The Bass Kicker

Toyota Texas Bass Share a Lunker Program!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Mon, 02 May 2011 21:40:00 +0000

This is what Indiana Needs!!!

Fall transition bass!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 18:47:00 +0000

Bottom Bugging for Big Bass!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 20:01:00 +0000

Check out this video from Wired to fish:
http://www.wired2fish.com/Media851/Biffle-talks-Bottom-Bugging.aspx

A BASS BAIT painstakingly made one at a time at a local angler's home won the biggest bass tournament to hit Oklahoma in three years.

Gene Larew Lures' Biffle Bug has long been in production, but Tommy Biffle took it to a new level and carried the day at the Bassmaster Elite Series Sooner Run tournament. He said every one of the 20 bass he bagged in the event was caught on the lure.

The new combo may in fact be named the "Hard-head Biffle Bug," as tournament winner Biffle said in introducing the bait Sunday on the Bassmaster stage.

The bait is very much a Biffle-developed item.

"We have started the legal process of seeing if that can be the name," said Gene Larew Lures spokesman Gary Dollahon. "We like to talk about him about being so hard-headed in his approach on things and the way he fishes that it would be the perfect name for it."

The Tulsa-based lure company is expediting everything about the yet-to-be-produced lure after Biffle's win this weekend, he said.

Bass fishermen might talk about it as a combination of technique and shape that combines the properties of a football-head jig, shaky jig, Texas rig and a crankbait. Regular folks may come to know it as a weighted, weedless, soft-plastic bait that is simply fished by holding the rod tip
up and cranking to bounce it off rocks and structure. As Biffle said, "It's thump-thump-thump, thump, and set the hook if it's not hitting the rocks because a bass picked it up."

Gene Larew's Biffle Bug, a ribbed beaver-tail type creature bait with Larew's signature salt impregnation and lizard legs, has been on the market for some time. But the weighted heads and hooks have been made one at a time at the home of one of his friends. The folks at Larew are keeping the friend's name close to the vest as they pursue arrangements for commercial production.

The plastic bait used in the Sooner Run was poured specially for Biffle by Gene Larew. It is dark green on top and has red metallic flakes in the lower parts and tail.

"The specific color is dark-backed watermelon pepper neon," Dollahon said. "It is planned as a 2011 color, but we are expediting it. It will be introduced next month at the ICast Show in Las Vegas."

At a tournament two weeks ago, Biffle ran out of the samples and altered others he had on hand. "He was taking a black magic marker and coloring the backs," Dollahon said.

Prior to that tournament, he sat at his friend's house helping him make the jig-headed hooks used with the bait.

A 4-ought wide-gap worm hook is attached to the head by a stainless-steel wire loop set in the football-shaped painted lead head. The jointed design is the key to allowing the creature bait to flip and flop around as the lure is bounced over the rocks, Dollahon said.

"He's made them, bending the wire and poring them in a single-cavity mold one at a time," Dollahon said. "It's a labor-intensive process."

Gene Larew has been talking with a manufacturer about producing the jig heads with the worm hook that swings freely. "We're certainly accelerating our schedule for getting into it," Dollahon said.

The jig and Biffle Bug combo actually is one of two baits the company is working on that use a similar technique, both born of the Grand River system lakes. The company also is working with longtime Grand Lake guide Ivan Martin on a soft-plastic bait for a shaky-head jig technique he has been using that involves a steady retrieve and bouncing lead off rocky substrates.

"Two guys, unbeknownst to each other were using similar baits and a similar type of fishing," Dollahon said. "It's been a somewhat protected technique that started, I believe, in the Table Rock Lake area, only in deeper, clear water. As Oklahoma fishermen always do, they take it from there and make it work for them."

By KELLY BOSTIAN Outdoors

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=25&articleid=20100622_29_B2_Thebai832187

The life of KVD on Tour!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Sun, 30 May 2010 07:27:00 +0000

Mike Iconelli Strokin the Jig!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Sun, 30 May 2010 07:17:00 +0000

Kids adults and the love of fishing!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Fri, 28 May 2010 04:35:00 +0000

The excitement of bass fishing never dies even at 40 yrs old I feel like the same ol kid many years ago when I catch a nice big bass, I remember when I was a youngen I'd catch bass at my Uncles lake and with my heart pounding 100 miles an hour it just never got old for me. Back in them days we would catch 100 bass a day without having to work at it like you do nowadays with all the pressure on the lakes! You couldn't pull me and my cousin off the lake without practically threatening us with a woopen!!

Today at 40 yrs. old I still go Bass fishing every chance I can get away from the daily grind of life, but the difference is I get to take my own son Erik or my daughter Valarie and teach them the skills I've learned over the years from my Dad and Uncles and my own developed skills over the many years of Bass fishing.

Through all the tangled webs of fishing string, lost lures, crossed lines, hooks in the head, lips, fingers, broken poles, rod and reels dropped in the water and lost, and other headaches of teaching a kid at an early age the sport of fishing. Let me tell ya it's all worth it in the end. If you think it takes patients to fish, take a kid that's never been and you will see what patients is all about Rotflmao.

All my fellow Bass fisherman out there know what I'm talking about when I say once you get the bass fever it never goes away. Here is a list of things about bass fishing I love:

The first launch of the boat in the morning at 4am when the fog is still hovering above the water as we sip our coffee and troll over to the first marked hotspot of any of our many favorite lakes.
The anticipation, excitement and smile on both my son or daughters face.
The mastering of precision casts from years of experience of fishing with the baitcaster.
The sound of an exploding bass hitting a surface topwater lure.
The huge swirls, splashes and V's in the water of big moving fish.
The abundance of other wildlife around you.
The stories, fishtales, and jokes of past trips and just other good conversation.
Just being in the water floating in the boat surrounded by natural habitat and lake structure.
Creating memories that will last a lifetime.

These are just a few things that come to mind when I think about Bass fishing. Below is a pic of my son with his first 5 pound Bass at age 12. I am so proud of him and it inspired me to write this post. If you have caught largemouth bass in the bigger range 5 pounds or better you know how hard they can pull, getting it in the boat is always a task in its own. I have lost as MANY big fish in my days as the ones I've landed, some I really regret, but that's the lure that keeps ya coming back what might happen the next time. But always remember its about having fun! Enjoying the peace serenity of nature, the water, and family and friends to share it with.

