The Strike King Rage Blade is a new bait to me this year, and I have had the opportunity to fish it on a number of lakes this Spring. The cool thing about this bait is that you can work it much more slowly than other jigs to get the same level of vibration. When you look at the bait, it looks a little odd, but the big bill in front seems to help it not get hung on wood cover as badly. For me, it’s going to become a go-to bait for those times when the fish are lethargic but still want something moving. My biggest fish with it so far was an eight pounder, and a buddy just caught a 9-4 on it. When I got that fish in, the bait was almost down its throat. He just ate it! I don’t make any modifications to that bait – ust tie it on straight out of the package. I really like the twin-tail trailer. It has an erratic action, especially if you speed it up at all. I’m putting it into my tournament arsenal, and feel like I will throw it a lot! Good fishing!
Transition Time
As our days get warmer and warmer and there are fewer nights in the 30’s, we begin to prepare for spring bass fishing – the time when bass start to transition from their winter haunts to where they will spawn and the feeding frenzy that happens as they move. I love this time of year because bass change on a dime, and though you may be having a great day, you have to be ready to change every hour of the day. What you are looking for as a bass fisherman is those little windows where bass get active and you can capitalize on it.
What I like to do this time of year is always be in a practice mode. In other words, even if you are getting some bites, you have to keep trying other patterns and baits because you never know what may become available to you as a fisherman. You might be catching them on a slow moving bait, and then the wind starts blowing and the fish get more aggressive. You would then want to shift to faster moving baits. Or it is really warm and the fish are biting a Strike King spinnerbait , but they start to move to the beds. Then you want to try an Ocho or flipping. But always, always, always be ready to change. This time of year it often will.
One Big Fish
Fishing on tournament days can be so different than fishing in practice. In the recent FLW Tour event at Lake Okeechobee, I had a good practice – caught a lot of fish, shook off a ton of bites and thought I found some really good places. The tournament rolled around and though I caught fish all day long, I just couldn’t get a good bite. I caught fish after fish, but at 3:30 only 8-9 pounds, which if you checked the standings would have been way down on the leaderboard. Then at 4:00 with about 30 minutes before I needed to check in I got a big bite. Bad thing was I lost it in the heavy cover. I had the chance to turn my whole day around and couldn’t get it in the boat. I stayed with it though and could sense they were biting. Five minutes later I got another big bite. This time I landed it and had to hurry to make it to weigh in on time. In Florida, a big bite can really make all the difference. For me it saved the day, and I ended up with 13 pounds 9 ounces, good enough for 30th place after the first day. I couldn’t get that bite the second day though and ended up in 37th for the event. Not great, but a good start for the year.
Pre-spawn Clear Water Bass Fishing
It seems to me that over time our lakes and rivers are getting clearer and clearer. And when it comes to fishing early in the year – the pre-spawn – that means you have to downsize and finesse a little. Years ago it seemed like we were dealing with muddy water, high water as we went for those big pre-spawn bites. I mean it’s the time of year that the fish are at their heaviest, and they should be gorging themselves in preparation for the spawn. But now (I don’t know if it’s the number of fishermen or just the clear water) you often have to downsize and use finesse to fool those finicky bass.
The first trick in fishing clear, pre-spawn water is determining what the bass are feeding on. Figuring out whether the fish are feeding on crawfish or shad will go a long way in determining your technique. If it’s crawfish, the fish will usually be hovering near the bottom. If it’s shad, then usually the fish will be suspended. Sometimes it can be a combination, but regardless it is a key in catching pre spawn bass.
If you determine that bass are feeding on crawfish, the first bait I would pick up would be a small Strike King finesse jig. I would choose ¼ to ½ ounce on the size depending on the depth, current and wind. Basically, you need to be able to feel the bait. Natural colors like green pumpkin or watermelon would be my go to colors. I would also put a Strike King Baby Rage Craw trailer or a grub on the back of the jig. I would typically start deep, probably 15 to 25 feet and work my way shallow depending on how warm the water temperature is. The warmer it gets, the more shallow the bass will come. I like to fish that jig on light line – anywhere from 8 to 12 pound test fluorocarbon. It’s actually an easy bait to fish. You basically hop or crawl it on the bottom. My next choice would be a jig head worm or shaky head. This bait can also be crawled around the bottom. Since we are trying to imitate crawfish with these two bait, I like rocky areas if possible. Many times points or Bluffs can be the best.
