Entry 309-3

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

Part 3: My Money Bait.

Question: Ever since the Strike King Football Head jig has been introduced, you’ve been making money fishing it. How are you fishing that jig?

Rose: I like to fish it on 15-pound-test fluorocarbon line. I like the Strike King number-46 color, which is the green pumpkin, most of the time. For a trailer, I like the Strike King Rage Tail Craw. I always bite a few little rings off the back of the Rage Tail Craw and make my trailer a little bit longer than the Rage Chunk.

The Rage Chunk is already pre-cut to be a trailer, and that’s fine. But most of the time, I prefer to have a slightly-bigger trailer. I like the option of being able to determine the length of the trailer that I’m going to fish with the Football Head jig. I also like the Rage Tail Craw because it’s bulkier than the Rage Chunk. Whenever I’m fishing river ledges with the Football Head jig, I’ll have a Rage Tail Craw as the trailer.

One of the big advantages that a fisherman has by using the Football Head jig is this jig is your eyes under the water. When you drag the Football Head jig across the bottom, you can feel the structure on the bottom, even though you can’t see it. I really like to use the Football Head jig in practice because this jig lets me know if bass are there. I also can feel the composition of the bottom.

Now if I’m catching a lot of bass on the Football Head jig, but I’m not catching any big ones, I’ll put the Football Head jig down and start throwing the Series 6 crankbait. Often I can trigger those big fish to bite with the crankbait. I like the 3/4-ounce size for several reasons. I can cast it a long way, even in the wind, and that heavier size allows me to keep the bait in contact with the bottom all the way back to the boat.

Question: What color Rage Tail Craw are you using?

Rose: I like to match my Rage Tail Craw to the skirt of the jig. Therefore, the green-pumpkin Rage Tail Craw is my choice for the green-pumpkin Football Head jig. Now sometimes I will dip the pinchers of the Rage Tail Craw into Spike-It dye to give the pinchers a little more flash.

Question: What’s the real secret for fishing the Football Head jig?

Rose: Keep your rod tip down, either just above or just touching the water. If you keep your rod tip up, and the Craw goes up the rock and then falls off the rock, because the rod tip’s high, the bait will swim from the top of the rock, often as much as a foot or two away from the rock. But if you keep your rod tip down, then when the Craw comes over the rock, it’ll fall straight down and land right in front of the rock. And there just may be a bass holding right under the rock or stump. So, I’ve learned that the most-effective way to fish the Football Head jig is to keep my rod tip down at all times.

Question: What kind of bottom do you like to fish with the Football Head jig?

Rose: I like to fish it on mussel shell beds, pea gravel, chunk rock and other heavy structure. I don’t believe the Football Head jig is as effective as it can be when you’re fishing it down bluff walls.

Question: On what pound test line are you fishing the Football Head jig?

Rose: Fifteen-pound test Seaguar fluorocarbon is what I fish most of the time. Sometimes I’ll fish 20-pound test, if I’m fishing really-windy conditions. When I’m fishing Falcon Lake or Lake Amistad, I’ll be fishing 20-pound test.

Question: How do the fish take the bait when you’re dragging it on the bottom?

Rose: They take it in different ways. Sometimes you’ll feel a heavy thump on the line, sometimes you’ll feel just a little tick on the line, and other times the line will just feel sort of like heavy mush. However, I’m not quick to pull the trigger when a fish picks up my Football Head jig. I want to feel the bass swimming off with it. The best secret I have for catching more bass on the Football Head jig is not to jerk or try and set the hook as soon as you feel the fish. Wait a second or two, until the bass loads-up on the rod, before you set the hook.

Question: How do you set the hook?

Rose: I lean into the rod with a sweeping motion when I’m setting the hook on the Football Head jig. I don’t try and jerk the rod as hard as I can like I will if I’m getting a flipping bite. The best way to describe it is, I’m trying to sweep the hook in the jig into the fish’s mouth rather than jerking the bait to get the hook into the mouth of the bass.

Next: What’s a Rage Thumper Worm?

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