If you’re looking to obtain and keep quality sponsors, the book “Get Paid to Fish” is a “must read”. It is packed with details that you better know if you are going to approach any company for sponsorship. Written by Bernie Barringer and Jim Kalkofen, whom both have over 20 years’ experience in fishing and outdoors activities, this book is the key to opening doors for those anglers who want to get paid to fish. It also offers some valuable insight not just from the writers, but from industry legends like Kevin Van Dam and Al Linder (to name a couple), detailing what it really takes to get a paycheck from a sponsor.
Of all the books and articles I have read over the years, Get Paid to Fish is one best that I have come across. It is well thought out, easy to read and easy to understand. It speaks directly to how Social Media, videos and other technologies can greatly benefit the anglers who are in the know. Whether you’re just starting out or if you have been at this for a long time, Get Paid to Fish can teach everyone a thing or two about sponsorships and what it really takes to get paid in the fishing industry.
We were fortunate enough to catch up with Bernie Barringer (Co-Author of Get Paid to Fish) for a quick interview, here’s what he had to say: READ MORE
Been trying to get out all winter for a little
#icefishing. Finally got a chance to get
out with my longtime friend Eric Fieldstadt (Great fishermen and photographer). If you’ve never been ice fishing, you might
be wondering why anyone in their right mind would want to walk out onto a
frozen lake or pond and start drilling holes.
The answer is simple… Addiction to Fishing!
There was about 15 people out on the ice when we
arrived. Action was slow in the early
morning, but picked up as it got later.
Several Crappie, Pickerel, Bluegills, Perch and even some Bass were
caught. Some guys set up “tip-ups”
rigged with live bait while they jigged.
We met a lot of nice folks out on the ice. Everyone was friendly, courteous and just out
there to have a good time.
Eric and I spent our time only jigging, but we moved around
a lot more than most of the guys out there.
We used a variety of ice jigs and some little spoons tipped with small
cuts of salmon skin. In the end, moving
around produced a lot more fish for us… plus you tend to stay warmer when you’re
moving around. ;)
If you’re thinking about giving ice fishing a try, there’s
still a lot you need to know before you set foot on the ice. I would always recommend you go with at least
one other person and preferably someone with ice fishing experience. Be prepared, dress warm and be sure to carry
some safety equipment. A good general
rule is 4” or more of newly formed ice is safe for one adult to stand on, but
there are other things to consider. Not
all areas will have the same ice thickness.
Here’s a couple of resources that can help you.
Most tournament anglers make time to spool up new line, change out hooks, oil reels, and perform any other maintenance that may be required on their equipment prior to tournament day, but many don't spend enough time preparing themselves mentally. Perhaps one of the most important thing I found that gives me a competitive advantage in tournament competition is being mentally prepared before a tournament.
If you were to ask a consistent winning tournament angler how they prepare for a tournament, I'd bet you dollars to donuts one of the items on their check list would be mental preparation. In fact many of the top competitors in any sport know that to win, you have to have your head in the game long before the game even starts. I'm sure it's not the first time you've heard this mentioned, but what does it really mean and how does one go about preparing themselves mentally for a fishing tournament? Here's what I like to do...
If you've never tried this combo, now is the time. Here are some tips from prostaff team member Dan Galusha on this Early Spring Jig Combo.
When early Spring arrives a lot of attention turns to a jig-n-pig combination for bass fish. This has long been a favorite, and rightfully so, as it is a great producer for lunker bass. However, during the last two seasons I’ve found a smaller and slimmer jig combination. The combination, which I found to be very productive, is the black/purple, Gripper Hair Rubber Bass Jig with a 4-inch, black Mann’s Jelly Worm. For added attraction, Kodiak Crawfish Paste is applied to the blackberry scented worm trailer.
People always ask me if I still like to fish from the banks or shorelines since I have a boat and compete in tournaments. My answer is always YES. In fact, my favorite part of shoreline fishing is that you don't need a lot of time to go. Here's a nice bass I caught during a lunch break from work.
I've been bass fishing since I was a kid and fishing from the shoreline was my only option for quite some time. I will admit that having a boat has advantages, the ability to cover far more water in less time. But even as a boat owner, I haven't forgotten my roots.
You don't always need a boat to catch a big bass. As matter of fact, one of my personal bests to date was caught bank fishing. Never underestimate fishing from shorelines of a lake or pond. Every body of water has at least one dominant bass.