Buzz Bait Tactics!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Tue, 25 May 2010 23:07:00 +0000

I ran across this Excellent post from BassDozer website and had to post this exerpt..I apoligize for not posting any news lately on The Basskicker. I have been really busy and havn't had the time to update the blog much.

When Not to Use It. I find that there are moments, days, weeks, months, and even whole bodies of water when/where the buzzbait just doesn't do it for me. If fish are going to hit the buzz, they'll let you know about it muy pronto. If I give the buzz a chance (and I always do) and the fish don't want it, then I don't use it. It seems pretty clear to me when they don't want it, you can't raise them (at the moment, this day, this week, on this pond, etc.). There's also an in between thing, when they hit, but you can tell their hearts are just not in it. Don't waste your time. The right thing to do here is to go to other lures.

Better Bites on Spinnerbaits? There have been times when I think I am doing good with a buzzbait, and somehow I wonder if I might be able to do better with a spinnerbait or other lure. Sometimes this is true.

Here's how you can find out: Identify a starting place - let's call it "point A" - for a long area that you want to cover, and start buzzing away. Such an exciting lure for the angler to use! There is speculation that it excites the fish too, and can heighten the awareness of less-than-active fish. However, after five casts or so over the same spot, I am always afraid I run the risk of turning the fish negative. Actually, your first cast really matters most. After that, you are fishing used water. So, buzz along a stretch of 100 yards or so. Hopefully, you'll get some bass. Whether you do or not, don't wear out your welcome. Don't cast again if fish violently blow up and miss the bait, or if they make half-hearted attempts at it, or follow it but don't hit. You REALLY risk turning them off, especially the big ones. Just wait until you get to the end of the run, then tie on a spinnerbait and circle back to point A where you started from and refish the same areas with a spinnerbait. Hopefully, you'll pick more fish - maybe even more than hit the buzz. After that, if you are in heavy grass, wood, rocks, return to point A and make a third pass with a fiberguard jig and twintail spider grub or jig n'pig. Pay no mind to the open areas you already covered. Get into the nastiest stuff that you couldn't hit with the pinbaits. Go right for the densest weed clumps and shake those weeds up. Cast right at the biggest tree limbs and let the jig BANG full speed, then drop into the water. Knock it around down there. Screw down your drag and throw it 4-5 feet deep into the points and cuts along reed stands. Rustle those canes. Winch a few out of there and you'll get to feeling like you're king again!

Take a Smoke Break. I am always interested to hear if anyone has any good ways to get bass to hit again after they miss a buzzbait. What I like to do is wait 2-3 minutes before casting again to the exact same spot. Especially with big bass, I have found that I risk turning them off completely if I recast to the same spot immediately. I will always remember one dark night when my friend Tony had the biggest commotion completely miss his buzzbait. He was all ready to fire it back out when I advised him, "No, you've got to wait." Well, he lit a cigarette and when he finished smoking it, he put it right back there and caught a nine pound New York bass!

Scent. I do not believe that scent is a major factor to the initial attraction of a buzzbait. However, scent may add some value when a fish near misses the bait on the first cast - the taste of scent may encourage the bass to take another swipe when you cast back to the same spot.

Around riprap, always make the lure make contact with the rocks. Sometimes with the buzzbait, I will bring it towards a nice collection of rocks, kill the retrieve and let it helicopter down into thick chunk rock. Then I will just jig it like a jig and let it clank all around down there while I stumble it forward. This is also a good tactic to use in any area, not just riprap, AT NIGHT when bass blow up and miss the buzz. Kill it, let it sink and bumble it around on the bottom…and feel for that mushy kind of jig pick-up.

Deadsticking. Occasionally when I have gotten a wind knot in my line, I have even seen bass pick up the buzzbait after it was resting idle on the bottom for 30 seconds or more. They streak off to the side with it in their mouths - just like they would pick up a rubber worm and streak off with it.

Windy or Calm? Buzzbaits will work in the windiest or calmest conditions and everywhere in between. Early morning and late evening calm waters are "classic" buzzbait conditions. The only thing I will add is that under strong windy conditions over 15 knots, when I think I am doing good in the wind with buzzbaits, I always try spinnerbaits fished a couple of feet under the surface and often find that I can do even better with them.

Tackle Tinkering. I have good fishing pals who are always experimenting with their equipment and their techniques. My friend Eto is a tireless tinkerer. He takes the aluminum blades and drill 2-3 holes in each wing. He also likes to bend the wire arm until the blade ticks and stutters against it on the retrieve. He sometimes uses erratic retrieves, moving the lure fast, then slow, then fast again. Sometimes dramatically, sometimes only a subtle kind of twitching that causes the buzz to spit. And then there's my friend Vinnie from San Diego who drives long distances to buy Yamamoto buzzbaits because they are made with oversized wire holes in the blades to create more squeak. And then there are clackers, different colored blades, etc. And people always say to bend the wire arm to make the buzz run underneath docks or into rock walls. And everyone knows the one about hanging your buzzer out the car window as you speed down to the lake. Years ago, I got sucked into this hoopla too. I was making my own in-line buzzbaits. The in-line is somewhat more weedless when fished through thick grass mats. Yes, any of these variations may make a difference at times, but... Read the full article at the Bassdozer.

My favorite tactic with a buzzbait is to throw it up on shore and let it bounce off the shoreline into the water. This tactic takes some practice. Once mastered it will reap BIG rewards in the right conditions.

Basskicker

4/20/2010 Bass Fishing Trip!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 21:39:00 +0000

Weather: Calm no wind

Lake Clarity: Clear

Lure: Buzz Bait (ChatterBuzz from R & S Baits!) Black head white/blue glitter skirt. With a trailorhook.

30 lbs. of Largemouth bass in two days. It was a great two days of fishing.

