Entry 48-3
Mark Davis on Strike King Baits
The Strike King Series 1XS Crankbait
Editor's Note: Mark Davis, of Mount Ida, Arkansas, is ranked third by www.bassfan.com. He won the Angler-of-the-Year title in 1995, 1998 and 2001 and the 1995 BASS Masters Classic.
Question: Tell us about the Series 1XS crankbait.
Davis: The XS means extra shallow. Anytime you find bass holding in really shallow cover, the 1XS crankbait should be your lure of choice. I especially like to fish the 1XS crankbait around matted aquatic vegetation. The ideal place and time for me to fish this bait is when I find aquatic vegetation growing up from the bottom and heavy mats of grass are about 1 or 2 feet under the water.
Another time and place the 1XS has been extremely productive for me is during the fall of the year when the bass are in the shallows feeding on the shad on mud flats. You'll need to vary the color you use with water and weather conditions. In stained water, I prefer chartreuse or fire-tiger colors. In clear water, I prefer shad or crawfish colors.
I've found that I catch more bass with a fast retrieve when I'm fishing shallow water with the 1XS than I do when I'm fishing slow or medium retrieves. If you pull the 1XS slowly, you'll notice it has a fairly wide wobble. However, I've learned that the faster you retrieve this lure, the tighter (smaller) the wobble (motion from side to side).
I make long casts and use a Trion 6.3:1 reel (a high-speed reel) made by Pflueger. I use either 10- or 12-pound-test line because I want this bait to run from 0- to 1-foot deep. Even though I use a fast retrieve, I'll pause the bait for about a half a second and then start reeling fast again. When you pause the crankbait, you not only change the speed of the lure giving it an erratic action, but you also change the sound of the lure, which attracts the bass.
Now although a bass can catch a lure and eat it, if you retrieve it as quickly as you possibly can, when you pause the bait, you give the bass a little bit more time to see the lure and eat it than if you just constantly reel the bait as quickly as you can reel it. I've learned that running the lure quickly, pausing it and then retrieving it again triggers more strikes than a steady, fast retrieve does.
