Things Your Grandpa Didn't Have

Things Your Grandpa Didn't Have:

     Very few of us figured out how to fish on our own.  Did you know that "93% of all anglers nation-wide were taught how to fish by their grandfathers" is a fact I just pulled straight out of my ass?  Or how about the fact that "every current member of the Bassmaster Elite Series reported that their grandfathers were present for their first ever fishing experience" isn't actually a fact at all, but just a statement I made up to make it seem like my blog is based on research and statistical analysis?

     I'm sure many of us recall memories from our childhood of hanging out on the lake with grandpa all weekend long.  Our grandpas were the ones that tied our lures on before we knew how to tie our shoes, dug our crankbaits out of trees before we knew how to adjust the distance of our cast, and actually owned paper maps and knew how to read them (with out the help of YouTube and BassResource.com).

     Grandpas are a wealth of information that no website today could reproduce.  They have fishing holes that Google doesn't know about, and they have grandma always pack a second pudding cup for their "little fishing buddy".  However, there are plenty of technological tools that the modern day fisherman has that Grandpa never had.  Like all industries, the Internet has revolutionized the fishing industry.  With just a few mouse clicks, anybody can listen to what Ish Monroe has to say about punching grass mats on the California Delta, or how Mike Iaconelli fishes a squarebill crankbait through submerged timber while plugging Abu Garcia.  Below is my list of things your grandpa didn't have (yet he could still out fish you any day):

YouTube

     The days of $150/month cable TV subscriptions are over.  No longer do you need to pay for high-dollar small cable channels and wake up at 3:00 am in order to watch your favorite fishing shows.  Anyone with a camera and access to the Internet has all they need to produce their own fishing show.  There is so much content on YouTube!  Even in a relatively small market of bass fishing, no one could possibly watch all of it (and trust me, I've been trying).

     Just about anything you could want to watch can be found with just a simple search.  Interviews with the Bass Master Elites, product reviews, technique tutorials, compilations of top water explosions, it's all on there.  One of my favorite channels is "Flukemaster".  Not just for Gene Jensen's highly informative lessons, but because he is the epitome of the average Joe who started from nowhere and rose to Internet-fame through hard work.  Gene's entire story is documented throughout his videos, all of which are RIGHT HERE, for free!

Bass Resource/Fishhound

     Website like Bass Resource and Fishhound offer not only great articles and videos to help you become a better fisherman, but online forums that connect you with pros and experts across the country within minutes.

     Have an odd-ball question that can't seem to be answered with a Google search?  Someone in the community section of these sites has an answer.  Post up a question and check back in the afternoon to see what folks across the country have to say.  However, all these online forums need to be approached cautiously.  There's a very small amount of people who actually know what they're talking about, and there's a much larger portion of people who only THINK they know what they're talking about.  (Huh, I wonder which one people think I am...)  Spend a week or two looking through the forum section, and you'll begin to identify which members are the truly helpful ones.

Google Earth

     Google Earth is amazing.  I probably use this free program more than any thing else when it comes to "internet pre-fishing", which is an incredibly important, and often overlooked part of fishing, especially kayak fishing!

     Google Earth will probably be the basis of it's own blog posting soon so I won't go into too much detail about it here, but two quick points are:  1. The detailed satellite view can zoom in on any potential fishing spot so you can get a real life feel of the area before you go out (sometimes even underwater structure).  2. You can view back roads that may not be listed on regular maps to find lake access to areas you otherwise can't reach (huge advantage to kayak anglers).

Navionics Web App

     The Navionics Web App gives you free access to the same maps the pros use on their $5,000 sonar/GPS units.  It's certainly lacking in features and detail, but it's also free so stop whining!  Contour maps are important when you're tracking bass migration from season to season.  In the middle of summer and the dead of winter, your best bet for finding fish is locating bottom structure.  To find that structure, you have three options: 1. Zig-zag across the entire lake watching and recording data from your depth finder, 2. Drag a Carolina Rig across the entire lake, or 3. Look at a map.  I think I'll take a map.

     If you have cell service at the lake, you can load this up on your phone or tablet and use it as a pseudo-gps, something that might come in handy if you're a kayak fisherman on a budget.  Just make sure to have a waterproof case and plenty of data left on your monthly cellphone plan!

