When we’re out on tour, it’s critical to throw the lures we believe give us the best chance of doing well in tournaments. We have to do all sorts of things that can be quite effective but aren’t necessarily fun. For example, staring at a screen all day and shaking a minnow can get old in a hurry. Even my most profitable technique, winding a big crankbait, is really hard work.
In fact, while cranking can be deadly in tournaments, it can also be extremely frustrating. It’s tiring, you get hung up a lot and you tend to lose a lot of fish.
That’s why when I’m home during our summer breaks, I stick with certain lures that keep the game fun and exciting. To be honest, when I relax and just go fishing, that’s often when I have some of my biggest catches of the year.
Here are three baits I have tied on right now:
The first is a hollow frog like the Strike King Sexy Frog. Put that dude on braid and that’s bass fishing right there. I mean, I can probably catch a bunch of fish with a soft stick bait like an Ocho, but the key to that presentation is doing as little as possible. With the frog, you’re really working it, daring a bass to strike, and when you set the hook it’s an all-out war.
The main ingredient that makes the frog a useful tool for me is heavy cover. In open water, there are often better lure choices. It doesn’t get hung up and often produces better than average quality fish. You don’t need a ton of colors, either. If I had to choose just one it would be a green pumpkin back with a pearl belly – that’s the best of both worlds.
Over the course of the day, you should really be able to dial in your retrieve. Sometimes they want it dead slow, and other times it’s critical to keep it moving. When I’ve taught novice anglers how to fish a frog on guide trips, I notice that they initially tend to pull it. That’s a mistake – you want slack line to allow it to walk.
My second option is a Strike King swim jig, almost always white and chartreuse or black and blue. It’s castable, gets a ton of bites, and you can use it to cover a lot of water. I prefer to put a big trailer, like a full-sized Caffeine Shad, on the back.
I know there’s some debate about how to retrieve a swim jig, whether to just wind it or to shake it like they do in Alabama. I do a bit of both. Generally, I just bring it back at a steady, moderate pace, trying to bump it into cover. In areas of patchy grass, though, when I get into open areas I’ll slow it down and shake it.
Ninety percent of the time I fish my swim jigs on 20-pound test Seaguar InvisX fluorocarbon, but around especially heavy cover I’ll go up to 40-pound test Seaguar Smackdown braid. I also like a fast reel like a Lew’s Hyper Mag in a 7.5:1 gear ratio. Use that speed to your advantage. A lot of times the bass crush the lure and run right at the boat, and if you can’t keep up they’ll end up getting off. Don’t let that happen.
My third choice for fun fishing is a Strike King Sexy Dawg walking bait. I use this one in situations where the water is more open than where I fish the frog. It casts a mile so it’s super-effective on schooling fish. Remember, at this time of year most tournaments are won offshore, so the obvious structure spots get pounded, but there’s always a bite going on around shallow vegetation too.
You’ll be surprised at how often there’s a midday topwater bite somewhere on these lakes, especially when bluegills are bedding. My favorite color is straight black – I don’t think it imitates any particular forage, but they seem to get really mad at it and they rarely miss.
When I fish the Sexy Dawg I use a Lew’s 6-foot, 10-inch medium-heavy rod. You want some tip, but if the rod is too stiff the hooks will tangle. I use a main line of 40-pound test Seaguar Smackdown braid for strength and casting distance, but I use a 6-inch leader of stiff Seaguar AbrazX, tied on with a Double Uni knot.
When I’m home this time of year, I’m usually out on Sam Rayburn Reservoir a few times a week, but very rarely do I visit the places I’d likely hit in competition. Instead, I have these three lures tied on. They get bit, and it allows me to fish in the ways that are most fun to me, which keeps the sport interesting and engaging.
