Spinhead fishing for smallmouth bass

At the 2015 Bassmaster Classic, Casey Ashley put a spinhead into action and won the Classic when most couldn't get a bite. The spinhead is an amazing bait for smallmouth bass that are suspended or schooling on bait. Here's a recent video I did for Ontario OUT OF DOORS magazine that highlights several key factors of why the spinhead is an amazing bait for smallmouth bass.

New York Times Chimes in on the Alabama Rig.

When the New York Times decides fishing is worth some precious space on it's pages, it must be a hot topic. As of late, the Alabama Rig has been banned on both the BASS and FLW tour trails because many feel it is unsporting for competitors to use it. 

Here is an interesting read on the matter. 

The device is composed of five wires angled like spokes of an umbrella, with fishing lures attached to each end. It mimics a school of baitfish, and bass, walleye and northern pike apparently cannot stay away from it.

Its inventor, Andy Poss, dreamed up the device, which he called the Alabama Rig, while watching a tuna chasing a school of sardines on “The Blue Planet,” a BBC documentary series. In July 2011, he built his first prototype by hand in his garage in Muscle Shoals, Ala., and he spent nearly 17 months perfecting it.

Link to full article

Jeff "Gussy" Gustafson's Lives Out Every Angler's Dream

FLW Pro angler relives his monster bass and new found secrets from Pickwick Tournament

By Luigi De Rose

Shimano pro Gussy is all smiles
with this monster.
(Photo: FLW)

It’s been just over a week but Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson’s knees are still knocking. The second year FLW pro took the lead at the Walmart FLW Tour Pickwick Lake tournament at Florence, Alabama in grand fashion.   Not only was this his first opportunity to lead a national tournament, he anchored his limit with his personal best largemouth bass, a 10-12 monster. By the end of the tournament, Gussy slipped to 17^th by netting 52-08 for the tournament. The drama of that first day will be vividly replayed in his mind and heart forever.

IBASSIN got a change to chat with the Shimano and G. Loomis pro as he re-lives that magical day.

DAY 1

“Day 1 was amazing but I didn’t start off exactly like I wanted.” Recalls Jeff. “ I was boat number 165 which was almost next to last to leave.” Knowing the post-spawn bass would be schooled in community holes, Jeff knew he wouldn’t have any privacy.  Gustafson was mentally prepared to fish in a crowd but knew it wasn’t what he wished to do.

Racing down the lake, he just passed spot after spot because they were already crowded. He finally stopped to fish at one of his spots that wasn’t crowded. This first spot yielded four keepers with ease but then the fishing slowed. After some dead time, he relocated to another shell bed. 

Florida reworking tournament creel limits

By Luigi De Rose

Strange politics playing out in Florida. Participants will be encouraged to provide input on the proposal for a statewide five-fish daily bag limit, only one of which could be 16 inches total length or longer. In other words, four of the five largemouths would have to be less than 16 inches total length. 
For more information click here

3 Bass Jigs You Must Know: Finesse and Mini Jigs

Finesse & mini jigs can be magic
By Luigi De Rose

Spinning or casting gear is ideal
for mini jigs.

Finesse or mini jigs are a junior version of a flipping jig. These bite sized jigs are ideal in a multitude of fishing conditions. Ultra shallow, clear water, heavy fishing pressure, cold fronts or cold water are all ideal mini jig situations.

In high stakes tournaments in Ontario, the success of mini jigs have secretly flowed through the ranks of the elite. Big weights and top finishes speak volumes. Many anglers have literally turned their tournament career around solely on the success of mini jigs. Once an after though, these jigs are much underestimated. Much of it does have roots in scientific research. Immature crayfish evacuate the shallows to escape scores of predators. Bass living along deeper structure are accustom to feeding on smaller crayfish making a tinier jig an ideal snack.

Compact sizes don’t always translate to dainty weights. A few companies pour finesse jigs up to 1/2oz and with strong hooks, but they’re a rare find. Skilled manufacturers shrewdly manipulated the lead head to remain minuscule yet heavy. Others have switched to tungsten, a pricy non-toxic lead alternative. Regardless, mini jigs can transform a day from hoe-hum to amazing.

