have become my two favorite crank baits ever (always switching the hooks out with Gammi Trebles). Rocks, docks, banks, grass – they do it all and they flat out catch fish all year long. I fish both on a Powell 754 with either 12 pound CXX on the DD22 and 30 pound Power Pro braid on the LV.
6" Castaic Trout
Remember in the beginning I said the baits were in no particular order? Well I kind of lied, the first five were my work horses. Now I'm moving into the baits that once I pick up I have a hard time setting down. These are not only baits I have confidence in but have just flat out become my favorites to fish.
The 6" Castaic Trout, yes the old $10 Walmart Special folks. The one that you can never find two that match because they are painted like crap and half of them don't have the fin cavity filled when they are made. That's the one. This bait has caught more fish, especially spotted bass, for me than any other swimbait. It accounts for my personal best spot: a 6.64 pounder caught in the last 20 minutes of a Won Bass tourney on Shasta. Now tell me that would not get your heart going – then follow it up with a $800 dollar big fish check and we're talkin'. I fish this bait on either a 795 Dobyns' or a 7105 Powell with 20 pound P-Line Flouroclear.
8" Huddleston
While I'm on the swimbait subject I might as well talk about the old Hudd 8". This bait flat out changed the way soft swimbaits are made. It certainly fucked my head up and got me into throwing true big baits. If you were lucky enough to have fished them before fish in your local waters ever saw one, let's just say that's why its in my top ten of the last decade. Although there are some other great swimbaits out now, nothing will ever change the memories I have on this bait. I fish it on a 8" Powell extra heavy swimbait rod and 25 pound P-line CXX.
River2Sea Frog
Delta, Clear Lake, wherever – there is not anything much better than throwing a frog through the slop in the middle of a 90 degree summer day. Anyone who has ever experienced a good amount of fishing frogs will tell you this bait is down right addictive to fish. My favorite is the 65 series River2Sea in white or yellow headed black. Once I start throwing this bait in shallow water usually the rest of the day is shot. I throw this bait on a Powell 735 Med Heavy fast frog rod with 85 pound Power Pro braid.
Black Dog Lunker Punker
The 6" and 8" wood Lunker punker has pretty much displaced my normal top water box completely out of my boat. This is one of the most mezmerizing baits in my boat to fish. I have more Punkers than ten people need, but when a bait works like this one does you just can't go wrong. There are days when I will literally put every other rod away and just get my net ready because this bait is that good, 'nuff said. I fish this bait on either a gen 2 short handle 795 Dobyns' or a 710 5 Powell with 85 pound braid and a low profile reel. I like the Diawa TDA or the new Tierra.
JSJ Snack Size
The Snack Size Trout in Chartreuse Shad was quite literally made for me you might say. I started making these baits a couple of years ago because no other hard bait on the market did what I wanted it to do. I have more hours behind this bait than any other swimbait I own. I fish it fast or slow and not much in between. The floater is my favorite, because I am addicted to top water. This bait has become my go-to bait in all kinds of situations since I designed it. I fish it mainly on a Powell 710 5 with either 85 pound braid or 25 pound P-Line Flouroclear and a low profile reel.
So there you have it: the ten baits that pretty are always tied on in my boat year round. All have been proven over and over again to be reliable fish catching machines. If there are any of the baits above that you don't own already or have not fished in a while it may be time to pull them back out and give them a toss in your favorite fishing hole.
San Mateo ISE Show Starts Today The 14th
I am working late at the shop getting baits ready for tomorrow's, or shall I say today's ISE show. It will be in San Mateo as usual. ISE show info – Doors open at 11:00 am, running through this Sunday.
I will have a bunch of customs on hand that will be show-only specials. Here is a taste:
A Smallmouth Bass 7" Snack Size floater
A 7" Snack Size Delta Shiner Fast Sink
I will also have the new Dirty Birds as well as my 10" Wake Baits on hand
Dirty Bird top water buzz bait in Pearl White
Here is a short video of the Dirty Bird:
I'll be at the Bass Tackle Depot booth right in front of the Bass Demo Tank. Hope to see you there.
