Entry 48-5
Mark Davis on Strike King Baits
The Strike King Series 1 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.
Davis: This square-lipped, small-bodied bait is one lure you'll never catch me without. Any time I find bass holding in water less than 5-feet deep, I'll have a Series 1 tied on to one of the rods I will be fishing with that day.
I've found shallow stumps, shallow treetops and even shallow grass to be the best places to fish this bait. The bait has medium action, and it bounces off of and swims through cover really well. This bait has a small profile and some deadly-effective rattles in it.
I fish this lure with what I call a traditional crankbait retrieve. I cast the lure out and use a medium- to medium-fast retrieve to try to crash the bait into cover and make it bounce off of the cover. I like to fish this lure on either 10- or 12-pound-test line. I've used as much as 15-pound-test line, but I've never fished with 20-pound-test line. I use 10-pound-test line when I want the lure to dive to its maximum depth, which will only be 3 or 4 feet.
I use the 15-pound-test line when I'm fishing this crankbait around logs, brush, big stumps and big rocks. I use the heavier line more because of the damage the structure does to the line than to increase the performance of the bait.
When I'm fishing near big cover and know my line will come in contact with that cover, I want the heavier line. The heavier line has more strength and more abrasion resistance than the lighter 10- or 12-pound-test line. I use the 15-pound-test line also when I'm not concerned about getting the lure to its maximum depth.
