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Pond pig choked on a squarebill KVD 2.5

Nice fish. Take it easy on their jaw.

I wrote a horizontal jigging artical for In-Fisherman magazine over 17 years ago, Jan 1995. This presentation was considered old back then! horizontal jigging is another term for casting a jig and retrieving back along the bottom structure and works best in deep structured lakes during seasonal periods where bass and prey are migrating; pre spawn and fall transition. The presentation relies on a jig designed to achieve a hook set when the line angle is less than a 45 degree angle down in the water, when the jig is more verticle or more than a 45 degree angle like straight down or 90 degrees you are fishing vertical and close to the bass; pitching and flipping presentations. My average cast is about 90 feet or 30 yards out to 120 feet or 40 yards, rarely longer. I designed a modified football head that more resembles a viper snake head shape and use 5/0 Gamakatsu #114 forged hook; very strong and extremely shape, the hook point about ***/4" behind the jig head, this is a critical factor to achieve hook set sets. I don't use a traditional weed guard, I use a CPS or Hitchhiker spring and attached a ***/4 to 2" split tail section of finesse worm and insert the jig hook point into the crouch of the razor cut split in the worm tail to cover the hook point to help prevent snagging when fishing light cover or brush. A standard football head will work, but tend to hang up more often in broken rock. There is a new jig coming out called a Nu Jig that has a unique double weed guard and head shape that works very well without adding the finesse worm to cover the hook point and slides through rocky structure very well. The key to my success is the tackle and how I hold the rod, the line and position the rod during the retrieve. The rods should be at least 6'6" fast action 4 to 5 power light weight sensitive jig/worm rod. My rods are custom 4 and 5 power, 6'10" Hydra rods made by ALX, very similar to Loomis NRX rods, any good rod will do. Any good quality casting reel like Ardent 1100, the older Shimano Curado and Lewis 's pro series reels are all good, in 6.3 to 1 ratio. Line is another personal choice; I like Sunline Shooter 14 lb, it's pricey and also use P-Line FluroClear 12 lb, about the same diameter and good performance at 1/4 the price. My jig is a custom 7/16 oz, a good quality 1/2 oz football head like Cody's Phenix jig or the Nu jig would be good. I tie my own custom buck tail hair jigs in 3 color combinations; black back, purple middle and rust brown belly and call this anytime anywhere. The second is rust brown back, green center and brown belly and call,this spring craw. Trilers are pork died 1 of the colors in the jig: usually rust brown or purple. At night or low light the trailer is usually black or purple. I make a long cast and let the jig fall on a controlled slack line while watching the V the line makes in the water. When the jig hits bottom you will see the line jump, see and feel the jig hit bottom. I hold the rod in front of the reel, with the line over my index finger, the rod pointed at the jig, rod tip near to parallel with the water surface. The retrieve is very simple, I just turn the reel handle 1 to 3 turns depending on the bottom slope contour; I want the jig to jump forward about 6" to 12", and let it come to a stop then without raising the rod tip, I watch and feel the line for any indication of a strike; the line moving to one side, a thump, a bump, a tick or nothing no feed back like the jig was cut off. My reaction to any of the above is quickly to turn the reel handle serveral turns to tighten up the line and if I believe a bass has the jig, then I keep reeling until the line is tight and sweep the rod back hard. If it's not strike, just lower the rod back down and continue the retrieve. if you encounter a obstickle like rocks or wood limb, then gently raise the rod tip to lift the jig over the obstickle and continue the stop and go retrieve: turn the reel handle, let the jig fall and stop and repeat the retrieve . This sounds simple and it is, but you must concentrate on every cast, the bass that eat a jig cast a long distance don't know you are there and they often big bass. You can substitute soft plastic for,the pork trailers and appeal to a wider range of bass sizes, pork seems to appeal to bigger bass. The depth I fish depends on the thermocline, but rarely deeper than 35', usually between 3' to 25' . Good luck. Tom

