We awarded a Lews Mach Speed Stick and 2 -$25 Academy Gift cards at the Murray Fall Final! Thanks to Lews and Academy Sports for the support!
Also the Carolinas Bass Challenge will have the 1st 2020 Qualifier at Lake Murray Feb 8th! $10,000 1st Place!
www.carolinasbasschallenge.com
This has been our best Lake Murray Fall Trail in the past 3 years! For the 2020 Fall Lake Murray Trail we will keep the Qualifier entry fee at $60 and the Final at $120 because it worked so well! We paid back over $10,000.00 in the Fall on Lake Murray and over $30,000.00 for the year! The 2020 Spring Lake Murray schedule is posted!
Johnny Mayer & Chris Epting win the Fall Lake Murray Final with a limit of bass weighing up at 24.00 lbs! They also took the Lews BF at 6.90 lbs which earned them a Lews Mach Speed Stick! Plus they took home the Bonus $. All total in cash and prizes they collected $2,225.00!
Travis England & Chris Marshall finished 2nd with 23.90 lbs! Another great bag of Lake Murray Bass!
Ronnie Mueller was 3rd with 18.89 lbs!
Gavin & Travis Parrish took 4th with 17.12 lbs!
John Ray & Zak Martin received 2- $24 Academy Gift Cards for their 6th place finish with 15.69 lbs!
It’s been an unusual decade on and off the water. Personally, I caught some personal bests, fished more lakes than I can count, and met amazing people along the way.
As an industry, we’ve seen new anglers, platforms, techniques, and companies (shoutout MTB) emerge over the last ten years that have truly changes the game. However, as anglers, the end-goal remains the same. And it’s simple. We just want to catch fish.
With that being said, here are our 8 favorite bass fishing lures or techniques that have emerged over the last ten years.
The Ned Rig
The Ned Rig was invented by Ned Kehde long ago, this little finesse set-up has really blown up over the last decade. Originally designed for Midwestern finesse fishing applications, the Ned Rig is now one of the best-producing baits for clear water bass.
The Ned Rig has spread like wildfire among bass anglers which has led companies (like us) to create ned rig terminal and soft plastics.
Our ned rig jigheads are made of Tungsten which provides a faster fall rate and added sensitivity. Our soft plastics float, stretch and get bit lighting fast.
Neko Rig
Like the dropshot, the Neko Rig was popularized in Japan before gaining traction here in the states. A Neko Rig is a finesse rig that uses similar equipment to a wacky rig. The key difference is a the nail which is inserted to the end of a soft plastic that is then rigged similar to a wacky rig with a small finesse hook.
Best fished in clear water, the Neko Rig helps anglers provide an ultra finesse presentation faster and more efficiently.
I like fishing Neko Rigs in clean water in depths anywhere from 6-16 feet. Anything shallower and I will fish a wacky rigged Senko and in anything deeper, I usually switch to a dropshot.
Whopper Plopper
Originally a Musky lure, the Whopper Plopper made a HUGE splash on the bass market in 2009. The Whopper Plopper is one of those few baits that has managed to catch as many fish as anglers. Sometimes new lures come out that look so cool and exciting on the shelves only do have a mediocre performance on the water. The Whopper Plopper is NOT that. This lure fills you will as much excitement reeling it in as it did in the checkout lane.
By design, the Whopper Plopper mimics the action of a dying baitfish doing a death throe at the top of the surface of the water. The unique plopping action from the trailing propeller helps call in curious fish which often leads to insane topwater strikes.
Z-Man Chatterbait
The Z-Man Chatterbait has changed the way anglers fish in shallow water. Is it similar to a spinnerbait? Yes. Although it’s completely different at the same time. No other bladed bait puts off as much thump and pizzaz as a chatterbait. While making all of the rumble and thump, chatter baits stay streamline throughout retrieval which helps them slip in and out of the grass.
Early spring is one of my favorite times to throw a chatterbait. Look for warm, shallow water. Makes long casts and use a slow and steady retrieval working your bait parallel to the bank. Warm rocks, pilings, creek channels, and sunbaked shorelines will be my favorite areas to target.
