"Gone Fishin" by Jer Ridout

Bassin With Tubes..A Rising Favorite It has been an intersting last few weeks in fishing, and in general..just an interesting last month in life. Being called out on a stage and being graduated was one milestone, ending one chapter and then starting a new one. It’s been a rollercoaster, thats for sure, but one thing stands the same..whenever I am free..I gotta fish. Nothing stops me, even after a hard day of hauling scrap metal to Mcgervich & Sons will not keep me from the water. Its been a different type of fishing season though, taking a new level with tournaments, trying out new waters, and of course..new lures, let me share! Private ponds can be considered “cheating”, because it is an easy way to find good fish, but can also teach you a lot..and what I like most about ponds is that you can use more lures and catch more fish with them. When you are less-confident about using this bait, or that bait, try out a pond..but get permission first. Use a lure that you seldom throw and see what happens, thats what I’ve been taking time to do. One lure that was on the bottom of my tackle box was the tube from Hot Rod Baits. Just about a month ago is when I decided to give them a shot..well, now I can say they are possibly my favorite. What happend to Producto? Well, I have been using them also, but not as much. I’ve been so confident on these tubes! It was a cloudy Sunday morning when I used every color of tube I had with me, at a private pond. Doing the same tactic of jigging like a worm has resulted in MORE hits that anything else. Well, I thought to myself, “maybe its just the pond thats good for the hits on tubes”. A week or so later, I tried another private water, this time with Strike King and Hot Rod tubes. In just one hour, I brought in 11 Bass, and used a different color each time! Two fish were over the keeping limit, at 16 and 18 inches, but gently released back into its home for future catches! Then, just last week, things went NUTS! Bringing in over 20 Bass in just an hour anda half, and 5 were keeper sized. My tournaments have brought the same..no keeper sized, but I surely have nailed a few on them. Then it finally convinced me on a windy, cloudy Saturday afternoon. My nephew and I went to a private lake, and checked it out. Using a “Puke” tube (puke named for color, dark yellowish, looking like the actual color of vomit or “puke”. Strange name, but it caught me my biggest Bass ever!!! Throwing into a flock of brush, I felt a heavy hit, I told Ethan this wasn’t a solid keeper...this was a PIG!! Once I finally got it in, my breath was taken away..24 inches and 6.7 pounds! My 2nd biggest Bass has only been 4.9, followed by a 4.6 & a 4.4. After we left, and I was back home I was convinced. Tubes are awesome!!! And to think, I wouldn’t even touch this lure product a month ago! This goes to show you—never be shy trying new lures on a practice or “mess around” day, it could be a key in a successful fishing memory. This year has turned into a sucessful one so far, mainly because I did take the time to use new products, I cant wait to use it every time out on the water!!! I hope you all enjoyed my first article outside of the classrooms, making time work for these isn’t easy with the work I am doing, but I find ways because of this passion I have. I hope you learned a little about “tubing” and always give a lure a shot..cause who knows..it may get you some memorable fish along the way..sure did for me!!!