Top to Bottom Bassin'

[MMT]

I recieved a few emails recently about my favorite baits and techniques on a seasonal basis. It started as a three part series before I put it all together. This article was my response on Nybass.com and R/Scom. Hope you like!

Top to Bottom Bass Fishing
Topwater

Here is a look at some of the baits and methods I use on a seasonal basis. There are of course several that I did not write about but this is largely my approach to bass fishing here in NY.

Although I am not a huge deep water guy primarily based on the waters in my geographical area, I can regularly take fish down to about 20 ft....although I too prefer to spend much of my time from surface to about 12ft. I could write about this all day but time won't permit that. Here is a basic over view of what I use to cover the depths I fish from top to bottom.

Surface: This all depends on cover. If I am working slop areas, I like a Snag Proof Tournament frog. I love floating worms, there was a time when I used these baits almost exclusively as I targeted slop areas. I could walk the dog with a 6" worm like it was nobodies business and I credit my largest unofficial NY bass to a floater. I really don't subscribe to the bright colors they come in. I like the plain grape or black/yellow that Johnson Superfloater worms were famous for. Rigged with a 3/0 Owner hook, the bait barely sank when paused. I also am a huge fan of using a 5" Kalin's Grub rigged Texas style with the tail down as a buzzer in heavily weeded areas. This bait can be devastating and comes through the Gak quite easily. In more open areas, I go with either a Sammy or Spit N Image. The key is an irregular retreive. Do something different with the bait, not just the typical snap, snap pause. Topwater was not always my bag. I forced myself to re discover it within the last year or so and I've become much more adept at it. I relied on it very heavily in my tournament fishing and it really paid off. If there is some chop on the water, I will employ a buzzbait. This is often a great way to annoy bass into striking. The thing about being effective with buzzers is that I prefer to look for obstacles to bump these baits into. Often, you will get a strike the instant after you smack into a branch or stump. The hesitation of the bait is what triggers the strike. The last bait I use as a surface bait is a mag willow spinnerbait. I will wake this bait and burn it just under the surface. In Spring and Fall, this can be a deadly method to catch fish that are active.

With the Exception of the plugs and blade baits, I primarily throw all of the other on a spinning rod with 6 or 8lb Yo-Zuri Hybrid. In the past I have used 12lb Silver Thread and up to 25lb Trilene for grubbing in heavy cover. Nowadays, I go much lighter for fun.


Subsurface
Sub surface can be broken down into several different areas. For my fishing, this means three different columns. The first column consists of just under the surface to about 5 or 6 feet. Now, many articles I read are broken down to about 8ft. I differ for a reason that I'll explain later. The Magic 8 foot zone is next this is where much of my big bass catching occurs and finally I have the bottom column. Often misunderstood or too intimidating, the bottom depths of many waters go ignored. Anglers only need to put in a little quality time to see that this area can be a goldmine.

Surface to 6 feet deep- Once I leave the realm of true floating plugs and I want to actually drown a bait, I start with a floating Rapala. I like the smaller models. Although I prefer to twitch them on the surface, I also pop them and pull them under. This is a deadly technique that I employ on hot Summer nights around matted vegetation. One thing I always do to Rapalas is change their hooks to Gammie trebles. I will add a soft plastic jrkbait to this section as I work it just like the Rapala minnow. A 4" Slug Go or Bass Assassin Twitch worm darted on the edges of matted vegetation can be deadly. I can write about this method all day but you get the point. Another crankbait and one of the only ones I throw is the Bandit Footloose. This bait barely dips under the surface when retreived steadily. It can be devastating in the shallows. I like using it in areas where the weeds grow about 10 inches from the surface. I know the bass are just waiting in the weeds to grab something buzzing overhead. The Footloose fills the bill on that. Hooks are OK and I usually do not replace them. The only other hard bait I throw is the Fat free Shad. This crankbait is amazing. I like both the shallow and deep models. I prefer a firetiger or bluegill pattern for my shallow fishing as there two colors best represent the forage in my area. Leaving the hard body baits, my next subsurface choice is perhaps one of the most versatile baits of all. The spinnerbait. Some guys just don't get them, others throw them too much. I rely on a version of this bait that will change with the seasons. In the Early Spring, starting in Feb(legal on LI) I utilize a 3/8oz bait with a single large Colorado blade I call a thumper blade. This blade is at least a size 4 and goes up to a size 6 depending on where I am fishing. Although it is a big blade, it does not give as much lift as a Willow and therefore can be slow rolled into deep areas. We are talking 5 ft for the sake of this area but I do use this bait to depths of 15ft or so at times. Slow rolling basically means to turn the reel just so the blade spins and the spinnerbait sinks. It is a very slow presentation and it is perfect for ice out fish who I tend to slam on blades. As the temps creep up into the 50's I go to the opposite side of the spectrum as far as spinnerbaits are concerned. Here, the bass are becoming more active and I scale my baits down to match very small creatures. I turn to the beetle spin. Many people write this bait off as a small fish or panfish bait but it can be a devastating weapon. I like the Branson bug trailer with looks like a mini Hula grub. It has twin tails and tiny little legs that create a racket. If fish it on light gear for sheer fun and it covers the 0 to 5ft depth quite nicely despite its light weight.

