Glide Baits: How to Fish the S-Waver

The popularity of glide baits has exploded in the last 2 years! With their advent, jointed swimbaits went from a warm-water bait to a year-round bait almost overnight. Whether you choose to throw a Roman Made Negotiator, a Deps Slide Swimmer, or an S-Waver, the retrieves that consistently put fish in the boat are completely interchangeable.

After our S-Waver 200 video came out in the spring we received a lot of requests for a video explaining how to fish the bait. Unfortunately we were headed into summer and couldn't address the questions right away. With fall upon us, the glide bait season is in full swing and its time to teach you how to fish these incredibly deadly baits!

Matt and Tim have developed a unique style to fishing these baits that has allowed them to catch numerous giant limits on a variety of lakes and reservoirs. As is often the case with these two, there is great variance in the gear they choose to use. Both have fine tuned their equipment to their own style and both think the other does it wrong. Perhaps you can see through the mire and identify which style you more closely relate to.

Matt comes from a traditional swimbait background and prefers stouter equipment than Tim. Tim comes from a tournament background and prefers a more balanced, (play the fish instead of drag the fish) approach.  

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For the 8" and larger glide baits both anglers use the Dobyns 806H. While this may seem light to a swimbait angler it will be extremely heavy for a traditional tournament guy. We choose this rod because of its great balance, stout backbone, and moderate action. You can sling a giant bait but its not so stout that the fish will bend the hooks. Both anglers also agree on using 65-80 lb braided line with a 30 lb mono leader under most circumstances.

This is where the similarities stop. On occasion Tim will drop down as light as 17 lb fluorocarbon if he's fishing clear water reservoirs. Matt insists that big bass won't shy away from his 30 lb line as long as the leader is of substantial length. Reels are another point of contention between the two anglers. Matt prefers the fit and feel of a traditional round reel for big baits. He loads his rod with Shimano Calcutta in 300 and 400 sizes. Tim on the other hand prefers the relaxed fit and feel of the Abu Garcia Revo 50, insisting that the 60 is too large.

For the 6-8" Glide Baits including the S-Waver 168 the angler's unique styles show themselves again. Matt prefers a Dobyns 764C (traditionally known as a jig rod) for its stout backbone and ability to drive the hooks into the fish. He couples it with either a Lew's BB-1 Pro or Curado 200. Both reels are spooled with 50-65 lb Sufix 832 Braid affixed to a 15-20 lb mono leader.

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Tim on the other hand reaches for the Dobyns 764 CB (Soft cranking rod) for its gentle load and ability to play the fish. He couples it with the Lew's Team Gold Speed Spool filled with 30 lb braid and a 15-20 lb Sunline Flourocarbon Leader.

While the anglers can't agree on their equipment both have proven their technique is effective at landing big bass. Once you've dialed in your gear, the following retrieves will help you turn your followers into committed bites.

4 Retrieves for Glide Baits:

1. The Slow Crawl: As the name insinuates, this retrieve is as easy as it gets. Reel the baits slowly and steadily at the slowest possible speed you can before the bait loses action and starts dragging through the water.

2. The Pull and Glide: This retrieve involves a 6 slow handle turns to get the bait moving followed by a long sweep of the rod. The bait will go from a slow crawl to a fast escape attempt followed by a sweeping left or right turn and is deadly on big followers!

3. The Crawl and Twitch: using a combination of 4-12 slow handle rotations followed by two quick snaps of the rod/reel you can create the appearance of a bait that has been startled. Use this retrieve around cover or when a bass is closely stalking the bait

4. The Walk: Use a combination of the rod tip and reel handle to "walk the dog" with the bait. Fast or slow, the walk will pull incredibly vicious strikes from bass that are chasing bait, in shallow water, or are otherwise acting aggressively.

Use these 4 retrieves the next time you're on the water to turn your favorite glide bait into a fish catcher. Each retrieve has been proven to put big bass in the boat time and time again! As always, if you have questions, comments, or tips of your own, we'd love to hear them!

