Captain Phil

The Deadly Dudley spinnerbait was a great lure. It had a completely different action than any other spinnerbait. Fantastic night lure. Haven't seen one in years. Thanks for the memories.

Speaking of overpowered bass boats, some of you may find this story amusing. My first real bass tournament was on the St. John's River back in the early seventies. Back then, most of us were running 15'-16' boats with 50 hp outboards. This tournament had a flare start, which I had never seen before. The tournament began with someone firing a starter pistol in the air. All the boats took off at the same time going every which way, throwing big wakes and passing very close. This was extremely dangerous, so after a few bad accidents the staggered starts we have today were imposed. After this experience, I immediately went home and bolted a 135 hp Johnson on my boat. When you take a boat rated for 50 hp and put on a 135 it doesn't make it much faster, it makes it ill handling. If you want to go faster, you need more than a bigger motor. The worst case I ever saw was a 15' tri hull Terry Bass boat with a 150 Merc. That boat still had it's stick steering. I think the pilot's name was the Incredible Hulk. ?

There are many effective ways to work a spinnerbait other than on a straight line retrieve. Letting the lure helicopter down a straight bank or bluff can be deadly at times. Bumping them off bottom structure is another. Some year's back, the Harris Chain was full of anglers prefishing for a big tournament. To get away from the crowd, I rode into the Gator Hole on Lake Eustis. The gator hole is a round circle of water about 200 feet wide and 10 feet deep. There were four wrapped bass boats sitting in the center casting to the edges. On the bottom near the center of the hole is a large tree stump. The boats were directly over it. I had a spinner bait tied on, so I sat on the side of the hole and cast to the stump and let the lure sink all the way to the bottom. When I started to turn the reel, I felt the spinnerbait hang on the stump. I jerked the bait off the stump and was immediately hit by a large fish. The fish ran under the boat and gave me one heck of a fight. Being alone, I lipped the fish and held it up so I could look at it. The fish weighed at least 10 pounds. I dropped it back in the water, started my big motor and left. I didn't stay around to see the look on their faces. ?

I am happy to hear that. I suspected it worked somewhere or they wouldn't have sold so many. Everything in Florida bass fishing changed when plastic worms came out. My first decent bass on an artificial came on a Creme worm with a spinner on the front. It weighted about 3 1/2 pounds. I was so proud of it I put it in our home freezer so I could show it off. My Mom wasn't pleased. ?

The Harris Chain was the poster child for "bad lakes" for years. It's had problems in the past, but it was never as bad as had been reported. People would come here that were used to fishing Okeechobee and couldn't catch fish. They expected to find Okeechobee style conditions with miles of grass flats and fishable cover. Visiting anglers would spend the day riding around 50,000 acres of featureless water. On these lakes, spot fishing is better than pattern fishing. Local anglers caught most of the fish because they had more spots. A sunken dock here, a residential canal there and you have a limit. Today, hydrilla is changing these lakes. The Harris Chain will never be Toho or Okeechobee, but it's better than most people think.

On the Harris Chain our fish often bed in the numerous residential canals surrounding the lake. A wacky worm is deadly on these fish. The water is clear, so you must make long casts in order to keep from spooking the fish off the beds. Drop a weightless wacky worm into one of these beds and you are almost guaranteed to get bit. Many beds are missed because anglers only fish the sides of the canal. It is common for the bigger fish to bed right in the middle.

Here in Florida, the wacky rig is a shallow water finesse tactic. For deeper water, I use a Mojo weight. I throw it on a spinning rod with 8 pound mono. Normally, I use a Zoom Trick worm. Color doesn't seem to matter much, dark worms for dark water, watermelon green for clearer water. If fishing is really tough, I use a 4" Zoom finesse worm. Tournament anglers don't talk much about finesse for good reason. It's won more tournaments than anyone knows about.

I have to agree with you on chatterbaits. I never fished one until a friend gave me one and told me he was killing bass on it. I caught some bass on it, but it doesn't have the attributes or the flexibility of a spinnerbait. If the fish are biting a chatterbait, I believe they will most likely bite most anything.

This thread reminds me of something that happened in my youth. Back then, I read all the popular fishing magazines. These magazines where always full of ads for the Helin flatfish. If you read one of their ads, you would think this lure was the greatest lure of all time. The instruction sheet that came with the lure was so inspiring, I couldn't wait to try it out. Try as I did, I never caught a fish on one of these lures. I understand they sold millions of them, so I guess they worked for someone? I still have a few in my lure collection. Other than the Roland Martin Helicopter lure, I can't think of anything more useless.

Nice!!

Deep cranking is for young folks and athletes. You can do the same thing and cover a lot more water by trolling.

Here in Florida, very few tournaments are won because of electronics. In Okeechobee for example, the average depth of the lake is 6 feet. The majority of the time you can touch bottom with your rod tip. Visibility isn't good and the fish you can see aren't always bass. Outlawing sonar wouldn't change much. I remember the first time I fished north of the Florida border without a depth finder. It didn't take me long to put one on my boat. GPS is great because it allows you to return to spots you find. Comes in handy when you are fishing a lake 30 miles wide.

