Brad in Texas

A 4+, a 3+, and a 2+ yesterday on around 20 total casts off my boathouse, so this afternoon I went down again and gave the same tackle and lure a go. On my 3rd cast to a vegetation line on a point, I caught this, a 25.5" LMB. Gear? a 7' St. Croix Medium powered, F, spinning rod, a 3000 Stradic Ci4+, 10 lbs. Sufix braid to an 8 lbs. Seaguar Invizx leader. The lure was a 3/0 60 degree bend jig hook with an Owner centering pin (CPS medium size) used to nose screw a Keitech 4" Shad Impact and T-Rigged from there. I had to be very careful playing the big girl, bringing her in. Photos, measurements, and off she swam to have more babies. She looked totally spawned out but healthy. Brad

Great ideas shared already. Once you do get your kayak, remember that you can now use it to pedal or paddle over to remote banks not accessible to people on foot; and, you can actually beach your kayak (on an island, a sand bar, a long isolated bank), get out and fish the bank, stretch your legs. This is an especially good trick on slightly windy days. Instead of fighting the wind for position, hop out. I have always loved bank fishing, make it out often just this way, leave my kayaks at home. Brad

Well, no, the originator of the concept of pattern fishing is attributed to fishing great and legend, Roland Martin, all the way back to 1969. In one article on Martin's concept, it reads: "A "pattern" is the exact set of water conditions such as depth, cover, structure, temperature, clarity, currents, etc., which have produced bass at similar locations all over the same body of water. It was first defined by the legendary Roland Martin in 1969." So, here, pattern just refers to the spot alone, nothing at all about being limited to a single lure or presentation once you are on that spot ("pattern"). I think I recall Martin covering patterns in a seminar and he said that if they are biting on a lake on, say, windy points, 5 feet deep, holding tight to structure, at a certain water temperature . . . that he interpreted that as a "pattern" that would be holding fish at similar conditions . . . all over the lake. Once the pattern was found, he'd surely throw whatever it took that got them to bite. But, Martin fishing a pattern meant that he fished a particular place, reproduced it all over a lake, not a particular presentation or lure. Tough to define, no doubt. Swindle's contemporary definition and approach to junk fishing, for example, is totally different than Iaconelli's and others. Brad

I like the DIY versions shown above, too. Some very nice work there. For a commercial weighted version, a Zappu Inchi Wacky Head is "to die for" as they say. They come in both weedless and open hooks. I love the placement of the weighting, that the correct weight will pull your rig down, maintain good contact with the bottom. For whatever reason, they rarely seem to get hung up on anything. Brad

For sure, and this is the reason I mentioned that KVD likely developed his tournament strategy partly "on his pre-fishing experience" and surely also expectations for the weather and water conditions the first day of the tournament. And, though he is arguably the greatest bass angler of all time, he didn't show a lot of adaptation on this occasion. He might have helped himself junk fishing a bit more! Brad

I see the points made here about how different anglers see pattern fishing and junk fishing, or looking for what the fish are looking for, then giving it to them. I'd have to review the most recent Classic, but I believe Kevin VanDam stuck with a pre-conceived plan, some of which surely was based on his pre-fishing experience, then, too, his preference for power fishing. He didn't make it beyond Day 2 as I recall. He might have done better mixing it up. The weather changed, the bite he was looking for never showed up for him. Then, and perhaps it was the eventual winner, and several others, stayed glued to the docks/boat houses based on the weather conditions. Lots of spinning tackle was used, finesse stuff. In 2017 at the Classic on Lake Conroe, the home-lake favorite sealed his fate early on and fell way back out of contention by considering all he knew about the lake, sticking to it . . . and it didn't work those days. You hear a lot of "I should have left and changed spots" or "Maybe, I should have changed presentations." But, you also hear "I should have stayed where I was" and "I should have stuck with my plan." With some of the exceptions mentioned and more, it seems to me that the pro bass anglers often live or die with ideas they develop about the day's plan before they get on the water. Brad