Jigs are core bass tackle. Throw them more often and fine tune which type of jig will suit the fishing conditions your in will almost guarantee success.

3 Bass Jigs You Must Know: Football Jigs

Football jigs are more versatile than most think.
By Luigi De Rose

 

Working rocky points of islands is ideal
football jig water.
 

Football jigs, a close cousin to flipping jigs, were designed specifically for bouncing along deep, rocky bottoms. The major difference is its chubby football shaped head with the line tie at 90 to 60 degrees. This designed won’t wedge between boulders and is surprising good in thin vegetation. Most football jigs are heavy, 1/2oz to 1oz, ideal for staying on bottom. Strikes typically occur at the end of long casts so solid hooksets can be a challenge. Make sure it has an ultra sharp hook and thinned weed guard, if it has one at all. 

Football jigs are best worked around deep grasslines, bluff banks, bars, points or saddle areas between islands. Surprisingly, this technique is a quick and easy way to check expansive areas. It vacuuming up aggressive biters yet enticing fickle ones too. Work  footballs more like a crankbait or Carolina rig than a traditional jig. Dragging it with sweeping rod pulls or crawl it under a leisurely retrieve. Stick to a twin tail grub or frog chuck trailer. Olive, melon, pumpkin, peanut butter and jam, or craw colours are best.

3 Bass Jigs You Must Know: Flipping Jigs

Jigs a must for any angler 

By Luigi De Rose

Big bass bite jigs. No one will dispute that. So you need to understand how to use them. Rubber skirted jigs are categorized into three distinct styles: flipping, football and finesse. They might seem similar but their intricacies make them uniquely different.

 

Flipping
Flipping jigs are the bread and butter of any bass nut. Poured with a stout hook and fiber weed guard, they’re meant to penetrate cover. Ranging from 1/4oz to magnum 1 1/2oz beasts, they are designed for war. Teamed with heavy lines and heavier rod actions they’ll sink into any cover.

Heavy grass bed are ideal flipping jig cover.
Teamed up with heavy action rod and braid, it is a
great method for catching giant bass. 

Focus on jighead design before tying one on. Missing minor details can become major headaches on the water. Cone shaped heads excel in weed. The line tie should be no greater than 60 degrees and the lead must mould seamlessly around  the hook eye. Any flaw will catch more weeds than bass. Being picky will have you fishing more and cleaning less. If you’re targeting wood, select a rounder or triangular shaped head. This design glides over limbs easily. The wider head also positions the hook up. Slimmer heads tend to fall on it side easy causes causing more hang-ups.  

Swimming a jig is a neat presentation that should be add to your bag of tricks. Using a grass jig, usually a 1/4oz or 5/16oz one, float the bait over cover much like a shallow crankbait. A slow steady retrieve while pulsing and jiggling the rod tip will keep the lure lively. This method transforms it into a fleeing baitfish so colours should match local bait. A few strands of orange, green, white, or light blue will work wonders. Don’t dismiss an all white jig and trailer. It’s a great minnow mimic.

A recent trend has been giant jigs; real big boys up to 1 1/2 ounces. From inches of water to the deepest weedbeds, jigging mats is a sure-fire method to nail the biggest bass but its very labour intensive. Lighter jig lack the momentum to pierce canopied weeds so stick to be heaviest ones. Requiring long, heavy action rods and the heaviest braided line you’ll need an ice pack for your elbow at day’s end.

Sports Illustrated Magazine's Classic Article & Great Video

A great article in a recent Sports Illustrated. 

LINK

Check Out Epic Bass in this month's issue of Ontario OUT OF DOORS Magazine

This month has a super article on fishing for trophy smallmouth.  Lonnie King's
article is really filled with useful tips for all skill levels. There is also
some great big bass photos and I hate him for it.

Available now in news stands!

