Thursday's NEW Bass U TV Video Update:
-Mike Iaconelli's On-Water Training on How to Fish Visible Cover
-Ish Monroe's Class on 'Dropping Bombs' to Catch Big Bass
Each new Bass University TV member will receive an autographed picture from Mike Iaconelli and Pete Gluszek, co-creators of The Bass University program. In addition, each new member will also receive a free tackle gift pack featuring Rapala, VMC, Berkley, and/or Molix tackle (Retail Value of $15). Offer begins on April 24 and expires on May 27, 2014. Anglers can subscribe at www.thebassuniversity.com/TV and begin enjoying the benefits of this program.
-Shaw Grigsby's one hour Sight Fishing Class. Watch the short class preview clip here
Shaw Grigsby: Sight Fishing
"This is called Brewster's Angle and a camera guy showed it to me. While fishing you have polarized sunglasses on. You can see into the water better from certain angles. I used to think that I could just fish with the sun at my back and see better into the water. With this principle about polarization, you can hold your hand up to block the sun and you will be able to see well to the right and left of your hand (90 degree angle). This will show you the ways (direction) that you need to fish!"
For more on Sight Fishing and Brewster's Angle, watch Shaw's entire class by clicking here.
Mike Iaconelli: Knots
"Here is a simple technique for attaching your braided main line to a fluorocarbon leader by using a barrel swivel. I really like this under certain conditions where you need to use a spinning rod, light line, or make monster casts. A lot of times when you use this with a soft plastic minnow style bait or soft stick bait, it actually enhances the presentation. Tie your favorite knot to both ends of the barrel swivel to join the main line with the leader. Now what you have is something that will stop line twist on a bait that has a lot of movement. Another benefit, especially in clear water, is that the barrel swivel is actually going to look like a little baitfish. Think about it, you will have a little baitfish being chased by a bigger baitfish and then you have the bass that will come up and take the bigger baitfish. This is a really natural presentation in clear water."
Mike Iaconelli: Match the Hatch
"There are a lot of ways that you can figure out how to mimic what is real in the environment with artificial baits. One way to "match the hatch" is to do research before you go fishing. Go online and google search for the forage in the specific lake, river, or pond. A lot of times you can figure it out this way. You can also call state agencies or call local tackle shops and ask them what the bass are feeding on."
Watch Mike Iaconelli's entire on-water video on matching the hatch by clicking here.
Brett Hite: Powershot Rig
"The powershot rig is a great way to fish for bedding bass. If you know that there are some good 5 to 8lb bass spawning in an area, beef up your dropshot tactic. You will want to use 12 to 20lb test flourocarbon line, 16 is a good median to start with. 1/4 and 3/8 are the best dropshot sinker weights. I would use the lightest weight that I can get away with; but you still want to choose the weight that you can pitch really well. Use a baitbasting reel that is very "free" and will let you pitch a long way. I use a Abu Garcia Revo Premier. Try using creature style baits and also use the same soft plastic baits that you generally fish in the same areas on a texas rig for flipping and pitching."
Watch Brett's entire class on dropshotting and powershotting by clicking here.
Pete Gluszek's Smallmouth Bass Tip:
"Change the colors of your baits to keep a school of smallmouth biting. For example, I've been on schools of smallmouth on a lipless crankbait bite. I'll catch 'em, catch 'em, catch 'em until they stop biting. Change the colors of your lures and continue catching them. I generally use red, firetiger, and chrome colors of lipless crankbaits. One of the big things I do is most of the time I am firing up these big schools of smallmouth with 1/2 oz lipless crankbaits. Once the bass get spooked by the 1/2oz baits, switch to a 1/4oz bait and start the process of firing them up again and cycle right through your colors! This will help you improve from catching one or two bass in a school, to catching sometimes 20 or 30 smallies! One thing to keep in mind is that many anglers do not change their bait's colors and they will only catch a few bass out of each school. The longer that the school of bass has been inactive, the tougher it is going to be to re-ignite the school into biting your baits."
Watch Pete's entire class on how to locate and catch big smallies by clicking here.
Mike Iaconelli's Tip on Locating Bass:
"When the information obtained from the local sources (biologists, tackle shop owners, and marinas) is compared with the rest of the historical research, buzzwords are revealed. The process of doing research gets an angler thinking about the new body of water long before a cast is ever made. When its time to get started fishing, an angler will have a plan of attack and the luck factor is greatly diminished."
