LIP GRIPPER [ TACTICS ]
THE FOLLOWER A
STICK SECOND-CHANCE BASS BY JEFF LITTLE
big smallmouth blows up on the topwater bait chugging across the water, but doesn’t con-
nect. “Forget it, grab another rod and let the buzz- bait sink!” I yell to my client Tom. He looks at me in disbelief, but continues to reel in as fast as he can. I shake my head and pick up a rod with a smoke
gold fleck Zoom Super Fluke dangling from the tip. With a line drive cast, the bait touches down right on the ripples left by the fish. A heartbeat later my line draws tight on a 17-inch bass. For a moment I feel like a jerk for catching a fish away from some- one who is paying me to teach him. I don’t dwell on my guilt for long. The next time
a bass slashes at his buzzbait and misses, Tom immediately drops the rod and grabs another to deliver the follow-up soft plastic. Bass frequently attack topwater baits without
sticking. When they do, it sends an angler on a wild emotional ride. “I had eight or nine good blow-ups early in the day before the sun came up blazing hot. Only stuck one of the fish though,” Tom had said of his previous trip. The right game plan can vastly improve the odds. Keeping a soft plastic follow-up bait ready to go is one solution, but before relying on it, consider the blow-up. The natural reaction to a fish erupting through your buzzbait or frog is to set the hook. If the fish has not taken the bait into it’s mouth, you’ll have pulled it so far away that a second at- tack isn’t possible. Don’t set right away; Wait to feel the weight of the fish before driving the hook home. Look away from the retrieve if that’s what it takes to control your hook setting response. If that still doesn’t yield a better hook-up percent-
ABOVE: THE FOLLOW-UP FISH; FROM STRIKEOUT TO HOME RUN.
LEFT: PLAN B BAITS. KEEP ‘EM RIGGED AND READY.
PHOTOS: JEFF LITTLE
age, consider small changes to a bait that is get- ting their attention. A slash and miss often means the bass is curious, but not yet ready to commit. Downsizing from a full-sized skirt to no skirt and a thinner profile grub often does the trick. To ensure that the follow up cast is immediate, keep your back-up rod at the ready on the deck in front of you. If you have to turn around to pull it out of a rod holder or take the hook off a keeper before casting, the moment of frenzy will pass. Drop that topwater rod like it’s hot; don’t take the time to stow it neatly. If you’re worried about losing that abandoned topwater, don’t. I have yet to lose a rod or buzzbait. A good follow-up bait is simple. In the weeds, try lacing soft plastic minnows onto Gamakatsu EWG hooks. In less snaggy situations, nose hook a soft plastic stick bait with a #4 octo- pus hook.
Jeff Little specializes in season-specific how-to
kayak fishing DVDs. Get a taste of his video in- struction at
www.kayakbassfishing.com.
26 …KAYAK ANGLER EARLY SUMMER 2012
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