 Full
contact fishing you ask? Could this be a new form of “extreme
fishing requiring pads and a crash helmet? In a word,
no. However, for many it may be a style of fishing that
is very unfamiliar, and in some cases may even seem foolish.
The basis of full contact fishing lies in the fact that
instead of fishing in and around cover and structure…you
fish on it. For all intents and purposes the cover becomes
part of the overall presentation. Immediately one might
assume this falls under the category of “fishing fad”,
but the truth is; it has been a secret of many top pros
for years. The true beauty of this kind of fishing is
that not only is it challenging, but also nine out of
ten times it is something that the fish have never seen
before, and on pressured waters and in tournaments, this
just may be the underlying secret to success. An appealing
point to this kind of fishing is that unlike many other
“new” techniques available, no new equipment is needed.
In fact, chances are that the average bass angler has
all the tools needed to be a highly effective full contact
angler. Jig and pig rigs, Colorado blade style spinnerbaits,
tube style baits, a variety of Texas rigged critters,
as well as some crankbaits can be used in this discipline.
Usually, experience and an angler’s attuned eye will determine
what's the best bait to throw when full contact fishing.
For purposes of demonstration and instruction I will list
my favorites here, but this is one of the few styles of
fishing where one’s imagination can come into play. One
can envision what the lure might look like while passing
in, around, and on cover. This essentially means the sky’s
the limit for bait selection.
I feel one of the most effective, yet ignored bait to
throw in a case like this is a stand up style crawfish
or spider jig. These can be purchased either pre assembled
or the bait and the jig head can be purchased separate.
I prefer to opt for the latter and select individual components.
For the actual soft plastic jig I have found great success
with Berkley’s 3-inch “power” spider jig, in either black
or pumpkinseed. For the stand up head I have found that
the “Football Head” from Bass Pro Shops has been more
than effective. This is because number one, it has a near
90-degree rest point and number two, it has proven itself
nearly snag proof if used correctly. Rigging is very easy;
simply thread on the soft plastic as you would for any
other type of fishing. Now you’re ready for your first
lesson in full contact fishing. Remember that any type
of cover that you know holds fish will do, but the secret
is to find the cover that holds fish and will make for
a good bait presentation. It is this reason that I like
to fish large expanses of laydowns as well as dock structure.
Position the boat as close as you feel the fish will allow
without spooking, and provided there is no back seat angler,
get the nose of the boat pointed directly at the structure
you wish to fish. Now, the cast can be made with either
a pitching or flipping method, or if you happen to be
very accurate with side arm or backhand type casts, these
can be used as well. Once delivered, after some practice
you should be able to virtually “steer” the lure through
the cover. At this point, find a shallow trunk or branch,
and try to “sit” the lure on it. You should have a spider
jig sitting on a log or branch with some deeper water
on either side. Here’s where the beauty of this type of
fishing comes in. Attempt to “walk” it off the branch
and allow a free fall to the next piece of structure.
Repeat this, as often as the cover will allow, attempting
to “step stone” your bait through the nasty stuff. Chances
are most fish will hit it a second or two as soon as it
begins free falling. If fish are more aggressive, they
may even come up to pluck it off the cover. This phenomenon
only occurs when fish are truly aggressively feeding.
Another wonderful advantage of this kind of fishing is,
on the off chance no fish are caught; each and every cast
is a lesson in lure control and will make a better presenter
out of all of us.
The next presentation I like to use when full contact
fishing is the spinnerbait. I prefer a lighter spinnerbait
with a larger Colorado style blade. This combination allows
for a good, straight, slow free fall, very similar to
slow rolling. The spinnerbait offers a little more control
over the lure than the spider jig, but for all intensive
purposes the presentation is the same. One slight variation
I like to add is a small twitch or jerk halfway through
the bait's free fall to the next branch or log. I have
found that twitch or jerk is enough to get even the least
aggressive bass to take a whack at bait presented in this
manner. In cases where the cover proves to be ultra heavy,
there is a slight modification that can be made to the
spinnerbait to make it a little easier to free it from
snags. By taking a page out of trout anglers book of tricks,
flattening the barb on the spinnerbait hook will in many
cases save you from having to break off, or head into
the cover to free a snagged bait, and spooking fish off.
