How to Safely Store Swimbaits

Its no secret that swimbaits carry outrageous price tags. Its easy to spend hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars without even filling a tackle box. At those prices you can't afford to let your baits fall apart. Despite the ridiculous way Matt stores his (see "The Truth about Bait Storage") its important to take care of these valuable baits. Leaving them piled up for even a short time can cause the baits to kink and warp, rendering them useless.

Last week we received some questions about the baits hanging on the wall in the background of the video. Tim has developed a great method for storing baits long term that keeps them safe and organized. In this week's video he breaks down how to store glidebaits and other hard swimbaits, as well as softbaits like the Huddleston (Wedge Tail) and Osprey (Boot Tail).

Baitsmith, Osprey, and Huddleston Swimbaits stored vertically to keep the tails from bending

What you need to complete the project:

-Pegboard

-Tool Organizers

-6" Pegboard Pegs

-2/0 Snap Swivels

Follow Tim's step by step instructions to clean up your baits, organize your tackle, and avoid all of the damage that comes from leaving your baits laying unorganized in boxes for extended periods of time. This simple project will only take a few hours to complete but can save hundreds of dollars in unnecessary damage to your favorite baits.

Finesse Tubes: Two Very Different Styles

From coast to coast, bed fishing to ledge fishing, the tube jig has a place on every boat. There is no surprise that tubes have found a place in both Tim and Matt's arsenals. The surprise is that after years of fine tuning their approaches, they agree on virtually nothing except the tube's effectiveness on both numbers and size of bass.

Both anglers break down the details of their baits, equipment, and even touch a bit on tactics throughout the video for finesse fishing with tubes.

This "Old Ugly" tube slid up the line exposing the jig hook in this bass' mouth

Where Tim prefers a 7'9" 2 power (medium light) rod, Matt prefers a 7'8" 3 power (medium) rod. **For those angler's looking for a shorter rod try the 742 or 743 Spinning Rods**

Both angler's prefer similar tubes but do not agree entirely on brand or color. Tim prefers the 3 1/2" Dry Creek Tube while Matt prefers the 3 1/2" tube from Get Bit Baits. The size is identical but the colors are different, as are the textures.

Lead heads are another point of disagreement. Tim adamantly believes in the 90 degree line tie of the Owner Darter Head. Matt prefers the 60 degree of the Bite Me Flat Eye Tube Jig with a 3/0 hook.

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From Top to Bottom: Mud Pie, Green Pumpkin Purple/Gold, Old Ugly

The one aspect of their equipment that both anglers agree on is the weight of their line. Both use a 10-15 lb braided line (Sufix 832 or Power Pro) and connect it with a blood knot to 6-8 lb fluorocarbon. (Sunline for Tim and P-Line for Matt)

At the end of the day what you should take away from this article is that there isn't a right answer.

Both anglers have proven their style effective on all 3 major species of bass. Each has refined their approach to meet their style and needs on the water. Decide which style best fits your fishing and apply these tips to begin refining your tube fishing.

Part 2: Knots and Hooks for Braided Line

There are still a lot of misconceptions about braided line. The biggest fear is that of knot strength. The second is the fear of bending out hooks. This week's video is dedicated to debunking these misconceptions and teaching you how to avoid all of the potential pitfalls.

Learning to tie proper knots for braid to leader connections, braid to hook connections, as well as leader to hook connections, is critical. If you can practice 3 simple knots with 3 variations for different line sizes and types, you'll be able to adapt to any conditions and situations the fish can throw your way. The knots are the Blood knot, San Diego Jam Knot, and Palomar Knot. The video will also break down the variations of all 3 knots I use to adapt to different lines and keep these knots strong.

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6 lb fluorocarbon tied to 15 lb braided line with a modified blood knot (7 wraps on the fluorocarbon, 11 wraps on the braid) Shown with a worm hook eyelet for size comparison. Truly a "micro" knot.

The blood knot, for whatever reason, has not gained popularity with bass fishermen. It is by far the best knot I've found for connecting braid to both monofilament and fluorocarbon leader materials. When tied properly I can break the leaders over and over again without breaking the connection knot itself.

Another fear about connection knots is that they will be traveling in and out of the guides and "banging". The theory is that this stresses and weakens the line. While this could be true, I've not experienced it. I reel my connections knots in and out of the guides (and even on/off of the reel) hundreds of times each day and have no issues whatsoever. The smaller line diameters in particular (see the pictures for size reference to a worm hook eyelet) create such small knots that they have no problem passing in and out of the reel without making any noise. There is no reason to fear a connection knot if you tie it the way I show in the video.

