BROWN BASS TOOLS ~ Questions & Answers

[Junk Fisherman]

Speaking of trolling, I plan on doing it in a couple weeks with my kids just to get them on some fish.  I was primarily going to troll cranks on shallow flats and drop off areas.  What speeds do you usually troll at?  I was planning on trolling shad rap type baits.  Any other tips?  I have never trolled before.  

[roadwarrior]

1.5 mph 

I like main points and secondary points. If you have wood you have to stay outside.

On gravel it's best to occasionally tick the bottom.

[TnRiver46]

On 5/26/2021 at 9:33 AM, Junk Fisherman said:

Speaking of trolling, I plan on doing it in a couple weeks with my kids just to get them on some fish.  I was primarily going to troll cranks on shallow flats and drop off areas.  What speeds do you usually troll at?  I was planning on trolling shad rap type baits.  Any other tips?  I have never trolled before.  

Gas or electric? In calm water, 2.3 mph is as slow as I can go. But that’s a good speed, it works. I like 10-12 feet deep, a squarebill will slam into the bottom and trigger bites 

[Junk Fisherman]

I was going to use my big motor but I would use the TM if that was most effective.  This is something I only plan to do with my wife and kids.

[TnRiver46]

I like the big motor, but over 3 mph is a little fast. I have caught big smallies trolling 50 degree water downstream at 3.0 mph but I like 1.7 going upstream if possible 

[A-Jay]

Preparing for the Fall Run ~ Early

 

  After the rather abundant, Pre-Spawn Big Brown Bass action here is in the rear view mirror, 

the "Fall Bite" immediately becomes my next favorite time frame to expect big things. 

It's another time when plus size fish come shallow again and are looking to eat - rather voraciously I might add.  None of that is a surprise really and just about every basshead on the planet, knows it. 

However, what has been a pretty big surprise to me, especially the past couple of seasons, is just how 'early' on our calendar this can happen; but please allow me to back up a bit.

 For a long time, years in fact, my impression & expectation of 'the fall bite' revolved around cooler air & water temperatures much more than the date.  

 Well in advance of even considering vacating my hunt for big brown bass in the deeper haunts, and well before I secured the drop shot & spybait rigs, I was eternally waiting for that first 'bite' of cold air or those first few 'cold nights'.  Traditional thinking says this is what is supposed to trigger the bigger fish to move 'shallower' and get them feeding.  And clearly there is and probably will always be quite a bit for 'truth' to that.  The Length of day may also be a will participant. 

 Something we may all agree with is that not all the bass in the lake are doing the same thing at the same time.  So is there a chance, that some fish big fish move in shallow and feed Before the frost is on the pumpkin ?  I'm here to say, Absolutely.  

  So while for years I was out deep, pretty much getting my lunch handed to me in mid to late August, there were some real brutes laugh it up some pretty skinny water, and I was none the wiser. 

 Fortunately, during a mid-day, super high sun, lunch time RECON mission, I happen to get lucky, real lucky.   I was throwing a spinnerbait around way up on the inside, stuff I would have thought was far too skinny to hold fish, at least not the type I was looking for and not at that time of day. 

  As my bait passed by this isolated wood in less that 4 ft of very clear water on a huge sand flat, a 5 lb brown bass shot out and blasted it.  To say I was surprised is quite an understatement - seemed a kin to getting a bass from Wal-Mart parking lot.  It was that 'weird' to me. 

This is that fish catch . . . 

https://youtu.be/EkCJNqul4lI

 I thought, "this fish must be sick or something" Nope, aside from the Strike King Burner hanging out of her face, she was fat & sassy and seemed totally healthy.  Had to be an anomaly. 

Either way, I poked my face in there at sunrise my next trip and found the bass already in there slurping up every 4-5 inch yellow perch they could find, and there were schools & schools of them.

So Good. 

Accordingly, I started looking insider earlier & earlier each season.  And while no two seasons are the same, it appears that even the first week of August is NOT too soon, up here anyway.  I've been capitalizing on this late summer deal ever since.  Besides some of my best topwater catches, my PB Brown Bass came that very next year off that same flat; also on a spinnerbait. 