Plastics: I am a dedicated soft plastics guy. I've been lucky enough to deal with some very good companies over the years. To start, I don't just use any soft plactics. For the last 4 or 5 yrs, I have only used Yamamoto baits and small handpours from even smaller known companies. As far as massed produced baits go, Yamamoto are the best. Their salt system is untouched and they simply catch fish. There is no need for me to own ten different brands. Hey, I can say plenty of negative things about price and durability but the baits out perform other brands hands down. I also use a ton of stuff from Northern Handpoured and GreenEyes Worm Works. The handpoured stuff is my favorite because of all of the customizing you can do.....extra glitter, salt, garlic, two tones etc. True California handpours are a wonder to look at. I can pour a good bait myself but guys like Chris Aljian from Al's Worms and Tom Kail from Northern are masters and damn good at what they do. They are way beyond basic. With that being said, my first shallow worm rig is a simple weightless Texas rig in which I emply a 4" finesse straight tail worm on a Gammie 2/0 or Owner 2/0 hook. It covers the whole range down to about 10 ft. You can actually alter the bait and throw on a Senko, Salty Stinker, Craw, anything. I prefer to skip baits into nasty places. Here is where I find many of my big fish. This type of fishing to me is target fishing. I seek a target and fish the target. I do not work the bait back to the boat. Once the bait leaves my projected strike zone, I reel in and cast again. The next rig I use is a seeker rig. I love both the mojo and split shot rig for shallow water applications. These rigs utilize a weight pegged or crimped on about 15 inches or so about the hook and are essentially shallow Carolina rigs. I favor the Mojo because I do not like to crimp a sinker down on the
light lines that split shotting requires. Either way you get essentially the same result. The Mojo wieght comes through grass and rocks even easier than the split shot. The retreive is simple and slow steady.

Jigs: I would consider jig n pigs to be my strong suit. I cut my teeth on these baits and after forcing myself to use them noticed a significant increase in the size of fish I was catching. These are target baits. Again, I locate a good piece of cover and pick it apart from different angles with a jig. I do not fish it back to the boat. At times I will swim a jig on slight slack line( Trav, you know all about that). This can be a great presentation when bass want something that is moving. I rarely fish jigs deeper than 6ft. I tend to stay with lighter jigs in 1/16oz and 1/8oz as these are great for slow falling in the trees and bushes. If I need to punch through heavy cover, I will throw a 1/2 oz or larger jig. I use only my own Micro Munch jigs. Another bait I use just like a jig is the Ika. I love this bait even more than guys cherish their Senkos. The Fat Ika is just a big beefy overgrown Ika that fishes like a jig when rigged weightless and Texas style.

The Magic 8 ft zone:
Ok, here is where we will get technical. I believe, based on my experiences that more large bass seek out this depth at different times of the year. In the Early Spring, big fish spawn and then move out deeper. In the Fall, they move out a bit deeper from the Shallows, in the Summer, they move out depper to seek a little cooler temperature when they are not feeding shallow. My point is that I've noticed that the 8 ft interval is a great place to start specifically targetting bigger fish. You may not always get them but if you put in the time you will see that they can be had. I'm not basing this on one or two fish either. I'm talking several hundred over the last decade to prove to me that at times this can be a very reliable pattern.