This evening I went fishing with a buddy at a fairly big (15 or 20 acres) sub-devision pond near us. I used a texas rig, and put my new rage tail anacondas on it. It was about 54 degrees, windy, with intermitant rain showers, chilly compared to what we have been having lately. Anyway, I started casting around and working the t-rig slowly when thunk, nice hit. He was a good sized bass, and i thought "Well this is going to be a good evening". A couple hours later, it was getting dark and I had not gotten another bite. There is kind of a bottleneck between the two sections of the pond with a bridge over it, and i cast to the center pillar of the bridge, gave it a hop, and thunk, another solid-feeling strike. That fish faught harder, and turned out to be a bit longer than the first, with a really fat, round belly. that was it for the night, but I was really happy with the size of fish, considering that northern IL ponds are not really known for consistantly producing big fish. I was pretty impressed with my first time using rage tail products, i think they have a good chance of becomeing one of my "go to" plastics. I'll attach a couple of cell phone pics (the second fish's pic was taken by myself at arms lenth, so it didn't really turn out, i think you can still see the belly though:))

Love this. Fishing does teach a person how to stay focused, be persistent and patient. I used to be a very im patient person until i started bass fishing. Fishing helped me in a way that I will never be able to repay. Had substance abuse problems really bad with presciption meds ands when i cleaned up i picked up bass fishing and it just helped to keep my head clear. An amazing sport indeed. As far as teaching someone to fish Id say start them with minnows or shiners to keep the action up and keep them into it. Then once they learn to cast and such switch to plastics and spinnerbaits.

Yes. Use Nightcrawlers. Minnows are also good but Nightcrawlers are less expensive and easier to take with you. You can get them at a tackle store or Wal-Mart. Get him used to feeling the bite and watching the line plus having his finger on the line coming off the spool to feel the hits. Then move up to a Senko or a trick worm on a shaky head jig head. After he has mastered the plastics technique move up to a Shad Rap, crankbait, Chatterbait or spinnerbait, with the understanding that bites do not come along very often as they do with the live bait.

I've taught some beginners fishing classes and done mentor programs teaching people to fish. I like to start with moving baits like spinnerbaits, in-line spinners, or crankbaits, or a wacky rigged senko. The senko is actually my favorite because it's inexpensive and it does pretty much all the work for you. Plus the exposed hook makes it one of the easiest soft plastics to hook a fish with.

i have called them several times and the answer is still the same. The Lews TP lefty 7.1 comes out late November. They say that this is perhaps and overestimation to play it safe so they say to contact retailers and ask if they have any preordering capabilities for this reel in case it is released a few weeks earlier. So, just a few months to go and then she comes out. I am very excited. What would be beneficial, if anyone finds a store that gets them in any earlier than late November, please give some input for us that are waiting. Two more months! Choosing this over the Chronarch.

Strike detection is the key to catching bass on jigs, the bass must have the jig in it's mouth to set the hook. Sounds like a stupid statement, but every angler who fishes with jigs, miss a high % of strike from big bass and catch a higher % of smaller bass on jigs. There is a reason for this and to understand why simply try bed* fishing with a jig and watch a big bass strike your jig, you rarely feel anything. The smaller bass has a smaller mouth and can't generate enough water volume to vacuume the jig off the bottom and into it's mouth, they must bite the jig with their lips, then make a second effort to get the jig back into the crunchers to kill it. Bed bass have no intent on eating the jig, they want to kill it because a crawdad is a egg eater and a threat to the nest. The female bass over 7 lbs have a big mouth and big gills that can easily vacuume in the jig to the back of it's mouth, crunch it to kill and reject it very fast, no secondary bites. You watch the big bass angle down near the jig, sometimes see a white flash to indicate the strike has occurred and try to set the hook without feeling the line move, you see it, but don't feel it! With practice to adjust your timing and hook setting technique the % of missing goes down, but you still miss a lot of strikes that you see happening. Now try casting over 60 feet away from the boat, you can't see the bass strike and often may not feel a strike. How do you get a hook set if you don't know the big bass has the jig in it's mouth? The bass must want to eat the jig, not just strike and reject it, or the hook must penetrate mouth tissue when the bass strike to kill the jig and the jig gets hung up in the basses big mouth for a moment , then you feel something when the bass either continues eating the jig or trying to reject it by shaking it loose. We catch most big bass when they actually eat the jig and don't reject it. Big bass are wary bass and have life learning experiences to reject anything that doesn't feel or taste right. Jigs have a lead head molded onto a sharp hook and it's doesn't feel right to big bass, so they reject them often. If the hook doesn't snag the upper mouth tissue or the ridge behind their big tough upper lip, the jig gets rejected cleanly, just like the big bed bass does while you are watching the strike happen, except you don't see it happen when casting a distance. This is why the jig design and hook position is critical when casting jigs and retrieving further away from you than a 45 degree angle outward, the horizontal zone. Tom * I rarely intentionally target big bass on beds, not that it isn't fun or challenging, it's both. The lakes I fish are too small for the intense fishing pressure these big rare bass must face each spawning season. I focus on the staging period during pre spawn in deeper water, when the big bas are eating Crawdads, not trying to kill them. The big bass are very healthy and strong during pre spawn. It's a personal choice.

