Summer Fishing Tricks: Early Morning Bite (Whopper plopper and Crankbait)

[@sbaner5]

I really liked you showing the map when you were on the point. I’d like to see that more often.

[@jamesclarke1568]

yes yes

[@chenyboy1793]

I’ll try and keep that up. Thanks for the feedback!

[@dpfecarotta]

I second that motion!

[@freshfission5886]

I concur

[@PROutdoors94]

“There’s something magical about June bug this time of year” well that’s because it’s the month of June Matt!!! Lol

[@wantutri7225]

😂😂😂

[@callahan906]

After all the years of watching tactical Bassin I don’t think I’ve ever seen Matt as excited as he was today lol .great video

[@erniesanders3724]

As usual another great video from the best bass fishermen on the internet. Tactical Rocks. Thanks Matt.

[@angelrfishing5111]

Love your videos! I fish from a kayak so it’s a bit different but trying to soak up all the knowledge you guys give out and change it to fit my style of fishing!

[@Nate_Cross]

I grew up fishing Chickamauga near Chattanooga. I now live in VA and fish the Potomac, but I still miss the Tennessee River. Such an amazing place to fish. I didn't fully appreciate it as a kid, because I didn't know any better. Now I want it back waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

[@whitefishfins]

Great video - really valuable lesson! As a novice bass angler, I just got on the water at 930 the other day and noticed all the big boats coming off the water, as I am getting on! With the sun blazing down, it dawned on me that I needed to be on those flats at the break of day! I'll brew the coffee and get out there early next weekend! Thanks.

[@okalibre3951]

Just had this happen today but on a freshwater pond caked with pads. All the big bass probably sleeping from early morning action while the 11 o’clock Florida sun was draining me like a sink 😤

[@mikegardiner3934]

Awesome morning video Matt! It makes it even better when I watch your video on my laptop versus my iPhone. This morning felt like I was in the boat with you. LOL I always look forward to more videos. God bless!

[@jaydonbrown99]

I like that he includes how he twitches each lure great videos man

[@jr4233]

You're videos never disappoint!

[@brandonknuckles48]

YOUR VIDEOS HAVE HELPED ME SO MUCH TO BE A BETTER MORE EFFICIENT ANGLER AND I WANNA THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH

[@keagannutt9599]

Love the videos you’ve inspired me to fish more

[@Jrk_1986]

Man, I'm so jealous of you boat anglers. Fishing the bank just isnt the same.

[@chadjacobsen1]

I feel ur pain. We BROKE!!!!! 🤣

[@Jrk_1986]

@@jhorgos12 I want one. But i drive a car, would be tough to transport. I'm seriously considering it though.

[@jhorgos12]

Jason Kephart you can definitely car top an old town pdl 106!

[@jimwilkey7294]

You’re the best! Thank you Matt 👍

[@the_pope_clan2408]

I liked seeing the maps in this one! It helps to see what your looking for. Thanks for all the great tips!!

[@haunt9013]

Ive lived in chattanooga my whole life great fishing on the river! Keep it up buddy

[@tonyjensen7209]

I love intermittent retrieval on the plopper! I like to do what I call the 3-2-5-2. Meaning I'll reel 3 full revolutions, stop, reel 2 full revolutions, stop...and so on. Works amazing at first light!

[@jaredlachance348]

Awesome awesome awesome,me and dad hate getting up early as well lol but do it religiously for that morning top water bite😊 great video Matt,hope you guys and everyone else subscribed to the channel are doing great and catching biggins!! Good luck everyone

[@keandrejones7040]

with whopper plopper i waited for a rainy day like today and man was going ham best topwater ever

[@jonathannedelisky2593]

"there's something magical about junebug this time of year..." That makes so much sense! I've always got lots of bites on junebug (in June) even in clear water!

[@TheWaterHopper]

All about that early morning summer bite. Who else is setting alarms around 3AM this time of year and loving every minute of it??