Watch Mike's entire one hour class on locating bass fast/ new bodies of water by clicking here.
Brett Hite’s Chatterbait Tip:
“My favorite thing for big bass that I think big bass eat anywhere in the country is a bluegill. I really try to imitate bluegills in most of my patterns. I try to keep it (bait selection) really simple: I go with a green pumpkin and a black blade, a green shad color with either a hologram or black blade, and a white chatterbait. Those are the only two or three colors that you really need to have. You can keep it really simple and just have the green chatterbait and the white one. I have even seen it where the bass are not feeding on bluegills; the bass are feeding on shad and they still want to eat the green one!"
Watch Brett's entire 40 minute seminar on vibrating jigs by clicking here.
Mike Iaconelli's Finesse Fishing Tip on Spiraling Tubes:
"Many of you know are familiar with a tube jig, which is a soft plastic bodied bait with tentacles. And a lot of you know the tube jig for flipping and pitching with baitcasting gear around heavy cover. I like to also fish a tube jig finesse fishing style with jig head, especially around sparse/ scattered areas of cover and open water situations. There is no better way to fish a tube than with a jighead. The first thing we are going to do, is to pick a jighead that maximizes the spiral action of the tube as it falls in the water. There is no better bait out there to imitate a dying baitfish that is spiraling downward than a tube. I have seen it time and time again, when a shad, minnow, or alewife are injured/ dying, they make a spinning circle as they fall downward. This technique is a natural way to imitate something that is dying."
Watch Ike's entire on-water training video on finesse tactics and learn more about how to rig the tube for the perfect spiral action that will entice a bite, based on the conditions you are facing! www.thebassuniversity.com/tv
#TheBassUniversity #NeverStopLearning
-Special Introductory Bass University TV offer: Autographed Tackle Gift!
Each new Bass University TV member will receive an autographed picture from Mike Iaconelli and Pete Gluszek, co-creators of The Bass University program. In addition, each new member will also receive a free tackle gift pack featuring Rapala, VMC, Berkley, and/or Molix tackle (Retail Value of $15). Offer begins on April 24 and expires on May 27, 2014. Anglers can subscribe at www.thebassuniversity.com/TV and begin enjoying the benefits of this program.
Recent Bass U TV Video Updates:
-Mike Iaconelli and Pete Gluszek's on-water training: Knots. Watch the short preview clip here-Shaw Grigsby's one hour Sight Fishing Class. Watch the short class preview clip here
April Bass University TV Tips
Mike Iaconlli: How to Fish Visible CoverPhoto Credit: BASS, Bass Pro Shops Open, Seigo Saito
"Water clarity is super important to determining how to fish visible cover. I break down the water clarity into two categories…In clear to semi-stained water conditions, fish the cover by starting on the outside of the cover and work your casts to the inside. In dirty or muddy water conditions, do the complete opposite and fish the cover by starting your casts right on the heart of the cover then work your casts out on the cover. This is the best criteria for using the water clarity to determine how you are going to pick the visible cover apart."
Shaw Grigsby: Sight Fishing
"This is called Brewster's Angle and a camera guy showed it to me. While fishing you have polarized sunglasses on. You can see into the water better from certain angles. I used to think that I could just fish with the sun at my back and see better into the water. With this principle about polarization, you can hold your hand up to block the sun and you will be able to see well to the right and left of your hand (90 degree angle). This will show you the ways (direction) that you need to fish!"
For more on Sight Fishing and Brewster's Angle, watch Shaw's entire class by clicking here.
Mike Iaconelli: Knots
"Here is a simple technique for attaching your braided main line to a fluorocarbon leader by using a barrel swivel. I really like this under certain conditions where you need to use a spinning rod, light line, or make monster casts. A lot of times when you use this with a soft plastic minnow style bait or soft stick bait, it actually enhances the presentation. Tie your favorite knot to both ends of the barrel swivel to join the main line with the leader. Now what you have is something that will stop line twist on a bait that has a lot of movement. Another benefit, especially in clear water, is that the barrel swivel is actually going to look like a little baitfish. Think about it, you will have a little baitfish being chased by a bigger baitfish and then you have the bass that will come up and take the bigger baitfish. This is a really natural presentation in clear water."