They are fantastic buzzbait substitutes and in many places will outfish a buzzbait. They are something I always carry. They come through weeds and timber very well and the hookup rate is pretty good.

I don't have the Bucoo but I do have the Cara Micro with a 50E mounted on it. You can feel the bass looking at your jig.

depends on what you're doing. i never use fluoro only mono. i only use a leader when fishing topwater so the braid does not foul the hooks of the lure. another reason people use leaders is for abrasion resistance against rocks, but when i fish rocks i fish straight mono. 12lb leader is fine for 20lb braid. i use trilene xt or big game for leader material to sum it up i don't use a leader because bass are line shy but i use it to help improve my techniques.

I run only 1/2 oz. will it be fine

Awesome link! Thanks Big - O

Opinions are like..........well you know the rest. I think, one thing I have come to realize in my 67 years, is that people know that they are entitled to their own opinion and they are happy with that. But what really irritates some people, is the fact that they aren't entitled to your opinion also. Hootie, Waxing philosophical. lol

Get you some smokin roosters for that rock. Those things are awesome.

But I thought "sapling with a line on it" was pretty witty. ;-)

I don't know, some of those smalljaw days you have are just as amazing to me!

Thats what she said.

Just My Take on the Drop Shot Fishing Technique I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I have grown fond of the Drop Shot technique in my short, six-season fishing journey. I found this technique to be a very productive method to catch fish in a variety of states. In my first outing for fishing for smallmouth bass ever, I hooked and caught three smallmouth bass on three consecutive casts. It is the only method that has done this for me to date, and from the shore to boot. At the very least, I can share with you what I have learned through trial, error, and experience (which isn't much). As a method of catching fish, I believe the Drop Shot, as many bass anglers call it, has been around for a very long time. In its most basic form, it consists of having a weight at the end of the line with the hook a set distance above it. Basic Drop Shot Diagram Here is a generic set up: As previously noted, the weight that gets this rig to the bottom is attached at the end of the line and the hook is placed above it. Although weight of the sinker can be of just about any shape, there are some that are available that have a clip at the top of the weight that can be quickly attached to the line. It is not necessary, but it can be a convenient to use. A teardrop shaped weight with a clip for the line is used in the photo above. Rod Selection You don't need a Drop Shot specific rod. A medium-light to medium-powered rod with a moderate to extra-fast action, and a length ranging from 6'3" on up to just over 7' should work for you for now, unless you plan to fish heavier cover. If you find drop shotting to your liking, you can then opt to go with a Drop Shot specific rod of your choice. As a rule of thumb, a longer rod will enable you to have more line control, which is a plus when using the drop shot. Unfortunately, many anglers perceive the drop shot to be an exclusively finesse (fishing with lighter line, and smaller baits) technique. I do not limit myself to such a narrow view. I believe that the drop shot technique can be successfully employed not only in finesse but also heavier situations. One would simply have to adjust the rod and line to suit the environment. Reel Selection – Spinning or Casting? The decision to use a spinning or casting reel is up to you. I will use either, depending on the conditions I face. I prefer spinning reels (a size 20 or 2500 reel is an excellent choice) if I am going to face light cover, use lighter line and a lighter weight (1/8 oz. or 3/16 oz.). This is because they require less work on my part to give the bait a better vertical drop than a baitcast reel ever could. I realize it is minor, but it is a major peeve of mine to have to strip line off when using 1/8 oz. or 3/16 oz. weights just to produce a vertical descent of the bait. This is not an issue with a spinning reel. A vertical descent is achieved without any extra effort when the bail is kept open. With that said, casting reels can also be used. Even a Barbie pole can get it done for drop shotting! I will not hesitate to use a baitcast reel if I were going to fish cover that required the use of heavier line, heavier weights, and larger baits. Drop Shot Weight and Type A 3/16 - 1/4 oz weight is a good starting weight. Going any lighter might make it harder for you to read what is going on until you get experience. As for the shape, I like to use either the teardrop (like the QuickDrops sinkers. They are my favorite.) or cylindrical shape and prefer the former as my first choice. I have not experimented with other shapes. When facing windy conditions, strong currents, or if you have to fish a greater