When Bass Speak, Do You Listen?

Have you ever had one of those days when the fishing is super slow and bass are barely cooperating then poof …

Something weird happens and a bass strikes when they shouldn’t?

I know I have like one time when burning a jig n pig from the edge of a lay-down and a nice 3 pound+ largemouth comes up and hammers it.

OK, so you say anything can happen once, but when it happened two more times within the next few minutes I decided the bass were really trying to say something to me.

After working a bank with several lay-downs for most of the morning but only catching an occasional keeper bass, this sudden change of action caused me to stop and re-think my game plan.

How did I react?

By stowing the pitching stick and picking up one of my spinnerbait rods, I started re-working each of the trees with the spinnerbait using a waking retrieve.

An hour later, I had caught and released seven additional bass ranging from two to four pounds. Even better…

Many of the bass were busting the bait on the surface with far more impressive strikes then I ever got pitching jigs.

Now that is really cool!

Not only did the change result in catching several nice bass but with much more explosive strikes!

A few weeks later, I was fishing another pond absolutely loaded with aquatic vegetation (pond weed, lily pads, coontail). My partner and I started the day working both the deep and shallow weed-lines with Texas-rigged worms.

Even though this pond tends to deliver great numbers of bass, this was definitely another one of the slower days where the “bass fishing” was definitely better than the “bass catching”.

The wind was blowing better than 15 mph from the south, so we continued working in and out of the various coves to conserve battery power. As we came down along a weed-line at the southern end of one cove and rounded the corner into the wind, I turned and made a cast into directly into an even bigger wind gust.

You probably guessed what happened then …

I was instantly rewarded with a pretty nasty backlash on my bait-casting rig.
After picking at the mess (and muttering) for a few minutes, I finally got the backlash out and started retrieving the line. Just as the line started to draw taunt, I noticed it was moving sideways and quickly set the hook into a nice fish.

Once the bass was landed and released, I sent another cast in the direction of the wind and poof … another backlash. (You would think … “Once bitten; twice shy” right!)

Again I picked at the snarl (while muttering even louder this time with a few choice words thrown in) and retrieved the line once the bird’s nest was cleared. This time when when the line tightened I found another bass had picked up the worm running out towards and under the boat.

Looking at my fishing partner we decided the bass were telling us to make two changes by the way those two fish had reacted to the worm sitting dead on the bottom.

One … Put away our bait-casters and pick-up spinning outfits and then to change the retrieve from a slow, bottom-bouncing presentation dead-stick the worms.

For the rest of the day, our newly informed efforts were rewarded with bass catching rather than just the bass fishing we experienced that morning.

See it does pay to stop and listen when the bass are talking (as long as you understand what they’re saying that is  )!

Tight lines and full live-wells …

Important Knots For Bass Anglers

Ever Feel Like You’re Missing That Special Fishing Knot?

How many times have you been out on a bass fishing trip facing a specific situation where a certain knot is required but couldn’t remember how to tie it?

I’m sure it has happened to each of us at some point and what happens?

We end up either running around asking everyone else how to tie the knot or improvise using a knot that is less than an ideal solution.

Even if you’ve been lucky enough to get your hands on a credit card size knot guide for your wallet, sometimes the little diagrams just don’t cut it!

Obviously the best way to avoid this situation is to re-learn how to tie the knot and keep practicing to commit it to memory.

Fortunately, today’s Internet provides numerous resources enabling us to access a variety of websites and other resources (videos, downloadable e-books, etc.) to help solve almost any problem.  This is definitely the case for our fishing knot problem and I would like to introduce you to a few of the resources I found particularly useful …

I was amazed to not only find numerous websites providing diagrams and written instructions but also websites with downloadable PDF files (e-books) and even videos.

The best part … I found all my favorite bass fishing knots on a cool website including the Albright, Improved Clinch, Palomar, Blood and Rapala knots.

Plus they were all in animated video …  How cool is that!!!!

Get Your Bass Fishing Knot Guidance Here!

Here is a video tour I created to guiding you through the website, different bass fishing knots (and why I use them) and how the site works …

As mentioned in the video, the link to the animated video site can be accessed directly by clicking below:

Grog’s Fishing Knots

Enjoy and good luck! 

Crayfish: Favored Forage of the Bass Family

It’s that time of year again and the water has either warmed enough to bring the crayfish from their wintering haunts or we're in one of the warm water periods!

Crayfish are one of the favored forage species on the bass’ menu.   So the next time you head out to your favorite honey hole and include a few “crayfish-type” baits in your box …

Here are a few pointers to consider when selecting “crayfish-type” baits for your tackle collection:

1. Though crayfish patterned crankbaits work well for largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, the best color patterns vary by season.  During the spring bass fishing season crayfish are often colored with green or green-blue hues, while red or dark colors tend to work best in summer.  Select different shades of brown being tops through the fall season.
2. Plastic crayfish imitations work well from spring to fall but remember to use the color patterns mentioned in tip #1.
3. Never forget to add a few jig and pig combos to you tacklebox in colors ranging from all black, black/blue, black/green and brown/orange.

Here is a short video from the folks at Wired2Fish discussing crayfish color transitions…

Is One Soft Stickbait Better Than Another?

One question that regularly pops up when discussing the myriad of soft stickbait choices in the bass fishing market today…

Is one soft stickbait better than another when it comes to catching bass?

Though many sponsored anglers tend to claim their supporter’s bait is best, they will also often quietly admit they will default to the grand-daddy of soft stickbaits, the Yamamoto Senko, when the chips are down and money is at stake!

There are also quite a few “regular” folks touting the features of the Senko and how it outshines all other softstick bait brands at catching bass…

I will admit, there have been many days when the Yamamoto Senko came through for me even after starting with a competing, usually less expensive brand at the beginning of the day.

A couple of years ago I was introduced to Mister Twister’s soft stickbait version, the Comida and started fishing it with considerable success on many outings.

Since the Senko vs Comida (as well as other brands) question seems to always loom, this past season I tracked how the Comida fared vs the Senko on numerous days on the water…

What I discovered is very interesting as explained in the following video…

So what are your thoughts?

Does your favorite soft stickbait produce as well as the Senko?

Is the question really that simple?

Curious minds want to know 

Summertime Spinnerbait Fishing

Is the spinnerbait a lure that is "outa sight, outa mind" for bass anglers during the summer months?

For some bass anglers perhaps but not 2022 Classic champ Jason Christie! 

Take a moment and hear what JC has to say about the conditions and specific style of spinnerbait he fishes during the summertime...

Pretty interesting thoughts though in off colored water during the summer I tend to lean more Indiana  opposed to willow leaf blades.

Two other times I lean heavily on summertime spinnerbait fishing:

1. When night fishing for bass a dark colored spinnerbait with single Colorado blades (black, gold or copper) play a major role;
2. Bright colored (primarily chartreuse) double willow leaf bladed spinnerbaits burned over shallow flats for summer smallmouths.

Spinnerbaits are a great tool for many bass fishing situations even during the summer.

Looking to build up your spinnerbait arsenal? 

Click the link below and see the spinnerbait selection available from the folks at Omnia Fishing!

Omnia Spinnerbait Selection