Tag: Shadow Rap

Secret Wintertime Technique – Downstream Deadsticking

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Secret Wintertime Technique – Downstream Deadsticking

There are plenty of well-known wintertime bass techniques – things like fishing a jig or a blade bait or a spoon – and they all have their time and place, but recently I was reminded of one of the ones that hasn’t been explored quite as broadly. I call it “downstream deadsticking,” and while it’s not written about much (or precisely because no one’s discussing it), it can be one of the deadliest patterns any time you have cold water and current. One of the reasons that it’s so hard for many anglers to grasp is because it flies in […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

Winter Water Jerkbaits

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Winter Water Jerkbaits

One of the best winter lures in the whole world is a suspending jerkbait. Now, when I’m talking about winter conditions. I’m talking about water temperatures below 50 degrees all the way down into the 30s. That’s right now in most of our country. I use two models depending on the depth of the water I’m fishing. In water that’s less than 8 feet deep I go with a short bill Rapala Shadow Rap. If the water’s deeper, maybe up to 15 feet, I’ll go with a long bill version of the same lure. They both have an internal, fixed […]

River Smallies

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River Smallies

Going Ike! shot some film recently with Fletcher Shryock on the Upper Susquehanna River. It should be up right now. We were chasing smallmouth, and did we ever catch them. In just five hours we caught 110 bass. That is getting on them. Our approach was pretty simple and straight forward. When we were casting into the current and bringing our lures back with it, we fished a homemade Ned rig. When we were casting with the current and bringing our lures back against it, we fished jerkbaits. I made my Ned rigs with a VMC Finesse Half Moon Jig […]