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This week we have been fishing an incoming tide. At
the lower tides for as long as they bite, Mann’'s Hardnose Swim Frogs
over matted or thick vegetation work well. I like the use a 5/0 Mustad Ultra
Point tube hook. A drop of Pro’'s Soft Bait Glue will hold it in place.
This is one place Spiderwire comes in handy! A longer grass rod like
the 2iG Ultra Strike flipping stick at 7’'6” will hoist them out.
When there is enough water, try other topwaters. The walking Gunfish in two
colors….Aurora black and Chartreuse with a blue back are working. Poppers
like the G-Splash in the bigger 80 size are good too! At lower tides in low
light conditions, go to buzzbaits…1/4-ounce Mann’'s Hank Parker
Classic buzzbait with clacker and black or white skirts…with a 2/0 Mustad
Ultra Point stinger hook, swinging freely. If I have low water I don’'t
care about the time of day or the sun. I just pop and stop…use the feathers
to entice strikes. The Mustad Feathered trebles come in RED Ultra Point Hooks!
I have been trying a new bait…new to me, but not to a few guys who
have been giving this bait a real work out this summer! It was one featured
in Woods & Waters Magazine recently. The bait is the Basirisky! It
is a single hook soft hollow bodied bait that walks like a Jitterbug. The hook
ups are nearly 100%! It is virtually weedless and is weighted to swim
the right way all of the time! This is a killer bait! GET SOME! Check
out the Basirisky at www.optimumbaits.com/japaneseproducts/deps/index.html.
After the tide rises, I have been using a mix of Mann’'s Hank Parker
spinnerbait, a Baby 1-Minus, and Mizmo tubes. I have tossed in another seldom-used
bait. The Mann’'s MID-Minus! By the way, I have been using the new
Mann’'s Elite Baby 1-Minus! It is a lot louder and the finishes
will make Japanese bait makers jealous! Check them out at Manns Bait.
I start with the Baby 1-Minus as the tide comes in, going to a spinnerbait
when the tide comes in and then it is time to go to work with tubes. I am looking
for milfoil in hydrilla beds. The water is a bit more stained and the fish
are a bit easier to target. I look for this situation near the current and
deeper water. The firetiger pattern is an old standby, but lately, the Lemon
Shad and the Splatterback Sunfish seem to be doing better… Lately, I
have gone back to Iaconelli’'s Delta Craw color! I like to use 17 pound
test Berkley IronSilk line and a 7-foot medium action 2iG Ultra Strike graphite
rod. This rod lets me make long casts and get good hook sets. It also makes
it easier to rip from grass. The rod design is perfect for the Baby 1-Minus
and lipless cranks! As with any crankbait, an erratic movement gets strikes…whether
ripping from grass, deflecting off wood, or just a twitch every now and again
will get them to bite.
Dig out the lipless crankbaits again! I love the Lucky Craft LVR D-7.
The Mad Craw and the shad colors are good. These are effective when the tide
is higher. Best over milfoil on cloudy days! Try the gold and craws colors
in stained water. Again the rod is key. Long casts and better hooksets and
the give to let the fish take the bait. Also you need to snap free from grass.
During slack tides, Texas rig Stick worms like the Mizmo Quiver Stix in Work
of Art color. This works for me at the higher tides too! For plastics,
june bug and green pumpkin colors. By the way, I like to start fishing early
over the hydrilla until the sun comes up before I head to the milfoil. In
the creeks, pads, docks try Mizmo Tubes on a 3/0 Mustad Ultra Point tube
hook. I also like to swim MIZMO tubes, killing them near pad edges and good-looking
milfoil clumps. Here again, I use a heavy line set up! I
soak all of my soft plastics in garlic flavor Jack’'s Juice. This attractant
soaks into the plastics and also makes the baits slippery enough to slide
through the thick grass. With the Gerkin insert head, I can skip Mizmo’'s
under docks very easily! For the skipping, I use 10-pound test line on spinning
gear. I like the action of the med/heavy 6’'6” medium action 2iG
Ultra Strike spinning rod. I also swim 4 inch white MIZMO tubes. I
can go deeper with a ¼ ounce weight or across the grass with a weightless
bait! Also I am using the 5 inch MIZMOS, especially in stained water with
the darker black/blue colors. If the water is clear, then I will swim the
lighter colors, including white around grass clumps, then killing it watching
the line on the fall. For Swimming, I like to peg a 1/32 Tru-Tungsten painted
weight…just enough weight to cast better and to work beneath the surface.