2 Bass at 5 lbs. rest were 3lbs or better.

2010 Minn Kota I-Pilot Freshwater Wireless GPS Trolling System!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:17:00 +0000

Minn Kota introduces i-Pilot, a trolling motor control system which utilizes GPS technology to automatically navigate and position the boat for anglers. “This is a true breakthrough in trolling motor technology,” Minn Kota Product Manager Dave Maryanov said. “What better way to keep you on fish than to have the trolling motor automatically position the boat for you. This is the ultimate in hands-free operation.”

i-Pilot integrates GPS technology into Minn Kota Terrova, PowerDrive V2, Riptide ST, or Riptide SP bow-mount trolling motors. This creates a new level of versatility for the angler and offers several features that have never before been available on a trolling motor. The Record a Track feature allows an entire fishing track, up to a remarkable two miles in length, to be stored to memory for immediate retracing or a later return trip. As many as three different tracks can be recorded and stored at a time.

The revolutionary Spot-Lock feature works like an electronic anchor, holding the boat in place. If the boat drifts more than five feet from the Spot-Lock location, i-Pilot will activate the trolling motor to keep the angler on the designated spot. It automatically corrects for wind, waves, current and drift. The “recall” feature for Spot-Lock provides the ability to return to that specific location at a later time. Up to three Spot-Lock locations can be stored at a time.

The i-Pilot system offers another groundbreaking innovation being offered to anglers for the first time, Cruise Control. With Cruise Control, i-Pilot maintains real-time on-the-water boat speed in one-tenth mile-per-hour increments. This precise speed control allows the angler to dial in bait presentations in trolling applications.

Also included in the i-Pilot control system is the new GPS-based Advanced AutoPilot. Advanced AutoPilot utilizes a series of waypoints to maintain a true heading while adjusting for wind, waves, current and side-drift.

Integrated into the i-Pilot remote control is Minn Kota’s famous CoPilot wireless trolling motor control system. With the remote, i-Pilot users will be able to control speed and steering from anywhere in the boat. “The whole concept of our i-Pilot system is to allow anglers to adapt all of these great boat control and positioning features and utilize them to their specific fishing application,” said Maryanov.

i-Pilot is available as an add-on accessory for new or current Minn Kota Terrova, PowerDrive V2, Riptide ST and Riptide SP bow-mount trolling motors. The Suggested Retail Price for the i-Pilot system is $399.99

Minnkota website

Heavyweight Bass Classic 1 + 2, Clear Lake, Ca.

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:51:00 +0000

Fishing with bass jigs!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:22:00 +0000

Gulp Alive Baits!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:44:00 +0000

Fishing Buzzbaits with Vision Lures Transformer Buzz Bait!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:39:00 +0000

http://www.visionlure.com/servlet/StoreFront

New Clackin Rapala Bass lure!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:35:00 +0000

http://www.rapala.com/products/luresdetail.cfm?modelName=clackin_rap&freshorsalt=Fresh

Manns The Baby 1-Minus® Elite Series

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:52:00 +0000

The world-renowned shallow-running Baby 1-Minus baits from Mann’s are now available in an amazing new series that will add a whole new dimension to your fishing experience.

The new Baby 1-Minus Elite Series encompasses the same fish-catching performance features of the original, but with new colors and finishes that will entice fish like never before.
From textured bodies and 3D eyes to extra-strong red hooks, every Elite Series Baby 1-Minus is loaded to the gills. Choose from 8 super-hot new colors, each finished with astounding detail using the most advanced paints and dyes.

The Baby 1-Minus Elite Series from Mann’s; realism and performance like no fish has ever seen before.

http://www.mannsbait.com/TopPerformers/TP-Bass.html

The Reaction Innovation Squeaky Dolphin Buzzbait!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:47:00 +0000

The Reaction Innovation Squeaky Dolphin bait is a buzzbait that has been designed to provide a unique presentation compared to any other buzzbaits on the market. This buzzbait has a few unique features that help draw in fish and make them commit to strike the lure. Like all Reaction Innovation baits the Squeaky Dolphin comes in assortment of great colors, with even a yellow headed blackbird imitation.

The Squeaky Dolphin is accurately named due to the special rivet system that has been designed to emit a squeak as the buzzbait blade turns in the water as you reel it back to the boat. The rivet creates pressure on the blade creating a different sound than what normal buzzbaits make, even if you hang it out your truck window when driving trying to wear out the rivet. You don’t need to do that with this buzzbait it squeaks correctly right out of the package.

The head on this buzzbait has an innovative feature, a small brass ball is embedded onto the top of the head and raised just high enough to occasionally clack with the blade as it is retrieved. This causes an additional layer of sound of and vibration to present largemouth bass a bait that they are not accustomed to seeing swimming by their homes.

Full Review: http://www.tackletour.com/reviewrisqeakydolphin.html

Mike Iaconelli's Crankbait Tips!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:04:00 +0000

"As a power fisherman I absolutely love to fish crankbaits. The reasons are simple. I can cover an immense amount of water, and I can elicit the reaction type of strike for inactive bass."

KNOW YOUR CRANKBAITS

- each crank bait has it strengths and weaknesses. Wide wobble baits, tight wobble, wood baits, plastic baits, floater and suspenders. Get comfortable with a crankbait or a family of crankbaits. Learn what depth a particular bait will run on a mean line size. You can then use the general line conversion to add or take away depth. Example: Under the same casting distances a Norman Deep Little N on 12 lb. line will run approximately 10.5 feet. On 10 it will run 12, on 8 it will run 13.5, on 6 in the 15 range. On 14 it will run in the 9 range on 17 it will run about 7.5 feet and so on and so on. On an average expect about a foot and a half depth change with every line size change.

GENERAL RULES:

As a general rule use wide wobble crankbaits in warmer water(60 degrees and up) and use them for fishing around wood cover. Use tight wobble crankbaits in colder water (45 to 60 degree water temp) and use for fishing around weeds. Use cranks all year round.

