What is a Front Runner and Why Should You Use One?

I spend all Winter dreaming about topwater explosions. As the cold months tick by and the warm weather draws near, the dreams get more explosive, the fish in my head get bigger, and the excitement builds! The fantasies start getting so far out there that I begin dreaming of catching those bass two at a time!

Here at Tactical Bassin we're all about learning so I (Matt) will be the first to admit that Tim taught me something new last fall. I'd seen front runners but I really didn't understand their effectiveness until I saw Tim put one to use. Forget dreams, these little baits make double hookups a reality!

If you fish schooling bass and you aren't using a front runner in conjunction with your walking topwater (Spook, Rover, Vixen, etc...) you're missing the boat!

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For those that aren't familiar, a Front Runner (Click here to see what they look like) is a small topwater bait armed with a single treble hook that is designed to be tied inline, ahead of your main topwater. When your spook goes left, the front runner goes right, and vise versa. The effect is that your spook is chasing a smaller baitfish across the surface and the bass go crazy for it! In addition to being a unique look the bass rarely see, it gives you an extra hook attached to a small bait that is free swinging when you're fighting your fish to the boat. If you fish schooling bass you already know what that means... Double Hook Ups!

Do yourself a favor and pick up some Front Runners. These little guys are DEADLY and will make a big difference as you step up your topwater game this year!

Topwater Poppers: How to fish them effectively

Every kid that grew up bass fishing knows what a Hula Popper is. We all fished them and agree that they were deadly on those old pond bass. So why now, as we grow older, do we turn our backs on poppers?

Far too often the popper falls by the wayside in favor of newer, louder, and flashier topwater offerings. Its great to be well versed with a variety of baits so you can adapt to changing conditions but don't fall into the trap and forget your first love all together.

When conditions get tough, especially those cool early summer mornings, the popper is a deadly way to catch GIANT bass that are unwilling to run down a faster moving bait. The quick tips outlined in this week's video should help you get your mind in the game to slow back down, pull out your favorite popper, and lure one of the dormant giants to the surface!

While poppers can be thrown on very light tackle, Matt prefers (to the surprise of no one) to step up his tackle when targeting big fish with these finesse baits. He prefers to use the following:

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For the Yellow Magic, Rico, and other small poppers he uses a 7' light to medium light baitcaster spooled with 15-20 lb braided line.

For the larger poppers like the Bubble Walker he will step up to a 7'-7'2" Medium baitcaster but still prefers a moderate action, and spools it with 30 lb braided line.

Matt insists that braid is key with these baits as you can get maximum responsiveness from the bait with minimal rod movement.

How to Walk a Frog

Earlier this week Tim and Matt got to spend a day frog fishing the California Delta. As the day was winding down we realized that many of the fish had been caught while "walking" the frog. While many anglers know how to do this, some do not. We decided to take a few minutes and try to teach you how simple it really is to "walk the frog".

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While this concept is incredibly simple, the reality can be very difficult for most anglers. Hopefully this step by step tutorial will help you dial in your technique so that you can catch more frog fish on your next outing.

The frog in this video is a River2Sea Bully Wa but this concept can be applied to ANY frog on the market. Always remember, if the frog isn't walking, its not the frog you're probably just over-working it!

Fall Bass Fishing: Top 5 Baits

I love fall fishing! After a long summer the lake finally feels alive again. The baitfish are schooling, the bass are feeding, and the fishermen are wrapping up their tournament seasons. Whether you want to catch more bass, win the AOY race, or win a new boat, these 5 baits will get you headed in the right direction.

Its never easy to limit yourself to just 5 baits but if I had to choose one season to do it, it would be the fall. As the bass group up and feed they become much simpler to target than they were throughout the summer. In no particular order, my top 5 baits are as follows:

1) The jig: The bass are gorging before winter and one of their favorite meals is a crawdad. Stick to a simple craw profile and you'll succeed. There are a lot of great jigs out there including a plethora of colors, head designs, and colors but if I could only choose one it would be the Dirty Jigs 3/4 oz Pitchin' Jig in "Molting Craw". That color, coupled with either a Sweet Beaver-style trailer or a Twin Tail Grub-style trailer creates a phenomenal crawdad imitation.

2) The Spook: Walking-style topwater baits work great through all the summer months but their effectiveness peaks during the early fall. Bass are gorging on baitfish and baits like the super spook (see our video on the top 5 walking baits for ideas) are a perfect imitation. Choose a color you have confidence in but you can never go wrong with whites, silvers, or even a little chartreuse to draw the bass away from the 1000's of other easy meals swimming around. Try The Super Spook in "Okie Shad" or the Rover in "sooner" if you need a place to start.

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Top 5 Baits for the Fall Transition

3) The Glide Bait: Glide baits have taken the industry by storm the last couple years. If you aren't throwing one this fall, you're missing opportunities for great fishing! I'm particularly partial to the S-waver in the 168 and 200 sizes in "Warden" or "Light Trout" (See our S-Waver Video and S-Waver 200 Video to see why) The S-waver is easy to use and won't break the bank but is by no means your only option. Check out the Gan Craft Jointed Claw, Smith Baits Hitch-X, or if you're in to the custom baits, the Hinkle Baits is hard to pass up. These are all baits that we've seen success with over and over again. They're big, but they get bit and fall is a great time to build your confidence!

4) The Deep Crank: Whether you're throwing a big 10XD, a Rapala DT-Series (because Ike says so), a slim profile like the Deep Six, or my old standby DD-22 you can't go wrong with a deep crank. We throw a lot of the shad patterns including those with lavender, chartreuse, or brown backs. We even branch in to the craws a bit. Whatever it is you choose, the deep crank will let you cast farther and reach deeper to catch those fish other anglers are overlooking.

5) The Lipless Crank: Who could possibly overlook this crank? Whether you're burning through the fading grass, fanning flats, or ripping off the bottom around docks and cover, the lipless is probably the most versatile bait during the fall. Again, stick to the shad patterns. If I could only choose one lipless it would be the Lucky Craft LV-500. Like many Western anglers I've discovered the benefits of the fast sinking, loud rattling bait. Try Chartreuse Shad, Ghost Minnow, Wakin if the fish are really active, or even Crack if the water has some stain to it.

What "Top 5" list would be complete without fudging and including some extras? Because 5 baits really is tough to do, the rest of the baits that really should have made the cut are the Swim Jig (California Swim Jig to be exact), the Flutter Spoon, The Jerkbait (ripbait if you live on the west coast), and the paddle tail swimbait (I'd go with the 6" basstrix or 4.8 Keitech on a Dirty Jigs Swimbait head).

Put these baits to work for you and have a great fall. Good luck out there!

Is your favorite bait on the list? Did I miss something? Let's hear what's on your top 5 list.