Category Archives: How To Fish

Amazing How Fast Bass Fishing Can Change In A Few Spring Days

Call it a tale of two Sinclairs.  Or a tale of three lakes in only three days. Last weekend showed how fast bass fishing can change this time of year.  

    Last Friday I met Ricky Layton to get information for my GON April Map of the Month article.  The weather guessers were right for a change when they predicted high winds, bluebird skies and cold weather. That combination is usually the kiss of death for fishing in the spring.

    Ricky said we would meet at Bass’s Boat House, an old marina where the clubs used to put in back in the 1970s. It was near the dam and the water might be slightly clearer in that area, and we would be more protected from the wind. All this spring the flooding rains have made our lakes fill up with very muddy water.

    We waited until 9:00 AM to go out since it was cold.  The first two hours seemed to show the weather and muddy water was working against us. Ricky took me to some places he had caught good fish the weekend before, but the water was even muddier than it had been and we got no bites.

    At 11:00 Ricky was starting to look at the article pattern and caught an eight-pound largemouth on a bladed jig. The fish was up shallow near a grass bed, the pattern for April.  That is a big fish for Sinclair, it has been a long time since I have seen one that big there, although there have been several that were close the past few years.

    About noon we started fishing and marking places for the article, working bass bedding and shad spawning areas.  Ricky caught a five-pound largemouth out of a grass bed on what will be hole #2.  A few minutes later he caught one weighing about six pounds there.

    The next place we fished Ricky caught another fish right at six pounds, on the same pattern, halfway back in a creek with grass beds up shallow on the bank.  One of the last places we fished he landed his smallest fish of the day, one that weighted about 3.5 pounds.  In all that time I landed one weighing about 2.5 pounds, but my excuse is I was too busy netting his fish and taking pictures and notes to fish.

    Ricky ended up with five bass weighing a conservative 28 pounds.  That is the kind of catch you dream about and expect on Guntersville, not Sinclair, especially under bad weather conditions.  The water temperature was 58 to 59 degrees where we fished, making those big largemouth were looking for bedding areas.

     On Saturday Ricky took his son fishing at Sinclair.  Although colder, the weather was better, but the fishing was not.  He said they did land a seven-pound fish out of hole #10 but their best five weighed “only” about 14 pounds, not great compared to the day before.

    I could not wait to get on the water Sunday morning in the Flint River Bass Club March tournament at Sinclair.  I should have known better.

    After fishing from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, 13 members landed 20 bass weighing about 36 pounds.  There was one five bass limit and five people didn’t catch a 12-inch keeper.

    Travis Weatherly won with five weighing 9.02 pounds and his 4.99 pound largemouth was big fish.  My three weighing 7.47 placed second and I had a 4.57 pounder for my biggest fish. Niles Murray placed third with three weighing 5.75 pounds and Brent Drake came in fourth with three weighing 4.20 pounds.

    The cold air made me shiver on my run to my first stop. Luckily there was enough wind to keep the fog down, it was wispy and hanging just off the water. But there was enough to make it scary trying to watch for all the floating wood.

    I stopped off a grass bed that was perfect for the pattern Ricky caught his big fish on Friday, but my heart sank when my temperature gauge hit 49 degrees.  A nine or ten degree drop just had to affect the bass. It surely did affect my optimism!

    I fished three places in three hours without a bite.  Around 11:00 the weak sun was warming the water a little, raising the temperature to about 51 degrees in the cove where Ricky caught a six pounder.  I cast a Chatterbait across in front of a grass bed, something thumped it and I set the hook.

    My rod bowed up and the fish headed for deep water. I just knew I had a six pounder on, but suddenly my line went slack. The fish just pulled off without me ever seeing it.

    At noon I was in the area where Ricky caught two fish, hole #2. I was very down, fishing half the day without a keeper. The water had warmed to 52 so I had some hope. I cast my Chatterbait into some grass and hooked the four pounder I weighed in. That improved my attitude a lot.

    After another hour of fishing without a bite, I caught a two pounder in front of some grass, then at 2:00 PM landed my third keeper, a one pounder, from another grass bed.  That was it. I fished hard for the rest of the day without another bite.

What Is Stealth Rigging for Panfish and Does It Work?

Z-Man: Stealth Rigging Panfish

  • By The Fishing Wire

Borrowing finesse bass rigs for endless crappie, bluegill and panfish action

Ladson, SC – Sometimes, it pays to pitch for panfish as if they’re merely miniaturized versions of their larger bass brethren. In a way, they are. As members of the (Centrarchidae) sunfish family, species like bluegills, crappies and bass, in fact, all share a common pedigree. 

The connection is even closer than anglers realize, as each of these species regularly co-mingle near the same aquatic turf, feasting upon the very same prey. Crayfish, insect larvae and tiny shad and shiners all whet the appetites of these communal predators. Bass and big bluegills frequently stalk the same rock-strewn turf, nosing around in little nooks and crevices for concealed crayfish, or larval insects clinging to the hard cover. Same deal on boat docks. 

Just as often, they’re hovering and hunting around the fringes of brush and aquatic plants where baitfish hide. Here, bass, crappies and adult bluegills chomp and even cannibalize scads of baby, thumbnail-sized panfish. 

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Whether close to cover or cherry-picking emerging insects in the abyss, panfish frequently feed up and off bottom, leaning on their nearsighted talents to inspect potential prey, eye-to-eye. Picture a single big crappie or sunfish, nosed right up close and personal with their next meal, examining it for several seconds before finally scooting in for the kill shot. Imagine then the power of presenting a bait that hovers and quivers continuously in the water column, rather than sinking to the bottom and out of the strike zone. 

