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This time of year can be fun

Here's my G3 HP180 when I was bringing her down from quad cities where she lived before I bought her. (Still had the old reg numbers on her).

Strolling is term taken from trolling, moving the lure with your trolling motor. The master of targeting suspended bass using small soft plastics was Dick Trask. Trask didn’t stroll but he did catch suspended bass using 1/16-1/8 oz dart head jigs (the original Hoover jig) with 4 1/2” Flutter Craft curl tail worm and 3 1/2” Screamers. Trask didn’t have today’s sonar units but he knew where and how deep bass suspended. Trask was also deadly with split shot presentations during the 80’s won 7 fully rigged bass boats and more tournaments then I can recall. Dick had suspended bass to himself and had to complete the bottom feeders with Don Iovino and Zank. Tom

Yeah, I'm in this camp ^^ Lots of new baits (soft plastics) being released, new jigheads being created - all refinements and specialization of similar techniques used in the past. FFS (primarily on tour) is the driver behind it all currently, IMHO, now that you can watch everything go down on your screen, especially in regard to controlling your bait relative to the bass/baitfish/structure, etc., so easily these days. The data from the top level tours supports this. My investment in the tackle and technique has been minimal to this point, because I just haven't seen it pay off on my waters beyond what I can do with what I already have.

I would frame it. Your FIRST check from a professional bass fishing organization. Sweet.

THIS, THIS AND THIS ^^^ It can/will happen to all of them at some point if your mechanics aren’t good, or the balance is off. Quite a few variables at play, so you just need to be attentive to every cast to minimize the issue.

Jighead + plastic like others have said have been a staple for any predator species for decades. I think the "new" label comes from bass fishing up until recently being so cover orientated, and open water fishing being dominated by bottom techniques or hardbaits. Up until 10 years ago or so the common knowledge was bass are always stuck to structure or on the bottom, much prefer slow moving presentations etc. Nowadays its becoming more common knowledge that bass are simply just a very versatile predatory fish, and can feed like a tuna or a catfish depending on its environment and seasonal conditions. As for the "new" style plastics and jigheads, ya old style plastics that have been around for years will catch fish. But the new style ones make it much easier to efficiently fish this way, as is the case with most "trendy" lures that fans of old lures love to hate on. Stuff like the sakamata shad are much more stable and hold horizontal position better than old style grubs or flukes on a jighead. The fish will hit a old powergrub or a fancy hover bait if its presented correctly, the new style plastics just make it much easier to present for longer each retrieve.

It works, and yes it’s an old technique. Jimmy Lindner and others “Moped” and won tournaments in the old days. Spinning is great, but doesn’t mean you can’t with BFS either. Retrieves vary, the key is that it looks different and hovers or retrieves slowly at the right depth. 23 incher hovering on BFS hooked me.. yep it works -

My best pike this year from a late May trip to LOTW. 35” on a light spinning rod. The fish was taken on an old wooden perch Lazy Ike. I was feeling nostalgic that day. She/he was an exceptionally ornery pike.

Works fine without electronics, I do it from the bank all the time. It’s how everyone has crappie fished for a million years

I fish that bait and IMO, as far as castability is concerned, it doesn't seem any better or worse than any other A-Rigs I've fished. Again, I believe the way the rig is casted, determines how it eventually lands & runs. Additionally what weight heads are used and where they are positioned on the rig can be a factor. I usually use all 1/8 oz heads but if I am going up in weight the heavier baits are always positioned on the bottom arms of the rig to act like a rudder. I looked for some video of me casting an A-Rig and I found this from a few years back. It's actually a day where a spinnerbait produced, but I started the day with the A-Rig. This was a SK short arm bait I no longer fish because the brown bass were tearing the arms off it during the fight. Here a a couple of casts . . . I am and still use a 7'6" MH Mod Fast Graphite stick and 15-17 lb FC. https://youtu.be/Z95g3H4qmp0?feature=shared&t=41 btw- in the video, if you slow down the playback speed, you'll be able to see the rod load a little better. A-Jay

You just gotta work on casting mechanics with big clunky baits and it's a steeper learning curve. It will also make you forget how to cast normal sized lures. There's a reason I throw a spinnerbait and not an A rig 😜👍🏼 But the bait monkey LOVES a rigs. 40$ worth of tackle gone in one cast? Yessir. Bait monkey loves em.

