The Alabama Rig

     Ok, unless you have been living under a rock for the past few months you have heard of the all mighty Alabama rig. In my years of fishing I have never seen a lure sweep the fishing world so quickly. It has won at least $500,000 on the pro circuits since Paul Elias let the cat out of the bag and countless local tournaments as well. I myself have many, should I say too many, and have even made a few myself. I recently purchased a few Pay-Me rigs from Venom Lures out of Ohio and I will have to say that these are the best that I have used.

     The Pay-Me rig is 100% American made and has no lead in it at all. In fact the whole rig itself weighs about 3/16 of an ounce making it easier to throw than other rigs I have used. With it being lighter it is easier to control in whatever water column you are trying to fish. It also tracts great in the water and the head on the rig always stays upright. On most of my other rigs the head always lays to the side when retrieved. As for durability, I have caught tons of fish on the first one I bought with multiple doubles. It holds its shape very well and needs little tuning, aside from its first tuning out of the package. Another thing to note about the Pay-Me rig that I have noticed is that upon casting your baits and line remain tangle free a lot more often than with other rigs. The Pay-Me rig can be purchased online at www.venomlures.com and currently they are running a special with 10% off of their entire stock with free shipping.

     I throw this rig on a Falcon Cara 7'3" heavy action casting rod know as the Amistad Special with either a Revo SX (6.4:1 gear ratio) or a Revo Winch (5.4:1 gear ratio) spooled with 20 lb flurocarbon. I live in the upper state of South Carolina and the lakes here are very clear so braid is not an option. I actually started with braid and when my dad had caught twice as many fish behind me I quickly switched to flurocarbon and have not gone back. The two different gear ratios are for the times of the year. I started throwing a home made Alabama rig in the Fall with the SX and with the cooling water this Winter I switched to the Winch to help slow down. I have also realized that the oversized handle and the slower gear ratio of the Winch does not wear you out when throwing the rig all day, much like when throwing a deep diving crankbait all day in the Summer.

     Fishing the Alabama rig is quite simple, there isn't much to it. I have caught fish around structure, in open water, and even just beating the bank. The hard part of this rig is casting it. It is hard to keep your line from wrapping in the baits and keeping your baits from tangling with one another while airborne. As mentioned above however, Venom's Pay-Me rig helps with both. Once in the water, I have found a slow and steady retrieve works best, slower the better, and with the Pay-Me rig being so light, a slow retrieve allows you to keep the rig in the strike zone a lot longer. When you get a strike there is no mistaking it. The fish will literally knock you hand off of the crank. It is important not to set the hook when you get a bite, but instead just keep your rod firm and sweep it to set the hook. This is very hard to do, but with braid or flurocarbon, which ever you choose, there is no stretch and setting the hook will pull the baits away from the fish. I have also found that if you do not horse the fish to the boat multiples happen quite often. After catching a few fish, it is important to check the condition of the wires that make up the rig. I have not had any problems with the Pay-Me rig as mentioned before, but with other rigs I have lost links while fish were attached to them and while casting the rig. The most important thing about the rig is you have to throw it. It's kind of hard to catch fish on it if you don't. It may take some time to get over the fact that is sounds like a bowling ball when it hits the water, but after a few fish on it, you will forget.

Till next time, God bless and tight lines!

Hard vs. Soft Structure

     In my last post I briefly touched on wind creating soft structure. In this post we are going to dive into the differences between hard versus soft structure and why bass relate to both. Hopefully after reading this you will better have a feel as to why you just got bit where you did instead of just chalking it up to luck.

     Lets first talk about hard structure, the one that most anglers are comfortable fishing. Hard structure, in its simplest definition, is a piece of cover that is concrete, meaning that one could actually hold it in their hand. Some examples of hard structure are laydowns, docks, rocks, brush piles, etc. This list could go on forever. Just keep in mind that if you can hold it your hand, then it is hard structure. Bass use these types of cover not only as an ambush point, but also as a barrier to feed against. Bass, particularly largemouth, are ambush predator's, meaning that they do not prefer to chase their prey around, but instead hide and ambush it as it comes by. Smallmouth and Spotted Bass have been known to be more of open water predators, but they relate to hard cover too. Bass will also push prey up against structure to use it to feed against. Think of the ever popular game, that we have all played, bobbing for apples. Remember how hard it was to bite into an apple that was in the middle of the tub, but once you got it up against the side you could easily bite down? Well hard structure does the same for bass. Not only does it give them something to feed against, but it also cuts down on escape routes for their prey. The challenge is knowing what type of hard cover bass hold on when. This changes daily and that you will have to figure out on your own.

