It had rained and rained and rained… not a cute little sprinkle.
Buckets.
So when the storms finally broke, I did what any red-blooded American man would do. Grabbed a fishing rod, a Base Box, and headed to the closest pond I expected to stabilize quickly with a simple plan:
Clear water. Confidence baits. Bank fishing. Bass.
Two hours later? Nothing. Not a bump. Not a tap. Not even those annoying little panfish that jackhammer your plastics just enough to keep your confidence alive…
It was enough to make me question my ability, my knowledge, my manhood… but challenging moments teach us the most. As soon as I took a step back, admitted the problem was me, and not the pond, everything clicked:
80/20 Isn’t a “Rule” – It’s a Principle
Most fishermen don’t have a bait problem. They have a system problem. We keep adding and buying and collecting because we feel like we need to. It feels like proper preparation.
Just one more crankbait. Just one more tackle bag. One more reel. One more rod. Those JDM plastics look like spicy nuggets…
Just in case. Right? I get it. I used to be that guy. Some days, I’m still that guy. But…
New Gear Never Creates More Fishing Time. A Cleaner System Does.
The 80/20 Rule is often applied to just one aspect of fishing:
80% of the fish are in 20% of the water.
While that’s true, if you want more fishing success, you need to go deeper than that. For example:
80/20 TIME
Where you spend your time is important. 20% of your fishing locations probably account for 80% of your fish.
80/20 TACKLE
20% of your baits probably catch 80% of your fish. (I bet you a dollar.) Stop collecting. Start mastering.
80/20 SKILL
20% of the fishermen are catching 80% of the fish.
80/20 SYSTEMS
Whenever I load up a Base Box, I make sure that 80% of the contents are perfectly paired for the target conditions, but 20% of the space in that box is reserved for curveballs.
Be Ready… Without Carrying Everything…
Minimalist Fishing is not about being underprepared. It’s about being intentionally prepared.
When I fish, I’m applying the 80/20 Principle on purpose. That 20% can save the trip in more ways than one.
You don’t need countless tackle boxes in the truck or boat. You don’t need tons of rods & reels. You just need to think through the most likely conditions, and you’ll quickly find that less clutter leads to faster decision-making and better focus.
Example: What I’d Carry to a Clear Water Fishing Spot
Notice the first 3 options in each row are natural, but the 4th is a high-viz option. The KVD Sexy Frog also has a free-floating internal rattle for extra drawing power. (Yes, I know this is actually a 75/25 split, you math nerd. It’s just an example!)
Watch The Video
The full video walks you through the trip, the mistakes I made, the lessons learned, and the success that followed. It’s a simple example, but it’s also true.
If you’ve been carrying around too much tackle, or you’re on the fence regarding this whole minimalist fishing thing – this one’s for you.
No, not one that requires a cream or ointment or a salve… I got bass itches.
(You should see the looks I get while scratching in public…)
It’s March here in Illinois. We’ve had a few warm days, and when that happens, the creative juices get to flowin’. The mad dash to clean up all of the fishing equipment that was strewn about in different “I’ll do that later” piles has begun. We’re in full swing, baby!
Wait. Piles?? Shouldn’t a MINIMALIST Fisherman have very little gear??
Great question. I have less gear than ever before, but minimalist fishing is a system, not a destination. It’s the ongoing process of optimizing what you have. We test new gear of course, but only keep the best of the best and discard the rest. This keeps us lean. It keeps us efficient. It keeps us deadly.
While I can’t wait for some big fat heifer largemouth, right now, my sights are set on bronzebacks. When you consider all of the differences between these distinct fish, they’re more like distant cousins than brothers, and my goal today is to lay out the groundwork for targeting Midwest smallmouth effectively in the spring.
Let’s get some.
Pit bass caught from the jon boat on a simple must-have jig setup
Before we can catch the fish – we have to find the fish.
As I mentioned above, areas that can be insanely productive one day can be completely void of life the next. Smallmouth bass are not afraid to move – and they move a lot. If a system is unobstructed by dams or ultra-shallow riffles smallmouth have been known to move 50 miles or more. But what triggers that movement, and how can we use it to our advantage?
Well, it depends on the type of water we’re fishing.
I catch smallmouth bass in nearby strip pits, creeks and rivers. Here, they coexist with largemouth, but you won’t find smallmouth in our shallow lakes and ponds, especially if there is floating muck present. Largemouth simply dominate these areas. But in water with current (rivers & creeks) or rocky, boulder-filled pits that drop to depths of 40 feet or more, smallmouth can flourish. In fact they seem to do better than largemouth in areas with current, and in the pits, they will inhabit the deeper depths.
Rivers can produce big smallmouth all year long if you have the right tools
But they don’t just stay in one spot all year. They move.
I’ll give you an example… there is a creek by my house where I have landed some absolute bruisers. It empties directly into a large river. I’ll fish 3 miles up from the mouth of the creek and back, from ice out to late fall… but while reviewing my notes from the last 5 years, it seems I only catch BIG fish in May and June. Sure I can catch fish in the creek most of the year, but the BIG fish are only present for a brief period of time. WHY?
Late spring seems to be best… especially if there are bugs on the surface of the water (throw a popper)
I always assumed it had to do with spawning. I figured when it was “time to spawn” they would “move up into” the creeks and smaller rivers. When the water reached a certain temp, when the days were a certain length, etc. While spawning is definitely a factor, another aspect I completely ignored was the water table and the amount of current pushing through the larger river system as a whole.
When current increases and water levels rise, smallmouth will move to the source of that current. They’ll move up towards dams. Anglers will tell you the best time to fish a dam is when water is spilling over the top, bringing food and oxygenating the water below (especially during the heat of the summer). Dams are also one of the most dangerous and overfished areas on a river (they get fished all year long, and for good reason) so savvy anglers will find productive areas that hold less pressured fish downstream. Also note that the water above the dam has the poorest quality, with loads of silt and low oxygen levels.
Increased current also prompts smallmouth to leave the main river channel and move into backwaters, up into smaller connecting rivers or – you guessed it – creeks. As the water levels stabilize, remember to fish anywhere current comes into the main river. There will be fish there (maybe even within a half-mile range). Don’t just take my word for it. Here’s Al Lindner and Dan Lindner talking about smallmouth bass movement in a river system (jump to 7:23 for a summary of conditions).