It’'s getting to be a good time to look at shakey head fishing, drop
shots, and split shots….I like to pour some of my custom colors….If
you like to pour your own soft plastics in your own colors, or if you would
like to get started, check out the NEW Lure Craft website. They have everything
you need to make some super handpours! They also have Poor Boys Gobys! One
of the hottest lures on the market is the Chatterbait. Rick Morris was using
them to place 5th on the Potomac and 2nd in the Classic! Lurecraft.com
has a do it yourself chatterbait kit to convert your favorite jig into a vibrating
swimming jig. Check them out! With blade and snap and split ring assembly
turns most jigs into a chatterbait. Supplies are limited and they are selling
off the shelf…call now to put your orders in! 1-800-925-9088. Try
different colors….Under bright conditions, I like the white.
My Sportsman’'s Magazine article will focus on the BASSMASTERS Elite
tournament and in the following issue; I will break down mat fishing with winner
Kelly Jordon, Denny Brauer and Greg Hackney. If you haven’'t tried
fishing the mats on this river, you should! Jordon says it’'s more
fun than topwater…but where do you start? What do you need? When
is it best? You’'ll have to wait until my article comes out!
On sunny, flat water days, look for matted grass to punch through! One-ounce
Tru-Tungsten weights are the best I have found for this. They do not have a
sleeve to come out. They even come in colors. I do not peg them; rather I will
use PRO’'s Soft Bait Glue to glue the bait to the Mann’'s Hardnose
Flippin Craw. A 5/0 Mustad Ultra Point Tube hook and 65-pound Spiderwire on
a 7 ½ foot ONE PIECE flipping stick from Ultra Strike. This rod
has a ball on the end making it a bit more comfortable to wedge into your belly! Also
the tip is strong enough to launch the heavy weight, but also soft enough to
allow the fish to pull the bait. I like to use the ABU 4600 C-4 for this! It
spools the line more evenly than other reels that disengage the level wind
on casting. Short pitches….shake until the weight penetrates the
grass….most of the strikes come on the initial penetration. After that,
another cast. I have also found that a periodic spray of Jack’'s Juice “-lubricates” the
bait and weight, making it slide through the grass better.
I use specific products and mention them in my reports. These are products
I have used extensively and have confidence in. By mentioning product
names, it is easier for you to match up with what I am using. I also detail
the features of many of the products I use to demonstrate their benefits.
I am really excited about my upcoming article with Senior BASSMASTER writer,
Robert Montgomery. He has taken his decades of writing and fishing experience
with the best in the fishing business and compiling it into one huge E-Book.
RONTICO’'s KILLER BASS FISHING SECRETS contains nearly 300 VERY specific
tips from pros to help you catch more fish! I found a TON of great tips
to help me! I will be reviewing the book for the Sportsman’'s
Magazine next month. You can get your copy of RONTICO’'s KILLER BASS FISHING
SECRETS here: www.killer-bass-fishing-secrets.com.
It’'s only $19.95…that’'s about a nickel a tip! Well
worth it!
There are some great tackle specials this month at Jann’'s Netcraft! If
you want to be on the email list for these specials, contact me and I’'ll
take care of it for you! Contact Jann’'s Netcraft for your free
catalog! They have a great assortment of do-it-yourself supplies,
and they have a great line of soft plastics too! By this time of the
year, my rod tips are just about worn out on my cranking rods. Sometimes the
guides take a constant beating too! What do you do? Toss out the rod that is
really still in great shape? No way! I have learned how to replace guides
on some of my favorite rods and they are ready to go! Check out their
rod building and repair supplies. Get a tip kit, with many sizes for
a variety of rods. If you want to learn how to make repairs or even build
your own custom rods, they have a great rod-building instructional book and
all of the tools and parts! I also noticed they have everything you need to
make crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and buzzbaits. You can start from scratch
or assemble the parts to build the baits you like to your exact specs…and
save money too! Jann's Netcraft luremaking, flytying, rod building, and soft
baits! They've been around for a long time and have a great selection of lure
making materials too! Check them out at www.jannsnetcraft.com or call 1-800-NETCRAFT!
I keep a few Frogg Toggs on board for sudden showers…whenever they
come. The new Elite Series has become my year-round windbreaker and rain suit.
These new Toggs are amazing and they are loaded with pockets and features…and
come with a very reasonable price tag! Stop me and check it out! Frogg
Toggs (www.froggtoggs.com) are always on board. They block the wind and
are breathable! I carry extras for my passengers!
A note on one of my tools. I like to use PRO’'s Soft Bait Glue. While
a lot of anglers are really impressed by how much money they save gluing Senkos
back together, I really like the time I save! When I skip stickworms
under docks, eventually, baits tear. Rather than stopping and retying
and re-rigging, I just put a drop of glue on the tear and away I go. One
bait will stay rigged nearly all day! I also have started using with
my shakey heads. While the Mann’'s Hardnose bait is the only bait on the
market with a super hard nose to stay on the hook better, I still put a drop
to keep it from going anywhere on the head!