[@evanhonberger3524]

The WaterHopper dude i go to bed around 3 AM lol

[@TheWaterHopper]

@@evanhonberger3524 lol. Polar opposites.

[@greenpighunter6930]

3:30 yesterday

[@andiiramii2775]

@@evanhonberger3524 lmao same! i hit the water by 4pm and leave when the sun is down

[@shaunroberts9361]

Matt your are just a catching machine. Amazing..... Dude i try to buy baits on line. And TW is sold out of everything..... It's amazing how many people follow you and buy stuff from TW. You guys are Good no doubt......

[@matthewcoulter3991]

I’ve noticed the same lol s wavers and the exprides are never in stock because of us tactical fans

[@pensnut08]

EVERYWHERE is sold out of gear etc.

[@fishing630addictionjcmg4]

Love thos wopper ploppers morning baits

[@scooter8320]

Guys I’d love to hear Matt and Tim on the Joe rogan podcast! Maybe even take him out on fishing trip. It’d be so interesting who else agrees? Plus y’all are all in California make it happen please

[@alford79]

Used the swinghead over the weekend. In the Philadelphia area it works damn good. Thanks for confidence.

[@mafongojr164]

I need to join you on trying swim heads. NY Bass are not so easy to catch at times

[@adamcovington5867]

Thank you for all your videos, so informative and just great all around. The bite is very tough in the south with the extreme heat and every bit on information will help.

[@brianstreet2123]

Welcome back to Tennessee, y'all should buy a home here!

[@basschaser9356]

Awesome video. Can't wait for the next one

[@mikekitchen1563]

Matt I live here in Tennessee fish Norris lake been having really good bite on lucky craft lighting pointer suspending 110 in American shad on morning bite last 2 weekends on smallmouth and largemouth watch your shows everyday showed me a lot

[@coachlance1420]

Great video hope to see Part 2,3,and 4 from this. Always informative. 🎣🎣👍🏼👍🏼

[@kenmccarthyfishing]

Awesome job Matt and PLEASE come to Rhode Island,I would love to meet the whole team,and prayers for a safe trip 🙏🙏🤙👊

[@mikethomas5412]

Great video. I live on Guntersville and enjoy any fishing on the TN. Thanks.

[@justinshedaker1229]

Great video Matt.

[@tedmccarthy1401]

Awesome thank you Matt!!!! Great video

[@mikefurness1598]

I didn't have as much fun as you did! LOL! After all I wasn't on the boat with you catching fish! But that was a good video. Enjoyed it a lot. Now I have to get ready to go to work.

[@wezsal]

You should touch on one thing. I’m a fisherman as well as a bow hunter. In the hunting world on KZbin and things that will always talk about the “time in the stand”. But when it comes to fishing I think guys get discouraged because they see videos and it seems like they pull a fish in every two minutes. Sometimes that’s true, but often times there is long stretches with nothing. I think it’s good to give new fisherman the understanding that time on the water has to be put in to reap the rewards of this level of fishing.

[@wolf122168]

Suns coming up. Clouds burning off. Humidity going sky high. Yep time for some A/C. 😊😊 Always enjoy your chick videos. Next time come up next door and play on watts bar.

[@robertdiehl1281]

It’s beautiful there. Boat crowds really not an issue lol. Cool video dude.

[@bigfah2506]

Another solid video!

[@RhinoJoeOutdoors]

2:19 just watching your retrieve is something a lot of people need to learn to do

[@austinkocher4361]

I use a 130 whopper plopper and they just slap it! I use one all the time I go out and I caught my PB on one (10 pounds) definitely my go to lure. If people think it’s too big to use it’s definitely not even the pounders will hit it I recommend it to anyone that’s looking for some good top water action!

[@midwestfischerman]

I get big bass throwing off ploppers after I hook them up and I start the fight to drag them in. It stands to reason, these are pretty heavy treble hook plugs. The bass can use that extra momentum from the plopper's weight to shake the treble hook off. Also, as we all know, topwater slashing strikes don't always create the best hookups. Do you have any recommendations concerning how to address treble hook shakeoffs given the weight of ploppers???

