Hank's Field Notes
Fishing Guides & Tips
Technique breakdowns, seasonal tactics, lake-specific advice, and conditions playbooks — written for serious bass anglers.
Technique
Buzzbait Fishing: Surface Bass on the Retrieve
There are certain baits you throw because you know they're going to get bites. Then there are baits you throw because you know they're going to get the…
Jul 18, 2026Technique
Square Bill Crankbait Fishing: Shallow Cover Destruction
A lot of guys, when they pull up to a bank lined with laydowns, stumps, or some thick brush, they’ll grab a jig or a Texas rig. And sure, those baits catch…
Jul 17, 2026Technique
Spinnerbait Fishing: How to Choose Blade Count, Color, and Speed
Choose the right spinnerbait blade count, color, and retrieve speed for water clarity, depth, and bass activity, including when to slow-roll the bait.
Jul 16, 2026Technique
Shakey Head Jig: Finesse Bass Fishing Made Simple
The morning you realize every bass in the lake has suddenly become a genius is usually when the shakey head jig earns its keep. You’ve probably been there.…
Jul 15, 2026Technique
Tokyo Rig Setup: Why It's Replacing the Texas Rig
Learn the Tokyo rig setup for bass, including hook, wire, and weight choices, why the bait stays elevated, and when it beats a traditional Texas rig.
Jul 14, 2026Technique
Wacky Rig Bass Fishing: Simple Setup, Serious Results
A hook through the middle of a stick worm keeps beating fancier baits on pressured fish. Wacky rig setup, O-rings, and where it outfishes the rest.
May 12, 2026Technique
Punching Bass in Matted Vegetation
Under a summer grass mat the water runs 5–10 degrees cooler, and big bass bury in it. Punching gear, weights, and picking targets in thick vegetation.
May 11, 2026Technique
Flipping and Pitching: Heavy Cover Bass Tactics
Flipping and pitching are cousins, not twins. When each one shines, and how to pull big bass out of matted hydrilla, timber, and laydowns up close.
May 10, 2026Technique
Jerkbait Bass Fishing: Cold to Warm Water Tactics
A suspending jerkbait isn't only a winter bait — it produces from the coldest water through post-spawn and the fall schooling bite. Cadence by temp.
May 9, 2026Technique
Swimbait Fishing for Giant Bass
The right trophy swimbait isn't always the biggest one. Matching gizzard and threadfin shad profiles, rigging, and the slow retrieve big bass demand.
May 8, 2026Technique
Bass Fishing Clear Water: Stealth and Finesse
In five-plus feet of visibility bass can see the bait — and you. Stealth boat work, light line, and finesse presentations for gin-clear bass lakes.
May 7, 2026Conditions
Barometric Pressure and Bass Fishing: What Actually Matters
Barometric pressure moves bass less than the dock sayings claim — the change matters, not the number. How fish actually react before and after a front.
May 5, 2026Technique
Smallmouth Bass vs Largemouth: Key Differences
Smallmouth and largemouth aren't variations of one fish — they feed, hold, and fight differently. How those differences should change your approach.
May 4, 2026Technique
Carolina Rig Setup: When Slow and Steady Wins
When pressured bass glue to the bottom and ignore moving baits, a Carolina rig dragged across channel-swing ledges keeps catching. Setup and cadence.
May 3, 2026Technique
Topwater Bass Fishing: Dawn, Dusk, and Beyond
Dawn and dusk are money, but topwater bass eat all day when conditions line up. Choosing between poppers, walkers, and frogs — and how to work each.
May 2, 2026Seasonal
Spawning Bass: Ethics, Tactics, and Timing
The spawn kicks off when water holds the mid-50s to low 60s — late March into May across the mid-South. Timing, bed tactics, and the ethics questions.
May 1, 2026Technique
Lipless Crankbait Fishing: Ripping Through the Seasons
The lipless crankbait earns its deck spot year-round — ripping spring grass, covering scattered fish fast, and calling bass up when nothing's feeding.
Apr 30, 2026Seasonal
Winter Bass Fishing: Slow Down and Catch More
Bass don't leave when water drops below 50 — they hold the same structure and eat slower. Winter speeds, bait choices, and the discipline to crawl.
Apr 28, 2026Seasonal
Fall Bass Fishing: Follow the Shad Migration
As water slides from the 80s into the 50s, shad pull into the creeks and bass follow. Tracking the fall migration on TVA and flood-control lakes.
Apr 28, 2026Technique
Vibrating Jig (ChatterBait) Setup and Technique
A vibrating jig shines in tea-stained water with a little current — hard vibration and flash like a fleeing shad. Setup, trailers, and its limits.
Apr 26, 2026Technique
Hollow Body Frog Fishing: Mats, Pads, and Open Water
Frog blowups you can't stick are a timing problem, not bad luck. Hookset discipline, plus where frogs work beyond the mats — pads, lanes, and docks.
Apr 26, 2026Technique
Night Fishing for Bass: Complete Setup Guide
After dark the lake wakes back up: big bass slide shallow and feed boldly. Rigging, lure choice, and boat setup for night fishing the summer heat.
Apr 25, 2026Seasonal
Summer Bass Fishing: Beat the Heat Guide
Summer bass fishing is a location problem, not a technique problem. Where fish go when surface temps soar — and how to work deep structure and shade.
Apr 23, 2026Seasonal
Bass Fishing the Pre-Spawn: Timing and Tactics
Pre-spawn turns on near 51-degree water, weeks before most anglers show up. Timing the winter-to-spawn transition and finding where staging bass hold.
Apr 23, 2026Need advice right now?
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