Doug Hannon is known as the Bass Professor and has caught over 800 10lb bass. His website is http://www.bassprofessor.com/

You have to check this out . .

OK, if you are like most bass fishing addicts, you have tons of tackle and so many options in your bag(s) that sometimes it is overwhelming where to start when you hit the water. Well, if you want to simplify things and catch a mess of bass while you are at it, you have to try bass fishing wacky style.

Wacky style generally refers to a non traditional rigging of a plastic lure - usually a worm. However, wacky isn’t so “wacky” now as it has proven to be an effective technique on any body of water, any time of the year, with any color, and dang near any form of plastic lure. And while there are several articles on the web now making wacky fishing a science, the point here is to keep it simple and get some gratification by catching a mess of bass. Here is what you do:

1) Take a rod and reel and put relatively light line on it. (4lb-8lb test). In choosing the reel, make sure you can cast it well with light lures on it. I have used spinning reels and bait-casters. I usually use a bait-caster but whatever you can confidently cast with little weight.

2) Take you a 1.0 or 2.0 hook - preferably a light wire hook. (If it is a heavy wire hook, use a 1.0.) and tie it on.

3) Now rummage through your tackle and grab you a pack of worms - 6 inch or less. Don’t stress about color, use what you like or are confident with. Worms based around watermelon, black, red, and or blue are good choices.

4) Now take your worm, fold it half. This will form a “V” or “U” shape while holding it. Simply stick your hook through the middle portion. You should get something that looks similar to this:

Image courtesy of ProBassAnglers.com

Ok . . now this certainly looks odd . How can I catch fish with it? Well I call it the CC method. CC stands for Cast and Click. That’s basically all you are going to do. Cast it, Click your reel to prevent more line from coming out and watch your line.

Once you cast it, let your slack line lay on the water and watch it. You detect hits by seeing side movement or little ripples come off of your slack line. More times than not is is pretty easy to detect as your line all of a sudden hauls ass in one direction. If it reaches the bottom before getting hit. Count to ten or so while it sits and then re-cast. I usually cast to the same place for two to three tries versus a new spot every cast. Seems like sometimes the first one gets attention but no bite and then on the second fall it gets hammered.

As you can see, it doesn’t take much gear or technique to have a good chance to land a lot of bass. This technique works for large and small bass. The way the worm flutters in free fall is very hard to resist. With regards to the cast, I usually cast around trees, under docks or around any structure and just let gravity do the work. Since the hook point is exposed, you may get hung up from time to time but in the worse case scenario, you are out a hook and a cheap plastic lure. Don’t be afraid to pitch it in to any cover or near any structure where is can fall.

Again, this is the “simple” form of wacky style. Several people have embellished on the technique by adding panel nails or weight in the worm head, specialized hooks, bouncing the lure, etc. Most of these embellishments are designed to impact the presentation. While I do some alterations every now and then, my experiences have shown me to just keep it simple and let the lure fall. Once you get used to doing this, experiment using different lures like a lizard, a fluke, and different lengths or styles or worms. Pretty much any plastic can be wacky rigged. Sometimes the more non-traditional the better.

One thing I have learned is that “the wacky” forces me to slow down. Often I will get over anxious and perhaps work the lures faster than I should. ”Wacky”ing forces me to chill out and refocus. I have caught a LOT of fish using a basic 4″ finesse worm and a little hook. It is simple and effective. 

This technique is also great for taking kids fishing. With a bag of worms and a few hooks, everyone can have a good time and catch some fish. Try it!

One of the best things to can add to your tackle bag isn’t in the form of a bass fishing lure. It isn’t the latest color plastic or creature to add to your arsenal. In fact, it is such a basic tool, it is often over looked. I am talking about polarized fishing glasses.

While it is certainly subjective as to if these glasses make you look cool or not but the pros don’t wear them for aesthetic reasons. Polarized fishing glasses give you an edge by allowing you to see further and clearer in the water. This is obviously important to examine structure and even bass in bedding conditions. The polarized fishing glasses are designed to cut glare and filter out “stuff” in light that makes looking into water almost magical. You may also look cool wearing them.

