Top Secret! The MJ Rig

Top Secret! The MJ Rig

This time in our Top Secret Series we’re going to talk about the MJ rig, otherwise known as the spinner-jig. It’s super simple but it gives the fish something they haven’t seen before, something totally different. Basically, it’s a combination of flash and true tracking through the water. Let’s get started… You’ll need three things to build the MJ rig:  We’ll start with a soft plastic stickbait. I use the Berkley Powerbait Maxscent The General Worm. The most important part of the stickbait is that it must have a big, fat blunt end on the back for the spinner to […]

Top secret! The Tiny Child Rig

Top secret! The Tiny Child Rig

This rig is basically a weedless version of the Ned rig. At the same time, though, it has a completely different look to it. The weedless part is a big deal. We all know that the Ned rig is one of the hottest finesse techniques around. And for good reason. It catches bass by the ton. But we also know that it’ll hang on anything and everything in the water. And, even with a weedless hook hangups can be an issue. The tiny child rig solves those issues. You’ll need four things to build this bad-boy: We’ll start with the […]

Top Secret! The Stupid Tube Rig

Top Secret! The Stupid Tube Rig

We all know that one of the biggest problems with tube fishing is that they snag easily. The stupid tube rig solves that problem. It’s totally weedless. A second problem with conventional tube rigs is that all they’ll do on the fall is spiral. I’m not saying a spiral’s totally bad, but sometimes we want to show the fish something different — something they haven’t seen before. The stupid tube rig glides gently towards the bottom as it falls. That gives it a completely different look. You only need two things to build a stupid tube rig: The right jig […]

Top Secret! The Cat Rig

Top Secret! The Cat Rig

Our next part of the Top Secret! series of new, fish catching, rigs is called the cat rig. I named it that because when you get done building this baitfish imitating lure it’ll move like a cat — subtle on the fall with just a little shimmy, and it stays perfectly horizontal in the water. Those of you who follow what I do know that’s super important to me. Anything that imitates a baitfish should always be horizontal in the water. It’s weedless, too. Ok, with all that out of the way let’s build one. We’ll start with a list […]

Top Secret! The Eel Rig

Top Secret! The Eel Rig

OK, this is a great rig for when the bite is a little slow and they’re short striking your lure. Basically it’s a cross or a hybrid between a Neko rig and a chicken rig. That sounds crazy, I know. But as you read on and figure out what I’m doing it’ll all make sense to you.  Here’s what you’re going to need to build one: A snap swivel or a snap and a swivel.  I use VMC Crankbait Snaps for this. They’re a little wider so they work a little better. And I like black. It’s less intrusive. A […]

The Best 6 Baits Every Serious Bass Angler Should Own

The Best 6 Baits Every Serious Bass Angler Should Own

There must be a thousand fishing lures on the market. Choosing only six of them for this blog was no easy task. But sometimes we need to downsize so I did just that. I’ve listed the baits below in no particular order. The first three are power fishing lures. The last three are more in the finesse category. A crankbait This is a great bait because you can cover a lot of water with one and because they search out the bass. It’s almost like they’re calling the fish in to them. Although there are hundreds of them available, picking […]

Tight line ‘em

Tight line ‘em

This time we’re going to talk a little about tight lining an aspirin head jig. It’s a great way to use your electronics in cold weather to catch huge numbers of bass. Here’s how I do it: Cold water bass tend to suspend, and there’s no tougher bite than that. So what I do is move around likely spots watching my SONAR until I find a school of suspended bass. When I find them I drop a VMC Neon Moon Eye jig straight down off the bow of the boat. With quality electronics you can actually watch it drop down […]

The Bait Chaser Rig

The Bait Chaser Rig

I’ve got this new rig that’s absolutely going to put more bass in my livewell next year, and it’ll do the same for you. It’s the bait chaser rig. This thing is so simple of an idea and so simple to put together that I can’t believe I wasn’t using it years ago. It makes me wonder what I was thinking, or wasn’t thinking. Basically, it’s a spinner blade on the line in front of your lure. You can make it in two minutes in the boat with things you already have. All you have to do to make it […]

Why I Color

Why I Color

OK, so I like to color. But I don’t do it with a coloring book and I don’t use crayons. I do it with nearly every lure I own and with a variety of Spike-It products. Some weeks ago I wrote a blog telling everyone how and why I modify lures on the fly. The basic idea behind that is that I’m a big believer in matching the hatch, especially when I’m fishing clear water or heavily pressured fish. Over the years I’ve come to realize that the closer you can come to the real thing the more bites you’re […]