depth, you might want to consider using a heavier weight. Update: I no longer go out of my way to purchase drop shot specific weights. I use coiled pencil lead that I cut with special pliers that river anglers use. It is far more economical. A typical bag of ten 1/4oz weights (2.5 oz.) is about $3.50 give or take a few pennies. If I were to buy a pound of ¼ oz. drop shot weights, it would cost me $22.50! A pound of lead coil costs about $4.00. The math is simple. In addition, with the pencil lead, I can cut my lead to any size that I want and on the fly. Line Because you are drop shotting, lighter line is preferred if the cover you are fishing allows it. Use a heavier line if the cover dictates it. The conditions I generally face allow me to use six-pound fluorocarbon line. I usually use Seaguar's Invizx or Cabela’s house brand. Seaguar’s Invizx line is surprisingly limp and that is what I like about it. It is very manageable on spinning gear, which is something that cannot be said about other fluorocarbon lines whose stiffness can make it a pain to use on a spinning reel. I know that some also like to use braid. I know the benefits of braid and am not against it and maybe someday I’ll use it with a fluorocarbon leader. Given the amount of sensitivity my rod and line already provide me, I just don’t have a need to take it up another notch to braid for the depths I typically fish, which is usually no more than 25’. If you plan to fish greater depths, braid may very well be the ticket. The enhanced sensitivity braid provides should be helpful. Baits I keep an open mind when it comes to the baits I use. Many types of baits can be used. The general rule of thumb is a tendency to use smaller baits since we are "finesse" fishing (translates to downsizing in general). The length of a typical drop shot bait usually ranges from 3" - 4.5". However, this is not set in stone. Senkos, Sniper Snubs and Bolts, Roboworms, Reaction Innovations Flirts, Baby Brush Hogs and Tubes can be used. Think out of the typical angler’s zone. Do not limit yourself to using just a worm. Here is a picture of a smallmouth bass I caught on a longer Roboworm hoping for a bigger smallie. Bless its little heart. The Roboworm is nearly as long it is! Hook, Knot, and Rigging I prefer to use size 1 or 2 (mostly size 2) Owner Mosquito or Gamakatsu Split Shot/Drop Shot hooks. If I am fishing a grassy area in which grass can catch the exposed hook, I opt for the Owner Down-Shot hook, which is in essence a mini version of an EWG (extra wide gap) worm hook. Naturally, if you plan to drop shot much larger baits, you might need to go up in hook size. When tying the line to the hook to fish the drop shot, many anglers like to use the Palomar knot. Tie the Palomar knot as you usually would but do so with an extra long tag end. After the knot has been tied, position the hook with the point facing skyward and feed the tag end through the eyehook from the top. Next, tie, or if you have a drop shot specific weight, attach the weight to the tag end. TIP: To ensure that the point of the hook will face up after tying the Palomar knot, hold the hook so that the point is facing skyward in one hand. Then, initiate tying the knot by inserting the line through the hook’s eye from the top (the point’s side). If you start the Palomar knot by inserting the line the other way, the hook will be oriented point down upon completion. The two most commonly used ways to place the bait onto the hook when fishing the drop shot rig are to hook the bait through its nose, as shown in the first picture in this article and wacky rigged, or through the middle of the bait as shown below. A “Wacky-Rigged” 3” Senko Tag End Length (Distance from the hook to the weight) The best way to figure this out is to experiment. I have had success with the tag end being as short as 4-6" to nearly but not quite 24”. Because drop shot method is not limited to a purely vertical presentation, a longer leader is an option if you wish to work it like a Texas or Carolina rig (i.e., dragging it on the bottom from spot to spot). When fishing from the shore and as I do most of the time, a longer tag end will enable you to keep the bait off the ground with the shallow angle that results from a long cast and being on the bank. For a more vertical presentation, a shorter distance from the hook to the bait could work. Another influencing factor is the depth at which the fish are staying. You might need to adjust your tag end accordingly to get the bait into the fish’s strike zone. Imparting Action and Giving Life to the Lure Despite my initial perception of working a bait on a drop shot rig, I have learned that it is not all about jiggling and wiggling the bait to death. An angler can indeed work the bait this way, but I can tell you from personal experience that wiggling and jiggling the bait to death (continuously) has accounted for the fewest number of catches. By no means am I saying to not wiggle and jiggle it to death. It is however, just one method that can be effective on certain