Head Games

 Tournament fisherman have a lot to think about. I recently heard someone compare a golfer to a fisherman. The golfer can often get bogged down if he thinks about each little thing he needs to do to get the swing right. A fisherman can also get bogged down if he thinks too much about all the different choices that he could make for each circumstance.
Some of the issues that can come into play are water temperature, time of year, time of day, time of season, water clarity, air temperature, line type, line weight, pole type, pole flexibility, lure color, lure type, the list can go on and on...
One of the important things to do is to try to simplify you choices. Wouldn't it be quite a bit easier if there were only a few lure choices? If there were only a few colors to choose from? I try to keep only a few colors of each bait. A light color, a dark color, and a special color for each lure choice is really all that is necessary. Believe me, I understand with all the choices in colors available it makes it very difficult not to buy everything available, but one of the things I think really helps this situation is to try to keep things simple.
If you only have three color choices, in three depths of crankbaits, then you only have 9 choices of crankbaits. If you are fishing stained water, I try to use use a dark color crankbait, or a real bright color, like chartreuse. I try not to get caught up in buying every color of a lure. I try not to get every type of bait under the sun.
When I look at each tournament lake, I make a plan based on that particular lake, the time of year, and where I would expect to find the bass on the day of the tournament. When tournament day is here, I try to stick to the plan, unless some condition has changed that would change my game plan.
Sometimes people or things make us change our plans, sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. One long time competitor says something like,"I think plastics is going to win today."
Talk about head games. Does that mean I should fish plastics? Or is it reverse psychology, meaning not to fish plastics? I try not to listen to dock talk, but it still makes it difficult to not affect the decisions made, one way or the other.
On tournament day, simplify your choices, do not listen to dock talk. Focus on the weather, time of year, and color of water, Fish what you know best. Tight lines. Fish with fury.

BY: Joe Minor
Inside Bass Fishing
Pro Staff

Things you should look for in a custom rod but were afraid to ask

 How many times have you shopped for a new fishing rod at your favorite retailer, only to be faced with the following dilemma:   You really love the blank action on rod A, but the handle on rod B fits your hand best, and the guides on rod C are what you've been looking for. Ever happen to you? I'd be willing to say yes!
  Purchasing a custom rod means you're willing to spend a little more for that "Best Fit" scenario. I'd like to go over a few things to look for, as well as ask the builder, when considering a custom rod. By asking the questions, you'll save yourself a lot of heartache down the road.
  One thing to remember, a custom builder works with stock rod blanks from various manufactures. Considering the high tech nature of graphite cloth and the machinery needed to produce a blank, it's not practical for a custom builder to produce his own blanks.
  The 'custom' in a custom rod comes from the components, and how they're applied and assembled. This is what makes a custom rod!
  After establishing with a potential customer what blank/technique he/she wants, I always like to start with the reel seat/handle assembly. You can have the most sensitive, light rod on the planet, but if the handle is uncomfortable, you've wasted not only yout time, but your money as well.
  Too many factory rods (especially spinning rods) come with a reel seat that is too skinny for the average adult. Factory rods reel seats are meant to fit a wide variety of hand sizes. You only have one hand size, so why not get a reel seat that fits? For most adult males, a size 18mm spinning reel seat fits best...16mm is fine for a trout or ultralight rod, or a rod for those with smaller hands. The larger reel seats help eliminate hand cramping over the course of a day on the water. Generally, baitcasting reel seats come in 16mm or 17mm sizes. Since the majority of bass anglers palm the reel when retrieving, those sives will suffice.
  Rear handle length can be discussed at this point with your builder, as well as wether you want a foregrip (very popular now, for good reason-increases sensitivity). Another popular feature among the factory guys now is the split rear grip...pioneered long ago by the custom builders! Ask your builder about that option, it really does make the rod feel lighter.
  Choosing guides can be almost as daunting as shopping for bass lures! Let your builder know what type of line you'll be using. Mono and floro aren't hard on guide rings like braids, so standard aluminium oxide will do the job. Braids require the harder ring materials such as silicon carbide, alconite, nanolite, titanium oxide, etc. Any builder worth your time and money will make the proper recommendations. One more point, always be sure to ask your builder if he/she spines the rod. That's locating the rod spine (natural curvature of the blank). Placing the guides properly on the blank will assure peak rod performance.
  The one area where function really doesn't come into play is guide wrap colors and other embellishment such as weaves, decorative wraps, personalization, and marbling. All these are purely aethstetic...this is where you can make your custom reflect your "True Nature"!!
  Hopefully, these tips will help you to get the most out of your custom rod, you paid for it...you deserve to get the most out of it!

