Archive for the ‘Bass Fishing Tips’ Category

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How do you fish your lizards?

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Lizards are one of my favorite lures to fish, especially the Zoom Lizard. I used to fish them about all the same way, throw the lure out, let it sink and then move it by lifting my rod tip 6 inches to a foot at a time. I did pretty well with this technique. Then….

I moved to Florida and fished with a guy that caught twice as many bass on a lizard as I did. I didn’t think to much about it and thought it was his lucky day. We went fishing again, using the same lizard and line and guess what? He caught twice as many bass as me again. Now..

He has my attention and I started watching him. Finally, I just ask him what he is doing different. He says the tails and legs on a lizard are made to work and catch fish, so he uses that to his advantage. He reels his lizards in just fast enough to make the legs and tail move and keeps it on a steady retrieve. I tried his technique and caught more bass.

I came back to Ohio and tried his technique and sometimes didn’t do nearly as well as just moving the lure slowly along the bottom by lifting my rod tip 6-12″ at a time. So, what is the difference?

Well, the difference is the activity of the bass. If they are feeding and you have a lot of activity then swim it like he did making the legs and tail move on a steady slow retrieve. If the feeding activity isn’t quite as good then try moving the lizard slower by raising your rod tip 6-12 inches at a time and let it drag along the bottom.

I have also found this works with many plastics, like worms. If the bass are active then make the tail work, if not slow it down and use your rod tip.

Try it!

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The Lure That Has One More Tournaments Than All Others Combined!

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

As most of you know, a plastic worm has won more B.A.S.S. tournaments than all the other lures combined. There’s a reason for that…ready? They catch bass!

I wrote this article a while back and thought this was worth posting again. I have had a couple of people ask for it and hope it helps you catch more fish.

The Lowdown on Worms

We all know that plastic worms are one of the most productive lures there are, but did you know certain worms have special uses? I have a whole tackle box with nothing but plastic worms in it, hundreds of them!

Here is what I use a certain worm for:

Floating Worm…I use this worm in shallow water and mainly in the spring. I use no weight whatsoever and like to use it when the fish just start thinking about spawning.

Stick Worm…..I use this worm in 60-70 degree water. If you use it wacky style it will vibrate on both ends.

Paddle Tail…..This is one of my favorite shallow water lures. When I fish vegetation I use long casts and just reel it back in slowly.

Gator Tail…This is also a shallow water worm that I use in the summer. It’s also great on streams and rivers.

Curly Tail….I use this worm in the summer around stumps, docks, timber, lily pads and it’s one of my favorite when I fish deep water to 20 feet.

Straight Tail…This is one of my favorites for docks, timber and brush. I have found it doesn’t wrap around brush like most worms do.

French Fry….I always Carolina rig a French fry and use it in clearer water. The action of this is amazing when you move your line and the weight comes up the line.

Ribbon Tail…I read about 30 years ago of people fishing with a 10 inch ribbon tail at night. I’m here to tell you this works, I have caught some nice bass on a big ribbon tail. I use a regular ribbon tail when fishing 10-15 feet of water too.

If you like to worm fish now, try some of the types of worms above for specific conditions. I think you’ll like the results.

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Ice Fishing Safety Tips From Rick and The DNR

Friday, December 11th, 2009

My friend Rick found these Ice Fishing Safety Tips and I thought they were worth posting. They could save your life!

http://fishtalkfishingreports.yuku.com/topic/6492/t/Ice-Safety-tips.html

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A Sharp Hook Could Mean Success In Bass Fishing!

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

It amazes me how little time most anglers spend keeping the hooks on their lures in shape and sharp. We take time to change our lines, put on new lures, clean our rods and reels but hardly any time sharpening our hooks.

There is a philosophy that says a sharp hook is a smart hook. How many fish have we missed because of a dull hook point? The answer would probably amaze you.

You should carry a hook sharpener with you at all times. Of course, deeper penetration is the most obvious reason but there are some others as well. Have you ever had a surprise strike where it caught you totally off-guard? How about a strike when you weren’t even in position? These strike not only surprise you but can scare the hell out of you but a sharp hook can give you that extra second you need to set the hook and catch the fish.

If you fish treble hooks a lot like topwater, crankbaits and jerkbaits then a sharp hook is critical. If your lure is just sitting still and you get a strike with a dull hook many times the fish will just ricochet off and you won’t catch the fish but with a sharp hook the fish will hook themselves.

Just catching bass by itself with dull your hook but then you add the extra dullness when your lure has hit rocks and wood and you’re in for a disaster.

There are a variety of hook sharpeners on the market and one that I like is knife and hook sharpener that has a special groove on the side made especially to sharpen hooks. It costs about $5.00-$6.00.

Don’t try to put an edge on the hook, you’re not sharpening a knife just worry about the top part of the hook where the point is. Keep the hook so it will puncture easily and you’ll catch more bass and more big bass.

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Do what you’re good at in Bass Fishing!

Saturday, November 28th, 2009

This past year I have not only met some new friends but met some excellent fishermen. The one thing I noticed is that they are experts in a certain type of bass fishing, that doesn’t mean they don’t try a lot of different lures and catch fish but what it does mean is they have one type of fishing technique that they are excellent at doing and they catch big fish doing it.

