Heat Wave Fatty

[A-Jay]

I took this football shaped brown bass today at high noon. It was way hot and I was fishing a very steep drop in 40 feet. This fish represents 2 milestones for me. This is the first bass (lmb or smb) I've take from that depth and the first smb I've ever taken with the air temps over 90.

She ate a 4 inch tube I was snapping off the bottom. Although I did catch some rays this was the only fish I took all morning.

8-)

A-Jay

[SDoolittle]

Nice catch!

[Josh Bassman]

Nice fish.

Were you jigging the tube vertical... what was the techinque?

[roadwarrior]

Nice fish!

[A-Jay]

Nice fish.

Were you jigging the tube vertical... what was the techinque?

Thanks - I don't know the "official term" for the technique but we call it - snap tubing. Using a fairly heavy jig head (1/2 - 3/4) and spinning gear to match, the tube is casted out, allowed to settle to the bottom and then snapped up quickly. We're looking for a reaction bite. Allowing the tube to settle back to the bottom on a slack line usually works better and when most of the strikes occur but there are occasions when a semi-slack line or even a tight line swing back to the bottom produce better.

I was marking some fish that were suspended out away from the drops between 25-30 feet.

This "trout" lake has crystal clear water even the bait is down at 20 feet. On high sky days with little wind it's really tough going. I had been on the water at sunrise and started fishing shallower and worked deeper as the morning progressed. I was positioned off a main lake point out off the break and allowing the tube to fall on a slack line down the break to the bottom. The strike came on the third of forth cast very close to or right on the bottom. After this fish I worked the area pretty good and a couple like it without any takers but by then the sun was beaming and it was pretty steamy.

I am so looking forward to cooler temps - won't be long.

A-Jay

[J Francho]

Thanks - I don't know the "official term" for the technique but we call it - snap tubing.  Using a fairly heavy jig head (1/2 - 3/4) and spinning gear to match, the tube is casted out, allowed to settle to the bottom and then snapped up quickly.   We're looking for a reaction bite.  Allowing the tube to settle back to the bottom on a slack line usually works better and when most of the strikes occur but there are occasions when a semi-slack line or even a tight line swing back to the bottom produce better.

Roadwarrior, you were asking about this very technique a while back, when details of it appeared in In-Fisherman.

AJ, nice, nice fish.  We sometimes do something very similar to this, but don't let the tube ever hit bottom.  Pop it before it hits.

[Dwight Hottle]

A-jay sounds like you paid your dues for that beauty. WTG!

[A-Jay]

"We sometimes do something very similar to this, but don't let the tube ever hit bottom. Pop it before it hits."

Thanks J - That sounds interesting, I'm going to give that a shot.

And I'l tell ya Dwight ~ I feel like I've paid waaaay more than my share of dues this summer.

A-Jay

[J Francho]

That came about during a hair slime algae outbreak.  If your bait hit the bottom, it was SLIMED.  ;D

[A-Jay]

That came about during a hair slime algae outbreak. If your bait hit the bottom, it was SLIMED. ;D

Nice - Necessity Is the Mother of Invention.

A-Jay

[Josh Bassman]

Nice fish.

Were you jigging the tube vertical... what was the techinque?

Thanks - I don't know the "official term" for the technique but we call it - snap tubing. Using a fairly heavy jig head (1/2 - 3/4) and spinning gear to match, the tube is casted out, allowed to settle to the bottom and then snapped up quickly. We're looking for a reaction bite. Allowing the tube to settle back to the bottom on a slack line usually works better and when most of the strikes occur but there are occasions when a semi-slack line or even a tight line swing back to the bottom produce better.

I was marking some fish that were suspended out away from the drops between 25-30 feet.

This "trout" lake has crystal clear water even the bait is down at 20 feet. On high sky days with little wind it's really tough going. I had been on the water at sunrise and started fishing shallower and worked deeper as the morning progressed. I was positioned off a main lake point out off the break and allowing the tube to fall on a slack line down the break to the bottom. The strike came on the third of forth cast very close to or right on the bottom. After this fish I worked the area pretty good and a couple like it without any takers but by then the sun was beaming and it was pretty steamy.

I am so looking forward to cooler temps - won't be long.

A-Jay

Thanks A-Jay.

I fish a "trout lake" often (very clear), and I like to do roughly the samething with 3/4 oz football jig and a hula grub. Next time I'll give the tube a try.

Thanks for sharing.