All posts by hellabass

Announcements, Bass Boat Corner, Fun Fishing, Multimedia

Got new boat out one last time

Last Sunday I got out for about 4 hours and we caught a few good smallmouth, it was more about getting the new boat out once in Minnesota before it was too late.  Now I get to stare at it every day for the rest of the winter, sigh
 

On the positive, with the help of a fishing buddy, I installed new lighting in my garage, I put 6 recessed can lights right above my boat.  So now I have great lighting for working on tackle and other boat projects, plus it makes it look like a show room in the third stall.  The lighting is good enough, I may do some video spots from there this winter to keep my YouTube Channel fresh.

Here is my latest video production.

Black Friday deals have already started at Bass Tackle Depot, time to score some sweat deals 20% off and more.

I listed some boat props on eBay tonight and I plan to list stuff on ebay on Black Friday while my wife spends at the stores, so I for sure have a G-Loomis GLX and a Shimano Chronarch B SF picked out for listing this week, plus baits and other stuff.  So keep a watch out for them! You can  find thermo lite board at Merritt Supply and other supplies from here.

Have a safe Holiday Week!



Bass Boat Corner

My New Cat – Long and fun weekend

Finally recovering from a long and fun weekend.  Fishing buddy Paul Coffey and I left Friday after work and drove down to Warsaw, MO to pick up a boat that I purchased from Pro’s Choice Marine.  We did stop and visit the Bass Pro Shops in Altoona, IA; nice that they are open until 10pm.  Got into town for a quick nap in the SUV and then had a nice breakfast at a local cafe.

The boat was advertised and they were great to work with, they make sure your boat is 100% water ready!  So we did not waste any time and launched the boat into the upper Osage arm of Lake of the Ozarks.  After test driving the boat for a bit we fished the rest of the day.  We ended up catching tons of fish, but struggled with size, the fish were choking a Chartreuse Shad Ima Square Bill and white swim jigs.

Had some solid BBQ at Brown’s BBQ in Clinton, MO, large portions and reasonable prices.  Then got a room in St Joseph.  We then fished for about 4 hours on Lake Mozingo near Maryville.  Mozingo seemed to have tons of potential and we got a few fish, but 4 hours was just not long enough for us to crack the code.

We got home for dinner at home and some family time, about 6 hours total sleep for the weekend, 40 some bass, a few white bass and a crappie and brought home my 2005 Bass Cat Pantera Classic.

We will end the post with a few boat pics, to see all fishing and boat pics, see the photo gallery here
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Announcements, Fun Fishing, General

Boat Week

Ever since my old boat died at end of August, I have been casually shopping for a boat, about a month ago, I found a deal that I felt that I shouldn’t pass up and now this weekend I am going to Missouri to go pick it up.  Pictured below will be my boat for next year, its a BassCat Pantera Classic with a 200 Merc.


Thanks to those that shopped my ebay auctions and clicked a few ads to help me get a few extra bucks in my boat fund!  I will be fishing Lake of the Ozarks on my trip this weekend as well.  Watch my facebook page to see more pics & vids from the trip and of boat all weekend long.

Hopefully weather will remain nice and I can get my new boat out when I get back and get some more smallies like this one that I recently caught.

I thought about getting an Alabama Rig for my trip to Lake of the Ozarks, but lead times are just too long after Dan Morehead won a tourney on Kentucky Lake and ebay seems a bit crazy to right now for the A-rigs.

So if any of my readers have fall fishing tips for Lake of the Ozarks, leave a comment or send me an email.  Or if you got good food or lodging recommendations around Warsaw, MO, comment on that as well!  I think the plan is to fish out of Brown’s Bend area this weekend.



Advanced Bass Tactics, Multimedia, Product Reviews, Tips and Techniques

What’s up with the Jika Rig?

Not too much before being knocked off my pedestal seat by the Alabama Rig this week, I started seeing rumblings on Twitter and forums about the Jika Rig.  It seems every couple years, there are new rigs, techniques, gear and technologies to keep up with in bass fishing.


