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Do you jerkbait? Do you spinnerbait? Do you crankbait? DO YOU BAIT? On a train, in the rain, in Spain with Wayne on a plane in your brain???
HECK YEAH YOU DO! Welcome to the BassBlaster Seuss-ish 2021 PRE-SPAWN issue – where it ain’t about red ‘n blue fish, it’s about those ol’ GREEN fish! Here’s a little feeshn tip from the Doc’s masterpiece, “One fish two fish red fish blue fish:”
Some are thin.
And some are fat.
The fat one has
A yellow hat.
Can you see yellow hats on LiveScope?? Cuz I know you can on 2D…
Let’s go! No regular or bladed jigs, not because they don’t work pre-spawn – let’s just say more on ’em are coming soon…in the near future…. |
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Today’s Top 2
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One pause, two pause….
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Can you have too many jerkbaits? Maybe, but you can’t have just one kind. Not even Hank Cherry on his best day is fishing just 1 type…okay maybe he could get that dialed in but most of us can’t. So some options for ya:
1. Yo-Zuri 3DB 110 and 3DB Deep 110 |
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Tippage from Elitist Clent Davis:
> I can fish a jerkbait on seawalls around docks, laydowns, and even for suspended fish sitting out over points.
> The main thing to figure out when throwing a jerkbait is the cadence. A lot of times, even in 50-degree water, you can’t work it fast enough, but some days you can’t let it sit long enough. Figure out how they want it and you’ve got one of the greatest bass-fishing baits of all time.
> I like the more translucent colors like “pro blue” in clear water on sunny days, and on cloudy days I usually go with “pearl shad” [^]. In dingy water I almost always go with pearl or something brighter like “table rock shad.”
Check Clent and MLF Pro Cuircuiter Braxton Setzer doin’ some 3DBin’: |
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MLFLWer Spence “Sir” Shuffield:
> I target transition banks that go from chunk rock to clay, or chunk rock to pea gravel. Points adjacent to river or creek channels and in the back of creeks on transition banks are also great areas to target this time of year.
> I tend to fish jerkbaits slow. The fish are lethargic from a cold winter and decently spooky from being out deep. My cadence is normally: jerk, jerk, pause – jerk pause – jerk, jerk, jerk pause. The pauses are at least 3-5 seconds.
> In clear water I go with translucent patterns like “ghost pro blue,” “ghost smelt” or “ghost pearl shad.” …in stained or slightly muddy water I change to a solid painted color like “citrus shad” [^].
> In pre-spawn I tend to throw the 110 or 130 size, with the thought process that bass want a full-size meal if they are going to expend the energy to eat in the cooler water.
> …weight transfer system allows me to make long, accurate casts…makes a difference on windy days.
Spencer gives the bait 5-6 pops to get it down to depth before hitting his cadence. Watch him fish it here (TV vid).
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Brandon “Redbeard” Card talkin’ Jerkbait line size
> Throwing jerkbaits with different line sizes increases their effectiveness tremendously. 12-lb Yo-Zuri T7 Fluorocarbon is what I use the majority of the time [with the 3DB Jerkbait 110], but I change line size when fishing shallow or deep.
> With 12-lb T7, my jerkbait runs about 5′. If I downsize to 8-lb, I can get it to reach 7′. And if I upsize to 16-lb it will only run 3′.
> 8-lb line is key when fishing colder and clearer water because bass will always suspend deeper in those conditions. Not only will the jerkbait run deeper, the lighter line will be less visible.
> 16-lb line is really important right before the spawn because 3-4′ is a key depth zone that time of year. A jerkbait plowing bottom is not what you want, especially if there’s grass or leaves on the bottom. |
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3. Jerkbait shoppin’ list!
Lots to choose from, here’s some:
1. Heard a few folks like some baits called the Megabass Vision 110 and the 110+1 . I said to Chris Zaldain, “I mustache you a question: What’s 110 + 1?” He’s like, “A deeper 110.” I was like, “Exactly!” Both are on my Tackle Warehouse shoppin’ list….
2. The 13 Fishing Loco Special‘s been poppin’ up recently on the tours. Yep sponsorships, but guys ain’t gonna fish ’em if the fish don’t bite ’em….
3. Been hearing good things about the Berkley Skinny Cutter 110+ and the Berkley Hit Stick, which is supposed to have a balsa-like action. Startin’ to get a few good reviews on the TW too.
4. Rapala Shadow Rap and Shadow Rap Deep….
5. Rogues! They might not look sexy to us anymore, but they still do to fish. And they do work outside the Ozarks – and when’s the last time you saw someone throwing a Rogue? Eggzackly! Smithwick’s also got the Perfect 10 Rogue (hits 10-12′).
6. Groups of regular ol’ bass-heads are quietly using Bomber Long As to catch ’em. Even in FL.
7. Any jerkbait Hank Cherry designs, and I hope one comes out soon! |
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Would you, could you spinnerbait?
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If you need mo’ confidence with a spinnerbait, early spring’s the time. One of the good times. If you need convincin’, how ’bout Jason Christie at a Classic a few years back and Jason at the Tennessee River a few weeks back. Gonna start there, with his fave spinnerbait.
1. BOOYAH Covert Single Colorado Spinnerbait
At the ’16 Classic where Jason finished 2nd, he used a BOOYAH spinnerbait with a #6 CO blade. At the TN River Elite, he used the same bait except this time it was a Covert which weren’t a public thing yet in 2016. Here again is his bait from the TN River: |
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That’s a single-CO Covert in the “white/chart/blue” color. Here’s Jason talkin’ the Coverts on YT.
