Scott Patton

Scott Patton

Scott Patton Talks Jigs Fishing!

Scott Patton Fishing

ESPN Bass Master Pro and Guide

Talks about Fishing a Jig

Jigs are one of the most versatile and productive lure you can fish. You can fish it as a swim bait or fish it on the bottom.  You can also fish it any color scheme to represent any type of prey! Jigs come in a variety of weights and styles, from 1/8 thru 1 ounce are the most common. I usually will fish the 1/4,3/8  and 1/2 most of the time and also a ¾ ounce jig are good for deeper water or when trying to penetrate thick grass or wanting the bait to fall faster to create a reflex strike.

My most commonly fished jig is a ½ ounce; it’s my jig that I will start with. As far as colors, I like natural colors the best, whether I’m trying to imitate a crawfish, bluegill, or shad, the three major source of food for the bass.

One of the main things I look for in a jig is how weed less the head design is and the hook. I like a good strong hook, and I like it to be large enough to hold a good fish, this is a problem with a lot of smaller jig, the hooks are not large enough to hold a bigger fish three pounds or more. So when choosing your smaller jigs make sure that the hook is large enough to hold the bigger bass. I use a lot of small jigs when the water is cold, clear or fishing for smallmouth. These small jigs will catch a lot of big bass so be aware of this.

On about any jig you can give it a larger profile or smaller profile by the size of the skirt. If you need a smaller profile there are two things I do to the skirt. One is to take out some of the strands of the skirt, and the other is to trim it with a pair of scissors! Also you can use smaller trailer chunks on the jig. The same goes when trying to increase the bulk or size of a jig. I will go to a bigger size chunk, I like the super chunk, big salty chunk, or a brush hog makes a big bulky trailer.

I prefer a 7ft to 7ft 6 inch heavy action rod whenever I’m fishing a jig, by using an underhand pitching technique. I will use 20 to 30 lb test line, depending on the situation. In most cases I will use PBS Fluorocarbon, and I use mono or braid if the water is stained.

As far as mistakes I see anglers making while fishing in my boat is they fish the jig to fast, pulling it out of the cover from the bass. I will catch some many fish by pitching the bait in the heart of the cover and leaving it sit there, without making it move at all. Then I will lightly shake the bait with my rod tip, and then pausing letting it sit motionless, then repeating this process, for up to a minute or two before taking the bait out of the cover.

Scott Patton fishes the ESPN Bassmater  tour and is a guide on Kentucky lake.

He is sponsored by Nitro Boats, Tracker Marine, Bass Pro Shop, Mercury, ZOOM, Costa, Bluegrass Lures

Website www.scottpattonfishing.com

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crashing a Crank Bait

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Crashing a Crank Bait


A lot of anglers don’t realize just how versatile crankbaits can be in heavy cover. Such as stumps, tree tops and other types of cover. Crankbaits can range in the price of Five dollars to thirty five dollars. So most anglers are reluctant to fish them in a place where they may lose their baits. The typical bait would be a spinnerbait, jig or some type of plastic. But you have to stop and think that’s the lures the fish see over and over. Its what I call the path of least resistant.

So that’s why I will fish these crankbaits in the thickest cover I can find. And that really pays off to me in tournaments. What you must do is choose the right crankbait for the given cover and depth. You want to choose a bait that will run right over the top of the cover, but you want it to still hit and bounce off the cover as you fish it thru it. The deflecting lure is what will cause a reflex strike from the fish. You need to know your crankbaits, at what depth they run and on what size line to fish them on. I will usually start with 14 to 17lb test fluorocarbon bass Pro Shop Line; I like it because it is tough and is virtually invisible to the fish. I will use a glass crankbait rod in a seven foot length.

By fishing a crankbait where others are fishing spinnerbaits you are fishing a highly productive lure to the fish. A lure that they are not accustomed to seeing.

While fishing a crankbait in these areas don’t get frustrated at getting snagged. Because if you will practice this on the water you’ll be catching a lot of Bass that other anglers will pass by.

Awareness is the doorway to fishing success!

Scott Fishing the ESPN BASS Tour and guides on Kentucky and Barkley lakes, he is sponsored by Nitro Boats, Mercury Outboards, Bass Pro Shops, ZOOM, Costa and Bluegrass Lures

www.scottpattonfishing.com

Top Water in November?

Scott Patton Fishing

Top water in late November!

Mid November is the time of year when the water temp will dramatically start dropping. Getting down into the fifties degree mark. A lot of anglers would never think of using top water. I know from experience that it can really get a lot of bites and some giant bites from some feeding Largemouths.The shad will be shallow and the bass know this. I have had days when I would be fishing a jig, crankbait or a spinnerbait and only be getting a few fish. Then switching to a top water and fishing the same area, then Wow I would get some of the most aggressive strike ever!