Offering all the depth precision of a slip bobber or float rig, yet with the added ability to traverse the bottom terrain, micro-sized finesse rigs remain among the deadliest yet most overlooked panfish presentations of all. But accomplishing the valuable “hover” portion of the presentation relies solely on a new generation of specialized superplastics—exceedingly soft and lively, impossibly durable and perhaps most important, naturally buoyant. 

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Micro “Hover” Rigs
Consider the value of a micro finesse dropshot, Carolina or Cherry (aka Tokyo) rig, coupled with a softbait that floats and hovers naturally in the water column. Often, panfish graze insatiably on emerging insect larvae that hatch out of soft bottom. In other waters, crappies and sunfish crunch crayfish and bugs, such as dragonfly larva, clinging to the upper branches of aquatic plants, vertical dock pilings, or tangles of brush.

In each of these fish-attracting scenarios, a Z-Man LarvaZ™, StingerZ™ or Baby BallerZ™ rigged on a dropshot soars at a set depth, continuously. The natural buoyancy of this specialized ElaZtech material offers ample loft to float the hook itself, tirelessly hovering and twitching nervously, right in the fish’s strike zone. Little tics of the rodtip make the bait’s tail kick, dance and undulate in place, mimicking the exact movements of a live larva. The durable nature of the softbait material keeps the bait on the hook and won’t tear, even if you merely impale it once through the nose with a #8 to #14 hook. Or thread it onto the hook shank for a more horizontal posture while maintaining complete tail motion. 

If sonar shows fish staged two feet off bottom, rig the dropshot with the hook riding 2-1/2 to 3 feet off bottom. Most panfish enthusiastically swim up to feed, so always better to keep your bait at eye level or a foot or two above. When fish gather closer to the substrate, switch to a shortened dropshot or “Cherry” rig, pinning the bait/hook within inches of the bottom. Once again, the buoyancy of the ElaZtech material keeps the bait hovering right at the fish’s eye level and out of soft mucky bottoms, where a traditional soft plastic will descend and disappear.

As noted, tail-kicking microbaits like the LarvaZ and StingerZ shine for moving slowly around smaller areas where fish gather. For covering more water or for imitating faster moving baitfish, switch to a micro finesse swimbait like the Shad FryZ™ and drag the rig slightly faster across the terrain. Moreover, the versatile Micro GOAT™ imitates both a crayfish or a baitfish. Rigged flat and retrieved with a slower, rod-twitching cadence, the Micro GOAT resembles a crayfish. But arranged on the hook vertically and retrieved faster, the GOAT’s twin tails become a double tail swimbait with an alluring scissor-kick action. . .

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About Z-Man Fishing Products

A dynamic Charleston, South Carolina based company, Z-Man Fishing Products has melded leading edge fishing tackle with technology for nearly three decades. Z-Man has long been among the industry’s largest suppliers of silicone skirt material used in jigs, spinnerbaits and other lures. Creator of the Original ChatterBait®, Z-Man is also the renowned innovators of 10X Tough ElaZtech® softbaits, among the most coveted baits in fresh- and saltwater. Z-Man is one of the fastest-growing lure brands worldwide. 

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What Do Bass Do In Muddy Water and How Can I Catch Them?

A trip to Neely Henry four years ago got me thinking about muddy water.

I met Peyton Nance, an Auburn University bass team member and reserve defensive tackle on the football team.  We managed to get the boat in and to the dock in the ripping current.  The water level had dropped four feet overnight. Peyton explained they were trying to get it down to hold all the flooding water coming downstream.

    We looked at and tried to fish ten spots that are good in March, but the current made river places impossible to fish and back-outs very muddy. I did manage to land a three-pound largemouth on a Chatterbait, my only bite. Peyton lost a five-pound spot right beside the boat when it pulled off his crankbait.

Muddy water makes bass fishing tough.  Bass tend to get very tight to cover and not move much. It is like us in a heavy fog, we like to stay in familiar places and not run around and get lost!

My Garmin Panoptix has confirmed this. In clear water I see bass holding near but not down in brush and just over rocks and stumps. In muddy water they are down in the brush and right against rocks and stumps.

    Bass still have to eat, though. They can be caught, especially if the water has been muddy for a couple of days and they have gotten used to it and have gotten hungry.

    A bright lure that sends out sounds in the water is usually best. I will be fishing a bright chartreuse spinnerbait with chartreuse blades and skirt. A rattling chartreuse crankbait will also be used as will a black and blue Chatterbait, the bait I caught the three-pounder on at Neely Henry in the mud. 

Even my jig and pig, a black and blue one with bright blue trailer, will have rattles in it.  And I will fish all of then slowly and tight to cover.

Will A Sonar and A Jigging Spoon Equal More Fish for Me?

Sonar + Jigging Spoon = Fish!

By The Fishing Wire

By Mike Frisch

When writing about open-water fishing, I often refer to the “fish-catching equation” of finding fish and then finding the best presentation to catch as many as possible.  One our TV shows we often refer to this as L2: location plus lure.  A winter outing awhile back where jumbo perch were the target brought to mind a simple winter fishing equation: a sonar plus a jigging spoon equals fish!

This trip included three hours of drilling holes, fishing in each for a few minutes, and then moving looking for fish.  Eventually my partners and I located a school of perch.  These fish would appear on sonar, a few could be caught in short order, and then no action until the next small “pack” appeared.  Interestingly, we were able to use an aggressive jigging approach to “call in” packs of fish minimizing our time between bites.  Here’s what we did.

We started using a variety of jigging lures trying to locate fish.  Eventually we settled on the Jointed Pinhead Pro.  This spoon has a joint in the middle for extra action and movement.  It creates a unique combination of flash, sound, and vibration in the water.  More subtle baits slither and flutter through the water, this spoon’s action, sound, and vibration are more aggressive.  This day, that aggression was what the fish wanted.

