Tournament Approach

There are a lot of folks fishing bass tournaments these days at all different levels.  I started back in the 80s and though I don't fish as many or the big tournaments much these days my approach stays pretty much the same.  When I first started fishing them I would fish for big bass all day long using big bass baits.  Let me tell you it didn't take too many tournaments of only catching one or two fish for me to change that tactic.  When you show up to weigh-in with two 5 pounders and get beat by folks with five fish limits of all 2-3 pounders something has got to change if you are going to win.

So what did I do to change my approach?  I started fishing for a limit first then looking for big bass.  I would find spots on the lake that were holding schoolie bass and hit them fast and hard with crankbaits for my limit.  Then I'd switch to my jigs and worms and move to the locations I'd found some bigger bass.  The first tournament I used this tactic I won my first tournament.  I caught my five fish limit in about 30 minutes and then spent the rest of the day looking for bigger bass.  I was lucky to catch a 4 and a 7 pounder and ended up with a little over 17lbs and Big Bass.  No that isn't a great weigh-in by today's standards but in the 80s that would win a lot of tournament and put you in the money in almost all the others.

Does this approach always work out the way it is planned, well no.  Heck it is fishing and things go bad even on the best day on the water.  I've had days when I'd have to catch 50 schoolie bass to get my 5 keepers and it would take hours.  Then there are the days when you can't get the bigger bass to bite so you don't have a good anchor for your stringer.  So I'm not telling you this is the way to go out and fish your next tournament.  All I'm doing is giving you something to think about before your next tournament.  The way I see it five 1 pound bass are better than showing up at weigh-in with an empty bag.

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing.

Great Folks Great Baits!!!

Yesterday I drove 4 hours one way to meet the folks of Santone Lures.  Let me tell you it was worth all the time and gas as they are all awesome down to earth Texas folks!!  In fact I'd say they were better than their baits but I'm not sure if I'm authorized to give out Sainthoods or not.  Maybe I'll just say they are Saints in the Tackle Business as they really do care about their customers and make the best quality baits I've seen on the market in all my 50+ years of fishing.  That is a combination that is hard to beat, Great Folks Great Baits!!!!

The event was held at East Texas Sonar in Longview, TX and if you are in the area you owe yourself a stop by their place located at 3200 North Eastman Road.  If nothing else you will see the best selection of Santone Lures for sale that I've ever seen in a tackle shop.  We have a local shop that carries a few colors and sizes but nothing like this, it was awesome!!!

As you can see they have every color in stock and this is just the Rattlin' Jigs and Rayburn Swim Jigs.  I forgot to take a picture of the selection of Texas Finesse Jigs and Spinnerbaits. If you can't get by East Texas Sonar and your local tackle stores don't carry Santone Lures you are still in luck as you can order them from the Santone website and here is a link.  Santone Lures

I was lucky enough to win another Santone Shirt in the raffles. I also didn't spend too much money on jigs to have to worry about my wife shooting me when I got home.  But I did get two of the hot new colors in the Rayburn Swim Jigs and some more of the Texas Finesse Jigs and Piglet Shaky-Heads.

I'll be set if the weather gives me a break sometime in the near future.  If it keeps clearing like it is my son and I might have to make a trip to one of the Bayous and give these some time in the water.  One way or another I'll get some fishing in soon and get you folks a report on the bayou and also how well these bait attract the bass.

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing.

Customer Appreciation Day

Folks on Saturday Santone Lures and East Texas Sonar will be having a Customer Appreciation Day from Noon until 3:00 at the East Texas Sonar location on 3200 North Eastman Road, Longview, Texas 75455.  There will be free hotdogs, chips, drinks, and cookies! However there will also be some new colors of the Rayburn Swim Jigs available, along with shirts, prizes, and as well as the Santone Lures Military Swim Jigs to give away!  

The new Rayburn Swim Jig colors have me excited as they are some great new colors as you can see.
That is why I'll be getting up early Saturday morning to drive 4 hours from my home to Longview. So if you want to get a chance at getting some hot new colors, meet the good folks from Santone Lures and East Texas Sonar come on out.  Hey you can come hang with me also.

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing!!!

Crank Baits

I'm going to tell you up front that I'm not a big crank bait man.   Sure I use them from time to time and I've even won some tournaments throwing them, but they just aren't my fishing cup of tea so to speak.  Do I own crank baits?  Sure there are always some crank baits in the boat but you won't see me throwing them every time I go fishing.  You might ask then why have any at all, which is a good question and why I'm writing this piece.