Click here for a link to the site

Big Topwaters for Big Bass part 2

By Luigi De Rose

The most popular of all topwater plugs is a popper. Poppers or chuggers are versatile in cover and open water. With a minnow profile and large concaved mouth, poppers spit water and pop distinctly. Traditionally, poppers where meant for still evening with the bait gently worked next to lilies in a gentle plop, plop, plop fashion. This is fine, but poppers are much more versatile. David Chong a seasoned bass tournament angler and topwater nut from Thornhill loves hunting the mid-depths with poppers. He’s always done well with poppers and last year it helped him seal a victory on Stoney Lake. Stoney, a clear lake with thousands of rocky outcrops is nestled along the northern edge of the Kawarthas. Working both a Frenzy and Splash It popper he landed numerous four pound plus smallmouth all in five to eight feet (1.8 to 2.7m) of water.
Worked next to cover, poppers can be chugged slowly to agitate big bass into striking. With a lot of slack in the line, about two feet, snapping the rod tip will cause the bait to jump a few inches at a time. This way poppers remaining in the strike zone until they’re goggled up. Although great at slow speeds, popper are also fantastic zipped across the surface at lighting speed. Zell Roland, a highly successful tournament angler and topwater guru, resurrected the Rebel PopR popper to superstar status in the mid 1980s. He popularized skittering poppers across the water at high speeds. Anytime the fish are scattered or suspended off mid-range structure anglers can really mop up with this bait. With the rod tip held high, snap the rod tip in 1-foot intervals and collect slack line with half turns of the reel handle. The popper will sputter water as it zigzags towards the boat. As the lure nears the boat, drop the rod tip closer to the water line and continue popping the bait along. Lure cadence should vary according to the furiousness of the bass. Most work the bait in a pop, pop, pause, pop, pop, pause routine. If the bass are eager, anglers can skip the pause altogether. Poppers will draw in fish from great distances especially in clear water, which is ideal habitat for big smallies. One trick to keep the bait running true is to use heavy monofilament line. You need the stretch of mono, but most important is that heavy line like 17lb test, which floats a bit keeping the bait on the surface. It’s not uncommon for smallies to strike two, three, four times and still catch nothing by air. To transforming those misses into solid hook ups add a Storm Suspend dot or strip on the belly of the lure just up from the back hook. The weight keeps the tail section slightly lower. Instead of lying horizontal, the bait sits diagonally making it easier to be sucked in. Be careful not to add too much weight. Lowering the bait’s tail can also be done but replacing the back hook with a slightly larger one. The weight of a larger hook, just one size larger, should be enough to bring the tail down, but not as drastically as the lead strips. Another great modification is adding a feathered trailer to the back hook. Most poppers already come with some type of trailer. Bucktail is common, but feathers are far superior. When making your own trailer add a few strains of mylar for added flash. The trailer should be lively and undulate with the slightest rod movement. A shimmering feathered trailer can be just enough to make a bass eat.

