Five Must-Have Hooks for Dominating Bass Fishing

Five Must-Have Hooks for Dominating Bass Fishing

Whether you’re just starting out bass fishing or you’ve been doing it a long time, the sheer number of hooks can be intimidating. Go to Tackle Warehouse and there are hundreds of options available. It’s ridiculous, it’s confusing, it’s outrageous. Of course there are specialty hooks that apply in certain situations, but when I sat down and thought about it, I realized that there are five basic styles that I use the most. These five are in my bass boat or my kayak any time I go bass fishing. Let’s start with the workhorse: It’s a straight shank flipping and […]

How to Tie a Non-Leadered Punch Shot (AKA, The Jika Rig)

How to Tie a Non-Leadered Punch Shot (AKA, The Jika Rig)

One of the coolest soft plastic rigs out there is known as the “Jika” Rig, but what it really consists of is a non-leadered punch shot. They’re the same thing, but no matter what you call it, it falls somewhere in between a traditional Texas Rig and a Tokyo Rig – and there are times when it outshines them both. The great news about this rig is that you can make one at home without any hard-to-find components. In fact, you can build one in the time it takes to read this column. Start with your hook: You need one […]

The Best Rig for Spawning Bass

The Best Rig for Spawning Bass

No matter where in the country you live, at some point during the spring the bass are going to be on the beds. Spawning bass can be really challenging to catch and I know that frustrates some of you, but I’ve got a system and technique that works just about everywhere. It drives them nuts. They’ve got to have it. I’m telling you, if you think that you suck at sight fishing, this is one bait you’ve got to try. There’s already been a lot of chatter about this lure, the soft plastic Berkley Gilly, a dead-on imitation of a […]

Side Rig Your Gilly

Side Rig Your Gilly

The hottest new bait on the market is the Berkley Powerbait Gilly Swimbait. We won Best of Show at this year’s ICAST with it, and for good reason. This bait is unbelievable. It has it all — natural colors and a swimming action second to none. I’m telling you, you can’t tell the Gilly from a real baitfish when you see it in the water. Not only does the Gilly look and act like the real thing, it’s the right size, too. It’ll come in a 90 mm, 110 mm and a whopping 130 mm size for those of you […]

A Different Plastic Bait: Gilly

A Different Plastic Bait: Gilly

We all know that there are hundreds — thousands — of plastic swimbaits available to bass anglers. Some of them are a little better than others but very few of them are really different, fundamentally different. But, this year at ICAST we’re introducing one that really is fundamentally different. It’s the Berkley Powerbait Gilly. I’m calling it a swimbait, but that doesn’t really do it justice. Most swimbaits are made to look like long and slender forage. They have a tail that faces down and up instead of being vertical like a real fish. And, maybe most important of all, […]