Crank baits do have their uses in the manner in which I approach fishing.  That is especially true in the late summer and early fall when bass bunch up and attack schools of shad.  If you don't have some good ole Rat-L-Trap or another lipless style bait in available you might just miss out on some of the fastest bass fishing you have ever seen.

You can also use a lipless style crank to locate feeding bass just about any time of the year.  They are very affective in attracting and catching bass.  I think it has a lot to do with the rattling noise they are famous for making as they are pulled through the water.  I still think the original Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap is the best of them all, but that is just my opinion.  However they have been catching fish for almost as long as I've been alive and for a fact as long as I have been fishing.  The other thing about these lipless cranks is they very closely resemble one of a bass' favorite foods; Shad.  Most of the lakes have shad in them and most if not all of the bass in these lakes have dined on them at one point in their life.

There is another crank that I use a lot to catch these schooling bass and that is a Rapala Shad or Shad Rap.  They also have rattles and they really resemble shad very well.  Their one advantage is over the lipless cranks is they can be worked slower in the same depth zone.  This is because the slower you retrieve a lipless crank the deeper it will go which is just the opposite for Shad Raps.

Shad Raps float and have a lip that causes them to dive when they are retrieved.  The faster you retrieve the deeper they dive.  How deep they dive depends on the size of the lip and the type of line you are using.  They give you a different action all together from what you get out of a lipless crank bait.  In fact a lot of times you might find a bunch of schooling bass and after catching some of them they will quit hitting the lipless bait.  If that happens then switch to a Shad Rap and 9 out of 10 times you will be back in business.  You might have to play with how you retrieve them a little but once you find what the bass want it is back on!!

If you have been reading my blog much you can pretty much tell I'm a Jig fishing fool.  If I'm not fishing Jigs then I'm likely fishing plastic worms on one rig or another.  In either case when I'm fishing Jigs or Worms in deep water (10 plus feet) I will have my crank bait rod loaded with a deep diver like a Strike King 6XD.

Why do I have a 6XD ready if I'm planning on fishing a jig or worm you might ask.  The answer to this question is no matter how fancy our fish finders are today they still can't tell me if the fish you see on a creek channel are bass and if those bass are hungry.   So instead of making 4 or 5 slow retrieve casts with a jig or worm burning up time; I make those first 4-5 casts with the 6XD.  A lot of times if they are bass I've seen on my sonar and those bass are hungry you will get one of them to hit the crank bait.  You have now identified that these fish are bass and will hit.  I then put down the crank bait rod and proceed to fish my jig or worm.  If I don't get any hits after a 4-5 cast with the crank bait then I figure they aren't bass and go look somewhere else.

You might ask now, why I wouldn't just keep fishing the crank bait if I'm catching bass?  Well if you have ever thrown a 6XD or similar deep diving crank bait you will know it is almost like work.  So I put them away and fish a less work involved jig or worm.  Now don't get me wrong here; if I'm fishing a tournament then I'd likely make more casts with the crank before going to the jig or worm.  Cranks are fast and they can cover a lot of water in a little time which does give you more of a chance to catch bass.

Hope this has help you in some way.  Remember even though you might be a head strong jig or worm fisherman like me there is room in the boat and in your method for some crank baits if used right.

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing.

Clear Creek Bayou

I know there were some of you waiting to see a fishing report from Clear Creek Bayou. I'm sorry to say there isn't a report or at least not one from today.  We have had a bit of bad weather move into the area and it might get worse over the next day or so.  What that means is I'm going to have to put on hold my return to Texas Bayou Bassin; well at least for a day or two.  We will see what Friday brings weather wise.  Saturday I plan on going up to Longview Texas to the Santone Lures Custom appreciation get together and meet some of those fine folks and pick up a few more of their awesome Jigs in the process.  So hang in there, there will be a fishing report sometime soon, I promise.

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing!!!

Texas Bayou Bassin - The Return

It has been a few months since my last trip to one of our wonderful bayous south of Houston Texas.  Normally you can't keep me off of them, but this year was a bit different than in past years.  It rained a lot in late spring and early summer which had the waters in the bayous all sorts of messed up.  Then after the worse tournament I've ever been a part of ended with only 3 fish total brought to the weigh-in; it was time for a break.  So the past few months I've been driving a long way to fish some of the lakes with the closest being over an hour's drive from my house.  I've been catching bass in the lakes but it just isn't the same as busting them good in the bayous.

