Category: Fishing Techniques

The “IT” Factor

After years of fishing  we all have our favorite lures that we gravitate towards. These are lures that we may enjoy because they just happen to fit our fishing style. These may be baits that are known to catch quality  fish day in and day out. Generally these baits have years under their belts. Every once in a while a new bait will hit the market and prove itself. Above and beyond that sometimes one out of ten lures of the same type just have "IT".

I first heard this phrase a few days after a met a good friend of mine Matt Allen. I was up at Clear Lake for one of the HBC (heavyweight Bass Classic) Tournaments. I had sold Matt one of my Snack Size Trout Floaters in chartreuse shad. Matt went out and threw the bait and thought it was a piece of shit. I saw Matt later that day on the water. We were fishing right next to each other, I caught a few fish right in front of his boat using that same piece of shit bait. Matt did not say anything at the time but apparently had put the Snack Size away about 10 minutes into fishing it. I talked to Matt a day later.He told me the next morning he went out and absolutely destroyed the bass on it. After watching me fish the bait he said had been going about it all wrong. This is when I first heard the phrase, that bait has "IT". Since then the phrase has been a regular part of my regular vocabulary. Better yet the Snack Size has become a regular part of Matt's arsenal.

As a bait designer and builder I realized even if they had no word for it before."IT" is what every bait builder is looking for. It does not matter if your a guy in the garage with a box full of jig parts or a multi million dollar company. Ultimately the goal is to build a lure that has "IT"

There are many lures in history that have proved to have "IT". Take the spinner bait for example. Ive been throwing these since I was a kid and ill probably will die with a box of them in my boat. The jig is one of these baits.You would be hard pressed not to find a box or two full of them in just about every bass boat. Every once in a while a new bait will come out and just have "IT". Some examples of this, the Senko, the Sweet Beaver, 6" Basstrix, just to name a few. Why is it that every once in a while we get a bait that out performs the other ten we own just like it? What gives that one bait "IT"? Could it be the thickness of the paint, the density of the plastic? Could it be the way we worked it back to the boat that particular day? Or could that ten pounder just not resist the factor of "IT"?

There are no magic bullets in bass fishing. I do believe there is a scientific approach to the factor of "IT. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this factor. I have worked it into my bait design and prototyping and really feel there is something to "IT"

How can we use the Factor of "IT" to make ourselves better anglers? I will do some follow ups on the Factor of "IT" and hopefully help you do just that. Till then tight lines and don't forget to think about "IT".

Jsj snack size bitten shad
Does the bait you have tied on have "IT"?

 

 

Breaking Down A Topwater Bite

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It's the time of year where a lot of us will find ourselves picking up our topwater rods before anything else. The weather in California this year has been less than stable and we all know stable weather can create an epic top water bite.

I have been finding that I can still catch a lot of topwater fish but I have been having to refine and make small adjustments to turn missed fish in to fish in the boat. My first choice is almost always going to be a big swimbait but that is not really what I'm going to be talking about.

Searching  

You have to start somewhere: my bait of choice for years has been the Super Spook. Recently I have been fishing the new 5" Lunker Punker a lot with mixed results. This is an amazing over all bait and I have caught a lot of fish on it – I'll come back to this later. The reason I like the walking baits to start is the draw power they have. Even if fish don't commit to these baits they will pull a lot of curious fish up. The reaction I get will either tell me to just stick with or or start refinement, then I will start to experiment with baits that make a different sound.

We all fish loud baits, but how often do you stop to think about what effect different rattle configurations have to do with with fish caught?

Refinement 

Going back to earlier when I mentioned the mixed results with the 5" Punker: This has nothing to do with the action of the bait, but the sound it and other baits put out. There are times when a bait like a Super Spook will out perform any other. The reason behind this is the single knocker ball. I refer to these baits as 'one knockers'. I don't know what it is about a summer bite sometimes that bass will not touch anything but a bait with a single knocker. The same applies with bigger bait to an extent as well, however I feel the size of the bait overcomes the sound a lot in this situation. This being said I am referring to baits in the six to seven inch and larger class.

Color

Color for me is really important, and depending on the time of year fish key in on different prey. This time of year through fall baby bass is a good universal color. Matching your local body of waters shad is a must sometimes. It is a good idea to do research on what your favorite lakes shad population look like.

Size

Size can be a huge determiner in how many bites you get when your keying in on feeding fish for example. This usually applies to schooling fish more than the occasional fish you will pick up covering a lot of water.

Popping baits

When fish are just not committing to a walking bait, it may be time to slow down and make a commotion. I love fishing poppers, some of my favorites are the Pop Max by Mega Bass. These are good baits for followers because they are a little more erratic in there stop pop and go motion.

Blog photos rats and topwater 027                 A couple Mega Bass Pop Max Poppers

Buzz Baits

There is nothing more basic and easy to fish than a buzz bait. When fishing around cover and structure they can be hard to beat. I really think fish just can't stand these baits and just hit them to stop the screeching in their ears sometimes. These are great baits to run past structure that feels as if it could be a bass's living room.