Jump to 7:23 for a summary of conditions
In the spring, we get melting snow followed by rain. This means higher water and more current. We also see the water beginning to warm up. Word on the street is that the magic temps for smallmouth pre-spawn into the spawn are 55° to 65°. They prefer sand, gravel & rocks, and spawning depth will depend on the maximum depth and clarity of the water. In my super-clear strip pits, I’ve seen them on beds that had to be 20 if not 25+ feet deep. The creeks are obviously shallower than that, with much lower visibility – especially when the current is really moving.
The earliest smallmouth get their metabolism going is in the high 30s and into the low 40s. Some river bass guides actually consider this prime time for smallmouth. Fish deep water near flats where smallmouth can congregate waiting to come up and spawn. The theory is that during this stretch, every bass in the river is thinking the same thing as long as the weather remains stable: time to eat! Storms and dropping temps can shut the bite back down. As the water inches up into the 50s the bass can become scattered. The biggest fish will move up onto those same flats and spawn anywhere from 10 to 25-feet deep, and spawning will typically continue through 65°.
This is different than largemouth, who usually spawn when the water is 60° (with stable conditions) and begin to disperse around 70°. I do not prefer to target spawning bass, but if I see them I’ll usually cast to them and grab a quick pic before a careful release.
Combine all of these elements and it’s clear why my big bruiser smallmouth pay me a visit in the creek, but don’t overstay their welcome. This year, I want to find them sooner, stick with them longer as they move in and then out of the creeks and smaller rivers, and catch more and bigger bass.
A beauty caught less than a mile from the mouth of the creek in late June on a Pop ‘n Drop
As the weather continues to warm and the water levels recede, smallmouth will exit the creeks and backwaters and make their way back into the primary river in a system. They instinctively know when the water level is dropping. The amount of fluctuation that matters is different on every body of water. Remember, bass generally “move up” as waters rise, and “pull back” as it falls.
So, here’s how you can catch more of them…
Track Rain, Water Levels & Temps CONSTANTLY
The first thing we need to do – before we rig a rod – is track the conditions.
This can be done without leaving the house, although I’d suggest a hybrid approach. In this example, I’m going to be looking for data near The Fox River in Illinois, since it’s one of the initial places I’ll be exploring.
First, make a note on your calendar every time it rains
This process seems confusing, but it’s actually quite simple. As you begin to collect your own data (like rain times and local water temps) and compare it with the data provided on the sites listed above, you can start to paint a pretty good picture without leaving the comfort of home. One area that is a bit tricky for me, however, is the water temperature gauges…
You’ll notice my Illinois River water temp link goes to a “legacy” page, because I can’t figure out how to get the “modernized” page to actually display temperature data at all. I can’t find a temperature gauge for the Fox River which is why I’m looking at the Illinois River. Even though it’s significantly larger, they connect. My second link shows the Illinois River again, in a different location. While this is somewhat helpful, taking a thermometer out to collect real, site-specific data is the superior method.
Pay close attention to the gauges that show the historical and current height of a river as well, especially as a safety precaution.
When the water is high, it can be flat out dangerousThis pic (same stretch of creek) shows just how many jagged rocks were hidden by high water
Start tracking your own data now – and continue all year. Combine your data with whatever else is publicly available and plan your trips accordingly. You’ll be glad you did.
Go Catch Some Spring Smallmouth!
With our due diligence completed – it’s time to fish!
Let’s consider fishing two distinct types of smallmouth habitat. Water with current (creeks & rivers) and deep, clear pits. You’ll notice I didn’t link to any public gauges for the pits I discussed earlier. That’s because there aren’t any. I have to rely on my temperature notes from years past, and new measurements in the field.
As you consider these presentations remember that smallmouth bass rely more on sight and smell to feed. Largemouth rely more on vibration and sound. You’ll likely catch more largemouth bass in the early mornings, late evenings, or on overcast or rainy days. These are low light situations where largemouth are more likely to venture out from cover. Smallmouth can see better on bright, clear days. They are also (usually) more willing to travel a long distance to strike a lure, so periods of higher visibility (even later in the day when it’s slick calm) can be surprisingly productive.
This is one reason why schooled-up smallmouth can have such a violent reaction to extremely vibrant, unnatural colors like “clown” or pink or orange or everyone’s favorite: chartreuse. It’s also why you’ve probably noticed certain flats that are dead in the morning seem to come alive later in the day, especially if it’s sunny.
Largemouth and smallmouth are very different animals.
We’ll be keeping it simple but leaning on 3 specific, highly-productive presentations, with 1 alternate:
Pop ‘n Drop
Subsurface Search Bait
Dark Corner Custom Squarebill
Rebel 4″ Slow-Sinking Tracdown Minnow
Swimbait
Hula Grub
Fortunately for me, all of these presentations are already present in my Clear Water Base Box.
The Pop ‘n Drop is a smallmouth bass killer. It consists of a floating popper (like a Rapala Skitter Pop) with the rear treble removed and a 10-pound fluorocarbon dropper line attached in its place. Dropper length depends on the depth you plan to fish, but 18″ is a good starting point. Attach a lightweight wacky hook to the dropper line and add your favorite 3″ or 4″ stickbait. Ochos are almost too heavy, but Dingers are almost too light. I’ll use both at times. If your popper has no problem staying afloat, you can add a frog hook (or double hook) where the rear treble was removed.
If the water is above 55° I’ll make a long cast on braided line (which floats), and begin twitching my rod tip, causing the popper to spit water. The stickbait then pendulums, sinking slowly behind. If smallmouth are active, they will destroy your popper. If they are a little reserved, they will inspect, but opt for the stickbait. You’ll see your popper *BLOOP* backwards underwater – it’s like bobber fishing, except your bobber has hooks and you’re imparting action into it.
Cadence? Work it slow, then try it fast. At higher speeds it looks like the stickbait is chasing a meal, which can get nearby fish fired up!
Pop ‘n Drop
Bass candy
This is a great option in both clear and stained water, especially when searching for fish.