     Ok, now for the brain teaser, soft structure. Soft structure is cover that is abstract, or not able to be held in your hand. Some examples of these are shade lines, choppy water, mud lines created from rough water, etc. These may not sound much like cover, but lets refer back to the hard structure portion where I spoke of providing a barrier to feed against. These examples of soft structure provide the same barrier. Think of this, we have all swam in a pool before and am sure that most of us have put goggles on, gone under, and tried to swim from one end of the pool to the other. Ever notice how hard it is to judge how far someone is away if you can't see the pool wall behind them? This is because there is nothing for your brain to use to gain depth perception. It's the same thing for bass. It's hard for them to judge how far they need to swim to eat something in open water if there is nothing to provide depth perception and those examples of soft cover above do that. A mud line in the water creates and imaginary wall that allows for depth perception and choppy water breaks up the surface providing, you guessed it, an imaginary wall to feed against. Shade lines actually provide more than just the wall, they also allow for bass to see. Bass do not have ultraviolet filters in their eyes, meaning that when it is sunny, they do not see well. So in the grand scheme of things alot of hard structure also provides soft structure at the same time, because it casts shade. I have actually fished lakes surrounded by mountains and have caught bass on topwater plugs out of water over 100 feet deep because the mountains created a shade line. The fish I caught were within inches of this line and would not bite unless I casted into the shade and brought it out. Most bit right on the edge of the shade line with the rest biting just a few inches into the sun. So next time you are on the water, don't be afraid to look past the obvious hard structure and try to focus on things that may have been over looked, like a shade line, you may just be suprised.

Till next time, God bless and tight lines!

How to Fish a Jerkbait and catch Fish

     With Winter here, even if the weather doesn't feel like it the calendar says it is, the baitfish have migrated out of the backs of pockets and creeks to the main channel. With this migration most, but not all, bass have followed. The cold temperatures cause drastic changes in the water temperature as well causing all fish to slow down, and for the bait it starts to die. Not all of it dies, but you may witness large numbers of it dying off making easy targets. Suspending jerkbaits make for a prime choice in catching fish this time of year. These mimic the dying shad because they do not float or sink, instead they, on a pause, remain at the depth at which you retrieved them, much like a slow lethargic bait fish on the verge of dying.

     Jerkbaits produce year round, but this is my favorite time of the year to throw them and I usually do not dig them out of my box until the water temperature hits 54 degrees. Fishing this time of the year can be tough. Fish are lethargic and do not want to expend alot on energy to chase their prey. If you just go out and just throw a jerkbait without doing your homework you probably will not catch many. It is important to find specific areas before even making your first cast and the most important thing to look for is bait. To find bait you will need to use your electronics and other visual aids such as birds. If you see Sea Gulls diving or a group of Loons together you can bet that bait is close by. I also like to look for steep breaks such as bluff banks or points that touch the river channel and sharps bends in the river channel are also a good place to look. Wind also helps this time of the year. It not only pushes the lethargic bait around, but also helps to break up your jerkbait which is important because all of the fish you are going to catch approach your bait from below. Not to beat a dead horse, but wind also provides "soft" structure for the fish to feed against. Not going to go into great detail cause it could be a post all in itself, but with the water surface being choppy it helps to create a barrier to feed against.Water clarity is a must as well. Bass must be able to see your bait suspending in order for it to have its full affect. In dirty water, fish rely on senses other than sight to feed and when your bait is not moving they cannot sense it. That being said I will not throw a jerkbait with visibility less than 3 feet. To check this, just take your bait and push it down in the water with your rod and see how deep it has to go before it disappears. As far as other weather conditions go, they do not matter much to me. I throw it in rain, sun, snow, whatever. The only difference is that I favor brighter colors in low light situations.

