Night Fishing with Infrared Cameras

This past week we attended the International Sportsman's Expo. Instead of fishing we were meeting anglers, shaking hands, and doing seminars on the bass tank. The seminars were recorded so you should expect to see some of the content uploaded here very soon. We know some of you live out of state, and even out of country so we did our best to capture it for anyone that wasn't able to be there in person.

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Since you'll have to wait on that footage we thought we'd share something unique with you this week. To our knowledge this has not been done before by bass fisherman. Tacticalbassin used Infrared technology and  highly modified GoPro cameras to record a night of fishing. This allowed them to capture very clear images without the use of lighting so that you can have a true, first person view of what goes on out there in the dark.

The footage is very well lit from the camera's perspective but remember, without the headlamps the anglers cannot see anything. Enjoy the footage, good luck out here this week, and keep an eye out for more infrared fishing clips in the future!

Winter Maintenance for Rods and Reels

With the holidays upon us its a great time to take a break and maintain your equipment. This week Tim breaks down the steps he takes to keep his gear in tip top shape. Take a few minutes over the holidays to winterize your gear, it will pay off when the new year starts. 

Step 1) Clean The Cork

After a long season of flipping, pitching, frogging, etc... the cork can get pretty dark. A quick scrub with denatured alcohol will have it looking like new. When you're done with the cork rub down the rod and reel as well. 

Step 2) Clean and Inspect the Guides

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Cork Before Cleaning

One of the most common causes of lost fish and nicked lines is damaged guides. Inspecting the guides by sweeping a cotton ball through them will show you if there is any damage. Any chips or cracks of any kind will require a guide replacement. Better now than when there is a 10 lber at the other end of the rod!

Step 3) Adjust and Dry your Reels

We're not going to go into a full breakdown of reel maintenance as its is a whole video series by itself. We do however recommend backing off your drags and drying your reels thoroughly. This is especially important if you use braided line. Braid holds moisture long after you're done fishing and if you have a perforated spool that moisture is going straight into the reel's interior. 

4) Clean the Braid

Clean the braid? Really? That seems like overkill until you do a little research. Cleaning your braid with a product like Braid Aid (recently recommended to us and man does it work) will extend the life of the braid and drastically increase your casting distance. Its a time consuming process to strip all the line and clean it properly but its worth doing. Besides, its the holiday season... its this or fruitcake so get to work. 

5) Rod Gloves

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Cork after Cleaning

Last but not least, use rod gloves. They're your friend. Matt spent years making fun of Tim and his rod wraps but fast forward to Matt's equipment falling apart and Tim's looking brand new... get some rod gloves. Not only do they keep your rods protected (no more broken tips in the rod locker) they also keep lines from tangling and can help with organization by color coordinating rods (wrap all your sissy spinning rods in pink rod wraps so everyone knows you're actually using those things).

We know this isn't a typical fishing tactics video but with the year coming to an end its important to take a few minutes and maintain your equipment. You'll be glad you did when you hook a giant on your first trip back to the lake!

Ledge Fishing: Tricks to Catch More Fish

No matter where you are in the country, when the baitfish start moving to the rocks the bass fishermen will be close behind. Whether you target summer ledge fish in the Southeast, fall ledge fish in the West, or Winter bluff fish everywhere in between, a time of year will come when dialing in your approach to fishing vertical cover will come in handy.

I have the unique opportunity of fishing with anglers from around the globe and in doing so, I've noticed a pattern. The vast majority of anglers struggle to effectively target bass when they move from their shallow haunts in favor of more vertical cover.

Fishing vertical cover presents some unique challenges that are not often encountered with other styles of fishing. In no particular order those challenges include staying in the strike zone long enough to get bit, knowing if you're on bottom, feeling the bite, and missing the bite because you're out of position. These problems are even more severe if compounded with fishing at night.

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Almost all of these problems are caused by adjusting your baitcasting reel correctly. Yes, I said correctly. For every other application your adjustments are perfect but if you want to fish vertical cover, its time to make some incorrect adjustments that will make all the difference!

Through trial and error I've found a very simple way to eliminate all of the above mentioned problems at once. By backing off the spool tension knob (found next to the star drag) you can eliminate the resistance the reel has on the line. This allows the bait to fall vertically instead of drifting away from the cover like a pendulum. Additionally, the free-floating spool will spin freely enough that you can feel the line falling, stopping, or even getting bit, without having to look down.

I've found this technique to be most effective when fishing jigs, worms, and swimbaits. If using a smaller reel like a Core 50MG you can get away with weights as light as 3/8 oz without experiencing the pendulum effect. If you're going to use standard tackle (I prefer a Curado 200) its important that you step up to a 3/4 oz jig (this works great with swim jigs as well) or heavier in order to keep the presentation as vertical as possible.

Using these quick tips will make you a more effective ledge fishermen overnight. I've seen clients go from getting no bites at all, to catching fish after fish by just backing off the tension. Its a simple solution to a very complicated series of problems that plagues us all at one time or another.

Part 2: Knots and Hooks for Braided Line

There are still a lot of misconceptions about braided line. The biggest fear is that of knot strength. The second is the fear of bending out hooks. This week's video is dedicated to debunking these misconceptions and teaching you how to avoid all of the potential pitfalls.

Learning to tie proper knots for braid to leader connections, braid to hook connections, as well as leader to hook connections, is critical. If you can practice 3 simple knots with 3 variations for different line sizes and types, you'll be able to adapt to any conditions and situations the fish can throw your way. The knots are the Blood knot, San Diego Jam Knot, and Palomar Knot. The video will also break down the variations of all 3 knots I use to adapt to different lines and keep these knots strong.

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6 lb fluorocarbon tied to 15 lb braided line with a modified blood knot (7 wraps on the fluorocarbon, 11 wraps on the braid) Shown with a worm hook eyelet for size comparison. Truly a "micro" knot.

The blood knot, for whatever reason, has not gained popularity with bass fishermen. It is by far the best knot I've found for connecting braid to both monofilament and fluorocarbon leader materials. When tied properly I can break the leaders over and over again without breaking the connection knot itself.

Another fear about connection knots is that they will be traveling in and out of the guides and "banging". The theory is that this stresses and weakens the line. While this could be true, I've not experienced it. I reel my connections knots in and out of the guides (and even on/off of the reel) hundreds of times each day and have no issues whatsoever. The smaller line diameters in particular (see the pictures for size reference to a worm hook eyelet) create such small knots that they have no problem passing in and out of the reel without making any noise. There is no reason to fear a connection knot if you tie it the way I show in the video.

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Dealing with braided line, its lack of stretch, and how this applies to the hooks you choose to use is actually very simple. There is no mystery, no question of whether or knot your hooks can withstand the forces of braided line and big fish, you simply need to adapt. If you're currently using mono or fluoro and want to make the switch, step up your hooks. If you currently use light wire worm hooks, switch to medium. If you use heavy worm hooks, switch to the 3x Owner, ZO-Wire Owner, or Gamakatsu Superline Hooks. If you're using trebles, step up to owner 3x trebles (ST-56) or even gamakatsu 4x hooks.

Give these tips a try and report back with your experiences. Have you found another knot that simply does not break when under stress? We'd love to hear about it!