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| Suspending
jerk baits ...by Brendan
Cucinello |
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When fishing suspending jerk baits in the spring, most baits
require some tuning before they will work effectively. Most
suspending baits will actually float to the surface when taken
out of the package. A simple solution to this problem is the
application of “suspend dots or strips”. They can
be order through most bass fishing equipment catalogs and are
not expensive. Simply apply the stick-on led strips or dots
until your bait suspends at the desired depth range. I would
recommend testing these baits in a pool (if available) or a
bathtub to ensure proper placement of the led. You may have
to play around with the amount of led and placement to get the
bait to suspend and fish properly, but it is definitely worth
taking the time out to do so. It can really make a big difference
when fishing for suspending bass |
| Rat-L-Trap
...by Tim Carini |
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A great technique for monster is bass is ticking the grass with
a Rat-L-Trap. To prevent the lure from hanging in the grass,
down size the front treble hook one size from its original.
This will help prevent grabbing the weeds, allowing you a weedless
retrieve all the way back to the boat |
| Triple
surgeons knot ...by Frank
Lapinski |
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Tired of fumbling with a blood knot when putting new line on
your reel? Use a triple surgeons knot instead. Pull about thirty
inches of line off the spool of new line and tape the spool
so it can’t release any more line. Pull about thirty inches
off the reel and lay them on top of each other, with the reel
at one end and the spool at the other. Now tie an over hand
knot with the two pieces, passing the spool of new line through
the center. (An over hand knot is the first knot you tie when
tying your shoe lace) Pass the spool and reel tag end 6”
through the center two more times. Wet the knot, while pulling
the ends apart to tighten the knot. It will give you about 85%
of the line strength and is easier to tie. And honestly when
was the last time you heard of anybody getting stripped to the
knot while bass fishing |
| Tube
baits ...by Tim
Carini |
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As we all know, tube baits are excellent lure for both largemouth
and smallmouth bass. You can improve the lure with one simple
modification. Most manufacturers put too many "tentacles"
on the bait, prohibiting them from their full range of motion.
When you take it out of the package, remove 6-8 tentacles from
the bait, and try to space them out. This will allow the remaining
tentacles to move freely in the water, giving more life to the
bait |
| Spinnerbait
presentation ...by Frank
Lapinski |
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There are times when I want to specialize my spinnerbait presentation
in a way that isn’t very popular. I like to go shallow
and slow. The way I see it, a bass sees dozens of spinnerbaits
fly by his face, “ticking the tops of the weeds”,
looking for the reaction strike in the course of his life. I
want my bait to crawl by making a lot of noise to show him something
different. I take a light bait on a big frame, preferably a
single spin and put the biggest colorado blade on that it can
work with. Go too big and the blade flips the spinner over,
too small doesn’t do what I want it to. I tie this to some
heavy mono in the #20 to #25 pound range on a 6’6”
or 7’ Medium Heavy rod. Cast it shallow, and keep that
rod tip high on the retrieve. You are now running a bait in
a foot of water at half the normal speed and making a hell of
a lot of noise with it at the same time. One thing I have found
is that fish will attack this presentation like it hasn’t
eaten in months or it will just nibble the end of the skirt
as though it were trying to pick the lures pocket. So I always
use a trailer hook with this technique and most of the time
I use 2 trailer hooks. If I see this shallow running bait moving
side ways, I set the hook and I’m in |
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