Details of the Drop Shot

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After seeing this crazyness at the boat ramp on July 1st, I figured I stay away from the crowds for the remainder of the 4th of July weekend.  This gave me plenty of time to gather my thoughts together about my most successful technique and lay them out here for you.  Just a heads up, this is going to be a long post.  You may want to take a moment to pee and maybe grab a snack from the kitchen....

Alright, how was your pee?  Feel better now?  Good.  A few weeks ago I discussed several ways to rig and fish the small finesse worms from Cactus Wren Outdoors, for a quick overview of each, check out my previous posting here.  The most productive of these techniques for me on our hot, deep, Arizona reservoirs is of course the drop shot.  As a kid, I remember sitting in the living room as a family watching Walker Texas Ranger.  While I don't recall a single plot, or any of the characters names besides Walker, I do remember lots of roundhouse kicks to the face of various criminals.  That is exactly what a four inch Quail Tail from Cactus Wren Outdoors imitates while rigged up on a drop shot.

While many bait companies choose to design lures based on small baitfish profiles like shad, bluegil, or other various bass forage, Cactus Wren's baits are designed with a subtle action to imitate Chuck Norris's steel toed shoe against a drug lord's jaw.  Below, I will walk you through rigging and fishing a drop shot effectively, and I'll let you in on a few secrets I've learned that will produce bigger bass on what is widely considered to be a little-fish-presentation.

Where to fish the Drop Shot:

Many of my local readers are familiar with Saguaro Lake, just outside of Mesa, AZ.  Below, I've marked on a map of Saguaro a few of the places that I've found most productive with the drop shot technique.

As you can see, the above map is quite broad.  It shows a wide range of shallow cover, deep structure, points, cuts, ledges, docks, grass beds, spawning flats, ect.  Below I'll give a more detailed map, so that you will be able to go out and fish the same spots that I already know holds bass year round.

As you can probably tell by now, I'm just screwin' with you.  I'm not going to give out my spots for free!  However, the map is still accurate!  I'll throw a drop shot just about anywhere!  Regardless of the variables a bass angler has to sort through, you can catch a bass on a drop shot as long as there are bass in the area.  The technique works shallow or deep, clear or muddy, hot or cold, and rocky or grassy.  I'll even pitch it into flooded timber or into matted grass pockets.  In that case however, I'll use heavier baitcasting gear.

Equipment:

Many anglers have a very specific combination of equipment they recommend for a drop shot set up.  To keep it simple, you want a relatively light spinning rod.  That's all I'm going to suggest.  I'll tell you specifically what I use in just a minute, but the key is a light rod, and an open faced reel.  Pick one that you like, get comfortable using it, and once you figure out the slightest details of using your particular equipment you'll be just as productive with your rod as you would be "the perfect drop shot rod".  So with that said, here's what I use:

For a rod I use a Duckett White Ice series 6'10" medium spinning rod.  This rod is 4 inches shorter and a bit stiffer than their "drop shot rod" of the same series.  Since I fish from a kayak with limited space and stability, I find the shorter rods are easier to control, and I get a better hookset with the stiffer rod... Actually, that's all b.s...  I got it because some bozo employee mispriced it and I got it for $99.  Like I said though, use a rod you like and get comfortable using it.  Unless you're fishing tournaments with $100,000 on the line, there's very little reason to go overboard with buying technique-specific equipment for every single tactic!  If someone tells you otherwise, they are probably a salesman.

The reel I use is an Abu Garcia Orra S Spinning Reel with a 5.8:1 gear ratio.  That's a relatively quick retrieve for a spinning reel.  I like a fast reel for a few reasons, but there's one key reason:  It's easier to reel a fast reel slowly than it is to reel a slow reel quickly.  With regards to drop shot, there's not much reason you'd ever need to reel slowly anyway!

On my reel I use 20 lb high-vis braid with an 8 lb fluorocarbon leader of about 10 feet. I know a lot of guys that will run straight 6 lb fluorocarbon, however these are the guys that refer to the drop shot as a little-fish-presentation.  If you listen to the tips I'm going to give you, you're going to have a frustrating time on the water as you break off toad after toad on your 6 lb line! 

Rigging:

If you didn't read my past posting on how to rig Cactus Wren baits, here's what I said about the drop shot set up:

"To rig a drop shot, tie on your hook with a Palomar knot, be sure to leave plenty of tag end on your line.  Take the end of the tag end and run it back down through the eye of the hook.  Give it a little tug and it should pull the knot through the eye.  If done correctly the hook will be pointing up and the knot will be below the eye of the hook.  In the spring and fall I will generally put the weight about 8 to 12 inches below the hook.  In summer and winter, when the bass are holding very tight to the bottom, I'll shorten it up to 3 to 6 inches."

Here are two more details I didn't mention the first time:

1. If you find that your hook keeps slipping back up over the knot and turning sideways in the water, try using a double, or triple palomar knot.  The extra wrap in the knot will make the knot bigger so it's less likely to slip back through the eye of the hook.

2. If I'm picking apart deep off-shore structure like a hump or a ledge, I'll use a much longer distance to the weight, sometimes up to two or three feet.  I'll explain this in detail later.  

Vertical Presentation:

This is how many anglers fish a drop shot.  It can be effective when the bite is tough and the bass have moved deep and holding close to their structure or cover.  It's also boring.  It's why the drop shot has a bad reputation and gets made fun of by his peers by being called the "fairy wand".  If this is the only way you fish this rig, you are missing out!  This presentation reminds me of Chuck Norris's fist.  Is it productive in knocking out the leader of a dog fighting ring?  Sure.  But wouldn't you rather see a roundhouse kick to the temple?  Of course! 

