A new spin on baitcaster chores
Woo Daves recalls his early days as a professional bass angler and the role spinning rods played in tournaments back in the 1970s. Essentially, they had no role. Baitcasters were the rage, and few professional bass anglers used spinning rods for much of anything.
Overgunning with crankbaits
In this article, you can read how when having the choice of an ever widening array of lures and tactics, sometimes just getting back to the basics with a little discernment and a little "old school" thinking is not a bad idea.
Finesse jigging
In the not-too-distant past, the mention of the word "finesse" to bass anglers would be followed by snickers. Anglers pictured wimpy rods and tiny baits hardly the image hard-core fishermen wanted to project.
Spawn-time smallmouth
Many bass anglers agree that smallmouth represent our sport's greatest challenge — their propensity for deep water and offshore structure makes these fighters notoriously hard to find and catch.
Grubbing on the river
Steve Chaconas has had many colorful careers, but the most pleasurable is his fishing and guiding others on the Potomac.
A Texas twist on drop shotting
Wilcox's success started him thinking about ways to suspend soft plastic baits rather than hair jigs in the heavily timbered reservoirs of north Texas.
Stick to clay for success
A highly ingored fact is that red clay bluffs or banks are like magnets for fish.
Fishing line
Most lines used in bass fishing are nylon monofilaments, although recently manufacturers introduced braided, gel-spun polyethylene a superstrong, superthin fishing line. Monofilament and "multifilament" lines have very different properties.
Unlocking tidal waters
Read how Robert Lee begins with one basic rule when fishing tidal waters. "When the water comes up, the fish move up. When the water goes back down, the fish move back down." In tidal water tournaments, Lee always likes to find a group of fish and stay in one main area, following the fish up and down with the changing tides.
