Do You Want to Catch a Giant Bass?

Matt was invited to do a seminar at this year's International Sportsman's Exposition. His topic was the same as last year, but it came with a twist. Instead of giving a demonstration people had already seen Matt broke it into two seminars in one. The first focused on FOOLING a trophy bass, the second focused on TRIGGERING a trophy bass.

For those that weren't able to see it in person, Tim was able to video the entire seminar. This Tacticalbassin exclusive video gives you a front row seat to the entire 46 minute seminar covering both topics. Enjoy!

In this video you'll discover that targeting trophy bass is easiest when you separate them based on what they eat and target them accordingly. In other words, you don't throw the same baits for a bass that primarily eats trout that you would for a bass that primarily eats bluegill. Additionally, you throw different baits if you want to fool them than you throw if you want to trigger them.

The baits that are going to be broken down in this video can be found below...

Natural Baits to FOOL a trophy bass:

-The Huddleston is a great swimbait that is widely available and has fooled countless trophy bass.

-The Jig with Beaver Trailer is another deadly option for targeting trophy class fish

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-The JSJ Hitch 6 Softbait is a new swimbait that perfectly mimics a baitfish, great for getting those monster bites!

-The California SwimJig has been catching giants for years, if you haven't added it to your arsenal yet the time has come.

REACTIVE Baits for Trophy Bass:

-S-Waver 168 and 200 are both GREAT options for triggering a trophy!

-The Flash Pointer 115 or Vision 110 both put trophy bass in the boat when used properly.

-The Magnum Fluke is an overlooked bait that puts monster bass in the boat!

The LV-500 Lipless crankbait is a western secret to target monster bass. This isn't a regular lipless and we don't fish it like you'd expect.

We hope you enjoy the seminar! If you have questions for Tim or Matt feel free to leave us a comment and we'll get back to you. Thank you for your continued support! Though it isn't yet on the website, we have hats and hoodies available for purchase. Please email Tim at tacticalbassin2@gmail.com and he will get you the details. Until next time, good luck out there!

How to Spoon for Bass

Is there a more fun or cost effective way to catch a ton of fish in the Fall or Winter? Probably not! Spooning is often over looked in favor of finesse tactics but don't be fooled, its a technique you need to get comfortable using.

When the bass are schooling on baitfish, even when they're just scattered on deep water points and ledges, a spoon is hard to beat. When the fish are suspended around bait, it can't be beaten. A spoon perfectly imitates a dying or injured baitfish, fluttering toward the bottom. Bass are hardwired to react to this quick fluttering action, often resulting in jarring strikes! So why should you be using a spoon during the colder months?

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First, its cost effective. Unlike soft plastics which tear up easily, spoons hold up over time. Assuming you don't snag and lose them, you can use the same spoon trip after trip. Second, they're deadly. When the fish are lethargic and don't want to feed you can often draw the "reaction" strike with a few quick hops off the bottom.

Over the years I've used a lot of different brands and models of spoons. For deep water vertical jigging the best spoons I've found are Blade Runner Duh Spoons. They're offered in a variety of colors but my personal favorites are Morning Dawn, Black Shad, and Electric Chicken. The most consistent sizes are the 1 1/4 and 1 3/4 ounce but experiment with the fish on your lakes to see what works best for them.

One other point to consider is that spoons can even work around busting fish. The temptation is to pick up a spook or whopper plopper in pursuit of the fish you can see but often times the largest bass in the school will be holding back, below all the others, waiting for the smaller fish to stun the bait and provide them an easy meal. The next time you see active fish on the surface consider dropping the spoon below and you might just be surprised by the biggest bite of the day.

Which Jerkbaits Work the Best?

On a recent trip to the Bay of Green Bay I got on a great jerkbait bite while fishing with Curt Demerath, owner of Dirty Jigs. Both of us were catching fish but I noticed Curt was doing a few things differently than I'd seen in the past. Most importantly, he was swapping back and forth between different jerkbaits rather than sticking to the favorite. By the end of the first day it was clear that it was having a huge impact on catch rate.

When we got off the water I began asking questions about why he had been making adjustments. He started giving some very in depth responses. That's when I realized we needed to pause the conversation until we could turn the GoPro on  so you could learn from him as well. Here is what happened once he got in front of the camera...

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Curt breaks down the differences between the Megabass Vision 110, Pointer 100, Staysee 90, Flash Pointer, and more. He goes on to cover not only how each one moves in the water but how your cadence and retrieve should vary with each. Some shine in warm water, others in cold. Some should be ripped, others should just be pulled. This approach opened my eyes to a whole different world of ripbait (jerkbait) fishing. Often I give up on the jerkbait bite because my confidence bait isn't working, its clear now that I'm leaving a lot of fish uncaught. Switching models to achieve different actions can turn on a jerkbait bite even when a particular bait isn't getting bit.

I think every angler can glean information that will help them catch more jerkbait fish this coming year! Huge thanks to Curt for taking some time out of his day to shed light on this topic! If you're not familiar with Curt or his awesome products, you can see it all at http://www.dirtyjigstackle.com