The Neko Rig

Because I am most passionate about catching trophy-class fish I often neglect important techniques for simply putting fish in the boat. At the prompting of a good friend I agreed to start covering some more finesse presentations and other options for putting a solid limit of fish in the boat. I’ll still be covering what I know about big bass but I want to open up the site a little and include the tournament anglers.
The Neko rig is not a brand new technique. If you live on the west coast you’ve probably seen it, used it, or lost to it unknowingly. However, techniques tend to take their time spreading across the country. For those of you unfamiliar with the technique, I present the Neko rig.

It is a great option for catching fish that have been heavily pressured, are lethargic, or when fishing in post-frontal conditions.
I am not a typical finesse fisherman and often don’t fish with as light a line as I should. Personally, I fish this rig on a Dobyns 702 Spinning (7 foot, 2 power) with 10 lb braided mainline and a 6 lb fluorocarbon leader. Don’t be afraid to drop as low as 4 lb line in open-water situations to maximize the number of bites you’ll get throughout the day.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Float and Fly 101

Throwing a swimbait isn’t always the best way to catch a giant bass. Its putting the odds in your favor, sure, but some days you have to change it up. In ultra-cold water or when fish are keying on smaller baitfish there are few baits that will out fish the float and fly.
My goal today is to introduce you to the technique if you’re not familiar with it, and to shed some light on my approach for those that are.
By no means did I come up with the idea… it was taught to me by my good friend Sieg Taylor a few years ago and I’m sure someone handed that knowledge down to him. Anyone who spends any time researching the technique realizes that the smallmouth guys have been hammering fish with the fly for decades!
That said, very few anglers talk about using the technique for largemouth, let alone using it on the west coast or the deep south. The Float and fly isn’t just a cold-water reservoir technique. It will work nationwide on many species as long as you have clearing water conditions. Once clarity gets below about 3 feet, the technique loses its edge.
While I’ve never caught a double-digit bass on the fly I have had the pleasure of catching largemouth in excess of 8 lbs. This technique works! And let me tell you, a 5 lb fish is a lot more fun on 4 lb line than it is on 30 lb line!

What are your thoughts? Have you used the technique successfully or do you have a unique twist? Share it with the group.

Stinger Hook Options

Stinger hooks are truly miserable. I hate them on swimbaits, I hate them stuck in the net, my hand, the fish, and the bottom of the lake. I hate them bending and failing. I hate that fisherman have had it ground into their brains that they need them! I HATE STINGER HOOKS!
Since everyone seems so dead set on using them you might as well know how to do it right. Believe me, if you can rig a stinger hook the wrong way and find out by losing a big fish, I’ve done it. I’ve had knots fail, wires break, crimps pull loose, and even eyelets rip free from the bait. But I’ve also learned how to make the connections strong, how to keep fish hooked, and how to get them in the boat without any failures.
If you’re going to use stinger hooks this video will benefit you. I cover the four main stinger connection options that I believe are viable. They are, in no particular order, braid, wire and crimps, single strand wire, and heavy monofilament. After you’ve watched the video please share your thoughts. I’d love to hear what you think.

Some of these options are very common but others are not. Which do you use and which do you like best?
And in case you missed it in the beginning, I don’t condone the use of stingers. I honestly believe they kill higher numbers of fish than a single hook rig does and in almost all circumstances they really aren’t necessary.

Winter Swimbait Retrieves

So you’ve decided its finally time to throw a swimbait. You head to your local lake and begin casting the bait around your favorite haunts. You visit a point or two, that break you caught those jig fish on last week, but its been 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 3… make that 4 seconds and you STILL haven’t had a bite!
In the back of your mind you start wondering if you’re doing it right. Maybe you have the wrong bait, Maybe the fish moved, maybe the fish in this lake don’t eat swimbaits, WRONG!
Odds are you simply aren’t fishing the bait slow enough. Welcome to December! If you want to throw a swimbait in December (and you should) there are two kinds of retrieves. The first retrieve is slow, the second is so slow it hurts.

Big bass are inherently lazy. (Thus the belly that helps them get above the 10 lb mark) In most cases they aren’t out roaming around hunting food, least of all in the Winter months. If you want to play the odds go back through the places you just fished and start slowing down. You may be surprised by what happens next!