The red line in the diagram above shows the path of the bait when fished vertically.  This presentation is fine when you locate a single isolated fish on your graph.  You can quickly drop down right on top of a bass and pick them off.  However, you'll see in the diagram that this only gives the one fish a look at your bait.  Often times there are several fish holding near cover like this brush pile.  Next, I'll show you a better way to cover this deep cover to give several fish a chance at taking your lure.

Horizontal Presentation:

One thing that many people don't realize about the drop shot rig is that once your sinker is on the bottom, you are essentially fishing a weightless plastic.  To understand this concept, let's think for a moment about another fairly popular technique:  The Weightless Senko.

In the diagram above, the red line again represents the path of the lure, this time a soft stick bait.  These baits can be killer when the fish are ambushing prey in water from 1 to 5 feet deep.  Fishing a weightless soft stick bait is a three step process.  1.  Cast it out to your target and let it sink to the bottom on slack line.  2.  Wiggle it a bit on the bottom.  3.  Lift it up and let it sink again.  When repeated, you get the zig-zag effect shown in the diagram.  Nine times out of ten the bass will hit it as it's sinking, not as you're pulling it up, and rarely as its wiggling on the bottom.  You'll notice that this presentation covers the entire brush pile, and the bait sinks slowly right in front of both of the bass.

Now, back to my point about a drop shot.  Once the weight is on the bottom, your worm will slowly drop straight down, just like the Senko did.  You'll often hear the pros talking about how you only move the worm, not the weight.  That is of course if you want the worm to stay in the same place.  In the vertical presentation that may be true, but in the horizontal presentation, keeping the bait in the same place is not the most effective thing you can do.

Think about this.  Bass are ambush predators, we all know this.  Many lures are designed to be ambushed by the bass.  Has Chuck Norris ever been attacked by an army of drug runners while sitting motionless on his couch?  No.  The enemy is smarter than to willingly chase down The Norris.  Instead, they set up in an abandoned warehouse and wait for him to come kicking the doors in.  They ambush him, it's their only chance.  A slim, slim, chance....

What I'm trying to say is, you've got to be like Chuck, keep that lure on the move.  Bust into the brush pile like a shad on roids!  Don't wait for the bass to come to you, cast out there and bring it right through the bass.

You might be thinking "why not just throw a weightless Senko then?"  Remember I told you there was a better way to attack that deep isolated cover than the vertical presentation?  Fish it like a Senko, but without the Senko.  Those soft plastic stick baits are know for their slow sink rate, it takes way too long for a weightless Senko to get to 20 feet in order to fish it effectively.  A lot of anglers will use a weighted wacky jig, or put a nail weight in their Senko to get that bait down deep quickly.  The problem with that is it gives the worm a completely different action.  It no longer has that tempting slow sinking wiggle that it has when fished weightless.  Unless of course, it was on a drop shot.

Same deal, the red line is the path of the lure (not the weight).  Cast it out over a hump, point, or brush pile.  It will sink quickly, all the way down until the weight hits the bottom.  Once the weight hits, the worm will slow down and sink weightless for as far down as the weight is from the hook.  For example, if the above brush pile in 25 feet of water and my hook is two feet above my weight, my worm is going to become weightless at 23 feet deep and slowly sink right beside that brush pile for two feet.  From here, the process is the same as fishing the weightless Senko.  1.  Let it fall straight down on slack line.  2.  Wiggle it while it's on the bottom.  3.  Lift it up (including the weight), reel in the slack, and let if fall straight down again.  Now, unlike the vertical approach above, that worm is slowly swimming right by both bass instead of just hanging out in front of the one.

Colors:

I'm not the biggest believer in matching the hatch.  I'd be willing to bet that 75% of you that read this aren't either (even if you claim you are), and I can prove it.  Do you have confidence in the Morning Dawn color?  Yeah, you do.  Now, can you tell me which of our Arizona lakes, in which that color is so popular at, has an abundance of purple bait fish?  Nope.

I'm of the opinion that, to an extent, color doesn't matter as long as you can make the lure look alive.  Bass don't have hands, if they see something that looks like it might be food, the only way they can tell for sure is to grab it with their mouths.  Present a lure properly, and most likely a bass will hit it regardless of its color.  Also, at 25 feet below the water, most colors appear as some shade of gray anyway.  For these reasons, I suggest you gain some confidence with a couple colors and just stick with it.

With that said, I do have one guideline for how I narrow down my options of color.  If the water is clear, maybe five or more feet of visibility, I'll use a translucent color (Amethyst from Cactus Wren Outdoors is my go to).  If the water is stained or muddy, I'll use a solid color (something along the lines of Saguaro Sunset, or Murky Water from Cactus Wren Outdoors).

Cactus Wren Amethyst 

Cactus Wren Superstition Skies

Which Worm to Use:

Quail Tail, or Talking Stick?  I get this question often.  (Just so we're all on the same page here, in the pictures above, the one with the curly tail is the Quail Tail, and the straight tail worm is the Talking Stick).  Usually, the question is formed this way "Which one catches more fish?"  The answer is the Quail Tail, but it's more complicated than that.  I choose based on how active the fish are.  If the bass are on the move and chasing down baitfish, I want a worm with more action.  One that almost dares the fish to come chase it down.  So in this case, I'll use the Quail Tail.  If the bite is tough and the bass are lethargic, I don't want lots of action.  A lively lure won't fit in to the surroundings and may even spook the lethargic bass.  For this reason I'll choose the Talking Stick.  So yes, the Quail Tail catches more fish by far, but there are times (especially win the summer and winter) that you need the Talking Stick in order to get bit at all.

I use the four inch worms exclusively on drop shot during the day.  Anything bigger tends to over power the small octopus hook I use.  At night, I step it up to the five or six inch worms.  Just make sure if you use these bigger worms you up the hook size too.  In this case I like to use the VMC Power Shot hooks, or a 3/0 EWG hook.

Was That a Bite?

