James Niggemeyer
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Everything posted by James Niggemeyer
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I generally use a more traditional round bend and more thin to medium wire treble hooks like an Owner St-36 for jerk baits, because of a couple of reasons. #1 I try to match the hook gauge and size for the most part, so I don't want to ruin the action or suspending abilities that the bait was designed to produce by putting to heavy a hook on there. # 2 I may use a khale or wide gap type hook if I notice that fish are coming off the bait for some reason in an effort to try and reduce that from happening. # 3 If the water is warm and I don't mind the bait sinking slowly instead of suspending in the water I may upgrade to the next size up or use the same size but go to a heavier gauge wire. This can help the bait dive deeper and hold larger fish than the standard size trebles that it comes with, however you want to experiment to see that it doesn't ruin the action of the bait.
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**Good question Sam and I will most likely do a video on this for my Youtube channel because there is so much to address here. It's easy to get mired down in the endless selection of baits and your certainly NOT alone. My fishing mindset consist "keeping things simple" and viewing things through a "lens" that centers around my personal angling style in combination making high percentage choices and decisions. Let me unpack that a bit: The Lens: #1 Got to look at the lake through a seasonal lens. What seasonal patterns do you perceive exist. For Example: Seasonal patterns like Spring = Spawn centered, Fall = shad/baitfish migration and generally shallower/flatter areas so baits that would fish best in those types of places best and with that in mind. #2 What type of water body are we fishing, which includes current conditions and species of bass. Example: Stained water and predominately Largemouth then I will look shallow with more "traditional" bass baits (spinnerbaits, Jigs and square bills) and if its a deeper, clearer reservoir with smallies or spots then I use baits that fit that type approach. (jerk baits, top waters, finesse swim baits, smaller finesse size jigs, etc.) #3 I will ALWAYS start with baits that I have historically been most proficient with and have the most confidence in. When I don't know what is happening I know that the search part may require me to go through a couple of places and periods with little to no success before I fine tune what is happening. With that in mind I need to have baits that I can confidently fish (believe I will get bit) for a longer time until contact is made. Once contact is made I may consider making a bait selection adjustment if I think there may be something that they might want better. *Color selection: Low light, low pressure weather system (overcast and/or wind) I lean more to moving type baits and bright skies and high pressure weather system I lean more towards baits that I can fish low and slow (deeper in water column and slower speeds) *Lure color: clear water and bright conditions = natural or more translucent (green pumpkin, water melon) darker days and stained water = darker or brighter (black blue, junebug) *I put little stock in "whats hot" and more in things that are tried and true. **Lures are just tools. Some are designed to be used in certain water depths and speeds while others will be much better suited with the opposite end of the spectrum. Example: spinnerbait = shallow - faster, football jig = deeper - slower. I hope I wasn't too long winded here, however I will leave you with this in an effort to boil it down. My personal opinion is that no matter what the conditions are like (weather and water), species, water body or seasonal time frame bass can be caught (and quite well) year around with one of the 4 fundamental baits: crank baits, spinnerbaits, jigs and worms.
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Glad you liked it! Appreciate the feedback. A couple of things: First allows me to get a little bit of extra feel or sensitivity from the line. It also removes my hand from the reel which we can have a natural tendency through muscle memory want to turn the handle moving the bait to fast.
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I use Lew's rods and reels and I do like the really nice stuff, but I also use some different items that are more economically priced. The majority of my rods are from 2 specific lines that Lew's makes and is probably 60-40. I use a lot of the Lew's Custom Speed Sticks that are priced from $129 to $169, but I also use a lot of the Custom Pros that retail from $199 to $259. I believe that Lew's highest price point rod is $259. They have both served me well.
