Entry 101-1

Mark Davis On The Keys To Catching More Bass On New Baits

Fish 'Em High And Fish 'Em Low

Editor's Note: Mark Davis, former Bassmasters Classic winner and Angler of the Year on the Bassmasters' circuit, won the BASS 2004 Table Rock Lake tournament and enjoys fishing new Strike King lures.

Davis: For several reasons, the new Strike King spinner bait is one of the most-versatile new lures that I have in my tackle box. I can wake it just on the surface, or I can slow roll the spinner bait on the bottom of a lake. It's a tool that I can use on lakes that have had a lot of fishing pressure. You have to remember that as a tournament bass fisherman, there is a tremendous amount of fishing pressure on each lake where I compete. These lakes are seen on TV, written about in newspapers and magazines and talked about by fishermen across the nation. So, when we go to fish them, there has been as much fishing pressure as the lakes can possibly stand.

Every bass fisherman wants to catch a big fish, so consequently they fish big-bass baits. Therefore, the biggest bass in most lakes has already seen and are well-acquainted with most of the big-bass baits that should produce big fish in the lake. I've learned that by downsizing your baits, you will often catch more bass, plus you can sometimes fool and catch those old big bass that everyone has beaten-up on with the big baits.

Strike King's Compact Spinner Baits allow you to downsize your lure, without giving up castability. What makes the Compact Spinner Bait a great new lure is that it has a smaller blade and a smaller skirt than other spinner baits. Too, the actual frame - the wire part - of the spinner bait is smaller. Here are some places and ways I like to fish Compact Spinner Baits.

1. I like to slow roll the bait through shallow cover, such as stumps, grass and even rocks. Because the lure is heavy, and the blades on it are relatively small, you can crawl the spinner bait right down on the bottom of a lake. We have two sizes of the Compact Spinner Bait - the 3/8-ounce and the 1/2-ounce. In shallow water, I'll be fishing the 3/8-ounce and in deep water, 10-15 feet deep, I'll be fishing the 1/2-ounce.

2. I also like to fish the Compact Spinner Baits in extremely-clear water, because the bait is heavy enough that I can cast it a long way out from the boat, and then buzz it just under the surface, so that it creates a wake.

3. I'm going to fish the bait on 15-, 20- and occasionally 25-pound-test line. But most of the time, I'll fish the bait on 20-pound-test-line.

4. My favorite place to fish the Compact Spinner Bait is anywhere that other fishermen have been fishing big spinner baits and big crankbaits, because when I put that little Compact Spinner Bait in those places, I'm giving the bass a lure with a new look. I believe I can catch the bass that the big-spinner-bait boys don't catch.




 

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