Earlier this year I watched my buddy land over 30 combined largemouth, smallmouth, northern pike, and bowfin on a single 3/8oz Z-man Orginal Chatterbait in a bluegill pattern. It was an unreal day.
Soft Swimbaits (Keitechs)
The simple swimbait from Keitech was originally fished in Japan and then quickly gained popularity in the states over the last decade. While they clearly look like a minnow, Keitechs are known for their subtle soft feel and distinct thumping action. Even at the slowest retrieval speed, Keitech soft plastic swimbaits will continue to draw in fish with every stroke of their boot tail.
Just by simply casting out and retrieving, any angler can fish a Keitech swimbait with success. Plus, they catch pretty much anything interesting in eating a minnow. The one downside some anglers see with Keitechs is that they’re too soft and oftentimes only good for one fish catch. Thankfully other swimbaits like the BioSpawn ExoSwim have been developed which offer more wear and tear.
The Alabama-Rig (Umbrella Rig)
Easily the most controversial bait on this list. The Alabama Rig or Umbrella Rig created major waves across the fishing scene over the last decade. Instead of rigging one swimbait an Alabama Rig allows the angler to fish up to 5 swimbaits at one time do its unique steel wireframe design. An Alabama rig basically looks like a mini swimbait chandelier made up of metal close hangers.
While to you the Alabama Rig looks like a heaping hunk of metal that will instantly get snagged on your first cast – The Alabama Rig looks like a schooling pack of baitfish AKA a tasty meal to passing bass.
The effectiveness and controversy surrounding the Alabama rig still stands today – A-Rigs are not allowed in many tournament circuits and are restricted in certain states.
Triton Mike Bucca Bull Shad
West Coast anglers have been throwing hard-bodied swimbaits for decades but it took a bit longer for anglers further east to join the swimbait movement.
The giant California bass west coast anglers were targeting feed on rainbow trout which are stocked in the lakes where g ant swimbaits were common out west. However, the Bull Shad help fit the needs of the midwest and east coast anglers.
The Googan Squad Hard And Soft Baits
The Googan Squad soft baits and hard baits have put a new spin on classic presentations. Along with providing some of the best content on the web, this band of YouTube brothers have helped create new products that will inspire the next generation of anglers to get out and fish.
3 Winter Fishing Techniques Guaranteed To Catch You BIG Bass
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Winter bass fishing requires a lot of patience because you have to fish slowly and tediously most of the time.
Bass can get pretty finicky in the winter because their metabolism has slowed down so they don’t have to eat as often as they do in the warmer months. The fish prefer a slow-moving prey or one that is stationary so they don’t have to move much to eat.
Here are three lures you can fish slowly during the winter to entice finicky bass to bite.
The Deadly Nedly (Ned Rig)
The Ned rig consists of a short stickworm like the original TRD or the Sukoshi Bug (2 1/2 or 3 inches) made of ElaZtech material attached to a lightweight jighead (1/32, 1/16 or 1/8 ounce). This setup works best when wintertime bass are hugging the bottom on calm days.
Fishing a Ned rig takes discipline because you have to wait until the lightweight bait sinks all the way to the bottom. Then you have to deadstick the rig for several seconds on the bottom before dragging it very slowly along the bottom and then letting it sit again. The stickworm’s body shape material causes the bait to slowly spiral through the water column or stand up off the bottom and move slightly when at rest to trigger strikes.
A suspending jerkbait is the ideal wintertime lure to throw when bass are suspended high in the water column on sunny days with a slight breeze. Depending on the length of the lure’s bill, the jerkbait can dive from 4 to 10 feet deep and if weighted correctly it will continue to suspend at its maximum diving depth when paused for long periods.
After reeling the lure down to its maximum diving depth, employ a twitch, twitch, pause cadence for the retrieve. You should only have to pause the lure for a couple of seconds for active bass, but you might have to wait 20 to 30 seconds to get bites from sluggish bass.
A drop shot rig featuring a 4-inch finesse worm or stickworm set above a dropper line attached to a weight is ideal for wintertime bass hugging the bottom in clear deep water.
Elongated drop shot sinkers work best because this style of sinker seems to slip through rock, brush, and weeds better than other sinker shapes. Choose a 1/4-ounce sinker for fishing less than 30 feet deep and switch to a 3/8-ounce weight for fishing deeper.