Local Message Boards like AZ Bass Zone

     Never mind... AZ Bass Zone is the armpit of the Internet.  Avoid it like the Zika Virus.

Social Media

     Social Media fascinates me.  I was in middle school when MySpace became popular, I was part of Facebook back when you could only register with a ".edu" email account.  In a weird way, I feel that social media and I grew up together.  I've seen the way it's changed over the last 15 years as a user from the beginning, and it just amazes me to see what it's become.

     If you're reading this, you know about social media.  And if you're a fisherman on social media, you know the impacts it has on the business side of the sport.  Tournament Series get many of their participants interested via Facebook.  Sites like LinkedIn make it easy for businesses looking for anglers for sponsorship opportunities.  Instagram makes it simple for pros and armatures alike to share pictures of their double digit bass.  And Twitter is still kind of just as annoying as it's ever been.

Insight Genesis

     I am so excited about this new website!  Insight Genesis is currently in beta (that means it's still new and they're working out the kinks) but anyone with a valid email address can sign up and start checking the site out.  In a nutshell, the website is an online community of anglers who upload the data recorded from their sonar units.  The end result is some of the most detailed and up to date contour maps you'll find online.  The free version allows access to all of the "social maps" across the country, the ability to upload your own custom maps, set way points, record comments, and more.  For $100 the paid version allows you to see not only the bottom contour lines, but also the bottom composition so you can quickly find grass flats, rocky points, sandy washes, and more!

     As a kayak angler, I can't stress enough the importance of digital pre-fishing!  The old saying goes "90% of the fish are in 10% of the water", and I believe the numbers are probably more extreme than that.  Kayak anglers don't have the option of firing up the outboard and running across the lake to every point, cove, ledge, and hump we come across over a 10 mile stretch.  If you want to catch fish from a kayak on a big lake, you need to find them before you even leave the living room!  All of these websites are just another tool the modern day angler has in their digital tackle box, and they're free!  Do yourself a favor and check them out before your next trip.  The more you know before you go, the more confident you'll be out there on the water!

     Comment below if you have any favorite tools in your digital tackle box, and follow along with me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at DaveJakesFishin.

Tight lines!

The Six Seasons of Arizona Kayak Bass Fishing

The Six Seasons of Arizona Kayak Bass Fishing:

     Throughout the year, I will be posting a series of articles discussing all six seasons of bass fishing, but before I do I would like to give you a quick overview of the seasons from somebody who, unlike me has actually made a name for himself in this sport, Kevin VanDam.  To read about KVD's bass fishing seasons, click HERE.  Now obviously VanDam and others have discussed this topic at length all over the Internet, my goal isn't to just write a carbon copy of old information.  I will outline several extra steps that kayak fishermen need to consider that may not seem obvious at first, as well as add an Arizona twist to the concepts.  My goal with this series of articles is two-fold; to make you a more successful angler (kayak angler or otherwise), but also to help spread the spirit of kayak fishing across the state of Arizona to aid in the development of one of the most exciting and fastest growing outdoor sports; kayak fishing.

     Kevin VanDam, just the mention of his name gets bass fishermen of all ages giggling like a school girl at a Katy Perry concert.  KVD is arguably one of the most successful tournament anglers in bass fishing history.  With four Bassmaster Classic wins and seven Angler of the Year awards, it's safe to say the guy knows his stuff, and he didn't even need to deflate any football heads to get there.  A couple years back, VanDam agreed to share one of his most kept secrets with bassmaster.com: his "seasonal guide".  You can check out the full article HERE, but if you're an Arizona bass angler hold off on memorizing those numbers for just a moment, they aren't going to be much help for you!

      If you didn't read the article, here's the important part:  There are six "seasons" of bass fishing.  VanDam identifies those seasons based on changing water temps.  

Winter: 48 degrees and below

Pre-Spawn: 48-55 degrees

Spawn: 55-70 degrees

Post-Spawn: 70-75 degrees

Summer: 75-90 degrees

Fall: 75-55 degrees

(I guess KVD doesn't fish in late Fall when the water temp is between 48 and 55 degrees...)