Mike Iaconelli: Match the Hatch
"There are a lot of ways that you can figure out how to mimic what is real in the environment with artificial baits. One way to "match the hatch" is to do research before you go fishing. Go online and google search for the forage in the specific lake, river, or pond. A lot of times you can figure it out this way. You can also call state agencies or call local tackle shops and ask them what the bass are feeding on."
Watch Mike Iaconelli's entire on-water video on matching the hatch by clicking here.
Brett Hite: Powershot Rig
"The powershot rig is a great way to fish for bedding bass. If you know that there are some good 5 to 8lb bass spawning in an area, beef up your dropshot tactic. You will want to use 12 to 20lb test flourocarbon line, 16 is a good median to start with. 1/4 and 3/8 are the best dropshot sinker weights. I would use the lightest weight that I can get away with; but you still want to choose the weight that you can pitch really well. Use a baitbasting reel that is very "free" and will let you pitch a long way. I use a Abu Garcia Revo Premier. Try using creature style baits and also use the same soft plastic baits that you generally fish in the same areas on a texas rig for flipping and pitching."
Watch Brett's entire class on dropshotting and powershotting by clicking here.
Pete Gluszek's Smallmouth Bass Tip:
"Change the colors of your baits to keep a school of smallmouth biting. For example, I've been on schools of smallmouth on a lipless crankbait bite. I'll catch 'em, catch 'em, catch 'em until they stop biting. Change the colors of your lures and continue catching them. I generally use red, firetiger, and chrome colors of lipless crankbaits. One of the big things I do is most of the time I am firing up these big schools of smallmouth with 1/2 oz lipless crankbaits. Once the bass get spooked by the 1/2oz baits, switch to a 1/4oz bait and start the process of firing them up again and cycle right through your colors! This will help you improve from catching one or two bass in a school, to catching sometimes 20 or 30 smallies! One thing to keep in mind is that many anglers do not change their bait's colors and they will only catch a few bass out of each school. The longer that the school of bass has been inactive, the tougher it is going to be to re-ignite the school into biting your baits."
Watch Pete's entire class on how to locate and catch big smallies by clicking here.
Mike Iaconelli's Tip on Locating Bass:
"When the information obtained from the local sources (biologists, tackle shop owners, and marinas) is compared with the rest of the historical research, buzzwords are revealed. The process of doing research gets an angler thinking about the new body of water long before a cast is ever made. When its time to get started fishing, an angler will have a plan of attack and the luck factor is greatly diminished."
Watch Mike's entire one hour class on locating bass fast/ new bodies of water by clicking here.
Brett Hite’s Chatterbait Tip:
“My favorite thing for big bass that I think big bass eat anywhere in the country is a bluegill. I really try to imitate bluegills in most of my patterns. I try to keep it (bait selection) really simple: I go with a green pumpkin and a black blade, a green shad color with either a hologram or black blade, and a white chatterbait. Those are the only two or three colors that you really need to have. You can keep it really simple and just have the green chatterbait and the white one. I have even seen it where the bass are not feeding on bluegills; the bass are feeding on shad and they still want to eat the green one!"
Watch Brett's entire 40 minute seminar on vibrating jigs by clicking here.
Mike Iaconelli's Finesse Fishing Tip on Spiraling Tubes:
"Many of you know are familiar with a tube jig, which is a soft plastic bodied bait with tentacles. And a lot of you know the tube jig for flipping and pitching with baitcasting gear around heavy cover. I like to also fish a tube jig finesse fishing style with jig head, especially around sparse/ scattered areas of cover and open water situations. There is no better way to fish a tube than with a jighead. The first thing we are going to do, is to pick a jighead that maximizes the spiral action of the tube as it falls in the water. There is no better bait out there to imitate a dying baitfish that is spiraling downward than a tube. I have seen it time and time again, when a shad, minnow, or alewife are injured/ dying, they make a spinning circle as they fall downward. This technique is a natural way to imitate something that is dying."
Watch Ike's entire on-water training video on finesse tactics and learn more about how to rig the tube for the perfect spiral action that will entice a bite, based on the conditions you are facing! www.thebassuniversity.com/tv
#TheBassUniversity #NeverStopLearning