Manabu Kurita’s 22 Pound 4.97 Bass Declared Not To be A New Record
Today the IGFA declared Manabu Kurita's 22 Pound 4.97 largemouth bass caught 6 months ago on Lake Biwa in Japan a tie with George Perry's previous record.
The official world record announcement was made from the International Game Fish Association headquarters in Dania Beach, Fla. The rules state that any game fish under 25 pounds has to be beat by 2 oz. Whether or not we think this should apply to fish that don't hardly ever achieve such weights is not up to us I guess. Rules are rules, Personally I call bullshit. Well there you have it 6 months of waiting and I am disappointed by there decision.
here is a video link to the announcement. Link
What do you think? Please post your opinion in the comments section.
Previously on The Wired Angler:
How To Get Rid Of Braided Line Twist Ups
I fish most of my big topwater baits on braid. I like the quick response you get from your baits with it, and it is also great for getting quick, solid hooksets.
One of the biggest downfalls to using braid, however, is that it has a tendency to get hung up in your split rings. Well, I figured out a way to keep this from happening.
I'll start by showing the final fix and then backtrack and explain how to do it and what you will need. What I am doing is filling the gap of the split ring with small copper wire and soldering it all together.
Here's what you will need
- Some 24 gauge copper wire
- A high watt soldering iron
- Some flux core solder
- A pair of small dykes and pliers
- Some Scotchbrite
- A fly-tying vise
Start by cutting about a six inch piece of copper wire. Clean the outer coating off with the Scotchbrite.
Clamp your bait by the split ring nice and tight in the fly-tying vise. Start by holding the wire parallel to the split ring, resting the wire in the slot. Now carefully begin to wrap the wire through the split ring using small loops so you don't kink the wire.
Keep the wire tight to itself until you reach the other end of the open part of the split ring.
Now wind it back to the slot and rest it parallel in the slot on the other side. It will end up looking like this
(Shown here on a Dirty Bird)
Now you are ready to heat up the split ring and wire and fill it with solder. This whole process is a lot easier said than done so you may want to practice on some split rings off the bait. Remember – you are working with the hooks on the bait so be careful.
Here is a Punker with both split ring gaps filled
This whole process takes quite a bit of time so its a great rainy day project. But think of the time and frustration it will save you on the water this spring.
So get out your topwater boxes and start wrapping them up.
How To add a Swimbait Bottom Weight Modification
This time of year I am usually targeting deep structure while fishing swimbaits. This can pose a few problems, one being the fact that fast-sinking swimbaits have a tendency to get hung a lot more. Also, slow-sinking swimbaits take forever to get down and can only be fished extremely slow to keep them deep. But the advantage to slow-sinking swimbaits is there more natural look as they slowly bounce off of cover. A while ago I figured out a way to get the best of both worlds and increase your bottom contact and feel.
Shown here on a 6" Baitsmith
The picture is pretty self explanatory, but what I use is a Luresaver Breakaway titanium split ring and an egg weight on the bottom hookmount of a slow-sinking bait. This gets your bait down quicker, and gives you the more bouyant look of a slow-sink swimbait. Most importantly, it increases the feel of bottom contact that is so important and is usually lost through the layer of soft plastic covering the bottom weight on most fast-sinking swimbaits. Also with this breakaway system you are more likely to get your bait back if you get hung up.
It does not take much, but it makes a big difference.
First Look At The New 5″ Lunker Punker
5" Punker shown next to 6" Punker inject
When the 6" inject Lunker Punker from Black Dog came out I took my Zara Spook and other topwater box out of my boat, and now this!
This bait is seriously going to hurt the sales of companies that sell traditionally-sized topwater walking baits. I was lucky enough to get ahold of one of the first eight in existance. I threw it for the first time today and could not believe it. It has about the same side to side distance capability as the 6" version, and due to its size can literally be jumped and hopped out of the water. It will sell for about $17.00 to $18.00.
It will be available sometime early in 2010.
Shown here next to a custom painted Reaction Innovations Vixen
This bait is sure to make a splash among the bass fishing world, I would even venture to say its gonna be one of the best new bass baits of 2010. Link to Black Dog Baits