Wide Wobble Baits (60 degrees and up):
Wooden - Bagleys diving B series, Poe's hundred series
Plastic - Mann's Plus Series, Fat Free Shads

Tight Wobble Baits (45 to 60 degrees):
Wooden - Rapala Shad Rap and Risto Rap, Cedar Shads
Plastic - Bomber A family, Rattle Traps, Norman N family

Colors
Just as in any other lure type I have two main concerns when choosing color. I'm thinking about primary forage then I'm thinking about water clarity. On the forage end I can lump together three basic color schemes.

Shad Imitating Baits - this includes all types of shad, herring, minnows, or shiners. Crankbait colors like pearl, white, silver, and chrome. (gel-flake colors)
Perch /Sunfish Imitating baits - this includes all types of Sunfish, Bluegill, Perch and Red Ear. Crankbait colors like chartreuse blue back, chartreuse black back, brown and chartreuse, firetiger(PERCH),
Crawfish Imitators - Crankbait colors that involve browns, oranges, khaki, blacks and blue in the mix.

THE DEFLECTION FACTOR

- this is probably the most critical aspect of crankbait fishing. 90 percent of the strikes I receive from crankbait fishing occur when the bait bounces off something or changes direction.
Think about that statement. This is the key to crankbait fishing. You have to be hitting off of cover, ripping the bait from weeds, or causing the bait to change direction to get the bites. Simple as that. Knowing this you must first be prepared to lose some baits. Early on in my crankbait fishing, the fear of losing my 3 dollar plug was my biggest downfall.
Another key is casting at cover from many different angles. Use multiple angles when deflecting off cover. Eventually the crankbait will bounce off the cover in the right way to elicit a strike.
The ability for a crankbait to crash and bounce off of cover and to trigger that inactive, reaction type strike is uncanny. Even when the bait is running in open water or hitting clean bottom areas, I use techniques to cause that bait to change movement. Changing speeds is my biggest method. Also throwing a jerk or pause into the retrieve will have the same effect.

The Bow and Arrow Release - One of the biggest tips that helped improve my deflection success has actually been the retrieval of snagged lures. After a friend of mine drew Rick Clunn, he showed me a modification of a retrieval technique I already knew. This let me get out more snags which equated to more strikes as the bait freed itself and more time fishing. More of a popping rhythm to the bow and arrow technique.

PARALLELING GRASS

- this is an awesome technique. It involves fishing grass lines(inside or outside grass lines). It helps you locate the sweet spots along long stretches of grass. The biggest bass and the biggest concentrations of bass, use the irregular spots in a grass line. This is typified by a some form of point or turn and is often a clump separated from the main body of grass.
Again think about cranking factors when fishing grass. A tighter wobble bait, with a pointier lip is better. Use line size to just barely tick the grass. I'll often rig up identical crankbaits on three different rods with different line sizes to find the perfect combination.
Also key to this pattern is ripping the bait free when it gets hung in the grass. My normal procedure is to first bow to the bait when it is hung in grass. It will often back away and float free. If that doesn't work, I will snap the rod tip to try and free the grass.

LIPLESS CRANKBAITS

- in a category by itself. A true reaction bait. You're looking for the same deflecting principles, although it's less of a deflective bait. It's absolutely perfect for the ripping technique in grass situations and is an awesome yo-yoing bait for cold water.

Grass - The rattle type baits work in the same grass paralleling technique talked about earlier. But they really shine as coverage bait for unidentifiable grass lines or grass flats. You can cover a tremendous amount of water. Using the ripping technique, you can free the bait anytime it hangs in grass.
Keep the same cranking traits in mind. Heavier line will allow you to keep the bait further up out of the grass. Choose colors according to the two golden rules: primary forage and water color. Use wider wobbling baits in warm and tighter in cold. You can usually determine the wobble of a rattle type bait by looking at the width of the nose of the bait. I always like to put a bigger belly hook on the bait when possible. The nose down retrieve protects the belly hook better.
Cold Water Tool - a really underutilized technique. It's an awesome fish catcher under winter and early spring conditions, say water temperature between 40-50 degrees. Again it produces that reaction type of strike associated with sluggish cold water fish.
The yo-yo technique also imitates the action of a naturally dying shad or minnow. Yo-yoing is a lot like fishing a jig or slow roll spinnerbait. I'll cast the bait out and let it fall to the bottom on a semi-slack line. Once in a while a bass will inhale it on the initial fall. After the bait hits the bottom I will pump or rip the bait back off the bottom. Again I will let it fall on a semi-slack line waiting for it to hit the bottom. I really experiment with pumping and ripping motions and speeds, until the right retrieve is found.

THE DELAY FACTOR

- there are three parts to this hook setting principle. First, I use sweep-step type of hook set. By keeping your rod tip low and sweep-stepping up or to the side I am increasing my chances for a good hook set. I am also slightly delaying the set, waiting to actually feel the fish.
Second, I am using a glass rod. The glass rod is less sensitive and more forgiving than an all graphite rod. Again this lets the bass really get the plug before I pull to set the hook.
Third, I use a monofilament line. Mono by nature has a stretchy characteristic to it. This enables even a little more delay in response time. (deep water is an exception)

LINE SIZE IS KEY

- the heavier the line the shallower the crankbait will run. The lighter the line the deeper the crankbait will run. Knowing this you can use line size to determine and fine tune the running depth of your baits. Lighter line like 8-10 pound test can help a bait achieve maximum depth. While using heavy line can keep your crankbait riding over heavy grass. (1 1/2 foot difference for each line size change)

HOOK SIZE AND STYLE

- I generally like to bump up on hook size when I can. I also generally like to use a bigger belly hook. I use regular round bend hooks. I don't like the super wide gap trebles.

SUSPEND STRIPS

- I use these when I want to get a suspending type of lure. I use them in conjunction with bigger hook replacement. I probably do this more in the early spring and in the heat of the summer more than any other time.

PAINT MARKERS

- I use these hobby pens to give a personal modification. I most often use a black marker to put on shad dots or a red marker to add some gills. I also use my paint markers to help identify my special crankbaits. Remember every crankbait is different, so mark those special performers.

