November Article Contest Entries

[vafishing]

Let's try this one as a basic spinnerbait techniques article.

Spinnerbait Techniques

 

The spinner bait has to be one of the best and most popular bass baits out there but when I watch people fishing them I often notice that they are not getting the most out of them.  It seems to me to many of us just get hung up in the easiest way to fish this bait which is to just straight retrieve it at a constant fairly rapid speed in shallow water over weeds or around other cover.  You will catch fish this way but probably not as many as you could.  In order to have more success you have to start to think out of the box.  Next time you are out and you feel like a spinner bait might be what you want to fish try doing some of these:

The Slow Roll

Really the name tells it all.  To slow roll a spinner bait just retrieve it at the slowest possible speed you can where you still can feel that the blades are working.  What this does for you is allows you to work the bait on or really close to the bottom.  This tactic can be deadly when used over deeper weed beds or if you have found some deep structure such as hump.

Change the Pace

Instead of just retrieving at one speed mix it up.  As you reel the bait in speed up and slow down your retrieve as you go.  A lot of times the fish will hit as you speed up.  It must trigger an instinct that the bait is getting away or something.  Anyway if you think about this it makes sense as if you watch bait they rarely are swimming at one constant speed.

Yo-Yoing

You can do this technique combined with any of the above.  Just add a yo-yoing motion as you go through your retrieve.  To do this as you reel you can drop your rod tip down.  Then as you continue to retrieve lift the rod up this will cause the bait to rise and fall as you retrieve.  I have found this works really well combined with a slow roll over deeper water.

Kill It

Do any of the above retrieves or combination of retrieves but every once in a while just stop and let the bait flutter down.  You can vary the amount of time you let the bait flutter to very short to long enough to let it come to rest on the bottom.  When restarting your retrieve just give the rod a quick pop upward to get the blades spinning again and then continue on with your retrieve.  This works really well when you are retrieving past cover like stumps, retrieve until you are near the cover and then "kill it" and allow it to flutter down along the cover.  I know someone who employs this tactic and who catches some real hawgs by doing it.

Jig it

Rather than going with one of the retrieves above you can actually jig it.  Cast then allow the bait to fall all the way to the bottom.  Then sweep the rod up quickly.  Then slowly reel in retrieving line until the bait flutters back to the bottom.  Just keep repeating until you bring the bait all the way in.


There are really infinite possibilities you can employ when fising a spinner bait.  Just use your imagination.  That is what makes this such a fun bait to use.

 

Tight Lines

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[MotherNature]

Outstanding read VA, thanks for the entry....

[Blake R.]

   I reckon I am going to throw my hat in the ring.

                       Bubba Finessing
                              By: Blake Rutherford

         Question: What do some of the fastest growing technuiqes in the country have in common?
         Answer: Many of them involve light line.
Dropshotting, split shotting, wacky worming, "shakey head" jigheads and straight tail worms; the list goes on!

         Question number two: What is more frustrating than trying to play a big fish with light line?
                 Answer: Trying to play a big fish in cover with light line!

   To a fisherman, few things are as frustrating and heartbreaking as  feeling the steady tug of a good fish go limp. There is no doubt that all the above technuiqes are effective; but in heavy cover, the  light line generally acknowledged as the standard is futile.
   Many anglers do not realize that most of these  tactics can be used on heavier line, also.  With a good baitcaster (or a larger spinning reel and heavier-than-average rod) and some heavier line, these tactics can be effectively used in thick cover. With fluorocarbon line( mono can be used, but flurocarbons ability to become virtually invisible compensates for the line diameter in many situations) and a sensitive MH rod, these technuiqes can become absolutely deadly in the "trash."
   It is no secret that drop-shotting catches fish. However, it is general consesus that it is a deep-water, light line and small bait technuiqe only. But, with the above tackle, it can become an extremely versatile and effective technuiqe. Replace the standard hook with a offset worm hook or and EWG hook, up the weight to 1/4 oz. to 3/8 oz., and slap on the offering of your choice. Creatures, lizards, tubes, straight-tail worms, stick worms, craw baits, pinch-tail baits, ANY SOFT PLASTIC!! With 20 pound fluoro, this rig should be good in and around grass, wood, rocks, docks, bridges, root systems, waterlines, pretty much any concievable.
   Wacky worming is another applicable method. The tantalizing wiggle of a stick bait or straight tail worm has proved to be as irresistable to a big bass as the wood cover he will wrap you around as soon as he is hooked. You can combat this! Slap on a weighted-kahle style hook with a weedguard(this will fold out of the way as soon as the hook is set) and you are ready to go!! If you wish to have the added weight without losing the slow rate of fall, try using a larger stickbait; like the Yammamoto six inch Senko, or the Wave Worms Bamboo stick.
   Yet another technuiqe that is taking the country by storm; a shakey head jig head and straight tail worm. With afore mentioned rod, reel, and line,  this can be yet another effective "Bubba Finesse" method. Once again, use a little larger-than-average weight (sense a pattern here?) and the bait of your choice and hit the lake. Instead of skin-hooking the bait, bury it below the outside of the bait to brevent fouling and snagging.
   These are just a few of the popular finesse methods that can be used in heavy cover with heavy line; there are many more that can be applied to fit a unuiqe situation. Try it sometime, you may be pleasantly surprised by the results!