We baited our spoons with minnow heads or wax worms, dropped them near bottom, and aggressively worked them.  When fish appeared on the sonar, we slowed up and simply held the spoon above the fish and waited.  Invariably, one would swim up and inhale it and the fight was on.  The next order of business was landing the fish and quickly returning the bait near bottom.   Often, we would land two or three fish in short order.  

When the action slowed, we would go back to aggressive jigging, with one twist.  We discovered that we could minimize our time between flurries by letting the spoon crash into the bottom occasionally.  This crashing created disturbance on bottom to call in fish from a distance.  When they appeared, we simply raised our jigs again, slowed the jigging action, and held on!

On this day we used 1/16-ounce spoons in a perch holo color pattern.  As daylight gave way to evening, we switched to the chartreuse lime glow pattern.  Often using a glow lure late in the day will put a few extra fish on the ice and this day was no exception.

Another important part of our successes was the use of sonar.  Knowing when fish were in the area to slow our jigging strokes and elevate the bait was critical.  And, when no fish were around, we knew it was time to go back to aggressive jigging, with occasional bottom crashes mixed in.  Not only does sonar increase success, but it adds to the fishing fun as well.  The FLX-28 unit I use is loaded with features and does a great job of showing bottom, my bait, and fish allowing me to call in and trigger fish.  Plus, it comes in a soft-sided carrying case which protects the unit when hauled around in my truck or in my portable fishing shelter.

Moving from spot to spot, using aggressive jigging, and closely monitoring our sonar units put several dozen perch on the ice this day.  Though the mood of the fish will vary, staying on the move, experimenting with lures and ways to fish them, and using sonar will lead to winter success on your trips as well.  In fact, a jigging spoon plus a sonar unit equals fish is one equation anglers across the North Country can use to increase their successes this winter.  Good luck on the ice and, as always, remember to include a youngster in your next outdoors adventure!

How Should I Fish A Bitsy Bug Jig and Creepy Crawler Trailer?

Bitsy Bug Jig and Creepy Crawler Trailer

Bitsy Bug Jig and Creepy Crawler Trailer

Update on this article first posted in 2013.  I now mostly use Strike King Bitsy Flips for the bigger hooks. I won a club tournament and had big fish on one last November, won another and had big fish in early January and came in fourth in a mid january tournament this year. All my keepers came on a Bitsy Flip.

I had a problem with skirts coming apart on one group of  black and blue jigs I bought last year ago. i had bought a dozen green pumpkin and a dozen black and blue and used the green pumpkin with no trouible.  But when water muddied up last weeek ai switched to black and blue and the skirt would come off after a few casts. I did land two keepers to win before running out of them and switching to another brand.

When I contacted Strike King and Lews support trying to buy replacement skirts for the six jig heads in my boat, I was sent a gift card to cover replacing the defective jigs. Great service that you seldom find now-a-days!!

Original article:

For the past couple of years I have had two baits, a jig head worm and a Bitsy Bug jig with a Creepy Crawler trailer, that are my go-to choices most days when fishing tournaments. As I get older I have to fish slower and those baits don’t wear me out during a tournament. But they catch fish under almost all conditions.

I rig the Bitsy Bug jig and Creepy Crawler trailer on a seven foot medium heavy St. Croix rod and Kast King reel spooled with 10 to 12 pound test Sun Line fluorocarbon. The light line suits the way I fish the bait and will handle any bass I hook. And I think I get more hits on the light fluorocarbon line than I do on heavier line.

In clear to lightly stained water I use a pumpkin jig and a green pumpkin skirt. I always dip the tails of the twin tail trailer in JJ’S Magic chartreuse dye. In stained water I go with a black jig and blue trailer, but I dip those tails, too. I think the chartreuse flash of the tail looks like a bream fin and the strong garlic scent may help get bites and make the bass hold the bait longer.

The small jig and pig works year round on both largemouth and spotted bass. Most of the lakes I fish in middle Georgia have populations of spotted bass now and they are aggressive and tend to bite better after a cold front. The smaller jig and pig is just right for them but largemouth love it, too.

I fish the jig and pig around all kinds of structure and cover, mostly in shallow water. Since I usually fish it in less than 15 feet of water my favorite weight is the three sixteenths ounce jig but I will go to a quarter ounce jig if there is current or wind. The lighter jig comes through rocks and brush better than heavier jig, too.

Normally I cast the jig, let it sink to the bottom and sit a few seconds, than pull it up off the bottom a couple of inches and let it fall back. When I hit cover I will jiggle the bait and raise it up and down when over a rock or limb. On smoother bottoms like clay or peagravel I slide it along, moving it as slowly as I can while still making the tails wave and wiggle

Another trick is to “stroke” the jig, ripping it up off the bottom two feet and letting it fall back. This action looks like a fleeing bait and will often trigger a reaction strike. This is a good tactic around boat docks. Let the jig fall by a post, rip it up and let it fall back, then swim it away just off the bottom.

The one thing I don’t like about the Bitsy Bug jig is the light hook in it. switching to the Bitsy Flip solved this problem) I would prefer a bigger, stronger hook. With the rod, reel and line I use I do keep my drag set fairly loose so it will slip on the hook set. That keeps me from breaking the line and also does not bend the light hook.

It is important to rig the trailer on the hook so the tails are parallel with the head. I change the trailer often since they get torn and won’t stay straight on the hook. After catching a bass the trailer is often torn and won’t stay straight. One trick is to rotate the trailer 180 degrees after one side gets torn by the hook so you can keep using it, but change it when both sides get torn.

Give the Bitsy Bug and Creepy Crawler a try. Smallmouth love it, too. Try it my way or fish it your favorite way. Let me know how you like it.

What Kind of Lure Action Under Ice Is Good?