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Dealing with braided line, its lack of stretch, and how this applies to the hooks you choose to use is actually very simple. There is no mystery, no question of whether or knot your hooks can withstand the forces of braided line and big fish, you simply need to adapt. If you're currently using mono or fluoro and want to make the switch, step up your hooks. If you currently use light wire worm hooks, switch to medium. If you use heavy worm hooks, switch to the 3x Owner, ZO-Wire Owner, or Gamakatsu Superline Hooks. If you're using trebles, step up to owner 3x trebles (ST-56) or even gamakatsu 4x hooks.

Give these tips a try and report back with your experiences. Have you found another knot that simply does not break when under stress? We'd love to hear about it!

Fall Bass Fishing: Top 5 Baits

I love fall fishing! After a long summer the lake finally feels alive again. The baitfish are schooling, the bass are feeding, and the fishermen are wrapping up their tournament seasons. Whether you want to catch more bass, win the AOY race, or win a new boat, these 5 baits will get you headed in the right direction.

Its never easy to limit yourself to just 5 baits but if I had to choose one season to do it, it would be the fall. As the bass group up and feed they become much simpler to target than they were throughout the summer. In no particular order, my top 5 baits are as follows:

1) The jig: The bass are gorging before winter and one of their favorite meals is a crawdad. Stick to a simple craw profile and you'll succeed. There are a lot of great jigs out there including a plethora of colors, head designs, and colors but if I could only choose one it would be the Dirty Jigs 3/4 oz Pitchin' Jig in "Molting Craw". That color, coupled with either a Sweet Beaver-style trailer or a Twin Tail Grub-style trailer creates a phenomenal crawdad imitation.

2) The Spook: Walking-style topwater baits work great through all the summer months but their effectiveness peaks during the early fall. Bass are gorging on baitfish and baits like the super spook (see our video on the top 5 walking baits for ideas) are a perfect imitation. Choose a color you have confidence in but you can never go wrong with whites, silvers, or even a little chartreuse to draw the bass away from the 1000's of other easy meals swimming around. Try The Super Spook in "Okie Shad" or the Rover in "sooner" if you need a place to start.

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Top 5 Baits for the Fall Transition

3) The Glide Bait: Glide baits have taken the industry by storm the last couple years. If you aren't throwing one this fall, you're missing opportunities for great fishing! I'm particularly partial to the S-waver in the 168 and 200 sizes in "Warden" or "Light Trout" (See our S-Waver Video and S-Waver 200 Video to see why) The S-waver is easy to use and won't break the bank but is by no means your only option. Check out the Gan Craft Jointed Claw, Smith Baits Hitch-X, or if you're in to the custom baits, the Hinkle Baits is hard to pass up. These are all baits that we've seen success with over and over again. They're big, but they get bit and fall is a great time to build your confidence!

4) The Deep Crank: Whether you're throwing a big 10XD, a Rapala DT-Series (because Ike says so), a slim profile like the Deep Six, or my old standby DD-22 you can't go wrong with a deep crank. We throw a lot of the shad patterns including those with lavender, chartreuse, or brown backs. We even branch in to the craws a bit. Whatever it is you choose, the deep crank will let you cast farther and reach deeper to catch those fish other anglers are overlooking.

5) The Lipless Crank: Who could possibly overlook this crank? Whether you're burning through the fading grass, fanning flats, or ripping off the bottom around docks and cover, the lipless is probably the most versatile bait during the fall. Again, stick to the shad patterns. If I could only choose one lipless it would be the Lucky Craft LV-500. Like many Western anglers I've discovered the benefits of the fast sinking, loud rattling bait. Try Chartreuse Shad, Ghost Minnow, Wakin if the fish are really active, or even Crack if the water has some stain to it.

What "Top 5" list would be complete without fudging and including some extras? Because 5 baits really is tough to do, the rest of the baits that really should have made the cut are the Swim Jig (California Swim Jig to be exact), the Flutter Spoon, The Jerkbait (ripbait if you live on the west coast), and the paddle tail swimbait (I'd go with the 6" basstrix or 4.8 Keitech on a Dirty Jigs Swimbait head).

Put these baits to work for you and have a great fall. Good luck out there!

Is your favorite bait on the list? Did I miss something? Let's hear what's on your top 5 list.