Cut Bait

Fishing this morning in the cold windy conditions of Lake Lanier. Wind was at about 14 mph and the air temp was in the 40s.

Using trout on free lines first, meaning I just rigged up the trout on the hook and let it swim, well it tuckered out and died. So, I decided to cut it up into sections and use it for cut bait on the bottom.

For this I used my 1/2 oz Carolina rig setup for bass that I bought from Cabelas a while back. Thought this would be ok for weighting purposes. I tied that into the main line and then a 2 ft leader of my main line along with a 4/0 circle hook on the end with a sliced section of trout.

Let the bait sit after casting it a long distance and letting it fall a good 15 to 20 feet.

Well it wasn't a striper that picked it up and made my line strip off my reel it was this big catfish! Enjoy the pictures.

Getting Cold Outside

Well, it's December and the bass are getting ready to hit the Winter patterns. Right now they are still chasing baitfish but seem to be holding very shallow on rock. 

Today was a rainy day with winds from the West and dropping barometer. Great conditions for feeding bass. Didn't much like getting wet but I had on my insulated goretex Team Triton jacket so no problem with that.

Using a Rapala Husky Jerk 10 in a Tennessee shad color. It has 3 quality mustad number 4 treble hooks to help it suspend right where it needs to for the kill. I casted this one out on my 7' Berkley Lightning Rod on 8 lb test Berkley Solutions monofilament spooled on a Shimano 2500 spinning reel. 

I casted out around a rip rap wall where the park had built for people to walk next to the lake and view the scenery. I reeled it in causing it to dive down and let it sit for a few seconds. Then, I jerked it to make it rip through the water column and let it sit again while I reeled in the slack.

After my lure hit the rock and bounced off I felt a huge thump on my line and then it seemed like the fish took off with it! I thought i had hooked a baby striper the way the spotted bass attached this thing. I reeled him in but lot without a strong fight! Check him out and go get a Rapala Husky Jerk in your favorite baitfish color and get ready to reel, jerk, twitch, pause, and BOOM, catch that fish of a lifetime.

Jigs for Fall and Winter

Nothing tastes better to a bass than a crayfish and nothing emulates that than a jig! Jigs can be fished all year long with success. Above is a Bass Patrol 3/8 oz green pumpkin jig with a trimmed Creme black and blue craw trailer.

Other trailers that are natural and can be used include paca craws like the ones below along with worms and senkos.

The weight of jigs that I typically use is 1/4 to 1/2 oz. I also use a lot of football style jigs because there is a lot of rock around the places I fish. There is also clear water year around mostly so the other colors I use is green pumpkin blue like below in a 1/2 oz and a green pumpkin red in a 3/8 oz secondly.

More spinnerbaits

Went fishing again this morning in the cold Fall air. This time the water temps are at 70 and the water is turning over.

The transition is great no matter what the barometric pressure is reading. High pressure systems with wind out of the East doesn't deter the spinnerbait bite in the Fall! 

War Eagle spinnerbait in sexy shad with a double willow leaf blade setup is best around the mouths of creeks and around emergent and submergent vegetation. Try one burning it around this cover and see what happens!

Spinnerbaits in the Fall

So, it's finally cooled off and the fish are moving up more shallow now. This morning was a cool windy overcast morning, the perfect time for spinnerbaits!

I like using a double willow leaf War Eagle spinnerbait in a white color for Fall bass and there is a good reason, it works!

I use a 1/2 oz spinnerbait but in a 3/8 oz size frame....this is how War Eagle makes their screaming eagle spinnerbaits and it helps for longer and more accurate casts into the wind and for better control and feel of the blades coming through the water.

Caught 2 bass this morning from the banks. Enjoy the photos!

The 2nd bass really tore up my spinnerbait and it was a reaction strike as the spinnerbait was falling!

Zara Puppy Spot Remover

Went fishing again yesterday around the mouth of a creek. The bass were busting the top eating shad and other things.

Casted my clear zara puppy, a smaller version of a spook that resembles a gizzard shad. I walked the zara puppy in right where they were hitting the top and BOOM, he got it and I hooked him and got him in. He was about 2.5 lbs. Check him out below!

Hula Popper Bass

Went fishing yesterday. The weather was great!

It's beginning to be Fall and the air temperature is cooling off. It was a windy day with speeds reaching around 16 mph and the bass are starting to move more shallow.

Used a green frog Hula Popper and casted it parallel to the bank between the bank and submerged weeds and small trees in around 3-4 feet of water.

I popped it back in and it bumped the small tree. I let it sit for a few seconds and popped it in a few more times until it was about 2 ft away from me. Then SPLASH!! The bass grabbed it. Here are the after pictures.