Lure Action Under Ice

By Bob Jensen

from The Fishing Wire

So far this ice fishing season, I’ve been thinking more about ice fishing than actually doing it.  Hopefully that will change soon.  Looking through my ice fishing equipment reminds of some of the things that I’ve discovered about catching fish through the ice.  The action that we put on a lure can play a big role in our catching success.

At times lots of action and noise can attract a fish to our bait.  When this is the case, a technique called “pounding” can be the ticket.  “Pounding” is accomplished when an angler uses a heavier lure, usually a spoon but sometimes a jig, and aggressively bounces it off the bottom.  When the spoon hits the bottom it makes noise as it bounces off rocks, or it creates a “dust cloud” when it lands on a softer bottom.   Either way, it gets a nearby fish’s attention.  Pounding is often productive in stained water or around rocks.  A fish might be on one side of a large rock while your bait is on the other side of the rock.  By bouncing your bait off the rock, it gets the fish’s attention.  A spoon with rattles, something like a Rattlin’ P.T. Spoon, is often better.  The rattles along with the pounding is going to get a fish’s attention.  Pounding works well for walleyes or perch.

Sometimes the fish want a bait that’s almost motionless.  I learned that a few February’s ago on an ice fishing trip to South Dakota.  A severe cold front with cloudless blue skies had blown in.  The fast fishing of yesterday was replaced with terribly slow fishing the next day.  Sonar revealed that perch would come in and look at our tiny baits, then swim slowly away.  We tried different colors, different sizes, and a variety of actions.  Finally, in frustration, when the next perch came in to investigate my bait as I sat in the portable shelter, I rested my elbow of the arm that I was jigging with on my knee and held the bait as motionless as possible.  After several seconds of observation, the perch gently sucked in my jig.  Several others followed.  In recent years, successful ice anglers have been tipping their jigs with Maki plastic baits.  These baits are very soft and wiggle just the right way when the fish, mostly panfish, want a bait with minimal action.

Last thing.  In years past, anglers have often preferred bigger hooks on their baits. The thought is that bigger hooks mean better hooking percentages.  In the summer when we’re moving our baits faster, bigger hooks are a good idea.  But in some situations smaller hooks can be a very good idea.  In the summer when live bait is being used, a smaller hook enables the live bait to move more freely and be more appealing to fish.

In the winter, smaller treble hooks on spoons and some other baits have been producing better catches than similar baits with bigger trebles.  The Tikka Flash employs a much smaller than ordinary treble, and hooking percentages are up significantly.  It’s easier for a fish to inhale the bait since the hook is smaller.

Those of us who like to fish are fortunate to have access to lots of fishing information.  We need to be open to new ideas that might conflict with our usual way of doing things when we go fishing.  When we start doing that, we’ll start catching even more fish.

Z-Man Chatterbait Tips On How To Catch Fish In Them

Top 9+ ChatterBait® Commandments – A Masterclass in Bladed Jig Fishing

  • By The Fishing Wire

Ladson, SC – Any time your angling goals include personal best bass or top-10 tournament checks, chunking and winding a ChatterBait® bladed jig carves the straightest wake to success. It’s a simple, self-evident fact that continues to prove itself across North America’s waterways, almost every day of the year.

In the years since the Original ChatterBait ascended to dominance on the national bass scene, a new lure-category sensation emerged, evolved and snowballed catch rates. Newer, refined Z-Man® bladed jigs offered subtle variations in vibration and unpredictable hunting action, as well as delivering select situational tools, such as the ChatterBait Elite EVO™ and WillowVibe™, which shine both shallow and deep.

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Seems like a no-brainer now. But the enchantment of a ChatterBait and its propensity to produce epic outings often depend on the details. A quick change in the cadence. Reading the blade’s musical language. A little tweak in lure or trailer selection, color or jighead weight can bring about radical results. Read on and learn more . . .

Top 9 (+1) ChatterBait Tips

ChatterBait
Top 9+ ChatterBait® Commandments 1

(1) Color Coordinate – A common head-scratching bladed jig puzzle, color-coding your chosen ChatterBait with the right soft plastic trailer is usually easier than we make it. Sure, you can run wildly contrasting combos like a pearl-pattern ChatterBait MiniMax™ with a chartreuse/red tail MinnowZ™, or a ‘glitter-bomb’ ChatterBait Elite EVO with a fire-craw ChatterSpike™ for a different look.

Or, to follow the lead of pro anglers who face this riddle every day, you might opt instead to color-match your chosen ElaZtech® trailer to the bladed jig itself. For imitating crayfish, give ‘em a double dose of green pumpkin. In stained or tea-colored water, try black and blue all over. In high, dirty water, especially in spring, it’s all fire-craw orange, all the time. Or, for mimicking openwater baitfish, a one-two punch of shad-white to shad-white’s just right. You get the idea. The goal should mostly be to create one cohesive, color-coordinated critter—a continuous lure that impersonates nature rather than a cosplay convention.

ChatterBait

(2) Pattern-Matching Trailers – While color coordinating your bladed jig and trailer can be critical, many anglers overlook the role the soft plastic bait plays in altering ChatterBait action and depth. For bottom hugging crawfish patterns, go slow or ‘stop-and-go’ with a double legged creature like the Gremlin™ or GOAT™. To imitate a bluegill in shallow cover, try a subtle, super realistic RaZor ShadZ™.

For probing slightly deeper—and for medium retrieve speeds—rig a slim-profile paddletail. The 4” DieZel MinnowZ™ or Scented PaddlerZ™ pair nicely with a ChatterBait Elite EVO or a JackHammer™.

To kick up the speed or max out a ChatterBait’s random juking movements, dial back tail action to a nervous little wag. A slender ChatterSpike™ or a 4- or 5-inch Scented Jerk ShadZ™ take a backseat to blade action, empowering the lure to perform those evasive, unpredictable moves that incite angry strikes.

