Sunshine State Fishing
Dead Sticking for Bass
By: Nic Di Gravio
Dead sticking is a handy trick to have under your fishing hat for getting Small and Largemouth on the end of your line! It quite simply involves casting the bait into the water and letting it sit there...and sit there...and sit there.... until the Bass can't, sorry, until we can't take it anymore! But don't reel it in just yet.................. the Bass is just about to take it!
Dead sticking requires patience and perseverance on your part. Now cast your offering and relax! "Ya, right." That's easy for me to say, but in actual fact, it's definitely easier said than done, believe me! You would be surprised how long a Bass can stare at lifeless bait. Especially when their bellies are full!
Fishing one of Ontario's northern lakes proved this fact right before my eyes. Working a clump of reeds proved futile. I found myself doubting whether there actually were any Bass around at all. But looking down at my Berkley Power Craw coming in from a recent cast I noticed a 5lb ?hog' following ever so slowly. I thought I would put this theory to the test. That Bass stared at my crayfish for such a long time, I couldn't stand it anymore! I was actually talking to it, begging it to hit the bait, but it just kept staring at it as if it was under a spell! I finally took it away while watching the bass dart away, I started shaking my head and thinking..."Where is the nearest asylum, I need to commit myself!
Now you know darn well that the very next cast resulted in a Bass put in the live well and another hard lesson learned. It was so simple its mind boggling! If your instincts tell you that Bass are in the vicinity and you've tried everything in your arsenal to get them to hit, without any takers, learn to trust your instincts, and ?dead stick' it to them! What do we have to loose, besides time. If that's all it takes then so be it, because there is nothing I won't do to get a Bass on the end of my line. Even if it takes all day!
Born In Guelph, Ontario, Nic, his wife Lawney and their son Lorenzo now call Kitchener, Ontario their home. Even though Nic has thirty years of fishing experience, he still feels that you can never stop learning. His love for Bass fishing has brought him to the Pro Bass Tournament trail. In his first year going professional, Nic has two top ten finishes and was a Classic Qualifier in the C.S.F.L Bassmania Pro Bass circuit, placing eighteenth over all. But Bass fishing is not Nic?s only love. In the Spring his passion turns to downrigging for salmon, where he competes in Salmon Derbies. Already, he has a first place win under his belt. And if that?s not enough to keep him busy, you can find him chasing Walleye, Pike, and even Muskie. You name it, Nic will fish for it. http://www.probassfishing.ca has fulfilled a life long dream for Nic. Not only because of his active tournament angling and multi species fishing, but because he gets to share tips. |
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