It’s officially June 1st. I think it’s safe to assume there are fishes on the ledges out on the TN River. I’m no ledge fishing expert, but here is what I know: You have to have multiple tools in your toolkit, once you locate a school of fish. The fish get tuned into your bait after you hook 3-5 fish. You have to switch it up to keep getting bit.
The hair jig is one of the oldest school baits you can throw these days. I fished round headed hair jigs with Uncle Josh Pork Frogs on the back on Bull Shoals lake in the late 80s/early 90s time frame. I know they catch fish. I hammered fish on the hair jig.
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Scott Schauwecker and HogFarmer Baits are legit. Scott sent me a bunch of his HogFarmer Umbrella Rigs. Something I intend to show and share. They are killer and are exactly what I like in umbrella rigs. His hair jig came to my attention recently, and I took some time to cast it and feel it and film it. Hair jigs have a different vortex. They have a real glide to them as they fall thru the water. They fall on a different plane than rubber/synthetic skirts. The hair jig has a consistent size and shape vs. rubber that tends to ‘squid’ and distort. It’s got a great shad/baitfish profile that just works. It pulses along as it swims. The hair moves and pulses, but it’s far less dramatic than the swim of rubber skirts. Hair has a natural flow in water that is more subtle and quiet, but nice and bulky and sleek.
HogFarmer Hair jigs are made with synthetic bear hair, krystal flash, and real bear hackle feathers. The colors are legit. Lemon Shad reminded me of a good TN River threadfin shad color, with the chartreuse stripe. I like the 3/4 ounce. I would suggest he make a 1 and 1.5 ounce baits too! I like ’em heavier than most.
Trailers/Customizations
Definitely you can cut the hair, thin it out, or create a tail. I’m fairly certain a good trailers for a bait like this are: Keitech’s, BassTrix, Skinny Dippers, Big Hammers, Straight tailed Worms split down the center, Flukes, or Senkos. The added bulk will give you more weight, more swim, more glide, etc. The heavier your jig head, the better your trailer swims on the fall/sink. Unless you are looking for glide, in which case, lighter tends to be better than heavier.
Stroking
Hell yes. Rip this bait off the bottom and let it fall back. That is the #1 application of the HogFarmer Hair Jig that I’d have in mind. I’d find a school of fish and use this as one of my tools to fire up the school, and show them something fresh and new. I find switching from Big Hammer to Omega Remitz Football Jig to Magnum Speed Worms and then Umbrella Rigs of course.
Swimming
You should definitely swim a hair jig like you would any other swimbait you fish mid water column. Whenever you find fish and need to show them something fresh or just explore how big a bait they’ll eat or really try to dial them in…Hair jigs are super old school. The theme reminds me of “Ken’s Vortex” conversations. The hair jig has a different footprint and vibration than rubber jigs and it swims and glides different. It gets bit.
You have to check this thing out. The flying/swimming V. I messed around with the Picasso Bait Ball Extreme over the summer. Talk about a cool derivative of the Alabama Rig. There is a V4, V6 and V8 Model of the Picasso Bait Ball Extreme. I fished and filmed the V6 series. You basically have dummy baits that are coupled with hooked baits at the endpoints of the V. The fun thing is the shape and inherent light weight/neutrally buoyancy of this rig make it geared toward grass fishing and definitely busting fish/surface breakers that are chasing bait. You don’t have to reel like crazy to keep this thing up top. You can make the baits pop out of the water, creating your own fleeing school of baitfish or herring.
Can you feel the vortex? You can bet the fish can sense the vortex behind this rig and will sense it has a different signature than other Alabama Rigs. V for Vortex.
Stalingrad. The Vortex Formation, stalled, has a better fall than the Alabama Rigs with the 5 star clusters.
