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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
Last time we talked about blade baits. This week we’ll talk about a forgotten lure — the tailspinner. Do you remember the Little George from back in the 70s? Well, that style of lure will still catch ‘em in the winter. The difference is that we now have a modernized version made by Molix. It’s called the Trago Spin Tail. There are three things that make this lure the best, in my opinion. The first is that, like the Trago Vib Blade Bait, it has a flat head. This gives it stability on the fall or retrieve and makes it […]
Last time we talked about soft plastic jerkbaits because they look like baitfish. This time I want to talk about a Rapala Shallow Shad Rap for the same reason — everything’s shallow and something that looks like a minnow will catch them. But that doesn’t mean they jump in the boat. Let’s face it. Fall fishing can get tough. When that happens I switch my presentations to something a little different. In my world that means I downsize my lures and make absolutely sure they’re the same size as the forage. I’ll talk a little more about that in just […]
Some things just go together. They make a team. And that’s definitely true for soft plastic jerkbaits and fall bass — largemouth, smallmouth and spots. Now’s the time when bass are moving shallow to take advantage of easy feeding on baitfish. So, when you think about it soft plastic jerkbaits are a natural. They look exactly like the real thing, they’re easy to rig, they’re affordable and they catch fish. I’m going to share a few tips about how to rig them and make them even more effective than when they’re fished in the usual way. I developed these modifications […]
I’ve been out in San Diego, California, doing some saltwater fishing for my new TV show. We’ve been using jigging spoons, but in two ways besides just letting them fall to the bottom and then jerking them up or snapping them at a predetermined depth. So, for this blog the term jigging spoon is a little misleading. Early in the morning when the baitfish are up on top we’ve been casting them out and holding the rod tip real high as we cranked them back with an occasional twitch of the rod tip. They work really well for that kind […]
I fish a plastic minnow-like jerkbait under almost any conditions from now until the water gets real cold, and even then one will get you a few bites. The only time I don’t fish one is when the water’s real cloudy or muddy. They don’t work very well for me under those conditions. Basically, I rig my bait one of two ways. The first is with a 4/0 or 5/0 offset worm hook in the usual manner. If I want the bait to ride high and touch the surface occasionally, I’ll push the hook into the plastic all the way […]
I’m asked a lot about how to pick the right style of treble hook. The answer is pretty easy, really. There are three basic styles of treble hooks. There’s the traditional round bend where the hook point is away from the shaft. That’s the first one. Then, there’s the extra wide gap (EWG) style where the hook point is bent back towards the shaft. That’s the second one. And finally, there’s a hybrid design. I use all three depending upon what’s happening with the fish, and regardless of what type of lure I’m using. The round bend is at its […]
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