“Fact or Fiction”
(By: “The Bass Coach” – Roger Lee Brown)
Over the past several years while teaching my 3-day bass
fishing school students, fishing with charter clients,
teaching seminars, and helping many kids to focus more on
fishing than partying, I get asked many questions on a wide
variety of subjects concerning bass fishing. I also get
approximately 100 to 150 emails from all over the globe each
week from anglers trying to get a better understanding on
baits, equipment, presentations, water conditions, and on
and on and on. I hope with this article I may be able to
answer some of these questions and give a little better
understanding and help limit some of the frustration many
anglers seem to have with their questions. I will use actual
questions (in their own words) from some of the emails I get
along with some of the “Ask a Pro” questions directed to me
from several internet sites I write for.
Question#1 – Creighton from Georgia asks:
Hello again Roger, I had another question pop into my head.
When fishing tournaments every fish counts. With this, say
you hook a fish that you know is going to be a good
keeper/upgrade or what you may call it, and you lose him on
the way in. How long could it be before that fish may bite
again, and if so would it go after same bait, and return to
same cover as before? As always thanks for everything
Creighton
This is a question that gets asked by many anglers. My
answer to this question is yes; sometimes the bass will hit
the same bait again right away and sometimes later on the
same day. For example, I have worked a certain bait around a
piece of structure in clear water and watched a bass come up
and hit it, then when setting the hook I somehow missed it
and made another cast (with the same bait) and the bass hit
the bait a second time and I landed it. There are also times
where I would be fishing an area with certain baits and
hooked the bass, but reeling it in the line would snap and I
would loose it. Later on the same day I would go back to the
same place and catch the same bass with the bait I used
earlier still in its mouth. A bass has a very short memory
span and will definitely hit twice or even a third time on
the same day!
Question#2 – Butch from Ohio asks:
I have a problem getting a hook set with a weedless jig the
guard seems to be to stiff any solution THANK YOU
I have had this problem myself for years and finally came up
with actually two solutions. First, I found that if you use
a wide gap hook on a weedless jig it will help catch more
bass. Secondly, I will take a weedless jig right out of the
package and take half of the weed guard strands and cut them
off as low to the base of the weed guard as possible. This
will allow much more flexibility with the weed guard and
will definitely give you a better chance of setting the
hook!
Question#3 – Glen from Africa asks:
coach, I am a missionaries son here in africa and fish some
of the local tournaments. I have seen lots of bass caught on
a torpedo but am having a hard time catching them any
suggestions?
A Torpedo falls into actually two categories, the first one
being a “top water bait” and the second being a “prop bait”.
There is really no right or wrong way to use (or present)
this type of bait. I recommend that when working this type
of bait you should let the bass dictate on any given day how
they would want it. For example; if the bass seem to be
active, try working it a bit quicker thus giving it more
action and water disturbance, and if you don’t get any
action from that, simply slow it down. I have personally
found a technique (or presentation) that always seems to
work the best for me by; casting the bait, as soon as it
hits the water I will give it a very light twitch and just
let it set for a moment. After letting it set for a moment I
will again give 1 or 2 more light twitch’s letting it sit
again for about 10 to 15 seconds all the way back to where
I’m standing. Whether the fish or active or inactive this
seems to work great for me. This works for all types of prop
baits and not just the Torpedo!
Question#4 – Julie from Arkansas
Dear Mr. Brown, my husband fishes many tournaments but never
makes any money at it. He seems to need everything he sees
in the catalogs as well as on the shelves in several
different stores. My question to you is, does he really need
all that stuff for fishing? We are on a tight budget and I
feel that he spends way too much with his fishing instead of
putting our money where it is needed. Can you give me any
suggestions? Thanks, Julie
Wow, this question is probably one of the biggest questions
I struggle with from many anglers as well as with family
members of anglers. The bass fishing industry has rapidly
grown into a multi billion dollar industry over the past
several years and there are more baits and equipment on the
market for anglers that a person can actually count. I have
helped many anglers who attended my 3-day bass fishing
school understand what is really needed and what is not
really practical to buy depending on their affordability.
For example, does an angler need a dozen different rods to
fish with using all the different baits? Or, does an angler
need the most expensive reels money can buy? Let me suggest
to you that I teach “Smart Spending” to my students. To give
you an idea of what I mean is that I have put together one
box that consists of a top compartment with 3 slide out
plastic boxes which I can take anywhere in the United States
and within the contents of the box I can catch bass on any
body of water at just about any time with what’s in the box.
As far as rods and reels go, it is nice to have several
different rods for each technique or application, but I can
get by with just 3 different rods for all the different
baits that are mostly used by anglers today (I would just
have to re-tie a lot, but you can do it.) As far as reels
go, it depends on the type(s) of reels you use i.e.
baitcaster, spinning, or spincast reels. There are distinct
advantages and disadvantages on these different reels, but
it’s what you can afford and simply getting use to any one
of them. Just remember like anything else, you usually get
what you pay for as far as quality goes. I have found that
there are a handful of baits that can cover top water, in
between, and bottom fishing that won’t cost you an arm and a
leg to get started, and one step better, these baits are
universal. These baits have worked anywhere from California
to Texas, and from Minnesota to the East Coast with great
success!
