If there’s 1 thing mistake that I see anglers make that can completely change their Ned Rig game its shaking the lure vs dragging the soft plastic worm. In this video we discuss soft plastic worm retrieves spring through summer and what works to catch bass.
In this fishing tips and techniques video I go though what the pros don’t tell you about flipping and punching for heavy cover bass in summer and fall. One of my favorite techniques to catch bass, I teach you what soft plastic lures to use, how to rig them for flipping, and what to look for when pond fishing or lake fishing to go punching for bass. It is one of my favorite fishing techniques and works great anywhere you have super heavy cover that mats up. It is also an epic way to catch bass – heavy fishing rods, heavy braided fishing line, and a heavy tungsten weight.
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In this video I show you my favorite place to fish for and catch PB bass – you really don’t need to fish anywhere else in Florida if you are trying to catch a trophy bass, it’s cheating!!! The Sebring and Highlands County lakes offer any angler the chance to use a ton of fishing techniques – from frog fishing, flipping and punching, to fishing ledges and offshore structure with crankbaits, spoons and jigs! In this video I teach you one of my favorite ways to catch bass in late summer and fall by using my HDS LIVE sonar to locate brushpiles and fish them with jigs, spoons, and hair jigs!
Don’t ever fish for bass in summer with trying a jig. Specifically a Hair Jig. It’s a great fishing technique for ledge fishing and offshore summer bass to mimic forage like shad and other bait fish that move to deeper water during summer for more oxygen, cooler water, as well as in reaction to fishing pressure in clear water. There is no right or wrong way to fish a hair jig. I have a couple rod and reel retrieves I use all the time that seem to trigger fish on any lake. One slow rolling the lure near the bottom; two giving the reel a few quick turns and then lifting the fishing rod and slightly pendulum the bait down on a semi taught line; and three fast reeling the jig for a few quick turns and letting it just sink back down.
There is 1 thing that is a huge fishing cheat you never want to forget when trying to catch summer bass – either fish them super fast and try to trigger them with crankbaits, big swimbaits, spoons, and reaction style fishing lures; or fish them super slow with soft plastic Texas Rigged Worms, Ned Rigs, drop shot rigs, Neko Rigs, and all the finesse techniques you can think off. The fish seem to either be in one mood or the other when fishing in summer and that means the techniques you use to catch bass need to mimic that mood. Warmer water temps and clearer water leads to more stable fishing so once you figure out a fishing pattern you can stick with it but when it comes to lakes with a lot of fishing pressure or boat traffic you may have to adapt your approach and cheat a little with more finesse style lures or highly reaction oriented baits.
Late spring and summer fishing is here and that means swimbaits, crankbaits, jigs and tons of other fishing lures and fishing techniques to catch post spawn bass moving into summer patterns. I got a bunch of baits from Tackle Warehouse to get my fishing rods rigged up for this lure transition and I go though each lure and how to fish it out on the lake.
Frog fishing is some of the most fun you can have fishing for bass. That topwater pattern is insane! Frog fishing is a technique of patience though and placing your fishing lure where the bass live. Fishing frogs for bass requires a focus on cadence and there’s really 2 things that no tells you enough before you get out to the lake – don’t set the hook until you feel the fish, and don’t think about your cast with your fishing rod. Often times anglers set the hook early and tournament anglers will tell you that’s a big oops when it come to hollow body frogs. Also skipping the frog under bushes, under docks, and even casting it around heavy cover you need to not think to much otherwise you end up overthinking your cast. Whether you’re bank fishing, pond fishing or tournament fishing get out a frog – the warmer water temperatures and vegetation growth means fish are shallow and relating to cover – a perfect time to cast a frog!
There is only one lure you need to catch bass in spring and honestly the way it triggers fish it’s like cheating!!! The Ned Rig is one of the best fishing lures for a couple reasons – it catches small fish and giant bass but also any angler can fish it from a beginner to an expert angler. It’s a finesse style technique that catches all species of bass and especially in late spring fishing a Ned Rig is just like cheating because the fish can’t resist it! I rig my ned rig jig with a small soft plastic worm stickbait that I cut down – a Gambler Ace and it’s tough to beat a color like green pumpkin. Since the water was not super clear and we were fishing for smallmouth and largemouth bass I used some chartreuse dip on the tail as well.
I love frog fishing and topwater fishing but I have never fished a topwater lure just like a frog on top for bass! We found some fish in super shallow water in the backs of creeks. The water was pretty clear and the fish were chaising big baitfish up onto the bank. We started off fishing a Jacob Wheeler buzzbait but as the sun rose the fish never totally committed to it so we had to modify our topwater technique to be more subtle and literally start fishing the lure just like a frog. I could actually see the fish in the clearer water swimming off the bank and staying under the lure and starring at it until they were triggered by a small twitch after letting it sit floating for 5-10 seconds. The technique involved a walk the dog style topwater on braided fishing line and a medium heavy fishing rod. You’ve got to make long casts very near to cover in the backs of creeks targeting where the bank flattens out and often you’ll see the fish or bait fish (shad, herring, and bluegill) swimming around. Then walk the bait in slow twitches and long pauses just like fishing a floating frog – the biggest tip is to let the bait sit without moving for long periods of time.
mikeybalzz fishing 