Bass Fishing in the White Mountains of Arizona

Posted on September 7, 2022 by admin

This morning I decided to go bass fishing in the White Mountains of Arizona where I live. It has been super hot so I decided to hit one of the highest bass lakes up here. It was a little hot, but it was better than sitting in the house working. 

Bass Fishing in the White Mountains of Arizona
Bass Fishing in the White Mountains of Arizona

When I pulled up a local told me that they had been there for a few hours without a bite so I was less than optimistic about my odds. The lake that I decided to fish has a ton of grass and duckweed growing on it, so I started out with a hollow-bodied frog. 

It was my fourth cast when a bass blew up on my bait. I was stoked because I thought that this would be a sign of things to come. After another 30 minutes without a blow-up, I decided to try a Tokyo rig. I didn’t have any luck and figured out that the bass were on the outside weed edge and so I threw a Senko style stick worm. I hooked up on the second cast and was hopeful that I had found out what was working. After another 30 minutes of that, I only caught one more small bass. 

Bass Fishing in the White Mountains – Texas Rig Bass

Bass Fishing in the White Mountains of Arizona – Catch and Release

This is when I decided to change tactics again and move to the other side of the lake to fish in a cove that was covered in thick duckweed. I changed up to a Texas-rigged Zoom speed craw and caught the last bass of the trip on my second pitch. 

The fishing wasn’t hot today, but the weather and scenery made up for it. 

Bass Fishing in the White Mountains of Arizona – Lessons Learned

The lesson that I took home is that some days are just a junk fishing type day where the pattern doesn’t seem to come together. The fish can still be caught if one sticks to it and keeps a bait in the water. If I were in a boat, the whole day could have turned out differently. I still think most of the bass had moved out deep to the outside weed edge. 

Bass fishing in the White Mountains of Arizona can be challenging at times, but can also be rewarding. It is an excellent opportunity to get out in nature and enjoy some of Arizona’s cooler weather. 

Best Lures for Bass Fishing in the White Mountains of Arizona

  1. When the vegetation gets matted up it’s hard to beat a hollow-bodied frog like the Booyah Pad Crasher.
  2. In more open water situations a 4″ Senko style stickworm in green pumpkin or watermelon purple flake is deadly. These can be Texas rigged or fished wacky style if the cover isn’t too thick.
  3. The main forage up here is crawfish and bluegill. There aren’t any shad, so a Texas rigged craw like the Zoom speed craw in green pumpkin can be a killer bait.

There are many more baits that work and have been covered on this blog, but these are a great start if you are looking at bass fishing in the White Mountains of Arizona.

To Your Success,

Jonathan Burke

LiveBassFishing.com

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Best Drop Shot Baits for Bass Fishing

Posted on August 31, 2022 by admin

Next to the stick worm, which can be drop shotted, very few rigs can catch fish like the drop shot. I will share a few of my best drop shot baits for bass fishing and a few ways to rig them.

Drop shot baits for bass fishing
Drop shot baits for bass fishing

Best Drop Shot Baits – My Favorites

While this isn’t a complete list, here are some of my favorite drop shot baits.

