Holiday Buyer's Guide For Bass Fisherman

After years of requests from fisherman's wives we've assembled a Bass Fishing Christmas Buyer's Guide. This is for you anglers but its also for you to pass to your loved ones to help them make sense of all the fishing tackle that we fisherman would love to have. 

This first video is geared toward newer anglers looking to purchase quality tackle and increase their effectiveness going into 2017. On Friday the 25th we'll release our Swimbait specific Buyer's guide and will roll out a few others in the coming weeks. 

For the new angler we break down our favorite picks in both baitcasting and spinning tackle. Simply drop down the video description (or see below) for links that go directly to each product we discuss. 

Products in this video...

Baitcasting...

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Treble Hook Tricks For Crankbaits

Crankbaits get more expensive every year but the hardware on them seems to be getting worse and worse. Your best bet is to remove the stock hooks from all of your crankbaits immediately. 

You need to upgrade the split rings and hooks but what trebles should you use? Tim explains the benefits of different trebles and gives some key tips on how to align them to increase your bite to hook up ratio. 

The key to belly treble hooks is to turn them so that the hook lays flat against the belly of the crankbait while leaving one point completely exposed. On the back treble the key is to turn the hook so that one point is standing straight up off the back of the bait. This will give you your highest hookup potential. 

In addition to these quick tips Tim explains how to modify diving depth and the rate of rise by choosing different sizes and shapes of trebles. 

Components shown in this video:

-Strike King 6XD
-Lucky Craft RTO
-River2Sea Biggie

-Owner Short Shank Treble
-Gamakatsu EWG Treble
-Aaron Martens Finesse Nano Treble
-Mustad Triple Grip

-Hyperwire Split Rings (Size 2 or 3)
-Split Ring Pliers

Tim's Deep Crankbait Rod-805CB
Tim's Deep Crankbait Reel-Curado 200

Tim's Squarebill Rod- CBR 845
Tim's Squarebill Reel- Curado 70

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Tiny Swimbaits for Stubborn Bass

We talk a lot about swimbaits with the goal of catching giant bass but today we hit the water in some very difficult conditions and use small paddle tail swimbaits to find anything that will bite. 

When post frontal or other undesirable weather conditions set in don't be afraid to set ego aside and just have fun! Downsizing your baits to produce bites is a great move when you've been dealt a tough hand.

We used a mixed bag of small paddetails, pre-rigged swimbaits, and underspins to get bit in the hours after a storm blew out of the area. The bass had been targeting shad but with the return of the sun had stopped chasing them and had begun staying close to cover. By downsizing to the smallest swimbaits we could find we were able to find success despite the conditions. 

Baits used in this video...

-Keitech 3.3 Fat Swing Impact

-Keitech 4" Easy Shiner

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Swimbait Rigging: The Truth

This video is going to completely change how you approach stinger hooks! Have you ever heard of a haywire twist? If not you're completely missing the boat and its time to listen to this "tell all" on swimbaits! Swimbait rigging doesn't have to be difficult so forget everything you think you know and come along for the ride. 

In the interest of being fair, Matt explains the advantages and disadvantages of Crimps, 7 strand, braid, mono, etc before blowing them all away with the use of single strand wire. Neither Matt nor Tim has been able to figure out why the industry is virtually silent about single strand wire and the haywire twist. 

Unless you're a saltwater angler we'd be willing to bet "haywire twist" is a new phrase to you. Ironically we shot a video on this very subject more than 5 years ago and despite getting 25,000+ views, its still a virtual secret. Today is the day we set the record straight and explain what we believe to be the hands down, best method for rigging stinger hooks on swimbaits. 

Products Shown In This Video:

Stinger Materials:
7 Strand Wire
Crimps
Heavy Monofilament: Amazon
80-100 lb Braid
Single Strand Wire: Amazon 

Matt's Preferred Big Baits Equipment:
Rod- G Loomis 957
Rod- Dobyns 807
Reel- Calcutta 400B
Line- 80 lb Braided

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