     If only it were this easy, we'd all be catching fish like KVD.  I'm not going to make the claim that he is wrong.  I'm not going to make the claim that I know better than him.  And I'm not going to make the claim that KVD, nor I, could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not loose any supporters over it, because well, that's just silly.  I'll let you make your own judgments on his system (or at least the system he told us about), and while you're at it feel free to make judgments about me and my thoughts too!

     The claim I will make, is that KVD isn't talking about any specific region, especially not about Arizona lakes!  He's speaking generally, to a national audience.  To say that post-spawn and summer is separated by only five degrees at all lakes is ludicrous, and I'm sure he'd probably agree.  After all, lakes can change five degrees from noon to midnight all year long, but you wouldn't say it's two different seasons.  This strategy is just a starting point for him, and I don't think he's starting in Arizona.  If you follow his advise on Guntersville, I'm sure you'll catch some fish.  If you follow his advise on our deep canyon reservoirs, you may find yourself having some trouble even finding their neighborhoods.

This is Mike-the-Bass.

Mike is a January fish.

Mike doesn't hang out in 60 feet of water.

Mike is staging for spawn.

Be like Mike-the-Bass.

Below is what I've found to be a more reliable timeline from my experience as an Arizona native:

Winter:  December/January

Pre-Spawn:  January-March

Spawn:  March/April

Post-Spawn:  March-June

Summer:  June-October

Fall:  One random weekend in late October/early November

Notice two important points:

     1. I don't use water temp when considering the season.  Arizona is just too different than the rest of the country for me to rely on what I hear about and read from national sources.  This past weekend (January 23rd) Saguaro Lake was 57 degrees at 9:00am.  All winter long, the lowest temp I saw was 53, a full "post-spawn" away from the warmest "winter" according to KVD.  (And yes, a "post-spawn" is now a unit of measurement equaling five degrees.  You may use it for measuring temperatures, or angles.  My blog, my rules.)

     2. Seasons overlap.  Especially in the spring.  Bass don't all spawn at the same time.  Bass will move up in waves, usually 3 to 5 waves per spring depending on the weather.  They may even move backwards!  A fish may be searching out a mate, maybe just starting to sweet talk her up a bit when a cold front runs through that pushes them both back to deeper water for another week or so.  And of course there's a transition between every other season as well.  Fall, especially in Arizona, you will find bass scattered all around from 2 to 80 feet deep.

     So why is this important?  How does it affect the way we fish?  The six "seasons" outline the yearly migration schedule of bass.  For those anglers that fish the same area year long using the same bait every time, (Yes, I'm talking to you, guy I see under the bridge at Canyon Lake throwing spinnerbaits every time I'm there) the seasons may explain why you think bass don't bite in the winter, or it may explain why "the bite is really hot lately".  The truth is, you can find a consistent bite year round if you know where to look.  If you understand bass migration, you'll know where to look.  You will find them, and you will catch them.

     For more information on seasonal patterns and bass migration in general, check out all of THESE videos.  Then, be sure to check back in February to read about kayak fishing for pre-spawn bass, one of my favorite times of the year.  I'll tell you everything I do on the days leading up to my trip, how I develop a game plan, and how I adjust that plan on the water once I realize I'm wrong.  Until then, here's an unnecessary plug for my favorite local lure company:  Go HERE and purchase everything they sell.  Rig up and dropshots and shakeyheads, toss them out into 20 to 30 feet of water and start catching some fish regardless of the season!

     Tight lines!

Fishing Resolutions For A New Year

Fishing Resolutions For A New Year:

I've never been the kind of person to set New Year's Resolutions for myself.  I live my life fairly regret free, and I'm content with my every day lifestyle.  So why even try to quit my beloved Dr. Pepper until my non-peppered actual doctor tells me to?  It's not like I'm going to actually succeed in that anyway!

With that said, I have some things I'd like to do, and some changes I'd like to experiment with when it comes to bass fishing.  These things aren't necessarily "resolutions".  They aren't even necessarily changes for the better.  Honestly, they may not even be things that I want to do all year.  They are just some things I want to do, or experiment with just for the hell of it.  However, since it just happens to be New Year's Eve, let's go ahead and call these my New Years Fishing Resolutions:

1. Catch a fish on a lure I make myself.

I've made a few jigs and inline spinners the last few months but haven't given them a real shot yet.  Fishing has been slow lately so I've been sticking with the tried and true methods to at least get a few bites each trip.  Once these waters get warmed up and the fish are hungry again, I will catch something on those homemade lures!