TACKLE and EQUIPMENT:

As far as rods go I am a big believer on the limber theory. This for me goes with any treble hook type of bait. The slower action of the rod not only slows down your response time a little bit but helps you land far more fish.
My rods of choice are Team Daiwa SLT Cranking Rods in both a 6'6" and 7' model. The 7' for long cast situations and the 6'6" for up close target casting. Both of these rods incorporate glass into the blank giving it that slow whippy feeling.
As for reels I'm looking for something with three characteristics. First I want a reel with a large capacity spool for long cast. Second, I'm looking for a reel with a medium, not a slow retrieve. I like to have the option to reel super slow or fast. Third, I want a superior anti-reverse system. The reels I choose are the Team Daiwa Millionaire with a 5.1 to 1 ratio for long cast situations and the TDS (5.1 to 1) for up close target casting.
Line - I use green line for all my cranking. I use original Stren for 90 percent of my crankbait applications. Remember, I purposely want to increase my delay time. Mono helps me do that. In deeper water situations, I will use less stretchy Stren Sensor or Flora Carbon. I use line sizes ranging from 8 to 20 pound test. I probably use 12 pound the most.
Crankbait retrievers - definitely a tool to have! I use both the hound dog type and the pole retrievers.

Article via - Bass Fishing resource

Fishing Trip 6/30/09

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:35:00 +0000

Bass Kicker:

Lake Location: Bluegrass FWA

Weather: Overcast 7 am - 11:00 am 5-15 mph winds

Water Clarity: Clear

Topwater Lure: Zara Super Spook junior
Color: Shad blue

Fish Weight: Approx. 5Lbs Caught at 8:30 am off rock face.

Best Midrange Baitcaster Reels for $200.00!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:07:00 +0000

Full Review here: TackleTour

Full review: TackleTour

Swimming Jigs for Spring Bass!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:18:00 +0000

If you're a bass fisherman like Greg Vinson, all it takes to convince you to master a fishing technique is catching one big bass. Vinson's first bass caught swimming a jig weighed 9 pounds, 2 ounces, and today, more than 10 years later, the Yamaha pro still prefers the unusual presentation whenever he's fish- ing shallow vegetation.

"Swimming a jig not only provides an alternative to spinnerbaits," Vinson explains, "but also seems to at- tract larger fish. A jig with a twin-tail trailer is a bulky lure that creates a lot of water movement and vibra- tion but it doesn't have the flash of a spinnerbait. "You're fishing for reflex strikes, and I think bass may hit it because they haven't seen a lot of swimming jigs yet. I really use the technique a lot during the spring, but it works year-round whenever bass are using shallow cover."

Swimming a jig is easy. Instead of letting the lure sink to the bottom, it is retrieved rapidly no deeper than 8 or 10 inches below the surface. Vinson also shakes his rod tip as he reels to give the jig more action. The tech- nique has been around for many years but it has never gained widespread popularity, probably because most bass fishermen have been using spinnerbaits.

"I was getting beaten in bass tournaments on the Coosa River in Alabama where I live," Vinson laughs, "so I learned how to do it out of self defense. The old-timers there had been swimming jigs for 20 years before that, and they were trying to keep it a secret."

The Yamaha pro prefers ¼ and 3/8-oz. jigs with triangular heads and flat sides that come through cover easily; they're made by one of those old timers who used to out-fish him on the Coosa, too. "One of the special tricks I like to use is stopping my retrieve as I swim the jig over the top of a clump of vegetation, shaking it hard for a few seconds, then letting the lure fall along the edge of that vegetation," Vinson continues. "Strikes come either as my jig is falling, or the moment I begin to raise it again, and they're vicious, hard strikes. It's almost as if bass think the lure is invading their territory."

Vinson does not limit himself to swimming his jig over grass and lily pads. He also fishes it around shallow laydowns, through stumps and standing timber, and even over rocks. White/pearl was once everyone's preferred color for swimming jigs because it imitated shad but Vinson often uses black/blue, brown/green, and even brown/orange so his lures look more like bluegill and crawfish.

"Plastic trailers like twin-tail grubs are also an important part of making this presentation successful be- cause they provide a lot of the action," emphasizes the Yamaha angler. "When the water is really clear or if it's cooler, I use a smaller one, but normally, my trailer is pretty bulky. A lot of different designs can be used, but the most important feature is that the trailer have some type of legs that swim or vibrate." He also likes a medium/heavy action rod with a soft tip that allows him to shake the jig easily, and 40 or 50- lb. braided line that improves hook-setting in vegetation. The Yamaha angler prefers to swim a jig in water less than five feet deep and with a slight ripple on the surface, but he has used the technique successfully in both calm and rough water.
Via - Bassholes

Fishing Trips on 5/21 - 5/26 - 6/08/09

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:59:00 +0000

Basskicker:

Lake Location: Bluegrass Fwa

Weather: Low Light before a storm

Water Clarity: Stained

Lure: Zoom Black with Blue Tail Lizzard

Fish weight: Approx. 3-3/4 lbs.

My son Erik:

Lake Location: Bluegrass Fwa

Weather: Low Light before a storm

Water Clarity: Clear

Lure: Split body shad 6-8 ft. suspending crankbait.

Fish weight: Approx: 2.5 lbs.

Hotspot of the day: A really nice beaver dam, we caught 10 bass in that location.

My son Erik:

Lake Location: Interlake

Weather: Sunny on and off mild 5-10 mph winds.

Water Clarity: Clear

Lure: Deep diving shad crankbait

Fish weight: Approx: 2.0 lbs.

Second Crappie caught at Interlake same size, same lure, same weight.

Basskicker and Tom April 27, 2009 Blugrass FWA!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 03:33:00 +0000

My brother in law Tom and I fished a pit in the Blue Grass FWA on Monday April 27, 2009 from 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm. These two nice toads were the result.

Basskicker:

Weather: Mild Sunny 2-5 mph winds.

Water Clarity: Stained

Lure: 10" Black and Silver shad color Culprit brand worm.

Fish weight: Approx. 4-1/2 Lbs.

Tom:

Lure: 7 1/2" Purple sparkle color Culprit brand worm.

Fish weight: Approx. 4-3/4 lbs.

All in all it was a really nice evening bass fishing session. If we had more time on the water I'm sure we would of pulled a few more of these nice quality fish. I prefer to catch a few nice quality fish then numbers of small fish any day!