PRO TIP: Try ‘vertical rigging’ a Z-Man GOAT, creating a cool scissor kicking double-tail swimbait trailer.

(3) Multispecies Mods – The ChatterBait’s prowess with big bass is undeniable. And yet, just off the radar, anglers seeking walleye, pike and redfish continue tapping alternative bites, thanks to the power of the blade.

Reserve your abused, naked (skirtless) ChatterBait JackHammers for walleye or pike duty. Add a paddletail swimbait and go to work around cabbage and other toothy critter cover. Or, kick up the visual attraction factor with an Eye Strike® ChatterBait. This eye-catching, naked bladed jig is the perfect vehicle for spicing your favorite redfish or walleye swimbait with flash, wobble and those good vibrations.

PRO TIP: Try probing deeper and slightly slower for walleye or bass with a ChatterBait WillowVibe / Slim SwimZ™ combo. This little ChatterBait offshoot has become a secret weapon among top river smallmouth and walleye guides.

ChatterBait

(4) Go Deep – Quietly, select bass anglers are also mining deepwater bass with unconventional ChatterBait techniques. Instead of fishing shallow and horizontal with the crowd, consider grinding deep river channels, bluff banks and boulders. Think big bass. Untapped spots and smallmouths. Grind bottom just fast enough to keep the blade pulsing. Sweep the rod forward. Stop and reel slack as the lure “chatters” on the drop.

The money move for going deep remains a ¾- or 1-1/4-ounce JackHammer, dressed with a craw or creature bait trailer. Heavier bladed jigs hug bottom, traversing deep, rocky terrain, and alerting bass with audible collisions and amped up blade music.

ChatterBait

(5) Tackling Up – While no single ChatterBait rod matches every application, pro anglers often favor a 7’1” to 7’4” casting rod for traditional horizontal retrieves. For ripping cover and controlling big fish, Z-Man pros prefer rods with stout spines. The tip section should be moderately fast, just soft enough to read yet absorb blade vibes with ease. Some anglers prefer a glass crankbait rod.

To match a variety of retrieves, consider a casting reel with a 7:1 or even an 8:1 gear ratio. Among pros, consensus is to opt for 30- to 50-pound test fluorocarbon for abrasion resistance, sensitivity and slight stretch.

(6) Cut the Grass – Turn angst with inevitable grass snags into bonus bites. When the lure comes up tight to a plant stalk, give the rod a fast, forceful rip. Not only will this power play immediately clear the lure of leafy debris, the sudden speed burst often coerces nearby bass to take a swing. Pay particular attention to what happens to the lure as it settles, immediately after attaining escape velocity.

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Top 9+ ChatterBait® Commandments 2

(7) Off the Rails – As noted, ChatterBait trailer selection can impact lure depth and action, particularly the ease with which it enters ‘hunt mode.’ Empowered to randomly “go off the rails,” the ChatterBait Elite EVO becomes an evasive, juking machine when you suddenly speed up, slow down or give the rod a fast pop.

PRO TIP: Tournament anglers often use the gears of their high-speed casting reels—rather than rod action— to make the lure cut and dart randomly.

(8) Speed Demon – To big bass, there’s something irresistible about a fast-fleeing baitfish. It’s why burning a heavier, streamlined ChatterBait-trailer combo over skinny water can produce electrifying big fish bites. Be sure to rig it with a low-action, low-drag trailer for minimum water resistance and maximum speed. Scream a ½- to ¾-ounce bladed jig alongside a grassline. Shoot the lure past and parallel to boat docks. Don’t be surprised when a supertanker suddenly warps in and grabs the lure right beside your boat.

PRO TIP: If you enjoy arm-jarring eats, try burning a heavy, compact ½-ounce ChatterBait MiniMax with a 3.5” Jerk ShadZ or Finesse ShadZ™ across shallow rock or weed flats—especially sweet for jumbo smallmouths.

(9) Blade & Bite Music – If you’re paying attention, it’s impossible not to detect the musical, melodic vibration of a ChatterBait bladed jig. But “listening” closely to these sounds through your line down to your hands reveals what’s happening down below. When you hit the sweet spot, speed-wise, the blade sings, producing a pleasing rod-strumming cadence. It tells you when a piece of grass clings and comes aboard. And most importantly, when the blade suddenly stops thumping in its usual rapid drumbeat pulse, it nearly always means a bass has crashed the party. Reel down fast and sweep the hook home.

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Top 9+ ChatterBait® Commandments 3

BONUS TIP: Auto (Instant) Activation – Anglers who choose a non ChatterBait bladed jig often realize the lure requires them to “activate” the blade—to get it pulsing— usually by popping the rodtip or briefly reeling extra fast. As pro anglers know, bass often sit tight to the bank, or within inches of cover. They’re waiting to ambush an animal. And if your bladed jig isn’t auto-activating and vibrating right out of the gate, if could be a long day.

Conversely, if you’re casting the real deal—a ChatterBait Elite EVO, JackHammer or StealthBlade™—the lure’s blade self-engages. No need for extra tricks or standing on one leg to get the blade to engage. Simply tie on an original ChatterBait bladed jig and get bit on those critical first few cranks of the reel handle. Easy like Sunday morning.

Where and How To Catch Early Ice Walleyes

Early Ice Walleyes

  • from The Fishing Wire

By Bob Jensen

Interest in fishing for walleyes is growing and diversifying.  One thing that remains the same when it comes to walleye fishing is that lakes in some regions are going to freeze over in the winter months.    The walleye enthusiasts that live in the areas that see ice get especially excited about fishing through early ice for walleyes.  When you’re sure that the ice is safe, here’s how you can catch walleyes early in the ice fishing season.