      Now that we have talked about where and when to throw it, lets talk a little about the how. Remember we are trying to mimic a dying baitfish so that means slow and lethargic. I like to throw it out and reel it down to its diving depth and then let it sit. This is where I start my retrieve. After a pause of four seconds I twitch my rod tip twice and then let it sit again for four seconds followed by another single twitch before another pause of four. I then repeat the process all the way back to the boat. The cadence between pause and jerk may need to be tweaked in order to entice a bite, but four seconds is where I start. A general rule of thumb is the colder the water the longer the pause. Sometimes the pause can be painfully long. I placed 2nd in a local tournament last year with pauses of fourteen seconds. It was taking me almost five minutes to fish one cast. That is why it is important to fish areas which have the potential in holding fish instead of just beating the bank. The number of jerks may also need to be tweaked too. Not only in the number between pauses, but also in how hard you jerk to move the bait. Keep in mind, however, that you can overwork your lure. You just want your lure to walk side to side under the water and jerking too hard can hinder this. When you twitch your lure, make sure to do it on slack line. This allows the bait to walk, and if you twitch it on tight line it will pull straight to the boat. At rest, the lure needs to be on slack line as well to allow it to sit motionless. This will take some practice in boat positioning, because if your boat is moving at all so is your lure. During your pauses watch your line. This is where 90% of your bites will come. It will jump or start to move on its own. If either of these happens, you know what to do. The other 10% will come right when you get ready to jerk it after a pause.

     Now equipment. You can throw this on a spinning outfit, but I prefer baitcasting equipment. My setup is a 7 foot Medium action Cashion baitcasting rod, a Abu Garcia Revo SX with a 6:4:1 ratio, and spooled with Berkley 100% flurocarbonCashion has made a perfect jerkbait rod in their 7 foot medium action casting model. As all Cashion rods, it is made with linear graphite instead of spiral graphite making it super sensitive to detect strikes on slack line. Linear graphite means all of the fibers are lain straight instead of spiraling up the blank cutting down on the length of the fibers. This design transfers strikes to your hands faster and allows you to detect subtle bites that would otherwise be missed with traditional spiral graphite rods. To better grasp this, take two straight pieces of wire that are the same length and lay them side by side. Now twist one in a spiral from end to end. The straight piece of wire represents Cashion rods and the twisted wire represents all other traditional spiral graphite rods. You will notice that it would take a much longer wire once spiraled to get it back to the length of the one that represents the Cashion rod. By adding more length in the graphite fibers, it not only hampers sensitivity, but also makes rods heavier. Thus, Cashion has manufactured the lightest and most sensitive rod I have ever fished with. When fishing a jerkbait this time of the year you have the potential to catch some very large fish and you will not realize how big they are until you see them. So take your time, I can't say it enough. Remember, fish are lethargic this time of the year and if you horse them to the boat too fast they will surge once they see the boat and this is typically where you lose them. The action of the Cashion rod aids in these often fierce but short fights boatside, but if a fish does surge it is important to have a good smooth drag to allow them to run and the Revo SX has the smoothest drag I have ever fished with. On obsolete reels your drag, even if set right, will catch at the beginning of the run and not allow the surging fish to take line as needed, tearing your hooks free.

     Jerkbait fishing takes time to learn how to catch them, and at times can be very frustrating, but stick with it and you can catch not only some really big fish, but also a bunch because when you find them they are all schooled up this time of year.

Till next time, God bless and tight lines!

Brandon

My Love for Fishing

     I do not remember the first fish that I caught, but I have been told I was still in a stroller when I caught it. That is all it took. That one fish and I was hooked for life. Now that baseball is over, I am focusing on a professional fishing career. In the last three years I have gotten off to a pretty good start.
     I have fished local tournaments for many years, but in 2009 I decided to start to pursue my angling career. That year my dad and I won the points championship in a very well know local trail where we fished against anglers on the pro circuit. In 2010, I won the point championship in the North Carolina Division of the Bassmaster Weekend Series as a co-angler. In 2011, I again won the points in a trail, but this time it was in the Bassmaster Southern Opens as a co-angler. My most prestigious award in my short angling career. This has helped me land a few sponsors in Joolasoft, JJ Kane Auctioneers, Pure Fishing, and Falcon Graphite Rods.  This year I plan to start over in the boater ranks in the North Carolina Division of the Bass Fishing League (BFL) that is hosted by Walmart.