2. Find a line I like and stick with it, then buy it in bulk to save money.

I just want to make each trip to the store a bit simpler.  Every time I step into a Bass Pro or Sportman's Warehouse I remember that one reel sitting on the shelf and I think of the myriad options of what I could do with it.  Then I stand in front of the wall of available fishing line and stress about the perfect choice.  It would be so much easier just knowing I have 5 bulk spools at home to do whatever I want with.

3. To save more money, make that line a copolymer and use it on everything (except finesse rods).

I know how important line is.  And I know that not using the "right" line for the technique might affect how many fish I catch.  However, I'll never really know unless I give it a good honest shot.  This is one I want to do all year long so I can compare my catch rates to last year when I did it the "right" way.

4. Before buying a new rod, sell an old rod.

I need a heavy flipping and pitching rod. I have four crankbait rods.  If you're looking for a decent used crankin' stick, let me know in the comments!

5. Actually act on one of my ideas to try to make some extra money on the side through fishing.

I have three ideas.  One of them might just turn out to be a promising business endeavor...  If you have a degree in business, if you know your way around web design, or if you own a fishing guide business and are looking to expand, let me know that in the comments too!

6. Help my wife catch her first fish.

Seeing as my wedding is in two days, I feel as though I should add in something about her in my New Year's Resolutions... If that is what these are....

There it is, six things that I might actually do this new year.  I've also told myself that I'm going to stop drinking energy drinks.  So if we're fishing together in the future and you notice a Monster in my hand, feel free to give me crap about it, not that it's actually going to make me stop drinking it, but it's always fun to give each other crap.

So do you have any fishing related resolutions this New Years?  If so let us know in the comments below or on Facebook!

Tight Lines to you all in 2016!

A New Way To Organize Soft Plastics

Organizing your tackle, specifically soft plastics, is a discussion that comes up time and time again in bass clubs and on internet forums. Keeping your gear organized can mean the difference between catching a twenty-pound limit and weighing in just a handful of dinks.  Wether you're a tournament angler or a weekend warrior, organization is vital to keeping the frustration out of the boat and a hook in the water longer; which is really the key to catching fish.  You can't catch them if you're busy tying on hooks and juggling your terminal tackle.

When you're fishing from a small boat or kayak, issues with organization seem to magnify and simple frustrations can lead to dangerous situations if you're hit with an unexpected wind gust or boat wake.  Many of the common solutions for organizing soft plastics may be sufficient in a bass boat or when you're fishing from shore, but there's added struggle when trying to work in such limited space while kayak fishing.  After two years of kayak fishing, I have finally developed a system that works for me, maybe it will work for you too.

The system is basically the same system that I, and many anglers, have been using for years to organize hard baits: technique specific Plano boxes.  Almost every serious bass angler has several Plano boxes, one for jerkbaits, one for deep diving cranks, one for top waters and so on.  Why not adapt that same system to our soft baits?  Say you're fishing medium diving crank baits, my strategy would be to leave my crankbait box out until I find just the right depth and color needed to get hit.  If I'm fishing Texas rigs, trying that strategy will result in a mess.  I'd end up having ziplock bags of plastics, hook boxes, weight boxes, and other various terminal tackle all over the place.  So it finally hit me, I need a Texas rig box!

Texas Rigs

Now, certainly this one box of stuff isn't all of my potential gear for Texas rigs, but it will suffice for a day or two of kayak fishing.  The colors, size, or shape of the baits I bring will slightly change throughout the seasons and at different lakes, but the majority of this box stays simple and consistent all year round.  I prefer offset round bend hooks on Texas rigs, and I generally match the weight with the hook.  This allows me to keep things that would normally be in two separate boxes into just three compartments in one box.  I don't need a separate box filled with all sorts of hooks if I know I'm only going to be using three all day.

