a Pitch, a Punch & a Flip

You may not agree with me, but where I come from there are a awful lot of similarities between pitching, punching and flipping. A lot the same baits and terminal tackle can be used for each, and sometimes it just comes down to where you are and what kind of water you are about to launch your bait into.

Lets start off with terminology,( since in different region each can mean something slightly different) today Im talking about flipping, pitching and punching Texas rigged baits only, so get the bulky jigs out of your head. When i say pitching or flipping, im talking about the throwing baits in and around cover and structure. A quiet approach of slipping my bait into areas that I hope is holding fish. Now when I say punching! Im talking about the art of punching my bait through the thick slop or matted weed beds. This approach is not so stealthy as the other method but it does require accuracy and patience.. now that we have that out of the way...

As with all techniques gear, terminal tackle and bait are all very important and each angler will argue a case of each of them being more important than the other. For me they are all equally important.


Rod &Reel Lets start of with your rod and reel. For the rod i like to go with something atleast 7ft in length a MH rod with a F to XF tip. This is a great rod size for flipping and pitching. If the rod was only for punching, then i may opt up to a H rod over the MH. As for the reel, you need something with cranking power that picks up line quick. I use a Shimano Curado 300 series.  Everyone has their own preference in brands so I wont be insulted if you choose a Quantum

Line When it comes to these techniques you really have two choices.. braid, or braid with a leader.  The leader may come in handy in clear water situations but for most of the lakes i fish, i can get away with using straight braid. On average I will spool up with 50-65lb Power Pro, this season Im giving the new Suffix 832 a shot as well. There are many quality braids on the market so choose one you like, because at $20 or more a spool you don’t want to be throwing any away. 

Tip: If not using a leader when pitching and flipping you can use a marker to darker the line. This will allow you to get away with higher vis line. This tip is shared by many of the pro’s so I don’t think it will be news to you.


Hooks You want something sharp, and you want something strong.. Im guessing this is not news to you either. There is always debate over wide gap off set hooks over standard hooks. I use the standard hook for punching; I don’t need anything making it harder for my bait to slide through the slop. For pitching and flipping I still use a wide gap in most situations. You cant go wrong with Gamakatsu hooks, i carry both the standard and lighter gauge wire, in both red and nickel. 

Tip: Try new hooks when they hit the market. Purchasing a pack of hooks is relatively inexpensive. Even if you are happy with your current brand it is a good idea to see what’s out there, see with different options are available. You may be surprised and find something that improves your hook-up ratio or presents you bait a little differently.


Bullet Weights 
This is a vastly changing and growing market. With the introduction of Tungsten it has allowed for smaller and stealthier presentations. But tungsten is not the only change, weights went from being pegged or screwed down to being insert free and bobber stopped?  If you had looked at my collected of bullet weights 2 years ago you would have seen nothing but screw down weights with an insert. Now you will find insert free tungsten weights and a collection of rubber bobber stops. These new options still provide the snug fit of a pegged weight but do less damage to your plastic bait. If you are flipping and pitching you can ease up and leave a bit more play and when punching you can increase the pressure and keep the weight firmly on the head of the bait.

Baits

Here is where things start to veer indifferent directions.  Im not going to get into specific baits, but more styles of baits. I run with three styles.. Small (compact), medium (a bit of bulk) and large (bulky). If Im flipping and pitching I will usually opt for the medium to large baits. I don’t need to sneak into smaller holes and the bulky baits can ensure Im seen and seen quickly. When punching I tend towards the small baits.. remember small does not mean short! a 8in worm may still be small, since the thin profile allows me to get it into holes without hanging up. Each of these baits will cover a variety of areas and it all comes down to what the fish want.

I did not cover the skirt aspect of punching since this is something I have never tried. It is not a common method if my area , we stick to punching baits and leave the shirts on our jigs

So as you can see a few simple baits, a hook and a bullet weigh make up the key to all three of these techniques. Each may have it's suble differences, but if you have all of thee above, but sure to give each method a try.. you will catch more fish

Living Rubber Mop Jigs are Mopping up the competition

Mop jigs have been on the market and anglers radars for a few seasons now. These bulky wide bodied hand tied jigs made primarily of living rubber have been winning tournaments and adding a new dimension to a jig fisherman’s  arsenal. Living rubber lives up to its name and makes your jig move in the water with no action required from the angler, it takes longer to settle when sitting on the bottom and produces a slow fall action as well as some bubbles in the water  

Here are three Living  rubber jigs that any jig fisherman should have in his back pocket   