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[FiveAlive]

Here's my entry:

How to Become A Tournament Angler
By: Taylor "Freshwater" Willis

Many recreational anglers around the country spend many hours pondering about becoming a tournament fisherman. A question that I always hear being asked is, "How do I get into tournament angling?" Coming from someone who asked that very question, the answers can be right under your nose if you're looking in the right place.

One thing you don't want to find yourself doing when getting into tournament angling is going out and dropping $50,000 on brand spanking new "glitter rig" and then dropping another $35,000 on the biggest baddest truck you could find, while spending another $10,000 on all new fishing gear. If you find yourself doing this I can already tell you you're approaching it the wrong way. You need to stop yourself and move into it slowly.

Whether you have your own "rig" or not, I would not recommend jumping into big money tournaments when first starting. My personal recommendation is to find a few local tournaments that are in your general vicinity and maybe start there. Usually you can find small "open" tournaments that are between $15-$30 on any given weekend on any given lake or river throughout the country. If you don't have a boat, find a buddy, family friend, or neighbor that has a boat and get hooked up with them. Usually if you, as the "non-boater" are willing to pay the entry fee the "boater" is willing to comply. Get out and fish some of those tournaments and see how you do, make sure you like the competition, and that you enjoy the tournament environment.

My next recommendation would be to join a local club, either as a boater or as a "co-angler." Most clubs do a "draw" style format where the boaters and non-boaters "drawn" together at each tournament and fish in boater and non-boater divisions. This is a good chance for boat-less anglers to get out and gain loads of information from other local tournament anglers. This is also a chance for anglers that are using their own "rigs" to spend time out on the water while soaking up as much knowledge on techniques, tactics, structure, and patterns as humanly possible.

The next step in this process, this just being a sole recommendation from me, is mainly aimed at the "non-boater" or "co-angler." This step doesn't necessarily have to be met in this particular order, or even at all, but this is just a sole recommendation from me. If you can get yourself a nice used tournament rig in your budget, I would recommend doing so. This will enable you to spend more time on the water, while being able to still pursue your tournament goals.
My next suggestion would be to maybe get involved in a local tournament trail. While still fishing in your general area, you will be fishing against some of the bigger names in your area. With bigger names comes bigger competition, and with this you will gain more knowledge. Some anglers that might usually fish out of their own tournament rigs may want to begin fishing as a co-angler. This would help them get used to the pressure of bigger competition, and then at a later point they might want to step into the boater category. This is a time where co-anglers will gain lots of info. Most of the bigger local names are always willing to share info with beginning tournament fisherman, and as a fisherman you should soak in as much as that knowledge as you can.

The following steps are now in your hands. Where you go with this cannot be mapped out by anyone else but you. It is in our hands to whether you move on from that point or not. I can only give one recommendation, and that is to make sure you always enjoy it. The time that it becomes a chore is the time you stop enjoying it.

These are just a few suggestions from a young local tournament angler. Don't forget to take a kid fishing, as the memories will last a lifetime.

