How-To

Bailout baits of the pros

Should plans A, B, C and D fail to put bass in the livewell, Elite Series pros resort to time-tested lures to bail them out. Their fallback lures are as varied as the pros themselves, and some of their choices may surprise you.

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When his fishing goes south, Bobby Lane resorts to a Humdinger spinnerbait, a Sebile 1.5 crankbait or a Berkley Havoc Bottom Hopper.
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The Sebile 1.5 square bill crankbait is a little smaller than other 1.5 models, Lane claims. “I like the sunfish color,” he says. “You throw this little bait around riprap or wood and bites are guaranteed.”
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“I can always to go a 3/8-ounce Humdinger spinnerbait and catch fish,” Lane says. “A basic willow leaf/Colorado combination with a chartreuse and white skirt is hard to beat.”
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A Berkley Havoc straight-tail Bottom Hopper worm in the Shady Watermelon Candy color catches bass for Lane when Texas rigged, wacky rigged, Carolina rigged or paired with a shaky head jig.
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Kevin Ledoux covers his assets with a Reaction Innovations Flirt Worm, a Jackall Crosstail Shad and a Luck-E-Strike RC2 square bill crankbait.
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“The Series 2 RC2 covers water fast and there are a lot of baitfish that size.” Ledoux says. He fishes it on 15-pound Seaguar InvizX Fluorocarbon.
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The Reaction Innovations Flirt worm has a big profile for a finesse worm, Ledoux claims. He rigs it on a 1/8-ounce Strike King Tour Grade Shaky Head Jig.
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“The little Crosstail Shad mimics everything from a goby to a shad,” says Ledoux. This is his go-to split shot bait. He nose hooks it with a #1 Gamakatsu Split Shot hook.
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Pete Ponds smiles over his favorite bailout baits, a Bandit 200 cranker, a Robo Worm and a Big Bite Baits Wacky Stick.
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“Bold Bluegill is the only color you need when you drop shot a Robo Worm,” Ponds says.
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“The Bandit 200 runs 5- to 7-feet deep and has been my confidence bait forever,” Ponds says. “I fish it on 10-pound Vicious Fluorocarbon line.”
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Ponds rigs the Big Bite Baits Wacky Stick wacky style with a Gamakatsu #1 weedless hook. He cuts the weed guard short. He slings this bait with spinning tackle on 8-pound Vicious Fluorocarbon.
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Kurt Dove has confidence in the Missile Bait’s D Bomb, a Robo Worm with a Slider Head jig and a Robo Worm rigged for split shotting.
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Dove Texas rigs a 4-inch Robo Worm with a #1 Rebarb hook when he drop shots around cover. “When bass get tough to catch, they’re usually around some type of cover,” Dove says.
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A 1/8-ounce Charlie Brewer Slider head is a perfect match for the Robo Worm when bass get lockjaw, Dove claims. He fishes it on 8-pound test Toray Solaroam Upgrade fluorocarbon.
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Missile Bait’s D Bomb has a large profile, but Dove claims it coaxes bites from shy bass. He Texas rigs it with a 3/0 Owner hook a 3/16-ounce sinker and casts it on 16-pound Toray Solaroam Upgrade fluorocarbon.
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Michigan’s Chad Pipkens is all about soft plastic baits when bass get gun shy. His go-to baits include Poor Boy’s DS Darter and Jerkworm, and Damiki’s Cutter worm.
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Pipkens rigs Damiki’s Cutter Worm on a 1/8-ounce shaky head jig and fishes it on 8-pound Sunline Sniper Fluorocarbon.
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Poor Boy’s DS Darter is Pipkens drop shot bait. He nose hooks it with a Gamakatsu 1/0 Drop Shot Hook and casts it on 8-pound Sunline Sniper.
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A 5-inch Poor Boy’s Jerk Worm rigged wacky style with a 2/0 weedless hook keeps Pipkens in touch with bass when the bite is tough. He casts it with spinning tackle matched with 30-pound Sunline SX1 Braided Line and a 10-pound Sunline Sniper leader.
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Ohio’s Michael Simonton is all about soft finesse baits when the bass get temperamental. His lures include a discontinued Berkley 3-inch craw, a generic 4-inch ring worm and a 4-inch Berkley PowerBait worm.
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A 4-inch Berkley PowerBait worm Texas rigged with a #1 Rebarb hook and a 1/8-ounce tungsten sinker pegged with a bobber stop is strong medicine for an empty livewell, Simonton Claims.
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Simonton rigs the discontinued 3-inch Berkley craw the same way he does the 4-inch PowerBait worm.
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The 4-inch ring worm also gets the same rigging. Simonton fishes all three baits with spinning tackle and 12-pound Berkley NanoFil Line with a 12-pound fluorocarbon leader.

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