1/16 oz Picasso School E Rig with a big ole fat 5/0 hook. Get there. KVD Swim N Shiner, but whatever you swimbait of choice, I think you can worry more about where to fish than your soft swimmer of choice. Just match the hatch and get after it.You have screws to mount your dummy baits. The outside bait rigged with a 1/16ounce and 5/0 Picasso School E Rig Jig Head
You can add whatever swimbaits or jigheads you want to this rig to match your application. I can see putting a bunch of Skinny Dippers or even just the same above rig depending on how thick the grass, and go cover some water in Okeechobee. With braid, you can rip even top hooked swimbait thru grass and effectively fish. Don’t let top hooks fool ya, they are weedless when fished mindfully and with aid from braid. If you needed to sink this thing out, I think a more standard Alabama Rig would make sense, unless the flying V gave them a different look than the 5 Star cluster look? I can see throwing the V6 or V8 version all the way in the very backs of creeks and pockets and creating a fleeing school of bait effect on ANY lake or river system. You can fish this thing like a spinnerbait and cover water. I really would fish braid even in the clearest water. I can see adding a Robo Worm Robo Minnow or Keitech Swing Impact Fat baits in a more Herring pattern and fishing this thing fast n furious up shallow on red clay points, high spots and way offshore sweet spots. You could up this thing to 6 or 8 bigger 6-7″ soft swimbaits and literally create a good herring ball that might call ’em up somewhere between Keg Creek and the Monkey Islands!
Swimming V. The V-6 Picasso Bait Ball Elite, swimming along in formation.
The over under flying V performed by the RAF! V-6 Elite Bait Ball from Picasso. Fishes skinnier than your normal a rig and changes your formation.
The Triple Shad Elite, is the fusion of underspin and umbrella rig fishing. The bait is made by my long time friend, Cameron Smith. Cameron has been quietly selling the Triple Shad Elite to bait shops in San Diego County for maybe a year, and now he’s stepping up and got his baits sku’d and online at Tackle Warehouse. San Diego lakes are small, highly pressured, and guys tend to be really good at tweaking their baits and thinking outside the box, because that is what you have to do to get bit and be competitive.
The Triple Shad Elite comes in various weights: 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 ounce models, and the baits come in a good standard baitfish centric colors. They are built with 4/0 and 5/0 solid Gamakatsu hooks. I fished with Cameron this past Fall in the Ozarks, and he brought me some baits and showed me how he fishes them. Cameron will throw the bait out, and let it hit the bottom and slow grind it back to the boat, or he’ll count it down to the desired depth and slow grind it in. The bait has a lot more thump and feel to it, than underspins with a single blade. The traditional underspins can be hard to get a feel for because there is so little drag or resistance when you reel it, you aren’t sure if your bait is fouled or have any real connection with the swim of your bait. Not the case with the Triple Shad Elite. You definitely get a good feel for the bait swimming along, blades turning and thumping.
Cameron recommends Zoom Super Flukes (Regular or Jr. size) as the trailers. Traditional ball knobber or boot tailed swimbaits don’t always go well with underspin type baits. The kick of the boot tail will mess with the swim and tracking of the bait, so by using a Fluke, with a nothing, no swim, forked tail, you eliminate the trailer messing with the balance and track of the bait. Cameron I know will throw on a good old fashion curly tail grub from time to time too. You just don’t want a lot of drag created by whatever trailer you choose.
With the lessons learned of the umbrella rig and the super nova of the Alabama Rig, there is no doubt that creating a school of baitfish flat catches fish. Cameron is fusing the best of underspin fishing with the goodness of umbrella rigging, and delivering it in a single compact bait. Underspins have been quietly cashing checks on Tour, at local levels and all over country now. They are great ways to catch suspended fish, so the Triple Shad fits into a great space of suspended fish tools, that bring the multi-rig dimension where you’re giving them a school of baitfish. Cameron fishes his Triple Shad Elites on 15-17# Florocarbon a Medium Heavy 7 foot casting rod, and a standard casting reel.
