One of the most underused baits out there is a hard plastic frog. Not too many anglers have picked up this bait and have given it a whole lot of use. Sometimes a frog bite will last all day long. Usually the fish you get on a frog are quality so the frog is a great bait to use during your tournaments. A lot of people have gone away from frogs because they have terrible luck with hooking up.
Everyday our waters are getting more and more pressure. Anglers are becoming more and more knowledgeable about fishing different conditions and patterns. Anglers are also becoming more versatile and capable of fishing a wide variety of baits with skill. As our lakes become more crowded one must work harder to beat the crowds.
I think one of the most interesting questions you can ask a fisherman is how they got into the sport of fishing. Unlike a lot of anglers I don’t come from a fishing family. No one else in my family fishes. My grandpa used to be an avid golfer and when I was about 5 or 6 years old he used to take me to the golf course to watch people play golf. Well it just so happened that on one of these trips we came upon a guy that was tight lining for catfish on one of those course ponds. He had a couple of nice channel cats in a bucket and I thought hey this fishing is pretty cool. After that day I begged my mom to take me fishing.
My name is Bodie Drake. I’m from East End Arkansas; it’s a small town 25 miles south of Little Rock. I’ve fished for fun all my life with parents, grandparents, and friends. I became interested in competitive fishing while in college. I’m a serious duck hunter and when duck season ended one year I was feeling blue and wondering what to do with my spare time. I read a poster about someone starting a bass team at the University of Arkansas. I went to the second meeting and soon became vice president and a concerned member. My first competition was the 1st every University of Arkansas Bass Team Invitational on Beaver lake. I finished in 4th on the first day and I’ve been hooked on competitive fishing ever since.
Just because you have clear water doesn’t mean that you can’t power fish. Sure there will always be a finesse bite where you can catch them on senkos, shakeyheads, and dropshot. When the conditions get right though you can put some impressive fish in the boat with a technique called swimming a jig. A lot more anglers are starting to utilize this technique more and more but a lot of times the bass haven’t seen a jig presented in this manner.
Truman State University fishing team member, Spencer Clark, shows off some bass he caught on Vandalia recently. Obviously, Clark has traded off his books for hooks this summer.
Keep checking back for articles by Clark and other collegiate anglers.
One of the most underused baits out there is a hard plastic frog. Not too many anglers have picked up this bait and have given it a whole lot of use. Sometimes a frog bite will last all day long. Usually the fish you get on a frog are quality so the frog is a great bait to use during your tournaments. A lot of people have gone away from frogs because they have terrible luck with hooking up.
I think one of the most interesting questions you can ask a fisherman is how they got into the sport of fishing. Unlike a lot of anglers I don’t come from a fishing family. No one else in my family fishes. My grandpa used to be an avid golfer and when I was about 5 or 6 years old he used to take me to the golf course to watch people play golf. Well it just so happened that on one of these trips we came upon a guy that was tight lining for catfish on one of those course ponds. He had a couple of nice channel cats in a bucket and I thought hey this fishing is pretty cool. After that day I begged my mom to take me fishing.
Truman State University fishing team member, Spencer Clark, shows off some bass he caught on Vandalia recently. Obviously, Clark has traded off his books for hooks this summer.