If you do not have a pair or never used them, I would recommend go get you a pair from Wal Mart or a similar store that will have an affordable pair. Keep in mind though, this is an item that you generally get what you pay for. The more expensive ones will generally be more comfortable and perform better. However, starting with a cheap pair is an easy way to get an introduction to these amazing tools. Likewise, if you loose them in the water, scratch them or squash them, you aren’t out much money. Once you experience using polarized fishing glasses, you can immediately see why the pros use them. I have scoured the web looking for an image of what it looks like to your eye without glasses and with, but not had any luck. I promise you once you have a pair and you look down in to the water without them, and then with them . . you will immediately see why every professional bass angler has them.

Fish in the springtime are extremely susceptible to frontal conditions. Let me shed some light on what is really going on when the fishing gets tough. When drastic fronts push through bass pull into heavier cover and sometimes even use the cover to hold themselves up. I found article stating that they videoed large bass in the root systems of cypress tress supporting themselves on the roots. The added pressure seemed to put the bass into an almost drunken state. They don’t move around much.

Picture courtesy of ESPN B.A.S.S.

What does this mean for us?…….. well for starters don’t expect the bass to try and chase anything down. During prespawn the large females stage off steep points on the mouths of spawning bays where they feed on shad and crawfish.  The bass will move up the drop off to feed unless a cold front puts the hold on. If a pressure front moves in the staging bass will back further down the drop off or pull real tight to cover.
What should you fish with?  I recommend a reaction bait such as a jig, crankbait or a spinnerbait. Otherwise a second good choice would be super slow fished baits such as a dead sticked rogue or sticked stick bait. I would select colors as natural as possible for the dead stick baits and either sharp bright colors or solid dark colors for reaction baits.

There are two main benefits of fishing when the conditions are rough and the bite is slow. One, is larger fish must eat more than  smaller fish therefore the larger fish should be the ones biting. Secondly, due to the tough fishing most anglers avoid the lake so you have it all to yourself. So next time the fronts come through go fishing instead of chickening out.

This guy can paint a mean bait and catch big hogs like this 8.14 lb beauty he caught on Sam Rayburn February 9 2008.
Congratulations on a nice fish Casey Sobczak.

Want to save money here’s a start. Buy a cheap lure retriever. You can find them at most any tackle shop and it will save you over and over again. It is much easier to get one with it’s own reel but that isn’t necessary you can get by just fine without the built in reel. If you get one without it’s own reel simply take one of your old reels that you don’t use and load it with a good braid such as PowerPro 65 lb test. When you get your favorite bait hung up take the retriever, which usually has some sort of guide which you put your line through. Most of the time it is like a big spring. Hold you fishing rod line only lightly snug. You do not want your line completely tight but you do not want it completely loose either. Release the lure knocker to slide freely down the line to the bait. Sometimes you will have to bounce the lure knocker a few times to dislodge the bait. Then you reel both lines up and continue fishing.

Bass fishing today is very competitive. If you really want to compete you have to find that special advantage. With increased numbers of anglers perusing these elusive fish it seems they get harder and harder to catch. Let’s look at something real quick….. How many times do you think a bass sees a bandit 200 series crankbait in a shad pattern. Say there are 20 anglers in one day even on a small lake. I would bet minimum of five are throwing that standard issue bandit. So those fish probably see that bait come blitzing by over and over again and see their buddies getting drug out of the water. OK fish aren’t that smart are they…….. or are they……… you can train fish to eat dog food off the surface why wouldn’t they become trained enough to know that a pretty lil bandit is bad news. So what can you do about it, well try this on for size. Now that is a beautiful crankbait. Very very few fish have ever seen this bait, but I bet it looks like a nice meal for most fish.

This bait was painted by my favorite lure artist. He is the owner of Sixth Sense Custom Painting. His name is Casey Sobczack.

Casey paints a lot of stuff for me and for Jason Quinn. Now you want to know “do they catch fish?”……. what do you think I have caught tons of fish on these good looking baits. The trick is picking a productive bait and adding a super realistic paint job to it. Most good looking baits may not have the right action. Companies spend a lot of time on the look and only a little time mastering a fish catching action. With a custom bait painter, that wont be a problem, simply take that reliable bandit 200 series and add a new twist to the look.