Start looking for early season ice walleyes in the same areas where you caught them late in the open water season.  If the walleyes were there in late open water, they’ll usually still be there, at least for a while.  Points, sunken islands, and the edges of flats will all produce.  

If you’re fishing shallow water, a quiet approach will be most productive.  Shallow water walleyes, and fish in general, can get spooked by too much noise or commotion overhead.  On the other hand, if you’re fishing deeper, say fifteen feet or more, you can move around without as much risk of spooking the walleyes.  However, it works best to pop a bunch of holes along and over the structure before you start fishing.  Get the noisy activity out of the way before you drop a line.

Different anglers have different ideas about walleye fishing through the ice.  Some like to sit on a spot and hope the walleyes come to them, others like to move around and try to find the fish.  Here’s a good rule-of-thumb:  Early in the season sit still or move a little.  Wait’em out.  As the season progresses and the ice gets thicker and the snow cover increases, the angler who moves around will get more action.  

A spoon of some sort is what many anglers use for early ice walleyes.  Actually spoons are a big part of a walleye angler’s arsenal the entire ice season. But spoons have different characteristics, and those characteristics appeal to walleyes in different ways.

Rattling spoons are very popular.  In stained water, the rattling noise helps fish find your bait.  In clear water, the rattle will attract fish from farther away.  The new Rattlin’ PT Spoon has a painted hook that adds to the flash.

A spoon’s design and material that it’s made of will affect how it falls.  Spoons like a Ribbon Leech Flutter Spoon, as the name suggests, has a distinct flutter as it slowly falls.  A Pinhead Spoon is built to fall faster with less flutter. Both have a very important role in fishing through the ice for walleyes. 

There’s no doubt that sonar will enable us to catch more fish.  There are times when a walleye will come in and look at your spoon but not eat it.  The sonar reveals this.  When the fish looks at your spoon but doesn’t eat it, it will often eat a minnow on a plain hook.  When you initially set up on a spot, drill two holes.  Work the spoon under one hole, put a minnow under a bobber down the other hole.  When the walleye comes in and looks at but doesn’t eat the spoon, they’ll often eat the minnow.  Vexilar makes several units that enable an angler to see an expanded area of the water column, and that is going to help us turn the lookers into biters.

Some very accomplished ice-anglers feel the early ice period is best for ice fishing.  Find out for yourself how good this early ice action for walleyes can be.

Is Fishing The Carolina Rig The Anytime Big Fish Technique

Fishing The Carolina Rig The Anytime Big Fish Techniqu

from The Fishing Wire

Whether competing in a bass tournament or simply fishing a weekend afternoon, all anglers are constrained by one element: time. This time constraint has led to the strategy known as “power fishing,” epitomized by the run-and-gun approach introduced by Kevin Van Dam, who recently retired with the best track record in competitive bass fishing history.

Power fishing is not just fishing fast; rather, it’s about covering water with improved time management and efficiency in order to get a sense of how the most active bass are behaving on a given day. Once located, an angler can slow to a more methodical means to catch more bass located in an area.

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What if you could utilize a technique that offered the best of both worlds: long casts to cover water relatively quickly but also a means to efficiently probe the lake bottom and surrounding cover for bass? Such is the appeal of the Carolina rig, aka the “ball and chain.”
The Carolina rig shot to the national spotlight in the 1985 Bassmaster’s Classic when Jack Chancellor dragged it across river sand bars for the winning catch. He called it the “Do-Nothing Rig,” which is appropriate given the simplicity of the technique.

The Carolina rig is a heavy barrel weight, such as Epic’s ¾ or 1 oz Tungsten Barrel Weight, separated from the hook and an 18-36” leader by a barrel swivel. Most anglers will include a series of plastic or metal beads above the swivel knot to cushion it from the heavy sinker and add an audible component to attract a bass’ attention.

If you want extra cushion and less clack, use the XL Blue-Colored Weight Peg from Epic. Place the peg right above the swivel so that when the weight comes down, it will bounce back. If Epic’s Tungsten Bead is on there, then it will have a different sound than glass beads.

Soft plastic choices for the Carolina rig are a matter of the angler’s imagination and preference, with creature baits and craws a popular choice, as are the more subtle 5-inch “french fry” worms or even the ubiquitous Senko. Choices in hooks can include a 3-4/0 EWG (extra wide gap), such as the AlphaPoint® Assault Tactical Wide Gap Hook, or the offset round bend hooks in the same size.

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Typically, the Carolina rig uses 30-50# braided line to eliminate stretch on a long hookset. The leader material is usually 12-15 pound fluorocarbon to reduce underwater line visibility and increase abrasion resistance.

The Carolina rig can be fished on the bottom from shallow to deep, stirring up sediment as the heavyweight drags along the bottom with short bursts from the rod tip. The efficiency of the setup comes from the ability to bomb the rig great distances with long casts due to the heavy sinker. The sinker also impacts structure along the lake bottom as it drags, which draws fish to the commotion. It also offers feedback to the astute angler about the composition of the lake bottom. One can feel the tactile change in feedback through the rod tip as the sinker drags through the muted feel of a silty bottom to the more “crunchy” sensation of gravel or shell bottom. These little patches of gravel and shell are what is known as a “hard bottom” among accomplished offshore anglers and is considered “the juice” when searching for schools of feeding bass.

Among all the components of dragging a Carolina rig effectively, the rod is front and center. The technique requires a specialized rod long enough to heft the heavy sinker and extend leader a great distance while also maintaining the sensitivity to feel those subtle bottom changes through the rod tip. The new KastKing Assegai “Sweet Caroline” is aptly named, as it checks all the boxes for defining the perfect rod for lobbing and dragging the old ball and chain.