Ok, so you're all rigged up and your worm is down there doing it's dance.  How do you know when you've got a bite?  We've all heard the saying "Hook sets are free", right?  Well, it's wrong.  Hook sets can cost you a weight, or if you're real unlucky your hook and worm too.  In shallow water a big hook set on a blade of grass could cost you the pain of getting a hook buried in your face.  But more than likely, the main cost of an unnecessary hook set is no longer being able to catch the 10 fish that may have been encroaching in on that tasty looking worm of yours.  Usually a bass will slowly swim up and lightly take the worm in its mouth to investigate.  If it likes it, he'll take another light gulp and begin to swim off with it before sucking the whole thing down.  With that first bite, the hook is probably still hanging out of his mouth.  Set the hook too soon and you'll end up pulling the bait right out of his mouth.  Ninety percent of the bites I get on a drop shot go exactly like this:

1. I feel two or three light taps (don't move a muscle)

2. I feel a bit of steady pressure (lower your rod tip and reel up slack)

3. My line starts swimming away (NAIL THAT BASTARD TO THE WALL!!!)

How To Catch Bigger Bass:

If you've made it this far, congratulations.  This is a very long post, and to reward your above average attention span I'll give you my number one secret for catching bigger fish on a drop shot:  Spike-It.

This is what convinced my personal best 11 lb 2 oz bass to eat.  A four-inch Amethyst Quail Tail with the tail dyed yellow.  Since catching that monster in April, I've caught six more 20+ inch bass on it.  As I said before, the drop shot has a reputation for only catching little fish.  However, this one detail seems to change all that.  I have a theory, it's based on very little evidence and no research outside of my own experiences, but here it is:

A four inch Quail Tail right out of the package most imitates a shad, regardless of its color.  Shad are small fish.  Small bass eat small fish.  If you dye the tail yellow, it looks like a bluegill.  Bluegill are much bigger than shad.  Big bass eat big fish.  Even though both worms are the same size at 4 inches, a big hungry bass will see that bright yellow tail and think "Bluegill, yum."  When a big bass hits, it seems to hit much harder than the standard drop shot bite like I described above.  It leads me to believe that a bright yellow tail causes a reaction strike for big bass, even when your fast moving reaction baits aren't working.  Not only does this lead to bigger fish, but better hook up rates, and a much harder fight.

What do you think of this theory?  Let me know in the comments!  And if anything I told you here helps you catch Moby, post his picture so we can all see!  Good luck out there.  I hope I see you out on the water soon.

Note: Drop shot only catches small fish.... :P

Rigging a Fishing Kayak on a Budget

    I get a lot of compliments about my kayak when I'm out on the lake, quite a few times people have  mistaken it for a fully rigged Hobie.  From a distance, I can understand why, it would appear as though there's some serious money invested.  Now, I'm going to give you all a close up tour of my kayak to show you how I fool people into thinking I have an expensive set up.

    First of all let me tell you a little about my kayak straight from the shelf.  It's a Lifetime (yep, the picnic table company) Tamarak Angler.  They carry them at Sports Authority for $449.99.  However, Sports Authority almost always has sales or coupons on their larger items.  After using my coupon I got from buying tortilla chips from Fry's, I paid $359.98 ($362.47 if you include the price of the chips).  I did quite a bit of research on kayaks in this price range before buying this one and it came down to these three details:

- It has a flatter bottom than any other kayak I looked at.  While a flat bottom will make a kayak slower and not track very well, it makes it more stable to stand up on, and I can store it and transport it right side up without worrying about warping the hull.

- It was the only kayak in this price range with access to inside the hull at the front and the back.  This makes it better for storage, but also for rigging.  You need to be able to reach inside to run cords for electronics, and screw nuts on to the bolts you'll be using to rig up various things.

- The color matches my car.

    WARNING: Before you go off and buy this kayak because of the things I say about it, I need to let you know that I'm a pretty small dude at 5'7", 150 lbs.  This boat is 10 feet long with a weight capacity of 275 lbs.  I would not recommend this kayak to anyone over 6 ft and 200 lbs.  it's just too small and standing up would be quite risky.

    Below are six relatively simple DIY projects you can do in just a few weekends to save all kinds of money:

1. Anchor Trolly

    Besides a fish finder, one of the first things I recommend is an anchor trolly.  Some of the higher end boats have these pre-installed.  If not, you can expect to pay about $30 for a kit.  My solution will come out to about half that price, plus an added advantage over the kits.  The kits you can buy use a metal ring or triangle to pass the anchor line through before tying off the other end.  My solution uses a carabiner wich allows you to keep both ends of the line tied down while you just open the carabiner and snap the line through.

What you will need:

Carabiner - $0.98

Paracord- $3.98

Pully - $2.95 (x2)

Eye Screws - $0.26 (x5)

Bungees - $2.47

Total: $14.62

Cabela's Kit: $31.99

Savings: $17.37

2. Anchor

    What good is an anchor trolly without an anchor?  The tricky part here is getting the chain inside the inner tube.  You won't be able to push it through, you'll have to pull it.  The first step is to tie the paracord to the chain, pass the cord through the innertube so it comes out the other end of the tube.  Lube up the chain with... Your preferred lubbing substance... And work it through all the way.  Tie off the end with zip ties and you're good to go!

What you will need:

Rope: $2.78

Carabiner: $0.98

Paracord: $3.98 (but you already have all you need from the anchor trolly)

Bike Innertube: $5.41

Zip Ties: $3.94 (for a 20 pack, you only need 2) - $0.40

Total: $11.63

Austin Kayak Anchor: $19.99

Savings: $8.36

3. Chair

    This is one of the biggest money savers I have discovered yet.  Cheaper kayaks like mine come with seats that are a pain in the ass, literally.  Nice kayak seats are more comfortable, but more importantly they sit up higher.  They are also crazy expensive!  It took me a while to find a seat I liked.  In fact, I gave up looking and was about to pull the trigger on a $350 Wilderness Systems seat.  However, one day I ran out of salsa!  What's a man to do when he runs out of salsa?!?!  Well, I'll tell you what I did.  I went to the grocery store, that's what I did!  And what did I find at the grocery store, you ask?  Salsa.  Salsa, and this chair!  It's not perfect, maybe an inch or two too big to really fit nicely.  But it was $11.99!  I used paracord, that I already had from other projects, and tied down the back.  You may want to tie down the front as well, but I chose to leave it untied so I can flip it backwards during transportation.