Jackall Lures from Japan!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:44:00 +0000

Another good video on Jackall Lures for 2009:
Jackall Lures

Fishing The Spawn (Do Stages Really Matter)

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:30:00 +0000

Spring is here and we’re all thinking about the spawn. What an exciting time of year! No other season brings more excitement, more enthusiasm and bigger hopes and dreams than spring time and the spawn. The big females start moving up, feeding heavily and getting in shape for the spawn and we’ve all got our eyes on them.

Depending on your location, the spawn can occur anywhere from late January through mid June. Breaking the spawn down into stages will make your springtime fishing more successful. The mistake many of us make is thinking that we should be able to go into any cove or shallow water flat, get on any bank or point and catch fish simply because it’s spring.

That may sometimes be true but you need to look for the “right” points, coves, flats and banks to increase your odds of catching that spawn hawg. We’ll break the spawn down into three phases and look closely at each one.

Pre-Spawn
Pre-spawn coincides with lengthening daylight and the first short warming trends. Once the water temp reaches the high 40- to low 50-degree mark, the big females start making short ventures into the shallows to feed and cruise. This almost always happens on the north end of the lake first – it’s usually shallower and the water has more color to it, causing it to warm quicker. The northwestern parts and feeder creeks of the lake will warm up first because they’re exposed to the sun longer during the day and they’re also protected from the north wind that is predominate that time of year. The northern part of your lake is a good place to start early in the season.

With the water temps still fairly low, the fish’ metabolism is still slow – this means our presentation should also be slow. A logical bait of choice is a crawfish imitator and it’s effective throughout the different pre-spawn stages. A jig with a craw trailer extremely effective, but don’t overlook a Texas-rigged tube or craw worm either. Lipless crankbaits in varying shades of reds and yellows are really popular here in Texas, and my favorites are the Lucky Craft LVR-D7 and LVR-D10’s in Tomato Craw and Winter Craw.These are the baits I’ll start throwing all the way through the pre-spawn stage right on into the post spawn. Everyone has a confidence bait, so use yours, but don’t overlook the ones I’ve mentioned here.

I fish anywhere from two to eighteen feet early in the spawn. Isolated clumps of grass (hydrilla or milfoil), stumps and standing timber along creek channel bends with shallow flats nearby are good places to target.

When the water temp starts staying in the low to mid fifties, we’ve reached the second “phase” of pre-spawn. The fish become more active and begin aggressively feeding. This is a good time to tie on your favorite lipless crankbait , spinner baits, shallow diving crankbaits and the ever popular Senko and Kut Tail worms. Keep in mind, “big” girls like big meals but they don’t want to expend a lot of energy feeding. Would you get up and walk across the street for half a peanut-butter sandwich? You might for a 16-oz ribeye!

The third and final phase of the pre-spawn is when the water temp moves into the high fifties to low sixties. The fish have moved up, they’re actively feeding and they’re looking for a place to spawn. Now is a great time to throw Senkos and Kut Tails in shallow cover, flip and pitch jigs in cover, throw lipless cranks and spinner baits on flats, in the backs of coves and on points leading into these areas. Don’t forget about those northwest banks and coves – fish like to spawn in the warmest areas that are protected from the north wind.

Spawn
The actual spawn can be tricky so let’s break it down into phases to make things a little easier. Watching for fish you can see will pretty much tell you what you need to know and how much time to spend trying to catch a fish off her bed. The male will move up first to get things ready, then find a female and bring her to the bed. Males will be the easiest caught during this time but they’re usually smaller than the females and probably aren’t what you’re looking for. Not that they’re not fun to catch – it’s their job to protect the nest and they take their jobs seriously, so they can be quite aggressive.

When you locate a pair on the bed you should immediately notice one of three moods. Early in the bedding process, fish will spook easy and act timid. If they’re spooked off the bed they might cruise nearby and not come back to the bed very readily. These fish are hard to catch and I usually won’t spend much time on them.

The second scenario will consist of the fish staying on the bed when you cruise near them, but they’ll usually take off, swim around and come back to the bed when you cast to them. This mood holds my interest a little longer. When they take off and come back to the bed, each time they’ll come back a little faster, more agitated and aggravated until they’ll finally bite. Sometimes it can take as little as five or ten minutes, but I have actually spent several hours with no bite! Because you can actually see the fish, it can be very exciting and very frustrating at the same time. Experience bed fishing will tell you if you’re going to get them to bite.

Finally, you’ll locate a fish and it stays put. You cast to the bed and it stays put, but as soon as you work your lure onto the bed it flares its gills and noses down on the bait. These are the easiest spawning fish to catch because they’re locked on the bed. They’re committed to spawn and they aren’t leaving. The most common problem you’ll usually encounter here is getting your bait past the male. I have at times had to put the male in the live well long enough for me to catch the female, then turn them both loose to get back to doing what Mother Nature intended.

I may have made this sound a lot easier than it really is, but, in a nutshell, this is how it works. There is always the exception to the rule, but this is what I’ve found during the spawn.

Post Spawn
This can be the best time or the worst time to catch a fish. The fish have just gone through a very tiring, labor intensive process and a lot of times they’ll just suspend. They’ve gone a week or two without eating so you’d think they’d be hungry, right? Wrong. They need to rest before they’ll start feeding and getting ready for the summer pattern.

These fish are normally the hardest to catch. They’re worn out and only interested in one thing: rest! They’ll usually move out to the nearest deep water and suspend. Dropshotting, crankbaits and spoons such as the Lake Fork Tackle Flutter Spoon work well on these suspended fish, but it requires a lot of patience. I normally go on looking for more cooperative fish.

Toward the end of this resting period they’ll start on a feeding binge and this is again a much easier time to catch them. From here on out they start moving back into their summer pattern. I love top water baits early and late in the day and reaction baits throughout the day. I’ll actually throw top water such as the Sugoi Splash off and on all day and get lots of good fish on clear, blue, sun shiny days with fast moving top water baits. This is a good time for frog fishing as well.

