"there will come a day when you have a 7 1/2 foot rod in your hand and you'll wish it was 8 1/2".  today was that day.  Big O's words rung in my ears all afternoon as i was fortunate enough to have one of the most ridiculous fishing trips in recent memory.  3 fish.  over 25 pounds.  7-9, 8-7, and 9-12.  and if not for the techiques in the "winch 'em out" videos, i wouldn't have put a one of them in the boat.  if you fish nasty places, you owe it to yourself to spend a few minutes with these videos.  when THE ONE decides to chomp your bait down in that deep, gnarly timber, you'll be glad you did. 

 

here's the pics.  i posted the mouth pic to show the hook penetration.  Nasty.   

 

http://www.ragetail.com/news/rage-videos/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice lunkers.

Ridiculous indeed! Is this awesome or what.

WOW. The big girls are strutting their stuff in February !

CONGRATS

That's nuts! Wanna give us a description of how you were fishing? I'm perplexed by the punching rig in February

3 fish , 25 lbs in Tennessee , I'm speechless . 

That's a mother lode right there, wow...

Outstanding Paul. Three fish that weighed like five fish.

That's nuts! Wanna give us a description of how you were fishing? I'm perplexed by the punching rig in February

sure man.  and i'll post some pics of the rig.  i have been tweaking on that thing since December.  i have used several versions, each with one difference or another.  all have worked and each mutation had it's advantages, but each also had a drawback.  i've finally put one together with no apparent weaknesses - at least none that i can see yet.  you can use any weight or hook with it and the hookup % is nuts - near flawless.  there is no need to describe it, the pics are self-explanatory.  one note, the little pieces of plastic you see are elaztech, because they are much more durable than regular plastic.  that's important, especially with braid.  since taking these pics, i have found that the little piece of elaztech i use to support the screw spring is unecessary - especially with a z-bend hook.  all you need is a tungsten flippin' weight of your choice, a rubber band for pegging, your favorite color skirt, an offset worm hook of your choice, your favorite soft plastics, and a screw spring from a swimbait hook.  a good rule of thumb is a use a hook a size bigger than you normally would for the given plastic.

 

as far as the fishing goes, i am fishing in and around creek channels and channel intersections with tons of timber - standing and fallen in 10-17 feet of water.  the big females are moving back and forth on these channels depending on the conditions.  a few decent days and they'll start following the channels into the mouths of coves where they'll eventually spawn.  a few bad days and they'll back out to the middle of the lake.  they bunch up on concentrations of timber along the channel ditches.  these fish seem to want a big profile bait like a jig, but no jig i have ever fished would survive in the places i'm casting.  and the last thing i want to have to do is pull on top of a spot piled up with big fish to free a jig.  water temps are in the 40's so SLOOOOOW is the ticket.  big sticks and braid are an absolutely required, and even then it gets dicey sometimes.

You da MAN!

 

 

 

I have some 1/4 ounce lead weights that hold skirts  .

 

I also have an old spinnerbait mold . Some day Im going to pour some without hooks . Then all I have to do is pull the wire out and I'll have 1/8 , 1/4 , 3/8 , and 1/2 ounce weights that will hold skirts .

sure man.  and i'll post some pics of the rig.  i have been tweaking on that thing since December.  i have used several versions, each with one difference or another.  all have worked and each mutation had it's advantages, but each also had a drawback.  i've finally put one together with no apparent weaknesses - at least none that i can see yet.  you can use any weight or hook with it and the hookup % is nuts - near flawless.  there is no need to describe it, the pics are self-explanatory.  one note, the little pieces of plastic you see are elaztech, because they are much more durable than regular plastic.  that's important, especially with braid.  since taking these pics, i have found that the little piece of elaztech i use to support the screw spring is unecessary - especially with a z-bend hook.  all you need is a tungsten flippin' weight of your choice, a rubber band for pegging, your favorite color skirt, an offset worm hook of your choice, your favorite soft plastics, and a screw spring from a swimbait hook.  a good rule of thumb is a use a hook a size bigger than you normally would for the given plastic.

 

as far as the fishing goes, i am fishing in and around creek channels and channel intersections with tons of timber - standing and fallen in 10-17 feet of water.  the big females are moving back and forth on these channels depending on the conditions.  a few decent days and they'll start following the channels into the mouths of coves where they'll eventually spawn.  a few bad days and they'll back out to the middle of the lake.  they bunch up on concentrations of timber along the channel ditches.  these fish seem to want a big profile bait like a jig, but no jig i have ever fished would survive in the places i'm casting.  and the last thing i want to have to do is pull on top of a spot piled up with big fish to free a jig.  water temps are in the 40's so SLOOOOOW is the ticket.  big sticks and braid are an absolutely required, and even then it gets dicey sometimes.

 

Nice work Paul ~ that's a great triple.

 

btw - your rig looks very familiar.

 

A-Jay

Nice fish man. Are you fishing from shore? 

Dang Paul!  You are on em right now!  That is a great day in TN!

 

Jeff

Nice fish man. Are you fishing from shore?

The way he described he was fishing I would say no

nah, i was not fishing from the bank.  but the wind was blowing so hard is was kinda dangerous to be taking pics in the jonboat (might hit a stump and pitch me out )  so i pulled the boat up to the bank to get the pics. 

 

and A-Jay you are absolutely right my man.    this rig is a conglomeration of ideas i have seen or heard about for years.  certainly nothing new here.  i definitely didn't invent any of this and don't want anybody thinking i did .  there are quite a few mutations of the punch/slither rig out there.  i have run the gamut fooling with all of them anywhere from using weighted swimbait hooks to using the sinkers with the collars to using or making skirt hubs.  the one i described is not my favorite, but it is definitely the most versatile and something any of the members here can make using stuff they've probably already got. 

 

as far as my fishing goes, that's certainly nothing special or new either.  it's winter/pre-spawn transition 101.  there are several GOOD articles about it here on BR.  and that method will work anywhere a person fishes.  you can just imagine where the bass are going to spawn and start working your way backwards using known fish "highways" like weedlines, roadbeds, ditches, or creek channels.  if these things are not present, then you can look for the first major drop off(s) outside of the spawning areas.  anybody can find (and catch) fish using these methods and a variety of baits will work depending on the terrain.

 

the truth is i just lucked into finding a bunch of nice fish back in December and I've been following their movements ever since.  i can't always find them like this and when i can, they are not usually this caliber of fish.  i have much respect for the guides, pros, and other skilled anglers who can do this consistently with big fish on huge river systems or reservoirs.  it's hard enough on the small bodies of water i fish.  but finding them that first time is definitely the hardest part.  it gets easier from there. 

 

really i didn't want this to be about the fish i caught or the baits i was using.  i just wanted to encourage folks to discover or revisit the videos and sit at the feet of a master for a few minutes to learn about getting fish out of bad spots.  my pics are just proof that the "winch 'em out" tools and techniques really work.  when the bite you've always wanted happens in that big brushpile, tree top, or thick grass it's just nice to know you're ready. 

 

watch the videos.  when you do i promise my fish won't look that big.

I knew when I saw you posting again that it was just a matter of time before you posted up some hawgs.☺. Those are some great looking fish, Paul, and a very nice write-up as well.