Total: $11.99

Wilderness Systems: $349

Savings: $337.01

4. Rod Holder/Crate/Rudder Combo

    The only downside to this is how big it is.  There are all kinds of DIY kayak rod holders on the Internet, but have you ever seen one with a built in rudder?  No?  Well scroll up just a bit, there's one right up there!  Some tutorials for rod holders I've seen spend a lot of time heating up the PVC and molding it around a glass bottle, then cutting a slit in it, and blah blah blah.  Well, I didn't do all that and haven't had a problem yet.  One and a quarter inch PVC is large enough for any rod I have to fit in, the frame and rudder is made of just one inch PVC.  Each kayak is built differently, so you'll need to measure yours and custom built it to fit.

    

WARNING:  I don't trust PVC cement alone with holding my expensive rods and reels above the surface.  So, in addition to the cement, I drill a screw into each connection to hold them together better.

What you will need:

10 ft of 1" PVC Pipe - $4.66

10 ft of 1 1/4" PVC Pipe - $5.06

PVC Cement - $4.94

Various PVC Adapters - About $20

Screws - $6.47

Spray Paint - $5.98

Milk Crate - $9.99

Paddle - $24.07

Total: About $80

YakAttack BlackPak: $124.95

Ocean Kayak Universal Rudder: $225.00

Savings: $268.78

5. Steakout Pole

    A steakout pole is a huge benefit in the spring, when bass are shallow spawning and you're sight fishing.  Whenever you need to hold position in water less then 4 feet deep a steakout pole out performs any standard anchor.  All you need is a four to five foot section of 3/4 inch PVC pipe and a PVC Tee adapter.  Cut the bottom into a point so you can jam it into the bottom of the lake, river, or stream.

PVC Total: $5.34

YakAttack ParkNPole: $59.95

Savings: $54.61

6. Kayak Cart

    Like the PVC rod holder, different kayaks will require different measurements.  The most expensive part of this kayak cart is the wheels.  They can be very pricy at Home Depot or Lowes, but if you have a Harbor Freight Tools nearby, you can find them there for five dollars.

What you will need:

PVC Pipe and Fittings - About $20

Wheel Barrow Tires - $10

Hardware for attaching wheels - About $5

Total: $35

Austin Kayak C-Tug: $149.95

Savings: $114.95

Alright, let's add up the costs and savings and see where we stand:

Total Costs of DIY Additions: $158.58

Total Cost of Non-DIY: $959.66

Total Savings: $801.08

Just imagine the fishing gear you can buy with $800 in savings!  Now, just for fun let's take it one step further:

Lifetime Tamarak Angler w/ DIY Projects: $521.05

*Old Town Predator MX w/ Non-DIY: $2,258.66

Savings: $1,737.61 

Yikes!  Kayak fishing doesn't need to be expensive, folks.  I understand that often times you get what you pay for.  The non-DIY accessories will no doubt be of higher quality and will out last any of these DIY projects.  The ideal fishing kayak probably lies somewhere in the middle of this spectrum.  I just want to show you that there are plenty of other options out there than what you will find in stores or online.  Try just one or two of these and you'll free up some room in your budget for that new rod and reel combo you've been eyeing.

* I picked the Old Town Predator for comparison's sake because that was the first kayak that was recommended to me when I began my search for a kayak.

Arizona Summer Fishing Tips

    Ask any fisherman about their favorite part of our long, hot, Arizona summers and you'll probably just hear them grunt and groan about long wait times at the launch ramp, wake boarders tearing up the otherwise calm lake, and the mountains of trash created by the merry nature go-ers around the Phoenix Metro area.

    Before you start shaming others on social media, or head to the local rec center and organize a trash clean up/community picnic, consider the bennifits of littering yourself:  1. Colorful trash will brighten up and add color to our otherwise bland desert landscape.  2. People get paid to pick up trash, not littering would result in those poor folks losing their jobs.  3. It provides plenty of artificial habitat for our favorite fish and wildlife species.  4. Everyone else does it, what difference will your styrofoam bait cup and bud light can really make anyway.  And, of course, 5. Those dang trash recepticals are all the way on the other side of the road.

    Since this is a fishing blog, I want to focus on the third point stated above.  Trash in our waters provide much needed habitat for all of nature's beautiful creatures.  An abundance of these man-made habitats in our lakes will provide the state's bass population with what fisherman refer to as "cover".  Bass use this cover year-round in hunting prey, spawning, and for those warm post-front conditions when they just want to chill in the shade with their homies.  Just look at all this garbage that the Game and Fish Department is willingly tossing into the lake:

    So, as bass anglers, how can we use all this trash to our advantage?  Below I've outlined some of the most common trash piles that you will likely come across in our summer waters.

1. The Classic Tire

    Tires are great, just look how happy those turtles are.  A tire, partially exposed above the surface like in the picture above, provides structure similar to a boulder.  This shallow cover can be used as an ambush point by bass, especially early in the morning and at dawn when the shad begin to migrate towards the shore line.  Try top water poppers in the morning and at dawn, as well as white spinnerbaits throughout the day.  Like any shallow cover, work from the outside towards the center from multiple angles.

    A fully submerged tire in 1 1/2 to 3 feet of water is ideal in the early summer when the bluegil have moved up shallow to spawn.  You may find a nest of these bluegil inside the tire, and several other nests nearby surrounding the tire as bluegil often like to spawn as large schools, kind of like the flower power generation of the sixties.  A chartuse and blue squarebill crankbait can be deadly anytime the bass have moved shallow and into the bedding bluegil to feed.

