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| Doin'
It Wrong Might Make It Right ...by Johnnie
Crain |
Once while fishing in a bass tournament, I got in a hurry to
retie a Texas rigged plastic worm. I inadvertently put the sinker
on backward. I decided to try it anyway and the reversed sinker
technique has since put a lot fish in my boat. With the sinker
facing the wrong way I found I could cast over a fallen tree
branch and ease the bait up to the limb. When the cup of the
sinker hits the limb, it stops the forward progress of the bait,
instead of simply sliding over and falling lifelessly to the
bottom. With the sinker nudged tight against the limb, the worm
rises upward making for an easy target for the bass. With subtle
pulls and releases, I have found I can work a worm forever in
one spot. This is a great technique for cold front bass or lure
weary bass. With that bait staring them right in the eye for
long periods, the bass simply have to strike.
Another great use for the reversed sinker rig is to drag a plastic
crawfish along the bottom. If its a hard bottom, the sinker
cup rim will dig into the rock or gravel and make a lot of noise,
again, the sinker cup automatically kicks the plastic bait straight
up putting it in full view of any fish. When fished over mud
flats or silted bottoms, the sinker stirs up a lot of debris
and looks like a live crawfish feeding. Remember, drag the bait,
don't hop it. There are many more uses you will discover by
reversing the sinker, give it a try and let the Prostaff Team
at Bassin' USA how you do. |
| A
big bait excites a smallmouth ...by Jeff
Chudzinski |
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Spinnerbaits and smallmouth bass go hand in hand, there is nothing
like burning a spinnerbait just under the water and a 4-pound
smallmouth coming up and crushing it. Burning spinnerbaits is
a great technique on lake Erie smallmouth. Speed is the key
to catching big smallmouth, you can't reel a spinnerbait to
fast for a smallmouth to chase it down and eat it. You have
to reel pretty fast so the bass does not get a real good look
at it. I also think it is the speed that makes the smallmouth
want to chase it and take the lure. With this technique you
can fish it in 5 foot of water or 15 foot of water. You can
make smallmouth come a long way to hit a spinnerbait, or it
works when the bass are relatively shallow. Smallmouth really
like reaction type lures and a spinnerbait fits just right.
I like painted bladed spinnerbaits, in white or char; the size
of the bait can range from 3/8 oz. to a full 1oz. bait. S and
J Custom Lures have made some new proto type baits in different
colors for this year and I can't wait to try them out. So the
next time you are on a lake with clear water and it has smallmouth
bass, try burning spinnerbaits for them, it is a fun way to
catch them. By the way make sure you have your heart pills with
you. Good luck! |
| Concentration
is your most important piece of equipment ...by Jeff
Chudzinski |
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Bass fishing is not only about rods, reels, lures, boats, and
motors. When you hit the water in a tournament or just to fun
fish, the most important piece of equipment you can bring is
your concentration. The power of your concentration is a huge
part of competitive bass fishing. You have to be ready mentally
for anything that can happen during the day, such as how and
where a bass bites. This will lead you to the next fish of the
day and the rest of your limit. You must also be able to recognize
when you have to make changes if you are not catching fish.
Some of the changes you need to make maybe very small and you
need to have your concentration at peak performance to pick
up on these subtleties. This brings the other part of the mental
game in bass fishing and that is confidence. Confidence will
help you when it is 1 o'clock and you don't have a fish in the
live and you are still as sharp as you were the first cast of
the day. Confidence tells you that you are still going to bring
your limit in at the 3 o'clock weigh-in. This is difficult to
master. It was only a few years ago that I finally mastered
this approach. Since then I have won and placed high in tournaments
that I didn't have a fish at 1 o'clock and still came in with
a limit. You never give up and you always fish every second
of the event you are in. |
| Texas
Rigging A Tube ...by Dan
Galusha |
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I've found the XPoint XGap hook, in the 2/0 to 4/0 size, to
be one of the best for Texas rigging a tube. The tube is started
like when rigging a regular plastic worm. Once the hook is through
and turned, insert it into the bottom of the tube so that the
point is moving freely. Now push the tube forward and insert
the hook's point through the outer side. To make it weedless
push the tip of the hook lightly back into the tube's outer
skin. The point will easily come out on the strike, and provide
a greater percentage of positive hook sets |
| Scent
Holder For Tubes ...by Dan
Galusha |
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When using fish attractant with tubes, insert a piece of cotton,
or packing foam through the bottom, and push it to the top of
the tube, before rigging Texas style. Once the hook is inserted
it will hold the "scent holding" material. Now scent
can be applied inside the tube, and it will hold much longer.
To help in this process, use something like Kodiak's Crawfish
Paste which comes in an injector, but don't over fill the tube,
as a little will last a long time |
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