Why have I decided to take a midweek and late afternoon trip to Clear Creek Bayou?  Well there are two reasons; first I have a friend in town on business from Virginia and second the water in Clear Creek is looking really fishy.   I drive across Clear Creek every evening on my way home from work and for the last week or so I've been itching to get out and try my luck.  Even though the water is looking good, we have to remember that it is still the middle of August in Texas.  That means the late afternoon is not the best time to try going fishing.  However with it being the middle of the week and school back in down here there shouldn't be many boats out there if any at all.  In fact there likely hasn't been any on the water since Sunday.  This means the bass might have calmed down some and are laying up in the shade waiting for something to swim by them for a snack.

We will be well armed tomorrow with boxes full of Santone Lure Jigs, my Throw-n-Thunder spinnerbaits as well as my XZone Lures Slammers and Swammers.  Oh and don't forget, I'll have a few boxes full of Trick Worms also.   In fact it was Trick worms that my son and used to almost break into the top 3 at our last tournament on Clear Creek.  That was the day that my son was catching them on a shaky-head and I was working them over on a drop-shot.  So in short this will be a really good test of those lures that I've not tested in the bayou, but if worse comes to worse we will have some Trick Worms to fall back on.

There is another interesting thing that occurs in late summer on the bayous and it runs into early fall.  That is sort of an annual feeding the bass have on the shad in the bayou.  If you can find the bass busting up the shad, then you can spend hours catching bass.  They may not be wall hanger bass but the numbers you can catch sure does make up for the size.  Well and then there is always that chance there is a 3-4 pounder under the schoolie bass; that is where a good swim jig comes in handy.  Oh and I got some of those awesome Rayburn Swim Jigs just for that chance.

I'll likely not get home in time to make a full report on the fishing tomorrow so watch for my report sometime Thursday afternoon or evening.

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing!

Trick Worms

When I say Trick Worm I mean the original Zoom Trick Worm with no salt.  In my opinion they are one of the most versatile worms ever invented and work as good today as when they first came out.

You just can't have too many different colors of these worms in the boat on any given day.  I'm not saying I fish them on every trip, but they have bailed me out on days when nothing else worked.  Why is this you might ask, well the answer is very simple they can be fished in multiple ways and at multiple depths.  Versatility is the key word here, they are just plain and simple the most versatile worm out there.  Sure there are other finesse worms being made, but they all try and copy the original and most fail badly.

How do I fish Trick worms you might ask and I'll answer it would be easier to tell you how I don't fish them.  In other words I keep coming up with new ways to use Trick Worms to trick bass.  However lets talk about some of these methods.  The first one is the tried and true rig that most all Bass Fishermen use and it may have been the first way you learned to fish a plastic worm.  That would be the Texas Rig.

There is nothing really fancy about the Texas Rig.  It is the worm hook of your choice and a bullet weight.  The size of the weight you use depends a lot on how deep the water is, how big the line you are fishing or how fast you want to worm to fall.  If you want the worm to fall really slow you can use a small split shot or even no weight at all.  If your hook is a light wire hook then you are now fishing a Floating worm.  The Texas Rig can be fished just about anywhere a bass would hang out.  This means you can throw it in just about every type of cover.  However there is one thing that might hamper you as the weight slides up and down the line, the weight and the bait could become separated in some types of cover and cause you to get hung up.  To fix this you can us a bobber stop above the weight or do as us ole times did, stick a toothpick in the hole of the weight and break it off.  This will stop the weight from sliding on the line.

The next rig I use is where these floating Trick Worms really start to shine.  That rig is also one of the old tried and trued rigs that has been around a long time.  It is the Carolina Rig.

 With the Carolina Rig you are basically fishing a Texas Rig where the weight is separated from worm on purpose.  Carolina Rigs can be made up many different ways and use all kinds of beads and brass clackers to make noise to attract the bass.  Personally I like to make up some pre-made rigs like the one shown in the pictures.   The Carolina Rig is meant mainly for fishing deeper water where there are rock piles, stumps, downed timber or drop offs.   They do not do well in standing timber or any type of vegetation but only because of the hang up factor.  If you don't get hung up, it will catch fish.  In general the Carolina Rig is worked slower than the Texas Rig, however I've found at times a faster action will draw more strikes.  As with any bait or rig; play with your presentation until you find what the bass want on that given day and time.

The next method I use to fish Trick Worms is relatively new on the scene.  That rig would be what is called the Drop-Shot.

