Tactics

Late spring and early summer provide some of the best opportunities of the year to catch bass in shallow water with a spinnerbait. The reason is because bream as well as shad, both prime forage for bass, have moved shallow to spawn, and bass are taking advantage of it.
 

 “Look at them,” he says, pointing with his rod toward a guide boat crawling across the massive flat. Every angler occupied a seat and gazed sleepily as lines from the trolling rods cut tiny wakes in the water behind the boat. “I’d much rather be doing this than just sitting and watching.”

Even the best electronic maps can't detail the hidden spots you fish—until now, that is.

Sure, I fish all that same classic river structure, and I pull a lot of trout out of those spots, but I find that compared to unassuming runs, they are hit-or miss affairs. You catch the fish or two that have duked out a patch of the prime real-estate, or you don’t. And, as is often the case on pressured streams, the angler who fished the same spot a half-hour earlier probably already did so.

 Alabama tailrace guide Jerry Crook has been putting his clients on huge stripers, hybrids, smallmouths, largemouths and catfish for years, but for as much as an expert as he is on these species, he probably knows at least as much about keeping baitfish in top shape.

With light tackle, the right techniques, and a little bit of knowledge, skinny water smallmouths can have you salivating like a Doberman over a Chihuahua.

More than 200 walleye and sauger anglers have already registered for one of competitive fishing’s longest-running rites of spring—the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit’s season opener on the Illinois River.

After a dream season on the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit in 2011, the trail’s reigning Team of the Year is gearing up for more great tournament action in the months ahead.

Colorado guide Bernie Keefe had been posting pictures of hefty lakers he’d pulled through ice with Lindy Watsit Jigs, and I knew from my own experience that trout always have a tough time snubbing a Fuzz-E-Grub. Therefore, I tossed several of each into my boxes as I packed for a Black Hills ice excursion.

Puzzled, I put my rod down, took a drink of water, and started up the motor to head to another flat. Then it hit me: tight-lipped fish often require ultra-finesse presentations. Why not drop-shot?