Tag: Rapala

Top Three Lures for Imitating Blueback Herring

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Top Three Lures for Imitating Blueback Herring

Herring are a prolific baitfish in a lot of our eastern lakes. From Virginia north, they’re mostly alewives, and from Virginia south it’s generally bluebacks. Despite some differences, they’re very similar – long, skinny, and they just about always travel in schools. When they’re spawning, bass gorge on them because they’re an easy meal. While a lot of other baitfish dart left to right or make a wide glide, bluebacks tend to move in a straight line. They’re also not necessarily blue – they have white or pearl sides and a greenish or brown back. Don’t believe me? Google them. […]

Bass Fishing With Lipless Crankbaits

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Bass Fishing With Lipless Crankbaits

When the water is cold, or cold but warming up, a lipless crankbait is an absolute killer. There’s a misconception that it’s only good in the spring. I hear that all the time, but this is a lure that works in all four seasons. It’s during the winter and pre-spawn when it really shines, though. abyLet’s back up for a second. What is a lipless crankbait? Well, as the name suggests, and you probably guessed if you didn’t already know, it’s hard-bodied like a crankbait, minus one thing…The lip! It’s that design that makes it so effective for bass because […]

Top Five Power Fishing Lures for Early Winter Fishing

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<strong>Top Five Power Fishing Lures for Early Winter Fishing</strong>

For a lot of us around the country, it’s early winter right now. The leaves are off the trees, the mornings are cold, and water temperatures are down. That typically means that fish have left their fall patterns. They’re headed to or in their wintering holes, but they’re still feeding. That often means you can still catch them with power fishing techniques. I have five lures that fit the bill The first, without a doubt, is a suspending jerkbait like the Rapala Shadow Rap. I can’t think of a better bait for this time of year. It emulates a struggling […]

The Ultimate Guide to Crankbait Fishing

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<strong>The Ultimate Guide to Crankbait Fishing</strong>

When I look back at some of my greatest successes in my tournament career, a lot of them are directly attributable to crankbaits. Why are they so good? The biggest reason is their ability to get bites from fish that are feeding as well as fish that are not actively feeding. Sure, a lot of baits will produce “hunger bites,” but the ability to trigger reaction bites puts them in a different class. So what are we talking about when we use the term crankbait? It’s a lure, made of wood, plastic or resin, that has a bill that helps […]

Baits for Big Bass

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Baits for Big Bass

If there’s one question I’m asked over and over it’s this one: “What baits do I recommend for big bass?” Most of the anglers don’t define what they mean by big so I’ll do it. I say that any bass in the 5-pound class or better is big. I know that where and when you’re fishing has a big impact on size but it general that’s a pretty good place to start. A 5-pound bass has some size to it but, at the same time, it’s doable in most waters. After that I group my big bass baits into three […]

Colors for Cold Clear Water

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Colors for Cold Clear Water

Last time we talked about cold muddy water baits and colors. This time we’ll talk about the exact opposite, cold clear water baits and colors. Before we get into that, though, we need to define clear water. In my world it’s water with 10 to 14 inches of visibility. But there’s also ultra-clear water. That’s water with clarity down to 10 feet. The difference between the two is mostly academic. They’re both tough. I deal with both conditions the same way. My colors don’t change regardless of how clear the water is that I’m fishing. I will admit, however, that […]

The Ultimate Cold Water Bait

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The Ultimate Cold Water Bait

This is one technique I never wanted to give up to anyone, but you fellow bass-heads make all of this possible, so it’s only right that I let you in on one of my most effective cold water techniques. That is the Rapala Shallow Shad Rap. It’s the perfect crankbait for cold water conditions. It has a tight wiggle and no rattle. I do, however, modify it a little bit. First off, by cold water I mean anything from the middle 50-degree range on down. And, by little modifications I mean swapping out hooks and adding a split ring or […]

Wintertime Colors

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Wintertime Colors

It’s getting late into the winter. Depending on where you live spring is right around the corner, or it’s still weeks away. Regardless of that, something has happened to everything that lives in the water. Their colors are getting dull, almost like they’ve been bleached. And that has a serious effect of how the bass relate to our lures. If we want to catch our share, or more than our share, we need to fish with dull colors. I have six favorites — three hard bait colors, three soft plastic colors — that have worked for me over the years. […]

Jerkbait Choices for Right Now!

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Jerkbait Choices for Right Now!

OK, so the water’s cold and the air is even colder. I don’t care. I want to go fishing. And, I want to catch some bass so I’m going to break out my jerkbait box. They’re one of my go-to baits for right now. But, I don’t carry just one size, shape or type. No, I carry a whole collection of them. The differences between them might be subtle, but they’re important. Let me say it again: Subtle differences are important in cold water. Don’t forget that! I carry at least three different ones for three different sets of conditions. […]