     To explain, there are two different divisions within each division. What I mean by that is there is a boater division and a co-angler division. The boater drives the boat and is responsible for finding fish. The co-angler is just along for the ride and fishes where ever the boater takes him. They do not fish against each other, they fish against the other boaters and co-anglers in their respective divisions with their weights only counting for themselves and not each other. Most tournaments have a limit of 5 fish per angler, with a minimum size limit that is determined by the state that you are fishing in. Whoever brings in the most weight at the end of the day wins the tournament. There are penalties for bringing in a dead fish and for being late to weigh in. An angler is allowed to "cull" in the event that he/she has his or her limit and another fish is caught that would help the total weight. If this occurs this fish is placed in the live well and the smallest is released.

Baseball...The End

When the season started I was slated in as the 3rd starter and started the season very well composing a 5-0 record. After this start, I was moved from number 3 to number 1. Just a year ago I was a walk on, now I was considered the ace!

The rest of my college career went by very fast, and before I knew it my Senior year had arrived. My first start that year, I started against one of my close friends that was going to get drafted and play professionally. The only question was, by who? Since he was starting, there were a bunch of major league scouts there to see him pitch. I remember thinking to myself just before I stepped on to the rubber, "...one more year, one more year then I will go get a job...man I am sure going to miss this." I did not realize it at the time, but my friend, the opposing pitcher, had created yet another opportunity for me....major league scouts. I remember looking up in the stands and seeing all of them and thinking they were just their to see my buddy pitch. What did anyone want with a mid to high 80s (meaning 85-89 mphs) throwing right-hander?

I ended up throwing 8 innings and we lost 2-1 in extra innings. I gave up a homerun late that I believe still has not landed and that was it. After the game, my dad met me at the gate with the largest smile on his face that I have ever seen. He told me that I did not throw a fastball under 91, was up as high as 94, and that he thought there were some people there that wanted to speak to me. That is when I noticed that all of the scouts had hung around. I filled out more questionaires that night for pro teams that I could ever of imagined.

Three quarters of the way through my senior year, I broke the all time strikeout record for my school forever leaving my mark. It was such a personal accomplishment for me because I could still hear my high school coach, "...slow as a turtle, flip a coin...." Before I knew it college baseball was over and I had graduated with a computer science degree. With little contact with the pro scouts that I had filled questionaires out for, there was a lot of uncertainty in my near future. I knew that I needed to start looking for a job, but man I wanted to still play baseball and on June 7th, 2006 I got my wish.

On the second day of the draft the Pittsburgh Pirates took me in the 29th round! I had watched every round of the draft until the 29th rolled around. I had had enough of the emotional roller coaster, and closed my computer when the phone rang. On top of that my mom had gone to the store, my girlfriend at the time (now wife) had gone with her, and my dad had left the house too. I don't recall where my brother was, but I was alone when it happened. When I answered the phone, it was a friend, congradulating me for being drafted. I thought he was kidding, I didn't know that the Pirates had actually drafted me. While on the phone with him, an unfimiliar number popped up on my phone, and when I answered, it was the Pittsburgh Pirates with the exciting news.

I spent 3 years in the Pirates farm system, with never a true defined role. I pitched as high as Double A and was released in spring training in my fourth year. It was even more of a suprise than getting drafted, considering the conversation I had with a pitching coach the day before I was released in which he promised I was going to break camp with him.

To make a long story short I got caught up in the business side of professional baseball. To better explain, it came down to me and another pitcher that the Pirates had a lot of money invested in biding for the same spot. Needless to say the investment won and I was released...business is what I was told. All of this was explained to me on the phone by the pitching coach that made me the promise not 12 hours before.

Being released stung, but I reminded myself of all the adversity I had overcome to get to where I was and have no regrets. From high school bench warmer, to small college walk on, to record holder, to professional baseball player. And to think it all started with one opportiunity...

