Entry 101-3

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

I Love Top-Water Lures

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: Strike King's new Spit-N-King Bleeding Bait Series is one of my favorite new lures that Strike King has come out with this year. I like the new red hooks on the front of the bait, and the real feathers on the tail of the bait. There is a big difference between real feathers and other types of material that lure manufacturers put in the tail end of surface lures. I think the red hooks and the feathers make the Spit-N-King far superior to any top-water plunking bait we have had in the past. With this lure, a fisherman has a lot of choices in the action he gives the bait. He can chug it, hop it or walk it.

The Spit-N-King is productive when you fish it above submerged grass, logs, or wherever you see bass chasing baitfish in shallow water. I'll use the Spit-N-King on either 14- or 15-pound-test-line. The standard retrieve for most surface lures is to pop it, twitch it or walk it, then pause the bait and repeat that action. I've learned to get a lot of strikes by fishing the Spit-N-King quickly on the surface of the water. I cause the bait to "skitter" across the surface, working it really fast.

Another tactic that I use is to pop the bait two or three times, then pause, giving a break in the action for a split second, and then bringing the bait to the boat. We've become so accustomed to fishing the Spit-N-King slowly, that we've conditioned the bass not to bite. So, when you speed up the action and create more splash and sound, you give the bait a different look than bass have seen in the past. These new characteristics of the Spit-N-King will cause them to bite.
 

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