One might say, “but won’t that just about guarantee half
the fish I catch will throw the hook? Not so, as many
of the angler vs. fish battles in this form of fishing
last something in the neighborhood of ten to fifteen seconds.
Usually if a fish isn’t pulled free of the heavy stuff
in that time…chances are, he’s not coming out and there’s
very little one can do about it. One more point about
the spinnerbait. If fish happen to be on the warpath,
feeding on anything that moves, don’t hesitate to speed
this technique up to an almost “branch hopping” type retrieve.
Also, be sure to keep the presentation going once the
bait is out of the cover. Many fish have followed and
struck baits that were well clear of the cover.
One more great bait for this style of fishing is the Git-Zit,
or tube style bait. Under normal circumstances I consider
these baits “dock hounds”, because they are exactly that.
It is my number one choice for probing in and around docks.
With medium spinning tackle, a good working knowledge
of the “skipping” cast, and a good eye for productive
docks, an angler can really clean up with this technique.
In this case, the more support beams, pylons, and in water
steps or ramps available, so much the better. I say this
because usually these are the docks that hold fish and
are a blast to fish with a tube bait. For this application,
I prefer the tube bait that bares its own namesake, the
Git-Zit from Bud’z Fishin’ Wayz. They provide an array
of choices because of the way they are constructed as
well as a near infinite color and size selection. My favorite
way to rig these baits for this application is Texas style,
with a 1/0 – 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook with either a very
small bullet weight or an internal clip type weight like
the ones produced by Eagle Claw. As far as the actual
presentation goes, this is where an angler’s imagination
can be unleashed. Each presentation can be a challenge
in and of itself. There are no set guidelines for fishing
in this manner. For the sake of completeness, I will
therefore list a few of the more popular methods. As I
had mentioned before, steps and ramps can be very productive
when full contact fishing. With that in mind, when one
sees steps leading down into water, like those commonly
found on swimming and free floating recreational docks,
do not hesitate to let your bait “walk down the steps”
into the water. While doing this, keep a sharp eye out
for ambush strikes as the bait progresses to deeper and
deeper steps. If you can see that the steps you are fishing
come to an end just under the water, with the bait on
the last step, s-l-o-w-l-y inch the lure off the step
into free fall. Many ambush strikes have come from fish
that were positioned under the dock, that were waiting
for prey to be silhouetted by the sunlight. One more quick
and easy technique to probe docks for active fish is to
fire a bait as far back into structure as possible. With
a moderately slow but steady retrieve, swim a bait back
to the boat, allowing it to contact everything in its
path. This is a great way to probe structure for fish
when preparing for a tournament or pre-fishing for a guide
customer, that of which is a great deal faster than the
other techniques mentioned above.
Before closing, I feel it should be noted that while many
of the techniques mentioned above require the use of docks
as well as other man-made structures, there is one thing
all these pieces of structure have in common. They don’t
belong to us and chances are they do belong to someone
else. With that said, I beg you to keep this in mind when
fishing them. Use common sense and common courtesy. If
a cast looks like it may hang up on someone’s dock, or
boat tie up ropes, or may damage and deface their dock
or other property in any way, please…as much as you think
it may yield fish, don’t make the cast. Especially if
it looks like your bait may wind up stuck on the surface
of the dock. I don’t think we want any lake front home
owner in the hospital receiving a tetanus shot because
they didn’t notice the 2/0 worm hook that wound up in
their foot near the swim ladder. Hence we remember how
unpopular bass fishermen are with people who live on lakes.
Between early morning tournament noise, excessively loud
and fast boats, and blatant disrespect for lake front
structure, we need to make it a point to maintain a degree
of professional courtesy. I like to think that this point
goes without saying.
Now, with my impromptu' public service announcement out
of the way. I ask that, although it may seem unorthodox,
the next time you hit the water you at least give it a
shot. It is an extremely rewarding method of presentation
as well as a very challenging and effective one. It is
certainly worth the extra effort.
See ya’ on the water...
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