How to Spoon for Bass

Is there a more fun or cost effective way to catch a ton of fish in the Fall or Winter? Probably not! Spooning is often over looked in favor of finesse tactics but don't be fooled, its a technique you need to get comfortable using.

When the bass are schooling on baitfish, even when they're just scattered on deep water points and ledges, a spoon is hard to beat. When the fish are suspended around bait, it can't be beaten. A spoon perfectly imitates a dying or injured baitfish, fluttering toward the bottom. Bass are hardwired to react to this quick fluttering action, often resulting in jarring strikes! So why should you be using a spoon during the colder months?

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First, its cost effective. Unlike soft plastics which tear up easily, spoons hold up over time. Assuming you don't snag and lose them, you can use the same spoon trip after trip. Second, they're deadly. When the fish are lethargic and don't want to feed you can often draw the "reaction" strike with a few quick hops off the bottom.

Over the years I've used a lot of different brands and models of spoons. For deep water vertical jigging the best spoons I've found are Blade Runner Duh Spoons. They're offered in a variety of colors but my personal favorites are Morning Dawn, Black Shad, and Electric Chicken. The most consistent sizes are the 1 1/4 and 1 3/4 ounce but experiment with the fish on your lakes to see what works best for them.

One other point to consider is that spoons can even work around busting fish. The temptation is to pick up a spook or whopper plopper in pursuit of the fish you can see but often times the largest bass in the school will be holding back, below all the others, waiting for the smaller fish to stun the bait and provide them an easy meal. The next time you see active fish on the surface consider dropping the spoon below and you might just be surprised by the biggest bite of the day.

Which Jerkbaits Work the Best?

On a recent trip to the Bay of Green Bay I got on a great jerkbait bite while fishing with Curt Demerath, owner of Dirty Jigs. Both of us were catching fish but I noticed Curt was doing a few things differently than I'd seen in the past. Most importantly, he was swapping back and forth between different jerkbaits rather than sticking to the favorite. By the end of the first day it was clear that it was having a huge impact on catch rate.

When we got off the water I began asking questions about why he had been making adjustments. He started giving some very in depth responses. That's when I realized we needed to pause the conversation until we could turn the GoPro on  so you could learn from him as well. Here is what happened once he got in front of the camera...

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Curt breaks down the differences between the Megabass Vision 110, Pointer 100, Staysee 90, Flash Pointer, and more. He goes on to cover not only how each one moves in the water but how your cadence and retrieve should vary with each. Some shine in warm water, others in cold. Some should be ripped, others should just be pulled. This approach opened my eyes to a whole different world of ripbait (jerkbait) fishing. Often I give up on the jerkbait bite because my confidence bait isn't working, its clear now that I'm leaving a lot of fish uncaught. Switching models to achieve different actions can turn on a jerkbait bite even when a particular bait isn't getting bit.

I think every angler can glean information that will help them catch more jerkbait fish this coming year! Huge thanks to Curt for taking some time out of his day to shed light on this topic! If you're not familiar with Curt or his awesome products, you can see it all at http://www.dirtyjigstackle.com

Top 5 Baits for Fall Bass Fishing

I love fall fishing! After a long summer the lake finally feels alive again. The baitfish are schooling, the bass are feeding, and the fishermen are wrapping up their tournament seasons. Whether you want to catch more bass, win the AOY race, or win a new boat, these 5 baits will get you headed in the right direction.

Its never easy to limit yourself to just 5 baits but if I had to choose one season to do it, it would be the fall. As the bass group up and feed they become much simpler to target than they were throughout the summer. In no particular order, my top 5 baits are as follows:

Fall is a great time to catch giant bass! From topwater to jigs and cranks, learn about the best baits to use so you can catch those big bass while they are feeding.

1) The jig: The bass are gorging before winter and one of their favorite meals is a crawdad. Stick to a simple craw profile and you'll succeed. There are a lot of great jigs out there including a plethora of colors, head designs, and colors but if I could only choose one it would be the Dirty Jigs 3/4 oz Pitchin' Jig in "Molting Craw". That color, coupled with either a Sweet Beaver-style trailer or a Twin Tail Grub-style trailer creates a phenomenal crawdad imitation.