    But of course, the most common place you will find this type of cover is along the shallow river banks of the Salt and Gila Rivers.  In current, large tires create large current breaks.  A current break is exactly as it sounds, a break in the current.  This provides slack water that a lazy bass will rest in while awaiting his meal to float by in the outside current.  Position your boat just down stream of the tire.  Cast a a crankbait or spinner bait upstream of the tire and work it back slowly and naturally with the current past the tire.  A small jig or shakey head worm could be worked in the same way, but slower, if the fish are especially tight lipped that day.

2. The Blue Light Special

    A staple in the urban fishing program, a shopping cart may provide the majority of structure in many of Arizona's urban lakes and streams.  But nature-goers, don't worry, I've come across the blue light special as far east as the Salt end of Roosevelt, and as far west as LA.

    Think of the shopping cart as a metal brush pile that's much less forgiving to your crankbaits.  Get your Strikeking 5XD snagged on one of these bad boys and you best be getting out the clippers.  Shallow or deep my go-to lure here is a jig.  Shopping carts have lots of nooks and crannies for those sneaky bass to hide in, so you'll want to make plenty of casts before moving on.  I like to use no less than 50 lb braid with my drag cranked down.  Just like fishing in thick brush, you want to pull that bass out of there quickly to avoid him pulling your line into the sharp metal edges of the cart that can easily cut 20 lb flurocarbon.

    If a jig doesn't get the job done, you can try a faster reaction bait like a small swimbait.  Just make sure that hook is buried deep in the plastic so your swimmy doesn't suffer the same fate as that 5XD.

3. Flippin' and Pitchin' the Mats

    When the trash begins to really mat up around the 4th of July Weekend, I like to bust out the heavy flippin' and pitchin' gear.  The trash creates a thick canopy on the surface providing plenty of cool shade for that lunker bass.  Ideally, look for trash mats in the backs of shallow coves in 2 to 4 feet of water.  Butcher Jones and Cove #1 at Saguaro Lake are prime spots as the water depth is just right, and the nearby recreation areas provide plenty of jack-ass litterbugs.

   The biggest bass will hold tight to the larger pieces of trash as science has proven that bass take pride in their personal belongings.  Much like humans, their cast system is based on greed and material possessions.  You might just find a small school of four-pounders aggressively protecting that 84 oz. ThirstBuster.  Because of this territorial behavior, short accurate casts are a must as the bass will not move more than 12 inches out of its strike zone.

    For more information on what gear to use and how to fish it effectively, see last weeks post regarding punching grass mats.

4. The Bride

    Fishing brides can be great when there is a steady wind or current.  I fish brides the same way I do bridge pillars.  If there is wind or current, I'll position the boat on the down wind side.  Brides, like tires, will act as a current break.  The ambushing bass will wait on the down wind side and wait for the baitfish to flow by.

    Often times fish can become very active around brides, so I like to start with a fast moving reaction bait.  Cranks, spinners, and swimbaits will all get the job done.  My first two casts will be parallel with the current along both sides of the bride.  If I get no bumps I'll switch to a small finesse bait like a shaky head or drop shot.  I'll stay on the down wind side of the bride and cast as close as I can to the sides, ideally within inches.  Often times with a soft plastic I'll cast right into the side of the bride, as the bait hits I'll drop my rod tip creating as much slack in the line as I can so that the bait can fall straight down along her side.  Most of the time the bass will hit it on the fall.  If not, I'll let the worm rest for just a second or two, hop it once and then lightly shake it.  If I haven't got bit by then I'll reel in a recast.

5.  The Lazy Boy

    In my college days, I would approach this senario differently.  My friend Dale had a truck, I would have called him up in an instant and offered him a 12 pack of bud to help me pull this thing out and set it up in the dorm.  Well times have changed.  I get my sofas from Ikea now, and Dale goes by Susan.  He...  She, also wouldn't accept the cheap beer anymore, I'd have to step it up to at least a locally brewed Hefeweizen.

    If you're going to fish it go with something weedless.  A jig or weedless wacky senko would work well.  The reason for the weedless approach is just out of courtesy for the next college-aged numbnut to happen across a new sofa.  Snags could lead to large tears, and duct tape can get expensive.

    I would approach this much like The Classic Tire.  Work the edges first, then move into the center of the cover.  There's two reasons for this:

1.  If you go straight for the middle, but miss your target and snag up on it first cast, you're going to disturb quite a bit of the area around it, spooking off any potential bass that might be there.

2.  If there's one bass, there's probably more.  I like to pick off bass from the sides of a small school because I feel that there's less of a chance of that bass disturbing the others.  If I were to go right in after the middle one, he may spook off the whole remaining school.

6.  Target Practice

    "Hey man, I bet I can hit that oil can from 40 yards out with this Red Eye Shad..."

    "But why, Brah?"

    "Dude, just watch....  Tssssssssssssssssssss, splash.

  .... Ah crap."

    So there you have it.  Next time you consider packing out more than you brought in, reconsider.  It's for the good of the fishery.  Next week, I'll share with you my favorite recipe for Pre-Spawn Female Largemouth Bass.

Fishing the Grass for Summertime Bass

    Take a look at any of Arizona's large desert reservoirs in the summertime and you will find many bass boats pushed back 30 to 40 yards off the bank targeting deep underwater structure like ledges and points.  For many reasons main lake points are a great place to target summertime bass.  However, something else you will find in the summertime at any of Arizona's large desert reservoirs are jet skis, wake boarders, and large party barges.  When fishing from a bass boat these party-goers can be an annoyance and distraction, but when fishing from a 10 foot kayak, the scenario becomes dangerous and can make fishing nearly impossible.

