The Wired Angler - Bass Fishing Blog, Tackle Tips and Bait Making Advice

Stick Jackets Fishing Rod Protectors Rock

I have been eyeballing these for a while now and finally broke down and bought some.

Stick Jackets are a long rod sleeve you put over your rod for storage. They solve a few problems I have been having for years on my boat. First and foremost, they keep my rods from getting tangled up. They also keep my longer rod tips from getting damaged on the inside front of my boat. Having to strip down 7 feet of line and a re-tying every time I pull a new rod out of my locker is a pain in the ass. Last but not least, my guides are not going to get banged up any more. These things rock.

Stick Jackets on Monster Tackle

Inside the Cluster#$%& Compartment

By Matt Allen - a new regular contributor to The Wired Angler.

Who died and declared that bass boats should inherit the role of Noah's Ark? Every new color, new trailer, hook, weight, swimbait, seems to find its way onto the boat two by two. After all, what would happen if we only had one and it got stuck? Unfortunately this tends to lead to a messy boat. My own craft is a perfect testament to what can happen if left unchecked! Insert the Cluster#$%& Compartment. It is truly a work of genius and every boat should have one!

I have decided to unveil my cluster#$%& and let you all have a look at the genius behind it! The theory is quite simple; since bass fisherman own way too much crap it is essential to dedicate one entire compartment to chaos! In doing so, the remainder of the boat is allowed to stay (in theory) clutter free.

The downfall of the cluster#$%& is simply that if left unchecked it will spread. Thus, bi-monthly cleaning is required to ensure that the cluster#$%& stays in its place! My cluster#$%& is approximately 3 months late on its cleaning so it should be a prime example of what can happen if left unchecked.

This first photo shows the cluster#$%& in all its glory:

This next photo depicts what is actually in there:

The writing of this blog post  inspired me to actually sort through the mess and decide what needed to stay and what could be thrown away. In doing so I came up with the:

TOP 5 oddities from my own personal cluster

5) A very dirty, seemingly lonely, permanently-bent 7" Senko: A Senko in and of itself is not odd. What fascinates me about this particular Senko is that its a color I hate, and there are no hook marks in it...Hmm. Where did it come from?

4) Empty Uncle Josh Pork Jars: Sure, I could understand 1 empty jar, but 4? No wonder my boat is going slower these days! I wonder how much trash is stuffed everywhere else!

3) 97 cents: Not really sure how that got in there but my momma didn't raise no fool! Never turn down money!

2) Pink crappie jigs: First off, I didn't crappie fish at all this year. Second, if I did it wouldn't be with a pink bait! If I wasn't the one taking the pictures I'd think this was rigged. But here is what I really want to know, Why did DEAN ROJAS endorse them?!

1) Unknown shopping list: Why would an unknown shopping list make the first spot on my list? What would be on a shopping list that would make it unique? It's funny I would choose to use the word "unique" isn't it? (bear in mind that this list isn't even in my hand writing.) The shopping list takes the number one place on my list because its an order for "Unique Gun Powder". I think one of my fishing buddies has some explaining to do!

In closing, I thoroughly recommend that you invest in a cluster#$%& of your own. However, be careful who adds to it, and never forget your bi-monthly cleaning!

My Deck Box Strategy

So you may say - What the hell am I talking about?

This is something I do in-between fishing trips so that I can go in better prepared every time I go out on the water.

If you’re like me, every time you drive home from a day of fishing you reflect on what you could have done different that day; except for on those rare occasions when you have the perfect days and seemingly do nothing wrong.

The strategy is simple: every time I park my boat in the shop I leave an empty tackle box on the boat deck. Through out the week I will fill this box with lures I had the brilliant idea to use after the fact or new lures I may have purchased that I want to try next time I go out on that same body of water.
We have all heard the phrase 'Hindsight is 20-20' - well here is your chance to expand on this next time you go out.

Granted, this does not always work. Sometimes things change so much overnight, not to mention in a week or two, that your lures you chose to use next time you go out might as well be back where they came from. This is just a good way to capture those thoughts and try and apply new ideas and strategies throughout the year.