Keep in mind is that all three spawning phases can overlap and might be occurring at the same time. The north end of the lake may be in post spawn while the south end is in pre-spawn and mid-lake is full blown spawn. The overlap can become a bit crazier when you find them in spawning and post spawn stages in the same cove!

I try to fish the stage I like to best until the fish tell me I’m wrong. Don’t let them beat you! It’s just fishing and they will be on one pattern or the other – it’s your job to figure it out.

With the spawn nothing is carved in stone. Try different lures and tactics and please remember to practice catch and release. Weigh them, measure them, take their picture and turn ‘em loose for another battle another day!

Tip Via - Gary Yamamoto Inside Line

Google Earth powerful data for bass fishermen!

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Tactical) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:56:00 +0000

Recent advancements with Virtual Globe software and geospatial mapping are having a profound effect on the bass fishing world. Never before have anglers had access to the depth of information provided by the tools we outline in this production video. You'll learn the latest techniques for lake and river analysis, as well as the many hidden features that offer powerful data for bass fishermen.

I heard someone ask a touring pro one time, you know, what do you do before you get out on the lake.. how do you prepare? How are you able to go out onto a body of water that is thousands of acres, and be able to find those few spots that hold heavy concentrations of fish? Well the Pro was pretty quick with his answer, he told the guy.... I study maps.. He said, "if there are 3 different maps for that lake, I want all 3".

There's a saying in the bass fishing world, when it comes to dissecting a bass fishery, it's not about finding the good water, it's about eliminating the bad. Standard map study can help you do just that by giving you a detailed overview of the entire lake. But for this video, I'm going to assume that most every one of you has done map study to prepare for a day's fishing. What I'm going to show you is a unique set of tools, not papers, that will give you an unparalleled look at your body of water. I feel confident that many of the tools and hidden features within these tools will be completely new to you, and I'm excited to share with you what I've learned about them and how they've impacted my success. So... let's get started.

All the tools I'm going to share with you are either software applications you will need to have installed or web applications you can view online through your browser. They are completely free, and along the way I will provide the URL's to the websites where you can download and/or access the tools and features.

We've also created a page at www.bassfishin.com/mapvideo1/ that provides all the downloads and links to what we show, so feel free to watch this video without interruption then afterwards visit that page for an overview of this video with all the related links.

The first thing I want to talk about is Virtual Globe software. Many of you are already very familiar with this category of software, having used the most notable virtual globe application, Google Earth. If you are familiar with Google Earth and have used it many times, GOOD... because I don't want to spend time giving a tutorial on what it is and how to navigate within it. That's not what this video is. I want to get right to the good stuff that's relevant to anglers using this software.

But don't worry if all this stuff is brand new to you, you will be able to quickly pickup on how it works and at the end, we'll provide some resources for learning more about using these applications. And shortly in this video, we're going to also be covering some very interesting features in other applications provided by NASA, GeoGarage, Microsoft and more. You will quickly realize that no one program gives you what you want, but by combining all the available tools and being able to make sense of them, you have access to powerful information that will allow you to become a better fisherman.
Let's kick things off by diving into Google Earth.

First things first, if you don't have Google earth, simply go to Google and type in "Google Earth". Click on the first listing and see this blue button here, just click that and download Earth to your desktop. Close your browsers and run the installer. After installation you can launch directly into Google earth.

And here we are at the, what's commonly termed, blue marble. At this point we can venture to any part of the globe through either keyboard or mouse. The navigation functions within Google Earth are outstanding, but like I said, I'm not going to cover navigation, I want to get right to the stuff that's related to bass fishing. We'll provide some resources at the end that do a great job explaining how to use the mouse and keyboard to navigate quickly inside this software.

Before we begin, I'm going to want you to do a couple things so that both you and I are in sync. Google earth by default has a lot of stuff turned on that isn't relevant to us at this moment and it's only going to clutter the screen and slow things down. So for now, I want you to just collapse the search panel, and turn off or uncheck a couple things in the layers panel. You want to uncheck pretty much everything except for borders and labels, which I pretty much leave on all the time, and terrain, which I leave on most of the time as well. Everything else you can turn off for now.

So just to give you an example of how you can perform some basic fishing reconnaissance, let's zoom into a spot on the Potomac River in Maryland named Piscataway Creek. I already have this spot cued up here in my Places panel.

Okay... so here we are at Piscataway Creek on the Potomac River. You'll notice that there is a marina right here, that is Fort Washington Marina, a place I have been launching from for many years, so I am very familiar with these waters.

You can see, as I move around the creek here, how detailed the satellite imagery is even at low altitudes. Let's zoom back out so we can see the creek in its entirety again.

Immediately you can see that Google Earth's imagery tells a story about this creek. Because this is a tidal river, current flow is very evident in these pictures.

You can see that some of the water looks very muddy and some of the water is green, which represents clearer water. Now as an example, I know from my experience that Potomac River bass can shut down pretty hard when the river muddies up from recent heavy rains, and when that happens, the key is to search the river to find those areas that still have some clear water that bass can ambush prey in.

Now if I'm going fishing on a day where I know the river just muddied up, I can use Google Earth beforehand to find definitive areas where the water will be clearer because of tidal flow and bottom contours.

Because this is a tidal river, things can be drastically different depending on which tide we're looking at, so first thing I need to do is determine, by looking at this imagery, if the tide is incoming or outgoing at this very moment. At first glance it's difficult to tell, but there are a few giveaways that tell me the tide is outgoing in these satellite images.

Take a look at the eastern end of this cove. You'll see that the outgoing tidal flow is hitting that small secondary point head on and the silt is being swept out and over it, telling me the current is going from right to left... and outgoing tide.

If you take a look at the back of Piscataway Creek, you'll also notice a small feeder creek that is dumping fresh, clear water into the muddy backwaters of the main creek. We can be reasonably confident that this too points to an outgoing tide.

So knowing what we know now about this creek, just from a few quick observations, I now have some clues to where I can find some clearer water in this creek if I'm going to be fishing it in potentially muddy conditions.

So let's say I plan on flipping the pilings and docks at Ft. Washington Marina. Using Google Earth, I can see that there will very likely be clearer water around the middle boat slips on each pier.

