'Go To' Presentations
(fourth in a series)
by Bill Mathis

I recently asked all Classic Bass Pro Staff Members and Field Staff Members if they had to use one presentation all day long, what would it be.
This is part 4 in the series, featuring Classic Bass Pro Staff Member, Scott Bonnema
and Classic Bass Field Staff Member, Robert Weippert.

I asked Scott and Robert: “ If you had to use one bait all day long, what would be your 'go to' bait?”

We’ll start with Pro Staffer Scott Bonnema. (FUJIFILM Pro Bass Team Member) Scott will take us through the seasons of fishing bass in the North Country.

One could be cynical, and say “The bait that works today”, or also state “Ditto” when reading Pro angler responses to this question. Everyone has his or her favorite 'go – to' bait or presentation, and it’s probably different for every angler to some degree. I also believe that various types of lures may trigger fish strikes in numbers versus quality of fish. While anglers may also argue that quantity will produce quality, it is usually a slight change in bait style that will produce quality over quantity.

Ok back to the question, I still would like to break my response into at least three seasonal periods for North Country bass fishing:

The first period is spring; my favorite first choice is a white/black 3/8 oz. tandem large leaf Colorado spinnerbait. Work it slow around shallow wood, old cattail and lily pad vegetation, also search out dark or stained water. I simply prefer this bait because I like to move around and cover a lot of water to find staging fish during this time of year.

Then comes the summer period, first choice; fish a suspending jerkbait – specifically a Rapala X-Rap XR-10, silver or grey ghost color. First work this bait with slow twitches and long pause (2 – 20 sec. duration), if it’s not producing change the retrieve to a hard fast jerk with very short pause time trying to create a reaction strike versus a feeding type of strike. Best strike results come on 8 or 10 pound test line, use a medium action rod to eliminate break offs.

Finally, the late summer & fall period, favorite bait: All Terrain Tackle ½ oz. skirted jig and craw trailer. Color will make a difference in quantity of strikes. My preference is a Black/Blue skirt with Black and Chartreuse plastic craw trailer. Fish this bait by pitching to various type of cover including weed clumps in 6-12 feet of water, boat docks, and weed points. This bait may not produce quantity, but hang on for quality! This is the time of year fish feed heavily and may produce the catch of a lifetime.

In reality you may need to have “a hundred” different lures to put together a pattern that really works, then you could use “that bait for that day”. I do however encourage you, as I have done, in leaving all other baits and rods at home, and really “learn” how to fish a new technique. You will often need discipline in experimenting; otherwise it’s just too easy to pick up that old proven bait!
 

We finish this series off with Robert Weippert who gives us a different lure that to this point, nobody has discussed in this series.

Robert adds, “Whether I am pre-fishing, fishing for fun, or in a tournament, if I needed to get feedback on what the fish were doing and cover water quickly yet efficiently it would be a 3/4 oz Rattle Trap in a crawfish color. It produces through out the year and is very versatile and be fished so many different ways.”
 

Check the Education Zone at www.classicbass.com for part 5 of this series.

Future series will include 'go to' choices for Field Staffer, Wayne Ek, a BASS Weekend Series Regional qualifier and Field Staffer, Brian Brown, a BASS Weekend Series National qualifier.

Bill Mathis
classicbass.com Field Staff
Team Skeeter Member