Dropshot

Just like the Texas rig box above, my dropshot box holds all the plastics, hooks, and weights needed for the technique.  If you dropshot often you'll know that the weights break off often and such small worms don't last more than a few fish.  Having one box on the deck with everything you need makes retying the rig a quicker process so you can get that hook out there again sooner.

Small Swimbaits

Like the above examples I keep with me just a small selection of colors and sizes.  If one of those colors or sizes won't get hit, then I'm probably going to switch to a whole new technique rather than trying other slight variants of swimbaits.  Again, I use different hooks with swimbaits than with other plastics, so instead of having a second box with twenty different hooks to sort through, I just keep a few types of swimbait hooks in the same box.

Shaky Heads

For the longest time I had a "Finesse Box" where I kept all my dropshot, shakey heads, and weightless stuff all together.  I quickly found though, especially in Arizona lakes, that finesse techniques are important enough and deserving enough for their own boxes.

Senkos

There's only three ways I ever fish Senkos: weightless wacky, weightless t-rig, and nail weighted.  This one simple box covers it all.  This is also the only technique I use extra-wide gap hooks.  So rather than getting them all mixed up in other various hooks I just keep them with the other Senko stuff.  I keep the O-ring tool right in there too because once again Senkos are the only thing I use it for, so why keep it anywhere else?

Jigs

Most of us already have a jig box.  Leave a couple compartments free and before your trip toss in three or four different trailers.

Bed Fishing (Stop reading now if you have a stick stuck up your butt):

This one box is probably responsible for more fish than any other box, and it's only used about two months out of the year.  When bed fishing it's even more important to re-tie and switch lures quickly.  If you have a fish agitated and ready to strike but it won't hit that size or color of lure, you don't want to give it five minutes to relax while you're fumbling around with your tackle.  The quicker you can get a bait out there, the sooner you can get that bed fish to bite.

Since I've started this system, I really haven't encountered any major issues.  The particular boxes I take with me are designed around whichever lake I'm going to and the current season.  There may be trips where I only take one or two boxes.  On other days I may take six or seven.  One of my biggest struggles when I first started kayak fishing was feeling the need to take everything with me.  Unfortunately we don't have rod lockers and acres of storage like you would find on a 20 foot bass boat.  You need to do your homework in advance to know what techniques to focus on as taking every lure you own may not be practical.  My next post will be a write up on the "homework" involved with kayak fishing and will be filled with information to help you decide which boxes to take and which to leave behind.

Think this solution might work for you?  Do you have another solution to the soft plastics fiasco that resides in kayak crates across the country?  Let me know in the comments below!

Tight lines!

Would You Trust a Paper Clip?

My favorite part of Bassmaster magazine is the half-page write up titled "10-Minute Angler".  In this section editor James Hall gives a quick run down of simple DIY projects that nearly any competent angler can complete in just 10 minutes.  Unfortunately, I'm not very competent by my own definition because I was having a hell of a time bending and unbending paper clips for half an hour trying to test out November's project; a pre-rigged Carolina rig shortcut.

When I first saw this month's project, my pessimistic skeptic side took over:  There's no way I'm trusting some cheap little piece of crap office supply as an added link between myself and a big mean largemouth!  And then I saw a spinnerbait sitting on my coffee table.  We all trust a thin piece of aluminum on almost all of our hard baits, so what makes a paper clip any different?

Still feeling skeptical I decided to put it to the test (after all, I should probably use my weight bench and set of weights for something) so I grabbed a ten pound weight and hauled it to the sofa.  The first thing I discovered during my control test was that 10 lb test line won't support a 10 lb weight...  That's right, we're all getting jipped...  So I grabbed a 5 1/2 lb weight, good enough.

I was surprised by the results.  The paper clip held just fine in all of the tests I put it through.  I tested many different weights and strengths all the way up to 20 pounds and every time the line snapped (usually at the knot) long before the paper clip seemed to show any signs of stress.

I don't want to infringe on any copyrights or anything, so I'm not going to discuss how to rig this beast up, but I think from the pictures above you can probably figure it out.  So would you trust a paperclip with a fatty on the line?  Any other paperclip rigs you've used in the past? Tell us about it in the comments!

* On a side note, another thing that impressed me about these tests were the quality of the Rosco Barrel Swivels I used.  Even under 20 pounds of pressure they held up strong and moved freely, much more impressive than the cheapo brand I previously used.