Consider, too, that with spinning tackle, the lighter the line, the better for casting distance, performance. 10 lbs. is almost always enough test strength for most fish we likely target with such gear because of the way spinning gear is used. Unlike baitcasters that often drag fish back to the boat very fast, we hook a fish and let our rods load up, bring our rod tips up pinning the fish n the hook, let the fish fight, feel a break in the action or a change in the fish's direction, and we reel down as we drop our rods to take up line. We never reel against an active drag. Then we immediately re-load our rods pulling up again, and repeat over and over until the fish is landed. Baitcasters use their reels to crank in fish; we use our rods to a much greater extent. Then, there is back reeling but that is another "difference" some use. I use 10 lbs. braid, either Sufix 832 in a bright color, lately Sufix Nanobraid (the smallest diameter of all braids I know of) is my preference, these either fished straight in a few circumstances or more likely with an 8 lbs. Seaguar Invizx fluoro leader. Sufix Nanobraid, in 14 lbs. test, is the same diameter as Sufix 832 in 10 lbs. I am convinced it has the best tensile strength of any braid I have ever used. 4 lbs. bass and catfish caught on 2 lbs. test on my ultra-light gear made me a believer. Anyway, with a quality braid, I'd stay at 10 lbs. test. Brad

What I'm describing is just the information that we consider, even subconsciously, that eliminates so much, narrows our fishing down, that becomes a "pattern" before we ever hit the water. To this, we almost always leave in our boats with a pre-planned destination; we don't usually do this randomly. So, we know where we are going, likely have a first cast presentation in mind, what rod we will pick up first. I'd generally agree, though, with your thoughts for someone who doesn't do any preparation; my comment was directed for those of us who do prepare, consider all of those things, make a general plan. For sure, if we are trolling around on the way to a favorite spot, see fish chasing shad on the surface, it'd influence us to make a few casts for that particular action even if that is not part of the plan for the day. But, I wouldn't call that junk fishing but opportunistic fishing, something like that, where the odds shift and we adjust our "pattern" for the day very quickly. Part of it is defining these terms. When someone asks me how I'm doing when we pass on the water, if I am drop shotting and throwing wacky worms in shallow water, I say that. If I am struggling, break off from my intended patterns, I tell them I am junk fishing trying all sorts of things to get on fish. They usually get what I am saying. Brad

Advice from Lake Athens, just to the south and east of Cedar Creek Lake a bit. If you haven't fished for 20 or so years, the advancements in tackle and equipment will amaze you. So will the prices and what the hobby costs these days if you, yourself, get hooked! Set a budget. For bank fishing, head down to Squaw Creek from around October until around the end of April or so each year. It is a power plant lake and great for fishing cooler months from the banks. For Cedar Creek, if you like to fish for White Bass, see if you can find or hook up with Dennis Christian, one of the very best offshore sand bass anglers. Watch his video I think shot on Cedar Creek, his home lake. Equipment. For from the bank, get a set up for making modest casts with a T-Rig. It'll be your most productive presentation for bass from most banks, most of the time. Brad

We check the weather: clouds or blue sky conditions. We know the general air and water temperatures, wind or dead still air, we know when we will be fishing (time of day) and we either know something about the lake . . . or we likely do a bit of research ahead of time. We know how deep we tend to fish. We know what time of the year it is. If it has rained, we know it might mean the water will be dingier than usual. We generally know what bass are feeding on, say shad versus bluegill for a particular body of water. We know if the lake has grass/vegetation, rocky bottoms, standing timber, etc. I could go on and on but I think for those of us who consciously consider these things before we go out, that this makes us all pattern anglers as we sort of pre-select our "tools" for the day. We funnel through a lot of information to narrow it way down. And, we generally eliminate the things we just don't like to do. Conditions may seem to warrant pitching a jig, but some just won't. I sort of think of junk fishing as sort of randomly tossing things against the wall to see what sticks, that, or someone who switches around between more than, say, 3 presentations in a short period of time. Junk fishing is more random, off the cuff. Brad

