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Ok guys so with weather and being in between jobs and dealing with my gf getting ready to work over seas for a year i thought it would be a good time for me to post an article while sidelined im lazy so you wont get the punctuation some words may be misspelled i really dont care what you get is 100 % game changing info that can bring you into the 10% that catch the 90 % because i feel this is a bit lop sided at the moment well here it is throwing you other cali guys a bone keep in mind these are not suggestions or theories this is proven facts of what i have seen first hand and there is no room for error its not even close this is a fixed system that allows you to use your gear as an advantage
Spotted bay bass are notorius short biters everyone knows that but what if you were missing 100s of bites a day you never had a chance of detecting when i was a kid i read the book fish have no hands by mike gardner he explained alot to me and although i dont agree with the lures he used and times have changed his fundamentals of bite detection as well as what an ideal set up for spotties is still remains a vital part of how i go about selecting gear from the line to the action and power rating there is not even the slightest room for error or you are immediately costing urself fish little by little .
To fish spotties day in and day out i feel you need 3 set ups that will accomidate the 3 different enviroments and approaches i take in each and the more you spend on the rod the more fish you catch period sensitivity is crucial and your rod needs to be extremely parabolic to keep the rod loaded up how it needs to be when you get a big one and they start doing the death roll
Those 3 are as follows
1. Number one will be used in all enviroments it needs to be atleast 7'3 medium heavy moderate fast extremely parabolic but with enough backbone to get a good hookset my choice for this is the phenix m1 mh 7'4 8-17 lb 1/4-3/4 oz
But any mid grade crankbait rod will do if it has the length and sensitivity this is paired with a diawa tatula spooled with 30 lb max quatro or 20 lb regular power pro tied to 10 or 12 lb red label seaguar fluoro going any higher will cause you to lose distance sensitivity and will cost you fish this is my most used rod i throw my 3/8 oz coolbaits all my swimbaits from 1/4- 1/2 oz smaller warblades jerkbaits and larger t- rigs on this rod i can feel the blade on the coolbait ticking the grass so i know when im gonna get bit or if i have a clean presentation so im not wasting time with grass on my baits this is extremely dialed and you cant beat it its a fixed system
2. Number two is a spinning rod i care less about the quality but the action and line are crucial i use a 6'9 medium light clarus with a 2500 size shimano spooled with 10 lb power pro tied to 4-8 lb fluoro depending on visibility this is used mostly around docks when fish are keyed in on small baits and also to throw the 3/16 coolbaits with there trailer as well as small texas rigged gulp ghost shrimp and tiny keitech eazy shiners on tiny football heads and darter heads and any other finesse presentation i dont drop shot for spotties but if i did i would use this rod
3. Number 3 this is my most versatile tool my fish finder for me its a phenix m1 8'2 mh 2-6 oz you could go lighter or shorter by one power or length but this is what i throw my axeblade/sebile tailspins and a rigs on i pair it with a diawa coastal with 50 lb max quatro with either 15 lb fluro leader for the tailspins or tied straight braid to the a rig
There are 3 different enviroments that i fish for these fish and i dont use the same approach for each
1. Eelgrass- isolated eel grass is best what i mean by that is right in the middle of nowhere where alot of you wouldnt think to look in the dead center of the channels or back bays i will start by throwing the a rig to locate either a fish or grass either is good because once i find it i can pick it apart by slow rolling the tailspins and coolbaits over it and once i get a few go to the swimbait to make sure i got all the fish off that patch i texas rig when the grass is slightly higher the tide is low or if im having trouble fishing the swimbait through it i prefer 6-10 feet of fishable water above the grass on a low tide that seems to be best for eelgrass
2. Docks harbors boat slips launch ramps. Docks and harbors can be the best place for a giant. A spottie is more then happy to stay on one dock its whole life if it can feed effectively and docks house a large population of shellfish mussels crabs etc as well as smelt mostly smaller but it depends this is where the spinning rod shines using lighter weight baits can be deadly around docks the fish will sit under them in the shade and if you throw a tiny keitech with a tiny little darter head they cant resist hitting it because it falls so slow so i will almost never straight retrive i will bounce it like a jig i also love the 3 inch swimbait texas rig creature bait and the small underspin around the docks as well as curly tail grubs on small football heads 1/8 oz or less deadly on the fall the key around docks is definitely getting hit on the fall
3. Bridges pilings man made concrete structures docks on the deeper side this is where the swimbait and curly tail still shine usually this is extremely current based you gotta have flow or these will be slow but when the tide and currents are right you can catch alot of fish and you seem to have a chance at bigger sand bass or maybe a calico drop shotting can be deadly in these situations as well as the good old 3/8 oz warbait with a 3 inch mc
I hope you guys keep this in mind and refer back to it when in need
Frank
Spotted bay bass are notorius short biters everyone knows that but what if you were missing 100s of bites a day you never had a chance of detecting when i was a kid i read the book fish have no hands by mike gardner he explained alot to me and although i dont agree with the lures he used and times have changed his fundamentals of bite detection as well as what an ideal set up for spotties is still remains a vital part of how i go about selecting gear from the line to the action and power rating there is not even the slightest room for error or you are immediately costing urself fish little by little .