Fishhound Product Reviews

     As some of you may know, about a month ago I started writing some product review articles for Fishhound.  If you're not familiar with the site, check them out here.  They have loads of information on fishing.  Not only bass fishing, but everything from saltwater to small streams and bank fishing.
     When I first took this opportunity, I figured it would be a great way to try out some new gear and catch some fish on some lures or techniques I haven't used before.  One of the best ways to learn anything new is to get out there and force yourself to use these new baits and techniques.  Well, that hasn't been the case so far.  The good folks at Fishhound, seeing that I'm from Phoenix, thought that a good assignment for me would be a winter coat, and a hand warmer.  Now that our temps have dropped down below the century mark, I figure that now is as good a time as any to post up my latests Fishhound articles here.  I'll put the links below in case you want to check out the products yourselves.
     I know my writing is often filled with sarcasm, parody, and overall smart-ass-ness.  But I really do approve of these products.  They are very high quality at a fairly low price point, and when ever I can I like to help out small businesses.  So, for real, if you're in the need of a new jacket or hand warmer, check these out!

Refrigiwear Softshell Jacket:

            Do you like being cold on a brisk December morning?  When the temps drop into the 30s, do you eagerly await that sudden gust of wind that blows through your attire like a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick to the jaw?  When you're battling the whitecaps in your 16-foot Bass Tracker do you live for the thrill of near freezing water crashing over the sides reminiscent of the cold locker room showers from high school?  Well, if so then do not buy this jacket!  Aside from looking cooler than Tom Cruise riding a grizzly bear duel wielding axes, this thing is going to hold in the heat while keeping the wind and water out.  This thing is so warm that the following warning is actually written on the tag: "This garment insulates from intense heat as well as cold therefore, ignition of this garment may not be immediately realized."

            That's right, you'll be so warm that you don't even realize at which point you've caught fire!  Unfortunately for you, this jacket is also water-resistant.  When you burst into flames you'll have to trust the old "stop, drop, and roll" method as spraying yourself down with a hose or even jumping into the lake isn't going to cut it.  The water beads up and simply rolls right off leaving your smoldering torso as dry as the California drought.

            I believe it was Abraham Lincoln that said, "Anyone can make a jacket, but to make a jacket that has the potential to change the world... Well that must be Refrigiwear."  On second thought, that may have been me that said that.  I've already discussed the functionality of this jacket, but I want to take a moment to talk about some of its key features.

            First and foremost, the zipper.  This thing is built tough.  I don't know what my problem with zippers is, but if I touch one, it's going to break.  I've broken zippers on tents, sleeping bags, purses, pants, and of course jackets.  However, in all my trials with this bad boy, I've still got a fully functional zipper.  I'm amazed how easily it is to get the zipper started at the bottom, as well as the smoothness of the zip all the way up.  I can even achieve full zippage one handed without having to put my beer down.  But that's not where it ends, it gets better.  At the top, Refrigiwear has added a "tunnel" of sorts for the zipper to slide into.  This magical zipper womb will keep that chilly piece of metal contained and away from your rugged, yet sophisticated, neck-beard.  Now, as an Arizona native I'm no jacket expert, but this is a feature that has been long overdue in my repertoire of jackets.

            Let me ask you another question.  Do you like holding things?  Of course not!  But don't worry, this jacket has got you covered with pockets.  In fact it has four of them.  These pockets are great for holding all kinds of objects; keys, wallets, grape fruits, hamsters, the list just goes on and on.  If you're the kind of person who limits their pocket use to hands, you are really missing out on an adventure.  Each of the four pockets comes with its very own zipper just as great as the one described above so there's no need to worry about that grape fruit escaping and causing an embarrassing scene.

            If being warm and dry with top-of-the-line zippers and pockets sounds like an enjoyable way to spend a cold day out on the water, then I highly recommend the Softshell Jacket from Refigiwear.  It will definitely keep you warm while looking cool.

