Fishing a single swimbait can be absolutely deadly almost anytime of year. They excel due to their ability to closely match up with the favorite forage of bass, shad and minnows. This is from their plastic composition and action, but they are also a great choice because of their ease of fishability, in most cases anglers can simply cast and wind to catch fish.
the key lures Jason Christie used to win the April 7-10 Elite Series event on Lake Chickamauga.
That’s the same jig and trailer that was one of the two primary lures he used to win the Bassmaster Classic on Lake Harwell last month. It’s also the same jig Christie put near the top of his list Top 10 Late Spring Bass Bait Picks AND Top 10 Early Spring Bass Bait Picks prior to that.
At Chickamauga, Christie also used a 1/2-ounce single Colorado BOOYAH Covert Series Spinnerbait in Blue/White/Chartreuse with a YUM Swim’n Dinger as a trailer, and a bladed jig. Christie designed the Covert Series, hand picking components and every size, blade configuration and color combination in the series based on a lifetime of customizing and fishing spinnerbaits and the collective knowledge of Christie, his father and his uncles.
Spring awakens exciting topwater bass fishing opportunities, and a Pop-R is ideal for igniting the action in many situations.
Spring means different things to different people. Some think about baseball, azaleas blooming or the Masters. In the minds of many bass fishermen, springtime is Rebel Pop-R time.
Bassmaster Elite Series pro Stetson Blaylock is one such angler. He has fished a Rebel Pop-R during the pre-spawn and spawning periods for many years, and a few springs back a Pop-R delivered him 1st and 2nd place finishes in consecutive Elite Series events.
It’s not that a Rebel Pop-R doesn’t produce excellent action all summer and through the fall. It does. Spring has extra virtues that make it especially good, though, along with being the time when the Pop-R bite first heats up each year.
Learn when topwater bass fishing calls for a finesse approach and how to downsize effectively to catch more fish.
I’ve fished the Zara Puppy for many years. It stands as one of my favorite topwater bass fishing lures for catching smallmouths and spots from creeks and small rivers. I’ve rarely tied one on to target bass in large rivers or lakes, though, because the Pup lacks the weight to cast efficiently on the tackle I favor for those settings and because the hooks and hardware are a bit small for bigger bass.
I typically choose a Super Spook Jr when I want to walk the dog for bass with a finesse topwater lure in bigger water, and often the Junior size provides the perfect answer. At times, though, I’ve wished I’d had even more of a finesse topwater lure that still could be cast efficiently and that was made as tough as the Super Spook Jr.
Seemingly, I was not alone. The folks at Heddon Lures heard about the need for such a topwater bass fishing lure enough times over the years to put engineers to work designing a new Spook. The result was the creation of the Super Spook Boyo, which is only 3 inches long but is built tough like the other Super Spooks.
Spring can be an unpredictable time for bass fishing, but the big bass action can be outstanding. Here’s how to pick the proper crankbait to maximize your success.
Catching bass on crankbaits in spring is one of the most fun and successful techniques when fish are on the move. Whether bass are in transition to shallow water, amid the spawn, or hanging around cover to feed, throwing the best crankbaits for spring bass fishing will keep your line tight.
Crankbaits come in a variety of sizes and shapes to mimic baitfish, bluegills, perch and crayfish. The shape and size of the crankbait’s bill will help it stay shallow or dive to specific depths. The bill’s shape might also help it deflect more easily off wood or rock cover and may impart different action to the bait during the retrieve. A crankbait is designed with specific degrees of angle to the bill, body shape, position of the hooks, eye-screw and split ring for the line, and how water flows over it during the retrieve.
Learn about the best lures for late spring bass fishing from 2022 Bassmaster Classic champion Jason Christie.
Late spring is a fun time to fish for bass. Many fish are shallow and active, and it’s an outstanding time to target large bass. It’s also a complex time, arguably more so than early spring, because you find fish in pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn modes this time of year – sometimes all at once on the same lake.
We decided to leave nothing to chance for fishing this time of year and got top picks for late spring bass fishing directly from Jason Christie, who was considered one of the best bass anglers on the planet even before winning the 2022 Bassmaster Classic.
Learn about the jig that helped Jason Christie win the Bassmaster Classic and how he used it.
Jason Christie said before the 2022 Bassmaster Classic began that this year’s Classic might be won in 30 feet of water or less than 3 feet. He certainly proved that because his two-pronged Lake Hartwell approach, which he used throughout the event, included both. He began days fishing deep, putting fish in the box early, and spent the rest of his time fishing shallow with a War Eagle Jiu-Jigsu Jig.
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.
Learn how and where to fish lipless crankbaits to catch more bass this spring.
Cold water and lipless crankbaits. So wedded are these concepts that many anglers have missed out on the four-season versatility of these simple looking lures.
Of course, there’s no denying the deadly cold-water effectiveness of lipless crankbaits like the BOOYAH Hard Knocker and One Knocker and Cotton Cordell Super Spot. Travel bass waters anywhere when fishermen have donned their winter wear, and you’ll likely find these lures working overtime. Although lipless crankbaits will work their magic in the steamiest days of July, they seem to save their best performances for the chilly water period of from late fall to early spring.
Sometimes called rattle baits for the sounds they emit, lipless crankbaits make it easy for predators to know they are coming, and the fish can’t seem to resist them when they arrive. Do fish find that rattle an irritating alarm? A wake-up call? A hunger inducer? A prelude to a satisfying meal? Who knows? Whatever the case, bass love them.
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.
Blade baits such as the Heddon Sonar and Spoons such as the War Eagle Jigging Spoon create flash, and flash is the key to catching lethargic bass in the dead of winter!
As we go through our blog today, I will highlight three factors of why these two wintertime lure selections create so much success. The first being the most obvious, the flash! The second is the subtle action in the drop or retrieve, and the third is understanding what bass and various types of shad are doing this time of year.
