Catching Big Fish On Light Tackle! Tricks Of The Trade!

Targeting big fish with light line is incredible! When the drag is screaming and line is flying off the spool, the excitement is next level! It requires attention to detail, a whole lot of patience, and specialized tackle doesn't hurt, but its worth every second of preparation. Some anglers do it for the challenge, others do it out of necessity. Whether you're fishing smallmouth in the Great Lakes, largemouth in a highland reservoir, or saltwater species on the flats, these tips will help you prepare for your next light line battle!

Matt is targeting smallmouth because they have incredible strength for a freshwater fish. While this is by no means the most challenging fish to target with light tackle (compared to many saltwater species) it is an amazing fight and a very rewarding fish to catch. On this particular day he was faced with 20+ feet of visibility and very skittish fish. Thankfully the wind kicked up which helped offset the post frontal conditions that blew in part way through the day.  

Below you'll find links to the exact baits and gear Matt was using in today's video. We've also included links to some excellent mid-priced and budget alternatives for battling big fish on light line. All the links go directly to Tackle Warehouse where you can see detailed photos and descriptions of each item.

Ned Rig... 

Bait- Savage Gear Ned Salamander: https://bit.ly/3rSNi8g

Color: Green Pumpkin Purple Copper

Hook- Swagger Tungsten Flanders 1/10th: http://bit.ly/2KcIB6M

Hair Jig... 

Bait- Outkast Tackle Feider Fly 1/8 oz: http://bit.ly/2G7TBwj

Color: Black

Small Swimbait... 

Bait- Keitech 2.8 Fat Swing Impact: http://bit.ly/2ab7s8v

Color: Electric Bluegill

Head- Dirty Jigs Guppy 1/8 oz: http://bit.ly/2nyUJRS

Tube... 

Bait- Big Bite Salt Tube 3.5: https://bit.ly/2D7j6RX

Color: Pumpkin Pepper

Head- Blade Runner 1/8 oz Inhaler 2/0: https://bit.ly/2NX7nYr

Ned Rig/2.8 Keitech Combo... 

Rod- G Loomis NRX+ 821S NRR: https://bit.ly/2RB0oJP

Reel- Shimano Twin Power FD 2500: https://bit.ly/3df3hX5

Line- Sunline SX1 12 lb Braid: http://bit.ly/2tn8EzQ

Leader- Sunline Super FC 6 lb: http://bit.ly/2p7fxju

Hair Jig Combo... 

Rod- Megabass P5 "Baby Plugging": https://bit.ly/31Pt839

Reel- Shimano Vanford 1000: https://bit.ly/2PDlKlB

Line- Sunline Super FC 5 lb: http://bit.ly/2p7fxju

BFS Casting Combo... 

Rod- Shimano Expride 7'2" Medium Light: http://bit.ly/2nTq9FL

Reel- Shimano Curado BFS: https://bit.ly/2QGRVF2

Line- Sunline Super FC 7 lb: http://bit.ly/2p7fxju

Best "Bang For The Buck" Reels... 

High End- Shimano Twin Power 2500: https://bit.ly/3df3hX5

Mid Range- Shimano Vanford 3000: https://bit.ly/2PDlKlB

Best "Bang For The Buck" Rods... 

High End- G Loomis NRX+: https://bit.ly/3y0Ss5m

Mid Range- Shimano Expride A: http://bit.ly/2osaj3q

Budget- St. Croix Bass X: http://bit.ly/2r69Sj6

Favorite Braided Lines...

High End- Sufix 131: https://bit.ly/314VoyF

Mid Range- Sunline SX1: http://bit.ly/2tn8EzQ

All Around- Power Pro Maxcuatro: http://bit.ly/2clBRiQ

Favorite Leader Materials... 

Heavy Application Fluoro- Sunline FC100: http://bit.ly/2O4UElB

Light Application Fluoro- Sunline Sniper FC: http://bit.ly/2p7fxju

Monofilament- Maxima Ultragreen: http://bit.ly/2ae97J9

Want TacticalBassin Gear?  

We have a variety of apparel items and custom lure designs available! Everything from hats, to hoodies, to crankbaits! Its all available direct through Tackle Warehouse with fast shipping. See it here... 

TacticalBassin Apparel and Lure Designs: http://bit.ly/38YpPIz

Finesse Swimbaits For BIG Smallmouth! (Fishing With Matt's Dad)

Come along as we explore a new clear water lake in Michigan! Its full of prespawn Smallmouth and Northern Largemouth. They're feeding in schools along the edges of shallow flats and we're casting a variety of finesse swimbaits and hair jigs to catch them. If you've wondered what fishing is like in the North, its on fire!