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At 7 ‘6”, the Sweet Caroline has the needed length to fire the Carolina rig to its maximum range, as well as move a lot of line in a hurry on the hookset with a sweep of the long rod. Considered a “fast/medium/heavy” action, this technique-specific rod from KastKing also offers the tip sensitivity to feel the bottom and detect the bite, but has the power to drive the hook home on bass from a great distance.

Want a wide spool reel that eliminates backlashes and also lets you know the distance of your last cast? You can pair the Assegai rod with the new KastKing iReel, which is an incredibly smooth reel that casts the Carolina rig a country mile. At ICAST ’23, all the buzz centered around the iReel’s ability to provide audible feedback for the casting distance, as well as retrieve speed, both important metrics when fishing any lure. Should you choose to turn off the audio capability, the iReel records all the casting data to your phone via the KastKing app for your review at a later time.

The Carolina rig is a versatile technique that can be fished fast or slow, shallow or deep, regardless of the season. When searching for schools of bass away from the shoreline, drag ‘em up with the “ball and chain.”

How and Where To Catch April Bartletts Ferry – Harding Bass

April Bartletts Ferry – Harding Bass

with Tyler Morgan

        Bass fishing is fantastic on all our lakes in April, but you should consider a trip to Bartletts Ferry/Harding.  The bass are up shallow in pockets and creeks, with some spawning and others ready to go on the bed or feeding after spawning.  You can catch a lot of spots and largemouth on a variety of baits.

    Bartletts Ferry/Harding is a small Georgia Power lake on the Chattahoochee River downstream of West Point.  It is an old lake, with a lot of wood and rock cover and docks lining the banks.  Both Georgia and Alabama fishing licenses are valid on all waters of this border lake.

    Many bass moved up to spawn in late February after the couple of warm weeks we had, but cold fronts drove the bigger fish back out when the water temperature dropped. All those fish are shallow and ready to be caught right now.  You can catch them on your favorite lures for shallow water fishing around wood, rocks and docks.

    Tyler Morgan has lived in Columbus all his life and started fishing pot tournaments with his dad, Stan, when he was six years old.  He fishes up to five tournaments a week on Bartletts Ferry/Harding and Eufaula now, competing in local pot tournaments and charity tournaments on both lakes.

    A few years ago Tyler started fishing BFL tournament as a co-angler and won the Bulldog Division Co-Angler of the Year twice.  Last year he changed to fishing the boater side and won the BFL at Lanier.  He has fished 33 tournaments on that trail, winning four and finishing in the top ten 16 times.

    Tyler impressed me with his ability to skip a swim jig into the thickest cover, places most fishermen never hit.  He is like many younger fishermen, with skills and knowledge of fishing at 21 years old that far exceed my own, even though I am more than three times his age and have been fishing club tournaments more than twice as long as he has been alive. He is well equipped to further his fishing career.

    “Bartletts Ferry/Harding is full of spots, some of them good size, but it has more quality largemouth than most fishermen realize,” Tyler said.  He focuses on catching those big largemouth since they are what he needs to win tournaments, and his tackle selection and places he fishes reflects that goal.

    For April, Tyler will have a square bill crankbait, a Z-Man Jackhammer Chatterbait, a Spro Popping Frog, a swim jig and a jig and pig rigged for fishing shallow pockets. He will throw a spinnerbait but finds he catches more fish on a swim jig than on a flashy bait.  He likes to fish shallow year-round since he can catch big largemouth that way. He does catch some spots in the places he fishes and baits he uses, but they are not his goal.

    We fished in early March, right after a cold front came through after two warm weeks the end of February, and dropped the water temperature several degrees, pushing the bigger fish back out. We caught a lot of bass but not the big ones hoped for.

    1. N 32 41.588 – W 85 09.767 – Going up Halawaka Creek upstream of the Highway 379 “Long Bridge” past the small island on your right, there is a creek entering on the right at some condos.  Go to the left bank across from the condos and start fishing the riprap in front of a brown house.

    This creek is a good example of the kind of place Tyler fishes in April. He will fish fast, covering water looking for active bass.  Start on the riprap with a square bill and parallel it. Sun on them warms the rocks and draws in bass to feed on baitfish and crawfish.

    Tyler fishes a red crankbait since it imitates crawfish in April. He fishes it fast to see how active the fish are, but pauses it during the retrieve to stimulate a bite.  He wants it bumping the rocks. If fishing it fast does not get a bite, especially early in the month, he will “count rocks” with his crankbait, slowing it down and bumping every rock with it.

    Fish all the way around this small double creek. There are docks with brush piles, especially on the left bank going in, and Tyler with throw a jig and pig around the docks and brush. In more shallow area he will try a swim jig and chatterbait.

    2.  N 32 41.235 – W 85 09.993 – Going upstream and across the lake, where the creek narrows, a small cove is on your left.  The upstream point is a grassy hill with a concrete seawall with posts in it and riprap at the base of it, going around the point.

    Start on the outside of the point and fish around it with your crankbait.  Also try a chatterbait, fishing it parallel to the rocks, too. Tyler likes a red and black chatterbait with a black Baby Brush
Hog trailer for the same reason he chooses a red crankbait.

    When you get to docks, skitter a jig and pig under them.  Also run a swim jig along the posts. 
In the shallows, especially where there are grass patches, fish a swim jig through it. Also run it through any wood cover, from brush to blowdowns, in shallow water.

    Fish all the way around this cove. Fish bed in the back and side ditches in it and the other places marked. Slow down some and look for beds in shallow water if it is clear enough to see them.  If stained a swim jig over them will often make a big female show herself.

    3. N 34 41.151 – W 85 10.388 – Go under the old railroad trestle and stop on the round point just upstream of the first pocket on your left. The point goes around to a bigger creek. Stop at the big concrete ramp and boat house pad and fish your crankbait and chatterbait parallel to the riprap around the point.