[@alexcabral8229]

Looks fun.

[@northernbassalliance1442]

The plopper works best for me middle of the day here in Az. Cannot hardly get bit early .

[@lumpiestofcoles3724]

I went out last Saturday and just crushed them on a lipless crankbait It was the googan squad klutch in sriracha craw I caught a lot of quality fish on it

[@ATOUTDOORS]

good stuff man,good fishing

[@HowieDewitt7575]

Love that place,where we live in NC 100 boats would have done rode by cause more fisherman than fish

[@yderrik89]

Hoping to run into you guys soon. Chick is my home lake and I've been out there, just not looking for those champions. I'll keep an eye out

[@blackedoutgst]

Nice video. I'm pretty local to these lakes.

[@williamvarma8400]

What are your go-to early morning baits for catching smallmouth bass in spring and summer? I would appreciate it if you share your experience from up north at St. Lawrence river or great lakes.

[@socalfishingwithcy9029]

I live in Orange County SoCal and the topwater bite is poor due to a lot of people and very few fishing water (pressured). I still throw it and I actually managed to get one on friday on a black whopper plopper.

[@socalfishingwithcy9029]

Check it out, I put the video on my channel

[@jordancrow8417]

Do you throw the a-rig for schooling fish in the summer much? I know how much you like it fall through spring just didn’t know if it was still a staple for the summer bite.

[@garrettmackay331]

Hey Matt I have a question after watching some of your videos about summertime fishing! So I believe you said to look for that strong shadowy cover with access to deep water. Is it different in the mornings? They might be more out in the open for things like topwaters or maybe shallow diving crankbaits right? I live in PA and I've been fishing at a state park and im convinved they're more aggressive fish in like Tennessee and the south hahaaha. Thanks for your videos, I'm just getting started!

[@thechestnutking736]

You guys do a lot of morning fishing. Do you ever do any summer fishing from say 6pm to 12pm? The evening and night bite. If so what’s your means and methods for that evening bite? I work a lot and and only have time for that evening bite and like to hit the local night tournaments on the weekends. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[@kongvang4132]

A bass is a bass no matter where they live. -flukemaster

[@1V2N1V2]

Hey Matt, could you PLEASE tell us more about the Zodias 7'5 heavy? I cant find information anywhere on the whole internet on this stick! -Best Regards from Germany

[@mistygoley8494]

You all should try Dale Hollow if you get a chance

[@garyb.garman8097]

Great video as always Matt! I discovered the Whopper Plopper from watching your topwater videos and have had great success with the 130 on straight retrieve technique on my home lake - Westlake Lake in Westlake Village, CA. Thanks! A few Whopper Plopper questions for you that I haven’t seen addressed specifically in your topwater videos... 1. I’ve heard you say you haven’t gotten bites on the 190 with the stop and start technique. Would you ever recommend this technique with the 130, and if so is there a specific time and place for it? 2. I’ve heard from other pro anglers that the larger Whopper Plopper sizes work better than the smaller ones in windy conditions, and the smaller sizes work better in calm conditions. Do you have an opinion on this? 3. I’ve noticed you’ve been throwing the bone color Whopper Plopper quite a bit lately (while traveling), as opposed to your “go to” topwater colors of chartreuse, black, white, and clear/bluegill. Any elaboration on the bone color and why you throw in first in a new environment? Thanks so Much! 🐠💪 - Gary

[@Chifan71]

I'm stumped...Your plug rod is listed as MH, but it has a lot of bend in it, even with the smaller fish. It looks more like a medium. action. Is that due to its 7 ft. plus length?

[@jeffhcb]

You guys are gonna move out of CA arent you?

[@TreyJ.]

