1st Cast Fishing Lures

It seems like everywhere you turn these days there is an opportunity to try another soft plastic lure that is on the market.  I would like to tell you about a company that has been manufacturing soft plastic lures for quite some time and they do very well.

Case Plastics - they have some of the best plastics I have seen and used.  Their attention to detail is great.  These are not the kind of plastics that you will only get one fish out of before you have to change it out.  They manufacture a brand called Mad Tom’s which is pretty much where it all started.  These are great for Small Mouth Bass fishing and there is even some reports that Walleye fisherman are stocking up on them.  If you like to fish Wacky Style, do yourself a favor and check out the Wacky Jacks.  Very unique but offers some great action when used with the O-Wacky Ring that will drive the fish NUTS.

Do yourself and your wallet a favor and check these products out.

I am a big believer in the saying that you can never have too much information.  Especially when it comes to fishing.  That may sound a little silly but think about it.  How many times have you tried and tried to get on a pattern that would produce a limit and just can’t quite get there?  Well believe me, we are not alone.  There are plenty of others out there in the same boat so to speak.

I have recently come across a couple of Bass forums and Fishing Forums that I would like to pass along to you.  These are not only great places to ask other anglers their opinions on certain situations, but most are willing to give you free advise on just about anything to do with fishing.  It does’t even have to be bass fishing.

Do yourself a favor and check these out.

BassFishin.com - this site has a great forum plus they also have some very well done video’s that might help.

TheAnglingCenter.com - The Tactical Approach to Fishing is another great site that I have started viewing lately.  Great people and very helpful.  Fantastic layout with new features that are soon to be added for species specific information.

Both of these sites are very user friendly and could possibly hold the answer to your questions.

Tell em you heard it hear!

I’ll start with a question.  Is there a perfect bait?  If you are a fishing addict like myself and so many others, you may say yes to that question.  I have another opinion that I would like to share.  Many of the baits that I have used over the years are perfect for certain situations.  As I mentioned last time, I think a bait that is to be considered perfect should be able to be used in different situations and at different times of the year.  I have many baits that I have considered my favorite bait at any given time.  Usually this relates to confidence more than anything.

One thing for sure, to find the perfect bait you will have to use quite a few to see how they measure up.  Ask yourself this question:  If I could only use one bait, what would it be?

I read an article a couple of years ago covering this very question as it was ask to a panel of pro’s in one of the bass fishing publications.  Of course there were several answers, but what came up more than anything was the Jig.

In the world of fishing, there are so many baits/lures to choose from.  The question is, which one to choose and when do you use it?  If you have put any time at all on the water chasing your favorite prey, you know what I am talking about.  I have said before that I have at least 3 favorite techniques that I use, Cranking, Jigs, Texas rigged soft plastics.

I have my opinion about what the perfect bait is, but I would be really interested in hearing what you think.  I like a bait that can be used in more than one technique or situation.  I am not necessarily talking about color here.  I am talking about taking a soft plastic like a Beaver Craw and using it as a Jig trailer or Texas rigging it.  Of using a Trick Stick weightless Texas rigged and then Wacky rigging it with a jig head, either fishing shallow or deep.  Take a Brush Bug and Texas rig it with a 3/8 oz weight then turn around and through it on a Carolina rig.

Just click on the pictures above for a better view.

Until next time, Keep Fishing!

I have mentioned this lure in the past but it deserves another mention.  The Trick Stick is known by a few names but they all lead back to the same type product.  Probably one of the most recognizable names is the Senko.  You can find trick sticks in a few different sizes.  You can also use several different techniques with this soft plastic fishing lure which makes it one of the most versatile lures on the market today.  They are a great value for your money too.