If you’ve got reeeeal dirty water this spring, check the new BOOYAH Covert Night Time Spinnerbaits. Jason said:
> “…8-10 yrs ago I was fishing in the daytime, and the water was super muddy. I just felt like the fish weren’t able to see my bait. I pulled out a black spinnerbait with a black blade and started catching them. Other guys do it too, but we’ve kind of kept it under our hat.
> “Most people think when it’s super muddy to use a bright chartreuse and it does work, but I think the darker the color in dirtier water the more they can see it.”
Got one of the red-blade ones on my desk cuz I can’t stop looking at it it’s so pretty: |
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Ott DeFoe doesn’t fish spinnerbaits, but if he did he’d fish this one – because he co-designed it. Just messin’, but yep Ott did co-design it and sounds like Terminator is:
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> …17-7 stainless steel and the perfect ultra-fine wire that results in the perfect balance of strength and vibration.
> …31 colors/blade combinations [“Nashville sexy” ^] in 3/8- and 1/2-oz…custom hand-tied skirts, oversized eye, tight-grip trailer keeper, and a premium VMC hook….
Good vid of Ott intro’ing the baits: |
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WTHeck is this deal?? Has a bunch of rings from the wire to the blade that “impart a never-before-seen cyclic action” to the blade. Can get it with 1 Colorado or 1 willow blade. Here’s more:
> …patent-protected wire bait with an erratic action like nothing you’ve seen before. Provides a phenomenal flicker and flash as it’s burned, slow-rolled….
> Unlike a spinnerbait that tracks straight through the water, the Cyclebait’s unique blade to wire connection allows for an erratic, side-to-side hunting action…better mimics fleeing baitfish.
Here’s an IG vid, little peek: |
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I’d try it fo sho!
4. Mark Menendez: Big Seaguar fluoro for big spinnerbait bass
Did you know one of the biggest bass ever caught in a Tour-level event was a 13-09 caught by Mark fishing a spinnerbait in the pre-spawn? Yep, and his 2nd-biggest B.A.S.S. tourney fish was an 11, also caught on a big spinnerbait.
When he’s fishing those big baits for big pre-spawners he likes big line (duh), in his case 17- to 20-lb Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon. Says another key is a low-speed reel – like 5s range: |
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If you can’t swing InvizX, Seaguar Red Label fluoro is a best-seller on Tackle Warehouse for a reason and is about $10 cheaper….
5. Trey Kistler’s fave spinnerbait rod
Could you have a #1 rod if you owned your own rod company? Wouldn’t you love all your children the same?? Asked Trey about it when it comes to spinnerbait fishin’:
> My preferred rod is a 7′ [ish] Lite MH-powered rod,such as our KLX703LMH [7′ 3″] because it’s not too stiff and not too wimpy when chunking spinnerbaits shallow around cover.
> I’m alway going to have a 15-lb fluoro spooled up on a size 100 Kistler Series 1 Reel. https://kistlerrods.com/products/kistler-series-1-casting-fishing-reel
> My go-to spinnerbait color is white with two small willowleaf silver blades, period.
There you go! One more thing:
> Shorter rods work better for shorter anglers…a 6′ 9″ rod for folks under 5′ 6″ tall.
Tackle Warehouse has some KLX rods, the Kistler website has more.
This is Trey at Kistler HQ with his folks. Was gonna ask WTHeck is up with it but then decided probly best I don’t…not sure I wanna know: |
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First he tickles its feet then yells “breakfast!” Lol:
> …targets spring bass by waking a spinnerbait across shallow spawning flats in the backs of creeks. A fast pace is required…the speed of the retrieve must also be controlled.
> “A lot of people confuse waking with reeling fast. The key to the retrieve is to reel fast enough to make the blade wake the water behind it but not so fast that the blade breaks the surface.”
Not sure what exact bait he uses, but War Eagle makes a Wake Spinnerbait with 2 big CO blades. TW has all 6 colors, comes in 3/8 and 1/2. |
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6. More spinnerbait offerin’s
WAY too many to list, but here’s some I’ve seen in person or am curious about:
1. Some pro-designed baits: Accent Jacob Wheeler, Zorro Wesley Strader, Picasso Aaron Martens, River2Sea Ish Monroe, Luck-E-Strike Rick Clunn.
2. Anything War Eagle, you can literally not go wrong. The painted double-willows are sick.
3. Heard Nichols makes some good ones too…but not many good baits made around the Kentucky Lake area…
4. If you wanna fish a spinnerbait with a Keitech Fat instead of a skirt, the Jewel Gem Blade is designed exactly for that – and to my knowledge is the only one that is. Check this important deal for fishing slower in colder water:
> …super-durable and perfectly-balanced head design that swims and tracks true at any speed. |
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5. Fish Head Primal Spinnerbait
If you need/want a different look and/or love underspins, this here’s your bait: |
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6. Strikezone Ledgebuster – Always been curious about it….
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End of part 1 of 2 peeps! Back at ya this weekend!
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On BassBlaster.rocks right now…
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> More pro baits, How Clunn fishes for bigs, New Chatterbait species
> Connell and Gussy winning baits, How to mope / Damiki / tight-line
Note: The TackleWarehouse links in this email are affiliate links, meaning if you go through them to make a purchase I might earn a commission…at no cost to you. Click here if you want to learn a little more about links in the BB.
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Ya got me!
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Jay Kumar’s BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best and funniest (sometimes worst) stuff in bassin’, picked by me – Jay Kumar. I started BassFan.com, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a bunch more in bassin’. The Blaster is the #2 daily read on any given day in the wide world o’ bass so thanks for readin’!
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