Yep! There are several proponents of really small hooks down to #4s. An angler named Marc Marcantonio (I think that is it) explains why it works, that a tiny hook like that very easily gets snagged in the bone of what would be the equivalent of the area in our mouths behind our front teeth. And, I have found this to be true. However, here in Texas if a 3 or 4 lbs. LMB jumps and swings its head, they can often get off. So, my hook up ratio has greatly improved over the years using small hooks, swivel hooks, but I started watching Cornell on YouTube Fishing Videos and he is a really remarkable drop shot angler, among other techniques. He, at some point, switched over to largely using the T-Rigging with a Rebarb hook, sold me on making the change. I had them in my tackle box, never used them until going 0 for 20 a week or so ago convinced me to move over to these hooks. Today, here in Texas, it was super windy and I actually fished two different lakes. Two fish caught on a drop shot, one from each lake below. I used the Rebarb hook and it really snags the fish well. If this hook finds penetration, there is no way they are going to shake it off. *** I haven't tried that Mustad Grip Pin but Cornell is a big fan of it, sponsored by Mustad as I recall. I need to pick some up and experiment. Brad

A worm is the cynosure of freshwater angling presentations. It essentially started with a cane pole, a hook . . . and a worm. I'd want to learn all aspects of fishing a plastic worm first and I agree with scaleface that a T-Rigged worm is a great place to start. Then, move to weightless presentations, drop shots, Ned Rigs, Wacky worm riggings, split shot rigs and Carolina Rigs, just cover them all. It'll teach you hook setting, pitching, casting moves and techniques. From the common worm came all of the creature baits, throwing huskier baits with appendages. You will expand from worms to those, covering even more circumstances. I'd start very early on soft plastic shad/fluke style baits, let it be an entry point to learn moving baits. From there, you'll spin off into spinnerbaits, buzz baits, jerk baits, etc. But, nothing is easier (and more generally productive) than throwing a 4 or 5" shad or fluke, rigged weedless. Topwater, too, just because it is so danged fun! Brad

I could see that, that it is regional and depends on so many factors. We are having good luck with Ned Rigs here in Texas but we have a lot of vegetation on some lakes where they might just drop into it and not be visible. *** Have you noticed all the new Ned Rig heads and new plastics now introduced to the market? Most of the big guys seem to have a TRD worm and several are offering the hook/heads. Pretty cool! Brad

I wacky rig mine, too, quite often, and I like to change it up to suit the fish, the circumstances. They definitely like a drop shot presented different ways. Wacky rigging on a quality hook is a super presentation. That's a great hook you use! Aaron Martens is often the first name thought of when the drop shot topic comes up. My main take-away from a week ago was that if bass are not all that interested in eating but just moving what they see as fry predators off their beds, then a T-Rigged hook farther down the plastic has a much better chance of finding its way into the meat of their mouths and keeping them hooked than a nose hooked plastic. But, a wacky rigging would likely do the same thing since it places the hook in the middle and is also, I think, more likely to get snagged in their mouths. I like the drop shot. I come off lakes having caught at least a few fish when others might get skunked on really bad days using power presentations. It has saved me on countless occasions. I know the Ned Rig is the latest hot trend in finesse fishing and it works great, especially on harder bottoms, but I'd think a drop shot rigged with a very, very short leader down to a sinker, say a 3" leader, would out-fish a Ned Rig. Both are great ways to catch fish when other presentations aren't working. Brad

One week ago, I fished a local lake here in east Texas, stumbled across a cove point where apparently the LMBs were on beds spawning and I found this out very quickly by pitching a drop shot rig, getting hit fast and repeatedly. Well, the sad ending to this was around 20 bites all the way from holding and running with my rig for 5 or 10 feet and then coming off, to jumping and breaking loose. I was 0 for 20 on my hook up ratio. This was the worst result . . . ever. Three years ago, a friend was on the opposite side of a cove point on another lake, dragged a Carolina Rig with a chartreuse lizard across beds . . . and caught about 20 bass. Same sort of timing, same sort of place, the opposite outcome. So, I suppose in both cases, the bass were picking up our baits and moving them away, getting hooked on his, not on mine. This week, I decided to change my drop shot approach. I have been a big fan of the little Gamakatsu Swivel drop shot hooks with pinch grips that allow a separate line down to a sinker. I still like this product. And, I have been a big fan of Kevin Vandam's approach to hooking drop shot plastics. He often puts the hook into a worm's "lower jaw" area, brings it up and aims towards the "nose," but leaves it embedded in the plastic. This works great for me most of the time and I have learned to let the bass just hook themselves rarely using anything more than a very gentle hook sweep. It didn't work last week. Yesterday, I went out again except this time I decided to use a Roboworm Rebarb hook, but really any of the old style worm hooks would likely do. No EWG, no offset, just sort of an Aberdeen shaped hook except mine have these little barbs on them to keep the plastics from sliding down. I push the hook down through the nose of the plastic worm on a strong angled bias (that is, not straight down), then follow the standard Texas Rigging of pulling the hook through, flipping it over and up on the "keeper" near the hook eye, then I just embedded the hook into the plastic, not through it. To this date, I had always been a "through the worm, skin hook" the worm angler. But, that causes the hook to lie flatter along the bait and I wanted to see if having it just below the surface ready to come flying up and out at about a 45 degree angle would help. It did. And, the hook is much farther down on the bait than a nose hook arrangement. I couldn't find those spawners again in the same location yesterday, but I did get on bass in 3 locations. Again, the T-Rigged version of a drop shot puts the hook much lower in the bait than the nose hooking I was using a week ago. And, it allowed me to slightly increase my role in setting the hook, not really hard, but I did pop the hook a bit to drive it into the mouths of bass. My hook up ratio was about 66%, caught 6 and missed 3 more as I recall. Those might have been crappie. The biggest bass was just at 4 lbs. and it felt great to fight it in feeling I had it hooked really well. A pic of one of my catches below, an illustration of how I was rigging the hook, too. Long post. I'm verbose. Brad