For example, my friend Larry lsali is one of the best jig fisherman I have seen in a long time. I have fished with some pros that fish jigs but they don’t do it any better than Larry does and he could teach some of them a few things for sure about jig fishing. He doesn’t know I pay close attention to what he does and how he fishes a jig but I do and have learned quite a bit just watching Larry. Larry fishes a variety of lures but his go to lure is his jigs.

A good friend of mine and fishing partner is Bill Walters, now bill fishes a lot of lures too but when he wants to get down to business he fishes a wacky worm. Bill has impressed me with his fishing abilities with this worm rig more than once. He just loves to fish it and it pays off big time for him. I learned a lot from Bill this year just watching him fish with this rig.

Then there’s Rick! Rick doesn’t seen to have a lure he uses most that I have seen but he has a pattern most people don’t…open water structure fishing. Rick depends on his gps and fish finder more than most people do and he has become quite skilled at finding structure in open water. Rick has an eagle eye for roadbeds, underwater streams and canals and all underwater structure and he’s good at finding them and fishing them with success.

My go to bait is the scum frog. I fish it different than most people do and fish it slower than most people do. I usually fish it slow than fish it slower. I have had people tell me they can’t believe how much patience I have when fishing my frog. This year I fished it quite a bit faster than usual and didn’t do quite as well with it, next year I will slow it back down.

Here is my point with all this, the good bass anglers that i know become experts with a certain lure or pattern and they do good with what they do. Do what you’re good at, practice it, build your confidence in it and you’ll do great!

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Bass Fishing-Slower than Most!

Saturday, August 1st, 2009

I fish with several of my friends on a regular basis and one thing that I notice most of all is that when I fish for bass alone, I fish a lot slower. I fish the spots a lot more thoroughly than anyone I fish with, my friends cover more water and fish faster.

For me, fishing slower pays off and I catch fish, as when I fish in my friend’s boat I catch a lot less fish and feel like I’m rushed. Their method works for them just fine but it’s hard for me to fish fast like they do.

I fish lily pads a lot and will just lodge my boat in the pads and fan cast and fish. I’ll fish like that until I complete a 75% radius of a circle, I don’t fish right in back of me but all around in front and the sides. If I fish with my friend’s I don’t have time to do that as we’re moving way to fast.

Again, I’m not saying my way is the right and only way to fish for bass but it is what works for me and I do better at catch bass that way.

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Flippin an 8 Inch Worm In Heavy Cover

Saturday, July 11th, 2009

The last two days I have went bass fishing in Ohio I noticed two different anglers flippin for bass with a worm in heavy cover and doing pretty good catching bass that way.

Both were flippin the holes in heavy lily pads. I do want to say this, you have to have patience or it won’t work! You also need to fish slow and thoroughly.

If you don’t have the patience, don’t try this, it will just be a waste of time but if you do, it could pay off nicely.

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How to add weight to your Scum Frog!

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

If you have read many of my posts then you know I fish with the Scum Frog quite a bit, especially in thick lily pads in Ohio. The problem with the Scum Frog in very thick lily pads and other vegetation is the weight of it. It’s very light and sometimes you just need a little more weight for the frog to work and do it’s job in thick cover.

If you fish thick pads, heavy grass or etc. then try adding a little weight to get more strikes. Here is how I do it. I take a 6 inch worm and tear it into about 1/2 inch strips. I pull the rubber up on the back end of the frog and pull the rubber skirt back and hold it there while I insert the worm strips into the body of the frog. Be careful not to tear the rubber of the frog. Once the worm in inserted into the frog I just replace the rubber back to the original position.

You may think one 6 inch worm wouldn’t matter much but it makes a world of difference in weight.

If you fish heavy vegetation of any kind, try this!

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Follow-up with Topwater Baits

Monday, July 6th, 2009

I fish topwater a lot especially with a Scum Frog in lily pads. When you fish really thick pads, you’re going to have a lot of strikes that you miss, so the thing I have found that works is to follow-up the strike with a plastic worm.

When a bass misses your topwater lure, it usually makes a small hole in the pads, I throw the worm in the hole that it makes when it misses and usually catch the bass on the plastic worm.

Try it the next time you’re fishing topwater and have a strike but it misses your lure, chances are the bass will be there waiting.

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Fishing A Lake With A Lot Of Fishing Pressure?

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

Many lakes in Ohio have a lot of fishing pressure on them, matter of fact, most have a lot of fishing pressure. The bad part about this is that many have been hard to catch bass on because of this pressure.

If you’re fishing the banks where everyone else fishes then you’re more than likely going to get the same results as everybody else….no fish or very little fish. Of course, there will be an exception to this rule once in a while.

Look at the lake map, find the underwater structure that most people don’t fish. Old streams, roadbeds, deep pockets, thick lily pads and anything else you see that might hold bass. The banks get beat to death every day…try somewhere different.

If you have to fish from the bank then try a different lure than most people use, one the bass hasn’t seen 100 times that week.

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