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Alabama Rigs Are No Joke

After months of requests the time has finally come for me to chime in on the topic of Alabama Rigs, generically known as "Spreader Rigs" or "Umbrella Rigs". Obviously I'm months behind the hype. Most of you now own rigs and have had some experience with them. Some of you are probably having a blast catching fish on them while others of you have already retired them to a plano box where they will soon be forgotten.I would have chimed in months ago but I wasn't willing to speak out until I felt I was speaking from a place of experience.

For those of you that have been living under a rock, the "Alabama Rig" gained huge notoriety when Paul Elias won a major event last fall. It is a smaller, "freshwater" version of the old saltwater spreader rigs.

The video was shot on Clearlake in mid-april. While the fish in the video is by far my largest fish on the "A-rig" my clients and I have been catching big fish on it all spring. As you watch the video you will notice there are a handful of details that I failed to cover. I apologize for the oversight, but Jeff and I were in a hurry to get back to fishing. The day ended with 5 fish for 44.05 lbs, only one of which (the smallest) was not caught on a Spreader Rig.

Feel free to respond with your thoughts and questions. I'll film a follow up video with more of the technical details in the coming weeks and will answer as many of the questions as possible at that time.

Jig Trailers Made Easy

Have you ever met one of those people who is a legend in their own mind? My goal is to pass along information without coming across like one of those people. I know a thing or two about jig fishing but let’s face it, there is always someone better. With that said, here are my thoughts on jig trailers.
There are countless jig trailer manufactures in the bass fishing world. From the garage companies to the industry standards it seems that everyone has “the next big thing” in jig trailers. Do you want a trailer that wiggles its claws with the slightest movement? They have it. One that swims, they have that too. What about one that walks, talks and negotiates with the fish for you? Its probably in development as we speak.
The point is, your options are virtually endless. An angler could spend all day changing trailers and never actually have time to wet a line. As with most things, simplicity is your best option. I’m not saying the three trailers discussed in this video are the very best for your specific scenario, but they’re a really good start. If the day comes that you get in my boat and head out on the lake, these are the jig and trailer combinations that you will see me fish with.
Obviously there are a plethora of options not covered but day after day, year after year, these are my key baits. From ledge fishing a football head to working shallow cover with a flipping jig, you can do it all with these three options.

Give it a try. What can it hurt? You never know, your next cast might be the biggest bass of your life! At the least, simplifying your choices will save a dollar or two on your next trip to the tackle shop.

If you disagree with my selections, that’s okay. In fact, I’d love to hear about it. Did I completely ignore your confidence bait? Share with us what you like to use and why.

Top 5 baits for the Fall Transition

The late fall to early winter is one of my favorite times to fish. This season is one of the few times I have the lake all to myself. Sure, there are other fisherman on the water but they aren’t fishing like I am. No matter where you are in the country, as winter approaches anglers begin to slow down their presentation. Whether that mean throwing a worm, flipping a jig, or spooning, just depends on where you live. Sure you could give in to the trend and fish like everyone else but why?

Why not break away from the pack, fish hard, fish for the active fish, and have whole sections of the lake to yourself? As the water cools most of the bass will slow down and become sluggish and the fisherman will follow suit. Maybe this is your year to break out of the mold and find the feeding fish in and around the shallows. Here are my top 5 baits for fishing that transition between fall and winter.

You’ll notice the only bait on the list that isn’t a pure reaction bait is the football jig. At certain times the active fish are completely keyed on crawdads and that is when the football comes in to play. The rest of the time however, I’ll be fishing shallow, fishing fast, and putting the remaining 4 baits to work for me. If you want to catch a big bass in the fall that hasn’t been pressured like all the smaller fish be the last guy to leave the shallows, the last one to set down the topwater rod, and never, ever set down that swimbait.

Are these the baits you like to throw in the fall/winter? Is a late-season reaction bite news to you? What are your go-to baits in the fall?  I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment and share your thoughts.