"Bain" Rig

We call it the Texas Rig.

Here's mine with a few mods to it. I hand tie a skirt with thread as tight as possible and thread it onto a hook. It's a pain to get it past the barb because it's tied so tightly. Flares out nice, and catches a lot of fish! I'll probably add a worm rattler in it too.

My Top Lures of 2010

Introducing my top 5 lures of 2010.

These are the top 5 lures I chose for 2010. They were the most producing lures for me in 2010 and in no particular order I present to you my top 5:

1. Jackall Sasuteki Craw 5"
Last year I had so much success after being introduced to the Jackall Sasuteki Craw 4". I've been using different types of craw baits and once I switched to the Sasuteki Craw, I was getting good results; 5 lb, 6 lb, 7lb bass. But for 2010, I decided to upgrade to the 5". I use this lure mainly near tulles and grass or when I want to fish slow. There are many ways I rig this; pictured here is with Zappu's P.D. Chopper, but my favorite is to rig it with a skirt I hand tie to the hook and peg a bullet weight to it. It allows it to be completely weedless and by hand-tying the skirt, it flares out much more.

2. Jackall MC/60 SR
2010 began the year where I fell in love with Hard Baits, and as you can see, 3 of my top 5 are hardbaits (if you consider a spinnerbait a hard bait). There was a full week in October where the crankbait bite was wide open . Five minutes casting this lure resulted in my largest fish of 2010; a beautiful 5lb 1oz fish. I would throw this lure mostly parallel to the shore and it would trigger many strikes.

3. Jackall Bling 55
Continuing that amazing crankbait week in October, I would comb the area with this amazing flatside crank bait made by Jackall. The tight wobbling action surely helped me catch fish when the bite was getting tough, and the internal magneting system enabled me to cast this at VERY long distances. A great addition to this lure is the size of the hooks. The back hook is slightly larger than the middle hook, which helped in short strikes.

4. Jackall Super Eruption Spinnerbait
I got the most vicious strike with this lure for 2010. Fishing about 7:30 at night I made a long cast, and as I was slow rolling this spinnerbait, I had the hardest hit ever that I experienced since bass fishing 2 years ago. This made me fall in love with spinnerbaits and my collection has now grown. I loved burning this near schools of shad and slow rolling it over submerged grass.

5. Jackall Flick Shake 4.8
Lastly, I cannot forget the flick shake worm, which was my best producer of 2009. When the bite got tough, just tie one of these on wacky rigged with a 1/32oz Zappu Inch Wacky Hook. If you upgrade to a 5.8 size worm, I recommend the 1/16oz Zappu Inch Wacky Hook. The hook you use can drastically change your hook up ratio and I found that the Zappu hooks are the best.

Well there you go! These are my best lures of 2010. At the end of 2011, I wonder what lures will be in my top 5.

only fish of the week.

Fished once this week. Only got this little guy. Very healthy looking though.

Tackle List:
Rod: Jackall Poison Heritage HS-66UL-IW "Super Inch Wacky"
Reel: Shimano Stradic Ci41000
Lure: Jackall Flick Shake 4.8

A New Trick To Save Some Plastics

One of my favorite finesse techniques that I love to use is the "Inch Wacky" Technique. The "Inch Wacky" technique, popularized in Japan, consist of a finesse style worm, and a small jig head which is rigged in the center of the worm creating an erratic action bass can't stand.

There are many jig heads in the market made specifically for this technique, but my personal favorite is the Zappu "Inchi Wacky" head. This head is specifically designed for correct action on the worm. Inchi Wacky technique isn't simply hooking the worm directly in the middle and throwing it out. To correctly rig the lure, you insert the hook directly in the middle of the worm and exit it at a 90 degree angle from the insertion point. The shape of Zappus hook ensures that the rig is properly held in place.

notice the shape of the Zappu hook on the left compared to the Jackall hook on the right. Both hooks are 1/16oz. The big difference is the line tie and the hook. The line time of the Zappu head is at a 45degree angle which helps moves the jighead AROUND the worm. This aids in keeping the worm in place while the jig head goes around the worm in the water. The shape of the hook also helps with the way the point goes upwards instead of rounded. That point is where the worm should be.

