I am a bass fisherman

• Baits that did the most damage in 2009

2009-12-20T16:35:00.004-06:00

Well, 2009 has been a fun year in terms of fishing. Granted, the bite has not been phenomenal, but a lot has been learned and my skills related to pattern fishing have become much more refined. This post is the first of its kind here on my blog and it will allow me to reflect on the year and hone in on some of my strengths. So which baits did the most damage this year?Among all the lures I tossed

• Review: 15lb P-Line CXX

2009-12-18T05:00:00.000-06:00

Over the last couple of years, both the brands and composition of fishing line exploded into something almost out of this world. Anglers have been left to sort out this tangled mess of line themselves. Browsing the fishing line aisle can sometimes make my head spin. Line is a matter of preference which varies from angler to angler. Some lines are better qualified for specific applications and

• Proof of Concept: Double Frog Rig

2009-12-08T16:10:00.003-06:00

With the new found success of the double fluke rig, aka the donkey rig, other similar approaches are being revisited. One such rig is the double frog rig. This post will examine the double frog rig from a "proof of concept" standpoint. Like many of my posts, this entry was inspired by a hit from a visitor searching for info on the double frog rig.If you aren't familiar with the setup, let me

• Caddo Report 11-27-2009: 3 Little Ones

2009-11-27T22:32:00.005-06:00

With the holiday, I had a fishing partner in town, so I opted to take him out on Caddo this afternoon. We didn't hit the water until around noon. Headed west to boat row E, south of row C and idled up to a spot near a fallen cypress tree. From that spot, we drifted west between duck blinds and cypress trees. Water temps ranged from 57 to 59 degrees. Most of the water we fished was pretty clear. I

• Off The Pier 11-19-2009: Didn't even feel it bite.

2009-11-19T16:18:00.012-06:00

This all started on Twitter of all places. Jason Sealock, the editor for FLW Outdoors Magazine, aka @FLW_Magazine asked followers about using pink baits. Seeing as how I had plenty of time this afternoon, I responded. My tacklebox has two lures in it with pink. One is the Wave Worms Tiki Stick in bubble gum. The other is the Renegade black/pink tail worm. After a few exchanges with some other

• Big Bite Baits Yo Mama

2009-11-17T08:00:00.004-06:00

The family of creature baits is a diverse one, full of both revolutionary innovations and subtle modifications. Among creature baits, a relatively new design has come into its own with numerous copy cats following the trend in hopes of having their own success story grace the pages of fishing history. I am, of course, talking about the beaver bait. My research for this post revealed the story

• Off the pier 11-8-2009: Three more fall victim to the Scumfrog

2009-11-08T18:11:00.007-06:00

An opportunity to fish off the pier resulted in three more fish on the Trophy Series Scumfrog this evening. It all started when I heard lots of splashing out in the deeper water. Bass were schooling and chasing. I could see the silver sides of shad skipping around in an attempt to avoid becoming a snack. Even a kingfisher was taking advantage of all the fun. It dove down right smack in the middle

• Off the pier 11-7-2009: One bass didn't take the hint

2009-11-08T01:04:00.002-06:00

I didn't do a lot of fishing this evening, but I did catch one bass. I guess word never got out that the Scumfrog bobbing up and down had hooks. I also acquired a little bit of knowledge about bass behavior.I actually started fishing from the bank. Several swirls caught my attention this afternoon. The sun had already started to set when the opportunity to fish rolled around. I tied on the

• A Shaky Controversy?

2009-11-01T22:45:00.006-06:00

There are generally two styles of shaky head jighead designs. A plastic worm can attach to the head via a spring or a screw of some kind. Alternatively, the plastic bait can be threaded onto the hook and snugly pushed up against the jighead. I have my own preference, but I'm certainly open to new ideas. In an article featured in the most recent issue of Bassmaster Magazine, pro angler Jeff

• Curado E5 Casting Distance

2009-10-27T08:20:00.000-05:00

If you've read my casting comparisons in the past, you'll know that I don't get too scientific about it. I spool up, tie on a lure, find the sweet spot that produces long casts without backlashing, and then make five sidearm casts. I measure the distance to the nearest foot and record it. After reading this post, what you should take away are the general trends and not so much the individual

• Cross Lake Report 10-23-2009

2009-10-23T17:54:00.003-05:00

What a rough day! I started fishing around 8:30am and didn't quit until around 4pm. Not much to report. Water temps started out at 61 degrees at the launch. Most of the spots I hit hovered around the 63 degree mark. The entire lake was a giant bowl of chocolate milk too. I couldn't even find lightly stained water. The wind was the real killer today. I think we had a steady 15mph breeze with 20mph

• WBT Championship Day 3

2009-10-18T20:56:00.020-05:00

At the start of day three, this is what the playing field looked like. Judy Wong had a healthy lead with a weight of 30-13. The only person close enough to catch up was Pam Martin-Wells at around 22lbs. Although difficult, breaking 30lbs was still a possibility. The Angler of the Year points race was probably already in the bag for Pam Martin-Wells. All that was left to do was finish off the WBT