I have also found a new product that is awesome! Actually, I interviewed
the makers of Hawg Pockets last year after they won the ICAST award for the
new product showcase. I had the gadgets in my basement for a while. I
took a trip to West Virginia over Thanksgiving to fish the Mountain Lakes Region.
My wife started to freak out when I started to load my rods with crankbaits
into her new Passport Nissan Murano. She didn’'t want me to hook
her leather interior. I remembered the Hawg Pockets and read the instructions
and snapped them into place. They did their job. I also found out
they didn’'t tangle when I moved them and I could see my bait thru them! Check
out the website. I am using them on my boat now and it keeps my rods
from tangling and I can see the baits on the rods. This is the best fishing
lure guard I have ever seen! Check them out! www.hawgpockets.com
Also look for my Tournament Talk column in Woods & Waters. A local outdoors
writer has issues with the way some tournament trails are run….I don’'t
agree with him! My opinion in this months W&W! I cover B.A.S.S. and
FLW tournament winners! Also check out www.woodsandwatersmagazine.com.
There is a limited supply of these FREE publications at Belle Haven Marina.
MIZMO tubes, Punisher Jigs, and most of the Lucky Craft and Mann’'s baits
are now in Bass Pro Shops latest catalog….look for them!
If you want the best polarized sunglasses for fishing, I suggest Maui Jim
HCL (high contrast lens) polarized sunglasses. These are the best for
picking up cover in the water and seeing the fish. Check around, most
of the serious anglers on the Potomac are wearing them. Eye protection
is important!!! Get a quality pair of polarized sunglasses. I recommend
the Maui Jims (www.mauijim.com). Sunglass Huts carry these. If you see
me on the water, I will let you check mine out. I am also trying the
polycarbonate lens Maui Sports….they are light as a feather and the
optics are great.
Make your own baits using molds from Lure Craft that are precise and easy
to use. (www.lurecraft.com 1-800-925-9088 for a free catalog). Make straight
tail finesse worms for shakeyhead fishing too! They have a new SWEET BEAVER
look-alike!!!!!! They have a mold for anything and all of the supplies
to pour your own custom poured baits…they can even make a mold for your
design! Ask me to take a look at some of the baits I have made or check
them out on: www.nationalbass.com (articles/lure-craft.htm)
TEVA sandals are actually sport shoes…especially water sports like
bass fishing! If you do not wear the sport sandals from TEVA, you
should! Just cover your feet with sunscreen and you’'ll feel better!
The TEVA sandals are perfect for fishing! I have tried other footwear,
including expensive basketball shoes. TEVA’'s are very comfortable and
have boat safe surfaces along with anti-microbial protection. These sandals
are comfortable and keep me on my feet...no butt seat either! Check out
www.teva.com.
For 2006 Tides information for the Potomac look under “-REPORTS AND TIDES”. Print
a copy for your use.
If you like to weigh your fish or if you are a tournament angler, you NEED
the XTOOLS Digital fish scale and gripper. It is waterproof, floats,
and it grips the fish so I can weigh all of my clients’' fish without
having to punch a hole in their mouth. They are a sponsor of the FLW
trail and just about all of the pros are using them. I love mine. I
recently met the great people associated with the company and they demonstrated
some of XTOOLS other products. Get one of the scales…they also
have one for tournament anglers with a culling system that can’'t be beat!
www.xtools.us
If you are new to the river, get a map from GMCO. It is a pro-quality map
for fishing the Potomac and for other Virginia waters. Check out their site:
www.gmcomaps.com. They list some of the popular locations and some of the hidden
dangers of navigating the Potomac.
Check out the biggest bass ever caught on the Potomac. (www.nationalbass.com,
then REPORTS, then BIG FISH) Gary Kincheloe’'s record is likely to stand
longer that the previous record of nearly 30 years.
Are your boat batteries sluggish? If you have questions about battery care,
check out www.nationalbass.com, go to ARTICLES and then Boat Batteries. There
is also a discount offer on INTERSTATE Marine batteries.
Have fun, and I would enjoy hearing from you. If you have questions, comments
or would like to book a trip, e-mail: info@nationalbass.com. I have a
lot of articles on various strategies and techniques on my site. If you
have a suggestion for an article, let me know. Check out my website:
www.nationalbass.com. I can't fish the entire river all of the time, so if
you have some information to share, let me know.
Captain Steve Chaconas
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