What a treat this week has been. Normally, late June has a habit of bringing in some of the hottest temperatures of the year but this year the temps have been mild, and I’ve actually been wondering if I’m under-dressed rather than cooking off in the brutal humid heat. Yesterday the weatherman said that the average temps are around 90 for this time of year and from looking back in my logbook, he is correct. Early this week we saw a big upper-level low pressure system drop down into our area and it just sat over us spinning and drawing in moisture. One of the benefits to a low-pressure system is the drop in barometric pressure and the effect it has on fishing. My rule of thumb has always been that low pressure brings the fish up and high pressure pushes the fish down. It’s that simple. This week we had low pressure and with the mild temps and constant cloud cover it meant no pressure fishing. Just a few baits on the deck got it done this week.

Monday seems like a decade away, but I did make a quick lap around the creek and found a nice chop and some cloud cover about mid-morning. I’ve been looking for the Choppo bite to pick up and with the cloud cover and choppy surface, slinging a bone 105 Choppo around was a no brainer. As soon as I ran that thing across the crown of an offshore hump, I found what I was looking for in a topwater explosion. Even though conditions were right for topwater I decided to start throwing the spybait around brush out on the ends of points and on humps and put the topwater away. I kept my topwater rod handy just in case there was some surface activity within casting distance, but I found it was best to approach the area in a stealthier mode and start out with the spybait rather than throwing the topwater. Reason being is that when I would start out throwing topwater in an area, it scattered the fish after a few casts. Maybe a few would come up and hit the topwater but chances were that the fish would follow the topwater but not commit to it and when they would see the boat, they would go straight down to the bottom. After a few casts of this happening with the topwater the fish would be scattered and non-committal and by the time I started throwing the spybait, the bites were scarce. Starting with the spybait and forgoing the topwater netted me a lot more fish this week. Don’t get me wrong though, if the fish were chasing bluebacks on the surface where I was fishing, I would definitely throw the topwater. If I was approaching an area where there was no visible surface activity, I would start with the spybait. Here’s a couple nice fish from my quick trip on Monday.

After my discovery on Monday, I was back out Tuesday morning and I had two things in mind, topwater and spybait, but mainly spybait. I have a ton of confidence in the spybait right now and I feel like I can get bit at every stop. I want to explain the spybait technique with a little more detail and the importance of details when you’re learning the spybait technique. First off, the difference between success and failure in spybaiting is often found in the details. It’s important to have the right equipment for using the spybait, just like it is important to have the right tool for the job. I highly recommend the following gear to spybait. First is a medium rod. I’m using a 7’3″ KastKing medium Speed Demon spinning rod. There are a lot of good reels out there and the most important thing about the reel is the drag system. Get a good reel with a dependable drag system. You’re going to need it. I like 6lb fluorocarbon line and you’re going to want to use a small diameter line to help with the action on the spybait. The heavier the line, the less action you’ll have on the spybait. If you want to bump up the line strength, I recommend 8lb Tatsu because it has the diameter of most 6lb fluorocarbon lines out there. The 8lb Tatsu is pretty durable and dependable also. I just load my spool with straight fluorocarbon, no braid with a leader but straight 6lb fluorocarbon. Setting the drag for 6lb test is very important because these bigger bass can make hash out of 6lb test if your drag is too tight. If your drag is too loose, they can take you down to the brush.

I like to make a long cast with the spybait and the medium rod can really whip it out there. After I make my cast, I immediately bring in all the slack line and then let the bait fall. It’s important to bring in the slack right away because if you don’t, the bait can run over the slack line and foul itself as it’s falling. I generally give it a 10-15 count on the drop and then I use a slow and steady retrieve back to the boat. The bait drops at a rate of a little under a foot per second and I keep my rod tip low to the water’s surface, so with the right speed the spybait should be running horizontally. If your retrieve is too slow the bait will drop and snag the brush and to fast, the bait will rise. The two propellers on the spybait help to slow and stabilize the bait as its running through the water and if you have the right speed the bait should rock back and forth coming through the water. The rocking action is what triggers the strike. If the bait is running too fast, you won’t get the rocking action and if your line diameter is too large you won’t get the right rocking action. If I hook a fish, I immediately raise my rod tip to keep the fishes head up and keep him from swimming down to the brush. Another little trick the bass will do after keeping his head up, is he will shoot straight up and jump to try and shake the spybait out of his mouth. Generally, the bigger fish use the two tactics to evade being caught. Having the drag set right is very important because one of the last moves the bigger bass make is a pile driving run straight down after they see the boat. That’s usually the drag burning run and if your drag is to tight, it can’t keep up with the speed and the line will snap so it’s very important to have the drag set right. One other tip is to check your line often. Just a little nick can cause a break. Be sure and check out my YouTube page for spybait videos. I think I have several spybaiting videos that can help you.

Tuesday I was back out early in the morning, and I went right to work with the spybait and I think the little spybait saw action at just about every stop. Sometimes I’d pick off a 10-inch fish and in the next cast I’d catch a 3lber. It was really hard to say whether it was going to be a big fish with the spybait or a small fish but you can definitely tell the big ones from the small ones when they hit. I really boated a bunch of fish on Tuesday, and I had some very nice fish as well as quite a few smaller fish. Here were a few of the better ones from my morning.

Wednesday the weather was a little rough and we had rain off and on. I did get out briefly and caught a few fish on topwater and spybait but I broke my trolling motor lanyard and came back in early. I did have a few nice fish but there was a lot of rain and drizzle, so I left the phone covered up. Yesterday was more of the same and I started shaking off a lot of my fish on the spybait. Most of the fish were barely hooked and shaking them off at the boat was pretty easy. I did run into my buddy Matt O’Connell in the creek, and I got a chance to chat with him a bit about his 2nd place finish in the All-American and pick his brain about Forward facing sonar. I’ve known Matt for about 6 years now and have fished with him a few times. I’m always learning from Matt and spending a few minutes chatting with him is always an educating experience. Here’s a good one that I caught on the spybait while out yesterday.

Today I fished from about 8-1pm and lost count again on the spybait fish. I did have a few topwater fish including a nice striper this morning on the Zdog in the Casper shad pattern. I had to head back to the house around 1pm but I had a good morning and caught fish on the spybait again at just about every stop. Here’s a pic of my last fish this week. This was a great way to end the week! Water temps are mid to upper 70’s right now and the lake is less than two feet below full pool. The corps is only generating an hour or two a day this week.