Fishing tips and tactics

AUGER SPINNERBAITS AND AUGER LURES

How to catch more fish:

Strategies, tips, tactics,

and techniques

    Oct. 18, 2001, Kinnewick, Washington -- Jim
    Hamilton of Sun Valley, AZ, caught the big
    fish of the Citgo Bassmaster Tournament,
    a huge 6 lb 3 ou smallmouth. He would
    only say that he got it on a Carolina Rig.

                                 By Jim Hamilton, retired Bassmaster

     Estimates are that at least 25 million people will fish for bass this year in America. Everyone of these fishermen is looking for the edge...a way to land more big bass and other species than other fishermen...a bait that will attract and trigger a big bass' instinct to bite. The Auger Lure is designed with that in mind...for the serious tournament contender...and for the novice who is merely out for a day on the water.

As the great Bill Dance says, to catch bass, you must consider presentation, location and depth; and I agree. Many of these strategies, tips and techniques will refer directly and/or indirectly to these three considerations.

First, a few generalities:

Try to match your bait color to the surroundings in, around and above the water -- not just the baitfish or crawdads -- but the foliage on the bank and even the sky. If the banks are full of grass, you might want to pull out a green Auger Lure. For brown grass, maybe the gold. If you have flowers growing near the water, red or yellow might be well suited. Silver goes well with a bright, blue sky while a white Auger Lure might work best with the big round clouds.
The size (diameter) of the lure is very important to the size of the fish you want to catch. In a small river or stream where the biggest bass might be a 3-pounder -- bass growth is dependent upon the kind of water they live in; lake, river, stream -- the smaller diameters (3/8 inch or 1/2 inch) will likely be more effective. In a lake or pond where five pounders and larger are common, certainly the larger diameter (7/8 inch or 1 inch) is a good bet. Two things to remember here are: a) a bass can eat food more than half its size, and b) as Bill Dance informs us, “an elephant will eat a peanut, but won't chase it very far.” General rule is: the bigger the bait, the bigger the catch.
Bass eat live things...or things their instinct tells them are alive...so speed of retrieval is very important, especially in relation to water clarity. Basically, the clearer the water, the faster the retrieval to keep the fish from getting a good look at it. Remember, you are going after reaction bites, for the most part.
Finally – there is nothing worse than the best laid plans -- if you aren't getting bitten, change something. Remember that hot lure from yesterday might not work today. For that matter, what worked early this morning may be useless after the sun comes up. To this end, the Auger Lure lends itself to numerous tactics and strategies.

How to fish the Auger Lure

Topwater -- Nothing could be more easy. Tie on the Auger Lure, cast it out and retrieve. It's like a subtle buzzbait. Vary retrieval rates and swing the tip of your rod back and forth. A herky-jerky motion may trick a big bass into that awesome topwater bite that strikes overwhelming excitement in every fisherman. Set the hook upwards, remembering you have a treble hook on. A hook set straight from the bass may give you a lip or weak hookup, or could even pull the lure out of the bass' mouth...and bring tears to your eyes (or a stutter to your lips).

Split Shot – When the bass aren't coming to the top to bite, you may want to fish a little deeper. This has always been one of my favorite rigs because you can change depths with ease. Simple rule is, to go deeper, add a bigger weight. How deep you want to go and the size of your lure are the determining factors. Generally, a 1/8 ou weight is all that is needed for the smaller diameter Auger Lures. To go really deep, add a ½ ou split shot. Once you cast out, you can count your lure down...about a second per foot is a good rate if weighted properly. Make sure you stay in contact with your lure because the Auger Lure gets many strikes on the way down. Placement of the weight is important. In more shallow water, say four or five feet, I like to place the weight about 4 feet from the lure. In water 10 feet or more, 2 feet is probably far enough away. A friend declared, the Auger Lure is the ultimate finesse bait...without the finesse. Tournament pros are mostly forbidden from trolling but for those who enjoy this method of fishing, the Auger Lure is tops.

Ice fishing – The Auger Lure may be fished in ice. Yes! What? How? Ok, tie it on like a Texas Rig, only use a larger than normal hollow sinker. Hold the lure and drop the weight into the hole and let it take line, all the way to the bottom works best. Release the lure and reel it down slowly. Set the brake really stiff and set the hook a little softer than normal. Keep the line tight as you reel in the fish. Simply repeat the process for more fish, or if you get no bite or miss the hookup. You will be amazed at the strikes you get, and the fish you will catch. This works on trout, bass, muskies, panfish, bluegill, crappie, pike and an array of species.

Texas Rig -- Use the smallest weight you can get away with (generally cone-shaped with a hole in it). Varying retrieval speed along with raising and sweeping your rod tip will often entice strikes. You can go from a few fast retrievals to a full stop, giving line with your rod tip so that the lure sinks slowly (stay in contact with the lure) and then resume cranking. Don't forget with the Auger Lure -- as long as it is in the water and not on bottom -- the auger is turning so stay in contact with the bait. This means keep the slack out of your line even when allowing to sink.

