Turkey alternatives I guess:
Is fishin’ tough in cold water? You bet. Do you increase your chances to ketch ’em with an A-rig? Yep, and I believe this’n is the most-bought one because it’s so easy to cast. But you still need to figure out how the fish want it (speed, pausing, etc.). Here’s the best gear to fish it with:
Of course, YUM recommends the Pulse or Money Minnow swimbaits.
> Brandon Palaniuk: “One thing to keep in mind while fishing the AGB is versatility. Don’t be afraid to throw it where you would throw traditional baits like spinnerbaits, crankbaits and jerkbaits. Many times a big-profile bait like that will get a reaction from a bass that wouldn’t normally commit to anything. Experiment with locations and retrieves, but be careful…it’s addicting!”
Here’s the vid with Brandon — love how he can make the bait rotate back on itself:
Mike Bucca knows a thing or two about shad swimbaits. I hear he sometimes dreams he’s a shad swimbait then wakes up when a bass is about to eat him. Or maybe I dreamed that…. Anyhow check the action:
CatchCo is sellin’ a pile of ’em so what does that tell you — fish don’t lie mang! Get it at the TW.
4.5″, 5/8-oz and a 5/0 hook that’ll hook you when you watch this less than 1-min vid:
If you’re gonna throw at ’em his time of year, you know the bass — most of ’em — probably are gone fropm the creeks and skinny water, and are piled up lotsa times on secondary and main-lake points. Here’s one way to smack those suckers — little tip from Yo-Zuri bass-head Theron Asbery:
> These points have the largest congregation of chunk rocks and bluffs, and the key here is those rocks hold heat.
> The best days I’ve ever had on the water with a Rattl’N vibe were cloudy, overcast days with water temperatures between 56-53.
> …gold in sunny conditions, chrome/blue on cloudy days, and crawfish is a staple color I always have on the deck. Crawfish are the #1 food source for bass around the bluff walls and chunk rock. Crawfish live there year-round, and I’m a firm believer that a bass will gorge on a crawfish when the water is cold before having to chase a baitfish.
> Presentation is the biggest key to making this bite happen. The fish are so lethargic this time of year you literally have to hit them in the head to get them to eat. You want to parallel the bank as close as you possibly can — the best days I’ve had on the water doing this technique I could touch the rocks with my rod tip.
> The second thing is you want to make cast after cast after cast. At the risk of losing your bait, bumping the Vibe into the rocks and working it over them can produce the best bites.
His gear: 7′ MH rod (“I prefer a shorter rod for making more accurate casts”), 6.4:1 reel, 14-lb Yo-Zuri TopKnot 100% Fluorocarbon.
Unfortunately, Brandon Palaniuk’s and Chris Zaldain’s experiments/results with swimbaits, glide baits n such are forcing me outta my “topwater-crankbait-jig-plastics” comfort zone, so these are on my list of stuff I wanna buy/try next season:
Top to bottom:
Lunker City Grubster (cinnamon pro blue) — That paddletail looks different to me. Can get it in 2″, 2.75″, 4″.
Venture Lures Steady Swimmer (alewife) — Hand-poured, 2.75″ and 3.25″.
10,000 Fish Shimmer Swimmer (glass) — 3.5″, apparently best on a round-ball jighead.
Beast Coast Miyagi Swimmer (violet threadfin) — Digging what I’m SEEing from Beast Coast but haven’t fished their stuff yet. This bait’s 4.75″ and TW says “pedal-powered pouring pots” in the description so….
Biwaa SubMission Shad (AR Shiner) — 4″ and 5″, has a belly slit.
MC Swimbaits Weedless Swimbait (green shad) — 6″, hook pocket, says it’s basically weedless at any speed?
Megabass Spark Shad (albino) — 3″, 4″, 5″ and 7″ of Chris Zaldain brainwashing of the basses and us — dang it Zaldain!
Phenix LA Slider (stock trout) — 5.5″ so the same size as the trout that fly-feeshers catch out here in the east lol, but looks reeeeeal tasty to bass I bet.