 The Drop-Shot is a true finesse rig and meant to be fished on lighter lines and spinning tackle.  However from time to time I do break that mold and use a little heavier lines and casting tackle if I'm fishing in places where the lighter line can be nicked easy.  To fish the Drop-Shot you are going to be moving the bait towards you very, very, very slow.  Just when you think you are working it slow enough, show down some more.  You move the bait towards you then stop and shake your rod tip to cause the worm to wiggle and dance.  While you are doing this you want the sinker to remain on the bottom and not move.  This keeps the bait in front of the bass a long time.  After a minute or two of shaking, you then move the bait toward you another foot or so.  I do have to point out that from time to time I also break this mold as well.  This rig can be used to catch aggressive bass that might be suspended a foot or two off the bottom.  If you find a spot that has suspended bass then rig your Drop-shot so the worm will be at the same depth as the fish.  Again play with your presentation until you find something that works.

Next up is also a newer Finesse type rig that hasn't been around too long, or at least it seems like that because I've been fishing so many years.  This rig is called the Shaky-Head.

The Shaky-Head is basically a jig head with the worm rigged in a weedless fashion.  There are a few different types and shapes of Shaky-Head jigs out on the market today.  My favorite is the football style Piglet from Santone Lures.  Which ever your favorite head is, when worked right these are also fish catching rigs.  Basically the Shaky-Head is fished in the same fashion as the Drop-Shot but in different types of cover.  Where the Drop-Shot is a more open water type of rig the Shaky-Head can be fished in and around cover.  They are also a very good choice for fishing under docks and boat houses.

The last rig I'm going to discuss is a combination of two of the above rigs that came to me one day fishing with my son.  I was catching bass one after another on a Drop-Shot while my son was matching me Bass for Bass on a Shaky-Head.  So I said why not just take the sinker off the Drop-Shot rig and tie on a Shaky-Head and with that the Shaky-Drop was born.

Though this rig does not work well in any type of vegetation, it is an open water bass killer.  If you can find fish on a rock pile, stump field, hump or drop off then you can catch them on the Shaky-Drop.  You can even fish the Shaky-Drop with two different color Trick Worms at the same time to fine tune which color the bass are wanting or seeing the best on that day.  Just fish it as I described in the section about the Drop-Shot and you will be putting bass in the boat in no time and it some cases two at a time.

I hope this has helped you some and shown you just how versatile the original No Salt Zoom Trick Worms can be.  If you start fishing them you will likely get rid of a lot of the other worms in your box.

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing.

Photo Contest

Howdy folks.  I entered a picture of my granddaughter and I fishing on her first trip in an outdoors photo contest.  It is doing really well but I wanted to let y'all know about it in hopes we might get a few more votes.  Here is the picture and I'll provide a link below where you can vote if you would like to do so for us.   THANKS

 Vote for Grandpa and Olivia

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing.

Throw-n-Thunder After Action Review

If you read my fishing report from Lake Fayette on 8-15-2014 you will know that my primary goal was to test out spinnerbaits from Throw-n-Thunder Lures.  Sometimes heading out to the lake with new baits is something I dread.  Then there are times like last Friday when I'm really excited to be testing out these new spinnerbaits.   I did know going in that the middle of August in Texas is not the perfect time to be testing spinnerbaits, but I also knew that if they caught bass this time of the year, they would be unstoppable in spring and fall.  Well folks they caught bass, plain and simple and I didn't have to work hard at catching them either.

I was worried when I neared my favorite point on Lake Fayette as there was a boat on the point and another one right behind the first.   That means I'd be fishing thirds so to speak.  I couldn't tell what the first boat was fishing but the second boat was throwing lipless cranks. After I got there I didn't see either boat land a fish, and I know for a fact the boat nearest me never caught one bass.  Here is a picture of that boat (in the yellow circle) with me landing one of the fish I caught on a TNT spinnerbait (The camera makes the boat look further away than they really are).

 After I landed this bass; I heard one of the guys say come on lets go somewhere else as I can't watch that guy (Me) catch anymore bass.  That gave me a smile, but also proved to me that they hadn't caught any fish on the point.  Plus I followed them and caught three pretty fast on the TNT Table Rock Shad.

All the bass I caught on this bait were in the 2-3 pound range.  No 2-3 pounders are not big by "Texas Standards" but it was August with a water temp of 92 degree.  Any fish caught this time of year with water that hot is a good fish and anything over 2 pounds is excellent in my book.