BY: Mark Burks

Hogz By Logs

Growing up fishing these midwestern lakes with my father, an early lesson in my "Bank Busting" ways was easily learned as time and time again i would watch my dad bring a spinnerbait down a log laying off the bank into the water and suddenly theres was no more white, flashy blur under the surface of the water but a big boil and then i remember i got to let the fish go every time, also an early lesson in the making of the "Bass Thumb".
As i grew a bit older and after much practice in the alley at home i was soon able to precisly cast to the spots right along with dad... We would both agree on a side of the log and this was the test, or the fruit of all my homework done in that alley after school many summer days.
Even back then, i wasnt born yeasterday and it didnt take long for me to figure out that bass live amidst all the sunken limbs and logs strewn about the shorelines of the lakes we would fish. Every summer we took week long camping trips to random lakes across the midwest and every lake was in some aspect the Same, the Hogz were in the Logs... Nowadays after reading countless articles and much time on the water myself still busting banks and beating the bark off old fallen oaks, i have come up with a few reasons why I think the fish are there.
1. Of coarse the obvious reasons are Shade in the hot summer months and an ambush point in that shade. If a bass can find shade to cool him down and do little to no work to engulf a passing meal than i belive 9 times out of 10 it will. No fish, bird, dog, cat or human is willing to go through too much for a simple meal. This is why buffets are a wonderful thing! Everything youd ever want to eat just a few steps from your table... Sit closer to the buffet and it becomes less of a trip. Get my drift??
2. When that tree fell from the bank im sure a few squirrels and birds lost there nests, but theyll get over it i guarantee it; and of coarse the life of that tree is over, but as soon as it splashes into the water it serves as a whole new purpose.
We dont really see it from the boat but theres alot going on down there that many may overlook. The moment algae starts to grow on the tree the cycle starts. Zooplankton and other microorganisms feed on the algae, young fry feed on the microorganisms, yearling fish feed on the fry and so on. Each tree or laydown has this going on all throughout the lake/river.
Another reason i belive hogs are by the logs is the fact that when fry leave the nest in the shallows the safest and most secure place with the most food and shelter is the weedline and bushes present closets to these nests in the shallows.
Can you imagine if every bass that was born in the spring grew up and thrived in our lakes and rivers? There would be an absolute astonishing number of bass in our fisheries. Unfortunaly this does not happen due to predation i.e. Birds, turtles, snakes, largers fish etc..... Those that do survive learn quickly that hiding amoungst the thickest of cover in the early stages of life is a must for survival so therefore i belive it to be only natural to find the smarter, more keen & larger bass to be around the type of cover that got them to where they are, to the size they are.
Of coarse there are exceptions to every theory, there are those bass that live deep, maybe genetics of the male or female that swam from the depths to the shallows to spawn carries over and becomes dominant and thats how we get deep water fish...
Either way, i have become a "Bank Buster" and it has more than paid off in my fishing. Next time you are on the water dont forget to look for the Hogz By Logs!!
Derek kaalberg

Cold weather blues

I have recently made a few trips out in the cold weather to see if I could pick off a few sluggish largemouths in this cooler weather. I must say, in all honesty its been tough mentally and physically. I've done quite a bit of research, looking into patterning what I think would be the common approach to finding and catching fish. A lot of the normal techniques grubs,spoons, big jigs, jerkbaits and a bit of mixed in gut approaches provided me with a case of "haulin water". Where most would give up and wait it out for warmer weather, I took the time to learn its tough fishing, which is a no-brainer and a weakness that I need to work on to become better. In this case, back to the drawing board, and try again. Until next time, we"ll see how this goes.