Category: Fishing Lures

Discussion about fishing lures used to catch bass.

Summertime Bass and Structure Spoons

0
Summertime Bass and Structure Spoons

In many waters, summertime bass fishing means deep bass fishing, and deep often means 20 feet down or more. Getting bass to bite at that depth isn’t so much of a problem. We can do that. I mean, they still have to eat. The real problem is getting something down to them that looks realistic, something they’ll bite. I do that with the Molix Mike Iaconelli Lover Spoon. Over the last few years — maybe six or eight — structure spoons have come into vogue, and for good reason. They get down quick and, if they look like a dying […]

Bass Fishing with Rapala’s Original Floater

0
Bass Fishing with Rapala’s Original Floater

I have to make a confession here. I hadn’t thought about Rapala’s Original Floater in forever — until recently. I had them, for sure. I’d just been using other baits. But then something happened that reminded me of why I should put a handful of them in my boat. I was fishing with another pro angler who was wearing me out with a floating jerkbait. His was made by another company. Nevertheless, watching him I was reminded of my Original Floaters.  The next day I fish with them. The butt whoopin’ stopped. They’re good baits. They’ll catch bass from early […]

The Venerable Lizard

0
The Venerable Lizard

You don’t hear much about them anymore. I really don’t understand that because they’ve been a staple in my fishing since 1998. It’s true that there are new plastic designs coming out every day, if not every hour. But that doesn’t make any difference to me. I never leave home without a few sacks in my truck or in my boat. I’m talking about a simple, old-fashioned 6-inch lizard. There’s a good reason for that. They catch fish. Some guys think it’s because they look like the real thing. Other guys say they look like something alive no matter if […]

Swinging jigs

0
Swinging jigs

The swinging jig — made popular by Bassmaster Elite Pro Tommy Biffle — is a serious fish catcher. My guess is that’s because it’s a darn near perfect imitation of a baitfish rooting on the bottom. Every angler should have a handful of them in his or her tackle box. There are dozens of different makes and models out there. Some have traditional round heads and some have football heads. Each has its place. But I think a head that’s somewhere in the middle is the best all-around option. That’s what I want, anyway. That was the idea behind our […]

Let’s walk-the-dog

0
Let’s walk-the-dog

Many anglers think of topwater presentations as something of a fun deal. They really don’t think of them as a primary pattern or something that can be used on a regular basis. That thinking limits their ability to put bass in the boat because a skillful topwater angler can often out fish other anglers two-to-one. That’s especially true if he or she chooses the right lure and presents it properly. The best lure and the best presentation — at least for covering water and catching bigger fish — is a hard stickbait gliding back and forth across the water. We […]

Giant Spinnerbaits

0
Giant Spinnerbaits

I’ve written about spinnerbaits in the past. They’re one of several older, super good lures that have fallen out of favor because other baits have come along that are newer and more popular. That’s too bad because they serve a serious purpose. I never leave the dock without a handful of them in my boat, and within that handful will almost always be a few giants. Before we get too far into this thing, though, we need to define giant. I’m talking about something in the No. 5,6,7 or even No. 8 range. I want lots and lots of flash […]

It’s About Changing Direction

0
It’s About Changing Direction

Anybody who has followed my career and what I’ve said about crankbait fishing over the years knows that I always want to change direction with my crankbait as I wind it back to the boat. I can’t remember a time when I threw one out and just brought it back through open water. As far as I’m concerned that’s a wasted cast. There are a lot of ways to get a change of direction. You can move your rod tip left and right, or up and down. That’ll work. But, the easiest way is to just bang it into something. […]

The Wacky Jig Head

0
The Wacky Jig Head

There’s a product out there that I want you to know about. It’s made by VMC and it’s called the Ike Approved Wacky Weedless Jig Head. It comes in four weights and three colors. It’s armed with a razor-sharp EWG hook that’s protected with a light wire weedguard that’ll help prevent hang-ups but won’t interfere with your hookset. It’s a really versatile piece of tackle. I designed it for three specific fishing scenarios. The wacky rig The first, and I suppose the most obvious, use for this head is on a wacky rig. Sometimes you need a little weight to […]

How to Choose a Reel with the Right Gear Ratio

0
How to Choose a Reel with the Right Gear Ratio

A big part of success when you’re bass fishing is proper bait presentation, and a big part of proper bait presentation is speed. To some extent that’s a function of the gear ratio of your reel. It’s true that you can speed up a low gear ratio reel by cranking fast and you can slow down a high gear ratio reel by cranking slow. I won’t deny that. But it’s a lot of work. It’s much better, and a heck of a lot more efficient, to select reels with the correct gear ratio for what you’re trying to do with […]

Speed Worming

0
Speed Worming

There’s a regional technique out there — in the South mostly — that’s been around for a while. It’s called speed worming, and it’s super effective. Basically it’s about speed, splash and a little noise with some subtlety. I can’t think of any reason why it won’t work everywhere. So, here goes… Start with a paddle tail worm with a somewhat thick body. The Berkley Havoc Subwoofer is exactly that. I designed it for speed so it’ll run true no matter what, and the pre-cut tail will really kick up a fuss. Even better, it does all of this in […]