 

 So long story short, if you have an area(s), that come to life a later in the season,

it might not be totally crazy to check them out a little sooner.

I'll be spending this raining weekend in the Pro-V Bass ensuring all my Gear is Good To Go. 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

Fish Hard

A-Jay

 

 

 

 

[MassBass]

It is never a bad idea to try shallow. In my Winnipesaukee days (July/summer peak) I would see big smallies meandering right on the bank, where the the waves crash the rocks. These fish would be so shallow that most bass boat anglers fishing 'shallow' would not be shallow enough! The crayfish and bluegill were there. The waves hitting the rocks may have actually been dislodging treats of crayfish for the bass.   

[cyclops2]

I have found with Arthritis setting in now & weather changes. My pain level has forced a change in search & catch.  Made me more efficient. 

[A-Jay]

OK ~

Every silver lining's got a touch of grey.

A-Jay

[TnRiver46]

[Blue Raider Bob]

Thanks so much for this information. I can hardly imagine how much work you put in a I am very grateful. I am a lifelong fisherman of sixty years but have only in the past four years started pursuit of SMB, and only because of a 3 lb 15 oz hitting my Pearl Bomber in the Tennessee River. Now I'm ruint as we say down hear. I have so much to learn and so appreciate this forum and guys like you!

Bob

[TnRiver46]

^plum ruirnt

[PaulVE64]

For me the best part of the fall bite is when the river monsters get aggressive again.

 

I want to see a 4# smallie charging my jig again in 2 ft of clear water in the middle of a sunny day. Its even better than a topwater bite.

[A-Jay]

I hear ya ~

And a 4lb smallie right about now for me 

would look like a Sherman Tank !

#thesummerofdinks

Fish Hard

A-Jay

 

[A-Jay]

 

Smallies On Swimbaits ~

 

 The paddle tail or boot tail swimbait can be a very effective deal for just about any kind of bass and in a super wide variety of applications. Not news.  At this point its common knowledge that sliding one on a jig head can and does get bites pretty much anywhere in the country.

Whether it be a solid or hollow belly bait, small, medium or even the larger versions, these baits seem to have some serious strike drawing power at times.  Although I haven’t made an attempt to dive into this one yet, they do account for quite a few brown bass for me each year.

So, I figured it was time.

 

 I’ll start off with ‘The when’; and this may be the easiest aspect of this one.

Seasonally, as soon as there is open water here and straight through to hard water, I almost always have a swimbait on a jig head rigged up & ready to throw.  This is the deal I’ll be discussing here and I’ll get to the where and how in a bit.  But yea, when the local brown bass population is on the feed, they almost always seem fairly eager to choke one of these things. 

 

  Now let me get into some of my more common ‘where’ scenarios.

Right off the bat, the versatility of these things does lend them to be effective in a wide vary of ‘wheres’.  So it can literally be one of those 3 feet to 30 feet deals.  However for me, up in this clear water, regardless of season, time of day or body of water, a swimbait on a jighead is an effective way to cover water and it’s usually ‘deeper’ stuff. 

I’ll quantify that by saying I’m throwing them up on to or off of mid lake humps, up & off points, as well as drop-offs and into saddle areas.  Usually targeting bass in 10-20 feet.

  Bottom composition and cover can vary but in super heavy soft cover (weeds) I am not probing them with this bait.  I might swim one over and around it, but IME, they don’t fish very effectively through the slop.  Great way to cover a big mid-lake flat though.  Slow rolling one over the weeds can help find biters (and a bunch of Pike, unfortunately).

 On a hard bottom, I like the lift & fall technique, on both a tight & slack line, as well as the cranking it along slow and letting it deflect; trigger deal.

On a sand bottom I am all about grinding the bait.  Reeling it along in such a manner, and at whatever speed I need, to maintain constant contact with the bottom.  This is one of my more productive approaches that also gets me a ton of by-catch; walleye mostly.  A Football head is a solid choice.

 

  Now for the gear, and it’s really nothing special.

I use spinning & casting gear, pretty much interchangeably.

Almost always using 7 ft Medium action in both blanks.

Spinning gear is done with 10-15 lb braid and an 8 – 10 lb FC leader.