Location

Location has to be one of the most important things to me when fishing topwater. Pay close attention to bottom structure, wind, current, cover, heat concentration on the surface, etc. Topwater bites can be very specific- just because they are hitting on top real good in one area of the lake does not mean they will in another.

Pay attention to the detail and see if you can put together a pattern. Are the fish on points over bottom structure change? Are they suspending over under water trees, grass, or stumps? The devil is in the details.  Remember fish are coming out of their comfort zone to eat your lure, so you want to position yourself and casts in such a way that fish feel like they have the upper hand.

Don't pigeon hole yourself

We all have our favorite baits and it is awesome when they work the way we want. It is important to keep an open mind and read the strikes you are getting and make refinements. I am certainly guilty of trying to force a bite I want to happen, fishing swimbaits has really made me a lot more stubborn so I have to force myself to adjust at times.

Blog photos rats and topwater 025 Some "one Knocker single rattle baits" a Super Spook, Spook Jr and a Zenith Z Claw

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Throw Topwater All Day

To me, topwater is not just a low light technique. I throw topwater for bass all day long. Keep note at cloud cover and sun exposure each time you get a bite. You will be amazed at how many bites you will get in the blazing mid day sun.

Breaking Down Spring Fishing Conditions And Adjusting

Some of the most frustrating days on the water are day when you cant seem to figure the fish out. Some days its a result of trying to force a bite on a pattern you want to fish, other days you just flat out cant figure the bite out.

I recently had one of these days this last weekend, I have had one two many of these days lately and have been spending a lot of time thinking back on them. I am a firm believer that you can learn more from your bad days on the water than your good ones. What I mean by this is that if you can think back through your day and make adjustments a lot of times you can go back and get them pretty good.

Wired Angler My favorite topwater search baits: a couple Punkers and a Snack Size Trout.

I have a love/hate relationship with spring time fish, there is that deep set desire to stay shallow and look for bed fish. The topwater bite is usually started to turn on under perfect conditions.This can change on a day to day basis depending on weather and temps. Fish are also spooky while in the shallow now clearing waters as well.

So here is where I usually start, sort of on the edge. I'll fish topwater paralleling the shore to start. This will do two things: allow you to cast in front of the boat with your search bait while checking areas for bed fish. Two things will either come of this: you will locate bed fish while every once in a while catching a fish or two, or not find jack shit and get a big frustrating follower every once in a while.

This is the first point at which if you are smart enough you can make an on the water adjustment.

Case in point: my last Saturday on the water. A lot of people like myself see those big fish and stick with the top water all day. This is what happened to me, at the end of the day I had one fish in the boat and about 10 fish stories of blow ups

Wired Angler Some back off area covering baits, pointer 128, Little Creeper Trash Fish, Zoom lizard and a creature bait.

I don't take this lightly, and have spent all week thinking about this and other days similar things have happened. Granted I am usually one of the first people I know every year to get them on top water. This is because I am as stubborn as a mule.

Here are a few approaches to this situation that have worked for me in the past.

First: back the fuck off. This fish are either spooky or just not on that bite yet.

Second: my next approach is to next try a big jerk bait. A lot of these fish that came up on that top water are either bed fish that swam off their beds to look at the bait, or just shallow spooky cruisers. These are both hard fish to catch. By backing way off the shoreline and presenting them with a smaller subsurface bait such as a Lucky Craft 128 or fluke, a lot of these fish may bite a bit more readily.

Another approach would be a Carolina rigged baits such as a lizard, a swimbait, or a lightly weighted creature bait. All those baits can cover large areas by fan casting spots that you may have already seen fish in. The biggest problem before was probably that they could see you as well.

Third: I may try for staging areas such as points or shore lines leading to these traps. I call them "traps" because there is a real psychology to seeing fish that keeps you shallow even if they are not biting. I cover a lot more water at this point using baits such as a DD22 in deeper water. A lot of these fish are gonna be easier to catch on a reaction bite. This is a great bait for reservoirs. On water such as Clear Lake or the Delta the points you may be covering most likely will have structure on them such as reeds or trees. I would try a flippin' these fish or running a weedless swimbait or jig in these areas.

Wired Angler DD22 a deeper water search bait

When the shit hits the fan.

Last resort here people, the bite still sucks what the fuck is next? I hate to admit it but some of my best fish this time of year have come on either a my bubba drop shot worm rig or a Senco.

Fish are going to be very structure oriented as they move in and out of areas so target the same stuff as last mentioned with these baits.

Drop it all and go home, or go deep

Wired Angler A football head jig and a heavy 10" Baitsmith

Screw these damn shallow fish anyway – it's deep water time. Keep moving out onto the main lake or more towards main points.

Unfortunately, at this point you're pretty much starting over. This can do one of two things: bring you new hope, or make you sit down and sadly eat lunch while wallowing in self pity. I do this and more.