The key to the drop shot presentation is to keep the sinker constantly in contact with the bottom. Simply holding the bait in place rather than shaking or jiggling it usually draws more strikes from lethargic wintertime bass.
Say it ain’t so Joe! Say it ain’t so! Another amazing year is coming to an end way too fast. 2019 was both an amazing year for me and for The BassCast. It was also a year of shake up in the Bass Industry. So many changes and it still isn’t over. The year 2020 should be filled with a lot of fun and changes also. What will we see happen?
As 2019 comes to a close, it gives me the opportunity to reflect on how well 2019 was for me. The journey that 2019 offered was amazing. I got to challenge myself and to meet so many amazing people through The Bass Cast. While writing has never been something I ever thought I would do for anything other than a few old fashioned letters, the opportunity to share with you has been a great joy. Thanks to Brian Carter and his belief in my abilities, I have made it through another year and have been able to share some amazing stories and product reviews with you, the readers. And while our podcasts continue, it has been difficult for us to do them together. As so often happens, the guest are not always free at the times that meet our group discussions. It has been an amazing year for sure.
I can not thank my family and so many amazing friends for an exciting 2019. As many of you know, Tiffany “Snookie” Risch is my fishing partner and best friend. We met by chance on a blind pairing for a fishing tournament and we struck up an immediate friendship. She has made this year so amazing through our many adventures fishing and trips to other events. While we have fun fishing, laughing so hard and talking about life, we challenge each other to fish different techniques and even to hone our weaknesses. We have shared the freezing weather in search of big bass to the saltwater for our first cobia and red fish. She has been a blessing to me in that she has challenged me to grow as a person and an angler.
Jacob Stephens has been another great friend. I got to fish with him on numerous trips. From the James River and Chickahominy River to the Chickahominy Lake and Lake Anna. Some were very fruitful and others were fishless, but every one was fun and full of laughter. He even tried getting me hooked on my first smallmouth in a local tournament on the upper James River. I hooked it and then watched as it shake loose. Hopefully it will happen in 2020.
There were so many others, too numerous to list, that made 2019 a great year. Each of you have made a difference in my life this past year. You have helped me grow as a person, as an angler, and as a Christian. It has been a journey that I treasure dearly.
I had the opportunity to attend the Richmond Virginia Fishing Expo again in 2019 and I learned a lot from the anglers there. I met so many amazing friends and so many new friends. It was a great 3 days and yet, it wasn’t enough time to take it all in. To me, my highlight was getting to talk with Elite Angler John Crews again. I get to talk about his baits, the ones he designed for SPRO and the ones he created for his company, Missile Baits. Every time I get to learn more and improve my abilities. I am looking forward to the 2020 Expo January 17-19 at the Meadow Event Park in Doswell with even more excitement. Hope to you there.
The East Tennessee Fishing Expo in Knoxsville, TN was the next adventure. I went with Tiffany Risch, Jacob Stephens and Jeff Swain. We got to meet a lot of great companies and see some amazing new products. I got to some products for reviews and some products that weren’t new, but new to me and to most people in Virginia. We had a lot of fun and shared in a new adventure. I don’t know what was more fun, the time at the show, or the ride there and back. Friends make a long trip short.
Then it was The Great American Outdoor Expo up in Harrisonburg, PA with Jacob and Tiffany. We got taken off our route in the snow and even went through a covered bridge on the way up, but that made it even more exciting. While they had a lot of exhibitors, enough to fill 5 main halls and I got to see a great friend from high school, their fishing exhibitors were far below what we expected. But, as far as hunting, it was far above anything you might expect. From the local to the world, they had it all. If they decide to expand their fishing, it will be worth another visit
I followed up these shows with a visit to the Bassmaster Classic in Knoxsville, TN in March with The Bass Cast. I got to talk with all the anglers competing in the Classic on Media Day. I also got to be back stage after they weighed in each day and talk about how the day went and what they used. Some were glad to share, others were a little closed lip on exact baits. That is fully understood and expected. I got views that fans don’t really get to see. I also got to attend the Expo there and talk to a lot of the exhibitors. I got to meet a lot of great anglers there, including Mr. Bill Dance. This year is the 50th Classic and Guntersville, Alabama is going to an exciting place to be. Can’t wait to see what they have in store for the fans. And to meet so many friends from across America.