And the casting gear is straight 10-12 lb FC.

I will say that the spinning gear is usually selected when I’m looking to keep the baits deeper, say below 10 – 15 feet and the casting gear often gets the nod in anything shallower. Incidentally, this is the same tackle I fish a tube with.

 

The Jig heads & Baits ~

There is a plethora of good quality swim baits and matching jig heads to choose from now.  On line vendors literally list what seems like hundreds.  I’ve fished a dozen or so types & brands.  To keep it simple, I’ve pretty much settled on two; listed below.

  I do prefer softer baits in the 3 to 5 inch size range, with something close to 4 inch being a big player.  While clearly less durable, I seem to get more bites.  Along with that, having the right action, especially on the fall, is a must for me.  

 When it comes to jighead shape, design and the all-important hook, again I like to keep it simple but here I am fairly particular.  Brand Name is my desired direction but will go with a Lesser-known deal when there’s merit.  I am eternally looking for jigheads with a quality medium and medium light wire hook that is also The Right Length.  Too stout here can be tricky to sink on the medium gear I use; especially on a long cast or very deep running bait. Additionally, too long of a hook seems to ‘mute’ and can even over power a bait.  I seem to get the best action when the bend is coming out the top of the bait no more than half way back of the baits overall length.  More than that is No Bueno.

My favorite heads match up to baits when they only go in about a third of the way (if that makes sense).

   Colors I keep close to the bait color and my default is just a plain lead, black or tungsten. Head shape & design includes where the line tie placement is located on the head itself. The right local will allow the bait to swim nicely, especially along the bottom and on the glide without forcing the bait to pick up unwanted & bite killing debris.  A decent keeper helps; a couple of different ones work for me.  In a pinch (meaning I ran out of a certain weight size) I’ve even used my tube jigheads with decent success.

Jighead weights range from 1/8 oz for the smallest and shallowest presentations up to ½ oz for the other end of the spectrum  I’d say I use ¼ oz and 3/8 oz the most though.

 

  Before I wrap this one up, I have two final thoughts.

First, a bait type that has been deliberately omitted here,

are the ‘pre-rigged’ deals.  Not because they don’t get bites or that I don’t use them, because they can be killer at times and I do throw them.

Storm Wild Eye Shad and the Megabass Dark Sleeper are two of my favorites. The Dark Sleeper sees local action and the Storm bait is an international Rock Star performer for me.   While I fish them in much the same way, I didn’t include them here because comparatively, I only recently started using them.  For me they seem like a separate deal, one that I may cover in a future Brown Bass Tools installment; especially that Dark Sleeper.

 

 And second, and I sort of hate to add this but it is relevant. 

Virtually every bait I have covered in this thread, has accounted for at least a handful, if not more, 5 lb plus Brown Bass; except this one.

There are few things I enjoy more than adding a too close to the lens pic of a brown fatty to the end of one of these write ups.  But alas, I cannot do that, because despite my best efforts, it hasn’t happened.  Instead, what I will say and where I find myself throwing these swim baits the most, is to cover water & find biters.  Done it a ton of times; plenty of 3’s & 4’s.

Can be especially helpful on new water.  This style of swimbait is as close to a ‘confidence bait’ for me as I have.  Pretty sure this approach has indirectly led to a few tanks, by showing me areas that the bass are using.

 

Strike King Rage Swimmer ~ Keitech Swing Impact FAT

 

Owner Ultrahead Football Jig Head ~ Owner Ultrahead Round Jig Head

Gamakatsu Round Jig Head ~ Dirty Jigs Tactical Bassin' Finesse Swimbait Jig Head

 

 

Fish Hard

A-Jay 

[12poundbass]

Nice write up sir. The few times we made it out this year this presentation produced for both 6poundbass and myself and we’ve both taking a liking to it. 

[A-Jay]

Thanks ~ 

Glad to hear it my friend.

Looking like next week has some potential locally,

especially if we can manage get up out of these 40 degree daytime air temps.

My arsenal starts getting really narrowed down as the days get shorter.

But a swimbait see action right to the bitter (cold) end.