Its been a while since we've had Matt's dad on the boat. In true form, he set the pace with a bunch of quality fish, leaving Matt and CC with a lot of ground to make up. Each member of the team settled on a different swimbait and all produced quality fish throughout the day. At the end Matt picked up a black hair jig and stuck some nice bonus fish as well. 

Smallmouth pull incredibly hard for their size. If you've never targeted them on finesse tackle, you need to give it a try! Below you'll find links to the exact baits we were using as well as the gear we trusted to get these fish in the boat. All the links go directly to Tackle Warehouse where you can see detailed photos and descriptions of each item. 

Matt's Dad's Swimbait... 

Head- Dirty Jigs Guppy 1/8 oz with 1/0 Hook: http://bit.ly/2nyUJRS

Bait- Keitech 3.3" Fat Swing Impact: http://bit.ly/2ab7s8v

Colors: Electric Shad, Electric Bluegill

CC's Swimbait... 

Bait- Megabass Dark Sleeper 3" (1/2 oz): http://bit.ly/2TyR1GT

Color: Wakasagi

Matt's Swimbait... 

Head- Tactical Finesse Head 3/8 oz: http://bit.ly/2Pqrq3n

Bait- Keitech 3.8" Fat Swing Impact: http://bit.ly/2ab7s8v

Color: Smallmouth Magic

Matt's Hair Jig... 

Bait- Andy's Maribou Pro Series Fly (1/8 oz): https://bit.ly/3uYqDsw

Color: Black

Matt's Casting Swimbait Combo... 

Rod- Megabass P5 "Dark Sleeper": https://bit.ly/30GcHqb

Reel- Shimano Aldebaran MGL 50 (HG): http://bit.ly/2uQ4oH8

Line- Sunline 12 lb Fluorocarbon: http://bit.ly/2h4LNjm

Matt's Dad's Spinning Combo... 

Rod- G Loomis NRX+ 852S JWR (Pre-Order): https://bit.ly/3y0Ss5m

Reel- Shimano Exsence 3000: https://bit.ly/3hNG96T

Line- Sunline SX1 12 lb Braid: http://bit.ly/2tn8EzQ

Leader- Sunline 6 lb Fluorocarbon: http://bit.ly/2p7fxju

Matt's Hair Jig Combo... 

Rod- Megabass P5 "Baby Plugging": https://bit.ly/31Pt839

Reel- Shimano Vanford 1000: https://bit.ly/2PDlKlB

Line- Sunline Super FC 5 lb Fluorocarbon: http://bit.ly/2p7fxju

Want TacticalBassin Gear?  

We have a variety of apparel items and custom lure designs available! Everything from hats, to hoodies, to crankbaits! Its all available direct through Tackle Warehouse with fast shipping. See it here... 

TacticalBassin Apparel and Lure Designs: http://bit.ly/38YpPIz

8 Year Old Catches GIANT Smallmouth In Crystal CLEAR Water!

Today we've got JD on the boat with us and he's ready to catch BIG Smallmouth! We're on Lake Michigan and the bass have moved up on shallow rock reefs and sand flats where you can see them in the clear water. Some of them are shallow, others are in 9-12 feet of water but it doesn't matter, you can see them as if the water wasn't there at all. The fish are BIG and they're aggressive, let's go fishing!

Fishing clear water like this requires a finesse touch. Tim and JD focus on a combination of finesse swimbaits and dropshot to catch these bass. In addition to the small baits, light line is critical to consistently fooling these fish. Lines that would be no issue in typical lakes will scare these fish before the bait even reaches the bottom. The bass can see both the line and the shadow of the line as it sinks, and both are enough to scare them off. 

Below is a breakdown of the baits and equipment the guys were using to catch these fish. If you want to to target big smallmouth (or any other bass) in crystal clear water, finesse tackle is a great place to start. The baits listed below are our confidence baits for this style of fishing and work around the country. The links go directly to Tackle Warehouse where you can see detailed photos and descriptions of each item. 

Swimbaits... 

-Dark Sleeper 3" (Wakasagi): http://bit.ly/2TyR1GT

Other Great Colors... Hanahaze, Donko

-Spark Shad 3" (Purple Haze): http://bit.ly/2XcLZk4

Other Great Colors... Neon Pepper, Real, Royal Gill

-Megabass Okashira Head 1/16 oz (For Spark Shad): http://bit.ly/2EpluSA

Dropshot... 

-Big Bite Baits Smallie Smasher Worm (Light Watermelon Red): http://bit.ly/2ZpCOCY

Other Great Colors... Chick Magnet, Green Pumpkin Purple

-Owner Mosquito Light (Size 1) Hook: http://bit.ly/2zQVKx3

-Tungsten 1/4 oz Casting (Tie On) Dropshot Weight: http://bit.ly/37AVcrx

Jig... 