Jerkbait – This technique is made for the Auger Lure and works great shallow. Cast at a 45 degree angle to the bank. Then allow a few seconds for the Auger Lure to sink. A jerk, pause...jerk, jerk, pause retrieve works best. The colder the water, the longer the pause. Pay close attention during the pause as this is when a lot of strikes occur.

Swimbait – Rig with bullet weight in front of lure just like Texas Rig. Cast it out. Let the Auger Lure sink to the level of the fish. Then, reel it in slowly but steadily, remembering that the size of weight and diameter of the Auger can make the Auger Lure run at any depth. Works great in open water and on points.

California Keeper Rig – This is rigged the same as the Texas Rig. A small split shot is added usually about 18 inches from the lure and stops the hollow sinker from going all of the way to the lure. This gives erratic action when the split shot comes in contact with the hollow sinker and/or structure like rocks, so don't drag bottom. This rig is usually fished at depths of 10 feet or more.

Carolina Rig – One of the oldest and most effective methods ever employed, use this rig when you want to drag the bottom of a river. Cast up stream and bring it back to you. The Auger Lure bounces along the bottom of a lake as well. The inherent danger is hanging up and breaking off. Many pros use this method to put lunkers in the boat. It can be extremely effective.

Bed Fishing – Yes, bed fishing! The Auger lure is a "killer" bed fishing bait. Rig like the Texas Rig except instead of a small weight, use an oversize weight (at least ½ ounce). Pitch the Auger lure on the bed and be ready to set the hook, especially with smallmouth bass as much of the time they eat the auger lure right as it begins to sink and spin. If no bite by the time it hits bottom, jig it up and down to imitate a minnow eating eggs.

36 Auger Lures available: six diameters (3/8”, 1/2”, 5/8”, 3/4”, 7/8”, 1") and six colors (green, gold, red, silver, white and yellow)

How to fish the Auger Spinnerbait

Basic cast and retrieve – The first key when doing this is the speed at which the lure is retrieved. Sometimes real fast and sometimes really slow, but most of the time a steady slow to medium retrieve is the best. The other equally important factor when doing this is bait placement. Cast where the Auger spinnerbait is going to bump as much cover as possible on the way back in. Most of the time with this technique, relatively shallow water is best, say 0-10 feet with 0-5 feet being optimal. When the bait bumps the cover is another important factor. The best thing to do is jerk the bait about 6 to 12 inches after coming in contact with structure. Do this by either cranking the reel a couple of times quickly, or by snapping the rod about 6-12 inches. Resume the retrieval. A lot of strikes will happen in that split second right before resuming the retrieval, so be ready.

Lift and Drop – This technique is best at mid depth ranges (10-20 feet). Cast to target area, let the Auger Spinnerbait sink on a controlled slack line, paying attention for strikes as it sinks. Once the lure is on bottom, crank the reel 4-6 times quickly, and repeat. Most bites occur right when the lure is stopped or right when the retrieval is started again.

Fast Pitching – This tactic is only good in very shallow water (0-5 feet) with 0-3 feet being the best. When you know the fish are tight to the cover, this technique will catch you more spinnerbait fish faster than you have ever caught them before. You can cover miles of water instead of just a few hundred yards in a day's time. Simply pitch, cast, or flip your Auger Spinnerbait to every available piece of cover encountered (logs, brush, stumps, rocks -- leave nothing behind). Let the Auger Spinnerbait fall to the bottom. If you're not bitten by then, reel in as fast as you can and repeat. Three of four strikes will be the split second after the Auger Spinnerbait hits the water, the rest will be before you turn the reel handle three times. Be ready for some of the most violent, vicious strikes you've ever had.

Burning or Waking – A technique made for smallmouth. Cast out the Auger
Spinnerbait. Reel as fast as possible without the lure coming out of the water. If done properly, there will be a wake left behind the lure similar to that of a buzzbait, only a little more subtle. A super tactic when you think the bass should be taking a buzzbait, but they are not, or they are not hooking up on a buzzbait.

Dragging – This is slow rolling on tranquilizers. This strategy should only be used in places where the cover is more sparse (same places you fish a Carolina rig). Cast out the Auger Spinnerbait and let it sink to the bottom. Once you're sure the lure is on bottom, count to ten. Then drag the Auger Spinnerbait with the rod very, very slowly 6 inches to one foot. Do not use the reel to move the lure. Only use the reel to take up the slack line between moving the Auger Spinnerbait with the rod. Repeat the ten count between dragging the lure. If you're doing this technique right, the paint will wear off the head of the spinnerbait much faster than normal. No worries though, a little fingernail polish will fix it right up. Besides, the fish you catch doing this will more than make up for it. Try it, you'll love the results.