5 Cool Tricks with a Tube Bait

Tube Baits may be one of the best baits for catching big smallmouth and largemouth bass. Here are five simple little tricks we used this summer to put bass in the boat.

The tube can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. It has thousands of uses. Tactics that work for a tube include drifting, gliding, vertical jigging, flipping, pitching, dragging... You get the picture. Even with all those techniques and options it isn't without its flaws. An exposed hook on a tube jig has the potential to snag when drifting or dragging. A texas rigged tube has problems hooking a fish due to the way the tube is designed. Suspended fish won't leave their mid water position to hit a bottom dragged tube. Once again you get it.

So after a long summer of using a tube here are some tricks we used to catch bass with the tube.

Stuff your Tube Jigs with Sponge and Add Scent

Early on I was having trouble with fish biting and dropping the tube and me missing the fish while I was drifting or dragging the bait. Part of this could be me not paying attention, but lets blame the bait. I would add scent to the bait hoping to get fish to hold longer but it would disperse right away. The cure for instant dispersion was adding a chunk of sponge by running the hook through a small chunk of everyday sponge and inserting it inside the tube. I than used which ever scent I was using that day, usually Yum!, and was able to give myself a few more seconds to set the hook.

Add a Rattle

Adding a little bit of noise to your tube presentation can really improve a fishes ability to find your bait when its on the bottom crawling like a crayfish. Many manufactures right now make tube jigs that have rattles attached. My best advice with rattles is to expirement and let the bass tell you what they want. Some days were better for rattles than others.

Stroke it and Get a Reaction Strike

Somewhere around July I discovered stroking a football jig. I was getting frustrated looking down on my electronics seeing fish suspended two or three feet from the bottom and not eating my drop shot. What I found was I could stroke a football jig up into those fish and get them to react. So one day when the wind was blowing and I was drifting a hump in about 20 feet of water I noticed once again the bass were suspended at about three feet. I immediately began stroking the tube and put five fish in the boat in five casts! Stroking is no more than pulling the bait off the bottom and repeating the motion two or three time before letting it hit the bottom again. The fish react to the quick upward motion and hit it usually on the fall. Rattles really help here because when the bait lands it sets the rattles off.

Use the Tube as a Spinnerbait Skirt

I laughed when I first heard of this. I thought why would a fish ever hit this? Then one day I wanted to down size a spinnerbait and was pleasantly surprised when I used a tube to do so. The trick here is to get the tube over the head of the spinnerbait so all that is exposed is hook and tube. A good pair of bait scissors and super glue will do the job.

Cut the Bait for the Texas Rig

This summer I rarely Texas Rigged the tube since I wasn't doing a lot of flipping but a pretty cool litte trick I learned for Texas Rigging a tube was cutting a slit in the back of the tube and then Texposing the hook. See pictures below.

Those are five of my favorite Tricks to do with a Tube Bait. There are thousands of things an angler can do with these super versitile baits! What are some things you do with your tubes? Let us know in the comments and be sure to like us on Facebook!

Next World Record Smallie Coming Out of Dworshak, ID [VIDEO]

The gentleman in this video makes a pretty bold claim. He claims the next World Record Smallmouth Bass will come from Central Idaho's Dworshak Resevoir.

There are great Smallmouth fisheries all over the U.S and Canada. Lake Erie, Door County Wisconsin, Lake Huron, Mille Lacs and Bay De Nocs on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to name a few. Dworshak is known for it's abundance of four pound or better smallies and it is the home of Idaho's state record smallmouth at 9lbs 11oz by Dan Steigers in 2006 just a few months after he had already set the record with another smallmouth.

It's a pretty bold claim as the current world record smallie weighs in at 11lbs 15oz.

Watch the video and you be the judge.

Thoughts and comments are much appreciated!

Hells Canyon Snake River Cast n Blast [VIDEO]

This Video has Me Super Excited About Getting on the Snake River Next Fall for Two of my Favorite Species, the Chukar Partridge and the Smallmouth Bass

I haven't looked into guides yet but in my next post I will give a list of guides and a few ideas for Snake River vacations. If you've done this before let us know in the comments!

Drought Conditions on the Colorado River [VIDEO]

Droght Conditions Have Gotten Bad in The American West

This video shows just how bad drought conditions in the U.S. Southwest are. Are our beautiful river lakes in trouble? If so what can we do? Please comment!

3 Ways to Fish When You Don't Have a Bass Boat



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Bass boats are a fast, wonderful thing, but sometimes you have to get back to the basics if your boat is down or you don't have a boat. You may even get you to spots completely untouched by boat anglers. Here are three wonderful ways to do that.



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Kayak

The fastest of the three ways I'm going to mention to get around on the water when you aren't Bassin from a big boat is a Kayak. Kayaks can move as your arms can paddle. They can be upgraded to carry a fish finder, multiple rods, tackle and even a cooler. You won't cover as much water as you can in your Skeeter or Nitro but you might also be able to, as I said earlier, reach waters untouched. Some smallmouth infested rivers in the Western United such as the Owyhee river or the John Day (both in Oregon) are either too small for a big bass boat or have areas that don't allow motorized boats. Kayaks are a great Bassin tool to get you to some fun spots. Fishing kayaks retail anywhere from 499$ to 2000$ depending on what you want.