There are a few tips I follow that have helped me be more successful when fishing from the bank.
Fishing equipment or gear Less is more. Better to pack lite so you can move around more freely and cover more water. The more spots you hit the better chance you have landing a big bass.
How to approach the shoreline Bass spook easily, especially lunkers, so make sure that you are quiet when you approach the shoreline.
What to look for to find bass Big bass like heavy cover on the bank. When you think of cover think of weeds, branches in the water, shade, basically anything a bass can use to “cover” itself. Make sure you have polarized glasses, they really help to find underwater structure and cover.
Different Casting techniques Shoreline access is usually limited and surrounded by obstacles. Being proficient in as many casting techniques as possible, will increase your ability to place a lure into key areas.
Check out my article on bank fishing tips. There, I explain in more details how to apply each of these tactics and techniques.
Whether you have a boat or not, never underestimate fishing the banks of a lake or pond, they can produce some really nice bass.
Ice out is something that is highly anticipated by the northern anglers. Many lakes, reservoirs and ponds can freeze solid for several months, keeping you away from catching bass, unless you’re an ice fishermen. As the end of winter approaches, all we keep saying is “when will the ice finally start to melt?” When the winter continues to linger on the excitement for the ice out builds. For those of you who didn’t spend your free time during the winter organizing your tackle boxes, cleaning your reels and all the other stuff us northerners do, you’ve got some work ahead of you if you want to be ready for ice out bass fishing!
Ice out can be a great time of year to go bass fishing, if you understand the transition bass make from their wintering holes to their spawning grounds. The bass have been hunkering down all winter in very cold waters, as the ice and snow melts away, water temps begin rapidly increasing drawing the bass to move to more shallow areas where the water is warmer.
Locating Bass
Largemouth and Smallmouth bass can be found in many locations from steep bluff walls with stair-stepping ledges to shallow, dark bottom areas near rocks and weeds where there’s more heat. The one common factor you need to search for is the transition areas that bass will use to get from deep to shallow. On larger man made impoundments, old road beds, creek channels and stone walls can be used as a road map that shows you how bass will move from point to point:
A (wintering holes) to
B (deep transitional structures, bluffs, rock ledges, points, etc.) to
C (shallow transitional structures like rock piles, docks and emerging weed beds) to
Had a great time at the Rockland County Hunting and Fishing Expo this weekend. Had a chance to speak with Bassmaster Classic runner up Paul Mueller, Mike Iaconelli as well as several companies like Northern Bass Supply, Mega Strike, Shane's Baits and more...
We have some great video footage coming soon as well as some give away items including two packs of Havoc baits autographed my Mike Iaconelli courtesy of Sandra at Northern Bass Supply!
Bobby Uhrig founder of Mega Strike was also kind enough to donate a gift BASS-kit loaded with lures from Mega Strike which will also be giving away.
Visit Bass Fishing at BASSIN' USA.com for more details!
On the Bassinusa.com message boards there's a discussion about limiting the amount of lures that they carry on their boats. There's such a vast amount of lures out there that we use for different techniques. We try to consolidate in the beginning of the season, but as one of our members posted "by mid-season there will be a small tackle shop in the boat!"
What do you do to limit the amount of clutter in the boat?
Here's what I've done to help keep the clutter to a minimum.
I've started creating smaller boxes that contain everything I need for a specific technique. Plano makes a great waterproof tray model 3640-10 that allows you to separate the interior layout in some very usable configurations:
For example, drop shotting. I have a small dropshot box that contains my three top producing colors which mimic the forage in the areas that I am fishing. (When traveling to other areas, I can swap out colors as needed), Weights I keep loose in the compartment on the right along with hooks which I leave inside their plastic jacket. I mostly use Gamskatsu hooks, so the package fits nicely inside this size box.
I have another one setup for jigs, swimbaits, grubs, tubes, etc.
For jig heads, I keep a separate box (same size) with a variety of the jig heads that I commonly use.
I one larger box that I use for bulk hooks, weights and other terminal tackle (swivels, split rings, etc.)
Like you suggested, I also have combined my crankbaits into one box, with a variety of colors and sizes sorted by Depth. I like a double sided box for this. I'll put 0' -12' on top and the Over 12' on the bottom (or other side).
Top water lures I keep in a medium size box that can hold about 15-20 lures (depending on size).
I have a spinnerbait/buzzbait box:
I keep a Plano box that holds all my fishing line and another stand-up bin that holds pliers, glue, scissors, flashlight, and other tools, etc.