Subsurface Search Baits
As we move subsurface, I’m going one of two ways. In the creeks and rivers I’ll grab a moving bait that makes a bit more commotion, like a Sonic Side KO Squarebill in Matte Green Craw that runs 2 to 6-foot deep. If I notice any crayfish with blue in them (which we find along some of our shallow city lakes with lots of riprap) I’ll change to the Sonic Side KO Squarebill in Matte Blue Craw.
These look awesome and they’re customized by a company called Dark Corner Custom Crankbaits. The owner (Blake Paff) designed a few custom jerkbaits for me that will come into play later this year… oh, the stick? A 7-foot Lightning Rod paired with a Pflueger President XT baitcaster and 12-pound Reaction Tackle mono. Sweet. Not too expensive. Plus it provides a nice little rubber-band effect.
If I’m fishing a deep, clear borrow pit, I’ll swap this crankbait out for either a deep-diving jerkbait, or a slow-sinking jerkbait like the Rebel Tracdown Minnow. I’m not sure if they still make the 4″ version, but I have one, and this will help me get deeper and put my bait in front of fish down along the big boulders peppering the steep sloping bottom.
The Rebel Tracdown Minnow is a slow-sinking jerkbait
Next, we’ll grab a swimbait that will allow us to cover water and get down even deeper. Casting a swimbait out and letting it sink to the very bottom, they slowly reeling it back so it doesn’t rise up in the water column, can be a wildly productive technique.
The WildEye Swim Shad comes pre-rigged. Tie it on. Cast it out. Reel it back with a no-nonsense retrieve. Aside from paying very close attention to your depth, it’s a straightforward presentation.
Down & Dirty with a Hula Grub
Finally, I’ll want to take something with a bit of bulk that gets all the way down to the bottom and stays there. My friend Dan Brozowski at Midwest Outdoors told me about this little bait right before the end of last season. I used it to catch largemouth. Then smallmouth. They both love it. The twin-tail grub has a molded skirt attached to a solid body. Thread it onto a plain football head jig if you’re around rocks, or a slender shaky head jig if you want a more compact profile.
Rig this up on a spinning combo and go to work at multiple depths. Just remember if you’re fishing around a lot of rocks and current, consider upsizing your line, or fishing with braid to a quality 20-pound fluorocarbon leader. Yes, you read that correctly.
If crayfish are present, smallmouth will absolutely destroy this bait, especially as the water continues to warm. Up until about 40° river bass are believed to be more “baitfish oriented,” but as temps climb the entire food chain starts to become more active. Around the mid-40s if crayfish are on the menu, smallmouth will take full advantage.
You should, too.
When do Big Smallmouth STAY in Creeks?
In some rivers & streams the local smallmouth bass are year-round residents.
This can even be the case in small creeks, if you fish a stretch that is many miles away from the connecting river. You can still contact bass in the bends and deep holes that likely attracted them earlier in the season. I’ve caught some fatties as late as October near where I live.
A big fat October smallmouth
This productive stretch was well over 6 miles from the mouth of the creek. It was also surrounded by several extremely shallow riffles that prevented the fish from completely leaving for the winter. In order to fish this area I had to hike miles and miles against the current in frigid water (this was before I owned waders, so I was in shorts, which was beyond stupid) while a nice, frosty drizzle gave me a good soak.
Again, I did find good bass, along with a bunch of No Trespassing signs… so… between that and the hypothermia, I won’t be going back. But if you have (legal) access to a stretch of creek that has similar attributes, bundle up and check it out. The bass I found will be year-round residents, unless they get uppity and jump those riffles next time the creek floods.
The Plan for Fishing Midwest Smallmouth Bass in the Spring
So that’s the plan. Is it perfect? Nah. But it’s better than anything I’ve ever come up with before. That’s the point. That’s the goal. Constant improvement isn’t a destination; it’s a process. While the 5 presentation options are very important, I am finally beginning to understand why the heavy-hitters at In-Fisherman, Midwest Outdoors, and other educational (not sensational) publications focus so much on finding the fish first & foremost.
It’s almost time for smallmouth fishing in the Midwest, and I can’t wait
It’s fun to play with new baits, but when it comes to fishing: if you can’t find ’em, you can’t catch ’em.
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I hope that you have experienced the tightest of lines this season so far. We’re well into the “dog days” now in Illinois, and the bite has slowed to a crawl. You can still get ’em, but it requires a lot more patience and stealth. One method that has worked for me involves some green pumpkin Big TRDs, complete with a pair of Z-Man Neko ShroomZ / Weights (one on either end) and a 3/0 Weedless Wacky Hook. This simple, bite-sized technique is a great presentation for lethargic largemouth sitting in the shade of the muck and duckweed that floats atop our warm Midwest water. I’ve landed more than a few after ripping up and down a nearby canal quietly on a Rattan Ebike looking for shady areas near patches of clear, sandy bottom where largemouth can patrol in and out of the overhead cover and eat as they see fit.
A fat Illinois largemouth bass on a HOT summer day!
I’ll write more about this method, the Rattan, and post a video soon. They have both performed above and beyond what I expected!
Much has changed in my camp these last several months. I have had the privilege of writing several articles for Midwest Outdoors (most in print, and a few have been published on their blog). I’ve partnered with a few new companies and have some interesting collaboration videos in the works. Most importantly, my wife and I welcomed Ava Joy into the world in early July:
Welcome, little one.
She is awesome, and her 4 older brothers are completely in love with her. We are too… even though she doesn’t let us sleep… yet…
Forgot about that part.
As my tribe expands, I am constantly reminded that time is limited. With 5 kids, how can a father make sure that everyone feels loved and appreciated and special (including the misses)? It’s a tall order! Just “putting a roof over their heads” or “putting dinner on the table” isn’t enough – that’s the bare minimum. It’s our responsibility as men. It’s expected. However, if that is all we ever do for our family… yikes…
We must strive to do more, and if we can’t do more in terms of quantity, we have to do more in terms of quality. Fortunately, if you’re a fisherman like me (and of course you are) you have a hobby that is built for memory making.
Shortly after Ava Joy was born, we left for our annual Hauser Pilgrimage to the Manitowish Chain ‘o Lakes. This trip is something that we save for all year long. It’s not cheap. We have to make sacrifices to make it happen, but it allows us to stay in a house on a lake with our boat rigged & ready to go in the morning, afternoon and evening. Between family meals, swimming and exploring – my father and I fish.