  • The Robo Worm Straight-Tailed Worm has to be one of the original staples. This is the worm that got me started fishing the drop shot rig. My favorite colors are desert craw, morning dawn, and margarita mutilator. Get Your Roboworms Here
  • The next is probably the Half Shot Half Shell by Strike King. I love the green pumpkin and desert craw colors. The magic color can also be deadly. This bait was made with the intent to be the perfect drop shot bait and it is a killer when they are focusing in on small forage. Get Your Half Shell Worms Here
  • The Dream Shot by Strike King is the next drop shot bait in mind. The flat bottom from the open pour tech makes the bait seem to flow and come to life with the smallest movement in the water. I love the magic and the green pumpkin in this worm. Get Your Dream Shot Here
  • The next in the lineup is Big Bite Baits Smallie Smasher. I love the way this bait reacts in the water when worked. I wasn’t sold on this one until I watched the Tactical Bassin underwater footage video. Now it is a staple in the tackle box. My favorite colors are green pumpkin purple flake and smoke purple flake. Get Your Smallie Smasher’s Here
  • Another great worm is the Zoom Finesse worm. This worm has been one of my favorite finesse worms for years and the purple smoke color is magic for me sometimes. This color can be hard to find, but it is by far the best color in that lineup for me. Get Your Zoom Finesse Worm Here
  • Last, but not least are the oddball baits like the Zoom Fluke and the little tiny crappy bait that I show in the rigging photos below. There are times when the bass want a little bigger bait or a lot smaller bait. When they are looking for a bigger meal, a bigger worm or the Zoom Fluke comes into play. With the Fluke, I like the shad or baitfish colors. When they are focused in on super small bait, I will drop my leader line down to 4-pound test and fish an ultra-small crappie bait nose hooked on a #6 mosquito hook by Owner. Get Your Zoom Fluke Here
Best drop shot baits
Best drop shot baits

Best Drop Shot Bait Rigging Options

There are a few ways to rig the drop shot and different styles of hooks and weights. I show a few hooks that I like to use above and will some rigging styles below. If you can get away with it, nose-hooking the drop shot baits seems to provide the best action and hookup rate. If you are fishing around too much brush or cover rigging it weedless is the best. I use a variety of hooks for rigging weedless, but the straight shank hook shown at the top is my favorite. There is a VMC Neko hook that works great for this style. Another option is the rebarb hook by Robo Worm.

Best Drop Shot Baits and rigging options.
Best drop shot baits rigging options

Another assortment of drop shot baits in one of my boxes.

Best drop shot baits for bass fishing

Drop Shot Baits – Best Advice

If you are just getting into bass fishing, I really encourage you to get your hands on some of these drop shot baits and give them a whirl. While drop shotting isn’t my favorite tactic, it seems to work when the going gets tough. If you need to get a bite, you can’t go wrong with any of the baits listed above. Rig them, cast them out, and let the bait do most of the work. Slow working/dragging the drop shot seems to do the trick.

You can vary retrieves and add action, but most of the time, simply dragging the bait back to the boat will do the trick.

Drop Shot Baits – How to Rig a Drop Shot

Get Your Drop Shot Weights Here

This video will show you the best ways to rig and fish a drop shot bait.

How to Tie a Drop Shot Rig

Hopefully, this helps you!

To your fishing success,

Jonathan Burke

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Best Squarebill Crankbait Rod

Posted on August 24, 2022 by admin

This is a really open-ended question, but I will try to answer it to the best of my knowledge. I will explain why I say that later in this article, but for now let me explain what I feel the best squarebill crankbait rod is.

Best squarebill crankbait rod.
The best squarebill crankbait rod

Best Squarebill Crankbait Rod – Glass Composite

The short answer to this question is that I fish an Abu Garcia 7’ medium Ike Delay Series rod for most of my mid-size crankbait fishing. This includes the squarebill where casting accuracy is a must. With most of my crankbait fishing, I fish a moderate action composite rod, these rods load deeper into the blank and allow for the fish to get the bait in its mouth before it gets jerked away. 

Get A Great Crankbait Rod Here!

Another benefit of the delay or moderate action crankbait rods is that they load deep into the blank and this prevents the small crankbait hooks from pulling out, or the bass from throwing the bait when it jumps. As soon as there is slack in the line when a fish jumps they have the leverage to throw the bait. 

Best Squarebill Crankbait Rod – Less Reactive

An item that was briefly touched on above is that because these glass and composite blend rods are less reactive, they allow the fish to get the bait in their mouth before you really set the hook and potentially pull the crankbait away before they got it. 

The best squarebill crankbait rod. Bass caught on a KVD 1.5 Squarebill Crankbait.
Caught on a KVD 1.5 Squarebill Crankbait

There are a few situations where I will use a medium-power graphite or carbon rod, but those are limited. This is typically when I am throwing a mag-sized squarebill with big hooks that won’t rip out of the fish’s mouth as easily. 

