Entry 309-1

Bass Tactics You Can Use Now in the Summer with Mark Rose

Part 1: Where to Find Bass This Summer

Question: Mark, where are you finding the bass on Kentucky Lake?

Rose: The bass have moved out on the ledges where they’ll be holding for their summer pattern. At this time of the year, especially on the Tennessee River, the bait has pulled out to hold on deep-water structure, and the bass are following the bait. On the river ledges, the bass have current and cool, highly-oxygenated water as well as plenty of baitfish on which to feed. I’m catching them on a wide variety of deep-water lures right now. Strike King’s Football Head jig, the Strike King Series 6 crankbait, the new Rage Thumper worm and other deep baits are producing the best.

Question: How are you finding those bass holding on the deep-water ledges? Are you seeing them on your depth finder, or finding the structure and just fishing the structure?

Rose: I’m using my Lowrance depth finder, the Navionics charts and the Hot Spots maps. Using those three elements, I can see the ledges and the places that should hold bass. I look for places where a bench may meet the river channel or a spot on the river channel that has a little point on it, maybe a secondary bar on the end of a bar. I’m looking for any type of little drop-off that I can find. I also target mussel shell beds. The shad feed on the algae attached to the mussel shells, and the bass feed on the shad. Bass look at those mussel shell beds like they’re dinner plates stocked with food.

Question: Are you seeing the fish on your electronics before you start fishing for them?

Rose: Yes, most of the time, I’ll idle over an area and spot the bass. You usually can figure-out a pattern to look for the fish on the tips of bars or underwater islands or holding on the edge of a break. However, if you don’t decide on a pattern, you can just motor down the river ledge, look for structure and search for bass. Once you locate the bass, you can back away from that site, and then start casting to it.

Question: When you find the fish, what’s the first lure you’ll cast to them?

Rose: Most of the time, I’ll start off with the Strike King Sexy Spoon. If the Sexy Spoon doesn’t fire the fish up, I’ll cast the Series 6 Crankbait. I like these two lures because you can rip them through a school of bass and cause that school to get excited and want to feed. Generally in the summer, the bass holding on these river ledges are just sitting on these places, fairly dormant. But when that Sexy Spoon flutters down in front of their faces, jumps-up off the bottom and starts to fall back, the bass become excited and will go from neutral to all-out feeding mode. Now, if the Sexy Spoon doesn’t crank the bass’s engine, running that Strike King Series 6 crankbait through the school often can and will have the same effect.

Question: What color Sexy Spoon and what color Series 6 Crankbait are you using?

Rose: With the Spoon, I like the sexy shad, and with the Series 6, I like both the sexy-shad and the citrus colors. If the water’s clear, I’ll fish the Series 6 in the sexy-shad color, however, if the water has a little stain to it, I prefer the citrus-colored Series 6.

Question: Mark, how are you fishing the Sexy Spoon?

Rose: That’s probably the best question you’ve asked because most people fish the Sexy Spoon like they fish a jigging spoon. But that’s not the way you fish the Strike King Sexy Spoon. I make long casts and let it fall on a slack line to the bottom. Once the spoon hits the bottom, I rip it up off the bottom and then let it fall back on a totally-slack line. Most people can’t stand to let any lure fall on a totally-slack line. But that’s what you have to do if you want the Sexy Spoon to be as effective as it can be for you. The Strike King Sexy Spoon has all of the action built into the bait that the lure needs to attract and get bites by a bass. So the best thing you can do is leave the Sexy Spoon alone and let it do its thing on a slack line.

Question: Mark, how are you pulling that Sexy Spoon up from the bottom?

Rose: I’m not jerking it up or hopping it up. I’m making a long sweeping motion with my rod to bring the Sexy Spoon up off the bottom. Next, I allow the bait to fall back with no tension at all on the line.

Question: How do you know when you’ve got a bite when you’re fishing with a slack line?

Rose: When the bass takes the bait, your line will jump a foot because the bass hits it so hard. You won’t have a problem detecting a strike.

Question: What pound-test line are you using for the Sexy Spoon?

Rose: I’m fishing it on 15- to 20-pound-test line. I don’t really want to fish the Sexy Spoon with anything lighter than 15-pound test.

Next: Crank 'Em Up

Contents:

• Part 1: Where to Find Bass This Summer
• Part 2: Crank 'Em Up
• Part 3: My Money Bait
• Part 4: What's a Rage Thumper Worm?
• Part 5: Use Them Anywhere Anytime This Summer