Also later im the day as the sun is setting these fish get aggressive ever catch a catfish on topwater bc everything ended up eating topwater

[@jeffthebean1]

I caught a catfish on a crank bait as the sun was going down a few weeks ago. Craziest thing I've ever seen. Had a 2 1/2 pound bass hit it before that. Hell, I've had bluegill hit a crankbait-probably because it ran through or near one of their beds and I didn't know it.

[@badmofo350]

Caught em on a spook, crankbait, spinnerbait, swimbait and worm

[@TreyJ.]

@@jeffthebean1 yeah for some reason i caught 2 catfish on the lipless crankbait in the afternoon

[@brandondubois3659]

I actually caught almost a 20lb carp on a crankbait as the sun was setting today. Caught catfish, bluegill, and bass with the same one. Crazy

[@Kick-N-with-karter]

We need a junebug Man Bear Pig!

[@jbl2270]

nice vids boss!why does every experienced bass angler fish with baitcasting reel please?

[@daltondefelice4880]

Quick question for you guys. Will you ever fish an a-rig for post spawn and summer fish

[@MrLshot]

would like to know how deep you use the swing head jig?

[@Spoonman6061]

when you go for the morning bite do you run to the furthest spot and work your way back or do you hit closest and then run to other spots?

[@jascobos]

Matt try the magnum rage bug in Cali420 on the swing head on TN river

[@thomast8054]

How is it you guys always not where the fish are? the most important part of fishing. Is it mostly that you know the lake or is it more using your electronics? I think most of us struggle reading our electronics correctly, even though I've watched a million videos on it.

[@gafishinglife1184]

Man, I love watching your videos. So much info! Do you plan on fishing in Georgia? Thanks!

[@pensnut08]

He better not on the weekends... OMG it's like a zoo up here!

[@westley87]

When to use the BBZ1 floater? like its top water, early morning? or all day? only when there is a little wind?

[@williambohling4517]

Is there a reason you guys don’t ever fish tournaments? Would love to see a tournament video.

[@ajwilds8081]

What are some good docks in Tennessee? I just started boat fishing and need some good spots

[@masonlott8769]

Summertime and sunshine in the South is a bad combination

[@ericdelfosse6089]

Ok so I’ve seen you miss fish, but do you guys EVER get skunked!?

[@connorkryszak7530]

What the hell is your sleep schedule

[@tacticalbassin]

What's a schedule? 😂

[@cartergrant9478]

Hey Matt! Thank you for another great video! I live close to the Tennessee River, but I fish from a kayak. Would you recommend trying to attack these bigger bodies of water from a kayak?? Thanks in advance!

[@William-Bill-Munny]

Rip 'em like you're starting a lawnmower!!

[@CommodeToad]

Any topwater works good early morning in the summer time

[@CommodeToad]

My personal favorite is anything that'll walk and pop at the same time.

[@SnipedXP]

I accidentally found this pattern a couple days ago! Smashed em in the morning, then they turned off when the sun came up

[@johnstrain240]

Which model of Champion is that and what year? Just curious--

[@TWISTED915]

I'm using a 7 ft medium heavy fast action and 7 foot medium with fast action 30lb braid is that decent for frogging light cover or what would this setup be better suited for? I can purchase other setups if I need to. I'm a big fly fisherman just got into bass fishing. Please help. Missouri.

[@richardbossman9875]

Try them out, if you find you are missing fish try bending the hook points out and up ( in and around light cover ). If that doesn’t help much then you’ll need a heavier rod. Hope it helps

[@hughsmith9781]

Medium heavy to Heavy is good for frogs just use 65 lb braid with it and the medium with 30lb braid is good If you have a reddit account you can ask more on r/Fishing_Gear and they can answer. I got help there for my future flipping rig

[@TWISTED915]

@@hughsmith9781 thanks. Was hoping my set up would work for generally all baits and especially frogging since I enjoy it more

[@seanbrown9313]