Years ago when bass tournaments first started, our bass club would have a huge fish fry after the weigh in. Our club even owned a fryer. If you look at photos from the earliest BASS tournaments, you will see dead fish on stringers being hauled to the scales like bananas. Part of the reason bass fishing still exists is because catch and release caught on with anglers. Killing a bass once in a while is not going to hurt the fishery. If I inadvertently kill a bass, I put it back into the lake where it can be recycled into the environment.

I haven't bought a new fishing reel in many years. The Shimano Chronarch Bantam 100 was one of the best bass reels ever made. It's light, rugged and smooth. Mine are over ten years old and still going strong. I buy them used on EBay for under $100. My spinning reels are all Daiwa BG 13s. They are simple, inexpensive and easy to maintain. I buy my rods from Bass Pro for less than $50 each. An expensive rod and reel does not catch more fish. If it did, I would pay more.

If I had only one lure and I had to catch a bass, it would be a Rattle Trap. Like any lure, you have to stick with it. Winning anglers are exceptional at a few things and that's what they do.

Exactly. I use Gamakatsu trebles. Lipless crankbaits are some of the most effective bass lures ever made. Some of the best Florida anglers I ever fished with threw them almost exclusively. Specific colors get hot once in a while. There was a time on the Harris Chain when a chrome green back Rattle Trap would catch more fish than any other color. On dark days a dark colored lure works better. These days, I seem to do better with more natural colors. I fished a Rattle Trap with braid for a few years believing I would get a better hook set. When a big bass hits on braid, it's a jolt. I went back to 20 pound mono because I lost too many big fish.

Great topic. There are many ways you can fish a lipless crankbait. Burning works well when fish are inactive and you wish to attract a reaction strike. In Florida, this is normally in the winter months. It also takes a toll on your body. The arthritis in my hands is a testament to years of burning a Rattle Trap. It helps if you jerk the lure every 6 feet or so. This causes the lure to momentarily deflect and is similar to bouncing the lure off cover. I have seen days when slowly dragging a Trap was the only way to get a strike. In deep water, you can YoYo a lipless crankbait like a jigging spoon. Keep experimenting to see what the fish want. The biggest problem I have with lipless crankbaits is keeping the fish hooked. The weight of the lure is easy for a bass to throw. I have lost some huge bass this way. I change all my hooks. Never let a fighting bass get slack line on a lipless crankbait. Ask me how I know?

I use a similar lure for schooling fish. It was given to me years ago by a retiring tournament angler. I believe it's an old L&S Mirrolure. It works better than anything else I have ever used.

Back when I was fishing tournaments, I kept a box of "tournament only" Rattle Traps. These Traps out fished all others by a mile. Even when the finish was completely worn off and there was nothing left but plastic, they continued to produce. They looked like they had been dragged behind a truck. I attributed this to the vibrations these lures gave off. Some lipless crankbaits have more or different vibrations which make them more appealing to fish. The sound chamber could be thicker, the number of loose beads could be more or less or the lure itself would run differently. How do you tell a good one from the others? Fish them all and keep the good ones. It is possible to change the retrieve angle of a lure by bending the line tie slightly to the left or the right.

I use 30 pound braid and a 7 foot rod for frog fishing. When I first started frog fishing, it was very frustrating for me. I would set the hook the same way I did when I fished top water lures and it seemed I missed more fish than I caught. When I learned to drop back on a strike, my hookup percentage increased. Small fish often hit frogs. They pull it under but can't get the frog past the hooks. Trash fish like gar will often hit a frog. A big bass will suck it under and hold on to the lure. Frog fishing is so much fun, I have a hard time not doing it.

I love frog fishing. Unfortunately, missed strikes are part of the game. Try switching to these hooks. They are Gambler Double Trouble Toad Hooks.

I tried 2 lb myself once. It's like sewing thread. Very difficult to get a hook set. The biggest LMB I ever caught on light tackle was an 8 on 6 lb. I was fishing in Okeechobee with a 3" Rapala when the big fish sucked it in. To land a large offshore game fish on light tackle requires a very skillful boat captain and a lot of luck. I had both.

I fished hard all my life. Lots of prefishing and tournaments. I must have made at least a million casts by now. At 73, I have arthritis, carpal tunnel and back issues. This does not keep me from fishing. I make adjustments to how I fish. Switching to lighter rods helps. Your elbow trouble needs rest to get better. Switching between casting and spinning tackle reduces pressure on your arms and hands. Holding and cranking a heavy casting rod for days on end is murder on your elbows. Downsizing your tackle will help. You may even catch more fish.

Three hours is a very short duration tournament. If I were you, I would concentrate on catching bigger fish instead of a limit? Once you get a "kicker" fish, the rest is easy.

There are social bass clubs and there are competitive bass clubs. Most of the clubs I joined were B.A.S.S. Federation Clubs. Those clubs were very competitive. Winning "Angler of the Year" in one of those clubs is serious business. A social bass club is much more laid back. It's more about being with friends than competitors. You can normally tell what type of club it is by attending one of their meetings. Fishing with experienced anglers is the best way to learn this sport. Watching a good angler fish is better than reading about fishing. At one time, I offered on water personal training classes. It cost the same as a guide trip. Most fishing guides are not in that business. I enjoy teaching, so it worked for me. Fishing with your son is one of the best ways you and your son can bond. My son is 50 and he is still fishing. We have fished together since he could hold a rod. It's one of my greatest memories.