    There is brush here on the rocks and that sometimes concentrates the fish.  Fish it all, working both baits into the upstream creek. Use your jig and pig and swim   jig around thicker brush and docks.  Bass stage on the point both pre and post spawn and feed, then move back to spawn. Fish in the creek for the ones already in there, too.

    4.  N 32 41.256 – W 85 11.146 – Going up the creek the Prince Road bridge is to your left as the creek turns. On the right another smaller creek enters the bigger creek and is a good spawning area. It has a good bit of grass and a lot of wood cover in it so fish it all.

    Stop on the point on your left going into the smaller creek, the one with a dock, boat ramp and light pole near the water. This flat point has a good bit of grass on it, so it is a good place for the swim jig as is the other grass and wood cover in this creek.  You can spend a lot of time fishing here since the creek is fairly big and has several ditches and small arms in it.

    Tyler uses a Dirty Jigs swim jig since it has a big, heavy hook needed when fighting a big bass on braid line in cover.  He likes a white jig and puts a Zoom Fat Albert white twin tail trailer on it in stained water. If the water is clear, he will go to a more translucent jig and trailer.

    Skitter the jig across the top of the water as far back into cover as you can. Be ready for a hit as soon as it stops. Start reeling immediately.   Tyler twitches his rod tip constantly making the jig jerk and twitch on the retrieve. He says he loves the way bass slam a swim jig and inhale it.

    5.  N 32 40.772 – W 85 11.204 – Under Prince Bridge the creek goes to the right and a smaller creek enters on the left. Go into the creek on the left to the first point past the main creek point and start fishing.  The point has a bleached out wood dock in front of a wood seawall. Fish from the dock around the flat pocket past it.

    This shallow flat warms fast and has a lot of wood cover and some grass on it. Tyler says it holds a surprising number of fish, even though it does not look like much.  A swim jig is good all around it since it comes through the grass without hanging and goes over wood cover even if it is on the surface.

    If the bass don’t seem to want the faster moving swim jig, pitch a jig and pig to all the wood cover here. Let if fall by the dock posts and logs in the cove.  Tyler uses a black and red or solid black three–eighths ounce jig with a matching Strike King Rage Craw on it.

    6.  N 32 40.605 – W 85 11.260 – Ahead of you a long flat point comes out and points to a steeper bank with a green shed, single and double boat docks on the opposite side. This is an old pond dam across the creek and it has rocks and some brush on it.  It is a great staging area for pre and post spawn fish.

    Fish across the dam, keeping your boat off it and running your crankbait over the top and bumping rocks with a jig and pig.  You can also fish a Carolina rig or shaky head on it, but Tyler does not usually slow down enough to work those kinds of baits. 

    After fishing the dam work the steeper rocky bank on the other side, then fish around the back of the creek with swim jig and crankbait for fish back in there spawning. In April Tyler will always have a Texas rigged white Zoom Speed Craw ready to throw into beds when he sees them.

    7.  N 32 41.353 – W 85 10.260 –  Going back down the lake under the railroad trestle the first fairly big cove on your left has a small dock in front of a brown brick house. The point has riprap around it and is a good feeding area for staging fish that spawn back in the cove.

    Start on the riprap with crank bait and chatterbait. Go around the point into the cove, fishing wood cover and any grass with a swim jig.  It is worth trying a frog on grass here and any other of these places if the water is 62 degrees or warmer. Tyler likes a black and yellow Spro Popping Frog but warns it is a big fish bait.  You won’t get many bites, but those that do are likely to be big.  Throw it for a kicker fish around grass, wood and docks.

    8.  N 32 40.991 – W 85 09.472 – Down the lake on your right a narrow point comes out and points downstream.  It is on the upstream side of a narrow cove.  On the left side going in, across from the point, is a rounded cement seawall that leads to a block boathouse on the bank with boat rails coming out of it.

    Stop at the boathouse and fish the rails and seawall, then skip a swimming jig or frog under overhanging brushes along the bank. Not far down this bank is a small ditch where Tyler says he caught a five pounder off the bed last year.

    Fish the back of the cove in the shallows with swimm jig while watching for beds.   Pitch your Speed Craw to any you see and try to get the big female on them to hit.  A frog over the beds and shallow wood will also get bites.  

    9.  N 32 41.386 – W 85 09.182 – Down the lake behind the island on your left just above the bridge a small cove runs back a short distance. The left bank going in is steeper rock and concrete rubble and there is wood all along it.  Start at the upstream point and fish around this cove.

    The rocks and rubble offer a good feeding area for bass to eat crayfish so your crankbait and chatterbait are good. Tyler says a lot of bass bed back in the cove, more than you would think for such a small cove. Fish it carefully, working the dock and wood cover back here, and casting to places where beds should be even if you can’t see them.

    10. N 32 40.940 – W 85 09.342 – Straight across the lake a small cove goes back from the lake and makes a short dogleg to the right in the back. It is just upstream of the big creek that enters closer to the bridge.  There is green roof dock on the right bank and an underground house and shed in the back.  Start at the green roof dock and fish around the cove.

    Work the right and left sides with crankbait and chatterbait. The left bank has two concrete and rock piers and Tyler says bass often hold right on them.  Work both sides carefully, and fish the very back in the shallows for bedding fish.

    We caught small buck bass on almost every one of these places in early March. By now the females have joined them. Give them a try.

You can follow Tyler on Facebook and see some of his catches at https://www.facebook.com/tyler.morgan.980967

    Do you find these Map of the Month articles helpful?  If so visit http://fishing-about.com/keys-to-catching-georgia-bass-ebook-series/ – you can get an eBook or CD with an article for each month of the year on Clarks Hill and Lanier.