If you determine the fish are feeding on shad, then oftentimes they will suspend either on bluffs, treetops, or anything else from which that they can ambush prey. If the fish are suspended this time of year, my first choice would be a suspending jerkbait. I prefer a Strike King KVD J200. This bait has many hooks and gets hung up easily, so I always try to throw it near cover, rather than right in the middle of it. Your retrieve with the jerk bait is usually erratic and depending on water temperature can be very slow. The bait works really well for lethargic bass that aren’t moving quickly. The reason this technique works so well is that shad are oftentimes very lethargic and easy prey for these pre spawn bass. Other choices would be swimbaits and small crankbaits. I really like the Strike King Shadalicious swimbait rigged on a Strike King Squadron Swimbait Jig Head when the fish are suspended in deeper water, and I like the Strike King Lucky Shad crankbait when the fish are relating more to the shallows.
If the fish are feeding on shad, my color preferences this time of year are typically natural shad colors. If they are feeding on crawfish, then as I mentioned earlier green pumpkin is a great place to start, but I wouldn’t be afraid to add some red to my bait, especially this time of year.
The last key component to catching fish this time of year is to have patience. These bass are feeding and getting ready for the spawn, but when the water is cold they don’t eat nearly as often. It seems like I often have to work the bait very slowly to get bites. Try different cadences and retrieves to figure out what the fish like.
This may be a simple approach to pre-spawn bass fishing in clear water, but I’ll promise you, on many lakes and rivers around the country, you can catch a lot of bass with these techniques. Good Fishing!
Emily’s Hunt
At the end of last year’s hunting season, I decided to get my girls bows for Christmas. After hearing great testimonials about the Cabela’s Instigator and having a couple of friends who had that bow, the Instigator seemed like the perfect bow for them. When we went in to Cabela’s to have the bows set up, the outfitters were extremely helpful and even spent a little time with them on the range working on their form. With both girls in college and my schedule pretty full, I knew there would not be time for me to hunt with both girls, so we focused this year on trying to get a deer for Emily.
The Instigator bow has a big range and can be adjusted from 30-65 pounds. Emily started at around 40 pounds but with a little practice got up to 50 pounds pretty quickly. So that part of the hunt was no big deal. The challenge came from trying to get a shot at a big buck. The hunt started in October and Emily, being a senior at Texas A&M, didn’t have a lot of time to hunt. The first weekend we tried, she saw a nice mature buck and almost got a shot, but there were other deer around and just as she was about to draw, they all took off. Then the rains came, and every weekend she was able to come, it rained …. and rained! We hunted in it, but it was so bad the deer didn’t even move.
Finally we came down to the last weekend she had a chance to hunt. Three hunts or end the season empty handed, but we finally got a break. The weather was great, and with all the rain our oat fields are really awesome this year. We hunted a ground blind and had a perfect wind. Then the deer started piling into the field. There were several mature bucks but one had double brow tines and was really cool looking. My brother Scott was our camera man and tried to talk her into shooting a doe, but she said no I’m waiting to get a shot at the double brow tine. None of us thought it was going to happen. I had a limb in my way, so I couldn’t even see the deer. She asked Scott if he had the deer in the camera and drew. My heart was racing and when she let the arrow go I heard a loud whack. I stood up immediately just in time to see the deer running out of the field with an arrow sticking almost all the way out its right side. She almost had a clean pass through at 25 yards.
We didn’t have much light so we hurried to the spot where the deer left the field, and we could see it just on the other side of the brush line. She could not contain her excitement, and as we approached it, she couldn’t really believe she had done it. But she did! She showed great perseverance and determination to get the deer she wanted, was a great hunter throughout, and ended up making a perfect shot. Truly it was WAY better than if I had shot it. I’m really proud of her. What a hunt!!
