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.

One of my favorite type of fishing lures is a soft plastic bait known as Creature baits.  They come in all shapes and sizes.  A 5 inch Brush Bug is one of the Creature baits that I like to use.  You can rig it Texas Rig for flipping and pitching into the spots that are surrounded by structure and slowly work your way out.  These baits can produce a lot of action when worked the right way.  Another way to rig these particular baits is to use them on a Carolina Rig.  The conventional bait on a Carolina Rig is a Lizard.  But you can accomplish the same thing with a Brush Bug plus give the bass a bulkier profile to see.

One of the things that I find helpful, especially in stained or even muddy water is to dip the tail in a Chartreuse dip.  If yours comes with garlic then all the better.  Some Brush Bugscome with chartreuse coloring on the tail already.  They are also available in a 6 inch Big Boy Brush Bug when you are going after the Hawgs!

The next time your on the water looking for a bite, give these a try.  They are very economical and work great.  Check them out at www.1stcastfishinglures.com.

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!

These days there are so many lures to choose from that it can be very confusing and definitely very expensive!  Bass Fisherman can be very particular about their baits.  If they have a certain lure in a certain color that they have caught more than a couple of fish with then they will stick with it.  Makes sense.  The problem these days is that most of the lures that are on the market have gone through the roof when it comes to price. 

If you will take the time and search the Internet you can still find some great values on Bass Fishing lures.  You can find soft plastics at a discount price that will out perform some of the big name high dollar soft plastics.  As I said earlier, bass fisherman (including yours truly) are a particular group when it comes the our equipment which includes lures.  We find it hard to change sometimes if there isn’t a big name endorsing the product.  I can tell you that if you want a bigger bang for your hard earned buck, then shop around and you will find it.

To make any fishing experience more productive you need to make adjustments throughout the day.   For example, you may start the day with a top water lure such as a buzz bait or you might use a crank bait.  Both are great lures for searching for fish.  If neither one of these lures are not producing then you need to make the adjustment to something slower.  This will typically happen throughout the day as the sun gets higher and brighter.  Of course on days where there is plenty of cloud cover, this may not be the case.  When I mention making the adjustment to a slower lure it could be a soft plastic such as the 5 inch Trick Stick or a Beaver Craw on the back of a Halo Jig.

There are many reasons to make adjustments during your fishing trips.  It could be due to a weather front moving through.  As I mentioned during the heat of the day you need to make adjustments and find out where the fish are hiding in the shade.  You may also have to make adjustments going into the evening with your lure selection.  Fishing pressure is also another reason to make adjustments in your presentation.

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!

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.

This is a great time of the year to experience one of the most exciting types of fishing for bass that I know.  Top Water fishing is flat out fantastic!  I have never had a more heart pounding bite than that of a top water lure.  Some of my favorites would be the Buzz Bait, the Popper and of course the plastic Frog.   Check out the new line up of plastic frogs and the Buzz Bait .  This is one of the most unique Buzz Baits that you will find on the market.  It has double henged blades. You will find these as well as many other quality baits at www.1stcastfishinglures.com

Most people who fish have a certain bait that they call their confidence or go to bait.  I know that I actually have two.  I wonder sometimes though if one of them is just because I like catching fish this way or is it really one of my go to baits.  I think there is a difference.  For example, when fishing gets tough, I will usually turn to my #1 go to bait which is a jig of some sort.  Lately I have been using a new jig called the Halo Jig.  Believe me it is worth checking out at www.1stcastfishinglures.com.   I have a lot of confidence in the jig, always have.  They make you slow down and pay more attention.  My other go to bait is a crank bait.  I absolutely love throwing them and have a lot of faith in the fact that I can catch fish on them.  Most mornings during a tournament this is what I will turn to.  You can cover a large amount of water and find active fish.  Once you have found them you can slow down and cover the water thoroughly with the crank bait or a soft plastic bait to make sure you are covering the entire water column.

What do you turn to for your Confidence Bait?