This was the first year for the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour with their every legal fish counts, catch and release format. It was also the first year of the big exodus from the ranks of BASS, some of them being big names on the Elite Tour. And yes, they do have a big following which helped influx the BPT numbers. The BPT took over the FLW after the final event and created a feeder program with the FLW Tour now a stepping stone to the big tour. It also reduced the entry fees for the Costa and BFL Tournaments and also set up other changes for 2020. We all await to see how it turns out. We also had the first 2 anglers to leave the new tour and return to the Elites. What will happen after this season and next? Only time will tell.
The BASS Elites survived this year and actually seemed to strengthened itself with some fresh new blood. There were a lot of exciting events, with huge weights. The St. John’s River went above itself this year, yielding some big bass for the anglers. The site of John Crews almost losing his rod on a huge bass will live on forever. And the Angler of the Year came down to the last event with many still having a chance to win it all.
While the shows and expos were very exciting, it was finding new products to review for you that was one of the best things. Sometimes it made me look at how I fished and challenged me to try new ways. It gave me the opportunity to tell you what I thought about an item and it also hopefully helped you by making you see something new. I know because of my testing I have expanded my fishing and have been working on things I never thought I would be doing. Like fishing a drop shot, something I had never done, but Missile Baits challenged me with their Ned Bomb, and now I am working on making it something I can use to catch more bass. Hopefully you had the opportunity to expand your techniques as well.
I also got to go fishing a lot with my grandson Bentley. Sometimes they were short trips, but they were always a great adventure. I learned early that kids don’t always want to fish as long as we do. And when the fishing is slow, they lose interest fast. I never plan anything long with him, just let him decide when we leave. This year he got his first baitcaster for Christmas and now I need to work with him on how to use it and make some more amazing memories.
As I look back over 2019, I think about those amazing memories and just how much my family and friends have meant to me. I look back at a year that started off with great hopes and dreams, and I see now a year that went above and beyond what I envisioned. What will 2020 hold for us? What will happen in the fishing industry? What will be the newest baits and fishing accessories this year? What memories will we make? Who will you make them with? What adventures will we go on? What are your fishing goals for the new year? What are you looking forward to in 2020? Are you ready for them? I’m ready!
The Bass Cast kayak Bass series will be using the KBF identifier for the 2020 season as we are a KBF partner club as well as the identifier allows for anglers to use 1 identifier through the whole season or other events. The KBF identifier is the standard for Kayak Fishing.
SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORT January 2020 DALE WILSON’S SML GUIDE SERVICE PHONE NO: 540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950 www.captaindalewilson.us
Picture: Dave Owens with a huge Smith Mtn .Lake winter stripe bass.
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OVERVIEW: Happy New Year & good fishing! Fishing will be good the next several weeks. Water temperature has fallen. Most species of fish will stay active if the water temperature remains stable. Look for striper fishing to continue to improve! Water temperature will be in the 40’s. The bait fish are shallow in the back of the creeks and deep in the main channel.
Largemouth Bass- Fishing will be fair this month. Best lures will be drop shot rigs, crank baits, shaky heads, spoons, spinner baits, Carolina rigs and Ned rigs. Most largemouth bass will be caught on points, rock piles, brush piles and deep docks. Best depths will be from the 2 to 40 feet deep. Bass will be caught both deep and shallow. Structure close to deep water & ledges are key factors to finding bass this month. Please practice catch and release.
Smallmouth Bass- Fishing for smallmouth is usually great this month for big fish. Best areas will be rocks, ledges, humps and main channel points. Best lures will be floating fly rigs, Ned rigs, hair jigs, drop shot rigs, crank baits, jerk baits and Carolina rigs. Best areas will be in the mid to the lower sections of the lake. Small mouth bass will feed on crawfish & shad this month. Cloudy days are good times to try your luck! Light line will increase your chances to catch smallmouth bass. Night fishing will be fair.