1)      Buckeye Mop Jig
The Mop jig by buckeye is really the founding father of the Mop jig or living rubber jig.  Rumour has it the phrase Mop jig was coined by KVD when he saw Davy Hite using it and said “that think looks like a mop head” or something similar. Buckeyes mop jig comes with a standard swim style head or a foot ball head. It is equipped with a double rattle a mustad hook.  The Mop jigs stands up well in the water and the living rubber takes time to settle giving the jigs a great motion in the water. Available in 9 colors and 4 weight sizes, you can pretty much find a mop jig for any situation 

2)      Booyah Alton Jones A-Jig 
This was the first living rubber jig I purchased. I’m a fan of Booyah products and of Alton Jones, so it was a no brainer to give this Jig a try. Like the mop jig the this jig is made of living rubber with some silicone accents to add color. It is hand tied and comes equipped with a 5/0 hook. The living rubber strands are thicker then those used on the buckeye jig and may give the bait a fuller look. It is only available in the swim style head, but comes in 6 color options and 3 weight choices. Like all Booyah jigs it is a quality product .

3)      Shibui Ookii Living Rubber by Talons 
In my opinion this is the most unique living rubber jig on the market. It is a huge jigs with extra long skirt and contains both living rubber as well as silicone. Unlike other living rubber jigs this one is designed to also stand up, the living rubber strands never settle back down and are always in motion. You really have to see this jig in action to believe the profile. (see video below) This jig comes in 8 colors and 2 weight sizes. It has a larger head and is wrapped with copper wire to ensure the heavy skirt cane stay in place. 

You really can’t go wrong with any of these three jigs, and I recommend giving a few of them a try. You definitely  want to test out the Shibui Ooki  i have not seen much that can move like this jig in the water


here is a small kitchen made video to show this jig in motion

There's an advantage to Outdoor Advantage Lures

While surfing a fishing board a week or so back (www.ultimatebass.com) I came across a link for a company called “Outdoor Advantage Lures”. They are a mom & pop shop operation out of Illinois that is making tournament quality baits without the tournament quality price tag.

I was very impressed by the bait selection offered on their website as well as the cool color options available. Almost immediately I started filling up my shopping chart with a few baits that I just had to have. When i got to the check-out I was highly disappointed that the site did not allow me to ship my order into Canada. But because I was so interested in this product I dropped the company and line to see if they were willing to send some baits my way. Sure enough I got a quick response and they were happy to help me out. I placed my order via email and they send me a paypal money request, done and done... about a week later the baits are in my hand as I type... happy, yes I am.

Company Info:As mentioned above Outdoor advantage run out of Illinois and has been making quality baits since 2008. They specialize in hand poured plastic, you can buy right off the shelf or you can place special orders.. yes, Im talking about plastic baits made to order.
When you place an order with Outdoor Advantage lures, not only do you have a great color selection but they also offer a good selection of scents (anise, garlic, crawfish, earthworm, coffee, and more) and . Since you baits are made to order, you can also choose your scent of choice (Anise in case you’re wondering). (This added little or no time to the order I placed with them)

Website:

The website is user friendly and easy to use. They have a good base of baits available with a great color selection ( i think I said that already). The cool chart is helpful, it is not a small color swatch but a bait actually completed in the color you are looking at. I used it to choose all the colors I ordered. They have a featured section as well as a best sellers areas.. for my money head straight to the special order section, great concept and well executed
PayPal is available and those that know me know that thats a must. For Canadian customer as previously discussed you will have to email them to place an order, the site is not currently set-up to ship up north.

Product:

Here is where it gets good, and I don’t know why Im even sharing this with you guys.. Outdoor Advantage currently has 25 soft plastic bait variations.. Im not gonna name them all, so be sure to check out there site to see what they have. I will discuss the baits that caught my eye and made me place my order..

3” Chunk Craw - My goal this season is to throw jigs till I just cant throw no more, and these chunks are the perfect compact size, but till offer great motion in the water. Wide wings (claws) with a slight lip with give the bass fits. I picked these up in 3 color options (Copper Head, Spicy Shad & Brown Pumpkin w/blue).

3.5” Boss Frog - Im a frog lover and buy up every model I see. The boss frog has a firm body and fairly thick kicking or swimming legs.It is built with a nice slot to hold the hook in place and appears durable enough to hold up to a few fish. (i bought the frog in Copperhead)

Tip: Although I did not order any, Outdoor advantage has a cool option allowing you to “Go Green”, Green or recycled plastics are used to make the green series of frogs, the use a mix of plastics from other baits so you don’t get a color choice, but you will get a one of a kind “green” frog

The 4.2” Advantage Bug XTL is a very cool looking flipping bait. The body texture makes this bait stand out more then any other feature and the arms and legs ( i guess you can call them arms and legs?) are compact enough to slide through cover while still giving the bait a nice profile. When I saw the road kill color on the site I knew it would be perfect for this bait.