X2 ~ Nailed It. I came here to make this exact comment. Letting the rod load on the cast helps deliver the A-Rig smoothly. It's like casting a chandelier regardless, but if it's tumbling wildly mid cast, there's a good chance it will foul up on the landing. Which will totally FUBAR that cast. All we can do at that point is reel it in, fix it, and try again. A-Jay

Never said it wouldn't do better for some people...just saying if you zoom out and were able to look at the actual results from 1000 people (and not just what they think did better) the resulting data set might resemble what you would get from a coin toss. Also completely get bass do silly stuff sometimes. There's absolutely 0 shad in my local pond but I thought it would be fun to throw a shad colored fluke in there at some point anyway and one of the biggest ones I've ever caught ate it almost immediately. So I guess overall my advice would be to figure out (and hopefully have fun while doing so) what lures work best (and maybe start with something that looks similar to what they eating most of the time but realize the best lure might not always be that one) and then go with what's going to land the most fish or at least be the most fun to throw. In my case I'm not sold on this one but that's from my own experience and doesn't mean that someone else is wrong for disagreeing...and it's entirely possible they have a very good reason to feel that way. As an example one of the best lures I've got right now is a simple og junebug yamamoto sensei worm on a drop shot. Not sure why to be honest there were some others that I tank tested that looked better to me but apparently the fish around here disagree...but if I was going for small mouth up north in a body of water that wasn't always dirty my results would probably be different. ALSO throwing a soft minnow bait with FFS is SOOO 6 months ago...haven't you heard? The latest, latest thing is throwing a hard minnow...but not a suspending jerbait...it has to sink...and it has to be one from the 60s...nothing else will dominate the way this lure will... * Disclaimer I like Matt's channel...in fact if I mention any youtube channel here it's because I like them (or at least find them very entertaining).

My pleasure! For the first question, I don't see why it wouldn't work with a couple caveats.....first, that you use a similar weight BR fish as the senko or fluke you throw on that same setup. The jigheads come in a big range of weights, so the answer would change if you're using 1/10th vs 1/2oz jighead if that makes sense. Second caveat is that you have a reel fast enough to retrieve the line in between rod pops/twitches. It's important to remember that unlike a senko, fluke, or jerkbait, you can't really pause this bait. It doesn't stall out like a fluke or jerkbait, and it doesn't slowly sink like a senko, so you really do need a reel that allows you take up the slack generated from the rod twitches/pops. As for the second question, I think it would be great from the bank especially in the warmer water months. Combine the fact that fish are more prone to being closer to the bank with the fact fish often want a faster, more erratic moving bait in warmer water temps, you got a good bank bait in my book.

First day back on the lake after nearly a week. Surprised to see a big water level drop that had 1 of the 2 ramp lanes closed. Not surprised at the heavily stained water. Got a limit of bass, and lost a real nice one right near the boat. Also caught 6-8 crappie just playing around between spots. Unfortunately, 3 days of rain in the forecast, so this might have been it until next week. Water 46 deg.

Over the last year plus we’ve seen the outcry about FFS and shaking a minnow. While it may make for boring TV, for me shaking a minnow has been a killer technique even without FFS. It’s been even better since I purchased a Cashion Icon spinning rod. So for the moment I’m all in and it’s my dominant technique no matter the depth. To treat myself for Christmas I just spent a few hundred bucks on jig heads and baits (Yum Sonar Minnows and Crush City Freeloaders). Of course, this won’t prevent me from throwing other baits, but more often than not it’s going to be my first cast of the day. Well, until it stops working. But I can see why it has become a dominant technique.

plus in my experience most braids float. so the line does the parabola thing down to the bait. until you start picking up the line and working the jig. I get so many jig bites right at the splash. I want a faster action rod..with a moderate tip. I like how the looser tip lets me work a jig slow, so when I tap the movement, I dont imagine my jig doing huge 3 foot jumps underwater. then I want to shaft to get fast..if that makes any sense. my X-Bites kills as my bottom contact light jig rod.

