Top Four July Baits

Top Four July Baits

All over the country, July means HOT weather. The water is hotter, the air is hotter, and the days are longer. That tends to push the bass deeper, where the oxygen content is higher, the water is cooler, and their prey is located. Of course, deep is a relative term. In some California reservoirs it might mean 100 feet, while in Florida it could mean 8 or 10 feet, but this is the time to focus much of your effort there. With that in mind, I’m going to give you information about four of my favorite July baits, two for […]

Rigging a Drop Shot

Rigging a Drop Shot

I’ve been catching bass on a drop shot rig for years, and until a couple of years ago I always rigged it the same way. I tied a fluorocarbon leader to a braid main line and tied the hook somewhere down the leader. Then, I nose hooked my bait, or maybe hooded it in the middle, and went fishing. It worked. I caught my share but I was dissatisfied with my hooking percentage. I just felt like I could do better. And, at the same time, I was having trouble with line twist. Even my braid started giving me trouble […]

Smallmouth and Scent

Smallmouth and Scent

All bass use a wide variety of their senses to find their prey, but smallmouth primarily use two — sight and smell. We’re going to save the sight part for another day. Right now I want to talk about scent. I’ll start by telling you that I never fish with a plastic bait that isn’t scented or to which I haven’t added scent. That’s an absolute rule of mine. Never means never, not ever. It wouldn’t make sense. I want the smallies to smell something attractive and I never want them to smell me or anything I might have on […]