Striped Bass- Fishing will be good. Stripers will be caught in the mid to lower sections of the lake and in
the larger creeks. Best lures will be swim baits, jigging spoons and Zoom flukes fished on 12 to 3/4 oz. lead heads. The best depths will be from near the surface to 50 feet deep. Vertical jigging is a good method to catch stripers this month. Try to find areas with the largest concentrations of baitfish. Fishing at night will be fair this month. Some stripers will surface early morning and late afternoon this month. Live bait fished on planner boards and down lines are also good methods this month.
Crappie- Fishing for crappie will be fair this month. They will be found 10 to 20 feet deep. Best areas will be in the main creeks around docks, fallen trees, stumps and brush piles in the mid to upper parts of the lake. Small live minnows and 1 ½ to 2 inch tubes or shad shaped plastic lures fished on 1/16 to 1/8 oz. lead heads will work best to catch crappie this month.
TIP OF THE Month: Fishing will be fair this month! Slow your retrieve during the cold months. Fishing on cloudy days and at night is usually the best time to fish. Make sure you wear your life jacket and never fish alone at night or during the winter! Make sure your running lights are on after dark! You can never be too careful when boating. Remember to please practice catch and release! PLEASE TAKE A KID FISHING!
Bass Edge Radio interviews professional angler Scott Martin as the featured angler in the latest podcast presented by Megaware KeelGuard. Show hosts Aaron Martin and Kurt Dove visit with Scott about his decision to fish the Bassmaster Opens, business goals and Florida fishing in the early winter.
Bass Edge Radio, presented by Megaware KeelGuard departs from their typical bass fishing escapades and features a true American Hero, Retired SFOD-D CSM Tom Satterly in this episode of their top-rated podcast. Bass Edge hosts Aaron Martin and Kurt Dove discuss with Tom varying subjects concerning his recent book tour, life in the military and programs he is supporting since his retirement. Tune in for an interesting look at a peak into Tom’s life.
I’ve Got The Power! How To Fish Power Plant Lakes For FAT Winter Bass
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As the weather gets colder in winter, bass fishing gets hotter at a power plant lake. When the dead of winter turns off the bass on your favorite lake, you can shake off the cold by trying the warm waters of a nearby power plant lake.
Power plants produce electricity by heating purified water to create high-pressure steam, so the cold weather sets off a chain reaction. Frigid temperatures trigger demands for more power, which causes the power plant to produce more energy and draw more water to cool the generating system. Then the hot water released from the power plant heats up the lake and turns on the fishing.
Going Bold When The Water Gets Cold
When winter weather causes water temperatures to plummet and fish turn lethargic on other reservoirs, power plant bass remain active even in the nastiest winter weather. I remember a couple of fishing trips at Newton Lake, a power plant reservoir in Illinois, when it was snowing like crazy but bass were crushing our topwater lures because the water temperature was in the 70s.
The key to finding power plant bass is targeting the lake’s perpetual current when the power plant is generating. The best spots then are the intake and discharge areas of the lake because the water flow is strongest at those two spots. Target any shallow points in these spots where the current sweeps across the structure.
Go With The Wind
Playing the wind will also help you find the warmest water and the hottest action on the lake. Wind currents position the warm water throughout the lake. Water temperatures can change 10 degrees in an hour when the wind shifts. If you encounter a north wind and the hot water discharge is on the southwest side of the lake, then the warm water will be pushed to the south side of the lake, but a south wind will move the warm water northward.
What To Throw At Power Plant Lakes
The same lures that produce for you in the spring will work during the dead of winter at power plant lakes because of the warmer water. In the warmest water, bass will be in a prespawn or even spawning mode, so you can catch these fish on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs, buzz baits, topwater plugs and a variety of soft plastics. The water in the coldest sections of the lake will still be in the upper 40-degree range so you can throw lipless crankbaits, suspending stickbaits, crankbaits and jigs to catch bass along grass edges or drop-offs.
Bass Edge Radio interviews MLF/Bass Pro Tour angler Stephen Browning as the featured angler in the latest podcast presented by Megaware KeelGuard. Show hosts Aaron Martin and Kurt Dove chat with Stephen about the upcoming BPT Red Crest Championship, shallow water summer time bass fishing as well as in-depth Z-Man chatterbait setup and his favorite Live Target Lures.