I have a small mesh bag that holds my culling scale and rings (up to 10)
Everything fights into one bag that fits in the back compartment of my Ranger. That's the test, if I can keep everything down to that size, if I ever need to jump in someone else's boat, I'm good to go...
From there, I keep bulk plastics in big zip lock freezer bags that can be left in a bin which can be left at a hotel, or the truck and if I'm really paranoid, I can always through a couple in the boat compartments because there' usually plenty of room left over.
When fishing a crankbait in an off-shore area that you know is holding bass but you can't seem to get them to bite, there are several "tricks" you can try to entice them. For instance, try to vary your retrieve speed (steady, stop & go), change your presentation angle... read more
So you spent the weekend reading about an interesting new fishing technique that’s all the rave on the bass fishing tournament trail. You go to your local tackle shop, pick up all the components necessary, call your buddy and head out on the lake. Your friend decides to stick with the technique that he’s used to, while you rig up the new one and begin to try to fish it.
As the day goes on your friend catches fish while you end up catching nothing or panfish. Towards the end of the day you put it down and pick up ol’ reliable and catch a fish or two. When you get home all the new tackle and the technique go right into the spare tackle box, and you have convinced yourself that it’s all hype. I can admit, that once upon a time this was me, but a close friend of mine told be about how I could overcome this way of thinking and expand.
The first thing you should consider is .... READ MORE
A lot of myths are commonly associated with topwater fishing. We've all
heard that the technique is just something you do in early morning or
late afternoon hours. Or they only work in the spring or fall. Or that,
because of increasing fishing pressure, bass simply aren't fooled by
topwaters like they once were. Forget these myths.
A topwater can
pay off for you if you give it the chance and put the typical
misconceptions out of your mind. Topwater baits can be dynamite during
all hours of the day and are more versatile than most realize. I agree
that early, late, spring, and fall are the prime times for the surface
lure. But anglers who believe this is the only time are really limiting
their ability to catch bass.
Rivers are excellent for topwater
fishing because in this swift environment bass live in less than 5 feet
of water. When fishing current with a topwater plug there are a few
things to think about. The position of the fish and the angle in which
the current will move your bait. Always through 3 feet or farther past
your target, so you won't spook the fish, and move the bait with the
current as close to the target as possible. Lures of choice are the Zara
Spook Jr., Spitting Image, Cotton Cordell's Crazy Shad, and the Tiny
Torpedo.
So the next time you're on a river system and the bite is slow, tie on that old topwater plug. You'll be surprised.
Here's a modified way to tie a blood knot... The blood knot is great for joining two types of fishing lines together. It works especially well for joining braided line to fluorocarbon line. Hope you find this helpful. If you already know this knot, there's an unrelated funny clip at the end of the video (2:55 min in)
Want to learn how to quickly pin point the most productive feeding zone while fishing for bass? If you can master this one tactic, you will consistently catch more bass.
One of the most important factors you can determine is if bass are looking for a “vertical” or “horizontal” presentation? When you can identify this one piece of the puzzle quickly, the rest will fall into place easier.
At the very least if you only get the “vertical/horizontal” preference determined, you’ll be 50% more productive while you are out fishing.
If you are in a boat with decent electronics and you know how to use them to determine what the predominant depth zone (top, middle, bottom) bass are using, you should find this fairly simple to do. If not, there’s a tip below that will help you.
For this technique I would recommend using a 6’ to 6’6” Medium Power Fast Action rod. I like fast action rods with single hook lures. I pair mine with a Daiwa Sol 2500 reel or a Shimano Stradic MGFA 2500. For line I recommend using a tuff 6 pound test line like Berkley Trilene XT. In really clear water I like to use fluorocarbon lines, but it’s not a must.
So here’s what you need to do. You'll need to start by using a 3” soft plastic grub rigged on a ¼ oz mushroom or ball head jig. Choose a color that you have confidence in. A color that you know produces on the body of water you are fishing.
Cast it out and start counting as soon as it hits the water surface (1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi). Let it go all the way to the bottom then and let it sit for a few seconds (vertical presentation). If you get hit on the drop or after the lure is sitting on the bottom, they are most likely looking for a vertical presentation. Pay attention to on what count the strike occurred. If you did not get hit on the drop or after letting the grub sit for a few seconds, then begin to reel it in slow and steady (horizontal presentation). It is very important that you do not move or twitch your rod while reeling in. Just keep the grub coming along steadily. If you get a strike or notice a bass following the grub back to the boat/shore, they are most likely looking for horizontal moving lures.