On to the trick:
Many people who wacky rig worms knows the problems involved with it, which is losing the worm on almost every fish. Depending on what worms you use, it can get VERY pricey. Many have discovered the O-ring technique to save worms, but the problem with that is sometimes you cannot get the proper hookset or action since the hook is parallel with the worm. Depending on the size of your worm, it can also slide out. Some people double the O-ring and place the hook where the rings cross to have the hook perpendicular, and although that works, I personally don't like that black ring on my worm, especially when I use white plastics, the fish may not care, but it just doesn't look natural. I discovered a way to eliminate the O-ring; have the worm hooked correctly, and not lose the worm.

Items needed:
1. Your favorite finesse plastic, I prefer the Jackall Flick Shake 4.8 or 5.8
2. Wacky Jig Head, any will do, but the best is Zappu "Inchi Wacky" Head
3. and last, my secret, hitchhikers! Used to attach trailers.

Step 1: Screw in a hitchhiker into the middle of your Jackall Flick Shake
Step 2: clip off the excess material with a nail clipper or pliers
Step 3: Rig your worm just how you would normally by inserting the hook INSIDE of the coil and coming out from the side of it (might be hard depending on the size of the hook)

The benefits of doing this is that the hitchhiker acts as a support so the plastic does not get ripped off from the worm, which saves you your plastic and your hard earned cash! You saw it here first!

Breaking in the new toy...

Was able to take the rod out today for a bit of fishing at the pond. Talked to a friend there saying he just missed a bite. As he was saying that, I immediately got a bite, but I missed. I fished the Jackall Flick Shake 4.8in on a 1/32oz Zappu Inch Wacky jig head near the grass beds around the lake.

I could feel my lure getting caught in most of the weeds so I'd rip it out and continue to impart action on the lure. Few casts later, I feel my lure on the line of weeds in the lake and rip it out, but there was some weight on it. Initially I thought since I was using a jig head without a weed guard, I gathered some weeds, but as I pulled with the rod, I noticed my rod tip dancing. A bass was on the other end of the line! Fishing 5lb test is so different especially paired with the Ultra Light rod "Super Inch Wacky" from Jackall.

The bass jumped into the air shaking vigorously to get the hook free, but those Zappu hooks are sharp and held on. After the jump, the bass swam directly to the patch of grass it was probably hiding in the first place. I can no longer muscle this bass to shore with 5 lb Super FC Sniper. I waited it out for it to finally come out and reeled in my first bass on the new rod/reel setup!

Look at all the grass it was in! I took off some even before the picture

Here's another fish caught on the same setup...

The rod action feels good, I can feel every tick at the other end, and paired with the Shimano Stradic CI4 1000, it's an ultra light setup. Finesse Fishing on spinning setup is fun!

Tackle List:
Rod: Jackall Poison Heritage "Super Inch Wacky" HS-66UL-IW
Reel: Shimano Stradic CI4 1000
Lure: Jackall Flick Shake 4.8in + 1/32oz Zappu Inchi Wacky Jig Head
Line: Sunline Super FC Sniper 5#

Back Fishing!

Oh does it feel good to fish again. Jury Duty is over, and I now have time to spend on the little pond I call home. Today was a 2 fish day, and at this lake, thats an AWESOME day. A change of color on my flick shake did the trick. The first two hours I was throwing a junebug flick shake neko style for no bites, finally changed colors, took a rest on the bench since I worked at 5 a.m. Immediately after that, within 3 casts, there goes that all too familiar feeling. THUMP* I was hesitant to set the hook, but when I reeled in the slack and saw my line moving, I knew it was a fish!

This 2nd fish was just staring at the wall. Tossed the lure and shook it in front of her, she gulped it up and swam off, gave me a decent fight

Tackle List:
Rod: Jackall Poison Heritage "Master Stroke" HC-610MR
Reel: Shimano Core 100Mg
Lure: Jackall Flick Shake 5.8 "Neko Rig" Nail Weight

First fish on my new Jackall Rod. Powerful backbone! What a beautiful rod! This fish wouldn't quit.



Rod: Jackall Poison Heritage "Master Stroke" HC-610MR
Reel: Shimano Core 100Mg
Lure: Jackall Flick Shake 6.8, weightless wacky



no fish on this setup...

Fishing today was slow

Decided to fish a lake I haven't been to in a while. I've been lucky there in the past with finesse techniques, but I dedicated my time to using the Sasuteki Craw there. Color choice was a Green Pumpkin Pepper craw color with brown and purple skirt. This color seem to stand out pretty well in this lake. Actually had a bite on it, but I set too early instead of letting the fish take it in a bit more. That's another fish lost on the new rod... BTW, my favorite lake is closed for the weekend due to a kids fishing derby.

I didn't throw the flick shake much.



Galaxy burger after fishing, yum