Latest Tackle and Hottest fishing tips.
by TC
This is Todd Caddy here and I'm excited about bringing this monthly series that will highlight new tackle and tips on how to catch bigger bass! This series will be bringing you the latest equipment available and the hottest fishing tips from California to Pennsylvania. I will be talking to Pro Anglers from across the country to bring fresh ideas to you. If any local anglers would like to share any of their favorite lures or bass-catching secrets, feel free to contact me.
Thank you.
Gone Fishin........ TC
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When Less Is More…
I know it’s been a while since I wrote – fishing, a flood in my kitchen, family – all take time. Well fishing is now over for a while, house is done and family…well that is always on-going. The craziness of this past season has left me thinking about simplifying things.
When it comes to your tackle, sometimes less is more. As I fished the beginning of the year I found myself doing what I always do – filling my boat to the brim with loads of tackle. 90% of it I did not use. So, I started thinking…do I need all of this? The answer was no, so I trimmed down and started packing the basics - stuff that I knew would catch fish based on the specific time of year. For instance, there are a few staples that will catch fish always…cranks, jigs, tubes, spinner baits, dropshots, just to name a few. They are a standard that you should not leave home without. But, do I really need 100 cranks, 100 jigs, etc…no. So I trimmed down just bringing a few different colors and sizes of each for each trip. This took away the clutter on my boat, which removed the stress of digging through hundreds of pieces of tackle trying to find the right one. I stuck with what I’m confident in and guess what…I caught fish.
Keeping with the less is more theme, I also cut back on other things bogging me down…I cut back on rods, cut back on prefishing time (on familiar waters) and it made a more enjoyable fishing year. Why fret searching through a cluttered boat when a handful of strategically chosen rods and tackle can get the job done. Fishing is supposed to be a fun thing. There are things in life you cannot make easier, but fishing should not be one of them. If you simplify your tackle, rods and practice you may be more rested and make better decisions under tournament pressure.
We all know to catch a limit is the goal, so get the clutter out, keep it simple and focus on the limit.
Till then…Bass Dreams…TC
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#5 Products, products, products…
It’s that time of year again for companies to bring out the latest and greatest new products. Just when you think you have it all, they tease with new products. This year at ICAST, hundreds of new baits came out - Koppers frogs, new gulp and power baits, new Strike King spinner baits…just to name a few. Tackle Warehouse has tons of videos on their website with the pros demonstrating the new products and how they will catch more fish. I’m sure there are a few I just can’t fish without. Pflueger came out with a spinning reel that weighs only 6 ozs. Priced at only around $199 it’s cheaper and lighter than the Steeze. I’m not excluding any companies on purpose but this year the exorbitant amount of stuff coming out just limits my time.
Ranger Boat has finally realized that not everyone has $60,000 laying around to buy a new boat and they are finally coming out with a new series called the Z-100 series. They are the Z-118, Z-119, Z-120 series. The Z-118 carries a 150, Z-119 a 200 and Z-120 up to 225. These boats are quality Ranger boats and have some nice starting amenities. I believe the Z-118 will start around $30,000. I’m not saying that is cheap but more in line for today’s tournament fishermen. I’m sure Jim Adams will be able to tell you more. Minn Kota jumped into the shallow water anchoring system like the power poll. I believe it is called the Talon. Most offerings will be out in the fall….just in time for next year’s season. Continued success during the current tournament season, but if you need to shake things up for next year, maybe some of these new products will be just what you need.
Till then…Bass Dreams…TC
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#4 Inside a Pro’s Life...
Thinking of becoming a pro bass fisherman? Money and lots of it might get you there. I recently spoke to a friend of mine, Art Ferguson, an FLW Touring Pro from Michigan. We talked about just what it takes to be a competitive pro fisherman and some of his tactics to fish the tour. Art’s career has not been handed to him. He started fishing in tournaments at the age of 16. He worked his way through the Bass Federation levels to make it to the Bassmaster Classic twice. That’s when he decided to make fishing his career starting as a guide with Roland Martin at his marina on Lake Okeechobee in Florida. Art fished the Bassmaster Tours throughout the 90’s and 2000’s then in 2006 switched to the FLW Tour which fishes now. Art has seen many changes in the fishing world in his 30 year career and comments that both circuits have pros and cons. He tells me that at his level it takes between $45,000 and $60,000 in fees to sometimes earn $80,000 to $100,000 in prizes throughout a year. So if my math is right, that’s about a $35,000 to $40,000 a year in profit. And that’s if you’re lucky enough to find the right fish. Unless you have a boat load of cash just sitting around waiting to be spent sponsors are the only way to make a go at it.
