Bucks Bass and Bourbon

Eh somewhat. A jog with a craw trailer looks like a staple of a bass’ diet. Fish are animals. Bass are instinctive predators that sometimes are aggressive and other times are finicky. But neither of those are the point of the conversation. By definition a gimmick (in this context) is a trick or device used to attract business or attention. Jigs and dropshots are two of the most proven bass catching presentations known so to call them a gimmick doesn’t make sense. Although I can understand why some people hate to fish them. No argument there. Some days the last thing I ever want to throw is a jig.

Some of these responses are crazy. Jigs? Dropshots?? Even the DT series raised an eyebrow. I fully agree having a different rod and reel combination for every presentation or technique is bonkers (and yeah I’m a little guilty of it) but cmon some of these are a stretch. I need to look up this dancing eel though. Sounds like a winner! I was a kid when those came out and got my dad a set of them for Father’s Day. I have a crazy northern Wisconsin musky story because of that lure!

Some really good answers here. @A-Jay I’m in southern Michigan and would like to retire and relocate north for the reasons you mentioned. Lots of bass, walleye, panfish, pike and musky and plenty of waters to get out on to chase them. Already starting to plan for it.

I was having a conversation not long ago about favorite species and if there was an experience that set the tone (got you”hooked” no pun intended). Assuming it’s a bass species but doesn’t have to be. My favorite is definitely now smallmouth and since getting the bug I’m reminded of an experience when I was a kid fishing with my dad. It didn’t really get me hooked but now that I fish them regularly it comes to mind a lot. When I was in 7th or 8th grade my dad got us into walleye fishing, which I hated at first. To me fishing was seeing structure or something to fish near and all of a sudden we were out in open water throwing jigs at nothing. Eventually we found success and started driving from northeast Wisconsin to Escanaba, Michigan to fish Little Bay de Noc. One trip we were fishing a rock pile or drop off near where a bridge went over the mouth of a river into the bay. I was dragging a jig along the bottom when I felt the familiar subtle tick on an ultralight walleye rod. I set the hook and the next thing I knew my drag was ripping off line like I had never seen before. Not more than a couple seconds later a big splash broke the surface 50 yards out and then snap. Gone. I was shocked and just stood there in silence for a second with no idea what just happened. After a few seconds my dad looked over and said “well I think you hooked into a big smallmouth.” I didn’t even know what a smallmouth was then. Years later after I moved back to the Midwest and got obsessively back into bass fishing, smallmouth became my favorite and I think about that memory a lot now. Anyone else have a “gotcha moment” fishing?

I decided to make a small dedicated strolling box with a few of the Queens Tackle jig heads, a few Owner jig heads and some minnows based on recommendations here and from the Tactical Bassin video earlier this year on the topic (really good if you haven’t seen it btw. They do a vid on the technique and a buyers guide for strolling right before Christmas). I might even pick up a rod specific for it if intake to it. Thanks for the input. Looking forward to getting back on the water but it’s looking like a cold winter this year so it might be a while for a change from the last few seasons. Good for the ice fisherman!

Thanks for the responses everyone. I’m going to think it over and might end up just going for it. Maybe I’ll contact Humminbird and ask about future updates first. Thanks again!

Hey guys, I run Garmin for all my electronics but really like the Mega 360 and would like to add it this coming year or the next. Seems like the HELIX 12 would be perfectly capable for that it any opinions either way on that? Cabela's/BP has them reduced a lot right now. New generation coming out soon or something? Thanks!

I'll probably do exactly that as soon as I get back out in spring, depending on when we get ice out. I was kind of thinking the same thing being it's such an effective presentations. Definitely worth exploring a little more.

I’m in Michigan so I’ll have ice for a while haha

Thanks everyone. Much appreciated. I’ll pick up some of those recommendations and give them a go once we get out of this upcoming deep freeze.

Ok thanks guys. My typical knot is the double uni so maybe I need to just change that up and watch then weights a little bit. I’ll give it a try.

Hello everyone, I'm looking for a little help on the proper technique when mid-strolling a jig and minnow. Like many of us I picked up the technique recently but find even when I shake the rod tip minimally the jig and minnow bounce and dance instead of roll side to side as intended. I understand casting upstream and working the jig back helps with that but in situations with little to no current such as calm lakes I can't seem to get the roll. Any suggestions? Thank you!

I’m a long way from an expert but it seems the body of water you’re fishing matters a little bit too. A few times on Lake St Clair changed back and forth pretty noticeably as cloud cover moved in and out. But on a few smaller lakes and rivers near me it didn’t seem to have as much of an impact and seemed like the larger weather system over a few days and the seasonal norms made the only significant difference. Maybe it just affected visibility so lure color changes or slight depth changes was all that was necessary to get a bite again.

You’re gonna love that rod. I enjoy dropshot fishing anyway but feeling all the little ticks and bumps on the bottom and the little thump and weight when you get a bite really makes a good rod worth it. BTW I keep it pretty simple when it comes to hooks and almost always use an Owner number 1 mosquito hook (not the mosquito lite) and typically use a 6 lb test fluoro leader. Sometimes 8 lb. Never had a problem keeping largemouth or smallmouth pinned.

I have a 7’0” medium fast Expride that I use for wacky rigs and similar presentations and also use for ned rigs (Exprides are my go-to if you hadn’t already noticed) mostly because I like having a dropshot tied on at all times but also want another finesse presentation for versatility. But if I only had the 7’2” medium light fast I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to throw neds on it, especially if I were using one of the lighter wire jig head hooks. I throw mostly 1/8 dropshot weights and have had absolutely no problem keeping fish stuck with that setup. I know that’s not an apples to apples comparison but practically speaking I would throw a ned on that rod all day and never have any doubts.