I’m not much for finesse fishing but a shakey head is a rig to try when the fish get tight lipped. The rig is great after a front passes through and the bass get sluggish. We are heading into that time of the year when bass will start transiting from summer to fall and this little rig can be a gem. A couple of baits that I have a lot of success throwing on a shakey head are a baby brush hog, a tube type bait, a senko, and a trick worm. All these baits have their time and place. Depending on conditions one will probably work better than the other.

The brush hogs seem to work a lot better on the rig for me when you’ve got warmer water and if the conditions have been more stable. That wild action you get from the tails is great if the bass are in a positive mood. Continue reading ‘Shake IT’

Mike McCarthy Jr. and I were fortunate enough to be able to get in a day and a half of practice for this event before the cut-off. In practice we were able to locate a couple of areas that had fish. Our goal was to try and find a couple of spots not too far from each other to rotate. Knowing that the fishing would be tough no matter what, we tried to put together a pattern. Not too long into our fishing we found an underwater pipe that gave up 9 keepers for about 14 to 15 lbs. We were wacking fish around this stretch of bank left and right so we left the spot to do some more looking. We fished a lot of different areas and ran as far as we could go trying to sample laydowns, lily pads, the barges, and rip rap.

We didn’t want to look for spots too far away from the pipe. After much searching we couldn’t find anything like the concentration around that pipe. We ended up picking off one here and there but one thing was for sure the bass were in the current breaks where you had a certain flow of current. We’d both caught a bunch of keepers and I caught one over 4lbs. After practice our game plan was to fish the pipe first thing out the gate and then run our pattern to fill out the limit if we couldn’t get it done on just the pipe alone. We were worried that one of the Stren pros might find our spot and then we would just have to rely on our pattern that we knew was going to be a tedious affair. Continue reading ’3rd Place Finish National Guard FLW College Fishing Ft. Madison’

Kicker caught on a AiRRUS Co-Matrix 457 Stick

Having the right rod for the situation is always a plus. You are  just going to have a more efficient presentation and you are going to be able to land a lot more fish over the course of the year. I really suggest that you try and get the best rods that you can afford because it will make a big difference in how many fish you catch.

For flipping I have had a lot of success this year with the AiRRUS Co-Matrix 457 rod in the 7 foot length in a medium heavy action. I really like this rod for flipping because of the fast action and the backbone which allows me to set the hook hard and get the fish out and away from cover. I feel that a 7 foot rod is the perfect length because it gives me a lot of leverage and I can catch up to the fish fast. The rod is also a great rod for throwing frogs around grass or stroking jigs out on structure. The rods been really durable. I’ve boat flipped 4lbers with this thing. The guides have also held up to the abuse that braid can put on the life of a rod. It is clear that this rod is really durable and just a great every day rod.

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Working out at the local rec in my Naked Bait Company workout gear.

Bass don’t care whether your  big or small but being in good physical shape has it’s benefits in bass fishing.  I used to play a lot of sports while in highschool.  When I wasn’t fishing I was working on my baseball swing in the cage, swimming laps, or powering myself around the ice rink.  It was a lot easier to keep in shape back then because I was always active.  I took some time off from working out and I really started to notice it. I started getting back in the weight room this summer working out regularly is something that has improved my fishing tremendously.        

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