Customer Service:

As mentioned above the customer service has been great, they have been very friendly and helpfull in placing my first order with them, and placing an order that their system was not set-up to take in the first place. My order shipped and arrived fast (and correct) and as an added bonus I was provided 4 samples of other baits made by outdoor advantage.. this is a great idea, one of the samples provided is of their 3’ stick bait, this is something I would have never ordered sight unseen ( I have a hard time ordering 5’ senko style worms) but after holding it in my hands I do think there is a place for some in my arsenal

Price & Shipping

Averaging anywhere between $3.25 and $7 these baits are well priced and easy to want more of. Shipping was also reasonable and for the Canadian shopper you will be glad to know they shipped USPS and it still arrived in about a week.. Just an FYI I placed an order with another more well know tackle company and wait on average 3-4 weeks for my shipment to arrive.

Recommended: Hell yes, give these guys a try you will not be disappointed

Check them out at...http://www.outdooradvantagelures.com/

Allot of noise about a silent bait - KVD Square Bill

With the introduction of Strike Kings KVD square bill this season, there has been an awful lot of talk about this quiet little bait

I guess it did not hurt the Kevin Van Dam won the 2011 Bass Master Classic throwing this crank, but still is it all hype? Or is there something to this move to silence?

I wont claim to be extremely knowledgably when it comes to the perfect crank bait, but ever since I first asked the question “what makes a good crank bait?” One of the first responses iI always get is "noise!" They are loud and obnoxious, the make the bass angry and bully them into biting. Many companies are competing to make the loudest crank, (see Rapala Clack'n lures) so what made Strike King and KVD want to make the quietest crank?

Well as the saying goes “silence is golden”. A Silent crank such as the KVD square bill is great for sneaking up on shallow bass or surprising fish on those high pressured lakes . Fish get use to those loud rattles passing all day and if you want to entice them into biting you may have to show them something a little differen, wether that means wobble or noise, a little change is a good thing.

Maybe this is the start of a reversal of the rattle effect, years ago we started added more and more rattle to entice the fish and show them something different, now as they got use to our rattles, we are headed in the opposite direction and getting quieter and quieter.. It is kind of a yo-yo effect, what’s old is new and vice versa.

All joking aside like all KVD products the HC silent crank is a quality bait. Well made with a great finish, and decent hooks (although I find it funny that KVD changes out the hooks on his KVD designed Crank to KVD model hooks.. confused yet?). This bait has great motions in the water and gets to where it needs to be quick. I have made some room in my already crowded crank bait box for one of these and I’m looking forward to sneaking up on some bass this season with it.



Strike King KVD Square bill cranks can be found at most magor retailers on-line or at your local bait shop (if they are not already sold out.. KVD has that effect on baits). It comes in two sized a 1.5inch and a 2.5inch, both baits run from 3-6ft. These cranks are available in over 10 colors including Kevin's popular Sexy Shad color. On average these cranks are priced from $5-$6 a bait

check out more info... http://www.strikeking.com/

Slipping Crappies on & under the Dock

I know this blog is suppose to be all about bass fishing, but I love crappie season, as the weather starts to warm these golden beauties start to stack up and can be easily caught from the shore or boats alike. This past weekend I spent some time fishing with my father n law, doing what we love to do.. slip bobber for crappies.

Crappies are like most other pan fish or bass, in that as the weather warms they move up and in, and look for some nice shady spots to relax. This makes dock fishing for crappies a great way to fill your bucket.

First things first. Like with all types of fishing you need to get your gear right

Step 1: The Gear

Crappie fishing in my mind is a finesse style of fishing, long rods, light line and tiny baits. I use a 10ft pro crappie max rod from the BPS, I pair that with a Okuma Stinson reel. My line of choice is 4-6lb Crappie line from the BPS in either the yellow or camo pink (who knew)

90% of the time I will be using a crappie tube and slip bobber when fishing the docks. If the bite slows or changes I will opt for a tiny spinner bait or a crappie sized crank bait. Those are both last resorts as the crappie tube is king when it come to flipping docks

For a slip bobber I have been using the Wally Marshall series from the BPS, they are a high vis bobber with a weighted end. The small weigh on the tip of the bobber allows for longer casts while still keeping your tube size to a minimum.


Step 2: The Approach

When in a marina or a boat launch with many dock slips, the goal is to hit as many sides and angles of the dock without spooking the crappie for underneath it. Try to avoid walking on the docks if possible, and never walk on an un-fished dock.

