Tag: Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon

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 […]

Micro Jigs for Big Winter Bass

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Micro Jigs for Big Winter Bass

The jig has been a staple of bass fishing since before I was born, but there’s one category of jigs that I’ve become extremely fond of in the past half dozen or so years that doesn’t get a lot of love. They’re called “micro jigs” and while we’ve long had compact versions of flipping jigs and casting jigs, these aren’t just downscaled versions of those staples. They’re a category all their own, and while I carry them in my boat all year long they’re especially valuable in the winter. That’s because they excel in tough conditions, including cold water. They […]

My World, with Jim Miller

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My World, with Jim Miller

The show this week was with UFC fighter Jim Miller. He’s a tough dude. I’ve been a fan of his for a while now, but I really didn’t have any idea of what it was all about, how technical mixed martial arts is when it’s practiced correctly. When he’s actually fighting, he looks completely disorganized. It’s like it’s just a bunch of arms and legs flopping around. In reality, though, it’s a number of carefully choreographed moves that he practices over and over so that when he needs one he’s ready to do it right, and his record shows he […]

My World with Martin Truex Jr.

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My World with Martin Truex Jr.

OK, here’s the deal: I’m filming My World with Mike Iaconelli. My guest is Martin Truex Jr. We’re going to drive some fast cars and then try to catch a couple of big bass. Martin is the real deal. I’ve known him for some time. We’re friends. In the first part of the show he spends some time teaching me how to drive fast in go-karts indoors. And then, we went to the Airport Speedway in Maryland to do some dirt track driving. I had a blast.        I can’t say I beat him on either track. But I did […]

Soft Plastic Jerkbaits and Fall Bass

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Soft Plastic Jerkbaits and Fall Bass

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 […]

The Mighty A-Rig

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The Mighty A-Rig

It won’t be long and the water will start to cool. That means early in the cycle the bass will have a tendency to suspend. Later on it’ll get really cold. A lot of anglers struggle under these conditions. But, that is not necessary. Success is all about fishing with the right lure combination and setting it up correctly. One of the best ever lure combinations for suspended bass and cold water conditions is the A-Rig. Nothing puts them in the boat like it. They look crazy when you first see them. There are wires and spinners everywhere. You’d think […]

The Dragonfly Bite

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The Dragonfly Bite

This time we’re going to talk about how to catch bass when there’s a few dragonflies around. Before we do that, though, I want to make sure that we’re all thinking about the same creature. A dragonfly is a dragonfly. It’s not a mayfly. It’s an insect all to its own. Most of them have a wingspan of somewhere between 2 and 5 inches and they’re very colorful. They are expert flyers, too. They can move in any direction — up, down or sideways — and some of them live for up to a full year. I first saw evidence […]

How to Fish a Squarebill

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How to Fish a Squarebill

A bait that’s really started to shine over the past few years is the squarebill crankbait. Their shine is well deserved, too. They catch bass in heavy cover when they’re shallow, and there are always a few good ones shallow regardless of the season or the weather. Squarebills will create a true reaction bite and often catch bass when other lures won’t. My favorite is a Rapala Balsa Xtreme BX Brat Squarebill. It’s made from balsa, and that’s a good thing. It floats high and has that unique vibration that only balsa can produce. But because it’s covered with a […]

The 2019 Bassmaster Classic, Part 2: Lure selection

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The 2019 Bassmaster Classic, Part 2: Lure selection

Last time we talked mostly about the conditions and where I fished. Here’s the scoop on what I fished with, and why. My best spot, among equals, was the natural flat rock I talked about. My lure choice for that was a Rapala DT 6 in Caribbean Shad. It’s a fairly small crankbait — 2-inches, 3/8-ounce — and it’ll dive in the 6 foot range which was perfect for what I was doing. Remember that I said the rock was between four and six feet deep. I wanted something that would strike the rock easily and deflect off of it […]

More about Finesse Swimbaits

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More about Finesse Swimbaits

Last time — Part 5 of Fall and Early Winter Baits Choices — we talked about boot tail swimbaits. They’re super important so I devoted a whole blog to them. But then I started thinking that there are other finesse swimbaits that deserve attention. In fact, the whole subject of finesse swimbaits deserves more attention. We’ll start by taking a quick look at the big picture. Finesse swimbaits have been around for years. We just didn’t call them swimbaits. We called them grubs. Look at any of the old grubs — most are still made today — and you’ll see […]