Ledge Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti. This 5″ Bay Smelt Big Hammer on a 1 oz head got tore up. This is the baseline, the 5″ Hammer. Go bigger from here is my advice.
I’ve been sitting on this footage, unsure of how or when exactly to release it, and finally just sat down and cranked it out. I was concerned this information might hurt me, but I’m starting to think completely differently than I used to about sharing information and ideas.. I am not headed to Kentucky Lake anytime soon, and it appears to be ‘good timing’ all things considered. Stroking baits is something you don’t learn in San Diego. Stroking a bait, literally means jerking/ripping it 1-8 feet off the bottom and letting the bait settle back down to the bottom. Think about snatching rattle traps in the grass, where you snatch the bait clean of the grass and the fish eat it on the fall. Stroking football head jigs and spoons on the Tennessee River is a staple and it took me some years to clue into. Some local tricks you pick up instantly at the gas station, other things, you somehow miss for years. Stroking is not something I’d done ever, until I arrived at Kentucky Lake in 2011. Stroking is now one of my presentations of all baits I fish. It just makes sense. To really snap and snatch your bait hard off the bottom, and then let if free fall back to the bottom seems to be a truth of fishing….it just works at times.
Stroked and Choked Big Hammer Swimbait on the ledges of Kentucky Lake, but ultimately a good choice for any of the TN River, or any open water offshore bite.
So here goes, another meandering, long winded, ‘first chapter’ of a thing I’m calling Ledge Zeppelin I, Stroking Swimbaits. This footage is post 2011 FLW Tour on Kentucky Lake, and my 2011 summer in Southern California, where I did some saltwater fishing. I blended things together to share how and where I got the methods and tools that ultimately led me to start stroking my Big Hammer swimbaits, instead of just swimming and jigging them along:
If you are ready to stroke swimbaits off the ledges of the Tennessee River, or any other offshore lake, this stuff applies lots of places (the Ozarks, Champlain, Great Lakes, etc), here is what you need:
Big Hammer Swimbaits (Bay Smelt, Silver Phantom, Great White are my favorites, try the 5, 5.5 and 6 inch. The 6″ is a bigbait for sure)
Hammer Heads (recommend at least 3/4 oz, but go up to 1.5 ounce)
Robo Ocean Swimbait Tails (Ghost Minnow and Keylime, more rounded boot tail, a bit more finesse vs. the Big Hammer square tail, a good 1-2 punch is to have both)
I was stroking my Big Hammer swimbait on a Medium Action 8 foot rod and Shimano Calcutta 300 TE reel, and 20# P-Line CXX….however, this is something you can do with standard low profile reels and I always recommend 8 footers, and braided line. Especially adding a short leader section to your braid. I am slowly migrating all my fishing over to braid, in case you haven’t noticed. You have more sensitivity, more hookset, more torque, and more guts to do more with your bait with braid.
My buddy Brian Somrek was as stoked as I was on the bite. We were learning as we were going. Brian was catching them on the 5.5″ Big Hammer, which to many out West is the best Big Hammer swimbait.
We speak to Warbaits and the effect their swim jigs will be having. You are seeing the future now. When Strike King, Spro, and Berkley come out with a swim jig that is >1 ounce, it will be as a result of the Warbait Slayer Swim Jig. These things are legit and taking the West by storm. You have an early warning and heads up. You need to check their Slayer Swim Jigs and Weedless Swim Jig Heads out. Just by having a weedguard, you are helping yourself out in some cases, because exposed top hook single swimbaits are really sticky around wood. Swim jigs are just awesome and popular and catch fish, so why not fish them out at 20-30 feet, instead of 1-3 feet? You can stroke them or just fish them on the slow grind, and look out. Fish love baits with skirts.
I cannot say enough about the Warbaits Swim Jigs, and I’m finding the more rounded paddle tail of the Robo Ocean Swimbait Tails are a fine swimming and stroking combination.