This is also when I pull out a whole new arsenal. This will usually include an six to ten inch swimbait and a jig. I slow my approach a lot, paying attention to my graphs. I am going to be video game fishing from here on out. These are either gonna be pre-spawn fish or chewing post-spawners back out in the safety of their deep water haunts.

Eventually your gonna find them by going though a similar scenario, the best thing you can do this time of year is to stay open minded. The fish can be here one day, gone the next, just keep in mind they are probably not far away you just need the patience to track them down. Or you can be like me 90% of the time and just be the first guy to have that epic day on topwater following a month of near misses.

 

 

Wacky Rig Tips from Preston Henson

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Preston Henson is a pro angler who fishes the BASS opens, and is on the Black Dog pro-staff. He's here to share his tips on spring time wacky-rigging.

It's spring time: the fish are coming to spawn and they begin cruising the shallows. I want to talk about a good technique for this situation.

My favorite go-to bait is a good old fashion Senko-type bait, rigged wacky style. Most of us know what this is, but for those new to the game I will go a little more in depth on the term "wacky worm".

Wacky worm is just taking any style of worm or stickbait and hooking it in the middle of the worm with a smaller hook.

First, let’s start with what we will need to have to fish this technique.

My favorite rod to use for this is a Powell 703 spinning rod. You want a rod with a soft tip but still have plenty of back bone to it. The reel I use is a Johnny Morris BPS spinning reel. I love these reels for their wide spool. The wider spool handles fluorocarbon so much better than conventional reels. For line I use 8lb fluorocarbon, and when around a lot of heavy cover I will use 10lb.

The hook I have come to love for this technique is a #2 Gamagatsu G-Lock. The hook-up ratio on this hook is unreal, and once hooked up they stay hooked. For stickbait selections you can look to a variety of companies. I use a 5 inch Net Bait Stick-O for all my colors except for natural shad and baby bass, for those I use Yamamoto senkos.
This is a deadly way to catch them when you see them cruising the shallows.

My favorite colors to throw in this situation are my natural type colors: your green pumpkins, watermelon, and for really clear water, natural shad and baby bass.

The first thing you want to do is when you spot a fish cruising is to watch the way he is heading. You want to try and cut him off with your bait. I like to lead them about 10 feet or so. This is when you want to be as quiet as you can with your cast and the bait entering the water. Too much splash and the fish will be gone.

Once your bait hits the water, make sure you have enough slack line to let the bait free fall, don’t do a thing – don’t twitch it, drag it, or pick your nose if you have to. I will leave it set once it hits the bottom. That fish knows the bait is there and a lot of times will pick it up once it has been on the bottom.

A lot of time though, they will rush over and eat it on the fall. I am constantly watching the fish more than the bait to see her reaction to my presentation. The reason I do this is to see the fish’s mood. If the fish runs away like a dog with its tail tucked I know this fish in un-catchable at that time, or I made the fish aware of my presence by making too much noise with my cast. If the fish holds course I know I have a legitimate chance of catching it. It’s a lot like fishing a fish on a bed.

I hope this helps you next time you’re out and you see those fish roaming the shallows.

Fishing Flooded Lakes For Bass In The Grass

We've had a good amount of rainfall here in California this year and a lot of small lakes are full already. With each passing storm some are even flooding for short periods of time. This is a luxury we have not had for a number of years and it gets me really exited about going out and shore fishing.

Bass start gravitating towards the shallows whenever there is a high water. High water means food, as all kinds of small forage will get up in the grass and other vegetation that has had a chance to sprout up during the low water period. I really watch the weather this time of year. Whenever there is a stormy, balmy day I will drop everything to go spend a couple hours fishing from shore.

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Bass fishing in grass – tackle recommendations:

For the most part I am burning a spinner bait, swim jig or chatter bait. The water clarity is usually not too good but the fish are up feeding and will key in on a fast moving bait. This is a technique I also use fishing out of my boat as well. I will usually wake the bait, otherwise I keep it in the upper six to eight inches of water.

The strikes are usually pretty voracious this time of year. A lot of times you will be watching your bait wake and you will see another wake rise up behind or to the side of your bait moments before you get crushed. Color selection is simple as well: I go for white, chartreuse, a combo of the two, or an orange color scheme.

There is going to be a lot of different forage up in the grass this time of year. Bass will be chasing bluegill, shad, crawdads, worms that have been washed in, salamanders and a number of small prey. Look for coves and areas where water is running in and you will find the highest concentration of fish.

My favorite baits include a Revenge Spinner Bait or Viberator in 1/2 ounce, Black Dog Weedslinger, or a Dirty Jigs No Jack Jig with a small swimbait trailer. The trailer on the jig or spinner bait can resemble either a craw or a small fish. Sometimes they seem to prefer one over the other. I suggest trying the red or orange color scheme as well as the chartreuse or white set up. Sometimes they also like one color over the other.

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Not a big fish but this was one of nine in two hours

So there you have it, when everyone else is either fishing deep still or not out fishing at all. You can be out in a crushing bass in the middle of winter in the shallows.