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[MotherNature]

Where have you guys been all of my life  Awesome job FiveAlive and fisherboy15  I am sure that several of you will be getting a PM from OH about writing articles. Even if you turn him down I just wanted to thank you for your entries in the contest!!!

[Blake R.]

YES!!!

[FiveAlive]

SAWEEEEEEEEEEEET!

[BIG PAPA]

You guys kicked some BASS
papa

[Nowsker]

This was previously posted under The Lake Walk-in-Water fishing reports for Florida a few weeks ago. I hope it is 500 words...

Alright, you guys ready? Here we go!
Fished are  2 day classic this weekend for Tarpon Tom's Bait shop in Palm Harbor which always runs on Lake Tarpon but we fish are classic on another lake and this year it was on Walk-in-Water. Went out Friday to prefish a little and fishing was real slow. The front that had moved in Thursday night had slowed the action down and bluebird skies didn't help. Topwater bite for the three days was absolutley non-existant! We tried pitching everything but the kitchen sink with no results until my partner yoked a 5 lber out with Zoom scuppernong Mag II 
worm and then followed that up with a short about ten minutes later on the same worm. I caught a dink on a junebug senko tossing it in front of some Kissimmee grass and letting it drift under, little did I know this would be the pattern that would save us on Sunday. That was it for Friday. Saturday was more of the same but with the wind kicking up late morning causing major swells. We flipped all day with nothing and we decided to take a chance and head up Tiger Creek and at least try and get a keeper. My partner managed to land a 1.8 with about 5 minutes to spare so we at least had something to weigh. The leader after day one had over 11 pounds and we were in 12th of 14 with 1.8 pounds. Sunday, we decided to start in Tiger Creek in the morning and caught 2 keepers early for about 4 pounds. We were drifting red shad senkos and watermelon super flukes with the current and letting them drift under grass edges catching a lot of short fish in the process too. We left about 9am and struggled the rest of the morning without another fish. Around noon, we decided to head to the Kissimmee grass on the East side of the lake in front of the row of houses by the canal. Started by drifting my watermelon superfluke under the edges of the Kissimme grass and hooked up on about the second cast with about a 2 pounder. Followed that up with about another half dozen fish including a 3 pounder. Total for the day was 5 fish for 9.09 pounds (14 in min - exemption for 5 fish) squeezing us into 5th place and $200. The top places were all fishing off-shore hydrylla beds in deep water with 24.99lbs total for the two days winning it. The club that weighed in after us had some real nice fish with a 7 lb, 8 lb, and an 11.26 pounder on Sunday. The 11.26 pounder was actually skinny! Probably a 15 two months from now! This is the biggest bass I have ever seen with my own eyes and not in a magazine. The 8lber was caught on a smoking shad tiki stick (sorry dude if your reading this!). All-in-all it we had 3 beautiful days and lot's of fun. I will try and post a picture of a pickeral I caught.

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[MotherNature]

Looks like we have some talented folks on the site. I am really looking forward to reading more....... You still have a couple of days to add your entry. No need to be a pro, just a love to fish

[FiveAlive]

What do you win for this contest?

[MotherNature]

Check the very first post in this thread and you will see what the offerings are. I believe it is a $50 prize pack!

[Mike Noble]

Yep, a $50 prize pack.  Only a few days left to get your entries in.

[Hawgwild]

Article submission word count: 667 words.


Caddo Lake, Leiberman Power Plant, My Dad and Me

My dad always had the time and patience to take me fishing at a very early age and on through the years as I grew up. We generally went most Saturdays, mainly to Cross Lake at first, a local impoundment near Shreveport, LA.

We didn't have a boat so we would rent one and paddle around usually fishing for bream or Crappie, commonly known as White Perch locally. Time went by and one day dad brought home a brand new 5.5 hp Johnson motor. Was I excited! We immediately took it to Cross Lake for a test run. Dad pulled that cord what seemed like forever but it just would not fire. When he was just about to give up it finally sputtered a little. A couple more pulls it came to life and we took off. What a feeling that little motor gave me. Later dad found out you have to "pump" up the bulb to get gas to the motor..ha  We didn't have a problem cranking it after that.

We mostly used cane poles for our bream and white perch fishing. Dad had an old 1955 Cadillac so we just stuck the poles through the back window and our other tackle and off  we would go....proud as could be.