Now I went over a lot of the technical details about these baits in my initial reviews that you can find at this link Serious Spinnerbaits and so I won't rewrite all that here.  However I do have to point out that the Titanium wire used by TNT is in my opinion "Totally Awesome".   The flex it has did as I thought it would and aid to the action of the bait.  The fish pictured above actually straightened out the wire and I was easily able to bend it back in place with just my hands and the bait ran true first cast.

The last thing I want to mention is the custom paint job.  This is a work of art if ever I saw any in my life.  You just don't get this kind of detail when buying spinnerbaits these day even from the big name companies!!  TNT has out done themselves and I need to point that out to all of you.  Here is a close up of the head of the bait; just look at how real that eye looks!

So the bottom line here folks is that if you want quality spinnerbaits with features that aren't found in other spinnerbaits on the market today, then your only choice is to to hear the Thunder and go with  Throw-n-Thunder Lures!!!

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing.

Santone Lures Jigs

In my last fishing report from Lake Fayette I stated that Santone Lures was producing the best jigs on the market.  I've got some feedback asking why I feel that way about their jigs so I felt I needed to explain my position.  This might get to be a little long, but I feel I need to let all you bass fishermen in on what won't be a secret much longer.

Though Santone Lures makes other baits and jig heads I'm going to focus on their 3 main production jigs, the Rattlin' Jig, the Rayburn Swim Jig and the Texas Finesse Jig.

The first jig we are going to take a look at is the Rattlin' Jig and I'll say this is my personal favorite, but only by a Frog's Hair over the other two.  The first thing that catches your eye is the awesome colors of the skirts. They are wonderful and their action in the water is excellent but they are not the best features of these jigs.   The head on this jig is shaped perfect and when the jig is at rest on the bottom the hook and trailer will stand up presenting itself to a bass.  Twitch it a couple times and it will be fish on!!!  The weed guards are installed very nice as there is no glue mess you see in a lot of other jigs, even those from the big name companies.  The weed guard is also a perfect firmness to let you work the bait in heavy cover and at the same time not too firm to stop good hooksets.

The rattle chamber is positioned nicely on the bait and it has one of the best sounding rattles I've heard, sure to attract fish into a strike.

Now the absolute most important thing on any jig is the hook.  The hook has to be strong and sharp and in the case of the Rattlin' Jigs they are very strong and very sharp.  In fact if your braided line was strong enough you could set this hook into a house and pull it off it's foundation!!!

The next jig in the awesome Santone Lures lineup is the Rayburn Swim Jig.  The head on the RSJ is perfect as it allows you to work this bait through many types of cover without hang ups. It also has a flat side that lets you stop the bait and the hook and trailer will stand up teasing that big bass into hitting.  Again just like the Rattlin' Jig the weed guards on the RSJs are installed perfectly with no mess.  The firmness of the weed guard is a little lighter than those on the Rattlin' Jigs but are the perfect firmness you want in a swim jig!!

The RSJ also has that same super strong and super sharp hook found on the Rattlin' Jigs.  This is almost unheard of in the market as most go to a much thinner and weaker hook on their swim jigs.  I like the stout hook and I don't worry about it straightening out on me when I'm hooked up with a true wall hanger.  Also you will find at the base of the hook an additional wire trailer keeper that is very helpful in keeping bass from tearing up or stealing your trailer.  I've had them short strike grabbing the trailer but it stays and the fish comes back to get the whole bait in their mouth on the next pass.

The skirts on the RSJs is once again perfect.  They have bright colors and of the right density to give you good action but to also let you highlight a great trailer. The last thing I want to point out about the RSJ is the eyes on the jig.  It is one of the first things you see and I can bet it is one of the first things a bass notices as well.  These eyes look real to me and I also bet they look real to a bass and will draw them in for the kill, only to find themselves on the end of a very happy fisherman's line.

Last but not least is the Texas Finesse Jigs.  These little bugs are fish catching magnets when the bite is tough.  The eye of this jig is at an excellent angle for finesse fishing!!  This jig can be fished in the same manner as any Shakyhead with the added attractiveness of a wonderful skirt.  The shape of the head also makes it work well used as a shakyhead like bait.  However the thing that impressed me the most about the TFJs is the hooks.  Once more Santone Lures has put the strongest hook I've ever seen on a finesse jig.  They are stout and very, very sharp; meaning they will more than get the job done and done right.  Fact is, I have caught more bass this summer on these than any other bait, so that alone is testament to me of their effectiveness!!

There you have it folks.  These are the reasons why I feel Santone Lures has the absolute best Jig products on the market today.  They have features that you don't find on other jigs, plus the biggest and most important bonus........They Catch Fish and a lot of Fish!!!

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing!!