If you are fishing deeper water, you might be wondering how are you going to be able to know where the bass hit in the water column? Here’s a little trick you can use. When you make a cast with the grub, start counting as soon as it hits the water surface (1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi). See how long it takes for the grub to hit bottom. If it takes a "10 Mississippi count" to hit bottom, now you have a baseline to work from. Just break it into thirds and put the left over in the middle column. Meaning Top= 1,2,3 Middle=4,5,6,7 bottom=8,9,10
Now make a cast, give it a 3 count (top) and start reeling the grub back in slow and steady. Repeat the process a few times paying close attention for strikes or follow-ins.
If you do not connect, try a 7 count (middle) and again start reeling the grub back in slow and steady. Again, repeat the process a few times paying close attention for strikes or follow-ins.
For vertical presentations, you can do the same thing by counting down on the fall. Now when did the strike occur (on what count)? Let’s say you got a strike on “3 Mississippi”, try and fine-tune your presentation by making another cast and only let the bait fall for a “4 or 5 count”. If you continue to get strikes during the first “5 count” you now know that the bass are using the “TOP COLUMN” for the active feeding-zone. So you can simply fan cast around and only let the grub fall for a five count, then reel it back in steadily and cast again… no sense letting it go all the way to the bottom if you do not have to.
It’s important to remember that you’ll still need to try both vertical and horizontal presentations regardless of which feeding zone you find bass using, (top, middle or bottom) until you find their preference. When you can consistently put these two pieces of the puzzles together quickly, your fishing consistency will rise dramatically. You will be able to eliminate unproductive water more quickly and ultimately find where the bigger bass are feeding.
Sometimes they'll be all over a grub and you can just adjust the retrieval speed, depth, color, size, etc. to fine tune your presentation. Other times if you switch over to a crankbait, spinnerbait, swimbait or something that moves horizontally, you'll be able to start connecting with those bass that are aggressively chasing down baitfish.
Let's say you notice that your first strike occurred on the drop, you should try and duplicate that presentation. Make another cast and let the grub to fall vertically. If you are able to trigger more strikes, you now know that the bass are looking for a "vertical" presentation. Let's say that you are getting some strikes on the fall, but not really connecting with the bass that strike, you already have one piece of the puzzle solved (they want a vertical presentation) so now you can try using a different lure with a vertical presentation.
Personally when faced with short strikes, I like to immediately "down-size" the lure I am using. You might choose to throw a smaller grub on a lighter jig head (let's say a 2" grub on a 1/8 ounce ball head jig). Cast it out and let it sink to the bottom. Pay attention to where you get your strikes. Near the top? On the way down? At the bottom? This will let you know where preferred feeding-zone is. You will quickly start to see better and better results as you figure out more of these details. This is called fine-tuning a presentation.
As you start to imagine trying this, you’ll probably have a lot of “what if'” questions come to mind. Like, “what if the bass hits after the grub is sitting on the bottom after the 10 count is over”, or “how long should I let the grub sit on the bottom before working back in”, or “should I work it back in”. What I can offer is simply “experiment”… but pay close attention to when the strike occurs. For more insight on fine tuning your lure presentation, Frank Lapinski from our NY Prostaff wrote a great three part article that can help explain this in more detail, here's the link to "Bass talk, are you listening? - part 2"
The better you get at this, the more and bigger bass you will catch. I know it may sound complicated at first, but it is really very simple once make a habit of this process.
Well I was able to get out with my fishing partner Joey for a half-day trip on Sunday. We fished a small pond on the east end of Long Island. We arrived at the ramp around 1:30pm.
Date: 2/19/12 Air temp: 44 degrees Water Temp: 41 degrees Water Clarity: Clear Winds: West at 10 MPH
We set out to target largemouth bass. First area we approached produced two largemouth bass on back to back cast with a hair jig.
Both bass were located at the base of the drop-off into deeper water. We fished the break for about an hour and landed a total of 5 bass ranging from 2.5 lbs to 3 lbs. No giants, but some nice post frontal action for February. We also connected with a bonus fish, a really chunky perch.
We left that area to check another wintering spot and were rewarded with a 2 lb bass and this nice largemouth that was about 3.75 lbs (photo below). That was our biggest bass landed for the day. We connected with couple more 2-2.5lb bass in another wintering hole, but nothing big.
