Entry 91-1

Mike Wurm’s Take on Strike King’s Bass-Catching Lures

Buzz Your Way to More Bass

Editor's Note: Mike Wurm of Hot Springs, Arkansas, has fished professionally for 13 years and always finishes in the money.

Question: Why do you like the Tri-Wing Mini Buzz King?

Wurm: Although small buzzbaits aren't new to the marketplace, a small buzzbait that you can cast a long distance and then retrieve slowly so that the buzzbait gives off the right sound and the correct action has been difficult to find. But the new Strike King Tri-Wing Mini Buzz King meets this need. This small buzzbait also has a premium hook in it so that when a bass strikes it, even if the fish is well away from the boat, you can get a good hook up. One of the big advantages to a three-winged buzzbait over a two-winged buzzbait is that you can retrieve it much slower and leave it in the strike zone of the bass much longer.

I believe this bait is deadly at any time of the year, but I especially like to fish it in the fall. During the fall, I like to fish the backs of creeks. In October and November, you'll often see shad flipping on the surface in the backs of creeks. You can cast a small buzzbait like the Tri-Wing, which resembles the shad that the bass are feeding on at this time of the year, around those schools of shad and catch bass. I'll search for flats in the backs of feeder creeks. When I find those flats, I'll look for schools of shad feeding on those flats. If I find that combination in October and November, then I feel pretty confident that I'll be able to catch bass by using the Strike King Tri-Wing Mini Buzz King. Besides keying in on the shad in open water, I like to fish this little buzzbait around any type structure that I can find, including logs in the water, bushes or patches of grass.

Another area that I fish this bait that many fishermen overlook is the edges of underwater creek channels. There are always stumps where bass can hold and ambush bait on the edge of a creek channel. When you run that little buzzbait on the surface along those underwater creek channel edges, you'll call the bass out from under the stumps with the sound and the splash of this mini buzzbait. Because it disturbs the water on the surface, the bass can see this lure and track it. So, when a bass hears the lure, comes out from under a stump and looks up, even if the fish doesn't actually see the lure, it can see the lure's path on the surface of the water. The fish will come up, follow the trail of the buzzbait and attack.

Question: On what pound test line do you fish this buzzbait?

Wurm: Because of the design of the lure, you can fish somewhat heavier line than you normally fish with other mini buzzbaits. I like to fish 14-pound-test Trilene line when I'm fishing the Strike King Tri-Wing Mini Buzz King. This heavier line allows me to make harder hook sets and get the bass away from the cover quicker. Another advantage to this bait is because it's small, the Mini Tri-Wing solicits more bites than bigger buzzbaits do. So, if you're in a tournament, and you need to catch a limit of fish, this is the bait you need to use.




 

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