frontpageStrongWeather642 | Staff posted Jul 27, 2023 01:33 PM
Item 1 of 5
Item 1 of 5
frontpageStrongWeather642 | Staff posted Jul 27, 2023 01:33 PM
6th Sense Fishing Bait & Lures Buy 3, Get 3 Free: Swank Series Crankbait
& More + Free Store Pickup6 for $26.95
$54
Dick's Sporting Goods
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Jighead hooks are easy to find. An even better setup is to get some "offset round bend worm hooks" and some bullet weights. Rig the worm the same way as I described. Then tie about 8" of fluoro/mono to the hook, slide on a bullet weight, then tie the loose end to a split ring of some sort. Now you can easily switch between a worm rig and lure using spring clips. The short length of line attached to the hook let's a bass pick up the worm without feeling the weight at first. The bullet weight is super streamlined and will usually slide through a fallen tree.
I catch more bass like this than with lures. It's really cheap, too. Anyway, throw one of these worm setups in a fan pattern at new locations. You'll know if there are any snags before switching to expensive lures.
if the frog doesn't get any bites, my default is the Zoom super salty fluke in watermelon seed color. I rig it weightless and weedless on a #3 extra wide gap hook and I get at least one fish when i go out, targeting visible structures, shaded shorelines, and floating grass.
Tight lines and happy fishing out there!
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Another recommendation is to try dropshotting/dropshot rig.
My go-to rigs are pretty much the weedless texas-rig and dropshotting these days. Heck, you can even use nightcrawlers/earthworms if it's slow with plastic worms and flukes. Where I'm at, SoCal, it seems red flake/motor oil colored patterns, oxblood and margarita mutilator colors seem to work pretty well. The bass at my local lake are heavily pressured but I have consistently found that they are more willing to bite in the AM at least when it comes to sight-fishing and when they're tight to the bank or in the shallows. Hard for them to resist live nightcrawlers during this time of day too. You don't need to bomb your casts or use heavy sinkers. Honestly, I'd say anything heavier than 1/4 is too much in many cases. Sometimes I'll just throw a texas rigged plastic without any weight on it (as long as it can sink even slowly). Almost forgot about Senkos too
Even though the bluefin bite has been blowing up all over in SoCal, I've lost like 99% of the motivation to even bother (trying to get a reservation when the bite gets hot is like Walmart on Black Friday... and chances of you striking out are high by the time you see all the reports of a hot bite). The easiest and most accessible types of fishing are pretty much bass and off the jetty or surf otherwise. For me, the lake is about 10-15 mins away and the closest, so bass fishing is *always* the most appealing these days.
YMMV with the advice above, depending on the lake and structure available of course.
Lots of great info here! As a new bass fisherman, I would almost exclusively stick to soft plastics. They are cheap and just plain -work-.
Zoom and Yum are some of my favorite brands and they are very affordable. I use almost exclusively 3/0 hooks, offset worm and EWG. The Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp Pro Series can be had cheaply at Walmart and are solid budget options. Texas rigged with 1/8 oz worm weights and a curly tailed worm or a speed or trick worm work great. Weightless Zoom Fluke or 4" Strike King Rage Swimmer, or "senko" works (Yum Dinger, Gary Yamamoto Senko, etc stick baits).
Senkos are my go to, but I prefer to rig them "wacky".
Bank fishing, cast along side downed trees, if you can tell there is a drop off, or along a grass/weed line. With soft plastics, almost always cast, let it hit the bottom, then bounce it back in to you. Fish usually hit it on the fall.
First few hours and last few hours of daylight are usually most productive.
Good luck! Don't give up! You'll get better with time!
Jighead hooks are easy to find. An even better setup is to get some "offset round bend worm hooks" and some bullet weights. Rig the worm the same way as I described. Then tie about 8" of fluoro/mono to the hook, slide on a bullet weight, then tie the loose end to a split ring of some sort. Now you can easily switch between a worm rig and lure using spring clips. The short length of line attached to the hook let's a bass pick up the worm without feeling the weight at first. The bullet weight is super streamlined and will usually slide through a fallen tree.
I catch more bass like this than with lures. It's really cheap, too. Anyway, throw one of these worm setups in a fan pattern at new locations. You'll know if there are any snags before switching to expensive lures.
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