Float Tube



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Much slower than a kayak because you go only as fast as your legs can kick. We at River Lakes Bassin got our Bassin start using float tubes on Ruby Lake, NV. Some of our best memories are on that body of water catching bass on top waters while deep in the back of the marshes. Most float tubes are considerably less expensive than kayaks, retailing anywhere from 89$ for your basic round tube with pockets on both sides and a rest on the back, to a pontoon style float tube with the works up to a trolling motor mount at 700$. All styles are super easy to upgrade if you can work with PVC pipe to create attachments such as rod holders, tackle holders, or fish finder bases. The only thing you need besides the tube is waders, fins and your own tackle. Find a small body of water with bass in out west with your tube and you won't be sorry.

Fish from Shore

Crazy, right? This might not be fast like the kayak or get you deep into the marshes like a tube but it might be the best afternoon Bassin you spend for other reasons. First, you can enjoy this style of Bassin with more than just a couple other people. It is a great way to introduce kids to Bassin and you can be with your family as your kids slay fish all afternoon. Second it might be a good way to spend a summer evening after work. Relax, throw a spinnerbait and just be outside for a little while catching our favorite fish. Third, you might learn something about bass like this. It's how I learned as a kid bass hang out off points and other structure.

If your boat is down or you don't own one and still have that addiction to Bassin we all have you can still get into Gods country and catch bass. I'm telling you, try one of these three methods to catch fish and you'll be very happy you did. What do you all do when you fast bass boat is down? Let us know in the comments below!

Why You Should Plan to Visit Noxon Rapids Resevoir in Montana for your Bass Fishing Getaway

One of the last places most people think of for trophy bass fishing is Montana, but maybe one of the most scenic and least heard of bass fisheries in the world is Noxon Rapids Resevoir on the Clark Fork River. Here are a few reasons why you should plan a summer vacation here.

Scenary

The thing you'll first notice when you pull into the quiet town of Trout Creek is how absolutely breathtaking the surrounding mountains are. If you were to be on the water and not catch a single bass this would be the place to do it. Noxon Rapids Resevoir itself is 30 miles long and is the result of the Noxon Rapids Dam which dams the Clark Fork River in beautiful Sanders County, MT and is part of the Kanisku National Forrest. Aside from Bassin you could spend a day kayaking, hiking or even hunting in the fall.

Affordability

Going on any fishing vacation can be an expensive undertaking. A trip to this Northwest corner of Montana may be the best bass fishing idea there is. A hotel room costs 80$ a night and a cabin on the lake is 160$ at most per night. Those prices are absolute steals in any place in the world, and this is one of the most beautiful. The lodge on the lake also does catering.

Seclusion

The town of Trout Creek has only 261 residents as of the most recent census. To get there you must travel a two lane highway from the nearest town which is Thompson Falls, MT with the nearest large airport in Missoula, MT which is 117 miles away. You may have most of the lake to yourself for a full day. That is wonderful news if you are at all familiar with the over pressured Southern California waters. You may want to look into when the next tournament is going and plan around it, which brings me to my next and final point.

The Bassin is Phenomenal

Montana is much better known for it's fly fishing. Most people and myself included would not have thought Montana even had bass outside of maybe Fort Peck Resevoir. Well this is THE Bassin resevoir in Montana hosting at least eight bass fishing tournaments in 2014 by various clubs and well known Bassin tours such as the American Bass Association and BASS Nation.

If you are wanting a Bassin vacation that is beautiful, good fishing and easy on the wallet you should certainly look into Noxon Rapids Resevoir and Trout Creek, MT. I am certain you won't be sorry!

River Lakes Bassin is Expanding!

We at River Lakes Bassin want to grow to bring you information on more than just the Colorado River Lakes. Here are a few ways we plan to expand!

More Reviews from Different Lakes and River Systems in the Western United States

The Western United States is full of outstanding bass fisheries. Our home river system is just one of the systems we fish. We intend to start hitting more lakes and rivers in the west and giving you the report from each one.

Gear Reviews

We anglers need the best gear at a reasonable price. We at River Lakes Bassin want you to be informed as to what is out there and how it works. All brands and equipment.

News

We plan to cover everything from tournaments, Aquatic Invasive Species, State Wildlife Regulations and Departments to people catching big fish! If its news in the world of wester bass fishing we will cover it!

Tackle, Gear and Swag

Here comes the part I am most excited about! In January we will be implementing an on-line store. We will be producing our own line of jigs to start and growing from there. We also plan to start working with different bait and lure manufactures to provide you with their products as well. We will also be featuring our own line of apparel so you can show the world how much you love River Lakes Bassin.

So starting in January big things are coming! Please keep checking back with us to see whats happening!