I really suck at tournament fishing sometimes. My buddy Casey Martin, finished 5th place, running the same pattern, in fact, we stayed in the same hotel room for the event, and he whacked ’em to make it all four days and I went home a kook, again, at the Everstart Championship. The Ouachita River is like 70 miles of main river, and another 70 miles of other tributary creeks and rivers and bayous and backwaters galore. There were no less than 25% jon boat in this event. Guys came prepared for stump jumping and fishing in the extreme backwaters. I did not. I came to fish my game, and found a pretty decent pattern on the first day of practice, drop shotting4.5″ Roboworms in Bold Bluegill in the mouths of pockets/backwaters, just off the main river channel. In fact, there were fish in the main river channel, on any point or rock pile and in the laydowned trees. Now, you have to understand that catching 5-7 keeper 12 inch fish right now is pretty much whacking them. It took 6 pounds per day to get paid. I caught 5 pounds per day. I had a good gameplan, and Casey just did what Casey does and it speaks volumes to his fishing versus mine. My practice became San Diego style worm fishing. However, it was a popular pattern, as many guys stayed close and fished around the weigh-in/release area and did well. I had the right idea, but what I will let Casey tell you for sure is that he found the better quality fish AND got them to eat. Umbrella rig for sure and Casey had a trick one, and the Boing topwater lure on Day 2 with a solid 3-4 pound fish that escalated him to 8 pounds per day, which he for sure was in the drivers seat, just because cutting to 20 and the 10 boats (in days 3 and 4 consecutively), he would have much freer reign on the mouths of creeks and pockets and his prime choice point/mouth which was at the intersection of D’Arbonne and the main river channel. Duh. Ask anyone about the Ouchita River and D’Arbonne is the most popular creek/bayou and it’s big and gnarly and is like 45 miles with 5 MPH zones and an abundance of stumps, logs and bayou. It’s where some fish got caught, but this tournament wasn’t dominated by back bayou water necessarily. Some main river played in bigtime, but understand, you have giant cypress trees and oaks and black or really dirty coffee with cream style water. Heck, this where the Duck Commanders live. Monroe, LA you were great, but man, you guys got some tough fishing around there. Especially when it comes to boat handling and navigation. Rivers are not generally what I like to see after the name of a body of water. I’m a lake guy, but as the White River, where I live and watch daily, I’m learning.
Casey fishing another Top 10 Cut at the FLW Everstart in May 2012 on Guntersville. Casey ‘slipped up’ this day, when low 20s pound bags suck. Justin Lucas had 30+. Sickness.
Great job Casey Martin, and the BETTER news is Casey just signed up for the 2013 FLW Tour as a Boater!!! Casey will update his blog about his tournament and he can fill in the gaps and day 3 & 4. I’m such a loser, I didn’t even hang around for Days 3&4 which I almost always do. I am a little lost and did sit still easily lately, but anyway… I am so stoked, pumped and definitely jealous that Casey and many others are fishing the Tour in 2013. It’s a great schedule and with only 6 tournaments for some guys and Casey is one. Fewer tournaments is less risk for some of us (me included), and the lakes are lakes I feel like I know pretty well (save Grand Lake), and Casey too. I’m just sick to not have my deposits in. Casey knows how to fish tournaments, and is just on fuego. He has fished the FLW Tour the last few years as a Co-Angler, which means, the non boater who gets partnered with the Pro for the day. Casey has won like $150K from the back of the boat, and does really well at the Everstart and BFL Levels as a boater, so it’s not like he can’t or doesn’t fish from the front of the boat well, he was just wise to take the education that fishing as a Co-Angler affords, and took that to off the chart levels, so this is a natural progression. Casey is up for the challenge and I know he will do really well. I am just so lost at times with where I’m at, and so addicted to tournament fishing, yet even more addicted to throwing bigbaits, and I love the blogging, but I’m just struggling financially and in no position to fish the FLW Tour in 2013, even though I’d like to. I asked Bill Taylor if he’d take 3 deposits (vs. the required 6) and a handshake, he just laughed. I have to laugh too. I’m crazy to be flirting with the FLW Tour. I’m just hoping to fish the Everstart on Okeechobee in early January, win the damn thing, and go from there!!! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH. How is that for an addict?