I start off flipping to the tip and sides of the first dock from well back. Once they have been fished I move in and flip under the dock. Once confident I have fished the first dock, I may walk on it to hit the tips of the surrounding docks. Depending on how spooky the fish are I may wait till all docks have been fished prior to walking on any of them.

The goal is to keep you bait suspended with the slip bobber, I like to leave at least a foot if not 2 where applicable. If Im not getting the bites, I may raise or lower my bobber. I usually find a clear test spot to drop my bobber and see how close to the bottom my bait is sitting. This is a good gauge.

I find the key to slip bobber and tube fishing is to keep them moving. Small drags or twitches work wonders. On some days they will chase you done and on others you will need to be subtle.



Step 3: Switch it up

As mentioned above nothing will work all the time. So be prepared to switch things up, wether that means a new color, or removing the bobber and bottom dragging, or going to something like a crappie tube or crank.

Also.. be prepared, just because you are throwing small tubes to panfish does not mean you wont run into a monster. I have caught a few bass over 5lbs while crappie fishing a tube.

The case of the Mysterious Transporter frog by Paycheck

As any one who has read some of my other blogs can easily tell, Im one frog loving fisherman. There is nothing I enjoy more then throwing a frog, watching an eruption and then dragging heavy fish out of even heavier slop... That being said a close second would be buying and testing new frog baits. Each season the frog market grows with newer and cooler products hitting the shelf..(and some not so cool)

This season I have already added a few new frogs to my arsenal, including the Spro King Daddy, a pair of Live Target Hollow Bodies, the Scum Frog dog walker, (and some hard body LIve Target walkers) but nothing could prepare me for the "Transporter frog" by Paycheck.

Who are they kidding, calling this bait a frog, other then the traditional hollow body and some long leg strands there is not much "froggy" about this bait. The long slender body with a set of legs and a smaller set of arms it looks more like a mythical creature then a frog. With legs, arms and a popper, this "frog" (and I use the term loosely) is a multi weapon tool that allows you to walk the dog, slow drag and pop it.

Although Im not a fan of popping hollow bodies, I do like to have the ability to walk the dog and with the short arms it may help cause comotion and to draw out your retrieve while dragging over the pads. The Transporter's body is balanced to lay flat and give the bait a large profile in the water. Personally I do like the hind end of a frog bait to sit a bit in the water, so this is a downfall ton this bait. The long body sitting up in the water column may hinder your hook-up ratio.

Paycheck has run the frog with some pretty cool color options, Even a sexy shad version. I do find the Belly colors are pretty standard, and I would not mind seeing a bit brighter colors available on the belly's. I went with the all white model to make it easy to see above and below the waterline. If you have not seen these up close and personal, they are worth a look. Im interested in seeing if the results transport some tournament cash into my pockets

To learn more check them out at http://paycheckbaits.com/the-transporter.html

these look to be popular baits, at the time of this posting all frogs are sold out

June Recipe: Cedar Wrapped Shrimp and Scallops

The first recipe I shared was a very fall or early winter theme to it. This one is all Spring/Summer. this is more of an appetiser or tapa, great with rice or grilled bread

3 x Jumbo Shrimps, you can flvour them how you like, but I like to use an Olive oil butter mix with some crushed garlic and fresh cilantro (raw unpeeled works best)

For the Scallops (3 x Sea Scallops) I like something with a stronger flavour, try marinating them in your favourite salsa or a blend of crushed tomatos, grilled peppers and garlic. Scallops dont need much time to marinate 30 minutes will do it

nstead of planking these guys, I decided to cedar wrap them. You can find these thin cedat papers in most butcher shops or BBQ specialty stores. They are quick and easy, they only need to be soaked for 10 minutes instead of 2 + hours for a plank. You will also want to soak the butcher string a bit to stop if from burning

The papers are just big enough for 3 x the Jumbo shrimp or 3 x Scallops. You can also mix and match (2 shrimp, 1 scallop) they should be layed on the paper so the wrap can be easily rolled




Once filled, give them a roll, the paper should over lap, and you can then use the butcher string to tie them up.

These do not take much time on the BBQ, heat it up to 400-500 degrees, place the wraps down shut them lid and leave them alone for 3 minutes. Then give them a flip and give them 3 more minutes on the other side. Keep the lid shut to keep the heat in. the wet wraps will pretect the seafood, but you need the high heat to cook them quick

Then depending on how you want to serve them, you can either keep them wrapped and serve them on a nice wook cutting board with the garlic toast....

Or if you are plating them, cut the string and plate them open on the paper

Enjoy, I know I did