Breaking Down a New Lake: The Finale

Part 3 of "How to Breakdown a New Lake" picks up right where part 2 left off. The duo move into the Eastern arm of Lake Sonoma in search of shallow water largemouth. They begin by fishing in the marina where they flip a senko into boat slips and skip a keitech swimbait into shade pockets. 

Almost immediately Tim and Matt encounter a wolf pack of schooling largemouth bass along a shade line. If you look closely in the lower corner of the video you'll see a 6-8 lb bass swimming out of a brush pile toward the boat. They are able to lure a topwater explosion from the bass on a hollow body frog but they it doesn't fully commit. After plying other offerings like the senko, keitech swimbait, and even a wakebait they agree to return to the marina later after the fish have settled. 

After leaving the marina the pair briefly fish the bridge pilings. 
When summer bass fishing in a lake with bridge pilings, this is a key place to catch large numbers of fish. Largemouth, smallmouth, and especially spotted bass love to school around vertical structure.  Matt throws a senko on the pilings while Tim is casting an Alabama Rig, both to no avail. They quickly move on to another set of docks where Tim catches back to back bass fishing with a 2.8 Keitech coupled with a Revenge Dart Head. 

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After leaving the docks behind Matt and Tim fish cove after cove and point after point in search of schooling fish on deep ledges or shallow shade pockets. They spend much of the afternoon fishing standing timber in open water but aren't able to get consistent bites. Finally, as the redwoods began leaving large shade lines on the water Matt is able to catch a nice largemouth on a hollow body frog lure. After a few more stops Matt and Tim return to the marina and head for home. 

We hope you were able to take valuable information out of this video. Whether you are bass fishing in California, Texas, Alabama, or New England, we tried to fish different types of cover and with different techniques that could be applied to every location.

Breaking down a new lake and learning how to find bass is not an easy task. However, If you follow the steps we outlined in this fishing video, you should be able to locate bass much more quickly in the future. We hope this helps! 

Baits used in this video to locate and catch fish...

Yamamoto 5" Senko (Green Pumpkin)
Keitech Fat Swing Impact 2.8"
Revenge Darter Head
Yamamoto 5" Senko (Natural Shad)
Alabama Rig- Yum Ultralight
River2Sea Bully Wa in “Dirty White”

Equipment Used:

Tim's Keitech Combo:
Rod- Dobyns 742 Champion Extreme 7'4"
Reel- Daiwa Fuego Spinning Reel
Line-Power Pro Braided 15 lb
Leader- Sunline Leader Material 8 lb

Matt's Frog Combo:
Rod- Dobyns 736 Champion
Reel- Shimano Curado 70
Line- 65 lb Sufix 832
Leader- None Used

Senko Alternatives That Actually Work!

For years we've preached that if you're going to throw a stickbait it had better be a senko. The market is beginning to change however as more and more companies step up with niche baits that are very effective. In this video Matt lays out 3 senko alternatives that are worth checking out. 

Day in and day out, the senko is still #1 in our book. We're not arguing its effectiveness or its consistency. But the next time your fish move shallow, get pressured, or you need a bit of scent to help seal the deal, you need to try one of these alternatives. 

The products used in this video are as follows: 

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Yamamoto Senko: Day in and day out, this bait is deadly on bass of all sizes! 

Gambler Fat Ace: Looking to save a buck and get the added benefit of garlic scent? The Gambler is a fish catching machine! 

Jackall Flick Shake: When a slow fall is key, the flick shake consistently outperforms the senko. The bait sinks incredibly slowly when mated with a lightweight wacky rigged hook. 

Reaction Innovations Pocket Rocket: When the fish are on a wacky rig bite, this bait stands out from the crowd. With unique detailing,a medium fall, and outrageous action the pocket rocket is in a league of its own.  

Wacky Rig Hook
Texas Rig Hook

Senko Rod Setup...
Rod- Dobyns 784ML
Reel- Curado 200
Line- 50 lb Sufix 832
Leader- Sunline 15 lb

Best Baits to Target Bluegill Eaters

We focus a lot on trout and shad imitators out West but we all know that bass love to eat bluegill. When the water begins to warm the bluegill becomes a major forage base for bass and you shouldn't overlook them. This week Matt breaks down his Top 5 Baits to best imitate a bluegill so you can begin to catch those big summer bass. 