Just remember to empty this box and start over each time you get home, otherwise the idea is kind of pointless.

Out of Control Swimbait Boxes- Under Control

Over the last couple years my swim bait collection has become a problem in my boat.

All of these baits are huge and take up a lot of room, sometimes only getting a few in one box; this can be a huge waist of space. Being compulsive and not wanting to mix lure types in any of my boxes I ended up with a lack of space in my lure locker.

I just recently went on a cleaning rampage and found a couple inexpensive boxes that really helped me control the mess.

There are a lot of expensive boxes and bags out there these days but I needed something that fit my existing system of Plano type boxes, Besides I use my swimbaits I am not looking to display them.

I have two types of boxes I use for all my different types of swimbaits. One is the Plano "2-3731" this box is about 3 inches deep and has no compartments it is all open. As you can guess you can fit a hell of a lot of shit in this one.

  There are two layers of 5" and 6" baits in this box

The other is a sturdy Box I found at Osh or "Orchard Supply Hardware". It is made by a company called "A Myers Industries" this is a 3 compartment box that will hold up to nine 8” Hudds no problem. These boxes are only around ten bucks.

 

I am sure over the next couple years we will be seeing a lot more boxes specifically designed for the storage of swimbaits, however I am quite happy with what I have going here. I would much rather spend my money on Baits than boxes to keep them in.

4 Steps to Simplify Your Bass Baits

So I was just doing a little spring cleaning on my boat, and it got me thinking about my on-boat tackle system. The system is my way of coping with the hundreds of tackle manufacturers out there and the thousands of choices in lure selection, which could all too easily lead to hours just trying to figure out what bait to use on a given day. Years ago I started sorting all my lures by type, and this evolved into a much more specific system. It’s 4 basic steps to stop the insanity.

1. Take all your baits from either your tackle box or bass boat and lay them out where you can see them.

2. Identify your favorites, and set them to one side. Put anything new and untried into another pile. Finally, take the ones you don’t use and the ones you have used and do not like OUT of your tackle box, or OFF the boat, and set them aside.

What to do with the stuff you don’t use? Well, unless I am attached to it I get rid of it. I use Ebay all the time, which has the added bonus of giving me cash to try new, experimental baits. I also set stuff aside to trade with friends, or to give to friend’s kids to start their tackle box. Just because it does not work for me, does not mean it might not work for someone else.

3. Start breaking down the remaining lures into types: crank baits, jigs, swimbaits, soft plastics, top-water, jerk baits, etc. The next step is to organize those into specific groups by running depth, by size and color ( or however you decide).

It’s easiest to start with your favorite baits - the ones you use 90% of the time. Take jigs, for example: I fish a lot of jigs. It has to be one of my favorite baits, but if you were to look on my boat you would never guess this is the case. I only have one Plano jig box, and I usually only have four colors. Why? These are my confidence colors. I do three types of jig fishing: deep structure fishing, shallow fishing, and flippin’. I don’t need ten brands and 50 color combos. I won’t preach one weight, size, color or any of that - this is going to vary between anglers, and everybody’s got their favorites - but I will say to limit yourself to whatever works best for you.

This system ensures that when I pick up my rod, no matter what bait is on it, I am not hearing that little voice in the back of my head saying, “are you sure?”

4. Finally, create a place in your tackle box, or a container on your boat that just has new stuff. I have a separate box on my boat labeled “new baits to try”. I will usually try new baits when I am fun fishing, and at that point, decide whether I am going to spend more time with it. If you find a winner, trade it out for something that has not been performing.

That’s it. As an example of how I have applied ‘the system‘, here’s a look into my crank bait boxes: I like to keep a good supply of just a handful of baits.

• Norman DD 22’s & 10’s - an older, proven bait
• Luhr Jenson Speed Traps
• Lucky Craft LV 500’s
• Specialty Tackle Junior D’s and Big Bites

. . . And that’s it.

When you think about it, what do you have to lose? Try this system, and who knows, the tackle weight off your boat may even save you gas and make your boat faster.