Early Winter and Jigs

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Early Winter and Jigs

OK, guys, here’s the deal: It’s getting to be winter. The air temperature is no better than 50 degrees most days and the water temperature is around 55 degrees in much of the country. That’s not nearly as cold as it’s going to get but it’s still cold and the bass know that winter is right around the corner. Now, to be honest, you need to fish all through the water column right now. There are days when they’re deep and days when they’re shallow. Nevertheless, it’s a rare day when you can’t catch them with a jig, and I’m […]

So You Want a Giant This Fall

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So You Want a Giant This Fall

Fall is a great time to go bass fishing. The weather is cool but it’s still comfortable, there are fewer recreational boats around and the bass are feeding like crazy. It’s also a great time to catch a giant, maybe the biggest one of your life. If you want to catch one like that, though, you have to use the right lure. Here are my three very best fall baits for giant bass. But here’s the thing — one of them isn’t necessarily any better than the other. It’s about which one will best match the hatch. The first one […]

Understanding Fall Bass Movements

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Understanding Fall Bass Movements

This blog is going to be mostly theoretical. Instead of talking about lures and tackle we’re going to look at how bass move as the fall season comes and goes. The reason for that is that we can catch a ton of them at this time of the year if we can find them. No matter all of what I say today, however, it’s important to keep one thing in mind: The fall is about BAITFISH!!! MATCH THE HATCH!!! I want to start with a brief definition of fall. The air temperature is dropping. The water temperature is dropping. The […]

Rapala Shallow Shad Raps for This Fall

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Rapala Shallow Shad Raps for This Fall

Last time we talked about soft plastic jerkbaits because they look like baitfish. This time I want to talk about a Rapala Shallow Shad Rap for the same reason — everything’s shallow and something that looks like a minnow will catch them. But that doesn’t mean they jump in the boat. Let’s face it. Fall fishing can get tough. When that happens I switch my presentations to something a little different. In my world that means I downsize my lures and make absolutely sure they’re the same size as the forage. I’ll talk a little more about that in just […]

Soft Plastic Jerkbaits and Fall Bass

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Soft Plastic Jerkbaits and Fall Bass

Some things just go together. They make a team. And that’s definitely true for soft plastic jerkbaits and fall bass — largemouth, smallmouth and spots. Now’s the time when bass are moving shallow to take advantage of easy feeding on baitfish. So, when you think about it soft plastic jerkbaits are a natural. They look exactly like the real thing, they’re easy to rig, they’re affordable and they catch fish. I’m going to share a few tips about how to rig them and make them even more effective than when they’re fished in the usual way. I developed these modifications […]

The Mighty A-Rig

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The Mighty A-Rig

It won’t be long and the water will start to cool. That means early in the cycle the bass will have a tendency to suspend. Later on it’ll get really cold. A lot of anglers struggle under these conditions. But, that is not necessary. Success is all about fishing with the right lure combination and setting it up correctly. One of the best ever lure combinations for suspended bass and cold water conditions is the A-Rig. Nothing puts them in the boat like it. They look crazy when you first see them. There are wires and spinners everywhere. You’d think […]

The Newest and the Best from Flambeau

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The Newest and the Best from Flambeau

I’m really excited about two new products from Flambeau, the Zerust Max Blade Krate and the Zerust Max Crank Bank! It’s no exaggeration to say that these boxes are a must-have for any angler. They’ll make all the difference in your ability to store your tackle, organize it, and catch more bass. They both start with the Zerust feature. That’s a vapor that circulates through the box that inhibits the formation of rust on whatever’s in the box. I’m not a chemist so I can’t give you all the details but I use boxes with Zerust in them and they […]

Position Your Boat Correctly

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Position Your Boat Correctly

I haven’t seen much media coverage lately about boat positioning. That is not a good thing. If your boat isn’t positioned correctly in relation to what you’re fishing, you’re doomed. We all know that to fish a log correctly you need to cover the top end, the bottom end and both sides. To do that you must have your boat positioned correctly and move it a little with each cast so that you have the right angle. The same thing is true with a brush pile, a rocky flat or a drop. You have to cover it all, and from […]

The Dragonfly Bite

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The Dragonfly Bite

This time we’re going to talk about how to catch bass when there’s a few dragonflies around. Before we do that, though, I want to make sure that we’re all thinking about the same creature. A dragonfly is a dragonfly. It’s not a mayfly. It’s an insect all to its own. Most of them have a wingspan of somewhere between 2 and 5 inches and they’re very colorful. They are expert flyers, too. They can move in any direction — up, down or sideways — and some of them live for up to a full year. I first saw evidence […]

Summer Cover

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Summer Cover

The weather is hot. The green cover in our lakes and rivers is growing like crazy.  That’s good for us. That’s bad for the bass. It’s a simple situation. We know where to find them when they’re shallow — somewhere that’s green. I’m not going to talk about all the types of cover that’s out there, only two types that grow — grass and trees. Before we get into that, however, I want to say something about deep and shallow. Right now a lot of the bass are out deep on main lake drops and channels, but a lot doesn’t […]