Tiny Swimbaits for Stubborn Bass

We talk a lot about swimbaits with the goal of catching giant bass but today we hit the water in some very difficult conditions and use small paddle tail swimbaits to find anything that will bite. 

When post frontal or other undesirable weather conditions set in don't be afraid to set ego aside and just have fun! Downsizing your baits to produce bites is a great move when you've been dealt a tough hand.

We used a mixed bag of small paddetails, pre-rigged swimbaits, and underspins to get bit in the hours after a storm blew out of the area. The bass had been targeting shad but with the return of the sun had stopped chasing them and had begun staying close to cover. By downsizing to the smallest swimbaits we could find we were able to find success despite the conditions. 

Baits used in this video...

-Keitech 3.3 Fat Swing Impact

-Keitech 4" Easy Shiner

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-Lunker City Grubster

-River2Sea Rig Walker

-Matt Allen 1/8 oz Swimbait Head

-Bladerunner 1/4 oz Underspin

-Revenge Darter Head

-UnderSpin Blades

Are You Using the Best Jighead?

Darter, Football, Shakey, ball head... it almost sounds like bass fishing has its own language. With all of the options on the market, which jig head styles should you be using? Tim explains the difference between the four most common head styles and what each one should be used for. 

Just because you've been told to use a head for a particular application doesn't mean that's its only, or even its "best" application. We hope these insights into each head style help you increase your finesse fishing game this Fall!

Different head styles:

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Screwlock Style Shakey Head
Traditional Style Shakey Head

Gamakatsu Ball Head

Football Head W/ Weedguard
Football Head Plain Style

Darthead Painted
Darthead Unpainted

All of these heads are meant to be combined with a plastic trailer to create the desired effect. We recommend starting with one of the following baits if you do not currently have a favorite...

-Yamamoto Hula Grub
-Roboworm 6" Fat Worm
-Reaction Innovations Smallie Beaver

How to Catch Every Bass Under a Dock

In this video Tim explains what you need to do to catch as many fish as possible when fishing a dock. Instead of walking up and simply casting to the dock, take a tactical approach, work your angles and systematically catch all the fish.

Its amazing to us how many guys, especially from boats, will just make a random splash down cast into the middle of a dock then move on to the next one! Who came up with that idea?! Take 30 seconds out of your day, be systematic in your approach, and you will see immiediate results.

As the video begins Tim explains that the first step to dock fishing from shore is to approach the dock from the down shadow side. Meaning, don't let your shadow cross the dock, instead keep your shadow behind you. Next, start fishing the structure that is closest to shore and farthest from the center of the dock first. 

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Slowly cast to each piling of the dock, shadow corner, or other structure. As you fish each piece of cover slowly work out to deeper water. This way any fish you catch will be pulled up into the shallows without crossing over the other fish.

The last cast should be to the very center and darkest part of the shadow under the dock. By the time you've reached this cast you should have caught every other fish under the dock. 

If you use this method for all of your dock fishing you're absolutely going to catch more bass! Whether you're bank fishing or standing on a bass boat this information applies to your fishing. If you happen to be on a boat simply fish the dock in reverse order to achieve the same result. 

Equipment Used...

Rod- 7'4" 3 power
Reel- Lew's BB1 Pro
Line- 15 lb AbrazX Fluorocarbon

Weight- 1/4 oz. Tungsten Bullet
Hook- 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG Superline
Bait- Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver