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Murphy’s Law – Topwater Tip
Anyone fish topwater with braid? Ever have issues with the bait getting wrapped up in the line as soon as it hits the water, wasting a cast to a prime spot? Ever start walking your Ima Skimmer back to the boat, only to have the bait turn TOO much and get caught on one of the treble hooks?
If so, here’s a little tip: Use a fluorocarbon leader when fishing topwater, just two feet. The more rigid fluorocarbon line will allow the bait to straighten out the line and prevent that wrapping around the treble hooks. It will also allow you to work the bait (walking, popping) without causing there bait to overturn and have those treble hooks get caught up in your line, as straight braid is known to do. A short fluorocarbon leader will also add the benefits of hiding your line from the fish, while being short enough not to sink the line.
I use USA Toray Fishing Line Bawo Superhard Premium Plus Fluorocarbon leader section on every braid application I throw, with the exception of frogs, which aren’t affected by a straight braid connection (no trebles). Braid to fluoro connections are simple using an Alberto knot, and the knot has near 100% strength. If you haven’t used an Alberto knot before, here’s a great video on BassEast.com from the guy who taught it to me, Justin Lucas. With Topwater baits, I’m using 22# Bawo Finesse Braid with a two foot section of 16# Bawo Superhard Premium Plus Fluorocarbon leader. Using smaller diameter braid when throwing topwater allows you to cast a MILE, and that short leader section minimizes any of the issues associated when mixing braided line with treble hooks.
Its important to remember with this setup, you have little to no stretch in the line, so its paramount to ensure you have a rod with a softer tip, not only to maximize the action of your bait, but to keep you from ripping hooks out of the fish’s mouth when one blows up on your bait. I use the Denali Rods Michael Murphy Jerkbait/Topwater rod for 90% of my topwater applications – the other 10% are frogs, and the Denali Rosewood Frog rod is the perfect choice – flexible tip, lots of backbone to haul bigger fish out of grass, and a short butt section, allowing me to work the bait unobstructed.
Topwater techniques have some of the most exciting strikes from all species, especially bass – hope these tips help you land more fish!
What’s Key for Hite
Attention to detail is a key ingredient for a successful day on the water. Unfortunately some anglers invest little thought when it comes to selecting fishing line. For Professional Anglers like Sunline Pro Brett Hite, fishing line is serious business.
Following his season opening triumph at the Walmart FLW Tour Event on Lake Okeechobee, Hite visited with BassEast to discuss how his line selection contributed to his success at the Big O. “Line is crucial and you don’t want to have a problem with it,” advised Hite. “So much of fishing is confidence, I don’t want to second guess myself. I have confidence in Sunline, this allows me to focus 100 percent on fishing.”
Hite’s primary pattern involved winding a 3/8oz. Chatterbait Elite dressed with a Yamamoto Swimming Senko over submerged grass. Over the course of his career Hite has mastered the technique of fishing with a bladed swimjig. Hite has a preference for using 20lb. Sunline Super FC Sniper Fluorocarbon in combination with a heavy action glass rod. “Sniper casts great and has just the right amount of stretch,” said Hite. “A bass can generate a lot of leverage with a bladed swimjig, so having a glass rod and line with a small amount stretch is important. I have lots of confidence in Sniper.”
As a follow up to the Chatterbait, the Arizona pro, utilized a swim jig finished with a Swimming Senko trailer. Hite opted for 20lb. Sunline Shooter Fluorocarbon. “Many swim jigs are made for use with braid and have stout hooks,” said Hite. “I use Shooter because it has less stretch than Sniper. I also use a heavy action graphite rod to ensure a strong hookset.”
On Day 3, Hite made the key decision to go to his back up punch bite. He employed a 1.5oz Tungsten weight, a Gamakatsu Heavy Cover Hook and a Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog tied to 60lb. FX2 Sunline braided line. FX2 is the perfect line for the punch technique It has excellent handling properties. Manufactured with a tight circular weave, it will not dig into the reel spool and has excellent abrasion resistance, sensitivity and knot strength.
“Know your line and have confidence in your choices,” tipped Hite. “When there is money on the line there is no doubt that I will have Sunline on my reel.”
By Mark Fong
Photo: B.A.S.S
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Faircloth Adds Retirement National
Jasper, Tex – Bassmaster veteran and 2013 Elite Series champion Todd Faircloth has partnered with Retirement National for the 2014season. Retirement National offers retirement planning services from a big picture point of view to hardworking people throughout East Texas and Southwest Louisiana.
Retirement National really caters to the people who have worked hard and saved hard for their retirement. “Being a professional angler doesn’t come with a great retirement plan which is why I have relied on Retirement National to help me plan my retirement and future. This allows me to focus on what Ienjoy most – my family, fishing and being in the great outdoors,” Faircloth stated.