There is a direct relationship between the amount of photos and videos I shoot and how well I’m fishing. I took very very very few pictures, and zero video. I figured I could catch 5-6 pounds per day and did. Bold Bluegill is color of Robo Worm I highly recommend. Throw it in 4.5 or 6 or 7 inch and in the dirty Ouachita River, it was catching them really well. One of the staple drop shot worms and colors for me.
Casey staked out the BEST mouth of a creek. The most major creek with the most history in it, he choose that one to focus on (I decided the ones upriver were less pressured and could be milked better), and what was key to him was it had better fish on it. And not only that, Casey had better tricks up his sleeve than most to catch them. He found an angle he could throw a prototype Picasso A-Rig called the ‘bait ball’ and he told me he had like 18 fish the Day 1 of the event fishing the exact same cast (uphill) with his umbrella rig that features tiny blades and a much smaller profile than most u rigs you see. That is how Casey caught 8 pounds the first day, and followed it up with 8 pounds on the second day. Guess what he caught the big fish on Day 2? A Boing Topwater bait. This is a new walking bait with a cool ball on wire noise maker rattle inside that gives it a strange ‘boing’ sound, but clearly the fish ate it. He caught one 3 pounds on it. The bait was thick all over the Ouchita River. I mean, you find and see bait everywhere. And occassionally fish would push the balls to the surface and could be caught. I caught fish on the Picasso School E Rig with 3″ Big Hammers (silver phantom), and J-Will Swimbait heads in 1/8 Ounce in the tournament. But my fish were squeakers. In fact, I didn’t have 5 fish on Day 2 either, so that really hurt, but ultimately one more fish I was on wouldn’t have helped. I needed high 12 pounds, like 12-10 to get paid. I had 10-2 for the event, and never caught one over 2 pounds in the practice or tournament, and lots of swimbaits got thrown. No swimbait bite to speak of, besides the U Rig. No backwater fish for most, but some did find good sacks. Is Brandon Medlock sick or what? Guy broke down on Day 1, comes back on Day 2 with 14 pounds and is like Top 5 and then sticks 15 on Day 3 before struggling on Day 4….but dang, a 14 or 15 pound sack for 2 days in a row, you gotta be bad to find that on the Ouachita River I saw! Some guys found some backwater fish, but the main river was a player for sure. Lots of guys cashed checks fishing within site or around the bend or two from the weigh in. I fished there myself some too. You will have to read Casey’s blog post to get the full scoop on his tournament. I yo-yo’d Red Eye Shads, fished umbrella rigs, and drop shotted the mouths of creeks mostly, but had a few good channel swings, clay points, and banks that seemed to be holding fish. The problem of course was many guys found the same fish, because the backwater were sucking and the main river became the clear choice, so it wasn’t easy friendly fishing all the time out there. You had to defend spots and try to manage water best you could. The wind was either blowing the wrong way for me, or not at all for my red eye shad bite. I had 2 sneaky spots I felt I could load up and get some good keepers, but they never panned out. Anyway, congrats to Casey and boo to Matt. Is it time to go to Florida yet? MP
Owner Hooks has done something pretty cool with the Flashy Accent Trailer Blade series. The Flashy Accent is meant to compliment and add flash to any bait. You can add a flashy blade on a barrel swivel to just about any bait you can imagine. I cannot at all claim to have even scratched the surface of what these Flashy Accent’s are capable of. There are just too many baits and applications.
You have two willow leafs and one Indiana blade to choose from. Way too much still to explore, but pretty neat how well these compliment small baits, and even fish well stand alone.
