Matt Makes Kramer's Top 40

Top 40

Every west coast angler should know about "The List" by now. If you dont, you need to check it out. "The List" is a top 40 fishermen of California list created annually by outdoor writer George Kramer. The list has been pretty controversial over the years with anglers that were said to have been placed "too high" on the list or were "undeserving", as well as anglers toward the bottom of the list being "underrated". This always gives us California bass fishermen something to talk about every November (as if we don't have enough drama in this fishing world).

This year, our very own Matt Allen has made the top 10 on "The List" for the first time. Matt has been on the list a few times already, but this is the first year he has cracked the top 10. I wanted to congratulate Matt, as we all know that he has put in countless hours on the water and spent more time than most of us can possibly imagine coming up with new ideas to completely dominate Northern California as "The" trophy guy. You've earned it Matt, Congratulations on your first top 10!

You can see the complete list on Kramer's blog at: Kramer Gone Fishing

-Adam Hinkle Tacticalbassin

Alabama Rig: tips, tricks, and tweaks

I'm hard pressed to think of another bait that has caused such an uproar amongst bass fisherman. Over the past year I've read articles pronouncing it a "miracle bait", others condemning it, going as far as to accuse the Alabama Rig of destroying fish populations. Whether you're in favor of the Alabama Rig or not, you cannot argue its ability to catch schooling fish when other baits fall short. While the "rig" is quite effective on its own, there are many modifications that can be done to further increase the its productivity. Over the past year I've experimented with different models, trailers, and various other components and have dialed in what I consider to be my "perfect" rig. We all have different fishing styles and fish in different environments, this must be taken in to account. Even so, I hope you are able to learn from my experiences and further increase your effectiveness with the A-rig.

Whether you're fishing shallow grass flats or deep ledges you can adapt the Alabama Rig to meet your needs. Its not a cure all but it definitely helps you catch more fish in a variety of conditions.

For the products I use when fishing the Alabama Rig visit the following links: Alabama Rigs Keitech Swimbaits Dobyns 784 ML Rod Dirty Jigs Swimbait Head

Punchin' and Froggin' on the CA Delta

Can someone explain to me how a $3 frog could work so well? Isn't it common knowledge that you have to spend $20+ on a frog from Japan with a fancy paint job to get fish to bite? I guess not! This particular morning I had headed out to the delta with one thing on my mind; Punching. The plan was to strip the boat of everything but two punch rods, a handful of baits, weights, and hooks, and the Go Pro Camera. I figured I'd spend the day having fun and film a video explaining how stripping the boat of gear helps you commit to a pattern and ultimately helps you put more fish in the boat.

So what went wrong? One word: TIDE.

If it were a guide trip, or even a trip with friends I'd study the tides and make the best decisions possible. When its just me and a camera I didn't even bother to look at the tide charts. Do you know what a "minus tide" does to a shallow punch bite? The big ones go away and the baby bass come out to play! As you'll see in the video my plan quickly unraveled and I was forced to do what any self respecting fisherman would do... I drove to the nearest tackle shop and spent money!

Who would have thought that I would discover a long forgotten bait (at least to me) and begin to hammer the fish? That's exactly what happened! In the following days I kept catching fish and the size got bigger. There will be more videos to follow on this subject.

For those curious about what they're seeing in this video, the punch fish were caught with a 2 oz. punch weight, a Dirty Jigs Punch Skirt, a 4/0 hook, and a Dobyns 766 Savvy Rod (A phenomenal punching rod for the price). The Snag Proof Weed Demon fish were caught with a Dobyns Champion 736, my favorite frog rod.