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John's Journal... Entry 154, Day 4

JIGGERPOLE FISH FOR SUMMERTIME BASS

Jiggerpoling With A Partner

EDITOR'S NOTE: My dad sat in the front of the handmade, cypress johnboat in the hot sun and tapped out a tune with his cane jiggerpole to which the big bass danced. While the burnt orange rays of the new sun painted a golden tapestry across the little ripples made by the tapping cane, my father's fishing skill held me spellbound. An explosion on the water that revealed the savage fury of a 5-pound-plus bass at close range scared me so badly I pulled hard on the paddle I was using to propel the boat down the bank. When I released the paddle and grabbed hold of the side of the boat, I heard the loud, sharp pop as the pole splintered in my dad's hands. Often a big bass would break a jiggerpole when my dad and I fished together many years ago. Jiggerpole fishing, a part of the Phillips' family fishing tradition, catches numbers of summertime bass. However, as in all things when the old gives way to the new, some of the best bass tactics have died out. Fickle anglers change techniques and search for a new strategy, a magic lure or a better way to catch bass. However, Randy Howell of Demopolis, Alabama, not only has preserved but also has improved the lost art of jiggerpole fishing, which some anglers consider one of the most-productive ways to catch big bass, especially in the summer.

"When the fisherman in the front of the boat catches a bass or gets tired, the angler in the back of the boat can continue to fish on down the bank," Howell reported. "Often a bass may see but not take the first bait that passes in front of where it's holding. This first pass may get the fish in the mood to strike. Then when the second bait comes down the bank, the fish will attack. Sometimes a bass may miss the bait when the fish blows up on the lure. If the fish does miss, the second angler usually will catch that fish. If I'm fishing in the front of the boat, I'll fish the shoreline or the weedline and not push my bait into the pockets or the cutbacks. The angler fishing behind me then has the opportunity to run his lure into these areas and catch fish."

When Howell fishes with a partner, he often will change positions in the boat, giving his fishing companion the opportunity to fish the front end of the boat while he fishes the back end of the boat. Because you fish the shoreline with a jiggerpole, you'll have the most success during the prespawn when the bass move into shallow water to make their beds, in the spawn, during the early postspawn when the fish concentrate in shallow water, early, late and at night in the summer months, on rainy and cloudy days most of the year and in the early fall when bass come into shallow water. You won't catch as many bass jiggerpoling in the hot summer months after 9 a.m. until about two hours before dark and also in the dead of winter. "From February through the first of June in my region, I can fish the jiggerpole and catch bass all day long," Howell emphasized. "In the summer, I primarily fish early, late and at night. Night fishing with a jiggerpole is a treat. When a big bass blows up at close range on that Creek Chub lure, I don't care how solid your nerves are -- you'll still get an exciting rush of adrenaline. Then I once more can jiggerpole fish all day long again in the fall."

TOMORROW: JIGGERPOLING PRODUCES MIRACLES

 

 

Check back each day this week for more JIGGERPOLE FISH FOR SUMMERTIME BASS ...

Day 1 - Lost Art Of Jiggerpole Fishing
Day 2 - Disciples Of Jiggerpole Fishing
Day 3 - Jiggerpoling Pockets and Weedlines
Day 4 - Jiggerpoling With A Partner
Day 5 - Jiggerpoling Produces Miracles


John's Journal