(Editor's note: "Catching Bass with Dustin Wilks" airs five times per week on Sportsman Channel – 2 p.m. ET Sunday, 4:30 a.m. Monday, 6 a.m. Tuesday, 11:30 a.m. Wednesday and 5:30 a.m. Saturday. The six-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier provides BassFans with additional insight about each episode in these submissions.)
Week 2 of "Catching Bass" is already here, and this is one of my favorite episodes because I got to do what I love to do — junk-fish shallow water fast!
Junk-fishing may sound as if there is no art to it, but that’s far from the case. Junk-fishing shallow water is where bass fishing is most like a true sport. Athletic ability, intuition, stamina and preparation. Hey junk-fishing ain’t easy!
The art of the cast – skillfully putting your lure where the bass lives, no matter where that might be. Under trees, under docks or in a sunken lawn chair, no bass is off limits.
Intuitiveness – knowing which lure to use at just the right moment.
Stamina – balancing on one leg for 12 hours all while casting accurately. Similar to golf, but over a much longer time and a thousand more holes.
Being prepared – just like any sport, you have to be ready for what may come, so go through what could happen throughout the day and rig every dang rod you have.
If you watched the show, you’ll see I covered some serious water, only slowing down for visual fish.
I mostly used a Culprit Incredi-Frog, just buzzing the surface, and an Eco-pro Swim Jig with a Culprit Flutter Craw trailer. These two baits are machines when it comes to getting reaction bites in heavy cover. To make my day good and “junky,” I mixed in a bunch of other lures at just the right time, from a Culprit Skinny Jerk to Culprit Fast Vibe, even throwing in some topwater. You name it, I had it rigged and ready for the perfect time to fish it.
What you can take from this episode for your own fishing success is to establish a few confidence baits you can cover water with and then just go – and go fast. Slow down when it feels right and then go some more. This is the art of junk-fishing. Do it all, but don’t waste time. Surprise the fish with your lure in their face.
This is the most pure and fun way to fish, in my opinion. It m makes me want to go fishing right this minute, and I might.
Things you need (or don’t) – junk-fishing is yours and yours alone.
For me, on big water, a great boat that floats in shallow water like my Caymas, a 36-volt trolling motor and a heck of a set of batteries is a must. I’m using Moto Batt AGM’s from Impact Battery.com, but they have many great options, but all in short supply. These have extremely long amp hours, but are heavy, so again a boat that can handle them is a must. The other critical piece to battery maintenance is your charger – don’t skimp here. I use a Power-Pole Charge and it charges not only my cranking battery, but also puts the excess charge back into my trolling motor batteries, so I can junk-fish to till my heart’s content.
If you can’t afford all those extremely nice creature comforts, or you're just getting started in fishing, don’t let the costs get you down — you can still catch just as many and have just as much fun in 15-foot jonboat with a 25-hp Yamaha and a 24-volt Trolling motor – no depthfinder necessary. I personally treat my boats as tools. One day the Caymas is perfect, the next, my small jon may be better to access out-of-the-way places. A wise man once said, “One can never have too many boats." Even my 3-year-old recognized this the other day, exclaiming “we need a boat” while we were bank-fishing. I actually love bank-fishing as well.
So don’t let anybody tell you have too much tackle, too many rods or even too many boats. A good ol' junk-fishermen can never have enough!
