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Boils

1677 Views 9 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Skunked
When you see shad "boiling" and bass busting, do you prefer to throw top-water baits and if so, which ones? Or do you prefer to throw jerk baits and if so, hard or soft?

Or, are you like "someone we know" and throw a crank bait and burn it in until it's in the middle and then STOP! ...wait .......BANG!!!!!!! and catch a fish in the middle of a bunch of guys with their jaw's hanging in disbelief??? :shock: :p

What's worked for me is tossing a Super Fluke (typically pearl white) in the middle or past the boil and working it through the boil. I’ve also used Senko’s and even a Robo Worm. This works GREAT for me at Patty, but I've not had much luck with it at Sag. I can't figure that one out... :?

...if you can't tell, I'm trying to work on my top-water techniques.
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Rattle Trap.


I dont fish boils unless they are with in casting distance, mainly because you can get to the spot and they are gone which = wasted time.

but I have been proven wrong on this many a times



Delw



It depends for me... If the fish are boiling frequently enough that I can get an assassin or fluke on top of them I find that those work best. On the other hand, if the fish are boiling less frequently and are really spread apart I'll put on a spoon, jerkbait, or spook/sammy because it allows me to get the lure out there farther and faster. I'm usually using a spinning setup on a MH 6-7' rod and 6-8lb test when I really need distance. The trick is staying hooked-up at the longer distances. Mono tends to stretch alot and is hard to keep pressure on the fish. A braid or superline tends to work better in this scenario.
The boils drove me crazy for a while until I figured out what needed to be done. My preferred bait is the 3inch bass assassin on a 2/0 gammie g-lock. 6 pound test. Toss it in, or as close to the boil as you can. Don't retrieve it, just let it sink. It will remain level as it sinks, and the little tail will wiggle back and forth. It is quite effective. If the fish are too far away, a Johnson spoon or a Kastmaster will give you the distance you want, but I feel they are less effective.
Thanks for the replies! I used to keep a Super Fluke ALWAYS ready but after several trips to Sag. with no luck with them, I stopped keeping one handy. At Patagonia and Pena Blanca, I've been real lucky with them but I'm not using them as much, hoping to get better with some other techniques.

I have some "Pop-R / Rico type baits that I try quite often but I've still had no luck with them. Same with the spooks, I guess I can walk the dog real good but just haven't had any luck yet.

Thanks for the tips and help, I'll try some of your advise.
...Ray
Do you rig the Assassins with or without jigheads or weights? I would assume without for topwater, but then I find them difficult to cast into a boil.
You're right, they are hard to toss to boils. I add a little splitshot or even lead tape on the hook. Also spinning gear and light line helps. The bass assassin is really only efficient when the bass are boiling all over. If its more sporatic, then you can throw a castmaster spoon a lot further.
I throw the Super Flukes and their extra weight helps me get them further. I throw them with 2/0 Gamakatsu wide gap hooks. I've never added weight and I've never pegged them. I've been thinging of a tiny split shot to get them to dive a little more. But you're right, they are small and light. When the bass are busting shad at patty, I know of a couple of spots that get almost consistant action. It's really a blast when it's turned on like that. I hope to get my kids in on it like that someday.
Where's your spots Ray? :) j/k
Seriously.... My spot on Patty is the south end of the dam, about 50 yards away from the dam. Also, on the North end of the dam, there are two coves, the points off of both of those coves are great when the bass are busting shad. Then in Ash Canyon, I've had real good luck with bass busting shad right before the cliff's on the East side. (about 1/2 the way into Ash. Right before the cliffs, both sides of Ash Canyon are lined with toolies and it's fairly narrow there. Near the end of those toolies and in the area that opens up (just up to the big rock on the West side - cliffs to the East) - that entire area is pretty good for bass bustin shad.

...now where's yours? :wink: LOL!
But seriously, those area's kick bass for me!
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