    When I can't fish these desirable summertime locations, I'm forced to look elsewhere.  Somewhere off the main lake in a small protected shallow cove.  To know what to look for I consider what it is about a main lake point that makes it so attractive to a big lazy bass.  Bass will setup on a point to ambush their prey as they travel across, especially when there is a current or steady wind blowing across the point.  The point also makes it quick and easy for bass to travel from cooler deep water where they relax to shallow water to feed.  Bass will move around a point all day long, moving in fairly predictable patters on that point.  The key here is not depth, rather it is cool, oxygenated water filled with an abundance of food. 

    Shallow grass contains the same key properties as main lake points.  The dense cover provides shade and cool water, and the abundance or green vegetation provides plenty of oxygen even in the warmest of water.  In the late spring/early summer bluegill will spawn in these grassy flats providing plenty of food for bass all summer long.  The problem with fishing grass is the frustration it causes for many anglers.  Snags happen, and constantly pulling weeds off your lure between each cast might cause a rise in blood-pressure.  You've got to realize however that if you are not getting snagged, if you are not constantly pulling weeds off your line, you're probably not catching fish either!

    I'm going to outline a few techniques you can use to help pull in some "bass salad", but first we need to differentiate the types of grass.  There are several different types of grass, lots of different names of grass, densities of grass, colors of grass, and textures of grass.  Try not to get lost in all the minor details you hear about, for practicality's sake, there are two types of grass: submerged grass (grass that is entirely underwater), and emergent grass (grass that grows past the surface of the water creating mats on the surface and hollow tunnels beneath).  Look for submerged grass in 5 to 15 feet of water, and emergent grass in the 2 to 5 foot range.  Think back to the main lake point discussed earlier, bass will feed where it's shallow, and rest where it's deep.  In grass, the opposite is true.  Bass will be actively feeding in the deeper submerged grass and will retreat to the shade and safety of the shallow emergent grass as the day goes on.  Below are four techniques you can try this summer too hook into a monster covered in weeds:

1. Lipless Crank

Rod: 7' Medium Heavy - Fast Casting Rod

Reel: High Speed 7:1 Baitcaster

Line: 15 lb Flurocarbon or Monofilament

Color: Shad or Bluegill Imitation

    I use a Strike King Red Eye Shad in submerged grass at a depth of about ten feet (this means the bottom is ten feet deep, the top of the grass will be around 5 feet below the surface).  Early in the morning I will focus on the outside edge of the grass.  Cast out and retrieve parallel to the outside of the grass edge.  I try to keep the lure just off the bottom, below the top of the grass.  Later in the day I will fish this lure over the top of the grass.  I'll cast out as far as I can, count it down about five feet and burn it back in just over the top, occasionally letting the lure drop and tick the top.  If I feel it get snagged, a couple quick pops on slack line will rip it free, sometimes causing a reaction strike.  If I can see a gap or hole in the grass I'll burn it over the top and stop right above the gap in vegetation.  Drop the rod tip down and let the Red Eye Shad shimmy down to the bottom on slack line.  Often times a bass will bust out of the grass and hit it on the fall.

2.  Mojo Rig

Rod: 6 1/2' Medium - Fast Spinning Rod

Reel: 5:1 Spinning Reel

Line: 20 lb Hi-Vis Braid, 8 lb Fluro leader

Worm: 4 inch Cactus Wren Talking Stick - Shad Color

    The Mojo Rig is similar to the old school Split Shot Rig with two major differences.  The weight is a thin cylinder shape, this allows it to be pulled through the grass smoothly without getting hung up like a round split shot weight.  Also, the weight is threaded onto the line and pegged to the line rather than crimped on.  Crimping on a weight will damage the line and you risk breaking off a fish, especially when using light weight fluorocarbon.  To peg the weight I use a couple strands of jig hair, pulled through using the discarded tag end of line from tying the hook on.  This also allows you to easily adjust where you want the weight while still being snug enough to stay in place. 

    I fish it similar to the lipless crank above, but with a slower and more erratic retrieve.  Again, earlier in the morning I'll stick to the outside edge, later in the day I'll retrieve it right over the top.  If the fish are especially tight lipped, try taking the weight off and working the worm weightless incredibly slowly letting it rest right right on top of the grass.

3.  Punching Mats

Rod: 7 1/2' Heavy - Fast Casting Rod

Reel: High-Speed 7:1 Baitcaster

Line: 40-65 lb braid

Lure: Slim Crawfish or Rodent style bait

Weight: 1oz Tungsten Bullet Weight

    Punching is a technique for the shallow emergent grass that causes mats on the surface.  Ideally you should be pitching into these grass mats in about 2 1/2 feet of water.  Heavy braided line and a slim presentation is important as your goal is to "punch" the bait right through the heavy cover.

    Punching is all about triggering a reaction strike, there's no need for stealth or finesse. This is power fishing at its most powerful, work it fast and cover a lot of water with it.  While punching, there are three components that will trigger the bite:

The bait violently crashing through the surface vegetation.

The heavy weight pounding the bottom.

The bait smacking against the bottom of the mats as you bring it back in.

    I would argue that the heavy abusive weight is more important than the plastic.  That craw or rodent is just a means to keep the hook from snagging on the grass.  It's important not to "texpose" the hook, burry it in there good so that the whole rig can slide through the cover.  Keep the weight pegged to the hook with a toothpick or bobber stopper.  If you find yourself missing fish on the hook set try using a snell knot on a straight shanked flippin' hook.  However I prefer an offset round-bend hook because it keeps the whole rig slimmer.

