Author:  Hunter King  (RiverCrawler)…..

It is just like the title says; fall is closing in on us and to me that means it is time to break out the high speed search and reaction baits. When fall moves in, the fish start to feed heavily to stay warm so you may want to slow down and present the fish with easy targets like flukes and twitch baits.  I say burn it bye them if your looking for the big ones! This is the time of year I put up my jerk baits, jigs, and anything slower than my Jeep will run.

The baits I will change to now are going to be the faster and LARGER and my reasoning behind this is; a big fish burns a lot of energy to stay warm, so he is going to be looking for larger items to eat so he can take in more calories. The reason he is willing to chase faster moving baits is because he will be moving already to make heat. So it all works for guys like me that want to be using those large search baits. Continue Reading

Author:  Jason Stutts

I often use, like many of you riverbasser’s, Rapala’s broke back minnow plugs in the J series.  They range from a tiny J-5 to a GIANT J-17.  The  colors range from black back/silver bottom, black back/gold and white bottom, chartreuse, and yellow perch.
Now for river fishing you often don’t have to go deep to catch big bass and I have learned a lot about using these lures since May 2010 when I first began fishing the Ocmulgee and Flint rivers for shoal bass.  These lures flat out kill all four species that live in the Ocmulgee…the Shoal Bass, Redeye Bass, Largemouth Bass, and Spotted Bass. Continue Reading

Author:  Hunter King (RiverCrawler)

….. I do not use crank baits much because it is just not my kind of fishing. This week’s tip is on ways to improve your crank bait fishing for people like me; people that only use crank baits when it is the only way to catch fish. First is color selection; when looking at the lures on the wall you need to think like a fish. When thinking like a fish you are to be thinking about what colors the fish is going to see best. In stained water you do not need baby bass colors, you need colors that will flash and get the attention of the fish, for clear water you go more for the natural and flat colors. Second is the depth the lure will dive; if you are a big time crank bait fisherman you will have a whole collection of sizes and depths but when you rarely use them you need to choose the depth that fits you best. If your average water depth is 4 feet, you want 3-5 ft crank baits. This will allow you to cover the whole range of water from working shallow to knocking the bottom. The same thing applies if your depth is 2 ft, you want 1-3 ft crank baits. The last tip is to not be afraid to throw the crank bait into thick cover. The crank bait’s bill is designed to keep the lure from snagging the bottom and branches, just remember to not set the hook when you are in a tree top and you will be OK throwing crank baits anytime.

For the past couple of years, I have struggled with different ways of rigging swimbaits. Some ways were better than others; until recently, I have not been completely satisfied with any of them. In this video, I will share with you what I have learned. Hopefully, these tips will help increase your catch rate on this awesome bait!!

With the recent interest in the River Bassin Tournament Trail I have noticed many people are new to tournaments and are still finding their way on how to best approach them.  Having a good time and being successful in them takes some planning, strategy and research, but the good news is that it is part of the fun!  Below are some tips on how to best enjoy yourself and be successful when competing in these type of events. Continue Reading

Recently a great post was made on the River Bassin Forums by klmccllg and it made me realize that it is another common topic we have yet to cover in an article.  This question was posed, “How far is too far to paddle upstream when doing a paddle up trip?” Continue Reading

There has been a lot of talk on the forums lately about where bass go in the winter.  Well, I hope to shed some light on the topic based on my experience in this article.  Be warned that not every river is the same due to several factors each could have – dam downstream or upstream, large tributary entering it, warmwater discharge by a power plant, a lake downstream etc.

The key to this question is to know more about the bass and the priority of their needs to survive.  It is no different than humans really.  We have certain needs that must be met in order for us to stay alive.  I would put oxygen at number one on that list.  If I am not getting oxygen then everything else is moot because I will be dead.  I’m not thinking about women or food if I can’t breathe!  Likewise, if I am Continue Reading

This bass fell for the Ultra-Vibe!

When most people think of worm-fishing they normally think of painstakingly crawling a piece of plastic along the bottom waiting for a strike.  Because of this stigma as being a “slow” presentation, many river fisherman shy away from plastic worms, preferring faster power techniques. After fishing Florida’s natural lakes for the last 15 years, I’ve become somewhat proficient at fishing plastic worms…it’s THE # 1 lure in my neck of suburbia.  If I have learned one thing after years of worm fishing it’s to Continue Reading

Article by: David Rodrigue (Drodrigue)

This is a fairly inexpensive way to install a drag chain on a sit-on-top kayak. $48 if you have to buy everything listed. You may have many of the items lying around the house or shop.

This write-up may look a bit complicated, but that’s because I explain a lot of adjustments I made to my setup. It is really 4 basic steps to install:
•    Attached leash to boat
•    Install hook loops to guide the line to the back and control tracking
•    Tie leash to chain
•    Wrap chain in tape

Total installation time less than Continue Reading

…By:  WaderJon

How many times have you made a trip to the river in hopes of having a day of repeated top water blow ups and rod jarring spinner bait strikes only to find that the fish were just not in the mood? That’s why I always have a worm or soft plastic craw tied on for just such occasions. Usually even on the worst of days when the fish are not cooperating you can mange to catch at least a few small one’s if you have the Continue Reading