Every so often something comes along that I would use even if it wasn’t made by a sponsor. That’s the way I feel about the new Berkley Powerbait Bearded Grass Pig Swimbait. It’s a true upgrade to the swimbait class of plastics. The best way to describe it is to say it’s a new design based on the original Grass Pig — a more traditional-type plastic swimbait — that adds a skirt at the front along with a collar that’ll secure everything. The skirt and collar give this design a fuller body and helps create a bigger, more robust profile […]
Sometimes a concept comes to reality and that reality creates something special. That’s what happened when we designed the new Rapala RipStop. Probably the best way to describe it is to say it’s a finesse jerkbait with a special tail that makes a world of difference in how it performs and in what the bass sees when it’s in the water. It’s new so it won’t be available for a few weeks but when it is I’d strongly suggest you put a couple of them in your tackle box. They’re 3.5-inches long and weigh 1/4-ounce. The initial offering will be […]
The new things that catch my eye at tackle shows like ICAST and really get my attention aren’t the new colors, sizes or minor modifications to existing baits. Anybody can do that. I’m not saying that those things don’t matter. They do, and they often make an existing product better. But the stuff that’s on the cutting edge of bass fishing is what gets me going. Berkley’s PowerBait Maxscent soft baits are in that category. They’ll be a game-changer. I’m sure of it. You’ll notice I called it a soft bait, not a plastic bait. The reason for that is […]
Most anglers who fish a lot with crankbaits like balsa. It’s buoyant and has a unique vibration in the water. The thing is, though, it also has drawbacks. Handmade versions are expensive and not every one reacts the same. Buy a dozen and you’re sure to get a few duds. Buy two or three and you might not even get one you like. Another thing is that balsa is soft. Make a 50 foot cast into a rock that’s only 30 feet away and you’ll often see a military-like explosion. At that point there’s little you can do other than […]
Whenever I’m around a tournament, a sport show or the dock I’m often asked about jigs. The prevailing wisdom seems to be that a jig is a jig. Why should anyone spend their hard earned money on a new one? Well, the answer is because a jig is not a jig. There are good ones and ones that are no so good. The new Missile Baits Flip Out is one of the good ones and that’s because we — John Crews and myself — took the time to do it right. We tried to do everything right from the very […]
Every so often I think about a lure that everyone who want’s to catch a bass should know about, and so it is with the David Fritts designed Rapala DT Thug. It’s a small balsa crankbait — 2-1/2 inches long with a weight of 3/8 of an ounce — that’ll dive to between 4 and 8 feet on a normal retrieve. It has a hard, wide wobble, is hand tuned and comes in 15 colors. I don’t care where you live or where you fish you can match the local forage with one of them. What really makes it special, […]
When anglers think about fishing a tube they usually think about dragging one along the bottom while looking for smallies or, in some situations, flipping and pitching them into heavy cover for largemouth holding tight. But when I think about fishing a tube — at least some of the time — I think about snapping it. It’s a super efficient technique when you want to target deep bass that have seen every crankbait and every jig that’s ever been made. Snapping isn’t a hard thing to do. Just cast it out with a fairly long cast, let it fall to […]
When I’m talking about big worms I’m talking about ones anywhere from 8 to 12 inches long. And, in my case I even have some custom ones that are around 15 inches. All my worms, other than the custom jobs, are made by Berkley. I have used their Powerbait Power Worms exclusively for years. The reason is that most big worms are round. Power Worms have a flat side on them that’s about a quarter of their circumference. That’s just enough to let me rig them with the flat side down. That gives them a more natural action and a […]
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 […]
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 […]
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