Senko Upgrade:
Its hard to beat a Senko. Any accessory that will actually compliment one of the Top 3 fish catchers of recent history, is something to consider. Keith Poche put a blade in a Senko and put together an awesome 2012 BassMaster Classic as a result. A simple modification to a simple bait to give it a different look and fingerprint. The Flashy Accent is perfect for job to Poche your Senko. The Senko is so do nothing, so neutral buoyant, so simple, that adding flash to it and changing its original is always going to have drawbacks, but shoot, it’s going to have advantages at times too. Around current, where the blade is going to be flopping and turning and churning in the eddies and fast water sections, the Flashy Accent is going to really liven up and enhance what the Senko might do. I love how the bait helicopters straight down. Looks like an arrow or missle or something headed straight toward the bottom, but also uses the blade to glide along. The bait (and this happens when you’re drop shotting too) will rest on the face of the Flashy Accent and use it to plane as it falls sometimes. The other times it tends to helicopter the blade, blade end first, of the Senko and I really like that look. I tried to capture that in the video above. Fishing the 5″ Senko on a #1 Owner Mosquito Hook with criss crossed O-Rings that you put on with a Wacky Tool.
Part One: Cut #1 Paper Clip. Use to pin the Flashy Swimmer, thru the swivel, you can even remove the plastic keeper if you want and save it for using as a hook keeper, the paper clip will hold the swivel metal to metal just fine. Super Glue paper clip into bait with Flashy Swimmer, very carefully, for added insurance.Part 2: take the horse shoe cut paper clip and shove it down snugly into the end of your Senko. Use your pliers to narrow up and make the horse shoe longer, etc to best secure the Flashy Swimmer into the bait.Completed Rig. Snug down the horseshoe and go fish. I like the larger of the two willow leafs for the 5″ Senko. The smaller willow leaf Flashy Accent would look great in the 3 & 4″ Senkos.
Head Spins:
The Fish Head Spin is quietly and consistently catching lots of fish in lots of places. Grass, hard bottom, river, whatever. Places where the A-Rig is now catching them, which is lots and lots. The beauty of the Head Spin is adding some bladed flash to a swimming bait. Now, with the Flashy Accent, you can turn your drop shot baits into mini ‘head spin’ setups. Especially when you use full bodied drop shot baits. As well, with the Flashy Accent Senko Rig ala Keith Poche’s 2012 BassMaster Classic performance, you are turning your Senko into a head spin/spinnerbait of sorts. Notice how the Flashy Accent causes the Senko to fall blade end first, and how the blade turn and spins or helps the bait glide back to the bottom. The Flashy Accent is helping us blend styles and techniques, and your only limitation is your imagination. Here I am fishing the 1/2 oz Fish Head Spin with a Little Dipper as a trailer and the larger of the two willow leaf Flashy Accents.
How do you make a Fish Head Spin better? If “Fish Head Spinning” your Senko might make a Senko better, in some cases, how about Alabama Rigging (multi-rigging) your Fish Head Spin? Where you have a sorta bait ball appeal, the Flashy Swimmer gives another blade and flash to the Fish Head Spin.
Drop Shotting:
You can drop shot the Flashy Accent Trailer Blade as a stand alone bait. When your drop shot bait is on the bottom, you can do mini ‘strokes’ and the Flashy Accent fishes like a mini spoon, like guys who stroke spoons off ledges off the Tennessee River. Pretty cool drop shot refinements and integration of a few techniques into one. When you add a Flashy Accent Trailer Blade to your drop shot softbait, you give your softbait a look it probably hasn’t had much. I found the Flashy Accent compliment full bodied shad style drop shot baits like the Yamamoto Shad Shape, Jackall Clone Fry and Owner Wounded Minnow really well. If conditions call for a more horizontal and castable drop shot approach, you can sorta slow grind/hop your drop shot to make it a swimbait with this setup. Swimming your drop shot rig. It has given me the idea that I really need to lighten up the drop shot weights I’m using, especially in shallow water/current situations where you want your rig to tumble and come over gravel well. A well matched, l drop shot weight could be used to literally allow you to swim a small drop shot worm, like a fish head spin/drop shot combo, 1.5 -3 feet off the bottom from 0-100 feet. Anyway, that’s what I saw in the Flashy Accent in its action and fishability with the Wounded Minnow. I’m fishing the Wounded Minnow on a #2 Mosquito Hook. You could definitely sorta ‘stroke’ your drop shot too, which is wild.