While I love the Gamakatsu Swivel Drop Shot hooks with the pinch grip for a separate line down to the sinker, but I was missing fish in certain circumstances nose hooking that little hook. So, today I switched to a Roboworm Rebarb hook, a 1/0 as I recall, essentially a thin wire worm hook with a keeper, penetrated the nose of my worm on a strong angle bias so that T-Rigged, the hook would then be left buried in the soft plastic at a strong angle to jump out and snag a bass mouth. This really improved my hook-up ratio, hanging onto LMBs much better today. I'll be T-Rigging drop shots more often now, that, and generally reverting to standard worm hooks for many presentations. Much less EWG and offset hooks for me! Brad

What a fun hobby that must be, to build your own rods! Arguably the best kayak tournament angler here in Texas builds his own saying that he can then get exactly what he wants without having to accept any compromises. Not that manufacturers don't build really specialized rods but there are the other issues, the personal preferences that come into play. Another point or two adding to what grub_man has mentioned regarding the trade-offs between an XF rod and slower actions. This is good "intelligence" he is sharing on his part, I think. Not only does a rod that loads up better keep the fish pinned, but a slower and more parabolic action means the lifting point of the rod is closer to your lifting hand and creates a shorter lever. Now, I started to say "creates better leverage" but the truth is it creates less "bad leverage." The fish is on the winning end of the "wrench" if leverage is really the only issue. To reverse this and give the leverage to the angler, a rod would look like a . . . yep! a shovel. So, regarding a frog rod's ability to over-power a large bass in thick vegetation, it'd actually be a more parabolic rod and, too, a shorter rod that gives you this. The downsides? Casting distance, for sure, and at least some altering of hook setting (you will have a shorter sweep). In the end, it'll depend on how you frog fish. If you are making relatively modest casts to pin-point targets, a 6'6" (or shorter!) rod with a slower action will have tons more pulling power than a 7 plus footer with an XF or F tip. I'd even recommend dropping rod power a notch . . . you won't need as much. It just won't cast as far. Once built, whatever you build, post a pic! Brad

I agree with Athlon . . . Keitech baits are in a realm of their own for swimbaits. To avoid shipping, I know they are now carried at least at one of the big box stores (I saw them tonight). And, watching for sales, really for most tackle, is a smart thing to do. There seems to be a decent sale almost every quarter likely cutting down our expenses by 25% or more at times. My favorite Keitech isn't one of the Swing Impact models . . . but the Easy Shiner. No doubt, though, that there are more and more extremely good plastics coming to the market all of the time so Keitech has some real contenders. I always prefer softer baits like Keitechs and Roboworms, dislike all that I have ever tried that are too dense feeling. Brad

And, for leaving the hook point buried, threading the hook through the nose of a worm/plastic on an angle, not straight down, for many of the non-EWG hooks . . . makes sense. Just lining the hook you are using up against the profile of the worm or plastic before hand, a dry run, gives one the proper angle to come through for T-Rigging. I think this sets the rigging up for the absolute best chances of setting the hook and having it penetrate the mouth of a fish. *** For deeply ribbed plastic worms, where there isn't much meat in the middle? There is a technique I think most call Rattlesnake rigging where you run the hook through the nose of the bait but then come up and through a few of the rib folds off to the left or right side. Brad

