“The Key to successfully fishing Rattle Traps on Rayburn, explained one of the Lakes top Bass/Pros, is when wind meets grass in mid-February, when the lake is low and the grass is shallow. He then continued to enlighten this writer/angler on the how’s and whys of one of bass fishing’s favorite techniques on one of Americas favorite bass lakes.
I am fishing with James Stricklin, of Sam Rayburn TX, today after launching his Ranger Comanche bass-rig into “Big Sam” for hands-on lessons on rattle trap fishing. James, a pro/bass angler who finished in 3 top-10 positions of his last five FLW Stren events, winning a truck in’08 fishing the Dodge Mega-bass and a Triton TR-196 bass boat from the BASSMaster Grand Slam, and winning $65,000 at the Texas Tournament Trail with an incredible 5/bass 37 lb weight on Amistad.
Moving to Rayburn from Arkansas in ’02, Stricklin set about fishing and learning the lake, which quickly became obvious to all who competed against him in bass tournaments where he initiated his successful fishing techniques by winning four boats and a truck
“The main fishing pattern that anglers key on this time of year, James began to inform, are fishing hydrilla beds or clumps with 1/2 oz to 1/4 oz rattle traps, concentrating on the drains that are located in 10ft to 2ft of water. I’m mainly pre-fishing for an upcoming tournament by seeking out new drains that may have bass holding in them. When you key in on this type of angling, James pointed out, it’s best that you find drains that are near deeper water, and normally when the water is real cold, the deeper the water near the drains, the better the fishing, and the better your opportunities will be for winning tournaments.
“Color wise, Stricklin advised, will be the three main colors such as red, for crawfish, bream colors and shad colors. Just stick with these three main colors, avoiding other complicated color schemes, and you will catch fish. On this lake you may catch them in a certain spot one day, and then they might not be there the next. So you will have to move around a lot to relocate them.
“Good green grass is the key factor for this time of year, and when you find it you have to be able to “rip-it” through the grass by reeling very fast. And good quality reels such as the Shimano’s with high speed gears will do the job. Remember, the greener the grass the newer it is and the easier it will be to rip and tear as you “pop” it your trap through.
“As far as line goes I prefer a flouro-carbon/mono hybrid known as parrallium which is a flouro/mono blend with great flexibility. The line I use, which is promoted by Lake Fork Tackle, has a 17 lb test diameter for smoother casting but a 33 lb test strength for strong hook-sets which allows for stretch quality when “popping” traps through grass.
“My fishing sticks for casting flouro-carbon lines with are medium heavy rods with good backbones and fast tips. And my rod preference is the 7ft-2inch American Rod Smith rod that gives me the ability for solid hook-sets and good grass fishing management. The soft tip permits me to make long casts to the grass and its backbone quality allows me to snap or pop the trap through grass without losing good control.
“In January and February it’s mainly a winter pattern for these fish, explained Stricklin, where the bass are in pre-spawn, where they’re just waiting, feeding and getting big and fat for the spawn. At this time of year the water is cold, keeping them concentrated in small groups. Now, you might be fishing and covering a lot of water without getting a bite and think “Man, they just ain’t biting today, but then you’ll come up on that certain drain, that one point, or that particular patch of grass where you’ll suddenly hook up with a wad of fish. The fishing will be consistent this time of year because of the colder water temps. But when that water temp starts rising above the 55 degree mark the bass will begin to move up and scatter, looking for spawning beds. So the 45 to 55 degree water in January through February is perfect for rattle trap fishing.
“Now, James informed, with the lake being so low the bass will be holding however deep the grass is, which is now at 6ft to 4ft. But typically the bass will hold over the 3ft to 5ft grass which gives them something to lay on for absorbing the warmth from the sun. It’s simply like this, he explained, you wouldn’t be sitting under a shade tree when it’s 30 degrees but out in the sun where it’s warm. Well, that’s the same way with the bass, they’ll be holding over a patch of grass soaking up the rays where it’s warm and comfy. And that’s why the trap is so effective this time of year because the grass isn’t very deep and the trap is something they can react to as it comes flying by them. It’s like having a baseball coming at you and you’re going to try and catch it before it hits you! That’s basically the same with the bass; they’re going to react to the trap flying at them before they even know they’ve hit it.
“The key to ripping the trap through the grass, James said, is when you first make that cast you’re going to start burning it as fast as you can until you’ve felt a tug from the grass tangling with the hooks, you then have to “rip-it” by popping your rod to break it free from the grass. And when this happens, Stricklin explained, just let it pause for a mili-second before continuing with the retrieve. The bass will usually hit at the pause.
“Now spinner baits are also prime lures for using at this time, James informed, and I use the Stanley wedge spinner baits, which is perfect for my style of fishing. And I’ll throw them in the middle of the drains then slow-roll my retrieves, or I’ll throw it over sallow grass and slow roll it off the edge, trying to get it down deeper where the trap doesn’t get. And the spinner bait is good this time of year when the south wind is blowing to the back of the pockets or creeks warming the water and pushing oxygen levels up. Just search for those areas that have shad working the surface and that is a key area for spinner baits.
“When searching for key areas to fish on the lake keep clear of the soft muddy bottoms where the water will muddy up and concentrate instead on the hard soil bottoms. The harder the bottoms with grass the more fish you’ll catch, Stricklin advised.
James Stricklin has grown up with, and fished against such notable anglers as Greg Hackney, Scott Rook, Ron Sheffield, and Stephen Browning, who’ve since moved up to the pro-circuits of bass fishing fame. Qualifying for the BASSMaster tour in ’04 and the FLW tour this year, James, a family man with a wife and three sons, often finds it hard to break lose to compete in those tours due to his priorities at home with his family. “But with a little luck and some sponsorships, Jimmy reasons, I hope to break loose to start fishing the pro/bass circuits soon and follow in the footsteps of his childhood friends
In the few hours fishing with Stricklin, this writer /angler learned quite a bit about winning techniques while fishing rattle traps, greatly improving my skills and fishing knowledge on lake Sam Rayburn. It was a great day to learn and earn the skills for fishing on such an impressive bass lake.
“It’s all in the way you handle your fishing gear, stated James Stricklin, and how you use the tools of this great trade. Bass fishing has evolved into a great sport with its own national celebrities, and one day I hope to cross that threshold.
You can reach James Stricklin by calling 409-698-6039 -or- E-mailing him at [email protected]: Ed Snyder / Ed Snyder Outdoors