I pick apart the 8ft zone with a small handful of lures. Over the years one of my favorite intermediate area bait is the Slider worm rigged on a slider head. This bait is not fished like a typical Texas rigged worm. It is swept along the bottom and made to resemble a darter or sculpin which are bottom dwelling baitfish. It is a true UL technique and it is deadly. I have a good friend who was in a season long slump as far as big fish are concerned. Recently he got wind of this method and in the last two or three trips has cleaned up with several fish over 5lbs......you know who you are! One of my top 4 largest LI bass fell to a blackgrape slider worm. I've also taken a liking to the Brewers grub set up that several people talk so highly about on this forum. This is a cast and slow retrieve method that works in the 8 ft range. I prefer to use a watermelon Brewers gubs with the paddle tail. It gives off a decent vibration and that tail look like it is alive.
One method I like is dead sticking. I have caught more bass in the magic zone on this method than any other. It simply relies on a weightless Texas rigged bait in which you cast it out and kill it. Let it sink all the way to the 8ft level and wait until something eats it. I've done well with a 5" Senko both Texas rigged and wacky rigged as deadstick baits. One surprising method I use in this relatively shallow depth is drop shotting. This is a technique I really relied on this year for fun fishing. I use a basic rig consisting of a Gammie splitshot hook set about 18 inches above an Owner downshot weight. To me Tungsten does not make sese here especially if you are allowing yourself to lose weights. Any way, I use a 3" Do-Nothing worm by Green Eyes which is a tiny handpoured fry type of worm. It is amazing on this rig as it is quite flexible and had some action just by water movement. I cast this rig out and allow it to reach bottom. I use a light 1.16or 1/8oz weight. I keep constant pressure on the line to eliminate slack. At times I barely jiggle the rod tip to give the worm a bit of action. A strike feels like extra weight. It is similiar to a wacky rig bite in feel and your response has to be the same, no hookset. Simply start reeling and lift the rod and the tiny sharp hook will catch. I won a tournament on LI recently with this set up. It was about the only consistant method used all day. I've really come to appreciate this scaled down flounder rig for bass fishing. It is a great way to catch intermediate depth bass.


Angling the Abyss
Deep water and Bottom coverage-

Ok, so we covered the surface and depths to about 10 to 12ft. The Magic 8ft zone and all of the techniques there can be used arguably anywhere so I threw in the 10 to12ft column. Now we will venture forth into an area that many guys just plain ignore. Whether it is due to intimidation or ignorance, so many bass fisherman simply will not delve into deep water fishing. For the sake of this series, lets agree that deep water can be considered any depth greater than 15ft.

Once I decide to dedicate my fishing time in deep water, I need to re-evaluate my whole approach. Most of the rods that I utilize for shallower fishing are replaced with stouter gear. Some of the lures I choose for the shallows are also changed. First off, although I like those light action rods for many of the applications
I fish, I upsize a bit. 6-6ft medium action spinning rods are my basic choice for deeper water and I often go for a 7fter. The reason is simple, a longer rod moves more line on the hookset.
I will also use a baitcasting set up for a few techniques as well.

Lets get into the specific methods and baits. If I am fishing blind, without my electronics, there is no better rig than a Carolina rig. I won't get into the details of setting one up as we all know that by now. The Carolina rig is a great search rig. Many people opt for a lizard to tow behind the rig, I like a finesse worm or a soft jerkbait that gives off an erratic action. Slow and steady retreive is the key. This is one rig that fish' great on a longer rod. I prefer spinning gear with it though, I think it is just more comfortable that way. I won't use a Carolina rig deeper than 20 ft, any deeper and you just lose sensation with it. Sure the use of braid or superline could enhance sensitivity but I only like braid in a few situations and this is not one of them. My Carolina rigs are a bit different than the traditional "tie three knots every ten minutes when you break off" Carolina rigs. I use the Carolina Keeper. This is a plastic sleeve that clamps on the line and makes the whole rig a one knot game.

My next favorite worm rig is the Drop Shot. This is a great rig for deep water bass. Lets face it, the West Coast guys have been nailing largemouth and spots in water deeper than 60ft for some time now. This rig is similiar to the one I employ is the shallower situations except that I add a larger weight to the equation. I work the rig the same way except that I key on pods of baitfish or structure I locate on my LCD. I will work this rig in conjunction with my electronics trying to drop the rig in areas where I think fish will be. It is in my opinion the best way to present soft plastics at exreme depths.

I'm not much of a deep water jig n pig guys but when you feel the need to jig, there is nothing better than the Yamamoto Hula Grub. Here is a bait I use exclusively on baitcasting gear as I prefer a 6-6 to 7ft Med Heavy stick. I like to use a hula head that keeps the bait weedless. Actually weeds are not my concern, rocks are. I lose a ton of baits to the rocks at various places I rish, but you have to be in it to win it! This rig is best fished on a taut line. I need to keep in contact with the bait to feel what is going on at all times. The Yammie Hula is one bait that nobody will be able to duplicate. Sure there are other copies but none come close.