A LOT.
As my boys have grown, they’ve all taken an interest in “doing what Daddy is doing with Gompa.” And so, every child gets multiple solo outings with me and Dad, without their siblings, where they get our full attention. The result? Many, many memories… just like this one I caught on tape below…
Finn Fights a Fat Wisconsin Smallmouth Bass
When I started The Minimalist Fisherman, my goal was to get good enough to help my kids catch more fish. Sure, I also wanted to catch more myself – but I knew that if I was going to get them excited about going outside while their friends all sat around like vegetables staring at screens, I’d have to be able to put them on fish quickly, no matter the conditions.
Is it easy? No, of course not.
Does it always work out? Also no.
But you listen to those squeals of excitement in that video and tell me it’s not worth every bit of effort to help your child experience the joy of catching a bruiser of a bass all by themselves.
It is.
I share this with you today as a simple reminder: fishermen are blessed.
We are blessed by God’s great bounty. By nature. By the wind and the rain and the rise and fall of the sun on the water. The cool morning air and the rustle of the leaves along the shoreline in the evening. These experiences are often simply a byproduct of chasing the beasts swimming below the surface… but don’t take any of this for granted. You have a hobby that is built for memory making… so stay alert and soak it all in… enjoy it, but more importantly…
Share it.
Finn on the way to our first spot.After losing multiple fish, he persevered, and was rewarded with this 17″ smallmouth bass. That’s a beauty, but to a little lad like this, IT’S A GIANT! The release with Gompa. If we want to enjoy these fisheries, we have to take care of them and treat the lake and the inhabitants with respect. This fish will live to fight another day!
Tight Lines & Godspeed, Patriots.
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I hope that all of you are having a great 2024! I’ve been quiet lately and wanted explain why…
Last year, one of my big goals was to get a few articles published on different websites. Believe it or not… this was actually way more difficult than I anticipated. There are many websites that focus on fishing… but most are completely inactive – or worse – filled to the absolute brim with crappy, spammy content and ads out the wazoo.
If you search the Googles, you’ll find yourself bouncing back and forth between sites with (sometimes really good) bass fishing tips from 2003, then the next will have “The All-Time Worldwide Best Baits for Largemouth Bass – You Won’t Believe #7!!!” – and the article will quite literally list every single bass fishing technique in existence, surrounded by so many affiliate ads it’s completely unreadable.
Frustrating.
I couldn’t find other sites worth contacting… so, I decided to start contacting some of the bigger names we all know around these parts (even though I didn’t think they would be interested in what I could contribute… see Dunning-Kruger Effect). In December, a little before Christmas, as I was sulking about feeling sorry for myself, being depressed (as is my norm during the winter months) I decided to reach out to a writer over at Midwest Outdoors named Dan Brozowski. He penned an article on Fall’s In-Between Fish, and we struck up a conversation about possibly using some Yamamoto Hula Grubs in my beloved clear water pits this coming season.
Well, one thing led to another and I managed to land an email in Dave Csanda’s inbox, and if that name sounds familiar it’s probably because you recognize him from The Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. I sent him a few articles that have been published here, and he responded: “I read your stuff and would welcome your submissions. We need another article for January but the deadline is less than a week away…“
There it was.
An opening.
An opportunity.
Time to make hay.
A few days later I sent over an article with several pictures from the end of the season, along with tips for finding and catching bigger bass. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard that they had accepted the article. I was even more surprised when I received the January issue in the mail, and saw they had decided to use my picture for the cover of the Illinois section!
Midwest Outdoors: January 2024 Article by AJ Hauser: Winter Investments for Bigger Bass
Shortly after that, the article ended up in their monthly Midwest Outdoors Insider Newsletter. Sweet! I emailed Dan and Dave, along with Ann, Tina and Dena over at the MWO office to say thank you for the opportunity and for using some of my stuff – and with it, sent another article that got picked up and used for the March issue, along with the Iowa / Missouri cover:
Midwest Outdoors: March 2024 Article by AJ Hauser: Jerkin’ Cold-Water Bass
Jerkin’ Cold-Water Bass ended up on their website, then an article titled “Go Small or Go Home: The Advantages of Fishing Small Water” was printed in the April issue, and my 4th article is currently on deck for May.
Midwest Outdoors: April 2024 Article by AJ Hauser: Go Small or Go Home: The Advantages of Fishing Small Water
So, my friends, this is what I have been focusing on since December of last year. Holding a physical, printed article is something I have hoped for and worked towards since I started The Minimalist Fisherman in 2019. To see my picture alongside well known heavy-hitters and local hammers is just… it’s surreal.
When I was just a wee lad, my Dad had a box of In-Fisherman books that would come out at the beginning of every Manitowish fishing trip. They’d be sprawled across the bed, and I would hop up and flip through the pages written by Al, Ron and Jim Lindner, Dan Sura, Doug Stange, Steve Quinn, Larry Dahlberg, Ralph Manns and Dave Csanda. Dad and I didn’t didn’t talk much. We didn’t have to. He would tie spoons and jigs and plugs onto his many fishing poles while I looked at those books, and we both dreamed about catching big fish.
Fast forward 30 years.
To have a brief email discussion with one of these guys. To hold a printed article in my hands. To place something I wrote with pictures of my fish on the dining room table so my parents, wife and kids can see…
It means a lot.
I thank God for the opportunity, and I hope to continue sending articles and pictures that get put to use. Being in a position to help other anglers after so many have helped me is extremely rewarding!
But now… now, it’s time to get ready to get out into the field. My 2024 fishing season is only days away from starting. It will be cold. It will be wet. It will be rough… but it will feed my soul.
I’ll log all of it and share with you the changes I make, the techniques that work, and the fish I catch.
So brothers… here’s to 2024… let’s get bit!
Tight Lines & Godspeed, Patriots.
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Catch More Fish Than Your Friends. Laugh At Their Tears.
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The days are shorter. The nights are colder. The daydreams are beginning to intensify.
There is a picture frame that lives on our counter. One of the best investments I’ve ever made. It cycles through photos from trips we’ve taken, constantly reminding the kids about their victories. It makes them want to fish and spend more time with family. It keeps the memories fresh, and they love to tell the story of “that fish I caught” and “that place we went” when different images pop up. It keeps them excited…
… truth be told… it has the same effect on me and my wife…
A simple digital picture frame cycles through memories, victories, and keeps “the good stuff” fresh and top-of-mind! Ours currently has 1,500 pics and that number increases every time we fish.
