anyone here fish using bill murphys "stitching" method

[32251]

His book "In search of giant bass" stays in my "reading room" and i read it all the time.   

Anyone here use this painstakingly slow presentation, and is successful with it?   I want to dedicate some time to really giving it a good try.  Any advice???      I just don't know if I have worked on my patience enough to spend 15 minutes to retrieve a plastic worm after a cast!!

[Randall]

I had never read the book until someone gave it to me as a gift and told me I had to read it since he said the methods and systems I use were so much like Bill Murphy's.

Now I don't exactly stitch but I catch alot of big fish by reeling real slow taking 5-15 minutes before reeling the worm in with the same splitshot rig, dropshot or a senko.

Once you catch a big one or two doing it your confidence will go up since you then know the fish are there. Makes it much easier to fish that slow.

[Catt]

I've read "In search of giant bass" and much like Randall, I don't "stitch" as Mr. Murphy does but I do how ever take 5-15 minutes to work a Texas Rig or Jig-N-Craw all the way back to the boat on almost every cast.

Buck Perry & Bill Murphy to me this is structure fishing 101

[fourbizz]

I dont use a spinning rod, and I prefer a texas rig to a splitshot, but that is how I caught my 13lb 1 oz PB.

[wagn]

I've read "In search of giant bass" and much like Randall, I don't "stitch" as Mr. Murphy does but I do how ever take 5-15 minutes to work a Texas Rig or Jig-N-Craw all the way back to the boat on almost every cast.

Buck Perry & Bill Murphy to me this is structure fishing 101

Catt, I'm trying to work on slowing my presentations down. I know I fish a jig to fast. My question is how do you cover water if your fishing this slowly? or is this a presentation that you use once you know you are on or around the fish?

[Fat-G]

I've read "In search of giant bass" and much like Randall, I don't "stitch" as Mr. Murphy does but I do how ever take 5-15 minutes to work a Texas Rig or Jig-N-Craw all the way back to the boat on almost every cast.

Buck Perry & Bill Murphy to me this is structure fishing 101

Catt, I'm trying to work on slowing my presentations down. I know I fish a jig to fast. My question is how do you cover water if your fishing this slowly? or is this a presentation that you use once you know you are on or around the fish?

Fishing visible cover makes it much easier. Fishing slow slow slow is tough, but if you think there should be a big girl there, chances are there is.

[Scorcher214]

I've read "In search of giant bass" and much like Randall, I don't "stitch" as Mr. Murphy does but I do how ever take 5-15 minutes to work a Texas Rig or Jig-N-Craw all the way back to the boat on almost every cast.

Buck Perry & Bill Murphy to me this is structure fishing 101

Catt, I'm trying to work on slowing my presentations down. I know I fish a jig to fast. My question is how do you cover water if your fishing this slowly? or is this a presentation that you use once you know you are on or around the fish?

Texas rigged worms and jigs aren't really good search baits, they more for focusing on one area. A good bait for covering water would be a spinnerbait or a lipped/lipless crankbait

[32251]

Catt, I'm trying to work on slowing my presentations down. I know I fish a jig to fast. My question is how do you cover water if your fishing this slowly? or is this a presentation that you use once you know you are on or around the fish?

Murphy starts with a smaller worm to locate fish. When he finds them, them he uses this method.  He starts out looking for fish and for the right color if he is on new water.  Also when the fish are biting, as much as he does not like to just pull up stakes and leave a good spot, he always went looking for new spots when the bite was on. 

[0119]

I looked for his book about a year ago and was told it is out of print. Does anyone know a source for it? Also it if I recall correctly, he has past away. Im even more interested in this method now as I've found myself using spinning equipment and sized tackle more than casting anymore.

[Catt]

If y'all like using "search" baits to locate bass this technique is not for you!

While I can only speak for myself, it is my understanding that

Randall & fourbizz as well as many other successful anglers on this site "search" for bass with electronics not lures.

The major misconception is you "search" for bass with lures!

You "search" for bass with your electronics & catch them with your lures.

Pro Anglers has spun this truth around in order to sale lures, they themselves DO NOT search for bass with lures. They find structure with their electronics which holds bass and bait.

[MattinOK]

If y'all like using "search" baits to locate bass this technique is not for you!

While I can only speak for myself, it is my understanding that

Randall & fourbizz as well as many other successful anglers on this site "search" for bass with electronics not lures.

The major misconception is you "search" for bass with lures!

You "search" for bass with your electronics & catch them with your lures.

Pro Anglers has spun this truth around in order to sale lures, they themselves DO NOT search for bass with lures. They find structure with their electronics which holds bass and bait.

What are your opinions on using "search baits" for shorebound anglers with no electronics?

(Rereading this post it sounds as if I'm being a smart alec-- that is not the case. I really want to know Catt's opinion on this)

[wagn]

Didn't mean to hijack the thread.

Maybe I should clarify.

My favorite so called "search bait" is a spinner bait.

However I do tend to fish jigs pretty fast. Especially with visible cover, lillypads, milfoil ect.

I personally have a hard time slowing down for 15 minute casts. I tend to fish with a cast, a few hops, and then I reel in and cast again to another target.

I do think that I need to slow down in some situations.

[Catt]

In my personal opinion the difficulties encountered by shore bound anglers are much harder than those of boat angler; shore bound anglers do not have the luxury of electronic and so "search" lures become essential.

[WRB]

Contact Amazon for Murphy's book.

Stitching as Murphy did it requires you to position yourself where bass are know to be located or tend to use as feeding areas. High percentage small zones that can be saturated by slowly crawling a split shot rig worm through every inch of structure/cover.

To do this properly, you need to be anchored or stationary and few anglers have the patients.

The bottom line is; how long are you willing to sit in one spot to catch a big bass? Murphy moved around the lake and fished known high percentage spots and spent a lot of time finding those small areas, with different presentations.

I stitch worms occasionally during the early to mid summer period and right now for example is a good time. I will try other presentations before I'm willing to sit still long enough to stitch a worm; it works for me when I'm willing to anchor.

WRB

PS; stitching a plastic worm was adapted from nose hooking a crawdad and stitching the live dad slowly back after casting it.

[NateFollmer]

Slowing down is almost essential in this summer heat (especially now, we have lake temps almost hitting 90). I wouldn't say I take 15 minutes to bring a tube, worm or jig back, but it's def. more than 5 minutes. I fish intense heat just like I do intense cold, slow and small.

[Bass_Akwards]

I love it.  A great big bass technique.  Lots of patience and lots of visualizing.  Sometimes When I'm stitching and really really focused, I almost feel like I've turned into a crawdad.  When you feel the Crawdad start pulling more than usual many times it's because it sees a bass and is freaking out, expect a bite.  Also, I try and yank off one of the crawdad's pinchers to make it look more vulnerable.

[fourbizz]

If you pinch the crawdads claw pretty hard, it will release it like a lizards tail. When they release it themselves, they dont lose bodily fluids and will survive much longer while you are fishing them.