Roo Outdoors Inferno Hand Pouch:

     Winter; it is a tough time for many anglers.  For some, winter means that it's time to store the boat away into the back of the garage where it becomes nothing more than a $30K shelf with a sparkly gel coat.  For those of us in the warmer climates, winter means the fish move deep, their metabolism slows and they only feed once or twice each day.  Wherever you are from San Diego to Maine winter generally means lower catch rates.  Unfortunately, there are several reasons for this.  The good news is that the more we understand why fishing tends to slow down in the colder months, the better we can counteract the elements and discover ways to put fish in the boat.  One simple way to increase your success in the colder months is to keep your hands warm with the Roo Outdoors Inferno Hand Pouch.

     There are countless variables that go into fishing during different seasons.  One article cannot possibly cover all of them across a geographical area as large as the United States.  However, there is one variable that I find to be consistent no matter where you are, what technique you use, or what species of fish you are after:  It gets colder in the winter.

This review of the Roo Outdoors Inferno Hand Pouch is not about keeping warm, it's about catching fish!  Keeping warm is easy; heavy socks, heavy gloves, and a warm hat are all you need.  Keep those extremities warm and you'll be comfortable in those low temperatures.  However, the problem an angler faces is the heavy gloves.

     Often times, fish will go deep in the winter.  They become lethargic and won't travel far to chase down bait.  This results in very subtle bites, especially when using finesse worming techniques like a dropshot or shakeyhead.  Bass anglers especially will spend hundreds of dollars on high-end sensitive rods and braided line to maximize the sensitivity so they can feel every last detail of that bait.  Unfortunately, all of that goes out the window when you begin layering gloves over your hands.  So what's the best option?  Suck it up and lose the gloves?  Of course not, a shivering cold hand won't pick up the slight tick of a line when the bait is quickly inhaled by that 8-pound bass any better than a gloved hand will.  Recently I got my hands on, and in, the Inferno Hand Pouch by Roo Outdoors.  This is the product I've been waiting for; I just didn't know it!

     All my life I've been struggling with a solution for keeping my hands warm while fishing, and the Inferno Hand Pouch finally fills that need.  Just strap it on, and it's there when you need it.  Fish as you normally would without the restraint of heavy winter gloves.  When you start feeling that chill, pop your hands in for a quick warm up.  Roo Outdoors even includes a couple 10-hour heat packs that you can pop in to get warm faster.

     Of course there are other hand pouches on the market, but the Roo Inferno stands out above the rest because of some clever engineering.  The materials used are high quality, the outer Neo-Shield shell paired with the inner PolarTec insulation creates revolutionary warmth at only 7mm thick allowing the pouch to easily contour to any body shape.  Also, the heavy-duty belt is lined with silicon grippers that keep the pouch in place all day long.  But my favorite aspect of the Inferno Hand Pouch has got to be the utility pocket on the inside.  The bonded zipper on this pocket creates a waterproof seal that keeps all your valuables safe and dry.  This is the biggest plus for me as I frequently fish from a kayak and getting wet is the norm.  Even as the days warm and Spring gets underway, I may continue to take the Roo Inferno with me just as a safe place to store my phone or camera with quick and easy access.

     Starting at only fifty dollars, the Roo Outdoors Inferno Hand Pouch is an investment that will surly pay off this winter.  Don't get caught out there on the lake missing bites because of your cold hands.  Get the Roo Inferno and start catching more winter fish today!

Want to see more?  Check out these products and more at the links below:

Fishhound

Refrigiwear

Roo Outdoors

The Donkey Shot

The Donkey Shot

Welcome to Fall!  For those of you overseas who don't know what I'm talking about, I'm referring to Autumn.  Here in 'Muricha we call it Fall 'cause leaves fall down.  Fall is my favorite time to fish (yep, even more than Spring) because the fish are much more active and willing to leave their homes to chase down bait.  You can throw just about any shad-imitating lure and pull in a limit before the day is done.  For me, Fall is all about the numbers, weeding through the dinks until you find the bigger ones.  And what better way to do that than to catch two bass at once!  (Keep in mind that this may be illegal in some states, know the law in your area before heading out to the lake!)