Best Squarebill Crankbait Rod – When to Use Something Else

Another time that I will make the switch is when I am fishing a lipless crankbait and hopping it off the bottom. I want more reaction so I will fish a less moderate rod. I realize that this is just my personal preference and that this is a squarebill crankbait article, but I just wanted to add that tidbit if you find yourself using your composite rod for all of your crankbait fishing. 

One last word of advice… If you are looking for an all-around rod for more than just crankbait, and possibly chatterbait fishing, then I wouldn’t advise a composite crankbait rod. They are less reactive by design and make a lousy bottom bait rod. If you are looking for one baitcasting rod to do it all then get a medium or medium heavy action graphite or carbon rod. 

For An All Purpose Rod Get A Daiwa Tatula XT Casting Rod Here

If you do get a regular casting rod because of the advice above lower your drag and try to keep the rod low if the fish looks like it’s going to jump. You will lose some fish, but for texas rigs and such, you need a more sensitive rod and one that will react quickly on a hookset. 

Best Squarebill Crankbait Rod – Lots of Options

When it comes to crankbait rods, I am not brand specific. I really like the Ike Series rod that I have, but I also have a 13 Fishing Fate Black 7’3” moderate action rod to throw deeper diving cranks where a longer casting distance is required. St. Croix makes an awesome glass cranking rod too and so do most manufacturers.

Get Your 13 Fishing Fate Black Crankbait Rod Here

In my opinion, most glass composite crankbait rods could be the best for a squarebill crankbait. I would suggest that you don’t need to break the bank on a crankbait rod. Spend your money on the bottom contact bait rods like your Texas and Tokyo rigs where the added sensitivity is needed. 

To Your Fishing Success,

Jonathan Burke

LiveBassFishing.com

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Storm Largo Shad for Bass Fishing

Posted on August 22, 2022 by admin

Have you ever had one of those days where you just couldn’t get them to bite? I found myself in that situation the other day and reached for the Storm Largo Shad while I was out bass fishing. 

I couldn’t buy a bite on a crankbait, but when I switched up to the Largo Shad it all turned around. After about an hour of zeroing out on the bass, I had a flash of inspiration and tied on a 3” bluegill pattern Largo Shad on a darter jighead. Get ready, on my second cast, I had a bass on. I was able to match the hatch and also give them that finesse presentation that they needed. 

Storm Largo Shad for Finesse Bass Fishing

Storm Largo Shad for Bass Fishing
Storm Largo Shad for Bass

The cool thing about a small swimbait is that it is so subtle and lifelike. It looks like an easy meal swimming through the water just looking to be munched. The little 3” bait is large enough to look like a meal worth chasing but small enough to look like an easy meal. The little boot-tail kicks at any speed and can be fished ultra slow or fast. 

One other side note that has been a selling point of the Largo Shad is that it is durable. I love some soft swimbaits, but it can get pricey if the bite is hot. This bait doesn’t tear up nearly as bad, but also still has that amazing boot-tail kick. 

Get Your Storm Largo Shad Here

Storm Largo Shad for Matching the Hatch

Storm Largo Shad Patterns
2.8″ Keitech Fat compared to a 3″ Storm Largo Shad in Bluegill

If you have never looked at the paint job and patterns on the Largo Shad, you should. Depending on what you are trying to match, they probably have you covered. I really like the shad patterns and the bluegill for my neck of the woods where the primary forage is bluegill and crawdads. 

Storm Largo Shad Versatility 

Storm Largo Shad Rigging Options
Storm Largo Shad Rigging Options

While I love fishing the Largo Shad on a jighead, it can also be fished as a trailer for a chatterbait or a spinnerbait, or it can be fished on an underspin. Another way to fish the Lago Shad is to Texas Rig it on a Tokyo Rig and slowly reel it along the bottom, almost like a wobble head. It works on everything. Storm has done an amazing job of balancing this bait. 