I will still be in the backs of the creeks. And I will fish any visible cover. I use my costa sunglasses to help me see under water stumps, brush piles, anything that might hold a bass. One bait that works for me and is easier to search for bass is a buzzbait. I will fish it slow this time of year, I also like to use a big blade with say a ¼ ounce. The reason I do this is the big blade churns a lot of water and with the 1/4ouce weight/head the bait can be fished a lot slower, and this can be the key to keeping the bait in the strike zone a little longer! The water temps are in the fifties here and keep in mind that the bass are cold blooded and there body temp will be the same temp. Also if fishing clear water I will use a 1/8 buzz bait with a small blade and don’t let this small bait fool you! It will catch a lot of good quality fish.

Now when fishing the 1/8 ounce buzz bait I will fish it on 12 lb monofilament BPS line. Casting it on a spinning, or a bait casting rod. For the ¼ ounce with the large blade I use 17 to 20 lb test monofilament BPS line on bait casting rod.

Other top water baits I like are a Sammy or the top gun. I fish these baits on the same line as the ¼ ounce buzz bait, targeting the same cover.

Fishing grass beds at this time of year can be awesome if its available in the given lake you are fishing. One thing that I know is there will be a lot of bait fish including shad and bluegill or bream. There is a lot of food and cover for the bait here, not to mention it can insulate the water on those really cold nights, keeping the water just a couple degrees warmer. This may not sound like much but it is to the fish!  The lake levels will be down at this time of year so the grass should be matted up on the surface due to the lower water levels. I love fishing a top water frog when I run into these conditions. I will usually fish it on the matted grass barely twitching and dragging the frog in small intervals. Sometimes on warmer days the fish will be on the edges of the grass, and on colder days fish it in the thick areas, remember fish “slow”! the fish will suck or explode on the bait as it is sitting there. I like a 7ft to 7ft 6inch heavy action rod here and I use BPS braided line! The braided line here will help you hoist these fish out of the thick mats of grass.

Scott Patton fishes the ESPN Bassmaster tour and is a guide on Kentucky Lake and is sponsored by Bass Pro Shop, Nitro boat, Tracker Marine, Mercury, ZOOM, Costa, Blue grass lures

Scottpattonfishing.com

scottpattonfishing.com

Scott Patton Fishing: Rattling Them Up

Scott Patton Fishing: Rattling Them Up: "Scott Patton Fishing 11-22-10 Rattling them up! There are a lot of baits that are gre..."

Rattling Them Up

Scott Patton Fishing

                                                       11-22-10

Rattling them up!

There are a lot of baits that are great baits to cover water in search for schooling largemouth bass. The one I prefer and have the most success with is rattling bait such as a Rattle Trap. The Rattle Trap is compact flat sided bait filled with BB’S type rattles inside its hollow body. With it being compact it’s easy to cast even on windy days during the fall, you can make long cast and cover a lot of water with it in a day’s fishing. I like to fish it on long points, flats that drop of into a river or creek channel, and I will even yoyo it on flats as well, this will imitate a dying shad. Look for schools of shad on these pints that may have stumps or brush on them. Also lakes that have grass on them this bait will really shine in the grass. You want to fish the bait over the grass letting it tip the grass momentarily snagging the grass, then ripping it free. This is what will trigger the bass into striking. So I always purposely want the bait to snag into the grass. Also I will let if fall into the holes in the grass let it hit the bottom wait a couple seconds then rip the bait in a upward motion to get any bass they may be looking at the bait as it is laying on the bottom. The bass thinks it’s a dying shad and when you rip it up the bass can’t stand it then reacts on the rattle trap.

Line size is very important with this bait. I will usually start out with 14lb BPS fluorocarbon line, but by using heavier line or lighter line I can adjust how deep the bait will go. The heavier the line of course the shallower the bait will go, due to the thickness of the line making the bait more buoyant. And the smaller diameter line sizes the less drag on the line so it will run deeper. So keep this in mind when fishing this bait. There are several times when I will have 10, 14 and 17 lb line on different rods, so that I can fish different depths during the day. Also the bait comes in many sizes and you can also match the bait to the present size bait that the bass are feeding on.  

Scott Patton Fishes the ESPN Bass master tour and is a guide on Kentucky Lake. He is sponsored by Nitro Boats, Tracker Marine, Bass Pro Shops, Mercury, ZOOM, Costa, and Bluegrass Lures

www.scottpattonfishing.com