Bass Fishing Articles

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Artificial Intelligence

By Jim Crowley
Jim@hookandhunttv.com
www.HookAndHuntTV.com

The fishing has continued to heat up here in the Midwest. It's been a great start to the season for me with some intense striper action, bass and big crappie. There will be some great stories to relive with all of you in coming months and some new adventures ahead which I am looking forward to. With that being said, this time of year in regards to bass is without question one of my favorite times of the entire season. The spawn/ post spawn period for large mouth bass can be a very exciting time, especially if you like to fish with plastic creations of any and all kind's like I do. We have come a long way from the standard rubber worm. There is a lot going on in the world of plastics for bass as well as other species of fish. Some are gimmicks and some have proved to me that they are all they say they are, and more.

By now you have all seen the commercials for Berkley GULP! and GULP! ALIVE! Last year I was showing a good friend how I was catching fish "wacky" style by skipping GULP! sinking minnows far back underneath boat docks and walk ways on one of our favorite lakes. We had been catching some decent bass and approached another dock. The GULP! sinking minnow is almost flat or has an oval shape that runs the entire length of the bait. It skips nicely and as it skimmed the water back under the dock, I let it sink. As I was talking to my buddy, I felt pressure on the line. I set the hook, only to feel the hook connect slightly and then come free. It popped out of the water and started to sink again. All of a sudden the charging bass that first had the lure came back after it and grabbed it again! I set the hook and this time caught the bass. My partner said, "Gimme one of those!" On several other occasions, including ice fishing, I have seen and experienced GULP! out fishing live bait.

Wacky worming is one of my favorite ways to catch bass. Large mouth, small and spotted bass can fall victim to this easy yet deadly technique. Before we discuss another type of plastic, let me go over this technique with you. It's incredibly effective and if you have not tried it yet, it needs to be added to your bag of tricks. I usually use a 6'6 medium fast action spinning rod spooled with 8 pound fluorocarbon line, a small 1/0 octopus style hook and a straight tailed worm of my choice. This technique is much more effective in clear to lightly stained water so most of the time my color choices are natural colors like, green pumpkin, smoke and its glitter colors watermelon and around highly vegetated areas try pink! (Don't ask, just give it a shot.)

The wacky style type worms are made by numerous different companies and most work well to some extent. Most wacky style worms look like you traced around a ball point pen made a mold from it and poured in the formula. That as history tells us is how the first "senko" style bait was made. This style of lure can be used for so many things. I have a boat load of them ranging in sizes from 3 inch to 6.5 inches long. They all work at one time or another. The 3 inch size has become a favorite of mine.

Bass pro Shops has their own version of these types of lures called the Stick-O. It's impregnated with salt and that flavor is baked in, so it's always there. Each end of the lure is tapered differently so it literally shakes on the fall. Just like the GULP! minnow it has a very seductive fall when rigged wacky style. The 3 inch version of the Stick-O is fantastic on a 1/16-1/8 ounce BPS shaky head. A very subtle offering in clear water, it can be deadly on large and small mouth bass. The albino color is a killer small mouth lure on either a drop shot or split-shot rig. Also note that any brands of these style plastics are fantastic on a Carolina rig. They dart and settle horizontally when pulled across the bottom. Over the years this style of lure has become my number one choice when I choose to fish a Carolina rig. The larger "senko" type baits in the 5-6.5 inch version are also incredible rigged on and EWG style hook. Fished in this manner, they become a great jerk bait style lure as well. However on the fall they are much more seductive than standard soft plastic jerk baits, they also skip well under docks rigged this way or wacky style on a spinning rod.

When it's all said and done, there are so many plastics shapes sizes and brands, it's enough to make your head spin. Some are better than others and some catch more fisherman than they do fish. However, used in the right situation and used as the tools they are, most will catch your fair share of fish. Sometimes we over think it. To catch a fish you must always do two things, attract them and then trigger them. You don't have to out think them, but you might have to use artificial intelligence.