Leaving the realm of soft plastics, my only entry's in the hard bait genre are the Arbogast Mudbug, Rebel Spoonbill and the Deep Fat Free Shad. I've always been a fan
of the Fat Free series. These baits are my main duty crankbaits as I use them for all depths. The Mudbug is a special bait in itself. It has a metal diving lip and resembles a backwards swimming craw. I've done surprisingly well with it on LI in some of the deeper waters. Both of these baits are great at targeting structure. Their longer lips make them fairly weedless and snag resistant. I try to bump them off of deep structure if I can. The sudden stop and hesitation is what triggers strikes. I fish these baits on a 7ft Medium action baitcasting set up.

The Rebel Spoonbill deserves a special paragraph all to itself. If you can find a suspending version, snatch it up. This is one of those jerkbaits that can be magic when bass are deep and not relating to any specific piece of cover. The spoonbill is a deep diver and can be tweaked to hover in one spot with the addition of sticky weights or suspend dots. I use the bait in conjunction with my LCD to stick it right on top of fish I locate. Here is one of the only times that I look for bass on my Graph. I give action to the bait my snapping the rod tip up and litterally ripping the bait forward. If you do this for a good period of time, you will see that it is exhausting work and can give untrained hands blisters and sores. The result is often worth it as there are times when the bass will be suckers for the technique. You have to remember that you are likely fishing unpressured fish. The method may actually be less important than the reality of actually getting a bait to these fish. They may bite anything. You just have to put it in front of them. I change the hooks on the Spoonbill to Gamakatsu trebles.

Deep water Blade baits- To fish areas of moderate depth, I often use a single Colorado spinnerbait that weighs 3/4oz or more. Usually I am slow rolling the bait down points. I have found that you can be much more effective at this if you tackle the point from multiple directions, not just head on like most anglers do. A spinnerbait dragged across a point in 20 feet of water is a presentation that most bass have never seen. That is why it can be so effective. I utilize a Colorado blade for two reasons, first, less lift than a willow and much more thump. I can barely turn the reel handle and keep the bait on the bottom and still spinning. Don't expect your bites to be rod jerkers like they can be in shallow water. Instead you will likely feel extra mushy weight.

The final piece to my deep water puzzle is the jigging spoon. A Hopkins shorty, BPS lazer eye, Silver buddy or any of the heavy metal baitfish imitating spoons are my choice for deep water cold weather fishing. This type of bait was made to be used in conjunction with electronics. You have to search for baitfish schools or odd structure. I don't look for fish with my graph when using this bait as I think that is a very unreliable way to fish. If you find the bait, the bass will be close by, whether you see them or not. I know guys who have there LCD's so tuned in that they can watch their bait on the graph and literally bump a bass in the nose and watch it hit. Baitcasting gear again rules supreme in my opinion. I change the hooks to sharper Gamakatsus. This is a bait that I work in areas deeper than 25 ft. I've done well with it in late November and again in early Feb through March.

I hope you all enjoyed my top to bottom series. Let the questions begin.

[JoeM]

Craig- Although I haven't gotten to digest the entire article yet, I have to say you are one prolific angler/writer. Bassin'USA appreciates your contributions to the Message Boards.

If this latest article doesn't produce a flood of comments and questions, JoeMo will be one surprised Moderator.

Much obliged. Keep them coming. My notebook is getting full. (I may need to replace it with a closet. lol) JoeMo

[johnnie crain outdoors]

MMT,
Gee uy, I think you have it covered. There are two baits that you didn't mention that will out fish in the boat cosistantly and this is not a promo, just trying to help. The Poe's 400 Classic crankbait is a great bait for the eight to fifteen foot range. The bait is made of red cedar therefore does not rattle which I feel adds to its appeal to larger fish, every fish I've caught over 8# has fallen for these baits. Also, Don't overlook Mann's Little George tailspinner for deeeeep water fish, have taken fish in sixty feet of water with these. Keep on Postin' Johnnie Crain Iowa Pro Staff.

[MMT]

Johnnie, there are actually a few baits I didn't mention. The Poes flat sided bait is a deadly alternative these days when most guys are throwing rattling round baits. The little george is a classic as well.