Atypical Lures and Techniques to Fool Tight-Lipped Bass

As the saying goes: Keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Florida bass anglers have their starting lineup of topwaters, swim jigs, bladed jigs and various Texas-rigged plastics, but when the fish play hard-to-get, you gotta get creative.

During the Bassmaster Elite at the Harris Chain (April), two top-10 anglers, including first-time winner John Garrett, worked a big hair jig into their game plans. That’s typically a Tennessee River ledge fishing go-to, but the flaring skirt proved irresistible to Florida bass that likely had never seen that look.

“It’s overlooked a lot in Florida and I’ve had a lot of success (in state) with that lure,” the Tennessee pro said. “These big fish are very smart. In Florida, they see all the traditional plastic baits all year, but the hair jig is something they never see and it mimics what they eat the majority of the time—gizzard shad.

“The gizzard shad get bigger than they do in most parts of the country; they grow to over a pound in Florida. They feed on algae and plankton that grows around hard bottom.”

Following that truth, Garrett did most of his tournament-winning work on a 75-yard stretch of shell bar on Lake Carlton’s northwest side. With tilapia and catfish interspersing with the bass, the site resembled something Garrett commonly finds on his home waters.

“That reminded me of something I do back home on the Tennessee River,” Garrett said. “After the spawn, the fish move out to the offshore ledges. During the warmer part of the year, the fish would rather eat a bigger meal one or two times a day, versus having small feed windows all day.

“It’s the same thing in Florida,” Garrett continued. “Bass love to sit on hard bottom, but they love being around their food source more. That hair jig just works well in that scenario.”

Garrett also caught some of his Harris Chain keepers on a Strike King KVD 8.0, a hulking squarebill that also imitates a gizzard. With both, retrieve strategy plays a big roll in drawing those big bites.

“The squarebill is a pure reaction bite, and the hair jig is, as well,” Garrett said. “It’s a stop-and-go retrieve, so when they’re following it and you kill the bait, they run into it. So both are good shad imitators and good reaction baits.

“I’ll make three to four reel handle turns with a 7:0 gear ratio reel, so you’re moving it 4 feet at a time. They’ll get behind the bait and follow it for (several) feet and when you kill the bait, they already have a lot of momentum built up and they run right into it.”

Notably, while Garrett might use 15-pound fluorocarbon for Tennessee River spots in 17 to 30 feet of water, he’ll upsize to 20- or 22-pound line for Florida lakes. For one thing, heavier line will buoy the bait and keep it from falling too fast in much shallower water.

“Also, in Florida, you have to be prepared in case you get that 6-plus pound bite,” Garrett said.

Here’s a few more atypical baits worth a try in Florida waters.

• Underspin: A lead head dangling a flashy blade with a small swimbait is a great tool for tempting schooling fish that won’t hit a topwater. More of an open water deal, this bait casts well and combines flash and thump to entice aggressive bites—particularly schoolers.
• Double Buzzbait: Buzzbaits are no rarity in the south, but take a lesson from West Coast bass heads who love those side-by-side egg beaters. A great option for pre and postspawn blow-ups.
• Tiny Child: If a Ned rig and a Texas rig had an offspring, this would be the result. In its simplest form the T.C. comprises a Texas-rigged 3-inch stick worm (feel free to trim down larger size stick worms) with a mushroom style nail weight stuck into the tail. Weedless and efficient, this rig smoothly navigates grass, pads and other cover to entice the ones that ignore traditional flipping baits. Also try a T.C. when bed fish need a different look.

Trust the Process

Garrett’s fellow Elite and Florida bass star Scott Martin’s not against experimentation, but he’s a big fan of sticking with the traditional lineup—at least to get the ball rolling.

“I see people who aren’t catching them going through a list of different lures that are off the wall for Florida and I’m like, ‘Don’t waste your time trying to catch them on some new lure; focus on finding the fish,’” Martin said. “Don’t think you have to keep changing lures.

“Find an area that has some fish, then you can experiment with some of these different lures to see if you get a bigger bite, if you catch a few extra fish. But don’t lead with that off-the-wall stuff; lead with your tried-and-true, traditional stuff to find the fish and then expand from there.”

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• This article was featured in the November issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. Click to subscribe.

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