3.34 is what happens when 1099 meets 1040.

I have friends I've fished with for many years that still swear off baitcast reels as backlash machines, and it always goes back to their first experience with a bargain bin model from K-Mart back in the 80s and 90s.

Well, if you're talking about the 5-incher colors, I picked them because they're similar to the colors of paddletails like Keitechs and Mayors that have caught bass, i.e. the shad colored one and the bright colors. I went with pink because other Mainers have good luck with that color. I have caught some bass on pink Senkos wacky-hooked, but it's not been my best-producing color. Still, hope springs eternal. Overall, my best color for soft plastics is chartreuse and white and the lime gold is pretty close to that. I probably should have bought two lime golds and only one Seguro Katakuchi, but we'll see which works best. I'm excited to try them all and I'm pretty confident that I can learn the retrieve because I did some strolling in 2024, which is another thing I learned from Alex. I strolled with a small soft plastic and caught smallmouth, but I'm confident that 5-inchers that are coming will appeal to largemouth. Maine largemouth like large lures and I like throwing them because I can cast them farther and thus be stealthier.

@Koz I'm right there with you. I don't have electronics, but throwing them where I would swim a jig or paddle tail or even drag a jig is exactly where I get bites when those other techniques might be ignored. I like to think of it as a slow motion finesse scrounger or a horizontal damiki rig. I can't see this ever leaving my arsenal just like a jig and a worm, it seems like it'll always have a place. Big fish will always eat small fish. scott

For a dropshot when using a leader, I don't think it matters that much. I don't use a very long leader, maybe 18in. above the hook and max of 2ft. below. Unlike many, I still use a quality swivel to attach my leader. Does line twist does affect braid? IDK, but Bill Dance uses one above his drop line and he introduced the technique to me.

Well it’s been a while since I posted, first time I got out fishing in the past few months. I caught a small pike, no pictures of it. He did not want to open his mouth to let me get the treble hook out, so it was out of water longer than I like so that is why there is no photo. I was really surprised he didn’t bite through my super thin bfs braid. Bait was a sixth sense 1/8 line through head and a 4 inch pink easy shiner.

@A-Jay I love that handle design. It's just like my Dobyns Champion Extremes with the full rear cork and smooth locking nut that hides the threads. Speaking of, I like the 744 and 745 for what the OP wants. 1/2 to 3/4 aren't exactly what I'd call heavy jigs, so I'd prefer a faster stick.

Avocado oil is great on spool bearings to prevent smoking on hard fast bomb casts.

I have one in baby bass color...my only Heddon.

Other than spooks I havent used a lot of Heddon lures. My favorite spook color , I dont know the name but its a silvery shad.

Awesome! Based off your username, if you’re a vet, make sure to get the discount at TW. I just picked up and Orochi xx for $169

Bone, Baby Bass, and Clear for Spooks. Clear and Leopard Frog for the Tiny Torpedo.

My only good day ever on a spook was the flitter Shad super spook jr! I did win a tournament on that bait that day however so it bears mentioning. Caught around 20 fish on the only one I have and still toss the very same one occasionally but have never replicated the success I had that particular day with it.

Go to a C Store and get one of those red coffee stirring straws. Put it on the line next to the bait until you don’t need it.

I've had it happened occasionally on a couple of different rigs from different makers like Yum and Picasso, but it's not the design of A-Rigs per say, rather how I was casting them. With any big bait such an A Rig or big swimbait, you have to be very smooth and deliberate to not tumble or helicopter the bait

Big girls play by their own rules for SURE. I ain't fishing for every bass in the lake or pond - I'm generally trophy hunting and you start to think differently when that's all you do. 1 OZ jig is also generally thought of us a hot water reaction speed thing and this one seemed to like the bait moving very fast in the cold! I am just gonna keep learning my own rules and tricks and probably ignore the rules from now on! Been getting loads of action on the frog too - I predict at least one frog fish in January this year if weather keeps going how it is! 😎🎣😉👍🏼 I'm really starting to like cold sunny days a LOT. Seems to be the best days for shallow winter bass for sure.

