Fishing Resources
The Tyler's Reel Fishing blog is your unfair advantage on the water. Every article delivers hard-earned tactics, gear that actually performs, and real fishing knowledge broken down so you can use it on your next trip. Beginner or seasoned angler, there's no fluff here — just the stuff that gets fish in the boat!
Outkast Pond Finesse Jig: The Design Story & How to Fish It
After two years, four prototypes, and a factory change, Tyler's first custom jig is here. It was built around a specific angler — the pond fisherman throwing a spinning rod who's never had a jig that fits that setup — and around one stubborn problem most finesse jigs never solve: hookup ratio. Here's what actually goes into designing a jig, and exactly how to rig and fish this one.
How to Store Urchin & Coike Lures: The DIY Box That Works
Urchins are the most awkward soft plastic ever made to store — round, spiky, and ruined by stacking. After a full season fishing the category, Tyler landed on a build using an off-the-shelf tray and a pack of cocktail skewers. Here's how to make one for your big urchins and one for your small ones, plus what happened when he tested them on Minnesota river smallmouth.
Urchin vs. Jig: Which Catches More Bass Off Docks?
New school versus old school: the hottest lure in bass fishing against the tried-and-true jig. Tyler skipped a full bank of docks alternating one lure per dock, on identical gear, to settle it. The urchin drew first blood on the very first cast — then the jig went to work. Here's the full breakdown, and the situations where the urchin still wins.
Tips For Better Hooksets While Fishing
You get the bite — but the fish comes off halfway to the bank. Sound familiar? Nine times out of ten the problem is not your luck; it is your...
Best July Bass Lures (By Depth)
July is here and it is hot — but the bass are still biting if you know where to look. This is the first month since February that nearly everyone with open water can throw the same categories of lures, because the spawn is over and summer patterns have set in. The simplest way to think about July is by depth: deep, mid-range, and shallow. Here are the best lures for each zone, so you can match your baits to wherever the fish are holding on your pond or lake.
Catch MORE Bass With These JULY Lures!
July is here, the water is hot, and the bite gets tricky — so what should you actually be throwing? This guide splits the answer two ways. Tyler covers the three best pond lures for the dog days, and special guest Alton Jones Jr. — a top-five Angler of the Year on the Bass Pro Tour — covers the three best lures for big lakes and reservoirs. Stick around for the one bonus tip at the end that matters more than any lure on this list.
The ULTIMATE Baitcasting Reel Test (Which Is BEST?)
Four reels. One question: which baitcasting reel actually has the best backlash-fighting, distance-adding technology? Tyler put the Shimano Curado DC 150, the Daiwa Tatula SV TW, the Lew’s Custom Pro, and the Ark Gravity G7 through the same casting, skipping, and heavy-wind tests — same rod, same line, same lure — to find out. This guide breaks down how each braking system works, how they performed on the water, and which one is right for you.
Ultimate Coike Bait - Full Guide - How To Rig, Fish, & Buy
Urchin lures — the big, spiky, fuzzy soft plastics also called the Coike, koi, or “korki” — looked like a gimmick built to catch fishermen, not fish. Then they started winning pro tournaments and putting giants in the boat in both ponds and lakes, often without forward-facing sonar. This masterclass breaks the category down from A to Z in three parts: the why (why bass crush them), the what (every hook, weight, and keeper worth your money), and the how (the retrieves and hook sets that actually land these fish).
HOT Bass Fishing Tips for HOT Weather (How to beat the heat)
Late summer — August into September — is the hardest time of the year to catch bass in most of the country. Water hits its peak temperature, forage is everywhere, and the fish go nocturnal, lethargic, or both. But they're still catchable if you make the right sacrifices and understand why the bite shuts down. This guide breaks down the three sacrifices, the three environmental factors that make hot weather tough, and exactly how to adjust your strategy when everyone else is going home empty-handed.
How to fish BIG soft plastic WORMS (Summer Bass Fishing Tips)
Big baits catch big fish — and one of the simplest, most overlooked ways to put a giant in your boat or on your bank is the big soft plastic worm. This guide breaks down the two main big-worm categories (curly tail and straight tail), how to rig each one (Texas rig, Carolina rig, magnum shaky head), the three core retrieves, and exactly where to throw them through summer for the biggest bass in your pond or lake.
Top 5 Summer Bass Lures - Tips & Tricks
When summer heat pushes bass into deep water, the lures that worked in spring suddenly stop producing. Big offshore bass don't chase chatterbaits or wacky worms — they hold tight on brush piles, rock piles, deep grass lines, and ledges in 10 to 30+ feet of water, waiting for the right meal to drift past. This guide breaks down the five offshore lure categories that consistently catch summer bass, when to throw each one, and how to rig them for maximum effect.
When To Fish Topwater Frogs
The topwater frog is one of the most exciting lures in bass fishing — but unlike a Texas rig, chatterbait, or crankbait, it doesn't work twelve months a year. It's a warm-water technique, and picking the right windows can make the difference between an unforgettable bite and hours of wasted casts. This guide covers exactly when to start throwing a frog, when to stop, when to pick it over other top waters, and when to swap it for a subsurface lure instead.
Topwater Bass Lures - 3 Crucial Tips
Topwater bass fishing is the most exciting style of fishing on the planet — but most anglers have been lied to about which lures to throw, when to throw them, and what gear they actually need. This guide breaks down the three biggest topwater lies, explains how each topwater category actually wins, and gives you a simple three-question framework for picking the right topwater for any pond, lake, or river you fish.
Top 5 Pond Fishing Tips - Bank Fishing 101
Pond fishing rewards the angler who thinks past lures and into fish behavior, water knowledge, and casting strategy. Sometimes blaming the fish is fair — they really can have off days. But most of the time, there's something you could have done as the angler to put yourself in the right spot at the right time with the right cast. This guide breaks down the top five pond fishing tips that consistently turn skunkings into solid days on the bank.
Don't Forget to Fish This Summer Lure - Big Ribbon Tail Worm
Every summer, anglers reach for the same handful of skunk-buster lures — small worms, drop shots, Ned rigs, wacky rigs. They work. But they leave a huge category of summer bass fishing untouched: the big curly-tail worm. It's been catching bass for 50+ years, then got pushed aside by finesse trends, and now sits forgotten in most tackle boxes. Here's why that's a mistake, and how to fish it for some of the biggest summer bass of your year.
Topwater Frog Mistakes Every Angler Makes
A topwater frog bite is one of the most exciting things in bass fishing — but it's also one of the most frustrating when fish blow up on your bait and come off. Most of the time it's not bad luck. It's the same fixable mistake: the wrong rod, reel, and line for where frogs are supposed to be thrown. Here's how to stop leaving fish in the weeds.