New Update

Hey guys sorry its been so long. Been doing alot of bass fishing for the past few months with nothing really to show. All the guides and everyone is having a hard time because of the storms and crazy weather patterns over the summer.

I have newly acquired a fly rod and reel from Courtland.

I am happy to say I'm on my second day of learning to fly fish and I'm loving it. 

Been studying Cabelas fly fishing university as well as Orvis too. 

Caught about 8 panfish this morning including about 3 blueback herring. 

Enjoy the pictures!

Spinnerbait Spot

We had a windy and overcast sky when I decided to use my white tandem blade spinnerbait by Luck e Strike. 

Casted this around an overhanging tree from the bank. A 2 lb spotted bass ate the spinnerbait head first and I set the hook and reeled him in.

New lures

Well, it's been coming a monsoon here this Summer but that's okay. My mom sent me a gift card for Bass Pro and I took a little trip there today and picked up some topwater frogs, a chug n spook, and a small jig for pitching around grass lines and bushes.

Here is a new style of jig from bass pro called the Bass Patrol jig. I got it in 3/8 so it will fall slowly around those weeds and into the pockets so bass will strike. The thing about Summer is for pitching jigs you shouldn't spend a lot of time on it. If they are there they will strike. Cast it out let it fall and if no strike wiggle it a little and move on. In Summer they will either be in the weeds or around them and will strike a jig instantly.

I also bought a nickel and black chug n spook from Heddon. I was going to get a super spook jr in nickel because on Lake Lanier they hit chrome better than any other color on overcast mornings. Bass Pro was out if that tells you anything so I grabbed the next to LAST of these in chrome and black. 

That's my story for today and I hope you guys catch a BIG one this Summer!

Modifying topwater frogs

Picked up a Manns Super Frog last year at Walmart for a few dollars. After fishing this frog, even though its durable and fairly good quality, it started taking on water. 

I fixed this today and will start fishing it again now that its frog time in starting in July here.

The way I modified this frog was I took a porous foam from some computer packing and cut it into strips and stuffed the frog with it. This not only keeps the frog from taking on water but also keeps it on top of the water where it should be at all times.

I also modified this frog by adding a treble hook to the right side and then using a small part of a same color senko to keep it there as you can see in the image below.

You can also stuff your hollow body frogs with split shots and or rattles if you wish for better castability and attractiveness for bass. Try these few things and get your topwater frog back to catching quality bass today!

Baby catfish

As I was doing some bass fishing this morning off the shore I saw a small fish flopping in a shallow area. I went to check out what it was and to my surprise it was a baby catfish. I managed to get it close enough to pick it up and take a shot of it. I then threw it back in the water to swim away.

Long time no see

Hey everyone! I've been super busy doing reviews on lures and trying out different techniques to show you guys. One of the new baits I've been trying out this Summer is the spinnerbait but not just any spinnerbait, the new innovative Death Shimmer by Law Lures.

Check out this video by Field and Stream and go get your Death Shimmer at www.deathshimmer.com.

http://youtu.be/FsZhaV6cKSw

I've seen guys catch 8 lb largemouth on these lures!

Rescued Lure

So, about a week ago my Zara Spook Jr got stuck in a tree. Today, I rescued it and got it back but it was no easy task.

The lure was hanging on a limb that was close to the bank. There was an adjacent tree that ran parallel to it so I climbed it to access the branch where my lure was stuck.

I took my Cold Steel machete and chopped the big limb down and rescued my lure.

Topwater assault

Been fishing the last 2 days and killing bass on the Zara Spook Jr. in nickel and wounded shad colors.

The weather has been warm and humid but overcast too. There has also been a storm front moving through the past week but that didn't stop these bass from hitting these.

Topwater is very fun and exciting! Try these Heddon Zara Spook Jr. next time you go fishing. Walk the dog retrieving at a slow to moderate rate and you will get bit!

Not just another fishing app

Like to fish but tired of those complicated apps? Look no further than Barometric Fishin, the app for your Android device! This fun and accurate app displays on-the-spot:

-- pressure

-- temp

-- elevation

-- weather conditions

-- humidity

-- wind

-- much more!

This app may not be accurate for depths greater than 10 feet; however, if fishing greater than this depth it's recommended to use a brand name Lowrance or Humminbird fish finding device.

Go check out this fun and accurate app for your Android device and rate 5 stars today!

Catching bluegill

I call them bluegill but most call them bream. They are the prime food source for bass and they are fun to catch.

All you need is a bobber, a split shot, and a small panfish hook with a live worm on the end.

My wife and I fished for these and caught 10 of them early in the morning.

For some fun fishing from the bank, go bluegill and pan fishing next time.