As pictured above (Fork Craw, 3/0 EWG Hook, Voss 1/4oz Weight) – can be done w/ single or double split rings

The Jika Rig (also called The Jig Rig) is very interesting, it is actually very simple.  While Owner company is marketing this, it began is Japan, much like the drop shot and the Neko Rig.  You can buy this rig pre-rigged, but I really don’t see the point.  You almost certainly have the stuff in your tackle box already to make them and if not, just about any local retailer would have what you need.  If they don’t, order them online.

All you need is a good selection of offset wide gap worm hooks, some split rings and a weight with wire loop or attachment on top and put the three together.  I have also seen, where people have used short pieces of braid to make a loop and tie the weight to the split rig, making it almost like an ultra low profile drop shot.  I think you can use different shape weights to tailor your presentation and to the cover.  You can also use one or two split rings to adjust the action as well.

To me, the Jika Rig is a cross between a Texas Rig, Football jig and a drop shot, also kind of like the Biffle Hard Head.  I also think this rig will prove to be very versatile, can be flipped pitched, dragged like a football head and probably serves as a decent bed fishing rig among other things.

Here is a video of a JikaRig (JigRig) that I made and demonstrating underwater at a boat ramp.

I think its most attractive quality as it offers freedom to the plastic and offers it in a very horizontal and natural way.  I think Byron Velvick does a great job explaining the features and benefits of the rig in this video.

So leave a comment if you have used the Jika Rig or think you have a good application where you think it would excel!



Advanced Bass Tactics, FLW Tour, Product Reviews, Tips and Techniques, Trend vs Mirage

Alabama Rig – Next Big Thing or Pushing the Limits?

As I write this blog, Paul Elias is on the verge of blowing away the field on something called the Alabama Rig and after day 2, the angler in 2nd place, Robert Behrle, is also throwing the same rig.  I had never seen anything like it in bass fishing before watching a live on the water video today from FLW.  I expect much more on the Reel Time Reports from FLW soon.  It was hard to see at a distance the type of swimbaits Elias had on his A-Rig.

So I did a little research to find out more about this rig.  Turns out, there is a website for it, http://thealabamarig.com

From what I gather, its almost like the donkey rig (double fluke rig) on steroids.  Similar to an umbrella rig used in saltwater, its painted minnow head with 5 wires protruding out the back with snaps to attach lures, allowing you to fish 5 baits at a time.  It seems the most popular scenario is to fish 5 grubs or swimbaits at a time to mimic a small school of baitfish moving through the water.

The big kicker is that it seems to get quality fish and the potential to catch 2-3 fish at time more frequently then one would with any other lure setup.

There already have been a few mumblings and grumbling about whether this rig should be legal in tournaments.  In some states, like Minnesota, this would not be allowed due to state regulations.  Not sure on all states, but it appears to be legal in Alabama.  Seems as though, if its legal for that state, and everyone has access, then fair is fair!

Not sure if this will be hotter then the chatterbait and the Basstrix hollowbelly put together, but I am sure it will make quite the splash and these will be a little hard to find in a short time!  Either way, there will always be a supply of Alabama Rigs on ebay.  What if Kevin VanDam starts throwing 5 Red Eye Shads at a time?  How long before BassPro & Cabela’s have these on the shelf?  Sworming Hornet Lures makes a version called the Sworm.

Here is a good video breaking down some rigging techniques for the Alabama Rig.



General, Humor, Top Lists

Tackle Junkie Support Group on Twitter #LBA

Are you a compulsive fishing gear shopaholic?  Bait Monkey on your back like a bad smoking habit?  Have to have all the newest lures, reels, rods, etc?  Take me for instance, I recently vowed not to buy any more gear to save money for a new bass boat to replace the one I broke.

