A bass fishing video blog dedicated to teaching and helping bass fisherman grow.
Spring is over and the bass have all moved off their beds. This is typically one of the hardest times to catch fish. That’s why Tactical Bassin’ has put together its TOP 5 surefire baits for the post spawn and early summer. You have probably heard of most of these baits but the Tactical difference is teaching you the when’s and why’s of using them!
I spend all Winter dreaming about topwater explosions. As the cold months tick by and the warm weather draws near, the dreams get more explosive, the fish in my head get bigger, and the excitement builds! The fantasies start getting so far out there that I begin dreaming of catching those bass two at a time!
Here at Tactical Bassin we're all about learning so I (Matt) will be the first to admit that Tim taught me something new last fall. I'd seen front runners but I really didn't understand their effectiveness until I saw Tim put one to use. Forget dreams, these little baits make double hookups a reality!
If you fish schooling bass and you aren't using a front runner in conjunction with your walking topwater (Spook, Rover, Vixen, etc...) you're missing the boat!
For those that aren't familiar, a Front Runner (Click here to see what they look like) is a small topwater bait armed with a single treble hook that is designed to be tied inline, ahead of your main topwater. When your spook goes left, the front runner goes right, and vise versa. The effect is that your spook is chasing a smaller baitfish across the surface and the bass go crazy for it! In addition to being a unique look the bass rarely see, it gives you an extra hook attached to a small bait that is free swinging when you're fighting your fish to the boat. If you fish schooling bass you already know what that means... Double Hook Ups!
Do yourself a favor and pick up some Front Runners. These little guys are DEADLY and will make a big difference as you step up your topwater game this year!
Every kid that grew up bass fishing knows what a Hula Popper is. We all fished them and agree that they were deadly on those old pond bass. So why now, as we grow older, do we turn our backs on poppers?
Far too often the popper falls by the wayside in favor of newer, louder, and flashier topwater offerings. Its great to be well versed with a variety of baits so you can adapt to changing conditions but don't fall into the trap and forget your first love all together.
When conditions get tough, especially those cool early summer mornings, the popper is a deadly way to catch GIANT bass that are unwilling to run down a faster moving bait. The quick tips outlined in this week's video should help you get your mind in the game to slow back down, pull out your favorite popper, and lure one of the dormant giants to the surface!
While poppers can be thrown on very light tackle, Matt prefers (to the surprise of no one) to step up his tackle when targeting big fish with these finesse baits. He prefers to use the following:
For the Yellow Magic, Rico, and other small poppers he uses a 7' light to medium light baitcaster spooled with 15-20 lb braided line.
For the larger poppers like the Bubble Walker he will step up to a 7'-7'2" Medium baitcaster but still prefers a moderate action, and spools it with 30 lb braided line.
Matt insists that braid is key with these baits as you can get maximum responsiveness from the bait with minimal rod movement.
As a follow up to our recent post Swim Jig Season, we decided to revisit how to modify a swim jig. While many jigs are effective right out of the package there are some simple changes you can make to the skirt and weedguard that will immediately increase your success rate.
Some swim jig/swimbait combinations (The California Swim Jig coupled with a Roboworm EZ Shad for example) have excellent action out of the package but other need the skirt to be thinned or shortened to gain the proper action. Follow the simple steps outlined in this video to get increased action out of any swim jig, especially when combining it with a swimbait trailer that has either wide action or low vibration.
The post spawn is the perfect time to lure bass out of the grass beds with the swim jig so put these tips to work right away and catch some of your biggest bass of the year!