College Baseball...The Beginning

     Last post I ended with walking on at USC Upstate to play baseball and that is where we will pick up. My freshman year I did not pitch a whole lot. I logged 21 innings, most in relief in non-important situations, but did get to make a few starts towards the end of the season and pitched very well. My sophomore year started just as my freshman year did, fall practice. The first 2 weeks are to run off all of the uninvited walk ons and then we get down to baseball actvities and I was not prepared for what was getting ready to happen.

     When intrasquad games started, I was worked in very sparingly. However after throwing a clean 3 frames, I was extended and extended against our projected starting lineup. After 9 intrasquad innings, I had yet to surrender a base runner. At the start of the 10th, our third baseman hit a solo homerun off of me breaking not only my hitless streak, but also my shutout streak all in one pitch.

     Fall practice went on with plenty repetition of bunt coverages and other designed plays, until an unexpected snow storm in which we missed a few days of school. I did not know it yet, but this snow storm was about to create another opportunity for me. A sad one, but an opportunity none the less.

     During the time off, our ace (best starting pitcher) tore his rotator cuff throwing snow balls and had to have surgery leaving a gaping hole in out conference starting rotation. Fall practice again continued on and at my individual meeting before Winter break, I was informed that I would not only be one our the starting pitchers, but I would be a conference starter.

Setting the stage and baseball life

     For as long as I can remember baseball and fishing have made my world go round. I grew up doing both, year round, with never much of a break. I am going to focus more on my baseball story first, since that is a closed book, and we will talk more about fishing later.

     I started playing baseball when I was 4 years old playing year round to the age of 25. However, my story to the pros is not what you would expect. Until High School, I was always a key player. Always hit in the middle of the lineup, always had the ball on the mound when things were on the line. However, for what ever reason, High School was different. My freshman year I was cut. It was such a blow, for the first time I was not playing baseball. That did not last long though, I found a recreational team and caught on with them. My sophomore year I made the Junior Varsity team and sat the bench the entire year. I think I may have gotten 2 at bats and maybe pitched 2 innings. My Junior year I was cut again. I can remember the conversation like it was yesterday, "Brandon, you are slow as a turtle and when the ball is hit at you, it's a coin flip if you are going to field it or not." This time however, I did not go without a fight. I swallowed my pride and asked to stay as the manager with the request to be allowed to practice with team. All of my friends were on the team, and I was not going to get any better with out being around that level of the game. I was allowed to dress that year, but never saw the field. The coach's words rang in my head all year, "...slow as a turtle..., flip a coin...." I am the type of person that if you tell me I'm not good enough, I will do my best to make you eat your words. I may not be better than you, but I will play harder and work harder than you. I can't stand to lose at anything, period, and sitting an entire year on the bench just fueled the fire even more. My Senior year I made the team, with the stinging words of, "We are keeping you as a role model." I forgot to mention that I was a straight A student in honors classes that was never in trouble. I again sat the bench. Then one game, over spring break, I arrived at the field, went through pregame as usual, and picked up the scorebook to obtain the vistor's lineup like I had done so many times before. Upon returning to the dugout my coach flipped me the ball and told me to, "...go get lose, you are starting...." Finally, and I made the most of it. I pitched 5 innings of no hit baseball with 7 strikeouts and do not recall if I walked anybody. In the 6th inning, I left the mound to play 3rd base, my secondary position, and while warming up between innings the opposing coach struck up a conversation with me. The first thing he asked me was where I had signed to play college baseball? I had to laugh, and after I told him an abbreviated version of my story, he whipped out a notepad and asked me my SAT score. In between pitches for the entire next inning he was getting bits of information about me, writing everything down. When the game was over, he asked me if I would play up north and I responded that I would play anywhere that would take me. Remember, I had played baseball all of my life. It's all I knew, that and fishing, and I was not ready to give it up. The opposing coach then told me to not be suprised if I received some phone calls with in the next couple of days, and he was not kidding... The next day Virgina Tech called. Then an in-state division II school called. By the end of the day I had received at least 6 calls from schools all over the US. I visited VT, but with a full in state academic scholarship, it was hard to turn down the in-state opportunity. I enrolled there with the promise to be allowed to walk on as a pitcher. That is all I was looking for, an opportunity. That is all anyone needs. If you get an opportunity, it is up to you what you do with it....