The Wacky Jig Head

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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

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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

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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 […]

How To Pick The Right Jig

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How To Pick The Right Jig

A jig is not a jig. They are not all created equal. Specific jigs work best under specific conditions. I sort my jigs into three categories, and then I think about size. Rocky bottom applications When I’m fishing a jig in rock I want one that has a wide head. As you look at it the head should stretch out left and right from the center point. A football head is an excellent example of what I’m talking about. The idea is to keep it from hanging up or wedging in the rocks. That ruins your cast, wastes time and […]

Importance of Line Conditioner

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Importance of Line Conditioner

You don’t hear much about line conditioner these days, except in passing. I think that’s a shortcoming in the bass fishing media because line conditioner is one of those things that can make a big difference in your fishing. Or should I say catching? In my world it has four primary uses. Spooling line I always use line conditioner — my brand is Reelsnot — when I put new line on a reel. I soak a cloth in it and then run the line through the cloth as I spool it on my reel. Casting or spinning makes no difference. […]

Why Fluorocarbon is My Go-To Line

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Why Fluorocarbon is My Go-To Line

I use Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line about 70 percent of the time. I only use monofilament with some top water lures — those that need a floating line to perform properly — and braid for a handful of especially heavy, tough situations. Here’s why: It has less stretch than monofilament. That gives me a better and more secure hookset.  I don’t have to worry about the give in the line taking the penetrating power out of my hookset. And, the lack of stretch allows me to feel everything that’s going on under the surface. If I pick up a tiny […]

A Bass is a Bass, is a Bass

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A Bass is a Bass, is a Bass

My Italy trip was fantastic. It’s a really neat country. On one level it’s very different from the United States. Everywhere you go there are lots of old ruins and marble, some of them thousands of years old. I live near the historical city of Philadelphia. We have lots of old stuff that has great significance to our country, but there’s nothing that old. On another level, however, it’s just like the United States. Of course, I’m referring to bass fishing. Fish Italy for a few days and you’ll realize that a bass is a bass regardless of where they […]

Catch everything that swims

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Catch everything that swims

 This time, we’re going to talk about how to catch everything that swims, everything that’ll eat a minnow anyway. As you can see in the film one of the best ways to do that is to fish with an ultralight jerkbait. We fished with Rapala’s smallest size Husky Jerk and X-Rap. Either one of them will do a good job when the forage is small, conditions are tough or when both of those things combine to create a challenge for any angler regardless of his or her skill level. The small forage situation pretty much speaks for itself. A lot […]

Let’s get kids fishing!

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Let’s get kids fishing!

Everybody talks about getting kids interested in fishing. Talk is good, but action is better. I’m a firm believer that the only way fishing will survive and grow is through the next generation. Getting adults out on the water won’t help a thing 50 years from now. Assuming you want to get kids out there fishing I’m going to respectfully suggest you do a couple of things. Here they are… Start with a cheap bobber and a No. 10 hook. Tie the hook a little ways under the bobber and you’re good to go. From there all you need is […]

Woody’s Hole and Shaky Heads

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Woody’s Hole and Shaky Heads

Woody’s Hole is a place on the Delaware River where the bass go when the weather turns cold. It’s affected by the tide and it has a lot of current running through it. We named it Woody’s Hole because a guy named Woody found it, not because it’s full of wood or anything like that. We fished it in late fall. The fish were starting to move in but they weren’t stacked up yet. Our trip is a great lesson in how to catch fish with finesse presentations in heavy current. We fished shaky heads because you get two presentations […]