Get Your Swimbait Heads Here

Get Your Tokyo Rigs Here

In short, if you haven’t yet, go grab some Sorm Largo Shad and give them a go. Maybe they can salvage a rough bass fishing trip as they did for me. 

To Your Fishing Success,

Jonathan Burke

LiveBassFishing.com

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Swim Jig Fishing for Bass

Posted on August 17, 2022 by admin

Hey guys, today I’m going to talk a little bit about swim jig fishing for bass. The swim jig has recently become very popular. It has become popular because it really is deadly effective in certain situations.

For instance, today I was fishing in very shallow water and casting up underneath the undercut on the bank and the overhanging growth of bushes and grass. Fishing a swim jig allowed me to get back up under the cover where I needed to be without hanging up. On bright, sunny days, shade lines are key to target lurking bass ready to ambush.

This allowed me to be confident in my casts where fishing a square bill or something of the sort would have not allowed me to get up into the shadows where I needed to be without hanging up a lot.

Get The Swim Jig I Use Here

Swim Jig Fishing for Bass – Color

Swim Jig Fishing for Bass

The color of the swim jig depends a lot on the type of forge the bass are feeding on and also the clarity of the water. Today I was fishing and chocolate-milk-colored water so I used a dark purple swim jig with a strike king menace grub trailer in the same color. This creek has bluegill and crawfish as the main forage so that worked out great.

If I was fishing in clear water where minnows or shad may have been the best forage, I would have switched to a lighter-colored swimbait, maybe in a translucent gray or white pattern. I may have also thrown on a Keitech swimbait trailer instead of the flapping craw style. But again, that would depend on the water clarity.

That’s not to say that I couldn’t put on a smoked colored or white flapping craw or rage menace grub of some sort that would also get the job done. Sometimes you need to play with colors and trailers to figure out what the bass are keying in on.

Get Your Keitech Swimbait Trailers Here

Get Your Rage Tail Trailers Here

Swim Jig Fishing for Bass – Retrieve

Another thing that I have noticed, at least in my area of the country, is that many times I don’t need a pump my rod the way a lot of people fish swim jig if my trailer has enough kick. Sometimes I can cast it out and swim it back with little pumps or even a straight retrieve bouncing it off the structure on the bottom. I would also try to play with that cadence and retrieve to see what is triggering the bass in your body of water.

I know that on a long day of fishing it sure is easier to cast and retrieve and let the trailer do the work than to constantly work the wrist.

How to Catch Bass on a Swim Jig

Get My Jig Rod Here

Get My Reel Here

Today I brought a Tokyo rig, a spinner bait, and a swim jig. I ended up sticking with the swim jig because a weather front came through last night and the fog blew off this morning, giving way to blue bluebird skies. There was also very little wind which made the swimbait a more practical choice than the spinner bait. I was hoping that I could catch them on a reaction bite with swim jigs instead of flipping and today it paid off.

Swim Jig Fishing for Bass

My advice would be that if you have never fished a swim jig that you give it a chance. On the right day in the right conditions, it can be magical. Well, I didn’t catch too many fish today, I also didn’t have to finesse fish as much as I sometimes would’ve in the past. It seems that more and more the swim jig gets the nod when I’m looking for a bait to start my day.

Don’t be afraid to try different retrieves or to get the jig up in the thick stuff and swim it out. When it’s bouncing off of cover and swimming through thick cover is when the swim jig shines. It is definitely a bass fishing tactic that will stay in my arsenal for the years to come. Swim jig fishing for bass can be deadly effective and super fun.

If you like this blog post feel free to give me a comment down below. If you have any questions or videos or suggestions I would love to hear those as well. Be sure to bookmark this page and come back for future articles and videos that I will be posting here.

To Your Bass Fishing Success,

Jonathan Burke

LiveBassFishing.com

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