I asked Art how he goes about preparing for a tournament on a new body of water and how he manages to put a limit in the boat every day for a four day tournament. He started by saying that the advancements of technology have really helped. The GPS with navigation maps is how he studies a lake. Example contours, depths, points and structures he relates these lake maps with the time of year and what fish should be doing. Another less technical tool he relies on is talking with a local fisherman who is familiar with the body of water to find out what might be working bait wise at that time of the year.
Art says being a guide, he relies on off shore structures a lot. When taking a customer fishing he has to catch fish on a regular basis and he knows a good structure will hold fish. This is often what he looks for when going to a strange body of water.
Art explained to me that tournament fishing is as much a strategic game as it is skill. To manage a limit for 4 days is no easy task as we all know I’m sure. On practice days, Art takes care not to hook many potential winning fish. To do this he has a trick – he puts heat shrink tubing on the hooks of spinner baits, chatter baits and jigs to keep fish from getting hooked. Art looks for of some off shore structure which usually holds more fish than a bank spot, which usually hold one or two fish. It all goes to strategy and to put the most fish in the boat. Art talks about a tournament at Fort Louden lake in 2008 in which he pulled 18.2 pounds in one day and 19 pounds the second day off the same deep lake structure only to realize he burned his fish up. But by having a 4.2 pound lead into the 3rd day he was able to save a 3rd place finish. So maybe a better strategy would have been to save a few fish for day 3. But the weather had changed so maybe catching those fish then was the right thing to do to ensure a pay check.
I asked Art if he had one and only one bait to use what would it be. It was a hard decision but the Yamamoto Senko was the winner. Art is still a guide full time. He splits his seasons between Michigan and Florida where he guides on the Kissimmee chain in the winter and Lake Erie and St Clair in the summer. Marathon Oil Company, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, Kistler Rods, Mercury Marine, Lowrance, Navionics and Sunline Fishing Line are some of Art’s major sponsors that have helped him make his way to a successful fishing career. You can track or check on Art at ArtFerguson.com.
In closing I think that I will stay local for a while until a pile of money falls in my lap then maybe I will throw my hat into the ring!
Till then…Bass Dreams…TC
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#3: Maintenance
Okay fellow fisher people, if you’re anything like me you’re chomping at the bit ready to fish, unless you’re one of those pac boot wearing crazies that venture out on the ice, that is. It’s time to start getting your gear ready, if you haven’t done so already. Pull your old line off all of your reels and start sorting your tackle. If your reels feel a little sluggish, oil them lightly and I mean lightly. If you think more is better, that is the wrong tactic to use on reels. Smaller amounts work better and the reels will run a lot smoother. Check all of your hooks on your favorite baits. Make sure they are sharp and rust free.
I planned on dedicating a big part of the article to rod maintenance. But since I spoke with Gary Dobyns who is a premier rod builder from California, I learned there is not much to rod maintenance. According to Gary…”just fish with them”. I had the opportunity to talk to Gary the other day about rod maintenance. The conversation went something like this: “Hi Gary, I’m doing an article on rod care. What do you do to yours to keep them in tip top shape?” Gary’s response, “fish with them!” I said, “Ok, what about waxing the rods, washing the cork, checking the eyes...” all of the things I thought would be part of maintenance. Gary kind of laughed and said, “No, I just fish with them!” I laugh and said, “No, seriously Gary, give me something here on how to take care of rods.” He laughed and said “beside the obvious, broken guides, cracked eyes or caked with mud…Dude I just fish with them!” So, there you have it…just fish with your rods. I’m sure checking the guides and reel seats is also not a bad idea.
