By David A. Brown
Special to BassFan
Fishing clean. It’s a singular objective with a multitude of variables. The basic metric — catching everything that bites — relies as much on the mental as the mechanical. Here’s a roundup of pointers that’ll help you increase your efficiency.
Can’t Miss the Mouth
Big weights are essential to punching, but an ounce-plus of lead or tungsten can pop open a bass' mouth on the hookset. Greg Hackney prevents this by snelling his flipping hooks. When he jacks that rod back, his hook turns outward at a 90-degree angle to the line and greatly increases his chances of impaling the fish before the hardware leaves the "red zone."
Mike Iaconelli combats this issue with the Ike Approved flipping hook he helped design for VMC. Created with a 3-degree offset point, the hook grabs better than a standard flipping hook with its point in-line with the eye.
But what if your hook of choice has no such offset? Iaconelli suggests gripping the point with a pair of pliers and manually tuning it outward a few degrees.
During his record-setting win at the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest on Lake Fork, Patrick Walters frequently lamented fish that fish were just swatting at his jerkbaits. With some barely skin-hooked and others missing the bait entirely, the South Carolina pro remedied his vexation by removing the middle treble and upsizing the outer two.
Giving up one hook to retain proper action, he increased his grabbing power and secured his entry into the Century Club with his 4-day total of 104 pounds, 12 ounces.
Spacing Issues
Hooks only work when they make contact with your quarry; ideally inside the fish’s mouth. Give the fish too much bait to grab and it might end up chomping the DMZ and losing interest. Especially relevant for a reaction-bite scenario, where you often get just one shot, you can’t afford to waste opportunities.
Frogging comes to mind here and during his recent win on Lake Chickamauga, Bassmaster Elite Series pro Lee Livesay found that cutting his Scum Frog Launch Frog’s legs tight to the hooks shortened his bait’s profile and lead to more consistent hook-ups. Throwing his bait over cheese mats meant his fish were attacking with impaired vision, so shrinking the profile helped focus their aim.
If you're flipping hook doesn't have an offset point, Mike Iaconelli suggests using a pair of pliers to turn it out a few degrees.
Contrast this reaction-bite scenario to that of a slow-dragging presentation and the focus shifts from bait size to bite response. Specifically, pulling a Texas-rigged worm of 10-plus inches or Carolina rig with a jumbo lizard or a full-size Brush Hog means your hook point is often several inches from the bait’s back end.
When it’s time to use such rigs, the fish are looking for a big meal and they’ll usually eat the whole thing — it might just take a few seconds. Reel ‘til you feel and then sweep set to drive the hook home.
Other points include:
• Don’t be bashful with your hook size. Especially during the spawn, Iaconelli wants the biggest hook his bait can hold.
• Even with plenty of firepower, you may still struggle to connect when fish just peck at a Texas-rigged bait’s appendages. Simple fix: A little front-deck surgery. Snip off the wiggly stuff, or switch to a more streamlined bait and force the fish to grab the bait where it grabs back.
• If fish are just nipping at the tail of your dropshot worm, switch to a Texas-rigged presentation and move the business end closer to the customer.
• Chunk-style trailers, typically impaled and hung on a jig hook’s bend, occasionally ride up the shank, turn outward and mar your hooksets by covering the hook point. Prevent this by threading an inch-long piece of worm onto the hook shank to limit the trailer’s movement.
The Moment of Truth
Bass fishing inherently fans the flames of ego-stroking, eye-crossing bite response. Sometimes you gotta lay the wood to ‘em, but not always. Off-road bicycles have more than one gear because hard-and-fast doesn’t always get the job done. Same deal with hooksets, so down shift to let ‘em get it and you’ll catch more fish.
It might also help to lighten up here and there. With jerkbaits, bladed jigs, etc., a rod that’s too stiff will pull the bait out of the fish’s mouth, while a softer — maybe a parabolic — rod allows the hook(s) time to do their thing.
Now frogging’s something of a hybrid scenario in that you generally want to crack ‘em pretty good. However, react too soon and all you get is a heart-pumping blow-up (same with any topwater). Granted, letting a frog sit for a few seconds and then continuing the cadence often brings a follow-up attack, but counting on second chances is the path to failure.
Bottom line, you gotta give ‘em a second to make sure they got the bait. Easier said than done? Sure, but try this: Close your eyes as soon as you see the strike, reel down and if you feel steady pressure — or a digging fish — pour the coals to him.
Believe in the B-Team
Despite our discipline, diligence and undivided attention, fish are gonna miss a few times. It might be due to errant aim on their part, or they might be guarding a nest or recently hatched fry. Other times, a lethargic mood just has them swirling and swatting.
Whatever the case, you’ll convert a lot of misses into hook-ups by keeping a follow-up bait on deck. An unweighted Senko, dropshot, swimming worm, wacky rig — all are effective deal-closers if you miss the first shot.
Think like a fish: If you’re interested enough to take a shot at something, you’re probably going to be looking for what you missed. Even when you’re only window-shopping, if the store offers a sale that’s too good to resist, you’re gonna open your wallet — or, in this case, your mouth.
