Picking The Best Belly Boat and How to Do It
Belly boats (or float tubes) offer the perfect way to quietly fish lakes and ponds (duck hunters are discovering them, too). They’re also perfect for those who want to pack in to fish more remote waters and don’t want to hassle portaging a canoe or kayak.
Bass Fishing’s Toughest Competitor
When discussing bass fishing’s toughest competitor, I bet the first thought coming to mind are some of the well-known professional anglers who fish the major tournament trails. However, this might not be true at all.
The Reasons You’re Not Catching Big Striped Bass in the Surf
Of all the qualities that make the striped bass one of the country’s premier game fish—including its tremendous strength, its regal purple sheen and stately black stripes, and its ability to grow to large sizes—perhaps the best is the striper’s tendency to feed close to shore.
Wrecking Ball White Bass
I wish I could say this “wrecking ball” discovery was the result of testing a cutting-edge angling hypothesis. In truth, it came about by happenstance. It was fortunate that I had enough fishing sense to see value when value presented itself.
Bass Fishing Myths
The late Al Houser, former director of the Oklahoma Fisheries Research Lab, made a comment that’s stuck in my head for 30 years. “The problem isn’t that anglers are ignorant,” he lamented, “it’s that they know so many things that just ain’t so.”
Throw your Crankbaits to the Right Line
Two things are more important than anything else when you’re fishing with a crankbait — a lively action and a long casting distance. Both of them are directly affected by your line choice.
The Effects of Cold Fronts on Bass
I admit my past skepticism about the effects of cold fronts on bass. Some of my hesitancy to buy into the mother of all excuses for not catching bass is that I’ve enjoyed some memorable catches under post-cold-front conditions, even classic conditions with a high barometer, bright blue sky, sharply colder temperatures, and a strong north or northwest wind.
Prespawn Smallmouth Tactics
That’s spring bass fishing “up here.” On the Great Lakes and the natural lakes of the North Country, shallow bass rule prespawn hunts. We could fish them deeper, but why? Can’t see them. Can’t watch them fight all the way back to the boat. Not as active off the breaks. Obviously I’m prejudiced, so I asked a few experts to help pick top prespawn tactics.