We’re so excited in fact, that I’m in the market for a new boat. Need something simple, minimalist, something that can run shallow and slam into rocks. We’ll be fishing The White River in Arkansas by next November, after all… for trout, yes, but also walleye and smallmouth bass. Lord knows, my wife is an amazing fishing partner, but she is NOT a fan of my 3.5 foot wide jon boat! It’s as wobbly as ‘ol Uncle Butch after his 9th whisky sour. I need to get something wider. More stable. As that search continues, end-of-season cleaning ensues.
Yesterday I came across my Wisconsin Bass Base Box. The presentations in this box accounted for many, many bass this year, including the 5 biggest smallmouth from our annual trip up north. Who caught #1 you ask? …
My wife and her MONSTER Minocqua smallmouth bass. (Told ya she was a great fishing partner.)
This bruiser came out of just 7 feet of water. In July. Often, when largemouth are not the dominant species in a lake, you’ll find smallmouth spread out to many different depths – including the warmer, shallower areas that are rich with forage, weeds, and wood cover. We assume that smallmouth prefer crayfish and deep, rocky, cold water, but sometimes they use deeper areas because they have to.
It takes longer to digest a crayfish than it takes to digest a baitfish.
So, in Wisconsin lakes where largemouth are present but not especially dominant, make sure to explore the weedy, warmer areas as well as the deep rocky humps – and everything in between – until you find what the smallmouth, walleye, crappie, pike, panfish & muskie prefer.
These baits will help you target bass throughout the entire water column effectively.
Let’s get into it.
What is a Wisconsin Bass Base Box?
A Base Box is a single Plano container, loaded with presentations that you have confidence in for a specific kind of fishing. This container is something that you can pick up with zero notice – it’s always ready to go. So when Billy Bob calls and says “BROTHER, LET’S FISH!”, you simply grab the correct Base Box along with the Terminal Tackle Base Box (which is always on hand no matter what), load the backpack and head out.
Fishing from the bank? Just take that backpack. Fishing from your friend’s boat? Just take that backpack. Fishing from your own boat? Just take that backpack!
My Wisconsin Bass Base Box is focused on targeting smallmouth bass in clear Wisconsin lakes (high visibility) with rocks, weeds, and woody cover.
Over the past 20+ years of fishing in Wisconsin, we’ve boiled it all down the the following presentations. Presentations that I absolutely need to have with me to fish with 100% confidence. This is very different from my Clear Water Base Box, and my Muck Bass Base Box… which we will cover in another article…
These items are all that remain after years of reduction. Minimizing. In the past, I’d take a complete bait store with me! These days? I take this box, a few bags of plastics, and some terminal tackle… and we all catch more fish.
The River2Sea Rover 98 was a surprise hit this year, with a walking Live Target Yearling Baitball coming into play when I wanted a slightly smaller profile.
Topwater is fun, and in clear Wisconsin lakes, fishing a topwater in 8 foot of water or less – especially over thick weeds – can be intense. It’s also a great way to cover water. Big pike and the occasional muskie are not afraid to hammer your topwater offerings as well, and that kind of pandemonium is a blast – I don’t care who you are!
I like to start out with a moving bait featuring a natural pattern. Something medium-sized that walks, like the River2Sea Rover 98. I’ll rig this up on a baitcaster, braid, and a 20 Pound Monofilament Leader. This does two things – it floats better than fluorocarbon, and yes – it is slightly less visible than straight braid – but more importantly, that mono is less likely to get twisted up on your guides in-between casts.
Straight braid can be a pain at times, especially if it’s windy.
Minocqua Must-Have Bait #2: Popping Topwaters
Having a few popping topwaters on hand will allow you to do two things:
First, they give you the option to present a smaller profile with distinct pauses, and at times this will coax bites better than a walking bait. (Experiment with a dressed rear treble. If you have follows but no takers, swap it out for a plain treble or try to change the color of your popper.)
Second, they give you one of the tools to make a Pop ‘n Drop. A Pop ‘n Drop is a popper with the rear treble removed, exchanged for a fluorocarbon dropper line, wacky hook and a trailing stickbait that sinks slowly, coming to a rest anywhere from 1 to 3 feet below the popper. This helps you put something irresistible in front of those fish that follow, but just won’t bite.
AJ Hauser with a healthy Manitowish smallmouth bass that could not resist the Pop ‘n Drop.
The popper gets their attention – the stickbait seals the deal.
Clear Wisconsin lakes are known to have expansive weed beds. In some places, they can stretch for miles and miles, and while you can jig fish them to target clearly defined transitions, pockets or other submerged cover (and you should), this makes covering a lot of water difficult.
If you’re searching for bass, consider running a wakebait right over the top of these weeds. You might be surprised at what lunges out!
The StrikePro Hunchback is a great wakebait that runs less than a foot, but they are expensive and harder and harder to find. Luck-E-Strike Cajun Wakebaits are a cheap alternative. A Rebel Teeny Wake-R is a lot of fun to throw on light line for numbers if the wind is calm, and a Mann’s Baby 1-Minus has been a staple in my arsenal for a while now – plus, it brings rattles to the table. I mark the running depth on most of my lures with a Sharpie.
Minocqua Must-Have Bait #4: Jerkbaits
Two years ago, I decided it was time to learn – yes, I said LEARN – to use jerkbaits. I’m glad that I dedicated time to the technique, because jerkbaits are fun, and they work.
I take a few with me when I fish Minocqua and the Manitowish Chain ‘O Lakes. They are great for covering water, especially around sandy flats with sparse weed clumps, stumps and logs. However, they are not the best option for the thick weed beds mentioned above.
I’ve had days where they were lights out – and days where they were ignored outright.
Take a few & test ’em.
My jerkbait collection includes a few Rapala RipStops that run shallow and stop on a dime, along with several Husky Jerks in different sizes. Huskies have been a staple for serious anglers for many years now – and as I’ve learned – it’s for good reason. I round out my collection with a few discontinued baits, which I will use until I lose ’em…
Minocqua Must-Have Bait #5: Lipless Crankbaits
Pike will destroy a lipless. I love to throw them when the water is a bit cooler and the big fish are active. We usually visit Minocqua during “the dog days” though… so pike fishing is hit or miss.
