Team Basstic - Tackle Trend #1 - War Bait Switchblade

Going to try this next time I'm on the boat. Looks killer

New Bait: Fish Arrow Flash-J

I just picked up another new bait that I wanted to try, which is the Fish Arrow Flash-J from Japan. This bait is a 4" soft plastic shad/minnow that has a special reflective foil inside the body. The foil is used to attract fish from a distance which can be great when the sun is out. I look forward to using these on the drop shot presenting the bait as an injured baitfish. The Flash-J has impressed me just by the way they look. Hopefully I do well with them. We shall see...

New Bait - Panic Minnow

I was recently browsing the internet looking for new baits to try on the drop shot in saltwater. I was looking on tacklewarehouse.com and came across the "pannic minnow", so I decided to go ahead and give them a shot. I ordered the 3.5 inch pannic minnow in the smelt pattern for about 6 dollars for a pack of 7.

After receiving the baits my first impressions were good. Right away I could tell they would produce fish. They are really soft so it can give some nice action when in the water. They have slits in the body to provide natural fish action. I like how they have eyes on that adds a little touch to them.

The Report:
I used these baits for the first time at night and during bad tides. On my first cast it took about 2 minutes for me to get my first bite, but I miss the hookset. Second cast, I get a fish on but comes off as I got it closer to the rocks. Third cast, I catch a nice little bass. We moved on to another spot and I land a nice legal spotted bay bass.

Summary

Overall, I really like these baits. They look, feel and swim very nice and I can tell they will produce a lot of fish. My first time using these baits I did fairly well. I know these baits will do much better during the day when the fish can really see the action they provide. They remind me of little mini swimbaits. These are a great drop shot bait that really lives up to the "pannic minnow" name. 

Using Braided Line

So recently I did the switch from my usual flourocarbon line to braided line. I decided to go with 8lb Shimano Power Pro braid, but eventually I will step it up to 20lb because the diameter is about the same as 8lb monofilament line. 


My first impressions of braid is that it reminded me of sewing thread and felt really strong. After my first cast, I was amazed with the casting ability I had from the braid. I was using a 1/4 ounce lead head with a swimgrub and I blasted it out there. Here are some of the reasons why I love braided fishing line:

• Casting ability - each cast is smoother and longer than other fishing lines
• Stronger 
• Lasts longer - You won't have to buy new line for a long time because of the use of a leader
• Abrasion resistant - Little to no abrasion so you can fish deep cover (pilings, branches, rocks) without damaging line
• Sensitivity - Much more sensitive. I can feel everything from the smallest nibble to my sinker hitting rocks on the bottom
• Less memory - There is little to no memory which eliminates line twists

To sum things up, I am a big fan now of using braided fishing line. I will probably be using braid from here on out. 


When using braid be sure to tie a flourocarbon leader because braid is not invisible underwater, which can affect your chances of getting bit. Tie about 5 feet of flourocarbon line to the braid using the Uni to Uni knot. 

Fish Crack

Berkley Gulp saltwater makes a product called the "Camo Sand Worm". This product is commonly known to surf anglers as "Fish Crack". Why? because the fish can't resist them. This artificial bait is one of the most commonly used baits to use when fishing the surf. If you look at the bait you'll be surprised it catches so many fish because it's just a small strip of soft plastic, but after using these sand worms in the surf I became a believer. The first time fishing these baits I caught 15 fish.

I haven't heard to much of people using this bait in the bays or other inshore areas, so one day I decided to use them in the bay. I can honestly say that these baits work the same as in the surf...they catch fish. I have caught a variety of different fish with these rigged on a drop shot. They can catch anything from bass to mackerel. Berkley recently started to make these baits in a smaller 2.5 inch size because of it's popularity. People before were cutting the long style sand worms into smaller pieces. When rigging this bait use a smaller style hook because the bait is so small. So, next time you go fishing give these a shot. I positive you won't be let down..

Imperial Beach Surf Fishing

On Saturday 3-19, me and a friend decided to fish the local bay. The tides were extremely low and the fish were not biting, so we decided to make a move and fish the surf for a couple hours. We decided to fish off a jetty and cast into the surf from there. We started off slow, but eventually hooked up on a few hand sized Barred Surf Perch.

All fish were caught on 2.5 inch Berkley Gulp Camo Sand Worms on a Carolina rig.
Total fish count: 5 Barred Surf Perch

Perch with sand worm in its mouth

San Diego Bay 3/13/11

Decided to do a skiff day with my dad and friend Tony in San Diego bay. We rented a skiff from Seaforth Boat Rentals in Coronado, CA. We were on the water by 9:30. The day started out really slow with only a couple fish being landed here and there. In fact, I didn't catch a fish for the first three hours we were fishing.

There was minimal tidal movement and not very much drift at all which made us work even harder to catch fish. Our baits were constantly being attacked by the infamous lizard fish. It was pretty irritating...All three of us were using the drop shot rig with various gulp products and T&C swimgrubs. Most of the fish were caught near or under the Coronado bridge. Overall, fishing was really slow but we made the best out of it and caught a decent amount of fish. It was a good day!

         Tony with a nice fat Sculpin 

Me with a decent halibut

      My Dad with a nice Spotted Bay Bass

Me with a nice Spotty

                            The usual suspect

Mugshot