Tips For Approaching A New Lake

New Lakes can be intimidating! Where should you start? What should you throw? How many rods should you bring? Tim answers these questions and more...

Its not easy to choose what tackle to bring to a new lake. To simplify Tim employs a top down approach. Any time he approach a new lake he starts with his favorite topwater. This allows him to cover water and look for active fish. If he's not immediately successful he'll drop down the water column and try reaction fishing. If reaction bait fishing fails to catch fish its time to begin slowing down and fishing the bottom. This simple approach lets you break down the entire water column very quickly to locate the most active group of fish. 

While it seems like a lot of baits and options you can literally fit all of these baits into a single box. Combine them with 3-4 rods and you're ready to jump on a boat and hit a new lake without crowding the boater and overstaying your welcome. 

Baits We recommend bringing:

Topwater...
-Rover
-Whopper Plopper
-Rico

Reaction...
-Favorite Squarebill Crankbait
-Favorite Spinnerbait

-Favorite Chatterbait

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Swimbaits...
Keitech Fat 2.8
Keitech 4.3 Fat
S Waver 168

Favorite Dropshot Bait

Favorite Finesse Jig
Favorite Tube
Favorite Spoon

Topwater Rod-704
Dropshot Rod
Spoon Rod-7'2" Medium Heavy

Save $$$ By Making Your Own Feathered Trebles!

Feathered trebles are an awesome way to accent your favorite topwaters and jerkbaits but store bought options are very limited. Matt shows a fast and easy way to build your own feathered trebles on the water and the best part is you can do it with any hook you want! 

This quick tip will save you so many headaches! You're no longer limited to 3 sizes and a few colors of feathered trebles. Any size, any color, and any model of hook is fair game as you quickly and easily accent your own trebles. All you need is a hook of your choice, some craft hair or feathers, a small piece of shrink tube, and a lighter. 

Here are Matt's favorite hooks and components for making feathered trebles...

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Gamakatsu Marten's Finesse Treble
Owner 3x Treble
Gamakatsu EWG Bronze
Owner Round Bend

Marabou Feathers
Slinky Craft Fiber
Hackle Feathers

Store Bought Version with Owner Hook

Are You Using the Best Jighead?

Darter, Football, Shakey, ball head... it almost sounds like bass fishing has its own language. With all of the options on the market, which jig head styles should you be using? Tim explains the difference between the four most common head styles and what each one should be used for. 

Just because you've been told to use a head for a particular application doesn't mean that's its only, or even its "best" application. We hope these insights into each head style help you increase your finesse fishing game this Fall!

Different head styles:

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Screwlock Style Shakey Head
Traditional Style Shakey Head

Gamakatsu Ball Head

Football Head W/ Weedguard
Football Head Plain Style

Darthead Painted
Darthead Unpainted

All of these heads are meant to be combined with a plastic trailer to create the desired effect. We recommend starting with one of the following baits if you do not currently have a favorite...

-Yamamoto Hula Grub
-Roboworm 6" Fat Worm
-Reaction Innovations Smallie Beaver

Best Fishing Rods for New Anglers

Its crazy how many brands, lengths, and types of rods are on the market! Tim helps make sense of it all by recommending the 3 rods that you need as a new angler. Forget all the hype and marketing, these will get you through 99% of the techniques we use in bass fishing. 

As a beginning fisherman you want to purchase the best equipment you can within your budget. These are fishing rods you're going to use for a very long time. However, you do not want to exceed your budget so we recommend spending more on the fishing rod than the fishing reel. With that in mind we aren't recommending any high end reels with this video. 

Tim's Recommended Rods Based on Your Budget...

7' Medium Spinning Rod:

Low $$$- Shimano Sellus
Mid $$$- Dobyns Fury
High $$$- G Loomis NRX

7' Medium Baitcasting Rod:

Low $$$- Shimano Sellus
Mid $$$- Shimano Clarus
High $$$- Dobyns Champ Extreme

7'-7'2" Medium Heavy Baitcasting Rod: 

Low $$$- Shimano Sellus
Mid $$$- Dobyns Fury
High $$$- Shimano Zodias

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Reel Recommendations for each...

Spinning Low $$$- Shimano Nexave 2500
Spinning Mid $$$- Shimano Saros 2500

Baitcasting Low $$$- Shimano Caius
Baitcasting Mid $$$- Shimano Citica 7:1

As a new bass fisherman your first purchase should always be a spinning rod. With a spinning rod you're able to master a variety of bass fishing techniques like dropshot, senko fishing, worms, tubes, small topwater lures, and even a few reaction fishing techniques. 

Once you've got a feel for these techniques your next purchase should be a 7' medium baitcaster. This rod will allow you to branch into a few more techniques like rigging a senko texas style, fishing a jig, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, crankbaits, etc. 

These two fishing rods are going to help you progress your bass fishing more than any other purchase but when you're ready, add in a 7'-7'2" medium heavy baitcasting rod. This rod will let you get into heavier bass jigs, texas rigs, large topwaters, small swimbaits and paddletails, and a handful of other techniques. 

We know that getting into bass fishing and trying to purchase tackle and equipment can be very overwhelming. We hope these quick tips will help you make educated decisions while purchasing your first fishing pole. Good luck on your fishing adventure