Drop shot the blade only and ‘stroke’ the blade on slack line with a drop shot setup. Pretty cool action and a new twist on drop shot fishing.Owner Flashy Accent turns you drop shot into a head spin/swimbait of sorts, if you use a full bodied shad style drop shot bait. This is the Owner Wounded Minnow I’m using to show how the Flashy Accent compliments a drop shot bait.
Alabama Rig:
If you look at the implications of umbrella rigs and what the Alabama Rig did to our fishing, you realize we are foolish to not be using teasers and dummy baits at times give the appearance of a school of bait. The Flashy Accent provides you a mechanism to ‘A-Rig’ whatever you want, like a hard bait, or any hard bait you can think of. You basically are only limited by your skills with rigging, but the hardware is now there to add little blades to baits that otherwise had none.
Indiana Blade Owner Flashy Accent on a 3″ Big Hammer, which tells me it can be fished on the Alabama/Umbrella rigs too. Why not add blades and additional teasers to swimbaits in some cases, especially umbrella rig cases?
The Rig Affect
You can say things about the Flashy Swimmer that put it in the same conversation as the Alabama Rig. You are creating multiple flashes within one castable lure. You’re re-arranging the way blades are being strung up and hung…lets see we have inline blades and safety pin framed bladed baits. Underspins and Head Spins quietly join the party. Look at what Spencer Shuffield did at the 2012 FLW Tour Table Rock Lake event and the umbrella rig he was throwing in Missouri. It had 3 teaser blades as part of the setup. Missouri is a 3 bait only state so to maximize his effectiveness and fish within the rules, here comes this edition. Flashers and teasers, get your mind out of the gutter, we are talking about catching those suspended fishes that chase balls of baits here. My aloha pal Trevor Lincoln, from down around the junction of El Capitan and San Vicente Lakes (San Diego, CA), makes this bait called the Trip Jig. I cannot share all the details of everything I know about the Trip Jig that my friends share with me because it’s not mine to share. However, I can share what I’ve done to the Trip Jig thus far, since I fished around a lot of shallow grass this year in the SouthEast (Okeechobee, Seminole, Guntersville, Santee Cooper), and gone thru a bunch of Grass Minnows in the process:
The Trip Jig with 3 Grass Minnows on Lake Guntersville. The Trip Jig has absolutely no class: short skirt, flashy, teasy sorta bait that can be fished weedless style.
Moving Forward:
The Flashy Accent is a very unique accessory and new piece of terminal tackle in my tackle box. I basically try putting it on a bunch of various baits and see how it swims and looks and fishes. And of course, I’m fishing the ones I like and collecting footage to share in the future. The Flashy Accent is just something that literally compliments or adds some flash to just about any bait in your box. I tried to show some basics on ways I have found worthy of exploration to start. How about taking off hooks on hardbaits and using blades as teasers instead? You ever notice some Japanese hardbaits come with blades as tails and they basically put blades in places we don’t expect them at times? The umbrella rig and what we’ve learned about bass willing to chase an entire bait ball better than a single stand alone, especially while suspended. All related stuff to where and why the Flashy Accent has my attention and is being integrated into my fishing. Swimbait/bigbait implications? Don’t know yet. Have some ideas and applications but haven’t validated it enough to say. Work in progress. Feel free to join the conversation and post your thoughts/experiences below. MP
