Big Indiana Bass

Quite possibly the most outspoken angler in Indiana, banned from more forums than I can count :) but a moving water smallie 'Whiz Kid' and a pretty potent green fish angler also. Want a no BS opinion on anything fishing? His years of practical observation and questioning has led to an uncanny simplicity that is also incredibly effective. If you're easily offended, read no further. But if you want an uncensored, 'no-holds-barred' view of bass tackle and bait approach to Indiana waters, and you can take a little PG-13 language, then sit back and enjoy an interview that could only occur on this site.

BIB - Let’s get right down to business. Bait prices keep escalating with the improvements in technology. How many of these “high dollar” baits do you own?

JM - Well this question actually made me think a little, uh oh. So, I went to the boat and decided to count my "expensive" lures and found out I have more than I thought I did including 8 still in the package. Between Lucky Craft, Splash-Its, Ricos and Sumo Frogs I found that I have 37 combined. I know of 3 that I have lost in the past 7 years, given away 4 and broken 2 in that time. That makes the total tally of $10+ lures 46 that I have bought.

But the question is do they make me a better fisherman? Hell no! The only thing that makes me better is time on the water and knowledge of my quarry. Those are priceless, and worth more than any lure out there.

BIB – What about high dollar tackle, rods and reels? You loaded down?

JM - I have been more than happy with St. Croixs cheap ass rods, the Triumphs. For 70 bucks I get a ton of bang for my buck and I don’t crap myself when I step on one or jam the tip in a stick pile getting my jig out. Big deal, they make them overseas, so are all the reels most people drool all over including myself. I’m pretty tuff on my crap, and have replaced more high end rods than most folks have owned in their lives.

Bottom line is those cheap St. Croixs are well worth the $$$$ and you can get two or three of them for the price of a decent Loomis. But then again, I’m sure I'd be more successful on the water if I dusted off the $200.00 rods sitting in my rack and used them again.

BIB – Don’t you worry about missing bites with your $70 sticks? They can’t be as light and sensitive as the fancy $200-$300 rods I was checking out at the Boat Show last month.

JM - Sensitivity is not slightly over rated, its waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay over rated. People these days are far too concerned with what they have when they should be concerned with what they can do! I see it all the time, rows of 500 dollar outfits and the guy holding them can’t fish his pecker outta his pants.

I agree that it is nice to have good equipment, and trust me I own plenty of it from 200 dollar rods to 250 dollar reels, but it does NOT make you any better on the water. You might feel better, and you might have some pre-conceived notion that you will feel more bites and catch more fish, but the simple fact is that if you suck at fishing you are still gonna’ suck at fishing with a high priced outfit.

I’m a line watcher, always have been and too many beginning fisherman these days rely on feeling bites rather than seeing them. They miss fish, and a lot of them due to being strapped to this "touchy, feely" genre we have been overcome by.

I can guarantee that my cheap, 50 dollar sticks will catch just as many as a custom tuned, custom wrapped, hand picked rod that so many are fond of. Now for some insight.

I have had two split gripped handled rods, couldn’t stand either one of them and I fully understand the concept thank you very much. It’s fancy crapola to me. Sorry, that’s just the way I see it. One rod was built for me and it was a Rainshadow, I gave it away. The other was a spinning rod, same deal, built for me on a Shikari blank and it was a pile of crap too. I see no need to have so little handle, and no need to have no fore grip either. It all boils down to who is using the rod, not how well the rod performs, that’s a plain and simple fact.

BIB – Moving on, line options are getting more technologically advanced also. What are your thoughts there? Are you a braid or fluorocarbon user?

JM - As much as it pains me to say this, braid is good for topwater plugs as it floats and gives your bait good action compared to mono. I have recently used it for frog fishing and it has its place there.  There the "no stretch" does have an advantage over 20 pound mono. I still hate how it handles and hate how it sounds and hate how it casts, but I do like getting the fish to hand in that nasty cover, but that’s the only place for me for sure. For ANYTHING else pertaining to fishing, braid is as useless as tits on a boar hog.

As far as this casting thing goes, any swinging dick can toss a 3/8 ounce bait out there a country mile. I want to see the guy who can cast my favorite little crankbait 1/2 as far as me with casting gear. I’m guessing that 95 percent of you can’t, and that 75 percent of you can’t cast it as far with spinning gear. I'd rather be on target than long, but with the crank longer is sometimes better.

BIB - What about other terminal tackle?

JM - Only Gamakatsu hooks I use are the trebles. Only Owner hooks I use are the super braid hooks for frog fishing and super heavy cover fishing. I’m sold on the Hookerz right now, great price and a great hook. I used to use the XPS hooks from Bass Pro as they were quite cheap, but over time I have realized that I’m not sticking the fish well enough so those are done with me. I’m not a fan of G-Locks or any other hook that has that design; those are a hindrance when it comes to sinking a hook. I do like the Mustads, and they are a good price also.