-Bass Patrol Round Rubber 3/8 oz Football (Brown Purple): http://bit.ly/2Hbyf5x

-Yamamoto Double Tail 4" Grub (Smoke Blk and Purple): http://bit.ly/2db9w1p

Tim's Combo...

Rod- Shimano Expride 6'10" Medium: http://bit.ly/2nTq9FL

Reel- Shimano Bantam MGL 150: http://bit.ly/2H44yjG

Line- Sunline Sniper 10 lb Fluorocarbon: http://bit.ly/2p7fxju

Spinning Combo... 

Rod- St. Croix Legend Xtreme Spinning 7' Medium: https://bit.ly/37UhrKR

Reel- Daiwa Certate LT 3000: http://bit.ly/35Kclij

Line- Sunline SX1 High Vis Yellow Braid 16 lb: http://bit.ly/2FngUkQ

Leader- Sunline Sniper 7 lb Fluorocarbon: http://bit.ly/2p7fxju

"Bang For The Buck" Finesse Spinning Combo... 

Rod- Dobyns Fury 7' Med light: http://bit.ly/2e7HZPF

Reel- Shimano NASCI 3000: http://bit.ly/2g278cC

Line- Power Pro Braid 15 lb: http://bit.ly/2aFg46b

Leader- Maxima Ultragreen 8 lb: http://bit.ly/2ae97J9

NEW Tactical Bassin Apparel... 

TacticalBassin Reaper Hoodie: http://bit.ly/2TwBWs7

TacticalBassin Shadow Hoodie: http://bit.ly/2FVD9Rs

TacticalBassin Sun Shirt: http://bit.ly/2TvFMBD

TacticalBassin Hooded Sun Shirt: http://bit.ly/38cVi9G

Stream Fishing Big Smallmouth In Clear Water!

The guys found a small creek loaded with smallmouth bass! The water is crystal clear and the fish are in all 3 stages of the spawn. There are fish just coming in from Lake Michigan, other bass on beds, and a lot of big bass cruising the edges and shadows in search of a big meal. Realizing the opportunity, the guys quickly began catching fish on everything from a dropshot to a swimbait. Come along for an exciting day of fishing and teaching as we explain how to fish for bass in current.

Its early Summer in Michigan and the fish are aggressive! We began by catching fish sitting along the edges of cover but as we moved farther up river we discovered spawners in the shallows. Toward the end of the day we realized post spawn fish would ambush reaction baits as well, catching them on swimbaits, jerkbaits, and topwater.

Fishing in current is all about understanding bass behavior. These fish face up stream and feed by sight. They're watching the moving water for any sign of food drifting by. When a meal appears they have one shot to capture it as it passes so strikes tend to be vicious! While neither angler had ever been on this fishery, Cobi guides in both Michigan and Wisconsin on a lot of amazing smallmouth waters. If you're interested in seeing more of his work, visit his instagram here: http://bit.ly/2XMpoPW

Below is a breakdown of the baits we caught fish on throughout the day. We caught them on an incredible variety of techniques so we will separate them into softbaits and hardbaits, including the colors used to successfully fool these smallmouth.

Softbaits...

1) Finesse Jig (Kentucky Craw): http://bit.ly/2eJinXo

-Smallie Beaver (Green Pumpkin): http://bit.ly/2dR6CkP

2) Strike King Half Shell (KVD Magic on Dropshot): http://bit.ly/2iR9awm

-Owner Mosquito Light Hook Size 2: http://bit.ly/2zQVKx3

3) Roboworm 4" Fat Worm (Oxblood Light on Dropshot): http://bit.ly/2awYSxM

4) Megabass Spark Shad 3" (Real): http://bit.ly/2XcLZk4

- Megabass Okashira Screw Head: http://bit.ly/2EpluSA

5) Dark Sleeper Swimbait (Haze): http://bit.ly/2TyR1GT

6) Zoom Super Fluke (Smokin Shad): http://bit.ly/2aqys0H

-Gamakatsu Finesse Wide Gap 1/0: http://bit.ly/2aKGmHM

Hardbaits...

1) Splash It Popper (Chartreuse Pearl Shad): http://bit.ly/2Fp8MQV

2) River2Sea S-Waver 168 (Light Trout): http://bit.ly/2aiu8Sh

3) Megabass Vision 110 Jerkbait (PM Twilight Chart Back): http://bit.ly/2j31TKb

Matt's most versatile Combo this trip...

Rod- Shimano Expride 6'10" Medium: http://bit.ly/2nTq9FL

Reel- Aldebaran MGL 50: http://bit.ly/2uQ4oH8

Line- 12 lb Sunline Assassin: http://bit.ly/2h4LNjm