When I’m fishing areas with toothy critters, I’ll usually add a fluorocarbon leader to my line. Seaguar AbraizX is a great choice, and I prefer it over Seaguar Red Label. Neither are as tough as a steel leader, but it gives you a great chance of avoiding a bite-off while remaining invisible to the more finicky fish.
Smallmouth bass are not to be underestimated, as they will demolish a lipless crankbait as well – when they’re active. A great way to catch ’em is by throwing a lipless crankbait over the tops of the weed beds – then ripping your bait free when it gets hung up. My wife landed this beauty just minutes before a big storm rolled in using this technique. (You should have heard her warcry ring out across the empty lake as the bass came aboard and thunder rolled – it was truly epic!)
Nice smallmouth bass on one of my Dad’s Rattlin’ Rapalas. The (Discontinued) Bomber Ratl RRR A
We like Rattlin’ Rapalas, Rat-L-Traps, and I also throw Bomber Ratl RRR As that my buddy, Brother Ron, sent in a care package not that long ago. All three are great options.
Finally, swim jigs round out our bulky bait repertoire. The added weight, weed guard and skirt on a swim jig allow you to control the depth of your swimbaits while remaining very weedless and adding girth.
You can retrieve these bulked-up baits right through the cabbage and grass to get the attention of any number of species – they go where the trebled jerkbaits dare not tread!
Some of my favorite swim jigs can be seen here – just remember: opt for natural colors most of the time in the clear Wisconsin water.
Minocqua Must-Have Bait #7: Hair Jigs
Now that we’ve covered our moving baits, it’s time to sloooooow down a bit… hair jigs have increased in popularity over the last several years. Bass fisherman (largemouth, smallmouth and spotted) stayed tight-lipped about them for quite some time, but anglers like Kevin VanDam were seen using them in major tournaments, and us “normies” started to get wise…
I keep several on hand in different colors (usually natural or black with a highlight color for attraction) sized from 1/16 to 3/8 ounce.
Now, you can fish these a few different ways… some anglers like to fish them as-is, working them up and down and drifting them out from shallow to deep water with a simple pendulum motion.
This can work – but I prefer to tip mine with live bait…
Leeches.
One of my best bass from an especially slow morning came on a light hair jig tipped with a leech. We were sitting in about 30 feet of water casting towards the entrance of the lake which had a steep rocky drop-off. This bass followed my jig all the way to the boat and hit when it was 5 feet away – wild!
The hair adds bulk, motion (especially the marabou) and slows the rate of fall. If you use a black jig with a leech the color matches well, and the motion and taste of the leech can help to create a surprisingly effective package.
A 3/8 ounce VMC BKJ Bucktail Jig will help you get down to those deeper fish, faster. This means more casts, and more chances to get bit.
Minocqua Must-Have Bait #8: NedlockZ & BulletZ
While fishing the Manitowish Chain ‘O Lakes this year, I spent quite a bit of time fine-tuning The Snakebite Rig. Even though this rig was originally developed for fishing the heavy muck here in Illinois – a few modifications allowed me to slither it through thick weedy areas that dropped into deeper water.
Tip ’em with plastics, leeches, crawlers, minnows – you name it. One of my favorite techniques for “bonus fish” involves setting up an extra pole with a slip-bobber rig. I’ll set this in a rod holder and allow it to leisurely drift behind the boat with a leech on one of these Lindy Live Bait Jigs while I’m simultaneously fishing a more active presentation. The weight of the jig removes the need for split-shot.
It’s like having an extra set of hands, and even when I’m retying I always have a bait in the water. If the panfish are a problem, I’ll swap the leech out for a small plastic and drift that instead.
“Bonus Fish” on a drifting leech.
Minocqua Must-Have Bait #10: Mushroomhead Jigs
Mushroomhead jigs have been around for a long time. They pair perfectly with plastics, allowing you to keep a low profile with minimal negative cues. I keep an assortment on hand from 1/16 to 1/4 ounce in both weedless and extra-weedy varieties. (Notice that weedless and standard jigs live in the same compartment in the Wisconsin Bass Base Box, so they take up less space.)
The Northland Tackle Deep-Vee Jigs are a bit of a hybrid, and more importantly, they are extremely effective. The tend to stand up, they have a light wire hook with a longer shank, and they also have an angled head with large, realistic eyes.
That light wire hook makes for easy penetration in the mouth of a fish, so it’s a great option for younger anglers and old pros alike.
This jig, paired with a small plastic, was responsible for the biggest bass of the trip. Sure they’re pricey, but DO NOT sleep on this jig!
A 1/8 ounce Northland Tackle Deep-Vee Jig helped my wife land this MONSTER smallmouth bass. You can see the jig hanging from her rod on the left in this picture.
The Bait Rigs Slo-Poke Jig is a must-have item for fishing live bait in the weeds. The inline eye increases hookups and reduces snags. The center-balanced weight has a slower, more horizontal fall than a ball head jig, which falls vertically. The hook shank is strong and compact.
It’s very likely that this jig will be the one you keep tied on the entire trip…
Walk into any Wisconsin bait shop, and they’ll have a tray with Slo-Pokes in many weights & sizes. Grab an assortment, both with and without the weed guard.
You’ll thank me.
The Bait Rigs Slo-Poke Jig is unique, and a consistent favorite of both walleye and bass anglers – for good reason.
I like to stick with 1/16 to 1/8 ounce jigs, and I can usually get away with fishing without a weed guard. Black and orange are great colors, and everything you see in the image above is in my tackle box. I prefer to tip with leeches, and Dad likes crawlers.
My first 17″ smallmouth bass this year came off of a flat with sparse weedy cover near stumps and logs on a Bait Rigs Slo-Poke Jig tipped with a leech. Jig was 1/16 ounce, line weight was 8 pound fluoro – a bit oversized, and the water depth was about 10 feet. My wife with a 16″ smallmouth bass that came off of a weedy hump in 20′ of water. Leech on a Slo-Poke. Badda-bing badda-boom. Dad landed this 19″ smallmouth bass on an orange Slo-Poke Jig tipped with a leech in about 12 feet of water…… and last year this 4-pounder smoked the exact same rig tipped with a crawler instead of a leech. Experiment!