 I have fell off the wagon several times:
1. Bass Tackle Depot had a 25% off sale, how could I not get a few items to restock for next year?
2. I found another place offering 30% off sale, Yikes!
3. Lost a big fish during a tourney under a dock on 20# Fluoro, went back to 30% off sale to get 25# Abrazx
4.  Local Gander Mountain had Yum Wooly Bugs & Money Craws for $1.48 a bag
5. Went to other local Gander Mountain to get more Wooly Bugs

Well, turns out you are not alone and maybe we can help…..  There is a support group that meets online on Twitter at hashtag LBA or #LBA.  We may not be able to cure you, but maybe we can turn you onto some hot deals, might as well save some money and hey there is safety in numbers, right?  “Collectively our biggest fear is that after we die, our spouses will sell all our gear for what we told them we paid for it!”

As a charter member on Twitter (HellaBass) of this group, I am adding an LBA tag to my blog as well in support of this group.

How does one join?  Pretty simple, check out this #LBA list on Twitter, follow the list and everyone on it, then start telling us your problems with Tweets with #LBA at the end.  We’ll likely follow you back and you’ll get added to the list!

Hey at least I am selling some old stuff to pay for my lapses, check out my ebay store!  See, I even sound like a junkie!

But seriously, I got Shimano, Loomis, All Star, Daiwa, Lakemaster, Lowrance and a bunch of Tackle to sell.



Announcements, General, Tournament Info

Quest for a new Boat & My Fall Clearance Event

This past Saturday I fished the Simply Fishing Marine tournament with my buddy Paul Coffey on North & South Center.  Even though I had not been there in 10 years and Paul had never been there, I am pretty confident in my abilities to catch fish this time of year.  They put on a fun event and thought it was a good opportunity to put some more money in my boat fund.  Didn’t quite work out that way, we ended up with 16.5lbs and just missed money and win, just needed one more good cull.  I did get destroyed by a biggun on a dock late in the day, but that is fishing!

If you are wondering why I need to build up my boat fund, my boat had a terrible accident back in August, it was totaled, see blog post on that.

So I have decided to liquidate several rods, reel and all kind of tackle and gear to have a little more cash to put down on prospective boats.  So if you want to participate, check out my ebay page, got all kinds of good stuff and I will continue to keep putting up stuff for a couple weeks.

Currently, I have G-Loomis Rods, Shimano Reels, Lowrance GPS, Trokar Hooks, and more.  I have some Rapalas, Lucky Crafts, a Lunker Punker and a few other things ready to load tomorrow night as well.

If you don’t want to buy stuff, consider clicking on a few extra links/ads on my site or YouTube Channel



Tournament Info

Gopher Fall Classic 2011

This past Sunday fished the Gopher Fall Classic, it has been a fun tournament the past few years.  It is a random draw team tourney.  It also is always close to home and mystery draw with no practice, usually makes for an exciting event.  Last year, my partner Dennis & I had a banner day weighing 6 fish for 29lbs.  Watch a quick video of our 29lb bag!

This year, I drew Paul Coffey, neither of us had been on this West Metro Lake before, but had heard a few good things, so we were excited.  We started the day by side scanning an area we thought looked right from map and looking at the shore.  We quickly found a patch of rocks.  After about 15 minutes, I loaded up on a nice 3.75lb fish on a Carolina Rigged Game Hawg.  We tried the spot a bit longer, but decided to head shallow.  With the lake not being huge, we wanted to the first to some of the shallow fish before others got the idea as well.

I doubled up on a good fish on the first dock but came unbuttoned.  We kept at it and it did not take long to fill our 6 fish limit with 2-3lb fish.  I was also fishing a buzzbait and a Phenix vibrating jig over the grass.  I picked up our 7th fish on the Phenix jig and it was easily over 4lbs.  We continued to hunt & peck along shallow cover, picking up a few upgrades here and there.  One of the last docks we hit, Paul nailed another 4lbr on a ring fry.

We then headed back to our deep spot, thinking the warming air and sun would position the fish out there.  Paul got a 3.5 & a 4.5lbr on a football jig to end our day.