• WBT Championship Day 2

2009-10-17T17:12:00.004-05:00

Judy Wong knocked 'em around again today pulling in 15-8. She brought in 15-5 yesterday, so she's got the lead at 30-13. Lots of quality fish today. Also lots of not-so-quality fish. Looks like you were either on them or you weren't. Quite a few anglers were miffed at having to throw back some nice slot fish. So the bass were biting. Just gotta find the keepers. Paula Alexander weighed in a 6lb

• WBT Championship Day 1

2009-10-16T18:07:00.001-05:00

I headed out the door around 1:30pm this afternoon on my way to the WBT Championship weigh in located in the parking lot at Academy Sports. The song playing on my in-dash cd player foreshadowed what I was about to witness. That song was Girls, Girls, Girls by Motley Crüe. Bring on the women of WBT!I arrived early and the parking lot was getting set up and roped off. A slow trickle of onlookers

• WBT Championship Moved To Cypress Black Bayou

2009-10-14T23:00:00.001-05:00

The WBT Championship is no longer going to be held on the Red River. All the area lakes are flooding and the Red River is approaching flood stage. Out of concerns for safety, the tourney has been moved to Cypress Black Bayou in Benton, Louisiana. The WBT anglers will get a shot at prefishing the lake on Thursday and the tourney gets under way at 7am on Friday.Competitors will be launching from

• WBT Championship Commentary

2009-10-12T18:47:00.009-05:00

Well, it looks like Shreveport/Bossier is going to get its fill of professional bass fishing again. The Academy Sports & Outdoors WBT Championship kicks off at the end of the week. The tourney goes from October 16-18. It'll be fall river fishing at its finest. I'm looking forward to being able to at least get a glimpse of some of the action being a SBC resident and all. Pro anglers are back on

• Heron in the rain

2009-10-09T16:15:00.002-05:00

At least somebody is having fun in the rain. Minnows and frogs are probably crowding the flooded bank.

• Shimano Curado 200E5

2009-10-06T14:20:00.007-05:00

In the world of baitcasting, one reel stands out above all the others. That reel is the Shimano Curado. The Shimano Curado has a reputation that exceeds anything else out there. Unfortunately, over the last couple of years, the Curado has faced some serious competition, especially from the Abu Garcia Revo. In response to all the competition, Shimano decided to go back in time in 2008 when it

• Off The Pier 9-22-2009: One Fish Makes All The Difference

2009-09-22T19:30:00.005-05:00

They say it only takes one good fish to win a tournament. For me, it only takes one good fish to make my day, or evening in this case. That one fish makes all the difference in the world. No, I didn't break any records or land anything in the double digit range. Just one nice bass.I started fishing off the pier around 4:30pm. There have been bass schooling up and chasing in between the trees and

• V&M Baits Baby V Chunk

2009-09-22T07:00:00.001-05:00

In the world of jig trailers, there are very few options for finesse anglers. Most trailers simply do not do a finesse jig justice because they are often too bulky. Others are not very durable. A local bait company has a great solution for finesse jig enthusiasts. V&M Baits out of Louisiana makes a variety of lures, but for small finesse jigs, the V&M Baby V Chunk is a perfect fit. The Baby V

• Dean Rojas Fighting Frog

2009-09-17T08:00:00.003-05:00

Big Bite Baits products have earned a respectable position in my tackle box. Their Trick Stick and Craw are excellent alternatives to more costly options. So while wandering around on the showroom floor at the 2009 Bassmaster Classic here in Shreveport, it was no surprise that the Big Bite Baits booth caught my eye. One of the new lures they were showcasing at the time was the Dean Rojas Fighting

• Open Up A PQL10P Baitcaster

2009-09-09T07:15:00.001-05:00

With this post, I'll briefly show you how to open up a PQL10P baitcaster. I was not going to bother writing up this post, but someone did a Google search for this info and landed on my blog, so I might as well share and help a few folks out. Since it was a limited edition reel, you probably did not get schematics with it. Because I don't have a schematics sheet, I'm not going to venture too deep

• Strike Works Finesse Jig

2009-09-02T08:31:00.001-05:00

In the world of jig fishing, the finesse jig is perhaps the least appreciated. The jig market is largely dominated by 1/2oz to 1oz jigs with varying head designs and bulky skirts. There is nothing wrong with those jigs. They do catch some very nice bass. There are still situations when those big jigs are simply too much for bass in no mood to joke around. Local bass tend to be heavily pressured

• Off The Pier 8-27-2009: Good With The Bad

2009-08-27T21:30:00.003-05:00

Cross Lake. Shreveport, Louisiana.I had some extra time this evening, so I decided to wet a line one more time. Went with a different color Trophy Series Scumfrog and worked over the same spots. Ended up catching six again. Two best fish were 2lbs 8oz and 3lb 7oz. Started fishing with a green/chartreuse Trophy Series Scumfrog this time. Ended up losing it on a blow up at the end of the pier. Last

• Off The Pier 8-24-2009 - Picked Off 2 More

2009-08-24T23:37:00.001-05:00

Cross Lake. Shreveport, Louisiana.Last night, I caught six on a black Trophy Series Scumfrog. Tonight, I wondered if the bite was still on, so I tried again. I love topwater bites in rapid succession. I was only able to land two, but it was still fun.I picked one off right away. Funny how that happened, actually. I made my cast and the frog tipped a leaf on some weeds growing off the base of a