occasions. So what should one do in addition to the wiggling and jiggling tactic? Keep the weight on the bottom for the most part and leave enough slack in the line to let the bait sink/float/suspend on its own accord. For lack of a better term, I call that slack, “semi-slack.” Then, when you think the bait is near the bottom lift/twitch the rod just enough to move the bait a little (without moving or minimizing the movement of the weight on the bottom) and repeat. In effect, what you are doing is working a semi-slack line, which in turn, imparts action and life to the bait. No hits? Repeat if you wish, or add a little dead sticking to the mix or, drag your bait to the next spot. All are good choices. The dragging of the weight from one spot to the next also imparts life and action to the lure and can help to draw a strike. Working a semi-slack line and dead sticking have usually very effective and productive for me. Give it a try and see if it does the same for you. Not sure what the bait will do? Find shallow water and drop your bait down. The depth should be one where you can see all the way to the bottom. Once the weight is on the bottom, let your bait fall by lowering your rod. After the lure hits the bottom, raise the rod’s tip enough to bring the lure up a little while keeping some slack in the line, and do your best to keep the weight in place. Watching this will give you an idea of what will likely be happening when you are not able to see the bait with your own eyes. Visualizing what the bait is doing when I can’t see it helps me to focus on what I am trying to do, and that is catching fish. Concerned about not being able to feel the bite on this semi-slack line if you are using fluorocarbon or braid? Let me put you at ease. It is not an issue. Either of those lines combined with a sensitive rod is more than adequate to feel the bite when the line has a bit of slack. The Strike or Hit The strike or hit can vary depending on the activity level of the fish, the quality of your set up to a certain extent, and the line you are using. More sensitive rods do a better job of transmitting what is going on to you. I have had the blessing of drop shotting with my Berkley Cherrywood Rod, which is decent and not too shabby, but comparing it to my Lamiglas Certified Pro Drop Shot rod is something else. Here is my analogy: If the Cherrywood rod provides stereo sound to me while watching a DVD movie, the Lamiglas rod gives me the sound in THX and Blu-Ray for the mental image, for the full cinema experience. The latter rod is not necessary to enjoy drop shotting, but it makes it a lot easier to feel and detect the subtle strikes. The line you use can also influence the feel of the strike. My experience working with both mono and fluorocarbon is that the latter always seemed to give me a better picture. We all know now that although FC line can have as much or more stretch than a comparable monofilament line, it is likely that its density still enables it to beautifully transmit information from the end of our line, to the rod and to our hands. We all know how well braid transmits data back to the angler too so I don’t think I need to elaborate further. The hit or strike can feel like: A) A mushy tug or tick, which could translate to a complete inhalation of your bait or the fish attacking the lure from the hook's side. A nibble or nibbling, that transmits vibrations through the line to you. Sometimes you can see or feel the line vibrate through your semi-slack line. More sensitive rods tell you this much better and more clearly. I believe when the hit is like this (my best guess anyway as I visualize the strike), it is possible that the fish might have taken the lure from the side opposite the hook and the nibbling/vibrations you feel is the fish taking in the bait into its mouth, eventually getting to the hook. C) Bam! An aggressive hit and it's on! The Hook Set For one and three, just reeling up the slack and adding enough tension to make the line taut is sufficient for most cases to drive the light wire hook home. For case two, you have to wait until the fish gets to the hook and then do as mentioned above. If you don't, you will pull the lure from the fish's mouth. Since it didn't get to the hook, there is no way the fish can get hooked. I have written this based on the experience I gained from drop shotting. Take it for what it’s worth, an opinion at best. I will close by giving you a final warning: WARNING: Drop Shotting is as addictive as it is effective. Good luck and go get’em! Islandbass Review of My First Season Using the Drop Shot Technique The Drop Shot technique has been so effective for me that in my first season learning and using it, it has accounted for 100% of the smallmouth bass and about 70% of the largemouth bass I have caught in that season, I caught a lot, the most ever!!! And here is the thing that makes this even sweeter. They were all caught from the shore. No, this is not a testament to my skills, but a testament to the effectiveness of the Drop Shot technique.