Slo-Poke Jig & Live Leech Fishing
Minocqua Must-Have Bait #13: Terminal Tackle
A small assortment of Must-Have Terminal Tackle includes the following:
It looks like a grab bag, but there is a method to the madness: steel leaders, o-rings, slip bobbers, split-rings, nail weights, bullet weights, beads and bobber stops allow you to make a wide variety of rigs.
With these components you can make Neko Rigs, Dropshot Rigs, Trailing Slip-Bobber Rigs, Texas Rigs and Carolina Rigs – provided you also have the following hooks…
Minocqua Must-Have Bait #14: Weedless Wacky Hooks
Wacky hooks with and without a weed guard are a must. They can be used for wacky rigs of course, but they also work on dropshot rigs. The dropshot was something new I played with this year for fishing weedy humps all the way down to depths of 25 feet.
(Check out Dad’s All-Star Scoop on this one right as the hook popped free!)
Testing the Dropshot on Wisconsin Bass
I caught a few, but next year I’ll be dedicating more time to the dropshot and adding in some Hayabusa Spin Muscle Dropshot Hooks. These have worked surprisingly well here in Illinois in my deep, clear pits. Make sure to toss a few Eagle Claw Offset Octopus Hooks (size 2) in here as well, for your trailing bobber rigs when you switch from leeches to 3″ plastics.
A collection of VMC, Berkley and Trokar wacky hooks.
I typically take what I use here in Illinois where a heavy weed guard is required: Berkley Fusion19 Weedless Wacky Hooks have a thick fluorocarbon weed guard. VMC Weedless Wacky Hooks are even more rigid and come with a very stiff wire weed guard.
However, this year I realized that both of these were too heavy. The Trokar Weedless Wacky Hooks gave us better hookups, due to their light wire and softer fiber weed guard, and still came through the cabbage effortlessly. By the end of the trip we were using these exclusively, because they also allowed us to lighten up our line – a huge advantage in clear Wisconsin water.
My wife with a stocky 18″ smallmouth that slammed a Neko Rig with a 4″ Dinger on a Trokar Weedless Wacky Hook. Neko Rigs are great because they will catch all sorts of gamefish, like this quality largemouth bass.
My main “worm hooks” include a simple variety of Mustad and Trokar offerings.
Stick to 2/0 or smaller if you’re targeting smallmouth bass in clear Wisconsin water. Maybe grab a few 3/0 hooks if you like to use bulkier plastics: tubes or creatures for example… I’ve had some luck on these baits, but not enough that I plan to put away the leeches or smaller plastics… well, most of the time…
Nice fat Wisconsin smallmouth on a Z-Man EZ Tube in the middle of the day.
OH! Before I forget…
What plastics catch bass in Minocqua?
We talked about all of the tackle and hard baits, but what else will we need aside from live bait? There are a lot of plastics that will work… but here are the ones I’ll be taking next year, after testing many, many, many different baits:
Z-Man TRDs: Great for Ned Rigs around sparse cover.
Z-Man Hula Sticks: Great on Snakebite Rigs & Deep-Vee jigs in and around thicker cover.
3″ Yum Dingers: Great for trailing bobbers when you’re out of leeches.
Any color will work as long as it’s green pumpkin.
😉
99% of the time I’m fishing natural colors. Green pumpkins, natural baitfish colors, some white and gray and maybe a touch of purple or red flake. A few ElaZtechs in coppertreuse for overcast days. Don’t overcomplicate this – and try to mimic the local forage.
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Notice the back has a killer design. Dang! That’s SWEET! And as you work it over the muck and the pads… the bass are going to see… the white belly (if anything)…
That’s not bad, but it’s something to be mindful of when you are selecting your topwater. And sure, bass that see the frog at an angle might notice part of the top. If it rolls (not ideal) on the retrieve, they might be able to catch a glimpse… but for the most part if you go with a bait like this you’re simply throwing a white frog.
This Terminator Frog has some accent colors on top, but the entire body is black. Hence, you’re throwing a black frog.
This means you can probably minimize your frog box and focus on quality, not quantity.
2. In mucky water, the bass don’t care what your topwater looks like.
Say again?
If bass are set up below thick mucky algae, they don’t care what your bait looks like, because they can’t see it anyway. This is true when the water below the algae is clear, and even more true if the water is stained, tannic, or straight up pea soup.
They are reacting to the commotion – the movement – the easy meal.
Because of this, one of my favorite ways to target these bass is with a 4″ or 5″ Yum Dinger rigged weedless and weightless on a 3/0 or 4/0 EWG.
New honey hole with muck near shore, pea soup for water, and healthy bass.
Here is the gear I use when I’m rigging a Dinger on an EWG, including my mainline (braid floats) and my leader material (fluorocarbon line gets snagged up less than braid and is abrasion resistant).
As you can see, this is different than the gear that comes into play for throwing straight wacky worms around weeds or sparse cover. When I’m not fishing around muck, I’ll completely skip a weed guard on the hook to stay as invisible as possible, crisscross 2 o-rings to rig perpendicular to the bait which increases hookups, and go with a thinner fluoro with less memory:
When you throw a Dinger topwater, it’s essentially a weightless Texas rig. Slow-sinking, yes, but not heavy enough to punch through the mats. However, when you reach the edge of the mat, pull it off and let it slowly sink for a second or two. Often times bass that are watching the movement above will gladly shoot out and smoke the slow-sinking stickbait as it drifts right in front of their face.
That is… if they haven’t already SMACKED it right through the thick of it!
Largemouth Bass Strikes a Topwater Stickbait thru Muck
Quick Trip: Topwater Dingers in the Muck
I keep a selection of both floating and sinking stickbaits in my Base Box for Fishing Muck, but it’s also important to remember as a Minimalist Fisherman our goal is to travel as light as possible. On kayak trips when we can only select a handful of baits, frogs take up a lot more room that stickbaits.
They’re also less versatile.
FACT.
You can hit every depth with a stickbait, provided you have a few sinker & hook options.