4.  Weedless Wacky Weightless (Try saying that five times fast)

Rod: 6 1/2' Medium Heavy - Fast Casting Rod

Reel: High-Speed 7:1 Baitcaster

Line: At least 15 lb Flurocarbon

Worm:  5 or 6 inch Cactus Wren Talking Stick or Stick Bait

    You won't be able to get this bait through the thick mats, so look for openings in the mats, or toss it beside the matted weed line into more open water.  When you find a hole to drop it into, toss it in and let it sink as far as it will go.  Wait for a few seconds and then shake it lightly on slack line.  Sometimes it'll drop further, sometimes a fish will eat it, but most of the time nothing will happen.  Reel it in and find another hole.

    This is a technique for both emergent and submerged grass.  You have to be more patient when fishing it in submerged grass as you will be fishing it deeper and the bait drops very slowly.  As you let it sink on slack line, be sure to watch the line the whole way down, you usually won't feel the initial hit and if you wait too long you have a good chance of gut hooking the fish.

    If you're only fishing submerged grass, you might consider using lighter tackle.  A medium powered spinning rod and 8 to 10 lb test line would be sufficient.

    I hope that gives you a new technique or two to try out the next time you hit the water.  If I've helped you catch a fish let me know in the comments!  Any other techniques you use while fishing grass?  Tell us about those in the comments as well!

    Tight lines, and I hope to see you out on the water!

7 Ways To Wren: Rigging Cactus Wren Finesse Baits for Bass

    When the bite slows down one of the best things a bass fisherman can do to keep tempting them to bite is minimize the presentation.  Small lures on light line and tackle is the basis to finesse fishing.  Most of the finesse fishing I do is done with either a medium power spinning rod with 8 lb flurocarbon, or a medium-light casting rod with 10 or 12 lb flurocarbon.
    Just like any other type of fishing, you must experiment with presentations until you find what the bass want at that time.  Wether I'm fishing or trying to woo the ladies I always consider these three questions:  Are they shallow or deep?  Do they want it fast or slow?  And, do they want something with a lot of action, or very little action?  Whatever the answers to these questions are Cactus Wren Outdoors has a bait and presentation that will give you a chance at hooking up with a fatty (if that's what you're into of course...).  Here are 7 different ways to rig Cactus Wren baits:

1.  The Drop Shot

Rod: 7ft Medium-Fast Spinning Rod

Reel: 5:1 Spinning Reel

Line: 12 lb high-vis braid

Leader:  14 feet of 8 lb flurocarbon

Hook: 1/0 Gamakatsu Octopus Hook

Weight: 1/4 oz Cactus Wren Drop Shot Weight

    The drop shot is without a doubt the best producer of these presentations, that's why it's listed here first.  It is the only rig that I have a dedicated rod for, and it's the only rod that comes with me on every trip (that's really saying something when you have the limited storage capacity of a 10 foot kayak).

    To rig a drop shot, tie on your hook with a Palomar knot, be sure to leave plenty of tag end on your line.  Take the end of the tag end and run it back down through the eye of the hook.  Give it a little tug and it should pull the knot through the eye.  If done correctly the hook will be pointing up and the knot will be below the eye of the hook.  In the spring and fall I will generally put the weight about 8 to 12 inches below the hook.  In summer and winter, when the bass are holding very tight to the bottom, I'll shorten it up to 3 to 6 inches.

    I use both the CW Quail Tails and Talking Sticks with the drop shot rig.  Typically if the bass are actively feeding I'll use a Quail Tail, if they are lazy and the fishing is slow I'll use the Talking Stick.  Basically I try to match the action of my lure with the action of the bass.  A deep, lethargic, post-spawn female is not going to be in the mood to chase down something that might flee away quickly.  Using something with little action and just slowly dragging it across the bottom will be much more appetizing for that big lazy bass.

    I'll fish a drop shot in just about any situation.  Bounce it across a rocky point, pull it over a ledge, drag it through submerged grass with the worm floating just above the grass, or pitch it right into flooded cover or under a boat dock.  If there's a fish around, they'll hit it!

2. The Shaky Head

Rod: 7ft Medium-Fast Casting Rod

Reel: 7:1 Baitcasting Reel

Line: 12 lb flurocarbon

Jig Head: Cactus Wren 1/4 oz Tully Shaker

    This rig has completely replaced the Texas-Rigged worm for me.  I use it primarily for casting toward particular targets like flooded timber, over hanging trees, and man-made structures like bridge columns and boat docks.

    The shaky head excels in situations where the bass are holding very tight to cover and the strike zone is incredibly small.  One cast may take three or more minutes, but I won't move the bait more than a foot or so.  Just cast it out there within inches to the cover and lightly shake your rod tip on slack line.

    The only worm I'll use on the shaky head is a 5 inch talking stick.  Despite the name, a shaky head is a very slow and subtle presentation so a straight tail worm is a must.  Imagine you are a pretty girl at the club.  To your right is a wildly dancing long-haired hippie on PCP, to your left is a nicely dressed business man quietly sipping a gin and tonic.  Who are you going to go home with?  (The shaky head is the guy on the left)

3. The Chowa Barb Jig

Rod: 7ft Medium Heavy-Fast Casting Rod

Reel: 6:1 Baitcasting Reel

Line: 15 lb flurocarbon

Jig Head: Cactus Wren Chowa Barb Jig

    The Chowa Barb Jig is the long-haired hippie wildly dancing on PCP (some girls like that sort of thing). I fish this on a bit heavier equipment because of the thicker hook on the CW jig.  You can fish this just like a traditional Texas Rig targeting heavy cover or bed fishing in the spring time, but I prefer to fish it much faster, almost like a deep diving crankbait, or slow rolling a spinner bait or swim bait.

    I'll cast it out across a rocky point and let it sink to the bottom.  Then, with my rod tip low I'll reel in steadily, as slow as I need to in order to keep that weight right on the bottom bouncing off each and every rock down there.

    For this presentation I'll use a 6 inch Quail Tail or a Canyon Craw.  This can be a great pre-spawn technique when the bass are up roaming looking for a spot to make their beds and the females are still staging and looking for a few big meals preparing for spawn.