Big Topwaters for Big Bass part 1

By Luigi De Rose

No other bait can excite the heart to levels of arrhythmia quite like a topwater. Strikes are visual, vicious, and exhilarating. Watching the hit then fighting off the desire of slamming the hook home can be total misery. But we wouldn’t want it any other way. Topwater fishing is not only thrilling; it’s a killer technique on giant bass. There are four main families of topwaters. Each one is entirely unique. Learning to use each bait to its potential and success is almost guaranteed.
With a long and colourful history dating back to the origins of bass fishing with artificials topwaters have never lost their luster. Recently, a revolution has occurred. Japanese companies like Lucky Craft, Mega Bass, Jackall and Lake Police, and now some American companies are producing plugs with incredibly ultra-realistic designs. Internal weight chambers, 3D imaging and top-of-the-line hooks have transformed topwaters to near perfection. These baits are easy to work and look incredible but come at a price. Do anglers need such high tech lures? May be not. But many tournament anglers stake their reputation and mortgage payments on them. It’s something to consider and they really do look so pretty.
Topwaters make great search lures. Straining the water for biters can be done quickly. The clearer the water, the further fish will hunt them down. Casts can be more random and still be effective. The real bonus of topwaters, especially big topwaters, is that big bass will snatch it regardless of how lazy their mood. Bigger, heavier baits are idea for working over large areas. They cast very well and can be retrieved quickly without becoming too erratic.
Open water is an untapped horizon for topwaters. Brozebacks routinely roaming open water for smelt, blueback herring or other prey. Pods of bass will cruise underwater landmarks. Shoals, contours around islands, points, and rocky shorelines are all prime locations to intercept them. Roaming bass can be a challenge. Spraying casts across endless water is taxing. Fortunately, once you encounter bass, they’ll usually react. Catching bass, especially smallmouths, on back to back casts can be common. Anglers who focus their attention towards the bank should keep an eye out for open water activity. Keeping a keen eye just off of key cover can pay off. Schools of bass will coral baitfish forcing then towards the surface as they feed. If you’re ready with a topwater plug the action can be fever pitched.
Keeping alert really paid off one July morning while fishing on a Grand River Conservation Authority managed reservoir. Bruno Bambara, a childhood friend, and I were crankbaiting the rocky bottom along a tear drop shaped island. All of a sudden, the surface began boiling. We knew that our luck had changed as we cast into the churning water. One cast, two casts, three casts and still no biters! We frantically cast through the baitfish with crankbaits over and over praying the frenzy wouldn’t disappear. Bruno switch to a popper and after a few jerks of the rod tip, his lure vanished. Forcing the fish to the boat, Bruno lipped a three-pound largemouth. Not a giant, but the lake we were on wasn’t known for producing largemouth. So a three pounder was a worthy prize. Slipping the fish back into the water, Bruno flung his lure back. Bang! Again a scrappy largemouth clamped down on his lure. The action was intense but dissolved as quickly as it appeared. Our final count was nine. The strangest thing was the bass were dining on a huge school of 4” to 5” bullheads. After the surfaced calmed, we discovered several wounded bullheads twitched inches below the surface crippled during the ordeal. 

The most popular of all topwater plugs is a popper. Poppers or chuggers are versatile in cover and open water. With a minnow profile and large concaved mouth, poppers spit water and pop distinctly. Traditionally, poppers where meant for still evening with the bait gently worked next to lilies in a gentle plop, plop, plop fashion. This is fine, but poppers are much more versatile. David Chong a seasoned bass tournament angler and topwater nut from Thornhill loves hunting the mid-depths with poppers. He’s always done well with poppers and last year it helped him seal a victory on Stoney Lake. Stoney, a clear lake with thousands of rocky outcrops is nestled along the northern edge of the Kawarthas. Working both a Frenzy and Splash It popper he landed numerous four pound plus smallmouth all in five to eight feet (1.8 to 2.7m) of water.

PART 2 COMING SOON

Flick Shake

Japan's Little Secret
By Luigi De Rose

The under used Flick Shake.

“Man, this thing works!” I said surprisingly to my dad. We were working our favourite shoreline on our secret bit of bass haven in mid July. Giving the dock’s posts and shady floor boards most of our attention we were catching them well. Suddenly, the docks petered out but we kept on fishing.
With nothing to aim at we fired casts randomly along the sandy shore line. Switching from a craw to a wacky rigged worm on a light jighead, I started nailing them. Considering the heat and intense sun, bass were hammering the worm. After that  great day I vowed to learn more about this technique called flick shake.
Flick shake is another finesse technique with Asian roots but with an edge. The concept is simple. The tackle is simple. The results are simply amazing.
Hooking a finesse worm through the middle with a jighead is a staple in Japan. A pinnacle player in it’s design and popularity is Seiji Kato, a Japanese lure designer and founder of Jackall Lures. His reputation, he’s the creator of the TD Minnow (Diawa), Sammy and Pointer (Lucky Craft), has been a driving force. Winning the 2007 Bassmaster co-angler title on famed Lake Amistad with the jighead wacky rig, anglers took notice.