I’m not spending money on a whopper plopper. Woulda jerkbaits work. I catch a lot of bass on soft plastics flukes which are my favorite but jerkbaits make a lot of noise so I figure they would work

[@richardledesma1675]

Hey Guys, can we please get a video on affordable spinning rods. Like strictly spinning rods, for like finesse techniques, pitching, crankbaits, jigs, tip water etc, I am a spinning rod guy and I know a lot of others are too, but please help

[@foreignbeggar3783]

man... I just can’t get into throwing the 110. or the 90. I feel like the sound is off. it’s a more high pitched plop, where the 130 & 75 have that deep plop plop plop. but then again, those are the only ones i’ve ever caught anything on.

[@JonahMoro]

All day tournament from 7 am to 3 pm missing that early morning bite because suns up for an hour and it gets very hot with a lake that has hardly any deep structure to hold fish what do I do

[@seanwood4032]

Run high% points. Main lake or secondary. Look for channel swing points or points with cover rock, brush pile ect.

[@rangerbull]

Don’t know if I bought a bad whopper plopper or what. Can’t move it slow. Won’t turn good unless you crank faster.

[@seanwood4032]

There's a sweet spot with it and you'll find the right sound The tail makes. Can't fish it too slow or too fast

[@michaelsousa-johnson3794]

If my smaller ploppers (90) just roll when I reel them in, would you rather: tie a loop knot, or use a split ring?

[@jeffthebean1]

He's said before that adding a swivel to the plopper would help. He's absolutely right about it too.

[@foreignbeggar3783]

check the space between the blade and the body. i’ve noticed the only time it’ll roll, is if there’s grass or something stuck in it. also, I put barrel swivels on mine, and it really helps the action and the bait to move a little more freely.

[@greenpighunter6930]

👍

[@zukothegsd6525]

Fished Friday morning for 6 hours with frog in grass, spook around laydowns, swimbaits, jigs, worms. Not a single bite. Even went offshore. Water temps 77. partly cloudy. Not a single tip for summer bass worked. So frustrated.

[@DoctorSess]

Weekend Fishing some times that’s just the way she goes brother ✊😔

[@grizzlylosi5057]

When are we going fishing together !!!!!

[@nickcavazos5718]

I tie a feather on the back treble if ALL MY PLOPPERS AND PLOPPIN BAITS SPECIFICALLY FORNTHAT STOP AND GO!!

[@robsongomes9401]

Can you add a chest piece the angle sucks

[@stuartquku9001]

hi

[@Justin.Hawkins]

Love your guys videos, but I feel like it just doesn't pertain to the fisheries I fish. Live in western Washington and fish small (under 300 acre) natural lakes. Bass don't seem to school at all, no shad, natural forage is bluegill, crappie, perch and trout. I've tried applying tons of your techniques, just not working for me. End up just skipping Texas rigs and senkos at and round docks are all that works for me.

[@Justin.Hawkins]

I've tried power fishing, throwing keitechs, square bills, lip less, jerk baits, and not one fish so far on them, not even a bite. Switch to Texas rigs and senkos and do ok.

[@KevinOReilly12684]

"Before it gets too hot"? So all those other videos about how its never too hot were all bullshit??? I expect an answer. Its still spring btw.

[@jjones9143]

You can catch fish all day long. Some of the biggest bass I've gotten are in the dog days of summer mid day. It's just the bite Is the best sunrise and sunset. The fish are everywhere. When it's hott you have to change tactics and they are harder to catch but of course they can be caught.

[@brandondubois3659]

My guy... you get more bites sunrise and sunset. But it’s never too hot to catch something. Just early morning and as the sun goes down is the best time because fish are moving more and eating.

[@vecino420]

Hey get some sunscreen on that thing

[@toohottohoot1260]

Is there an email address that I can use to send you a video of a stick bait that needs more attention. I think after I send you the video of the fall that you will want to at least give it a shot. I'm not being paid, I just love this bait.

[@datruthhurts3984]

So what is it?