I was eighteen years old and had been fishing for several years. Sam rayburn and Toledo Bend were new impoundments and there were tons of new anglers just starting out. Circuits were new to the area. There were no chain stores in the East Texas area, just a few local tackle stores opening around the lakes area. As always money was tight. Going to school and trying to keep enough money to put gas in the boat and purchase a few lures and worms had to be the last thing on the list to spend a dime on, but i managed to get out on the water a day or two a week; without much success I might add. I was not even thinking about getting any help from anyone, it just happened. A small tackle shop opened several miles from my home and I walked in one day. There was no one in the store but me and the owner than was a lot older than me. I purchased a couple of things and left, but I liked the guy. He was friendly and gave me some tips that helped me catch a few more fish. I started shopping there on the way to the lake. He opened early, I liked that, and one morning i went in and was offered a seat at a table all the older guys would sit in and just shoot the bull each morning. I kept my mouth shut unless I was asked a question. I became a regular at that table over the next six months or so. One morning i went in and they were all talking about an upcoming tournament. The lake was off limits so the guys could not be on the water. They knew I was going and they asked me to let them know what I did while fishing that week. I told them and one of the guys won a little money off some information i had given them the week before. I picked up a few items while I was there and when I went to the checkout the guy sitting at the table told the owner to let me go and he would pay. That was the first time I had ever received anything fishing related that I did not have to pay for. It probably totaled about ten dollars worth of stuff. Several weeks later i was asked to check out the lake for another tournament and let them know what I had caught them on. I did and this time the owner won several hundred dollars off one of the locations I had told him about. When I walked in the next week there was a bag of worms and other assorted tackle sitting in my chair at the table. It was his gift to me for the info. I opened the bag and there was also an envelope with $20.00 in it. He said that was my winnings for helping him out. Second time for tackle and the first money indirectly from a tournament i had ever received. I don't remember any of the guys winning any more that year from any of my information. I continued to shop and visit there for the rest of the year. The season started early the next year. I walked in on a Wednesday morning and the owner asked me if I had been on the lake that week. I had not. He said his partner could not fish the upcoming tournament on Saturday and wanted to know if I would fish with him. I told him I did not have the money for the entry. He said he would cover it and if we won any money he would take it out of my part of the winnings. Third time I had received money for fishing. We didn't win a dime,but he liked the way we fished together. His partner fished the rest of the year with him so I did not get to fish another tournament. One of the guides at the table did use me for overflow clients when he needed me and that helped me make enough money to keep me fishing for the summer. I basically followed him and fished his spots with him. He and I partnered up the next year and placed in the first three tournaments, won the fourth, and finished third in the championship for the year. During this time we were getting all kinds of free tackle from the tackle store so I was wearing his shirts and always promoting his products. I was always truthful when discussing the lures that I caught my fish on. One thursday morning(I remember it like yesterday) I walked in and he was sitting at the table with several of the regulars and another guy I did not know. He introduced me to his new partner and said he was opening another store. He needed help promoting it and asked me to help them out. I had a new shirt, a new rod/reel combo, big bag of lures, and an entry form completed for the upcoming tournament. He asked me to sign it. I told him i just could not afford to fish the tournament. He moved the paper over and there was a completed check for the entry fee. It was 125.00. He paid for all five tournaments that year for me, I worked in the store when I could, and won just enough to repay him for the entry fee that year. But that's the first sponser i got and how it happened. If you want help: Be a loyal customer Believe in the product Be honest Be humble Be able to push product Be able to represent professionally Be consistant It will come. Sorry for the long post. Jack

Unless it's a B.A.S.S. or FLW tournament where you might care about the pros, I don't see any reason to concede a spot to tournament fishermen. They aren't entitled to any special treatment. Some people consider them a nuisance. :