BIB – Lets move on to baits, but not the real high dollar hardware stuff. I'll name a bait and you give me your thoughts. A little psychology test. Jigs...

JM - Jigs! Yup. Big, ugly ones. What do I fish them on? Easy, 7 foot rods and casting reels spooled with rope, errrrrrrrrr, 20 pound test. I fish for smallies with the same setup also, but back down to 15 pound line for jigs IF the water is fairly clear. Spinnerbaits are also a go to for me, same rods and reels and same line.

I throw a lot of different baits, but jigs and spinnerbaits get the nod most times. And I’m quite fond of high, discolored water which is common in Indiana as you know most of the year anymore. But these days the brown bombers take a backseat to their green kin, more of a challenge for me and I need that challenge in my fishing. Now come June I revert back to my flows and smallies, but for the rest of this month I’m all about green.

BIB - Senko’s...

JM - I drink cheap beer, and there’s always enough $$ around for a 12 pack of PBR. In fact, a 12 pack of PBR on sale is $4.99 and even at the regular price of $5.99 is a complete bargain compared to a bag of stinkos. But I digress.

I am the proud owner of 6 fresh bags of over priced Gary Scrotomoto’s stinkos. I have two sizes, big and small in solid black and green pumpkin. I plan on flipping grass at a local reservoir with them, and fishing big rock flats on the river with them. I feel like I have just been raped.

BIB – LOL, I think the only thing that falls apart about as fast as a Senko is a Paca Craw.

JM - Yes, the Paca Craws are pretty frigging fragile also, the bastards breathe on them and the pinchers fall off. But I'll tell you what, I can catch bigger fish on them than a stinko and they aren’t 7 bucks for 10 of them either. They are also a killer trailer for a Chatterbait.

BIB – Frogs...

JM - The best frog out there BY FAR is the Cane Toad by Gambler. A close second is the Ribbit frog by Stanley, fish eat them better than a Zoom type frog. Both are excellent frogs, and can accommodate a 5/0 Owner hook.

Another good frog no one talks about is the Sizmic Poppin' Toad, it’s a totally different technique as it is a cupped faced frog that will float with any hook in it. It’s a good bait to fish around grass as you can damn near pop it in place and it has a sexy little splash.

BIB – You’re not a huge fan of having more than a few colors in any particular bait either, are you?

JM - All bass fishermen are color freaks just because we beat ourselves to death trying to outsmart a pretty dumb creature who really doesn’t care if the crawdad has red flakes, or an orange top shell, he just cares what it tastes like. Well placed casts and knowledge of your water is the most important factor, and then you can concern yourself with color. Find them and they will eat.

Bass fishing doesn’t make a lick of sense because most anglers make it that way. There is way too much emphasis placed on color, size and looks when the emphasis should be placed on seasonal behavior and lure presentation. I have been just as guilty of this when purchasing new baits in the past, but those days are over.

Bass are stupid critters. Bass fisherman are even more so. Bait companies rely on our willingness to buy just about anything, and they market lures for us rather than for the fish. And they are getting rich by doing so, and I couldn’t be happier for them.

BIB – OK, a couple more. Buzzbaits...

JM - Ooohhhh, buzzzzzzzzbaits are killer! I make my own, and give them hideous names like "BIG BLACK" and "SQUEAKY SAM". Or my all time favorite, "THE PBR PROBE"! All are big with big ass blades, and I like black a lot in the fall.

BIB – Cranks...

JM - You can keep your Bandit cranks, and yes I have tried them over and over and over. The only one that has had a glimmer of hope is the 100 series in pearl w/ red eyes and it caught fish smaller than my other cranks in the same situation did. I have a couple of special baits that have been working for well over 12 years now and will outfish any bandit out there hands down. And the Lucky Craft cranks, especially the RC series, are friggen good baits for newer cranks, kind of similar to the old school Big-O’s as far as how they run and deflect off cover.

Some lucky kid got about $100.00 worth of Bandits from me last week; he was pretty stoked so they must work for some of you!

BIB – I’ve seen your boat and until just this past winter, you never even owned a depthfinder. I’m guessing you probably don’t have a water temp gauge either then? That’s usually considered a critical “tool” in the spring.

JM - I have dismissed water temperature as part of my fishing, and rarely if ever check the water temperature these days. I can tell what the fish are doing by simply observing the environment surrounding the water, how far along the trees are, what the under growth looks like, what kind of insects are active and so on.

I have seen fish on beds in 50 degree water, and I have seen fish on beds in 75 degree water. So that right there tells me that as long as the conditions are stable without prolonged periods of high and dirty water the fish are going to spawn no matter what the water temperature is.

And as for depthfinders, I’m primarily a shallow water fisherman. One foot, two foot, too deep!