A weighty issue! Ha! Damiki Pandla Jig Heads come in a 1/16th oz. and 4/0 hook, among other sizes. Brad

Good to know, Maverick! Thanks. The Casitas is my first Shimano baitcaster after owning quite a few of their spinning reels (which I love). I have a top-end Lews baitcaster which has the "click" and really feels super solid to me in all of its aspects. It cost about 2X the Casitas, but I greatly prefer the casting ease of the cheaper reel. I can make much longer casts, less inclined to have any line issues, too. Next up for me will likely be a move to a higher end Shimano bait casting reel if I can identify one that will have the features I like. I have absolutely no desire to own a finicky reel of any sort. Brad

I have a Casitas, too, and I really like the way it casts, its appearance, its aggressive price point. I'd describe it as a very easy baitcaster to handle, certainly a good candidate as a learning model for someone who needs one that is going to allow nice casts with small chances of backlashes. But, not limited to just a "first" reel, it is just a really solid reel for a great price for anyone. Now, it is in the $100 range for a reason. I'd have preferred it with a spool tensioner knob that has that little precise motion where you can hear and feel it "tick" from one setting to the next. The Casitas tensioner knob lacks this, feels sort of spongy to me, imprecise compared to more expensive reels. Same thing with its drag. It just feels a bit spongy for lack of a better description. So, would I buy another one, recommend it to a friend? For sure. Brad

Odd. I have never thought of a baitcaster as being more accurate than spinning gear. One noted southeastern USA bass angler noted that because of work, he doesn't get to practice much between events so he uses a 4000 series spinning reel with info on how he goes about it from there. His big take-away, though, is he can make a cast or two and be up and running on spinning gear, not so much with baitcasters. And, he can hit spots they can't. He cashes checks. I do think it differs a bit from person to person, no doubt. For short work, spinning tackle is hard to beat though. But, baitcasters are faster: not only re-casting more rapidly, but they generally bring the fish in faster, too. Like most here, I'd take deadly accuracy over distance . . . any day. I'm okay here, not the best. I can hit a dinner plate's diameter out to about 50 feet, likely more, with a pitching motion with spinning gear. This is great for kayak fishing along banks. I need to improve my "distance" casting back underneath docks/boathouses. That's a distance that concerns me! Brad P.S. If the Bass Master Classic fishes Northern Lakes, prime deep water fisheries, with the new rules regarding rod length, up to 10 feet now I think, KVD may win them all covering extra water on each cast. Ha! BR

In a recent video, Aaron Martens who has been AOY several times, mentioned that he often casts out his plastic and instead of letting it free fall on an open bail, he flips it and takes some of the slack up. Not quite a pendulum drop like on a baitcaster, but not a free fall like spinning tackle with an open bail. I believe he indicated that since so many fish bite baits on most finesse applications either on the fall or just as it taps the bottom, that he wants to maintain contact with the bait, not too much slack line to overcome when the fish will likely already have it in its mouth and already turned to swim off. This requires work and skill, touch I guess . . . to manage the drop as close to a taut line as you can get but nudging over in the direction of a loose line fall. Sort of like walking a well-behaved dog on a short leash. No pressure on its neck but a micro-second from being able to control the dog. *** Funny, I used mono for the longest time. I will never forget reading about what you can feel on the bottom with straight braid or tied to a short leader. On my first trip out, suddenly, I could feel gravel, pulling through submerged grass on bottom, over a twig, a rock. So weird, it is almost like an angler's version of Braille. Brad

Pro Bass Anger, Shin Fukae, has published a recent video describing what he calls a "free rig" which is essentially a moving weight above the plastic and hook, like a bullet weight. But, marginally different in how it behaves. When it is cast out, the weight falls to the bottom much faster than the bait and the angler reels up slack to pull the two together. On each successive little pull back toward the angler, hopping it back, the weight pops up and the plastic bait sort of lags and floats behind. The Japanese are very innovative! It is different from a split shot, for sure, but it has that element to it of letting the bait float around. Brad