Our total ended up being 23.98lbs for 6 fish and our big fish was only 4.49lbs, so we got to 24lbs the old fashion way, all 4lbrs.  We caught around 25 keepers for the day.  I hope to fish the Simply Fishing Marine tournament this Saturday as well.

Oh yeah, I think the Switch has Flipped!

Fun Fishing

Not Quite

Went fishing tonight, hoping the fall bass frenzy would be on like donkey kong, but it seemed things are a bit behind this year.  Think we need a little more cool nights to finish off the weeds that are still in process of dieing off.

Still a bunch of weeds in a weird state.  Fished for 3 hours with a buddy tonight on a metro lake.  We only managed 6 bass, 3 were scrawny rats, 2 were nice chunks flipping the pads and I got one jammer flipping a Yum Money Craw that went 5.3lbs.

That made it worth the trip, hope to get a bunch of these on the next trip!



Federation News, Tournament Info

MFBA TBF Minnesota State Championship – Mississippi River

This past weekend I fished the TBF Minnesota State Championship out of Wabasha, MN on the Mississippi River.  I only had one day to practice which was the Sunday before.  During practice, I found one good group of largemouth on Lake Pepin and a couple good groups of smallmouth down in the river on main channel rock and wing dams.

On day 1 of the tournament with the wind conditions I had committed to the lake, but made a couple wing dams spots on the way.  I caught small keeper smallmouth on a sand drop and had some short strikes on my favorite Yellow Magic popper.  Enough time wasted, I headed to the lake.  My first stop produced 2 short smallies on topwater.  I then headed to my largemouth area, I quickly got a chunky bass on a Red Eye Shad.  I then started working the area with my jig and got a fish close to 3lbs, then another good’un on Tube Craw and another on a Phenix vibrating jig.  I let that spot rest, got another keeper largie on a mojo rig and then came back to the best area and got another good fish on a chigger craw.  We worked our way back down the lake and my partner got his first fish on a lipless crank.

I then went back to where I had short strikes in the river and quickly caught 2 smallmouth around 3lbs on my Yellow Magic popper.  From there we fished a few wing dams and I spent a bit of time in Indian Slough trying to find a kicker, but it never happened.  I ended up with 3 largemouth and 2 smallies for 14.72lbs and my big fish was 3.59 largemouth.  That was good enough for 2nd after day 1.

The wind had switched a little on day 2 and I did not think my best Lake Pepin area would hold up, so I scratched that and went to an old favorite area below Wabasha.  My first spot only produced a single 2lb smallie and 2 white bass on the Yellow Magic.  From there, I knew things may be tougher and I was probably going to just do some fishing today.  My 3rd spot produced another keeper smallie on the topwater and largemouth on a Chigger Craw.  We tried a few wing dams as we worked our way up river, only one miss on the popper.  I got another keeper smallie on a mojo rig off the spot that produced the big smallies on day 1.  I then headed up by Reed’s Landing and got one short.  We stopped back through the previous spot and we each got a keeper smallmouth.  It felt good to have a limit, not big, but knew it would not take much more to make the top 6.  We worked through a series of wing dams and I got another decent smallmouth.

From there I decided to run back past Indian Slough and gamble a bit to find some frog fish.  I found some what appeared to be some good looking water.  My partner had a boil on his first cast, from there, I put on a big northern clinic on frogs   On the way back out of Indian Slough, we each flipped a nice largemouth and then we hit a little main river rock at the end and that was it.  The dock talk was mixed results, some anglers did better, others struggled.

I ended up weighing 10.19lbs and held on the 5th place, which is awesome, because the top 6 boaters qualify for the 2012 TBF Northern DIvisional in Wisconsin.  This was a nice redemption after not making the BFN Northern DIvisional on Whitefish.

This weekend, have the Gopher Fall Classic, possibly the Simply Fishing fall tournament the following weekend and I think some hawg hunting tomorrow night!