Featured Stories

Learn about the Norman Speed N Jr and its important role for spring bass fishing.

Reeling slowly to tiptoe my bait through the shallow wood I was feeling, I knew my Speed N Jr was in a good place – on the outer edge of what looked like an ideal spawning pocket. When the bait stopped wiggling and began moving sideways on its own, I set the hook with a satisfied smile. When the fish pulled back and I could feel that it was a good one, I’m certain the smile widened.

It was my first time fishing with the new Norman Speed N Jr – maybe my fourth or fifth cast – and the bait performed exactly as intended, deflecting shallow cover, and appealing to a stout spring bass. I was near a parking area at a small public fishing lake that gets a lot of use, fishing a pretty pocket where the bass undeniably see a LOT of lures.

Let’s take a closer look at the Speed N Jr, considering why it was created and how to use it to catch more bass.

Choosing the right crawfish lure and presentation can trigger great days of catching many different types of fish from creeks and rivers.

“Cast across the creek and a little upstream and reel back steadily, reeling just fast enough to feel the crawfish wobble.”

I’ve given that instruction to all my children and to many friends over the years when we’ve stepped into a creek or river and I’ve handed off a lightweight spinning or spincasting combination. The instruction has been the same because the lure has been the same: a Rebel Crawfish.

Depending on the stream and season, the target species might have been rainbow, brown or brook trout or smallmouth, shoal or redeye bass. Or, we might have been fishing for whatever bit and expecting a nice variety. The Rebel Crawfish excels for all of the above. I commonly choose this bait when I’m taking someone fishing because of the ease of use and effectiveness. It isn’t only for teaching, though. It is also the lure I tie on for the broadest range of stream applications and species.

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.

Spring weather can throw curveballs to crappie fishermen. Here’s how to adjust and catch crappie despite ever-changing conditions.

There’s truth to an old English Proverb that brings hope this time of year to the hearts of crappie fishermen everywhere. . . “No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.”

Sure, you can catch crappie throughout the year, but there’s something extra nice about spring crappie fishing. The weather is warming, the trees are beginning to bud, and the slabs are hungry and moving up to spawn.

But it’s not all a bed of roses. Spring crappie fishing also including rising water, falling water, bizarre cold fronts and those ever-present in-like-a-lion winds that can blow even the best-planned trips up onto the bank.

Learn from an in-the-boat account of how Jason Christie attacked an Elite Series tournament day on Florida’s Harris Chain.

I couldn’t sleep! The last time I had been so excited was before fishing my first bass club tournament as a teenager. This time, I had been selected to participate in the BASS Marshal program for the BASS Elite Series Tournament on the Harris Chain of Lakes in Central Florida.

For the first day of the tournament, I had been selected to participate as a Marshal with none other than BOOYAH Pro, Jason Christie. Christie is known as being a quiet but intense competitor. That was fine by me as I am a quiet person, and I knew I would enjoy watching him break down the waters in his own way.

Learn about the YUM Bait Company lures that made a critical difference in the Bassmaster Classic for Jason Christie, Stetson Blaylock and Luke Palmer.

If you watched the Bassmaster Classic weigh-in and were paying attention during the final portion, you heard the name YUM repeatedly. There is good reason for that, and not just one of anglers thanking sponsors. YUM Baits were critical to the strategies of three of the top six finishers in this year’s classic, including Bassmaster Classic Champion Jason Christie.

Let’s take a closer look at the YUM Baits Jason Christie, Stetson Blaylock and Luke Palmer used for their top finishes, examining why they chose these baits and how they used them.

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.

Warming water temperatures prompt crappie migrations toward spawning areas. Learn how to find and catch spring crappie.

When crappie initiate their move toward spawning areas, anglers from Oklahoma to Connecticut head to the lake!

The primary pre-spawn and spawn trigger is water temperature. Across the country, crappie pre-spawn movements begin when water temperatures approach 50 degrees, with crappie moving to staging areas close to spawning flats and banks. When the shallows maintain a temperature close to 60 degrees for several days, bedding may begin. Nests are constructed moderately firm bottoms, generally in protected areas. This yearly ritual may begin as early as February in the Southern states or as late as early July in states along the Canadian border.