It works wherever fish eat other fish, which is everywhere there are fish…so…yes.

It sure does, why wouldn’t it ?

It works everywhere. This winter I’ve been catching a ton of stripers and crappie throwing blind to deeper water off my dock. In early fall I was catching LMB in shallower water casting parallel to the sea wall.

Jackall Drift Fry Mellow Soft Plastic Swimbait - 5.2 Inch — Discount Tackle There is a video in the above link on how to fish the bait. I have had good like the past 2 years fishing this hover stroll whatever you call it technique. While I do have electronics 90% of the fish I catch on this are >5' in clear water. You do not need special jigheads or baits for this either as the best setup for me has been a ball or darter head 1/16oz with a 3-4" drop shot minnow of some kind. The CORE Hover jigheads work but are such a PITA to get straight in the bait I have quit using them. Allen

I would think that for question #1 for someone to answer would be subjective at best, it really depends on your personal ability. For question #2, I banked fished for years and walking the dog was a personal favorite technique, for me most definitely, for you, please see question #1 Not being a wise guy here, but subjectively, yes, it's doable.

Nice description on the technique, thank you for that. Just notice what you meant on the glider fin, it really isn't your average minnow head. You maybe right on the unique jig head design. I was wondering if a lunker city sluggo,, which I still have a good stash of slipped on a bucktail jig I posted earlier may produce the same action and keep the bait monkey at bay...I think I'm losing that battle...I should have stayed away from this thread ...

Just scored our tickets for the New Years Eve Bash. These were super hard to get but we expect this night will be Slammin' 🤪 A-Jay

It's easily one of the most effective baits for schooling Bass that I've ever found. If you can see Bass schooling and busting baitfish, it's going to be a player for sure. So I'd say electronics of any kind aren't a requirement, but you still need to have an idea of where the fish are, but that goes for everything.

I do think this brings up a good point that the minimum viable baitcast reel is much lower today than 25-30 years ago. Back then going too cheap on a baitcaster got you a set of plastic parts just waiting for a backlash and I dare not guess how many people swore off the technology altogether because of their purchasing choice. While I’m not recommending anyone go buy these cheap, generic OEM reels of today, I will say they’re a lot more viable as useable pieces of equipment.

Lots of guys have gotten excited over this new technique. Back in the early 70’s and even now, swimming a 5” grub on a dart headworks just as well. None of my friends have bought any of the new heads or baits and we’re all still catching lots of fish. This is just a variation of an old technique

One of the biggest misconceptions about shaking a minnow is that you need FFS. This time of year, it's almost an unbeatable technique. We are however going on the third year of this technique taking over the Bass world, and I can't imagine the fish will stay dumb to it for much longer. On the big derby lakes, it's already getting much harder to catch them on it. The Spotted Bass on Smith Lake know more types of minnows than I do 😆 The Freeloader has won a ton of money, but you really need to try the Jackall Drift Fry and DEPS Sakamata Shad. Imho, those are the two best minnows made. Like the Freeloader, both have also won major Elite/BPT events.

I just literally try to keep the minnow in or nearly in sight (think spinnerbait or swim jig + Alabama shake). I use lighter jig heads to achieve this. Yes - the strikes are incredibly violent and often they wake at the bait out of nowhere and smoke it at the surface like a topwater.

I am opposite. I'm ok dragging a jig with braid when there is little slack. But if I am working cover, I feel much more with fluoro.

Newest canoe and my fourth current canoe. Here are my four: A Bell Rockstar, which is aptly named. It's solo, Kevlar, thin, tippy, and fast. It's the canoe I use when car topping and carrying a canoe through the woods or wheeling it over a meadow. An Old Town Charles River: tandem, heavy, and stable. Kept at my pond. The NEXT canoe, which is half kayak/half canoe. Also to be kept at my pond. A long, heavy canoe behind my shed. Don't know the maker nor model because it's too heavy for me to lift. A gift. Yeah, I have a fleet.