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Brandon Lester’s 5 favorite ledge baits

Get a close look at Brandon Lester's favorite baits for ledge fishing.

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Tennessee angler Brandon Lester caught 85 pounds, 6 ounces of bass to finish ninth in the June 2015 BASSfest at Kentucky Lake presented by A.R.E. Truck Caps. It was his fifth career Top 10 finish with B.A.S.S., and he used five main baits to make it happen on the famed ledges of the Tennessee River fishery. In our latest installment of 5 favorites, Lester lists those baits in the order that he uses them every time he stops on a ledge.
Tennessee angler Brandon Lester caught 85 pounds, 6 ounces of bass to finish ninth in the June 2015 BASSfest at Kentucky Lake presented by A.R.E. Truck Caps. It was his fifth career Top 10 finish with B.A.S.S., and he used five main baits to make it happen on the famed ledges of the Tennessee River fishery. In our latest installment of 5 favorites, Lester lists those baits in the order that he uses them every time he stops on a ledge.
<b>Crankbait:</b> Like many ledge fishermen, Lester always starts with a crankbait – and his reasons make good sense. “I just want to see what kind of mood that school is in,” he said. “If they’re active, you can light them up on that crankbait in a hurry.” <p>Lester said he uses a variety of crankbaits, but his absolute favorite is the Strike King 6XD. “That’s a staple in my ledge-fishing arsenal, and I make sure to have both the rattling version and a silent version tied on,” he said. “Once they get conditioned to those rattles, you can throw one in there that’s silent, and a lot of times they’ll bite that silent bait better.”
Crankbait: Like many ledge fishermen, Lester always starts with a crankbait – and his reasons make good sense. “I just want to see what kind of mood that school is in,” he said. “If they’re active, you can light them up on that crankbait in a hurry.”
Lester said he uses a variety of crankbaits, but his absolute favorite is the Strike King 6XD. “That’s a staple in my ledge-fishing arsenal, and I make sure to have both the rattling version and a silent version tied on,” he said. “Once they get conditioned to those rattles, you can throw one in there that’s silent, and a lot of times they’ll bite that silent bait better.”
Lester doesn’t get carried away with crankbait colors. For the 6XD, he uses sexy blueback herring, powder blue back/chartreuse and citrus shad. “Those three colors seem to do the damage 90 percent of the time for me,” he said.
Lester doesn’t get carried away with crankbait colors. For the 6XD, he uses sexy blueback herring, powder blue back/chartreuse and citrus shad. “Those three colors seem to do the damage 90 percent of the time for me,” he said.
<b>Big swimbait:</b> After the crankbait, Lester uses a 5 1/2-inch Strike King Shadalicious swimbait on a 3/4-ounce hand-poured jighead. “If I see fish kind of suspended or if I see them busting on big gizzard shad, I like to try that big swimbait out there,” he said. “When you’re throwing the crankbait, the fish kind of have to be right down on the bottom. But with that big swim bait, you can throw it out there and kind of count it down to whatever depth you’re seeing the fish on your graph.”
Big swimbait: After the crankbait, Lester uses a 5 1/2-inch Strike King Shadalicious swimbait on a 3/4-ounce hand-poured jighead. “If I see fish kind of suspended or if I see them busting on big gizzard shad, I like to try that big swimbait out there,” he said. “When you’re throwing the crankbait, the fish kind of have to be right down on the bottom. But with that big swim bait, you can throw it out there and kind of count it down to whatever depth you’re seeing the fish on your graph.”
Lester said he uses the green gizzard shad color 90 percent of the time. “The color mimics threadfin, gizzard shad, yellowtails – everything that a bass is going to feed on in a ledge fishery,” he said.
Lester said he uses the green gizzard shad color 90 percent of the time. “The color mimics threadfin, gizzard shad, yellowtails – everything that a bass is going to feed on in a ledge fishery,” he said.
<b>Big football jig:</b> By starting with the crankbait and swimbait, Lester believes he’s fishing for the biggest fish in the school first. Once he feels he’s thoroughly exhausted those two possibilities, he switches to a football jig – anywhere from a 1/2-ounce model to a 1-ounce, depending on how deep he’s fishing. He uses a combination of homemade baits and Strike King jigs. <p>The 3/4-ounce model is his go-to jig most of the time, but he will go to the 1-ounce version if he’s fishing 25 feet deep or deeper. As for color, he likes anything natural. “Green pumpkin works everywhere,” Lester said. “I use a Strike King Rage Craw trailer.”
Big football jig: By starting with the crankbait and swimbait, Lester believes he’s fishing for the biggest fish in the school first. Once he feels he’s thoroughly exhausted those two possibilities, he switches to a football jig – anywhere from a 1/2-ounce model to a 1-ounce, depending on how deep he’s fishing. He uses a combination of homemade baits and Strike King jigs.