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My wife laughs at the idea of the existence of an "off season", which typically begins around September . Here is a snapshot of what goes on once the tournament season concludes: *When late September rolls around the tour events are completely done on typical years, however we may still compete in an FLW or BASS Open after that. *Around this same time in recent years I've participated in a multi day sponsor related event, such as filming a television show for Strike King Lure Co. or Lew's. *Also during this same time I will be working on preparing to sell my current year model Ranger Boat, which means traveling to the Ranger plant in Arkansas where they will go over the boat, remove the wrap, reapply all factory decals, badging, etc. When they are finished it always looks AMAZING! *Advertise my boat for sale on various on-line locations. *Sponsor correspondence increases through this period regarding the the new year on the horizon, which may take weeks or months of emails and phone calls. *Various 1 to 2 day travels for events that come up for sponsors, etc. *Coordinate jerseys, truck and boat wraps in hopes of not waiting until the last minute to get them done. *Simultaneously I will be ordering a brand new Ranger boat for the upcoming tournament season and agonize over choosing colors that a buyer would like. *Ordering a new boat requires ordering a huge list of products from sponsors such as an engine from Mercury, Powerpoles, electronics from Lowrance, Atlas jackplate plus additional items for the boat from TH Marine, batteries from Bass Pro Shops / Cabela's, Gator Guard Keelshield etc. etc. and having them sent to Ranger, time coordinated, so when the boat is ready to begin production it's all on the floor in Flippin' Ar. *Produce consist content for my Youtube channel, social media outlets like facebook, twitter, & Instagram. *Organize, organize and re-organize fishing tackle for the new year and in light of the new tournament schedule. *I will do a handful of guided fishing or instructional trips during the late summer and into the fall, because I am physically home to take people this time of year. *Spend time pounding on the computer keyboard and wishing I was on the water. *During the tournament season MANY items on the home front are moved to the back burner and this is time to address them and attack things that need attention. Yard work, home up keep, clean up the garage, tackle room, office and most importantly try to make up for lost time with family and friends in some way shape or form. *Work on a calendar for the next year that begins to fill up fast with tournaments, sponsor commitments and events such as ICAST and the Bassmaster Classic. *Because I camp at each event I need to make RV park or campground reservations for specific tournaments scheduled to compete for the upcoming year. *Spend time on the water refining and experimenting with new baits or techniques, but mainly just staying sharp. That is a snapshot of some of the things that take up a good portion of the "off season"
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I do fish my reels straight out of the box. I don't make any tuning or or bearing changes to make them perform differently. I may put on different reel paddles, knobs or handles that Lew's offers for specific techniques.
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Each time I've fished the Bassmaster Classic where it included a long drive (1hour plus or minus) to weigh in (example BJCC - down town Birmingham or Lake Hartwell to Greenville.) BASS has checked livewells at the official take off ramp. They would look to see total number of fish angler caught, how many were alive and I think even "eyeballed" an approximate guess on total weight before the long drive back.
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Hi BR, Just uploaded a video on how I tow my boat behind my slide in truck camper. Hope you like it. Thanks, James N
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During the tournament season my time commitments are quite high on a monthly, weekly, and daily basis. Something I’m continually trying to refine is time management abilities. Prioritizing the most important things and keeping them first over the things that I want to do can be a challenge. You’re exactly right everything is in a state of flux in regards to the day to day. I would love to give you some sort of a day-to-day example however each week can be totally different. Here is a month snippet of my calendar: February 13 left home for Florida FLW Feb 14 arrival mid day Feb 15 set up camp and Attend meet the Pros event 5-7pm Feb 16 practice begins Feb 19 registration and tournament prep Feb 20 day 1 of tournament Feb 23 last day of tournament Feb 24 drive home 14 hours. Feb 25-27 home (unpack, laundry, spend time with family, clean boat, tackle prep) Feb 28, 29 & March 2 guiding trip on Lake Fork March 3rd leave for Birmingham Al Bassmaster Classic Expo March 5th Classic Expo set up March 6-8 Classic Expo Evening of March 8th Classic Expo breakdown with GEICO, Strike King and LEW’s March 9th 5am drive home to Texas 2:00 arrival March 12 leave for 3rd FLW Pro Circuit tournament **People would be really surprised at how much time pro Anglers spends working on Tackle preparation. (Rods, Reels, line, bait organization etc.) for and between events. Hope that gives a little insight into the day to day of one of the more busy months of the year. I appreciate all the questions. Good fishing!
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#1 Keep it Fun! Most importantly I would suggest is to have fun and a lot of anglers gloss over that and what it means. Anglers can get so caught up in the competition that they miss the experience and the whole thing becomes dull. #2 Spend time on the water: learn a few techniques and spend the necessary time on the water, so that you become familiar with a bass’ seasonal patterns. It will help you can adjust more quickly when you notice things changing on the water. #3 Don't get in a hurry: If aspire to fish at higher levels of competition don’t be in a hurry to take make the jump to the next level until you’ve had a reasonable amount of success at the level you’re at. With every level you advance, the expense goes up, so gain valuable tournament experience where you are currently while the financial outflow is less expensive. Thank you!
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I’m originally from Southern California and moved to the area around Lake Fork in 2001.
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Hypotheticals...Early on I was invited to be a part of the Major League Selects and really wanted to take part, but could not swing it and the new BPT is different from the Selects. Personally, knowing how I fish, my style and competitive history I think the 5 fish format suits me more as an angler, however in all fairness I haven’t competed on the “all fish count” platform. To me the decision has to include what best works with your family, sponsors and where the competitor feels they would be most successful. One of the most challenging decisions I have ever been faced with was when I was invited to come back to the Elites while competing on FLW. My wife and I prayed and got a sense that I was supposed to stay at FLW, so that is what I did. Which way would I have gone?? Over the years I’ve learned that I don’t particularly gravitate to change all that much, so I might have stayed. Hope that gives some insight on the decision making process and all that goes into making that come together.
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Hey BR, Here is part 2 of the January fishing trip with Lou from Beyond the Bounds. Fun day and caught bass we believe we’re on beds in January. Thanks for watching! JN
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Hmm thank you!
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