4. The Ned Rig

Rod: 7ft Medium Spinning Rod

Reel: 5:1 Spinning Reel

Line: 8 lb flurocarbon

Jig Head: Cactus Wren 1/4 oz Tully Shaker

    When a shaky head is still too much for the lethargic bass, I'll try the Ned Rig as a last resort.  It's a smaller, more compact version of the shaky head.

    To rig it, I use the first 3 inches of a 6 inch Talking Stick or Quail Tail (you can use the back half of the Quail Tail as a trailer on a spinnerbait).  Rather than a subtle shake of the rod tip I'll toss it out and dead-stick it.  After about 20 seconds give it a couple hops and dead stick it again.

    You want to leave as much of the hook exposed as you can.  The worm is pretty thick, so you want to be able to leave enough room between the barb of the hook and the side of the worm to get a solid hook set.  Leave it buried and you'll easily pull this compact bait right out of their mouth.

5. Weightless

Rod: 7ft Medium-Fast Spinningg Rod

Reel: 5:1 Spinning Reel

Line: 8 lb flurocarbon

Hook: 1/0 or 2/0 Offset Roundbend

    The first four rigs have focused on deeper water presentations, or when the bass are holding tight to shallow cover.  The last three focus on fishing the upper end of the water column, and when bass are actively chasing small baitfish.

    There are a few ways to fish these baits weightless to catch fish when traditional topwater baits and shallow running cranks don't work.  The first is like a Fluke, or some other soft-plastic jerkbait.  This presentation can be deadly in the spring and fall when bass are chasing shad.  When bass are boiling on a school of shad at the surface, most anglers will throw something like a Spook past the boil and walk it through the boil.  Doing so can often spook (maybe that's where they got the name) the bass.  Generally these schooling bass are relatively small and won't hit a large top water hard bait.  However, the 4-inch talking stick is light enough you can toss right into the boil, twitch a few times and probably end up hooking into one.  This technique probably won't catch many double digit bass, but it can certainly put a good number into the boat when used at the right time.

    When the action slows down, you can slow the bait down as well.  Letting the 4-inch Talking Stick sink on slack line will allow the bait to fall horizontally.  The larger 5 and 6 inch Talking Sticks will fall with a gliding nose-first action.  When rigged weightless these worms fall slower than any stick bait I've ever seen.  When the bass want a slow fall, this presentation can out perform the ever so popular Senko mightily.

    When the bass are suspending in 5 to 15 feet you can add a small split shot weight about two feet up the line to help get the bait to the fish quicker.  Adding a 1/16 oz split shot or mojo weight will let the bait fall at about a foot per second.  So toss it out, count it down, and slowly begin retrieving it back with a twitch-twitch-pause retrieve.  This can be killer in submerged grass, using the mojo weight instead of the split shot will let the rig slide through the grass without getting hung up as much.

6. The Donkey Wren

Rod: 7ft Medium-Fast Casting Rod

Reel: 7:1 Baitcasting Reel

Line: 12 lb flurocarbon

Leaders: 8 lb flurocarbon

Tackle: 2 1/0 Offset Roundbend Hooks

            2 swivels

            2 glass beads

    Fish this rig just like you would the weightless Texas rigged Talking Stick.  It always makes it more fun knowing you have a chance at catching two bass at once.  Once you hook up on a fish, don't reel him in right away, let him swim with it and play with it for a while.  How many times have you reeled in a bass to see another one follow him in all the way to the boat?  With this rig, that follower will be caught too.  Bass just can't stand seeing their friend have all the fun, they'll want to join in too if the opportunity is there for them.

    How to rig the Donkey Wren:  Start by tying two swivels on to your two 8 lb flurocarbon leaders.  You want one leader to be about twice as long as the other (10 and 20 inches are a good place to start).  On your mainline put on a glass bead, then the longer of the two leaders, then another glass bead.  After the second bead, tie your shorter leader to the main line..  Tie on your hooks to the end of each leader and you're all set.  Remember these two important things:  (1) The first swivel should just be threaded onto the main line so it can move freely up and down the line along with the beads.  (2) That leader should be the longer one, otherwise the leaders will just become a twisted mess.

    I like to throw this rig on casting gear because I have more control over the fish with it incase I hook up on two at once.  If you're not able to throw such a light presentation with a baitcaster, a spinning set up will work just fine too.

    The beads are optional, but I like them for three reasons:  They make a clicking sound to attract fish, they protect the knots, and it gives the impression of a third little baitfish that the two bigger baitfish are chasing, like a mini little food chain all in one rig.

7. The Weightless Wacky

Rod: 7ft Medium-Fast Casting Rod

Reel: 7:1 Baitcasting Reel

Line: 10 lb flurocarbon

Hook: 2/0 Gamakatsu Weedless Wacky

    You don't need the O-ring tool, or even the O-rings, but it will make your life easier and you won't be going through worms as quickly.  If you use the O-rings, be sure to use two.  Cross them over each other creating an "X" and put the hook between the two, underneith where they cross so that the hook is held perpendicular to the worm.

    I use this presentation with the 5 and 6 inch Quail Tails and Talking Sticks.  Sometimes I'll rig the hook through the middle, other times towards the nose.  The sink rate differs quite a bit so you'll just have to experiment until you get bit.  This worm will not fall horizontally, instead it will glide nose first off to one side or the other.  This mimics a dying baitfish much better than a stick bait that wobbles end to end as it sinks straight down (I mean really, have you ever seen a baitfish do that?). Despite the different action, fish it the same way you would that wacky Senko.  It won't work every time, but on the days that the traditional approach isn't paying off, this might be the ticket.

    So there you have it, seven finesse presentations that you can try with these great little worms from Cactus Wren Outdoors.  Visit them online at www.cactuswrenoutdoors.com and pick up a few packs of Quail Tails and Talking Sticks.  I hope I see you out on the water soon!