doCK talk
12:00p-3:00p. i certainly have caught more fish over 7
This giant bass just ate a big shiner.
Clearwater and anglers everywhere, they only believe
pounds, in this window than
the only way ta catch those
any other time of the day. Put
pressured fish, is with lighter
yerself in your best area at this
line. it really has nothing to do
time of the day.
with the bass seeing the line,
they are focused on the bait,
Match The Hatch. okay,
when they are ready, they come
this one is difficult to dispel,
and get it, period. i won a boat at
but are we really “matching
oroville in a Bassmasters back
the Hatch?” Maybe in color,
in 2001, using 20 & 25# test
rarely in size, we are not avid fly
line. every one of my partners
fishermen, who are experts at “matching the hatch.”
each day, fished with me on the same water, with
in most cases, all we gotta do, is get the color right,
10# line or less, in a very heavily pressured area, none
then the right presentation that triggers the strikes.
of them caught half the fish i did. it’s Fluorocarbon,
Big, giant largemouth, are an exception to this rule.
so why trade stronger line for weaker line, fish can’t
These bigger fish, do not rely on the bottom of the
see it? The bass will focus on your bait, not your line.
food chain that we refer to as “the Hatch”. a big bass’ Furthermore, i have seen so many clients, especially
“hatch” is the predator that is feeding on the hatch.
this spring and over the years, show up in my boat and
Just because we find a school of baitfish, or find
fish a Senko on braid. it amazes me they git bit at all
that the days catch of two pounders is spitting up 2”
with this slow moving bait in gin clear water. Bass, as a
green/orange crawdads in our live wells, does it mean
rule, are not line shy.
we have to find something in our boxes to match that
forage. So many times, especially here on the delta
Light line and Spinning gear for dropshotting.
and up at Clearlake, i’ll toss a red crankbait smack in the This ties in with the above. i have used baitcasting
middle of schooling bait, only to get it whacked, by the
gear for dropshotting ever since i was first introduced
biggest bass hanging round that school of bait. Same
to “Yankee riggin” by a guy from lake Sidney lanier
thing with a baby bass or perch topwater, be it a popper, in 1995. We tagged the baitcasting , heavy line and
Spook or Punker, give em a completely different
big hooks as “Bubba Shotting” out at insideline, long
look, and the biggest bass come and get it. Bass are
before anyone else called it this. in 2002, i sat in the
opportunistic feeders, they know they have to work
back of Cauville Bay on a hump out in the channel
harder feeding on a school of bait fish, yet when they
with aaron Martins. We were just talking and fishin,
find that careless predator in there feeding too, they will both getting bit with regularity catching the same
zone in and take advantage of its carelessness.
sized fish. i was using my Bubba shot with 17# Fluoro
he was using a spinning rig with 4# something. He
Fish the outside edge of cover first. How
broke off three fish, i never broke one off, even while
often have we heard this one? This is definitely a
horsing each to the surface and rapidly getting back
tournament anglers code, pick off the easy ones and
down there faster than he was. ironically, we both
get that limit. Gary dobyns first coined it as “Fishin
were using the exact same piece of plastic, a new
Chicken.” Your very first cast, should always be to the Japanese bait at the time. although none of the fish
center , the deepest and thickest part of the cover,
we caught during this 3 hour side by side, made it to
that, is where that one fish you really want to catch, is either of our live wells and back to weigh-in, it was
sitting. i don’t know about you, but i really like that one clear to me at that time, i had the advantage over
big bite, and the battle that follows from the one fish in aaron. i knew then i never needed to fish a dropshot
the middle, versus playing cat and mouse with all the
rig on spinning gear, much less with light line.
dinks on the outside.
The Angler in front, has the advantage. This is
Bass are line shy. Nope, it’s the anglers who
only true if ya believe it! The guy up front is always
are line shy, believe that. Small impoundments,
the alpha angler. He’s aggressive, he’s particular in
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