Your support directly funds the creation of weekly articles and videos that promote the development of better anglers and better men. Our country (and our kids) need both. Please share this site, and consider a monthly, weekly, or one-time donation. You are helping us make a difference!
Have you ever struggled to keep up with something?
I have, and to be honest – I’m having a rough go of it lately…
What do we do as fishermen when we get a free second?
We fish.
Fair enough.
I’ve been fishing as much as possible lately. That means I haven’t been writing or editing videos as much. That’s a bummer – but on the other hand, it helps me stay sane. Helps me stay away from bad habits…
This year has been a wild one – and it ain’t over yet.
So far I’ve managed to almost sink my kayak, had ticks on my unmentionables, I’ve busted rods and reels, lost big fish, and I just discovered some fun new leaks in my jon boat. To top it all off, I’m recovering from a very painful allergic reaction to the antibiotic I had to take to help kick my incredible, amazing, MASSIVE, nose infection.
That was genuinely scary. I posted a quick video hoping it might prevent other fisherman from suffering the same painful fate. To warn them. It seemed to resonate with a few different online creators, and one in particular reached out to to let me know he planned to share the video, and send along some well wishes.
That gentleman was Rick Vogelbacher. We struck up a few conversations, and I asked Rick if he would like to contribute to the site. He obliged, and much to my surprise – he wrote a piece that dealt with one of my favorite presentations: The Jerkbait.
The following is just a straightforward 5-minute read, but it covers jerkbait use at different times of the year… plus some additional info I was unaware of…
It’s The 5-Minute Jerkbait Guide for BIG BASS. Check it out, and let me know what you think!
The 5-Minute Jerkbait Guide for BIG BASS
By Rick Vogelbacher
Author Rick Vogelbacher with a MONSTER 7 POUND SMALLMOUTH (and a beauty of a largemouth bass to boot)
Fishing jerkbaits for bass can be overwhelming with so many choices on the market. You have ones that float, sink, suspend, or dive to different depths. How do you know which ones to use? There are times when we make these choices a little more difficult than they need to be. It can be as simple as the time of year you’re fishing. It could be the body of water you’re on that helps you make the choice for the day.
Let’s go over some of the basic choices for the time of year you’re fishing.
Fishing Jerkbaits in Early Spring
Ahhh… spring time fishing. The water is cold and it’s the first warming trend since the winter months. I’ve caught them on jerkbaits with the surface temperatures ranging 40 to 60 degrees. The clear choice for jerkbaits during these cold-water days is a suspending jerkbait.
They come in deep diving variations, and mid-range models that dive just 3 to 6 feet. The package or product description should tell you if the model suspends, and how deep it dives.
Colors can vary and depend on the body of water you’re fishing. Generally, jerkbaits are a good choice when you are fishing clear water. They are a visual presentation, and therefore excel in clear water situations. Stained water can be productive at times, but you will want to use a much brighter color so the fish can zero in on the jerkbait. They won’t travel as far in stained water to chase a jerkbait as they do in clear water.
One of the biggest things fishing a suspending jerkbait in the spring is to focus on the cadence of the retrieve. I would venture to say more often than not you will want to do at least a 3 to 5 second pause in between jerks with the lure. Typically fluorocarbon lines are preferred by pro’s, but I’ve been doing just fine with mono for years.
The biggest difference is the monofilament line tends to float whereas the fluorocarbon line doesn’t. The most common line diameter to use is 8 lb. test, but strength and thickness can vary from brand to brand. Typically, I will use 10 lb. line. There are times I will go as heavy as 12 lb. line, but not very often. The thicker the line diameter the less action you will get out of your jerkbait. Translucent, silver, light greens or blue mixed in colors work well on clear lakes.
Fishing Jerkbaits in the Summer
Fishing jerkbaits during the summer is a whole different ball game. The surface water temperatures can run 80 to 90 degrees depending on the part of the country you’re in. There is no bigger emphasis on cadence on the jerks of the lure than during this period. It can vary day to day, but the majority of the time you are working the lure much faster than any other time of the year.
The bass metabolism is at its highest and they are keened in on chasing and eating baitfish. You will want to jerk your lure much quicker with much shorter pauses. Often pausing it briefly and either do two quick jerks or three in a row before the next pause. Colors for clear water will be the same, but you’ll notice that bass in stained water will be more active and likely to hit the jerkbait. The largemouth in this video below show just how effective a jerkbait can be during the summer months.
When the water starts to cool in the fall, the productivity of jerkbaits can really start to shine. You will use many of the same retrieves and colors mentioned in the early spring pattern, with one major difference – the bass will be less active some days as the water cools down. In the spring the water temperature is rising and the fish get more active with those rising temperatures. In the fall the opposite is happening. The water is cooling down and the fish are trying to get accustomed to the falling temperatures which can cause some inactivity. This is the main reason you will want to go back to those long pauses on the jerkbait to trigger the strikes.
The difference in getting bites and not getting bites can sometimes boil down to the size of the jerkbait you are throwing. Most jerkbaits are referenced by length in millimeters. For instance, anything with 110 in the name is going to be 110 millimeters long (4.33 inches). One that has 90 will be 90 millimeters long (3.54 inches). There have been days where we have only caught them on the smaller 90 and can’t get a bit on the 110.
Additionally, jerkbaits come in 120, 150, or really small in the 60 range. It’s something to be aware of when you’re trying to match the hatch of the bait fish they are feeding on.
For more tips on jerkbait fishing and to see underwater footage of the jerkbait and baitfish they feed on. Check out the video below.
Big thanks to Rick for sharing his knowledge on the subject, and big thanks to you as well for checking this article out. There are many more coming down the pike, as this year has been very challenging – but also very rewarding. I’ve spent a lot of time these last 2 months in the jon boat. These next few weeks I’ll hit my pits as hard as possible, before everything slows to a crawl…
Fat bass caught skipping a Z-Man Trout Trick… although, the Z-Man FattyZ have been more productive…… and the jerkbait bitehas been good as well… for smallmouth and largemouth!
Get out & get some.
Tight Lines & Godspeed, Patriots.
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Your support directly funds the creation of weekly articles and videos that promote the development of better anglers and better men. Our country (and our kids) need both. Please share this site, and consider a monthly, weekly, or one-time donation. You are helping us make a difference!