How’s this for proof……… ever see a bass inhale a 3/4 oz trap that deep. However, unfortunately Casey doesn’t paint lipless baits anymore. I got this bait from one of his early auctions…. and no……..I wont sell it.

There are plenty of custom bait painters out there you just need to do a little digging to find them. I have seen a few others on ebay from time to time but in my opinion Casey is hands down the most realistic i have ever seen. Increase your catch and create your own secret colors, but order ahead and allow plenty of time because Casey stays very busy.

You are sitting way back in that cove early in the morning suddenly you feel that familiar “tap tap” and you swing hard remember there is one very critical link between you and that fish of a lifetime. Your line can make the difference between a dream come true and a tragic heartbreak. But how do you know what kind of line to use. Today there are many types of line to choose from. There are different sizes and colors. I will break these into three main groups; braided line, fluorocarbon, and monofilament. Each line has it’s own unique properties which means they all have their place and time.

Monofilament
Monofilament has the most stretch and has good flotation. These attributes make it a good choice for fishing topwater baits such as chug bugs, a zara spook or a buzz bait. The flotation of mono is essential in creating that walk the dog action that makes a spook such an effective bait. If the line sank then it would pull the nose of a spook under. The stretch of the line helps allow a fish to inhale a topwater bait a little bit more without ripping the bait away from the fish. The stretch also allows for some give during a fight so that those small treble hooks have less chance to rip out. You can use the buoyancy of this line in other situations. You will have to be creative with this part but I will give you at least one situation where this could apply. Say for instance fishing submerged grass that is about 5 feet deep and the crankbait body size you want to fish runs say about 6 feet deep. switching from a fluorocarbon line to a mono could gain you about a half a foot allowing you to tick the top of the grass instead of bogging down into it.

Flourocarbon
Flourocarbon is one of the more recent developments in fishing line. The major benefit of fluorocarbon is it’s ability to disappear under the surface of water. Fluorocarbon has the same light index as water. It is more dense than mono which gives it three more properties. One fluorocarbon will sink, which comes in real handy when you are wanting to get those big deep diving crankbaits down even deeper. The second added bonus is an increased resistance to abrasion. This is very handy for fishing around rocks and timber. Third, less stretch and increased sensitivity. Fluorocarbon is a good choice for a lot of situations I’ll list a few of the applications where I really like to use fluorocarbon. One I like to use fluorocarbon for fishing clear or highly pressured waters. I like to use fluorocarbon for fish hard and soft jerkbaits, crankbaits and for a drop shot. Another situation I like it for is for fishing a lot of brush that isn’t completely submerged. I used to fish braid a lot for this but I noticed the braid makes a sawing noise when you bounce a bait up and down. I feel it sacrifices bites, but if you use fluorocarbon for this situation be sure to go heavy, 20 lb test or higher. Due to the minimal visibility of this line you will get more bites than same size mono line. note: When using fluorocarbon it is extremely important to pull your knots down slowly to make sure you do not cause any friction burn. My knot recommendation is the San Diego knot.

Braid
Last but not least we have braided line. Braid is what I would consider a specialty line. The main property of braided line is the high tensile strength with a small diameter. Braided line is very useful when fishing thick matted vegetation or when you really need that extra strength. Braided line does not stretch like mono or even as much as fluorocarbon. Since there is no stretch braided line is the most sensitive of all types of line. It’s small diameter allows weighted baits such as a jig to sink quickly and trigger reaction strikes. With baits such as a topwater frog it allows you the instant winching power to drag those fish in quickly and it floats. You are probably wondering why would you use anything else. Well here are the drawbacks. First, braided line is very tough on a reel. Typically, you must tighten you drag good and tight which means there is a lot of pressure applied to the gears and the spool. If you plan to use braided line extensively plan on wearing out reels. The second drawback to braided line is the higher visibility. You will get less bites in clearer water than mono or fluorocarbon. Third, braid will slip through the eye on some hooks so be sure to use superline hooks that the loop of the eye is completely closed. note: Braided line will slip at the knot if you do not use the correct not. A polymar knot is the best for braid.