All in all we had a great day on the water. All of our fish were caught on1/8 oz. hair jigs. We managed to catch 9 Largemouth Bass, 4 pickerel and that fat perch, which got me itching to go target perch, so that became to focus for the following morning:
On the trip back, I put a call into my friends Dave and Nunzio to find out if they wanted to join me for a Perch trip. Both agreed and we planned to be on the water by 8:30AM. Our destination was another Long Island pond that holds a very healthy population of nice sized Perch.
DAY 2
Date: 2/20/12 Air temp: 37 degrees Water Temp: 40 degrees Water Clarity: Clear Winds: North 25 MPH (with Gust up to 35 MPH)
You know it’s cold when you are thinking of getting back into the truck while you are taking the tie down straps off the boat! The wind was howling and the pond we were fishing has no place to get out of the wind, so we knew it was going to be a long day. We started searching for Perch in a hole where they are often found schooled up this time of year. It is a large area with weeds and stumps, but with the wind at 25mph sustained, it made finding the perch a little difficult. In addition, the weed was gone. We worked around the area for a while and then decided that we needed to set out to find some good weed that might still be around. Once we found a good patch of weed near the creek channel, it was on! We connected with our first perch around 9:30am, kicked a buoy marker over the side and caught them almost on every cast until about 12:00pm.
Every now and then they would move around a bit, but for the most part they stayed within about a 100’ radius. We had tons of doubles and a few triples. We only had on one giant, but she came off before we could land her. The rest were all really healthy, fat and feisty perch. With the average perch weighing about 1.5 lbs. They’re a lot of fun on light tackle with 4lb test line.
One lake in particular that I like is Clinton Lake, (about 2 hours south of Chicago) a 4,900 acre reservoir that's a cooling lake for the Clinton Power Plant. In the dead of winter we're catching bass in 50 degree water on crankbaits, plastic worms and slow rolling spinnerbaits.
October thru March in the upper Midwest usually means that bass season is pretty much over, most folks take their bass boats in for their end of the season maintenance and winterization and start focusing on deer and waterfowl season. Hey what do you expect it's the North Country; the first major snow storm comes in and you're stuck at home watching fishing show and going in & out of Bass Pro Shops or your favorite tackle store just to keep that desire for April spring fishing on your mind.
That works for some but there are a few of us that will get our bass fishing fix by fishing Power Plant Lakes.These are cooling lakes for Power plants, whether its nuclear or coal generation, these lakes don't freeze in the winter months and believe it or not stay fairly warm in the cold months. The other nice thing about these lakes is that they are usually stocked lakes, most of them are bass factories, so you will likely get some kind of action all year. Here in Illinois, where I live, we have several lakes just like these all over the state.
This is a great practice lake in the winter month's because with the warmer water from the hot discharge it will teach you how to fish currents, practice your prespawn-spawn techniques, and it will help you gain confidence in baits as well. On Clinton you can use rattle traps in 50 + degree water temp and 38 degree air temp and catch 15+ bass in a day.
Clinton Lake and other Power Plant coolings are a great option to work on your bass techniques in the winter months, and will keep that winter monkey off your back!!!
Tight Lines!!
Marques Green
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Big Smallmouth Bass in deep cold water on Keitech Fat Swing Impact Swimbaits. A preview of BASSIN' USA's 30 minute smallmouth bass fishing video catching big wintering reservoir smallmouth bass in the northeastern United States.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
A simple secret to Crankbait fishing
Crankbaits
are one of the best tools you can have in your bass fishing arsenal. They come in many different shapes, sizes and
colors. Different models dive to a wide
range of depths from surface waking (less than 1 foot) to 20+ feet. Some have a tight wiggle and others have a
wide wobble. They each have a time and place when they'll shine.
Here’s a video that
explains one simple tip that can help you catch more fish on a Crankbait… no
matter which model, color, shape and size you are using.
If you’re looking to obtain and keep quality sponsors, the book “Get Paid to Fish” is a “must read”. It is packed with details that you better know if you are going to approach any company for sponsorship. Written by Bernie Barringer and Jim Kalkofen, whom both have over 20 years’ experience in fishing and outdoors activities, this book is the key to opening doors for those anglers who want to get paid to fish. It also offers some valuable insight not just from the writers, but from industry legends like Kevin Van Dam and Al Linder (to name a couple), detailing what it really takes to get a paycheck from a sponsor.
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