As I mentioned, you can use these baits several different ways.  You can Texas Rig them with out a weight which helps give them a great deal of action.  Make sure that you have the Trick Stick as straight as possible on the hook.  One of the other more popular ways to fish the Trick Stick is to Wacky Rig it.  Again you will get a lot of action out of the Trick Stick when Wacky rigged.  The size of the hook to use seems to be as personal of a choice as the line you use.  I will say that a 2/0 hook seems to be the norm.  You don’t want an over-sized, exposed hook that will lead to snag after snag if you are near brush.  The third way that I have used these lures is the Shaky Head method.  Basically getting a stand up jig head and Texas Rigging the Trick Stick.  When the bite gets tough, this is one of the hottest things going.  It is a slow technique but if you can locate the fish, it will produce.

As I said, you can find the Trick Sticks in a few sizes, the other size that I use is in the 3 inch size.  These are great for skipping under docks with a Shaky Head jig or a Hooker Head Jig.  The Hooker Head jig is a fantastic jig that has a bait keeper hook on it.  The reason I mention this is that it can save you a lot of plastic lures.  The bait keeper hook locks into your Trick Stick and will help keep it from coming off during the battle.

In the end the Trick Stick is a great lure that just about anyone can use from the novice to the seasoned fisherman.  You can cast, flip, pitch or skip them just about anywhere if you Texas Rig them because they are weedless at that point.

 Give the Trick Stick a try the next time you go out.  I think you will be glad you did!

Lake of the Ozarks is one of the prime lakes in Missouri that you can test yourself on when it comes to bass fishing. The rewards can be outstanding. This lake is one of the best producing fisheries in the country which is why so many of the National and local tournament trails have their events here each year. There is an excellent chance that your 1st cast could be a 5 pounder. You can find all kinds of tournaments available to you on this great body of water. From the Crappie tournaments to National level B.A.S.S events.

If you are in the area and want to give it a shot, here is a tournament you should consider:

Lewis Boats

Marine Sales & Service

Bass Tournament

Lake of the Ozarks

Saturday October 18th 2008

Coffman Beach Ramp

Take-off 7:00a.m. - Weigh-in 3:00 p.m.

(Buddy/Team Format)

Entry forms available at: www.lewisboatsales.com

Or click on this link for more information: Lewis Boats Bass Tournament

I am sure that you will enjoy Lake of the Ozarks no matter if you decide to test yourself at one of the open tournaments like the Lewis Tournament or just take the weekend and catch a few.

We will have more information covering Missouri Lakes and Tournaments in future articles.

I don’t know about where you are right now, but in my part of the country pretty much every lake is high due to all of the rain we have had this year.  This presents it’s own set of issues when you are trying to find the bass.  One of the best bass fishing lures that I have found for this is the Spinner Bait.  The reason this works so well is that you are able to cover a lot of water quickly.  When the lake is so high that you are fishing in the state park or someones back yard bushes, you need to cover water quickly to find the fish and establish a pattern.  When you do locate them, slow down and use a Halo Jig or Brush Bug to cover the area very thoroughly.

I love to fish.  My favorite is bass fishing.  I do it competitively and for fun.  It can be very satisfying and very frustrating at the same time.  This may explain why I use to like the game of golf so much.  I guess my second favorite would be Crappie and Walleye/Pike would run a very close third.  This is mainly due to location.  We don’t have many good Walleye waters here in Missouri like they do up north, especially Canada.  Now that is fun!  You know the old saying is a bad day of fishing is better than a good day in the office.

I know that people find many different things that can relax them.  Mine is fishing.  Even when I may not be having one of the better days at catching, like in a tournament, I still really enjoy fishing.  Plus you can learn something new every time you go out.  In fact if you don’t, you really are short changing yourself.

When you do go fishing it is always a good idea to be prepared with great fishing lures.  Talk to people and find out what they are biting on.  No matter what species you are looking for, it can help you be prepared.  What time of year is it and what pattern are the fish in?  Give yourself all the advantages you can.  If you are bass fishing, are they on a Jig bite or a spinner bait.  Maybe they are onto a lizard bite or any number of other plastic fishing lures.  Find out what color of jigs people are using to catch all those Crappie or Walleye.  Maybe they are throwing a bottom bouncer with a spinner rig for the Walleyes.  Every little bit of information you can get will help make your trip a better trip.

So I go back to my original question, what are you fishing for?