MeatEater, Inc. is an outdoor lifestyle company founded by renowned writer and TV personality Steven Rinella. Host of the Netflix show MeatEater and The MeatEater Podcast, Rinella has gained wide popularity with hunters and non-hunters alike through his passion for outdoor adventure and wild foods, as well as his strong commitment to conservation. Founded with the belief that a deeper understanding of the natural world enriches all of our lives, MeatEater, Inc. brings together leading influencers in the outdoor space to create premium content experiences and unique apparel and equipment. MeatEater, Inc. is based in Bozeman, MT.
All credit for popularizing this slick technique goes to the great tournament proAaron Martens, who died of brain cancer in November. Like many of hisbass fishingmethods, this one is simple but deadly.
All you need is one of these slick jigheads rigged with a willow blade underneath, paired with a smallfinesse swimbait. It’s one of my most effective ways to catch fish all around the country—and you can probably see why. You can fish this at any speed at any depth, around structure or in wide open water. And it's usefulness isn't limited to bass;walleye,pike,crappie,trout, and a variety of others will readily eat this. The blade and the tail create a lot of action on their own, so you can just cast out and retrieve—or experiment with cadence and twitches as your heart desires.
I like to fish this rig on a light baitcast orspinning setupwith braided line to a fluorocarbon leader. The bites are often rather soft, especially during the winter, so you don’t want to swing hard like you’re trying to slam amuskie. Rather, you should just increase your reeling speed until you feel the rod load. With a good hook point, that’s usually enough.