Persistence
I have been hunting and filming recently with my daughter, Emily. She decided she wanted to bow hunt this year, so I got her a Cabela’s Instagator bow and she has practiced a lot getting ready for hunting season. She goes to school at Texas A&M (Whoop!) so she can’t just hunt every day. The weekends we have gone have mostly been great hunting. The first weekend we saw a buck for her to take, but she just couldn’t get a shot. She was so close, but as she tried to draw, another buck saw her and took off, scattering all the deer. Then the next weekend we never saw a good mature buck, and we were dealing with rain all weekend. This past weekend it was not only rainy, but cold! We sat every hunt and she almost got shots at several different deer, but still nothing. I am really proud of her though! She has been flexible and persistent, and often times that is what it takes!
Hunting Season
Every fall I can’t wait until the start of hunting season. To kick it off this year, we continued a tradition of having the folks from Whitetail Diaries to the Wendlandt Ranch. We’ve had our ranch in the Texas Hill Country for nearly 35 years, and I never get tired of trying to figure out what deer are doing, what they’re eating, how close they are to the rut, and just figuring out the best way to kill one. Wade and Jeff both killed great deer, and as always we had tons of fun at camp – moving stands, setting up and planning the hunts. I didn’t kill a deer this trip and didn’t really even see many. There are so many acorns on the ground this year, the deer don’t have much reason to leave the woods. But the fun we have at deer camp preparing for the hunt just about makes up for the tough hunting – just about….
Big land, Big water
One of my favorite things in hunting and fishing is finding big land or big water – places that are untapped, that haven’t been fished or hunted on before, places where game is unmolested. I love whitetail hunting in South Texas and in Old Mexico for this reason, and I have discovered a similar gem for fishing – Venice Louisiana. It is just that kind of place. Just the vastness of that fishery is remarkable. You can never know or learn it all; it’s just too big. I was fortunate enough to return to Venice a few weeks ago and stay with Billy Nichols at Venice Fishing Lodge. Once again, it was an amazing trip! We caught a variety of species including largemouth bass, flounder and of course the big bull reds. There is nothing like the strike from one of those monsters! When people ask me where to go for a really great fishing trip, I am quick to respond. That’s easy, Venice Louisiana!
A Day of fishing – for a Great Cause!
I’m very fortunate to be able to live my dream by fishing professionally. Today I ask for your help in making someone else’s dream come true. I would like to auction a fishing trip with me on my home lake, either Decker Lake or Lake Austin in Central Texas. The trip will be filmed for an episode of Fishing and Hunting Texas by Careco TV for 2016 if the winner wishes. All proceeds from the auction will benefit the “Cast for Kids Foundation”. C.A.S.T. is a non-profit foundation that provides fishing and outdoor activities for special needs, disabled, and disadvantaged children through their “Cast for Kids” program as well as for military personnel through the “Take A Warrior Fishing” program.
Please submit all bids via Facebook message. The auction will conclude at 5:00 PM on Friday August 14th. At that time I will contact the winner who will pay the full amount of the bid straight to the C.A.S.T. Foundation. We will then figure out a time convenient to both of us and have a great day on the water.
One thing I can promise is your money will be well spent. Please be generous for this great cause.
Let the bidding begin!
The new Garmin Panoptix all-seeing Sonar
Every once in a while something comes along in the fishing world that literally blow your socks off. You never know where it’s coming from – maybe a new bait, maybe a new rod or new Ranger boat technology, but this time it’s the new Garmin Panoptix all-seeing sonar. I never realized how much I truly wanted to see out in front of me, but I’m quickly learning that it is invaluable information. You can literally see everything out in front of you – from brush piles to rock piles to stumps to pilings and ultimately – to fish. For me the greatest use of this product will be in knowing where the cover is before you run over it with your boat. You have to check out this product. Trust me, you will be amazed!
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