2) The Spook: Walking-style topwater baits work great through all the summer months but their effectiveness peaks during the early fall. Bass are gorging on baitfish and baits like the super spook (see our video on the top 5 walking baits for ideas) are a perfect imitation. Choose a color you have confidence in but you can never go wrong with whites, silvers, or even a little chartreuse to draw the bass away from the 1000's of other easy meals swimming around. Try The Super Spook in "Okie Shad" or the Rover in "sooner" if you need a place to start.

3) The Glide Bait: Glide baits have taken the industry by storm the last couple years. If you aren't throwing one this fall, you're missing opportunities for great fishing! I'm particularly partial to the S-waver in the 168 and 200 sizes in "Warden" or "Light Trout" (See our S-Waver Video and S-Waver 200 Video to see why) The S-waver is easy to use and won't break the bank but is by no means your only option. Check out the Gan Craft Jointed Claw, The Slide Swimmer, or if you're in to the custom baits, the Hinkle Shad is hard to pass up. These are all baits that we've seen success with over and over again. They're big, but they get bit and fall is a great time to build your confidence!

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4) The Deep Crank: Whether you're throwing a big 10XD, a Rapala DT-Series (because Ike says so), a slim profile like the Deep Six, or my old standby DD-22 you can't go wrong with a deep crank. We throw a lot of the shad patterns including those with lavender, chartreuse, or brown backs. We even branch in to the craws a bit. Whatever it is you choose, the deep crank will let you cast farther and reach deeper to catch those fish other anglers are overlooking.

5) The Lipless Crank: Who could possibly overlook this crank? Whether you're burning through the fading grass, fanning flats, or ripping off the bottom around docks and cover, the lipless is probably the most versatile bait during the fall. Again, stick to the shad patterns. If I could only choose one lipless it would be the Lucky Craft LV-500. Like many Western anglers I've discovered the benefits of the fast sinking, loud rattling bait. Try Chartreuse Shad, Ghost Minnow, Wakin if the fish are really active, or even Crack if the water has some stain to it.

What "Top 5" list would be complete without fudging and including some extras? Because 5 baits really is tough to do, the rest of the baits that really should have made the cut are the Swim Jig (California Swim Jig to be exact), the spoon (both Jigging Spoon and Flutter Spoon, The Jerkbait (ripbait if you live on the west coast), and the paddle tail swimbait (I'd go with the 6" basstrix or 4.8 Keitech on a Dirty Jigs Swimbait head).

Put these baits to work for you and have a great fall. Good luck out there!

Is your favorite bait on the list? Did I miss something? Let's hear what's on your top 5 list.

Whats New with Alabama Rigs?

Love 'em or hate 'em the Alabama Rig is here to stay! Its been questioned, argued, bashed, and even banned... but the A-rig just keeps catching fish for the anglers that have stuck with it.

We thought it was time to revisit the Umbrella Rig now that all the dust has settled. We know you can't use it in most major tournaments but that doesn't stop you from prefishing, fun fishing, or trophy hunting with the rig. This week's video covers some of the changes that have come along as companies have fine-tuned their approach to this awesome technique.

The two biggest differences from rig to rig in today's market are blades vs. no blades, and the number of baits a rig can hold.

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer when it comes to these various options so you need to be prepared for every circumstance. The bladed rigs like the Yum Flash Mob or Flash mob junior seem to work best when the water is stained or you have overcast conditions. Once the skies and waters clear I prefer using a more finesse rig like the Boss "All wire" or Frenzy Baits Sniper.

If the fish have seen a lot of rigs it might be time to go custom. There are plenty of small manufactures making ultralight rigs with 6, 8, 10, and even 15+ baits on them. While this may seem excessive, if you're looking to fool the wariest of giants it might be worth considering.

The one part of the rig that we haven't changed our minds on at all is the hardware and baits. We're still using the Dirty Jigs Swimbait Head (usually 1/8 oz) and coupling it with either a 4.8 Keitech Fat Swing Impact or RI Skinny Dippers. The specifics of how we rig them is still the same as last year's video which you can see below.

We know this isn't a new topic but with all the changes and refinements that have been made to these rigs over the last few years we thought it was time to touch on the subject again. We hope this helps!