And for the most important part of your successful season…your boat. A little more is required than just fish out of it. Make sure all of your schedule maintenance has been done and go over all of the screws on your boat to make sure everything is tight and secure. Make sure your trailer tires are good and all the moving parts on the trailer are well lubricated. Also, make sure your batteries are on top form. You should also check any exposed wiring in your boat to make sure no critters have snacked on it during the winter.
OK, I am tired of talking fishing, now I’m ready to actually…as Gary puts it…”Just fish”!
Coming next time, I’ll talk with Scott Martin of the FLW Tour on his favorite fishing techniques and how we can use them.
Till then…Bass Dreams…TC
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#2: Make it Move
Well, it’s January
and that means three months until it’s time to fish. I’ve been
watching snow and thinking spring is never coming, but it will and I
will be ready. As I promised, this month I chatted with Mark Pack,
President and co-owner of Lake Fork Tackle. Mark is also an FLW
touring pro and the 2008 Wal-Mart Open champion.
Mark’s
approach to fishing is movement…if it moves, bass will eat it. He
makes all of his baits with this in mind. Big bass love things that
move past them. In muddy water Mark uses his Hyper Freak baits. These
baits push a lot of water and create a large disturbance that bass can
locate even in the muddiest of water. In clear water the Hyper Whack’n
Worm is great for drop shotting or as the name implies, whacky
rigging. The worm is segmented for optimum movement on the fall. LFT
just came out with a new way to rig a whacky worm which works great on
the whack’n worm or any other stick bait. This set up allows you to
weight and hook stick baits without tearing up your baits and allows
for a more natural weedless fall. You can see all these tournament
winning baits at lftlures.com. They are also available in the Cabela’s
catalog.
I fished with these baits last season and they are a
little crazy looking but damn if they don’t work. Mark develops these
lures on Lake Fork in Texas then sends them to his pro staff to tweak
up. So, all of his baits are truly made by fishermen. I find by
talking to the pros from across the country that bass seem to be
basically the same in every water and to show the conditioned
tournament water bass something new is priceless. We all know that
there are millions of lures out there that the big companies say you
must have. And if your spouse is anything like mine, that says I “own
enough tackle to start a store” … just remember that maybe by sneaking
in one new bait a year to show the bass something a little different
might make your live wells fuller.
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| Hyper Freak Bait |
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| Hyper Whack'n Worm |
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| Whack'n Rig |
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Next time we’ll be talking about tackle tune-ups…
Till then…Bass Dreams…TC
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#1: Excuses
Well, its winter and all of the big bass catching is now just a fond memory. As I think back through the year, one thing comes to mind...excuses as to why I couldn't catch 'em. Let's see...big winds, no wind, muddy water and cold fronts just to name a few. Yet even during the worst days, someone always seems to catch 'em. So I talked to a few pros about these days and I am going to pass their advice along to you.
Big Winds: On windy days you'll want to use spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and crankbaits. On these days go to wind-blown flats and rock banks. This is where bait fish end up with bass sure to follow.
No Wind: In the dead calm of summer try downsizing line diameter and using drop shot rigs and shaky head presentations. This will work in deep or shallow water. You can also throw a top water bait over deep grass in clear water.
Muddy Water: We all know we have plenty of this as with the recent FLW tour here in Pittsburgh when the mud was plentiful. One of the pros that fished this tournament shared that spinnerbaits are perfect for muddy conditions. Fish move shallow in muddy water and so should you. If you have muddy water mixed with cold water (50 degrees or lower), you must find clear water to fish.
Cold Fronts: Of course we have cold fronts; the first half of our season is filled with cold fronts. Bass will bite if you get a bait in front of them. Use a bait like a jig or a soft plastic. Practice up on your pitching and flipping guys. When a cold front is in, the bass will hold tight to cover. You will have to pitch to tight cover multiple times to get the bass to bite.
I touched on a few excuses that I've used and I hope not to use again next year. Try some of these techniques and maybe the talk won't be about excuses, but how big your bag was. Next time I will be talking with Mark Pack, FLW touring pro and co-owner of Lake Fork Tackle. Mark has some interesting ideas that we can use here to increase bag size.
Till then...Bass Dreams...TC
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