Choosing Finesse Lately - Basstastic

Lately I've been destroying my local fisheries with finesse tactics - a true basstastic approach to difficult fishing conditions, which is an accurate portrayal of bass transitioning into an identifiable bass fall pattern. Drop shot with shorter-than-normal leaders and shaky head jigs with small Powerbait worms have been awesome, if fished slowly with a tantalizing shake, pause, and pull. Lake Lavon, Lake Ray Hubbard, and Lake Fork - it doesn't matter which ... These finesse tactics seem to trigger a feeding frenzy. One thing that has been unusual is I'm not seeing much shad action. Guess that comes next.

Here's to catching that next largemouth bass TOAD!

Maps for Bass Fishing: Headache or Helpful?

Circle your most productive spots.  Add dates /times.

We live in an age of exceptional electronic gadgets.  These amazing machines with computerized functions enable us to accomplish more in less time.  But electronics cannot, and do not, replace the human mind and its ability to focus on details that might otherwise be ignored by computerized technology, and while I thoroughly enjoy using my expensive depth finders, I also acknowledge some of their disadvantages.  To truly make use of depth finders a lot of work must be done before ever launching my boat.

Maps.  Many different kinds of maps.  Old maps.  New maps.  All the maps you can find.

Notice the writing at the top: dates, times, and number of fish caught on certain baits. 

For each lake you fish - tournament or not.

Depth finders with Navionics chips and other lake-based technology cannot replace the act of analyzing different maps.  For each lake that I fish I have at least four different maps - some are old and some are new.  And never dismiss an old map.  I've found some awesome fishing spots on older maps that, for whatever reason, didn't make the transition into newer maps.

All-Terrain Tackle Jigs in the picture, used on Lake Fork to catch largemouth bass.  

Study your maps days and days before you start fishing.  Eliminate significant portions of the lake to make effective use of your time.  Nothing is worse than finding yourself at a loss on where to go next.  Mark your map and during pre-fishing activities, use the map to mark spots on your GPS depth finder, and mark those spots in the order you wish to fish on tournament day.






 Nothing can replace YOUR ability to analyze maps before important dates.  If you neglect this part of fishing, your potential will be largely limited to second-guessing and sheer luck.  90% of fishing happens long before ever seeing the water.

In the coming months, I will discuss how to read these maps and also discuss the different types of maps.  Get your fish on this fall, folks.

Tourney Shaky Head Jigs - Quality Fishing Lures

One of the best shaky head jigs on the market:

These are the shaky head jigs that every largemouth bass angler should have in his or her boat.  When those bites get sluggish and you need something to tempt largemouth bass during those difficult tournament moments, you should invest your money into fishing lures that work.

 Lunkercatch.com would like to present Tourney Jigs to their customers.  Offered in a variety of sizes, colors, and styles, you can literally design your own fishing lures - these shaky head jigs - for your own purposes and needs.  Check out some of the unique colors, hook sizes, and hook weights.

My personal favorite is the Grass Slipper Shaky Head Lure, featured above.  It has a tear-shaped head for slipping through grass and lilly pads where bass are nestled away from aggressively fishing tournament anglers.  Go with the extra weight so you can feel every characteristic of the bottom and when a largemouth strikes, don't be afraid to respond with a powerful hookset. 

Please visit Lunkercatch.com to order these amazing fishing lures.  Please submit pictures of your fish! 

Gorgeous Lake Photos

Various fishing lakes in these images: Lake Fork, Lake Ray Hubbard, Beaver Lake, Lake Tawakoni, Arkansas River, and Lake Lavon

Fishing Lures: Win That Bass Tournament

So what will you use during that Fall bass tournament?  What fishing lure will create the best chance to win during Fall largemouth bass tournaments?  That's a massive discussion, but I'll attempt to offer my best advice.

1. Bass should show more signs of feeding activity as they prepare for long, cold winter days.

I enjoy fishing Fall Bass Tournaments for a number of reasons, but the main reason, I suspect, is that largemouth and smallmouth bass are typically more aggressive during September, October, and November.  As water temperatures drop and cloud-cover dominates the landscape, and as winds tend to increase, largemouth bass will be in their comfort zone.  Deep water summer patterns will transition into moderate depth and shallow feeding patterns.  Shad and other forage, like largemouth bass, will also make a move toward shallow cover, which means "go-time" for actively hunting bass.  With this in mind, power fishing usually comes into the picture.

2. Power Fishing for Success During Fall Months

Look, I've heard all the local discussions and the ongoing debates about hunger versus reaction strikes (the two ways to generate strikes/hits to land largemouth bass), but the simple fact remains: how will you, Mr. Tournament Angler, catch the fish you need to win a local, regional, or national tournament when the fish are not actively feeding?  I am a huge fan of finesse fishing, especially drop shot and shaky head presentations, but sometimes the fish cannot be tempted to eat through subtle, tricky means. In such situations, a reaction strike is absolutely necessary: big, fast fishing lures that bounce off cover will be your fishing salvage.

Even though bass are actively feeding during the fall months, you may need to trigger reaction strikes from those larger bass who are hiding next to broken stumps or on rock ledges.  Here are a few fishing lures that you should consider when the finesse bite seems to be sluggish:

Cranksbaits:

Go with shallow squarebill cranksbaits in the morning when bass will roam and attempt to trap unsuspecting shad.

Cast searching crankbaits for moderate to deep waters, especially off points or deeper cove inlets.  Your Norman DD22s and XCalibur deep divers work well in this situation.

Spinnerbaits:

Burn or slow roll your 1/4 oz to 1/2 oz spinnerbaits around submerged brush or surrounding timber.  Intentionally bumping and bouncing submerged is critical.

Strike King makes some of my favorite spinnerbaits.

Jigs:

And now we reach my favorite fishing lure!  Football head jigs and heavy shaky head jigs (slipper-shaped or football head jigs without skirts) are the ultimate reaction baits when used in a popping, fast pulling, or hopping technique.  These baits will generate largemouth strikes from those lurking females who are so difficult to catch.  Experiment with size, color, and presentation, but don't be afraid to rip those jigs off the bottom and watch for line movement!

This is merely a beginning to some of the techniques you can use, and a basic introduction to some of the fishing lures you might choose.  Check back for more detailed discussions about fishing lures from Lunkercatch.com.

Introduction: Anglers and Products

How much time do you have on a daily basis to examine fishing gear and fishing tackle?

How much time do you have to test fishing equipment and fishing tackle?

Well, if you work a regular job that earns modest to good pay, chances are you don't have much time at all and, even worse, you may not have the money necessary to try new fishing products: hooks, weights, hard baits, soft baits, bladed jigs, football jigs, finesse jigs, fishing rods, and fishing reels.  

Man, simply listing all of those fishing items overwhelmed me, so you can imagine how most anglers feel as they walk the aisles of large fishing outlets with staff who are entirely too busy to answer any questions.  (That's one reason why I shop on Lunkercatch.com for bass fishing tackle.)

This blog was created for a variety of important reasons, but here are the two critical areas: to inform angler consumers and to entertain fishing enthusiasts.   This blog should help you save time and money, and limit your fishing frustrations as you attempt to catch smallmouth bass and largemouth bass.

Check back often for fishing product updates, new posts about fishing tackle, and the latest fishing news.