To fish spotties day in and day out i feel you need 3 set ups that will accomidate the 3 different enviroments and approaches i take in each and the more you spend on the rod the more fish you catch period sensitivity is crucial and your rod needs to be extremely parabolic to keep the rod loaded up how it needs to be when you get a big one and they start doing the death roll
Those 3 are as follows
1. Number one will be used in all enviroments it needs to be atleast 7'3 medium heavy moderate fast extremely parabolic but with enough backbone to get a good hookset my choice for this is the phenix m1 mh 7'4 8-17 lb 1/4-3/4 oz
But any mid grade crankbait rod will do if it has the length and sensitivity this is paired with a diawa tatula spooled with 30 lb max quatro or 20 lb regular power pro tied to 10 or 12 lb red label seaguar fluoro going any higher will cause you to lose distance sensitivity and will cost you fish this is my most used rod i throw my 3/8 oz coolbaits all my swimbaits from 1/4- 1/2 oz smaller warblades jerkbaits and larger t- rigs on this rod i can feel the blade on the coolbait ticking the grass so i know when im gonna get bit or if i have a clean presentation so im not wasting time with grass on my baits this is extremely dialed and you cant beat it its a fixed system
2. Number two is a spinning rod i care less about the quality but the action and line are crucial i use a 6'9 medium light clarus with a 2500 size shimano spooled with 10 lb power pro tied to 4-8 lb fluoro depending on visibility this is used mostly around docks when fish are keyed in on small baits and also to throw the 3/16 coolbaits with there trailer as well as small texas rigged gulp ghost shrimp and tiny keitech eazy shiners on tiny football heads and darter heads and any other finesse presentation i dont drop shot for spotties but if i did i would use this rod
3. Number 3 this is my most versatile tool my fish finder for me its a phenix m1 8'2 mh 2-6 oz you could go lighter or shorter by one power or length but this is what i throw my axeblade/sebile tailspins and a rigs on i pair it with a diawa coastal with 50 lb max quatro with either 15 lb fluro leader for the tailspins or tied straight braid to the a rig
There are 3 different enviroments that i fish for these fish and i dont use the same approach for each
1. Eelgrass- isolated eel grass is best what i mean by that is right in the middle of nowhere where alot of you wouldnt think to look in the dead center of the channels or back bays i will start by throwing the a rig to locate either a fish or grass either is good because once i find it i can pick it apart by slow rolling the tailspins and coolbaits over it and once i get a few go to the swimbait to make sure i got all the fish off that patch i texas rig when the grass is slightly higher the tide is low or if im having trouble fishing the swimbait through it i prefer 6-10 feet of fishable water above the grass on a low tide that seems to be best for eelgrass
2. Docks harbors boat slips launch ramps. Docks and harbors can be the best place for a giant. A spottie is more then happy to stay on one dock its whole life if it can feed effectively and docks house a large population of shellfish mussels crabs etc as well as smelt mostly smaller but it depends this is where the spinning rod shines using lighter weight baits can be deadly around docks the fish will sit under them in the shade and if you throw a tiny keitech with a tiny little darter head they cant resist hitting it because it falls so slow so i will almost never straight retrive i will bounce it like a jig i also love the 3 inch swimbait texas rig creature bait and the small underspin around the docks as well as curly tail grubs on small football heads 1/8 oz or less deadly on the fall the key around docks is definitely getting hit on the fall
3. Bridges pilings man made concrete structures docks on the deeper side this is where the swimbait and curly tail still shine usually this is extremely current based you gotta have flow or these will be slow but when the tide and currents are right you can catch alot of fish and you seem to have a chance at bigger sand bass or maybe a calico drop shotting can be deadly in these situations as well as the good old 3/8 oz warbait with a 3 inch mc
I hope you guys keep this in mind and refer back to it when in need
Frank