At this point, many college students who Googled "Donkey Shot" are probably wondering why I'm talking about fish, here's the link you want:  

http://www.drinklab.org/cocktail-recipe.php?ID=6728&Name=Donkey%20Punch&Type=Shot

Ok, now that they are gone, let's talk fishing.  What is a Donkey Shot?  Basically, it's a double fluke rig (aka the Donkey rig) turned vertically.  This double-drop shot set up is nothing new to fishing.  Salt water fisherman have been using a multi-hook drop shot rig since the 1950's.  In fact, many fishermen put way more than two hooks on.  It's not uncommon to see a string of ten or more hooks.  This was an easy way to determine the depth of the fish long before quality sonar units were widely available.  Here's a simple little diagram of the double-drop shot:

There's a lot going wrong with this simple little set up.  First of all, baitfish typically won't position themselves right on top of each other like this, it's just not a very natural presentation.  Secondly, the baits will not work independently of each other.  When you shake the rod tip, those little worms will be dancing as one like a couple of synchronized swimmers, not natural.  And lastly, what if you catch two fish?  (And if you fish this rig enough, it will happen.).  They will be fighting against each other with only about 18 inches of line separating them.  With no way to keep tension on the lower one, you will be lucky to only lose one fish!  So how do we fix these issues and rig this up as a bass killin' machine?  Enter: The Donkey.

What you will need:

Two finesse worms (4-inch Cactus Wren Quail Tails)

Two dropshot hooks (Size 1 Gamakatsu Octopus Hooks)

Two swivels

One dropshot weight

One clear glass bead

Step 1: 

Tie two leaders to each of the swivels.  One leader should be longer than the other, about 16 inches and 24 inches should work well.  You don't have to tie the leaders first, but I do it in this order so that I can use a palomar knot for all my connections.

Step 2:

Thread onto the main line the shorter of the two leaders (do not tie that swivel to the main line, just thread it on and leave it).  Then thread on the clear glass bead.  Once those are in place, tie your longer of the two leaders onto the mainline using a palomar knot and trim off the tag end.  What you have now is two leaders coming from the main line, the shorter leader should be on top and can freely move up and down the main line.

The purpose of the glass bead is two-fold.  It will click against the swivels attracting schooling fish to the area, but more importantly it helps protect the knots used on the swivels. 

Step 3:

Tie on one of the hooks to the shorter leader.  This half is done.  The worm you put on this hook is essentially a weightless worm that will subtly sink and glide over the top of a standard drop shot rig.

Step 4:

On your longer leader, tie up a drop shot as you normally would.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, click the link over to the right and read my post about the drop shot rig.

Step 5:

Take a second to make sure that the top leader is short enough that the hook can't reach to the lower hook.  If it's too long, just cut it off and retie it closer to the swivel.  This top leader can't be too short in my opinion, it's just difficult to tie a hook on a short line is all.

Step 6:

I nose hook my worm 90% of the time on a normal drop shot.  With this rig it's 100% of the time.  I recommend only using this rig in open water, there's just too much going on, it will snag and get wrapped up very easily in any cover.  Since you're in open water, you won't have issues with snags anyway and the nose hook will give your worms much better action.

Step 7:

I always start with two different colors, and I'd suggest putting your confidence color on the bottom as it will typically be the higher producer.  If you find that one color is producing much better, switch the other to that one too for your best chance.

Step 8:

Fish this rig the same way you would any old drop shot.  Basically you are fishing a drop shot and weightless rig at the same time, and if you read my previous posts, you'll know I fish those two rigs the same way anyway!  As I mentioned before, I only throw this in open water as it's just too easy to get all that stuff tangled up in cover.  If the fish are actively schooling and chasing down baitfish, open water is where they are going to be anyway.

When you get bit, it's even more important to reel down until you feel the weight of the fish.  If the fish took the upper worm, you need to make sure that the top swivel is in contact with the glass bead and bottom swivel or you will not get hook penetration on the hook set.

Step 9:

After the hookset, keep your line tight but don't bring him in right away.  Let him swim around out there for a bit dragging that other worm behind him.  That's how you're going to catch two fish at once.  Think about how many times you've caught a fish and as you bring him to the boat you see two or three of his buddies following right behind.  With this rig, that fish is going to be caught too!

This is Franklin.  He liked the Donky Shot

         Have you tried the Donkey Shot, or a similar approach?  Tell us about it down in the comments, and if you try it for the first time from reading this, let us know how you did!