Retirement National, located in Nederland, Texas is happy to have Faircloth promoting their services. Clark Shofner of Retirement National said, “Todd is an incredible angler and is very wise with his money. When we looked at his situation we were able to put a retirement plan together thatgives Todd the confidence in his retirement and future he needs to allow him to focus on fishing. We were able to help Todd prepare for a retirement he can count on. We like to do business with people who are just like us. People who enjoy family, friends and the outdoors. This describes the fans and supporters of professional bass fishing, which makes partnering with Todd agreat opportunity for us. With Todd we know we have an outstanding person and angler supporting us and sharing his experiences around the country. We believe that can and will help other individuals find us for help in planning their retirement.”
Faircloth is off to an outstanding start to his 2014 season finishing 7th at the Bassmaster CLassic on Lake Guntersville, 2nd at the Elite Series opener on Lake Seminole in Georgia and 10th at St. John’s river in Florida. Faircloth continues his season next week at at the Elite Series Table Rock lake event in Branson, Missouri.
For more information on Retirement National, please visit http://retirementnational.com/.
Spring Lipless Cranking Tips
It’s no secret that lipless crankbaits are killer lures for prespawn bass. Amazingly, these obnoxiously colored and sounding lures have been catching big bass for decades, especially on grass lakes like Fork, Sam Rayburn, and Guntersville.
While lipless cranks produce a lot of strikes, they are notorious for fish swatting at them, following them, and worst of all, coming unhooked while fighting bass. To help correct these problems, following are a few tips on how to land more bites from one of my all-time favorite fishing techniques:
Bait: Lipless cranks are not a secret, so bass see a ton of them in the spring and quickly become conditioned to traditional baits, so new designs often catch more than old favorites. In the past couple of years, Lucky Craft introduced the RTO lipless cranks with a dying shimmy on the fall and a flat head that creates a wider wobble than most lipless cranks. In addition, they created a GP version of their very productive LV series of baits, with a small blade on the underside of the lure. The extra flash and clack of the blade as it falls gives bass a totally different look, sound, and feel.
Efficiency: Lipless cranks excel at both catching actively feeding fish and triggering inactive fish to bite, especially when ticking or ripped free from grass. Simply put, the more water you cover with them in a day, the more bass you’ll put your bait in front of and the more bites you’ll get. It’s not simply a matter of the number of total casts in a day though. A retrieve that comes back to the boat with grass all over your bait is a wasted cast, and it hurts your efficiency. Rigging correctly to consistently tear the bait cleanly from submerged vegetation is imperative to maximize your success.
Rod: Fiberglass rods maximize your landing percentage with lipless cranks because the slow bend allows bass to take the bait deeper and keeps them buttoned up when barely hooked. While I love the Dobyns 705CB GLASS for open water, the slow action of glass rods won’t rip cranks cleanly from grass as well as graphite. Furthermore, fiberglass has less feel, so your lipless crank is often substantially tangled in grass before you sense it, compounding the problem; therefore, I throw an 8’ Dobyns 804CB graphite cranking rod. This rod has a mod-fast tip action but a stout butt section—enough tip to let bass take the bait and keep them hooked, but plenty of power to rip baits free of hydrilla with a sharp wrist snap. Since lipless crank fishing is somewhat physically demanding, I also like the fact that this rod is well balanced and light, allowing me to fish it all day. Finally, the 8’ length allows for ultra-long casts to cover huge amounts of water.
Line: In open water, 12 to 20 lb fluoro matched with a fiberglass rod is a great setup. Fishing around grass though, braided line’s no stretch saws through grass and rips baits right out. Remembering that a bait fouled with grass is a wasted cast, being able to rip it free is key. Therefore, 50 to 65 lb braid is my choice around grass.
By Tom Redington
For more fish catching tips, check out my website www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com, or follow me at www.facebook.com/tomredingtonfishing and www.twitter.com/Tom_Redington .
Tom Redington is a FLW Tour pro, host of TV’s “Big Bass Battle” & a bass guide on Lake Fork. To make the most of your experience in the outdoors, he recommends the Boy Scouts of America, Lake Fork Trophy Lures, Dobyns Rods, Ranger Boats, Mercury Outboards, Diamond Sports Marine, Lucky Craft, Costa Sunglasses, Lowrance, & Power Poles.
KJ from the St Johns
Lucky Craft pro Kelly Jordon shows how to fish with the Lucky Craft KJ Flat at St. Johns River in Spring. The KJ FLAT Series is another high quality Lucky Craft bait. Featuring a circuit board lip the KJ FLAT Series is extremely effective with short casts because it starts moving immediately when entering the water. A tighter, faster action than the round-side series makes the Flat Series perfect for the moving water of rivers and tidal systems.
Get all your Lucky Craft here.