Bass Fishing with the VMC Spinshot Hook

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Bass Fishing with the VMC Spinshot Hook

I love to drop shot but I don’t love line twist, and that’s one of the biggest problems with drop shotting. That’s too bad because on tough days a drop shot is one of the most effective ways to put one in your livewell. With that in mind, I set out to solve that problem. That shouldn’t come as any surprise to those of you who know me or who have followed my career. I tinker with everything and, thanks to some first-class professional sponsors, some of my modifications actually make it to fruition. The VMC Spinshot Hooks are in […]

Subtle Topwater Fishing for Postspawn Bass

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Subtle Topwater Fishing for Postspawn Bass

It’s the postspawn all around the country and with that comes a topwater bite. The thing is, though, sometimes a noisy, splashy topwater plug runs them off rather than fills the livewell. When that happens I go subtle. That means I reach for a Berkley HAVOC Subwoofer. It’s a unique bait in that it has a short (4 inches), fat body with a classic cut tail that’ll move a lot of water when you crank it fast. And, you can do that with this lure because of the way the body is designed. It not only has a fat, shad-like […]

Bass Fishing with Rapala’s Original Floater

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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

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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 […]

Monofilament Line Still Has Its Place in Bass Fishing

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Monofilament Line Still Has Its Place in Bass Fishing

We don’t hear much about monofilament line anymore. That’s understandable in some ways, I suppose. Fluorocarbon and the new braids are taking over. However, the real story is much more complicated. Monofilament still has a place in serious bass fishing, even if it’s a somewhat limited one. The reason it still has a place in our sport is because it has some qualities that, when put together, no other line can duplicate. For openers, it’s buoyant. It floats. Another thing is that it has stretch. Sometimes that’s a real advantage. And last, but not least, it has low memory when […]

Swinging jigs

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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

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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

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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 […]

Crankbait Rods

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Crankbait Rods

We hear all the time about specialty rods, how they’re an important part of the sport because they help us fish more efficiently. That’s true, and some of the most important and useful are what are commonly called crankbait rods. The thing is, though, they really should be named treble hook rods or reaction bait rods because the design features they have will help you fish more efficiently with any bait that has a treble hook on it. I’m thinking about hard jerkbaits and topwater plugs as well as crankbaits. The basic, and most important, thing about one of these […]

It’s About Changing Direction

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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. […]