WOO'S CORNER by Woo Daves

Matching your tackle plays a very important role in successful fishing. This is one of the things I see a lot of fisherman pay so little attention to and that really hinders their success in fishing. Little things, like matching tackle to the situations you are in at the time, can be vital to your success. Rod, line, hook, weight and lure sizes can make you or break you. Just a simple tinkering with any of these in the right situation can bring instant success. Depending upon weather conditions, you might also have to make changes several times during the day to improve your success. That is why I have 22 Bass Pro Shops’ rods in my Nitro boat rod locker.

Let’s look at rods and how they play a role in your success. One rod can’t do everything just like one club in golf can’t make each shot. I designed a whole line of rods for Bass Pro Shops called Woo Daves’ Extreme rods that will cover you in any situation. Let’s say I’m in heavy cover flipping a Zoom Brush Hog then I want a Woo Daves’ 7’4” Extreme flippin’ rod. I need a rod that can handle hard hook sets and power a fish out of dense cover. If I tried this with a light rod it would be like going to a gun fight with a knife. Flipping is a power technique, I use Bass Pro Shops 20 to 25 lbs. Excel line, usually heavier Tru-Tungsten weights, Mustad Flippin’ hooks, and Zoom’s Big Brush Hogs.

Now let’s go to the other extreme finesse fishing, or drop-shot fishing. We are trying to finesse fish into biting usually in clear water situations or cold front situations. This is a light line technique. I like to use Bass Pro Shops’ 6 to 8 lbs. Fluorocarbon line, small 1/16 to 1/32 oz. Tru-Tungsten weights, small No.1 or 1/0 Mustad wire hooks, and a specially designed Woo Daves’ Extreme 6’8” spinning rod. This is a rod with a very light tip but enough backbone to get a good hook set, but limber enough to play a big fish down on light line.

Now in the middle of the picture would be top water, spinnerbait and crankbait situations that work out to your advantage rather than the fish. For top water lures such as the Bass Pro Shops’ XPS Slim Dog or Z-P I want a Woo Daves’ 6’ Extreme ML baitcaster rod. This rod again has plenty of backbone for hook setting but a nice limber tip to get the best action out of your lure. If you use too stiff a rod in top water fishing, you are actually pulling your bait through the water. A light tip allows your bait to stay in the strike zone longer and gives your lure a more natural walking wounded action. When I top water fish, I almost always go with Bass Pro Shops’ 17 lbs. Excel line. If it’s a long day of fishing, I will dress my line with fly line wax to keep it floating. One problem I see a lot in fishing top water lures is people using too light of line. It will sink faster causing your lure to lose a lot of its action.

For crankbaits I use two rods. For small lures I will use the Woo Daves’ Extreme 6’6” medium rod. For the big lures like the Bass Pro Shops’ Nitro crankbait I use the new Woo Daves’ Extreme 7’ medium extendable butt rod. I love this rod for deep cranking because you can extend the butt out to lock under your arm and take almost all the pressure off your arm. I’m getting old and this rod has brought me back to big crankbaits.

Now let’s talk about some little changes that could turn a bad fishing day into a good one. I want my Zoom Trick worm to fall as slowly as possible straight down in most situations. Let’s say we start out in the morning and its flat calm. I could be using a 1/16 oz. Tru-Tungsten weight and its carrying my worm straight down , everything is perfect. Then the wind starts picking up to 10 mph, now my worm starts to drift away from the structure so I change to 1/8 oz. and everything is working great. Now the wind picks up to 20mph and my worm starts drifting, so I change to ¼ oz. and everything works good. Just those little changes can make you or break you in fishing.

Hooks again can make a big difference. First simply put Mustad Triple grips on all your crankbaits before you go fishing. This will increase your catch rate tremendously. Also pay attention to the size of hook you are using when worm fishing. I don’t want a 5/0 Mustad worm hook on a 6” Zoom finesse worm. This shows too much metal and it just doesn’t look natural. If a bass swims up to your worm and sees all that metal, it’s like going to kiss your date and she opens her mouth with a full set of braces on and you say whoa! By the same token I’m not going flippin’ with a No. 1 hook.

Pick up fishing videos/DVDs at Bass Pro Shops, study the different techniques and match the gear with the situation you are fishing. Make changes with the weather and you will do fine. Do your back a favor and try a pair of Woo Shoes by Proline Boots. God Bless everyone.