Stay Safe

A-Jay

 

[cyclops2]

I troll with both a 9.9 or a 30 hp. Size & speed means NOTHING to a SMB that wants your lure.  I have about a very fast walking  speed with the 30 hp. PERFECT SPEED !!   IF  IF  IF   You realize that most fish are NOT attracted to a boat exhaust noise underwater.  So how do I catch them going so fast ?  Can not tell you because the meat guys would wipe out whole areas.

[A-Jay]

Fish Hard

A-Jay

[J Francho]

Exhibit A. Nice.

[roadwarrior]

 

 

                                           

[A-Jay]

Fishing a Large Grass Flat for Brown Bass ~

   Fishing for northern Michigan smallies that may be holding on grass flats

Is something I focus on two or perhaps three times a season.

And while the time frames are rather specific, there’s enough success seen there to make it a viable option for me. Caught my PB Brown Bass on a flat in September a few years ago.  So here I’ll cover the when, the where & the how.  

 

The when ~ seasonally, my favorite times to hit a flat is right after post spawn and again in late summer transitioning into early fall.

There’s also a decent summertime night bite that can be found up here as well.  I’ll usually capitalize on this one on smaller lakes with the Old Town canoe.

The where ~ Two aspects to this part.

 

First, a grass flat for me usually means a relatively expansive area of open area often in 4 -10 feet of pretty clear water.  Depth changes are usually subtle & gradual as are variations in bottom composition.  But they ARE always there and are routinely where the magic happens.

 Cover, both soft and hard rules the deal as do the aforementioned subtle depth changes.  Open water areas on the sections of the flat that are mostly weed covered can also be part of the juice.  So IME, grass flats all seem to have areas and even ‘spots’ that will hold both bass & bait.  This means that a vast majority or at least a larger percentage of this deals is mostly fishless.  Finding & marking potential spots and then taking fish from them in a couple of different types of conditions helps make coming back & fishing them over & over a favorable deal.  Finally, thinking about it, this deal is just about the only area I fish for smallies that Is not either directly or even loosely associated with deep water access.  In fact while there may be some ‘nearby’, the fish are often well away from it.  Instead holding up in what would normally be considered areas that are too far from the safely of the depths that in most other cases, these smallies favor. Side and 360 imaging are both useful tools here.  For finding everything except the actual fish.

 

Second part of the where on the grass flat the bait & bass may be using routinely revolves around the prevailing weather conditions.

Specifically the wind direction, light levels; insert sun light direction.

Both upwind and downwind sides of cover can & do hold fish and I’ve have found no rhyme or reason as to which one is preferred on any particular day.  Seems to change and be quite random.  Enough so that’ I’ll try it all looking for bites. 

This makes fishing for them here as close to fishing for them like they were largemouth as I ever do.

 

Finally, the how ~ Pick your poison.

While I’m always cognizant of my baits size & profile as well as speed & effective running depth, and to some extent color, pattern & sound signature for most all for this presentation it’s going to be some type of horizontal moving bait. Almost anything from topwater down to right at or perhaps just above the depth of the soft cover.  Pretty long list here and my personal list includes but may not be limited to lipless baits, squarebills, swim & vibrating jigs, swimbaits, A-Rigs, spinnerbaits, walkers & poppers and just about anything that one can effectively present here. 

I like the wind at my back as well as the sun in the fishes face – if I can swing at least one of those I’m feeling good. I’ll use the talons to control my advance and to hold me a safe distance off of what I think may be a fish holding zone. Usually try to stay off the Fortrex whenever I can get away with it.    Low light and or cloud cover often finds these bass a little more willing to chase a bait and is especially true of A-Rigs. Super flat and or calm days will see me break out a popper and fish it ridiculously slow.

 

 One sort of big downer to this approach is, northern pike will be here as well. Usually in numbers but not size.  I have been known to use wire when indicated or get over the fact that I will lose a few baits in the process.  

So there it is if some of that sounds like something you have access to – I say give it a shot and see what happens.

 

A-Jay

[roadwarrior]

 

 

                                              

[Greenfrog]

A front facing sonar and  colored minnow. Drop shot. Done. I saved you a bunch of reading. 

[A-Jay]

OK ~

Good Tip.

A-Jay