Question#5 – Laura from North Carolina
Hi, my name is Laura and my dream job is a pro fisherman,
but for one I'm a girl. For two, I love fishing, but only
usually get to during the summer. I just thought I'd ask for
a little advice.. Thanks!
I think that this wonderful, in fact in one of my past
articles I talk about "It's not just a guy’s thing anymore!"
I have had several women students attend my 3 day bass
fishing school and found most of them to be actually better
than many of the male students. If you put your mind to it
and work hard for what you want, you usually get it. In your
case, I would recommend that you might look into my 3-day
bass fishing school, not only to learn competitive measures
in bass fishing but to hopefully steer you in the right
direction. Keep them dreams you have and try to make them a
reality!
Question#5 – Bryant from Florida
I have an Abu Garcia ambassador black max-L and I have been
messing with the knob and I still backlash a lot any tips
I’m afraid to say that I haven’t known any angler (ever)
using a baitcaster reel that never backlashes it. The whole
secret to using a baitcaster is thumb control along with a
little adjustment to the bait that you use. Most baitcaster
reels have a plate covering the side of the reel (usually
opposite of the handle side) that when taking it off you can
see little rollers on the bottom of the spool. I will always
take the rollers and move them out one click, this helps
slow down the free spooling motion a bit. Next, I will
adjust the magnetic break on the outside of the same plate
after putting it back on the reel about 75% on. This will
also help slow the free spooling motion of the reel by
giving it some resistance. Now, the next step I feel is the
most important in preventing backlashes when casting bait.
After you tie on the bait, push the thumb bar (releasing the
bait) and tighten the knob (break) on the side of the handle
as the bait falls. You want to tighten the knob (or break)
so that it stops free falling but just tight enough that if
you twitch the tip of your rod the bait will only drop a few
inches, and that’s it! You will find that using a baitcaster
will be a lot more fun and you should spend more time
fishing with it than trying to pull out them nasty
backlashes.
Baitcaster reels are by far more accurate, easier to use,
than spinning and spincast reels and a must for certain
types of bass fishing like Flippin’ & Pitchin’. I never have
had a student that I haven’t taught or shown how to use a
baitcaster reel while attending my 3-day bass fishing
school. You will find that most, not all!, but most pros use
baitcaster reels for most of their bass fishing techniques.
Now, the next times you get a backlash just remember the
simple adjustments along with thumb control and you should
have much more fun. Then when you do backlash (yes, it will
happen but not as often) you can call it a “Professional
Override” don’t that sound so much nicer that that ugly word
BACKLASH?
Question#6 - Nicolas from Ontario
Dear Bass Coach, is a spinnerbait still effective on bass if
you fish from the shore?
Spinnerbaits are a great bait to use whether you fish from
shore or from a boat. I have found one spinnerbait in one
size and one color that travels with me anywhere I go in or
out of state. Yes, I did say only one! This special
spinnerbait has caught many fish from shore as well as
fishing from a boat, in fact I have literally out fished
every spinnerbait with my special one that I use no matter
of what brand, size or color my student, charter client, or
tournament partner was using. The spinnerbait is one of the
most versatile baits on the market because it can be worked
at least six different ways very successfully. The secret to
the spinnerbait I use is not just the color and size but the
modification I do to it. I can give a spinnerbait as much as
five times the vibration with a little modification right
out of the package which has made a difference between
catching and not catching bass at certain times. The
different ways to present a spinnerbait are; “waking or
bulging” on top of the water, the “chunk and wind” (which is
mostly used by anglers), “yo-yo’ing or “pumping” in and
around structure, “slow rolling” which is probably one of
the best ways to catch the lunker bass, “worming it” just
like a plastic worm through and around vegetation areas, and
“vertically jigging” the bait. I will share the modification
that I do to this spinnerbait with you because I have never
known any other pro share this secret with the general
public in the past. The first thing you want to make sure of
is using a spinnerbait with a colorado/willow blade
combination. I found that by taking a pair of needle nose
pliers, with the colorado blade only (the round blade),
horizontally slide the pliers down about ½ an inch from the
tip of the blade and reverse bend it to about a 45% angle.
This will actually give the spinnerbait at least five times
more vibration than it was designed to put out, in fact it
will actually feel more like working a crankbait going
through the water than a spinnerbait.
I will continue other articles with questions and answers as
time permits. If you would like to contact me for a speaking
engagement, seminar, 3-day bass fishing school (in your area
or mine), or just a charter you cal call me at (518)
597-4240, or Email me at rlbrown@capital.net or write to me
at: “The Bass Coach” , 243 Pearl Street, Crown Point, NY
12928 (Lake Champlain Area) or visit my website at
www.capital.net/~rlbrown
Until next time, take care & may God bless you “Always!”
The Bass Coach / Roger Lee Brown