The 3/4-ounce model is his go-to jig most of the time, but he will go to the 1-ounce version if he’s fishing 25 feet deep or deeper. As for color, he likes anything natural. “Green pumpkin works everywhere,” Lester said. “I use a Strike King Rage Craw trailer.”
While Lester believes the biggest fish from most ledge schools prefer moving baits, he said the jig is good for “more of the 3- to 4-pound fish that make up the heart of the school.”
While Lester believes the biggest fish from most ledge schools prefer moving baits, he said the jig is good for “more of the 3- to 4-pound fish that make up the heart of the school.”
<b>Carolina rig:</b> He won’t go so far as to call it a “desperation technique,” but the Carolina rig is Lester’s bait/technique of choice when not much else is working. “If I’m seeing fish on my graph and I just can’t get anything going, I like to throw a Carolina rig,” Lester said. “A lot of times people think of a Carolina rig, and they moan and groan and say they can’t stand it. But I’m telling you, it works. <p>Lester said some people think of a Carolina rig as a “numbers” technique, but it doesn’t have to be. “If you throw big baits on it, it will catch big fish,” he said. “You see a lot of people rig up a Carolina rig, and they’ll put a little bitty craw on there or a centipede or a Baby Brush Hog,” Lester said. “But I’ve got two baits I throw on a Carolina rig: a big full-sized Zoom Brush Hog and a 10-inch Berkley Power Worm. There’s something about those two baits.”
Carolina rig: He won’t go so far as to call it a “desperation technique,” but the Carolina rig is Lester’s bait/technique of choice when not much else is working. “If I’m seeing fish on my graph and I just can’t get anything going, I like to throw a Carolina rig,” Lester said. “A lot of times people think of a Carolina rig, and they moan and groan and say they can’t stand it. But I’m telling you, it works.
Lester said some people think of a Carolina rig as a “numbers” technique, but it doesn’t have to be. “If you throw big baits on it, it will catch big fish,” he said. “You see a lot of people rig up a Carolina rig, and they’ll put a little bitty craw on there or a centipede or a Baby Brush Hog,” Lester said. “But I’ve got two baits I throw on a Carolina rig: a big full-sized Zoom Brush Hog and a 10-inch Berkley Power Worm. There’s something about those two baits.”
On Kentucky Lake, Lester said it seemed like the bass really liked the Berkley Power Worm in the red shad color pattern. He usually sticks with green pumpkin for the Brush Hog. He rigs it with a 3/4-ounce lead egg weight, two beads, a swivel, a 3-foot leader and a 5/0 Mustad hook. <p>Though some consider the Carolina rig to be a little bit “out of style,” he said it could cycle back around as technology continues to improve. “With all of the ledge-fishing developments we’ve had the past few years, it’s not something a lot of people throw anymore. It’s kind of forgotten.”
On Kentucky Lake, Lester said it seemed like the bass really liked the Berkley Power Worm in the red shad color pattern. He usually sticks with green pumpkin for the Brush Hog. He rigs it with a 3/4-ounce lead egg weight, two beads, a swivel, a 3-foot leader and a 5/0 Mustad hook.
Though some consider the Carolina rig to be a little bit “out of style,” he said it could cycle back around as technology continues to improve. “With all of the ledge-fishing developments we’ve had the past few years, it’s not something a lot of people throw anymore. It’s kind of forgotten.”
<b>Drop-shot rig:</b> The final bait in Lester’s ledge-fishing arsenal is actually a bit of a desperation tactic – but it’s a good one. On Day 3 of BASSfest, when Lester brought in 24-5, four of the five fish he weighed in were caught on a drop-shot. “I pulled up to the spot I wanted to fish and fired the first four baits in there,” Lester said. “I could see them on the graph, but they wouldn’t bite. So I picked up my drop shot. That’s what they wanted.”
Drop-shot rig: The final bait in Lester’s ledge-fishing arsenal is actually a bit of a desperation tactic – but it’s a good one. On Day 3 of BASSfest, when Lester brought in 24-5, four of the five fish he weighed in were caught on a drop-shot. “I pulled up to the spot I wanted to fish and fired the first four baits in there,” Lester said. “I could see them on the graph, but they wouldn’t bite. So I picked up my drop shot. That’s what they wanted.”
Lester, who says he never caught a fish on a drop-shot rig until two years ago, uses 10-pound braid with an 8-pound fluorocarbon leader. He uses a 2/0 Mustad Grip Pin Edge Hook, a 6-inch Roboworm and a 3/8-ounce Tungsten drop shot weight. At Kentucky Lake, he used the Roboworm in a color pattern called Martens Madness.
Lester, who says he never caught a fish on a drop-shot rig until two years ago, uses 10-pound braid with an 8-pound fluorocarbon leader. He uses a 2/0 Mustad Grip Pin Edge Hook, a 6-inch Roboworm and a 3/8-ounce Tungsten drop shot weight. At Kentucky Lake, he used the Roboworm in a color pattern called Martens Madness.

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