The key to successfully imitating bluegill is to find baits that not only get bites but are also slim enough to have a high hookup ratio. There's nothing worse than getting giant bites and not hooking the bass! Below you'll find a breakdown of Matt's favorite bluegill imitating baits and the reasons he chooses them. 

The first category is the Squarebill crankbait. Bluegill eaters spend most of their time shallow and around heavy cover so the squarebill is a great option to coax a bite. Matt's favorite all around bluegill imitating squarebill is the River2Sea biggie. You might remember our squarebill debate from THIS VIDEO. 

The second category is the swim jig. When imitating a bluegill I love to use a keitech fat swing impact as a trailer on my California Swim Jig. This combination creates a wide thumping action that imitates a bluegill's tail really well. Quick tip: a chartreuse/blue keitech paired with a very natural looking jig adds a little chartreuse flash and really looks nice in the water! ...see picture below.

The third category is the soft swimbait. The two most widely available baits that best fit this category are the Mattlures Bluegill and the All American Sunfish. Both baits have a very natural profile and are great around cover. Quick Tip: The All American Sunfish needs to be rigged on a swimbait hook of some kind. My preferred hook for this bait is the 5/0 trokar. 

The fourth category is topwater. My favorite large bluegill topwater is the MS Slammer. Its not perfect, but its good enough to get those monster bites and that's what counts! Another great option is the Jackall Gantarel. If smaller baits are your preference, you can't beat the popper. Personally, I'd throw the yellow magic though there are many other great options out on the market. 

The fifth and final category is the Senko. I hate to say it but the senko works incredibly well on bluegill eaters! They're ambush predators and the slow fall of the senko , especially when wacky rigged, really lures them out. Color comes down to personal preference but something with a bit of a chartreuse tail should get the job done. 

I hope you find these tips helpful! As always, we love hearing from you so feel free to leave a comment with your own experiences or even a topic idea for a video you'd like to see us do. Thank you for your continued support of tacticalbassin!

Top 5 Baits for Spotted Bass

Okay, so we can't really count. Its more like 6 categories and 12 baits but its hard to narrow it down! There are a lot of great ways to catch spotted bass but we can narrow it down a little for you. With all the giant spotted bass being caught in California there are a lot of rumors flying about secret baits, modifications, etc.

The reality is, nothing can replace time on the water. I say again, if you want to catch a giant spotted bass you have to put in the time. In addition to time, you need to be sure that your gear is dialed in. Tim breaks down the various baits that we use day in and day out to put spotted bass in the boat.

Spotted bass fishing is great for new anglers as well as pros. Unlike giant largemouth, spots have a varied diet. They may have preferred foods but they're willing to eat just about anything that crawls or swims in front of them. If you have a preferred method that is on this list, stick to it and you'll see success! 

Our top 5 (6) baits that you should be throwing for spotted bass are:

The Tube: We've found a 3 1/2" finesse tube is best. See our Tube Video for all the details.

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The Senko: Whether you're fishing shallow or deep there is a way to rig the senko to get in front of the bass and fool them into biting.

Straight Tail Worm: Dropshot, Darthead, Shaky Head... they're going to eat it.

The Football Jig: We use the Dirty Jigs Finesse Football. You get the bulky presentation that big spots can't resist with a hook that let's you use lighter line for a finesse presentation.

The Spook: Spots can't resist a walking bait. Whether you're using a true spook or some other brand, it needs to be in your arsenal. As an extra tip: Think "chartreuse" and you won't go wrong.

The Swimbait: How can you beat a swimbait? The key is size. You have to find the right balance between drawing power and overpowering. Our two most reliable options are the 6" Osprey Tournament Talon and the S-Waver 168.

Give these baits a try the next time you're on the water. Spotted bass fishing is booming right now and you need to get involved! From one side of this nation to the other, there is a lake with monster spots just waiting to be caught!