Entry 281-5
Mark Davis: My Favorite Bass Techniques
Editor’s Note: Mark Davis of Mt. Ida, Arkansas, has competed in 13 Classics and has won the Angle-of-the-Year title three times. He’s also the only angler to win BASS Angler of the Year and the Bassmaster Classic in the same year (1995). He’s one of the most-consistent fishermen on the BASS circuit. This week we’ve asked Mark to tell us his five-favorite tactics for taking bass. He says, “That’s like asking me about my five-favorite flavors of ice cream. I like them all.”
Part 5: Carolina Rig the Game Hawg
Another lure that I really like to fish on a Carolina rig is Strike King’s new Game Hawg, a creature bait that’s the perfect size for the Carolina rig. It’s about a 4-inch lure. Now most people don’t think about fishing a creature bait on a Carolina rig. When you say “creature bait,” most people think of a flipping bait. They think of a Carolina-rigged lure as a straight-tail worm or a lizard. But I’ve found that this little Game Hawg is a really-good lure to fish on a Carolina rig. With that lure, depending on the depth you’re fishing, you can fish a 1/2-ounce or a 3/4-ounce sinker. Because the bait has a smaller profile than the Ocho or the Iguana, you don’t have to have as much weight to cast it a long way, it’s easier to get to the bottom and keep on the bottom, and it’s easier to cast.
When you’re casting a big bait like an Ocho or an Iguana, you almost have to cast like you’re casting a sock. But because this is a much-smaller, lighter bait it’s much easier to cast. Regardless of what kind of lure I’m fishing, most of the time I’ll be using 20-pound-test fluorocarbon line on a casting reel and a heavy-action rod. 
I’ll probably have 14- to 15-pound fluorocarbon line from my barrel swivel to my lure as a leader. I match the hook size to the size of bait I’m fishing. I fish it really slowly.
Question: Mark, are you one of these fishermen who, regardless of how good a lure is, has to tinker with it a little bit?
Davis: Yes, I am. Now what Strike King tries to do is make every lure so that you can fish it right out of the package. But I’ll always alter the color of a lure a little bit, change hooks or switch hardware. I just like messing with a lure, and most fishermen do tinker with their lures a little bit. That’s just the nature of fishermen.
Contents:
- Part 1: Fishing a Wake Bait
- Part 2: Schooling Bass on Deep Structure with a Crankbait
- Part 3: Buzz ‘em Up
- Part 4: My Bread-and-Butter Technique
- Part 5: Carolina Rig the Game Hawg
