Fishing Tip of the Week

Thursday, 31 August 2023 08:30

Retrieve is Everything
by Mike Gerry

Observing my customers day after day most anglers fish their bait the same way cast after cast. The contrary though, is recommended as most experienced anglers are constantly adjusting their retrieve and making a change as to how they present it until they find a bite.

Fishing tip of the week

Fishing Tip of the Week

Tuesday, 22 August 2023 10:32

Fall can add a different Presentation.
by Mike Gerry

Don’t let the fear of a rattle bait catching in the grass turn you away from using it in the fall.
Rattle bait catches fish in the fall as well as in the spring. Guntersville being the grass lake it forces many of us stay away from one of the best fall presentations used all over the country this. We are only shy about it because it gets caught up in grass. I contend that the grass can be your friend if you work your bait correctly.

The presentation is everything . Regardless of the hanging up in the grass a rattle bait can be a fish catching machine in the fall , just like in the spring time.
In fact, the hang ups of the grass can work to your advantage, you just need to understand the dynamics of rattle bait. When you’re pulling it over and through grass you’re popping and pulling the bait and it is making erratic movements every time it grabs the grass, and this causes reaction bites from bass.

The other presentation that is even more dynamic than snapping it out of grass is letting it drop; this bait is a killer along the river channel edges working it at 45-degree angles off the river ledge and letting it drop as you move off the edge is a killer.

No bait catches more fish in the fall while its dropping a helicoptering rattle bait. It causes some vicious bites and with some proper paralleling presentations off and around the river ledge , you will catch some big fall bass. The bass will absolutely slam it and you will have a blast.

This presentation is very simple give yourself enough distance off the river ledge to make a long 45 degree cast and let it just catch the edge of the grass, rip it up and let it drop the rattle bait will do the rest. It drops erratically, it is noisy because it has BB’s, and it is flashy as it drops! Repeat your drop at least twice as you retrieve it, and you will get slammed with some big fish! A fun bait you need to try it this fall!
Captain Mike

Fishing tip of the week

Fishing Tip of the Week

Wednesday, 16 August 2023 06:59

Flipping
by Mike Gerry

One condition you can count on in the fall is clear water – the reason being, generally we do not see a lot of rain, and the thickness of the hydrilla causes the water to clear as it acts as a filter and clears the water.

Fishing tip of the week

Fishing Tip of the Week

Wednesday, 09 August 2023 08:51

Different Ways to Rig a Senko
By Mike Gerry

In the summertime you have to be able to adjust to the lethargic action from most bass.

One way to do this is to fish a Senko and there are many ways to present it that can help you catch fish.
One of the most common ways in the summer so you get a slow drop into the grass is to Texas rig it weightless. I like using a 4.0 hook as the size of the hook adds just enough drop from the size to make it slowly fall into the holes of the grass. Doing this allows you to be patient, feel the bite and let the bait do the work for you.

One way to use a Senko especially when fish are suspending is to hook it directly in the end of the worm and use a very light weight to let it drop through the deeper water at a slow rate.
Suspending fish will react to this presentation, you can rig it like a drop shot and hang the weight below the Senko or just use a light slider weight either pegged or not and let the fall of the bait drop through the fish. Finding schools of fish on your electronics and then dropping the end hooked Senko through them is a great way to catch numbers. Your electronics can also be key in the summer for this to gain immediate positive results.

I also like wacky rigging it on a Shakey head that is maybe only 1/8 oz. in weight. Doing this gives the Senko more action and entices the bass to react to the different movement of the wacky rig. Using this in water of 10 feet or more can be deadly as the bait moves and sways back and forth to the bottom. The 1/8 oz. amount of weight is just enough to get the bait to drop to the depth where the fish are and cause the bait to move and cause a reaction.

Shakey heads are just great in the summer and this presentation just makes it better.
Senkos in the summer catch fish and using different set-ups just make it better.

Captain Mike

Fishing tip of the week

Fishing Tip of the Week

Tuesday, 01 August 2023 09:32

Big Worms for Summer
by Mike Gerry

Over my many years of guiding, I have found that most fishermen believe that using a big worm in the heat of the summer is not the smartest of decisions.