I know from experience that another very popular and productive spot in Piscataway Creek is the first small cove at the north mouth. You can see that the back part of the cove is staying clearer than the rest of the creek because of its protection from the outgoing mud by this small secondary point. I can see here that there are numerous laydowns and even an interesting piece of cover that looks manmade. Also because the current is being blocked and a mudline is created, it would be worth checking out this point here.

So as you can see, Google Earth can be a very valuable tool for finding potential fishing spots and analyzing the water in various conditions. Let's now take a look at some other useful features in Google Earth for anglers.

Here we are back at Piscataway Creek on the Potomac. One thing I've noticed is that when looking at the water from a direct overhead view, it's hard to visualize what you see here, with what you'll see when you get out on the water.

One thing that can make it easier for you is to look at the water in Google Earth at a more natural perspective. If you have a scroll wheel on your mouse, simply press and hold that scroll wheel down and move your mouse to change your plane of perspective. Looking at the water from a lower vantage point can do wonders for your memory when you're actually on the water trying to match what you are seeing in real life, to what you saw here in Google Earth.

A very helpful feature for anglers inside Google Earth is called "Virtual Touring". If you are going to a explore new bodies of waters or new areas, Virtual Touring will allow you to quickly do a fly-over to get an idea of what things look like, and what visible cover and structure is available. It's the most effective way to explore new areas without having to motor around it for hours on end.

Let's take a Virtual Tour of Piscataway Creek here. You'll need to create what's called a Path by clicking on this button here. Give it a name and one more thing that helps, click the 'Style and Color' Tab and drop the opacity to 30%. Opacity is just another word for transparency.

Now before you click OK, move this window out of the way and start drawing a path around the area you want to tour. With creeks like this, I like to draw the path just inside the shoreline. Just a rough outline will suffice most of the time. Then when you're done, bring that path window back in view and Click OK.

So now we have a path that will allow us to sit back and take a tour of this creek's shoreline. To start the tour, all you do is highlight the Path you just created and click play in the Places panel.

Now here is why this feature is so valuable. First off, it allows you to cover lots of water at a perspective that will make this imagery easy to remember when you're out on the water. Remember, your mind has a hard time matching up imagery that is viewed at totally different perspectives, so you'll find that by looking at the water from a lower vantage point, it will give you a greater level of familiarity with your surroundings when you're out on the water.

Also as we go around, you can see cover and structure quite easily. You can make notes about laydowns and other wood cover, and structure such as points, mudlines, and so one. It's really like doing a fly-over in a plane. To stop the tour simply hit the stop button in your Places panel.

Now I should mention that when you hit play, your altitude and field of perspective may be different than what you are seeing here on mine. In fact, it probably will be.

So what you'll need to do is setup an altitude and a camera angle for your virtual tours that you think gives you the greatest vision. You do that by going to 'Tools'->'Options...', then click on the Touring Tab, and you'll need to set your touring and camera settings in here. You can get the same settings as me by just copying these values into yours.

Before we move on to some of the hidden goodies and add-on features with Google Earth, I really want to stress the importance of being able to look at things from more natural perspectives. You need to get out of the habit of viewing everything from directly overhead, your mind won't be able to sync it up with what you see out on the water.

I'm going to keep using Piscataway Creek as our example because I want you to get a feel for how different things look viewed from different angles.

Real quick, let me just show you what I will do to look at a particular shoreline I want to check out. Let's take this first cove here. Just take a moment to watch how I might look around.

We're going to come back to Google Earth in a bit, but we've covered it enough now to see that it has some major advantages. But, it does have some drawbacks. Google Earth is nothing more really than photos. It's satellite imagery.

As anglers, we're used to topographic charts showing contour lines. Contour maps are pretty simplistic, but it does give us a much more informed look at the lake bottom. So is there a way to get the best of both worlds? Can we get topographic contour maps in addition to the stunning satellite imagery? The answer is yes. Here are the best methods to view contour charts in virtual globe software.

So how can we get all these same features and functionality out of Google Earth, but instead of using satellite imagery, use topographic maps instead. To do this you need to download an add-on, so open up your browser and go to http://ge.gbif.net/gbifwmslinks.php. The Global Biodiversity Information Facility offers something called a KML file that overlays USGS topo charts on Google Earth. A KML file is basically just a data file that Google Earth can read.

You need to download the one for the United States, it's the second link here. And it will ask you whether you want to save it or open it, it might say run instead of open. If you have Google Earth, just click run or open.

When you open the KML file, it will open Google Earth and add a new section to your Places Panel under 'Temporary Places'. You need to move that from your 'Temporary Places' to 'My Places'. So drag it up to 'My Places'. This way it saves this KML data so you won't need to redownload it again. It will stay in Google Earth for your use.

Also, expand this new data section and click on the 'Arial Photography' subset. Press Delete on your keyboard and delete it. You don't need that part of it. One more thing, rename the parent file to something more familiar by right clicking on the parent and choosing 'Properties', then give it the name, "USGS Topos".

Now to turn on the topographic map overlay, simply checkmark the data entry in the places panel. As you can see, this overlays an incredibly detailed contour map over the Potomac River, right here in Google Earth. In fact, this contour map is better than any paper map I've ever found for the Potomac, so I'm sure there are a lot of Potomac River anglers right now with open mouths. You can see it is an extremely accurate overlay by clicking turning this layer on and off in the places panel.

I Tested this out myself being a HUGE fan of Google Earth and I was seriously impressed by this article and the links it provides so I had to share it here at Basskicker. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did.

Google Earth Resources

Official Google Earth Website: Earth Homepage
The Google Earth User Guide
A video explaining how to navigate within Google Earth
KML file for USGS Topo Map Overlays
KML file for Current Water Resource Conditions (WaterWatch)

GeoGarage Resources

NOAA Topo Maps Overlay at GeoGarage
GeoGarage Website

NASA World Wind Resources

Official NASA World Wind Website
Virtual Earth Add-On for NASA World Wind

Microsoft Virtual Earth

Official homepage for Virtual Earth
Virtual Earth Online through Live Search Maps

Tip Via - Bass Fishing.com