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Home: Deptford, New Jersey
Website: www.bassmasterfitz.com
Occupation: Laborer, Coaching Midget Football and Baseball Coach, and Volunteer Fireman
Boat: 2004 Ranger 520 VX Comanche with a 2004 Yamaha 225 VMax HPDI motor. MinnKota Trolling Motor, 2 Garmin 240 depth finders, and Lowrance 480 GPS/depth finder
Sponsors: Secret Weapon Lures, STC Sports in Gibbstown NJ, NJ Laborers - Union Local 222, Bill - Auto Repair of Sewell NJ, Rock Products
Tournaments: BFL, NJBASS Federation, and Federation Nation in 2006. Plans to fish the BFL and Stren Series for the 2007-08 Season<
Favorite Fishing Style: Pitching jigs, throwing spinnerbaits and crankbaits
Competitive Tip: Focus, concentration, and confidence
Let's start with Focus. How important is that word in tournament fishing? How many times have you missed a fish because your mind was somewhere else? If you - re typical, you - ve had both of these types of experiences many times. How many times have you thought after a tournament that you should have done this or that? You hear it all the time in sports and in life: - You - ve got to stay focused. - What does that word focused really mean and how can it help us catch fish?
The dictionary explains the word focus as, 'the concentration of energy on something.
'that makes sense. If I can keep my concentration on fishing and only fishing, I - ll be better off at the end of the day.
Focus on the task at hand, whatever it happens to be. Focus on what it is you - re trying to accomplish.
Tackle Tips
Buzz Baits: I like to fish buzzbaits when the surface temperatures range from 60 to 90 degrees. The perfect buzzbait weather conditions are cloudy or misting rain with calm winds. In spring and fall, they account for bass all day long on many lakes and rivers, but in summer when the water is hot, they are usually most effective early and late in the day; however, if you are fishing lots of grass you can fish a buzzbait on the edges all day long.
One trick that I use is to cast out my buzzbait and start reeling it in before it hits the water. I make about 20 turns and stop reeling to let it sink, then start cranking it in and do it again. As the bait sinks the bass will grab it on the fall or just as I start reeling.
Spinner Baits: Select color based upon water color. Use the same colors for low light as stained water. Stained Water-chartreuse or chartreuse/white 1-2 feet visibility-clear white 2+ feet clarity-bait fish shad In general use brighter colors in stained water and more natural colors in clear water. Colors like golden shiner can be a real surprise for bass that see a lot of white or chartreuse spinner baits.
Use these ideas for blade selection;
'stained Water-Colorado blades
- 1-2 feet visibility-Colorado/willow leaf
- 2+ feet clarity-willow leaf blades
Colorado blades give more vibration but less flash. In stained water, vibration is more important since bass will not be able to see flash well. In more clear water, use willow leaf or Colorado/willow leaf blades for more flash and visibility.
When you bring your spinner bait past good cover, kill it for just a moment. Often this erratic action triggers a strike.
The head weight and blade size determine how shallow or deep a spinner bait will run at a normal speed. Heavy head and smaller blades run deeper for slow-rolling. Light head and comparatively bigger blades make - wake baits. -
Rod tip position also effects how deep a spinner bait runs. A high rod tip makes the lure run more shallow. A low rod tip makes it run deeper.
For spinner baits I use a 6 foot-6 inch rod medium power rod and a 6:3:1 reel.
Pitchin - : Try pitching a SWL spinnerbait. Pitch it on top of grass, rocks, logs, stumps, and let it sink as it passes a hole. You can pitch a spinnerbait more accurately than most can cast one. Get in close and make accurate presentations. When pitching a spinnerbait past a piece of cover, pause for just a second. Often this erratic action triggers a strike. Sometimes a reaction strike will work better then some soft plastics.
Trailers: I was down on the Potomac River prefishing for a BFL tournament and wasn 't catching a thing so I sat down and was thinking when I came up with this.... I added a 4-inch purple Power Worm to my White Shiner Secret Weapon spinnerbait and ended up catching about 4 bass in about a hour over a grass bed I had fished for a couple of hours with no success.
Muddy Water: When fishing muddy water, you want a bait the fish can key in on. Try fishing a 5/16-ounce SWL Spinnerbait with a #4 or #5 Gold Colorado blade. The Colorado really sends out a large amount of vibration and makes the bait easier to follow. Pair that up with a chartreuse or Firetiger Perch skirt and you have a deadly muddy water combination.
Favorite Pros: Mike Iacconelli, Denny Brauer, and Kevin VanDam.
BassmasterFitz's Ride
