Category
Technique & Presentation
Presentation is the part the fish actually experiences: depth, speed, angle, drift, retrieve and whether the lure went through the water you meant to fish. Start with Depth, Speed, Angle and Control.
Everything filed under this heading, newest first.
Worth opening first
- One Hookset Doesn’t Fit Every RigSweep, snap, or nothing at all, depending on what’s between you and the hook.
- The Pause Does More Than the Retrieve on TopwaterMost topwater fish are earned in the seconds when nothing is happening.
- Skipping a Bait Under Cover Most Anglers Never ReachThe water almost nobody presents to, because getting under it is a cast they never learned.
- Working a Jig Is Mostly About What You Feel on the FallThe bite you’re waiting for shows up as an absence.
- Why an Ugly Cast Can Fish Better Than a Perfect OneAccuracy buys an angle. The angle is the part the fish reacts to.
- Topwater Bass Fishing Doesn’t Run on a Dawn ScheduleRead the surface before you start making noise on it.
- Ned Rig Fishing Is Mostly Learning to Leave It AloneA small bait doing less, deliberately.
- How a Drop-Shot Rig Controls Depth Without Pinning the Bait to the BottomDepth control without pinning the bait to the bottom.
- Right Angle Rig: Build an Indicator System That Sinks Fast and Breaks Where You ExpectAn indicator system that sinks fast and breaks where you expect it to.
Right Angle Rig: Build an Indicator System That Sinks Fast and Breaks Where You Expect
The Right Angle Rig isn’t a knot. It’s the order you put leader, indicator, weight and tippet in, so the fly gets down fast and a snag only costs you the cheap part.
The Pause Does More Than the Retrieve on Topwater
I used to treat the pause on a topwater retrieve like dead time. It’s where the fish makes up its mind, and the strike often comes the instant the lure moves again.
Working a Jig Is Mostly About What You Feel on the Fall
A jig does most of its convincing while it sinks, which is exactly when your eyes tend to be parked on the rod tip. Watch the line on the fall instead and the quiet bites start showing up.
One Hookset Doesn’t Fit Every Rig
A circle hook set like a J-hook can come straight out of the fish’s mouth. What’s tied on, and how the fish ate it, should decide how hard you swing.
Skipping a Bait Under Cover Most Anglers Never Reach
The shady pocket way back under a dock barely gets fished, mostly because a normal cast can’t reach it. A low sidearm skip with a flat lure can.
Ned Rig Fishing Is Mostly Learning to Leave It Alone
A Ned rig asks you to do less, which is harder than it sounds. Pick a head you can actually feel, rig the plastic straight, and give the pause more of the work than your rod hand wants to.
How a Drop-Shot Rig Controls Depth Without Pinning the Bait to the Bottom
On a drop shot the sinker finds the bottom and the bait hangs above it at whatever height you tied. Tag length, sinker weight and how much you shake the rod all follow from that.
Topwater Bass Fishing Doesn’t Run on a Dawn Schedule
Bass will eat on top at noon if the surface gives them a reason. Look for that reason before you tie a topwater on, and wait for weight on the line instead of swinging at the splash.
When to Stop Changing Lures and Change the Plan
When every lure fails the same way in the same water, I’ve usually got a position, depth or location problem, and no amount of retying is going to fix that.
Match the Behavior Before You Match the Species
When bugs or baitfish are active, I figure out how big the food is, where it’s riding and how it moves before I worry about what it’s called.