Line Size:
Line size will vary from one circumstance to the next. I usually base line size on the weight of what I am fishing, water clarity, and the necessary force to drive the hook. Say for instance I am fishing real clear water with a drop shot or finesse bait with a similar light duty hook i would use 8 to 10 lb. The lighter hook allows me to use a lighter line and I would need a lighter line to increase the number of bites I will get in clear water situations. If I where fishing bulky plastics or a jig where I need more hook setting power I would use 15 to 17 lb. A good medium starting point for mono is about 12 lb test based on light worm fishing. For fluorocarbon a good medium is about 15 lb test. For braided line I usually opt for good heavy grade say about 50 to 65 lb test of course I primarily using this line for serious cover fishing. For crankbait fishing 10 lb test is a good line to start with. Most crankbait depth ratings are based on using 10 lb or 10 lb diameter line equivalent. For topwaters like a spook, chug bug, or buzzbait I usually go with about 17 to 20 lb mono. For lighter jigs I go with about 15 lb for heavier I will go with 20 bl mono or fluorocarbon or a 50 lb braid.

That should cover a good basis as usual there are special circumstances for everything. I hope these line tips will help you get going good. If you are uncertain of what line or size you should use for a specific situation feel free to post it here.

I have always been a fan of the Ambassadeur baitcasting reels. I guess this comes from getting my grandafther’s reels as a kid and never being able to cast one of these mystical devices. Well, through time and patience, I learned how to finally use the reel. I can’t tell you how many Ambassadeur baitcasting reels I have now. They are still a staple for me when I go bass fishing.

Today, we see a LOT of bass fishing using pitching techniques. We also see a lot of reels with more features catering to this bass fishing technique. Beeing somewhat of a reel junkie, I am sort of always reel shopping. When I had the chance to get away from work and make it to the Bass Pro Shop, I was set on coming out with a new reel. I looked at a lot of reel and I came across the RevO. After picking it up and checking it out, I KNEW I had to have it. I love the feel of it, I love the simpicity of it. On the S, which is the cheapest of the REVO line, there is pretty much one knob (outside of drag). All I do is hold my rod at 10 oclock with the jig I am going to use and turn it until the jig falls quickly without the spool continuing to spin and I am set. The REVO is a 6:4:1 ratio.

The REVO S reel pitches and casts like a dream. The thing I guess that I really like about is knowing that the gears are the brass gears. The Ambassadeurs I have had have never failed me and you would thnk they could subsititute as a winch for your truck when you aren’t fishing. They simply feel solid and well made. The RevO gives you the same piece of mind, but in a low profile footprint. The reel is balanced, small and smooth. I mated it with a 7 foot AllStar rod and have been running 12lb green p-line on it. It is my main jig rig these days. Now in all honesty, I haven’t caught anything over 4lbs on it . . . yet. but every fish I have caught on it, it has simply performed like you would expect. The reel has yet to slip, squeak, or act like it is straining. I have had several bait casters that were killer in the yard practicing and went to shit after the first fish gave any kind of resistance. I don’t think you could go wrong getting the REVO - even the lowest of the line model like I have. Right now, it is my favorite reel I own.

TackleTour.com did a pretty good review on the REVOs and you can check it out here. For $100, it is a reel that should give you years of trouble-free performance. I will post back if it I learn otherwise, but somehow I doubt it.

February 3, 2008 was looking like another tough day on the lake until one bite changed it all. The fishing was tough all day long. I caught only two fish today and only had a few bites but this 9.45 lb lunker was well worth the trip. The fish was staging on a point outside of a spawning cove just off the edge of the grass in about 10 ft of water. She was most likely just getting started on her spring time feed before the spawn. The fish was an impressive 24 1/2 inches long and inhaled a 3/8 oz black and blue jig. For those of you out there who are still hesitant about fishing a jig now is the right time of year to start learning. A jig is notorious for catching lunker bass especially through the winter and spring.