Bass

Learn about the lures and approaches that helped Jason Christie win the 2022 Bassmaster Classic.

“Put your nose in the dirt and grind,” Jason Christie of Park Hill, Oklahoma said on the stage at the 2022 Bassmaster Classic, describing the approach that delivered his Classic victory. Christie had found one good group of deep fish and a few bass that were around docks, going into the world championship, but not much more. He found most of the fish he would bring to the scales as he fished, during the tournament, sticking with a pattern.

Christie, who entered the final day of the Bassmaster Classic with a lead for the third time in his career, caught 17 pounds 9 ounces on the final day, bringing his three-day total to 54 pounds and giving him the victory by five ounces. His winning weight was nearly four pounds heavier than those from any of the other three Classics held on Hartwell

A partnership between YUM Bait Company and Scottsboro Tackle Company delivers widespread availability of one of the most popular swimbait shapes ever created.

Scottsboro Tackle Company had a problem. A good problem, but a problem, nevertheless. Their exceptionally natural hand-poured swimbaits became so sought after among bass fishermen that they couldn’t produce the most popular sizes nearly fast enough! Scottsboro contacted YUM with a proposal of YUM producing injection molded swimbaits, using Scottsboro’s exact shape, to deliver outstanding swimbaits for bass to far more anglers and at a reduced cost.

We’ll look at 2022 Bassmaster Classic site and its bass fishery and consider lures and techniques that are apt to prevail.

In two weeks, 56 of the top bass anglers in the world will compete on Lake Hartwell for title of Bassmaster Classic champion and the $300,000 first prize. It will be the fourth time the Bassmaster Classic has been held at Lake Hartwell, a 56,000-acre impoundment of the Savannah River that straddles the Georgia/South Carolina border.

We’ll examine bass fishing on Lake Hartwell, considering the lake’s makeup, the bass population and the forage base. We’ll also consider the timing of this year’s world championship and how that is likely to affect the fishing.

Early spring can be a spectacular time to fish for bass, IF you choose the best approaches. Learn the lures Jason Christie considers essential for this time of year.

Early spring is Jason Christie’s favorite time of the year to fish. The bass tend to be shallow, and the pre-spawn is an outstanding time to catch big bass. Conditions can vary substantially, though, so it’s important to be equipped for the vast range of situations that might be encountered.

We asked Christie to share his top early spring bass baits. As importantly as revealing specific lure choices, Christie shared why he chose each of his top early spring bass baits and discussed the situations that call for each, along with sharing insights on fishing these lures for pre-spawn bass.

YUM Bait Company is releasing 25 custom YUM Dingers colors that the fish have never seen. Learn more!

Sometimes a wild looking soft plastic color gets the nod, especially during the spawn. The answer for this equation is the new pattern Jello Shot. This delicious looking color features a deep red tint with added dark blue and black flake to cause any wayward bass to stop and stare.

Money is money, right? Right! This baby looks just like freshly minted green money, which is exactly what you will earn if you toss this Dinger in a tournament one Saturday morning this Spring.

Jello Shot and Money are two of 25 YUM Dinger custom colors that have been created by YUM Bait Company and released on Lurenet.com. Custom colors fill situational niches and allow you to show fish something they’ve never seen. The custom soft plastic bait program is beginning with the 5-inch YUM Dinger, YUM’s most popular bait. Rest assured, though, that more fabulous colors in other YUM baits will follow.

Learn about different Pop-R models and when to use each to maximize success.

You know the Rebel Pop-R. It’s the most iconic popper in the fishing world, a name commonly used to reference various poppers and the unofficial template for many other popping lures.

You may not realize that the Rebel Lures makes several different Pop-R models, all with much in common but each a little different. We’ll look at all the Pop-Rs and dig into how each is distinctive to help you pick the perfect Pop-R for any given situation.

It’s no longer the talk of the tackle world, but the umbrella rig remains the hottest rig going for bass during the cold-water months.

Baits and rigs come and go.

A flashy new lure floods the market during the bloom of popularity. A few years later, it suffers the fate of fashion, tucked away in a forgotten bait tray.

Such seems the fate of the umbrella rig to many bass anglers who invested heavily in these odd-looking contraptions during the multi-rig heyday but seldom give them a second thought today. 

Not so for Tennessee River guide and bass pro Jimmy Mason, who has never confused fashion with effectiveness.

Late fall, when the mats on grass lakes begin breaking up, is prime time call up big bass with a frog. Read on for expert advice on frog fishing from a veteran bass guide.

“You saw where that was, right?” Jimmy Mason asked, as he reeled his frog quickly away from where a bass had just blasted through the milfoil but missed his bait. “Cast right into the blowhole.”

I followed instructions and happily hit the mark because the bass slurped down my frog almost before it landed. I set the hook hard and then reeled steadily to get the fish turned my way before it dug any deeper in the thick stuff. Soon after I was lip landing 3 1/2 pounds of Lake Guntersville largemouth and another pound or two of vegetation. We kept working the same area and caught three more solid frog bass before returning to search mode.

There are few ways to catch bass that are more fun than casting a BOOYAH Pad Crasher across big mats of vegetation and prompting bass to bust through the grass. Anticipation stays high, especially on a lake like Guntersville, where you know that any bass that explodes on your frog could be a legitimate heavyweight.

Learn winning swim jig strategies for autumn bass fishing from two anglers who have been swimming jigs for many years.

Fall is generally a disjointed time, with bait schools on the move and bass hot on their heels. Action can occur just about anywhere, so anglers need a bait that goes just about anywhere. For such autumn diversity, it’s hard to beat a BOOYAH Mobster swim jig.

“It’s always on my deck because I’m going to throw it around any piece of wood, any dock, any piece of cover that I think the fish may be relating to,” said Oklahoma pro Brent Haggard. “It’s such a huge part of fall fishing, I always have several tied on.”

Chad Warner, Director of Product Development for BOOYAH Bait Company agrees and notes that the swim jig easily earns a spot in his top five fall offerings.