On to Caddo. Dad worked for Swepco. They have a power generating plant on Caddo Lake. It's the plant near Moringsport, LA for those familiar with the lake. On those grounds they also had some cabins employees could check out when available at no cost. One day, I was maybe 8 or 10 years old, dad came home and said we were going night fishing on Caddo and had brought home some devices I'd never seen before. They were Yo Yo's. I thought school would never end that Friday. Was I excited.

We got into the plant and begin our night of fishing with those Yo Yo's baited with live shiners. Did we ever catch come catfish. We learned where the better trees were that almost always caught fish and also learned to set the depth where the shiner was just in the water. It just created more disturbance when the shinner tried to swim and got more attention that way.

Between runs we would fish out of the intakes going into the power plant. There were plenty of lights and a small discharge into the intakes that always attracted fish. One night  dad was straight lining shiners along the edges of the intakes and caught about a 6 lb. appaloosas catfish. We got that one in and hardly 30 minutes later he had another on nearly the same size. I quit what I was fishing for and straight lined shiners the rest of the night. Didn't catch any catfish that way but did pick up a few nice white perch.

Years later one weekend we also brought my younger brother, my wife to be (still is), and her brother. We had hardly backed out of the little dock when someone yelled "Snake". My fiancé dove into the water on one side of the boat and her brother hit the water the other way. Dad and I got very light footed and my brother jumped to the bow of the boat. Shortly after a couple of rats come out from under the decking, ran across my brothers feet while he stomped at them and yelled, then the rats jumped into the water. One swam directly toward my future brother in law. All he could see was something swimming toward him while still thinking it was a snake. That was about as close as I've ever seen anyone walk on water. Ha

Years have passed and I have a wealth of memories of fish tales, fish fries, and family outings at that plant. I'm 56 now and my dad has gone on to a better place, but those warm nights on Caddo will always be fresh in my mind. Thanks Dad.

Scottie Franklin

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[MotherNature]

Thanks for the submission Socttie! Good Luck!

[FiveAlive]

Any chance we can get the winner posted before 6:30 Eastern Standard time in the mornin before I go to school???

[Mike Noble]

Ummmm...probably not.  Sorry.

The winner will be announced tomorrow.

[swljoe]

Hey, nice write-up, Justin. I've fished a lot of night tournaments over the past twenty years.... probably fished more nights than days, and when the bite is slow, the night just creeps along. But it seemed to me that night flashed by in just a couple hours.

When we get together on Barkley next April for the ROFB Southern Classic, we should hold a little night tournament -- maybe just three hours, since we'll be fishing a two-day tournament that same weekend -- for all the competitors from Wisconsin to New Jersey who've never experienced the excitiment of latching onto a seven pound bass in the starlight.

Night fishing... just one more fringe benefit of being a Southerner.

Joe

[FiveAlive]

So who's the winner??

[Mike Noble]

Sorry, but I have been out of the house and away from the computer all day.  I will be getting the announcement done soon.

[Mike Noble]

Drum roll....

The winner of the November article contest is...

kickinbass

CONGRATULATIONS.

Kickinbass...I need you to PM me with your "snail mail" address so I can get the prize packet in the mail to you.

I want to thank everyone that entered the contest.  We have some really great articles that were submitted.  Anytime you want to write an article to be considered for publication on our main site...please contact OHbassaholic.

Hopefully we can do this again.

[Fishaholic]

Congratulations kickinbass!

Loved your article...some powerful observations there! 

[FiveAlive]

Congratulations Kickinbass

[kickinbass]

Thanks everyone ! I cant believe I won! I can guarantee one thing if  there is some lures in the prize package they will get a work out! . I would like to say thank you !! Too those of you that entered the contest their  was some very good articles written and i enjoyed reading them all! Ultimate Bass Rocks! Thanks to the sponsors for their contributions.

                      Don Chalmers
                      Kickinbass

[OHbassaholic]

Congratulations to the winner. 

I've had several hours of enjoyable reading right here in one place.  This has been one super thread.  There is a lot of writing talent here on UltimateBass.com.  I can see many of these articles being featured on the main page.  Fantastic work on those articles folks.  You should all be very proud of your accomplishments.