Entry 36-4

Mike Wurm

Strike King Series 3 Crankbait

Editor's Note: Mike Wurm of Hot Springs Arkansas, began fishing professionally in 1992. Currently ranked sixth in the world by bassfan.com and one of the nation's leading pro fishermen, Wurm has been a part of Strike King's Pro Fishing Team for six years.

Wurm: Strike King’s crankbait line is phenomenal. I have used them all, and they’re all phenomenal lures. There is one size I particularly like; I call it money bait, my go-to lures, the Strike King Series 3 crankbait. There is nothing really different in the shape and the way it works, but there is something about it that works extremely well for me.

The Series 3 runs 6 to 8 feet deep, looks to be about 2 inches long and has a nice lip on it. The way it works in the water is very consistent. It has a steady wobble to it. The lure comes through the water well and is the right bait size. The fire tiger is, without a doubt, my favorite color.

I call it one of my money baits. I have won more money on that bait than I have on any other over the last year or two. That bait is absolutely phenomenal. It is a go-to lure. I throw it around everything. I throw it around boat docks, lay-downs, trees, grass, down rocky banks, junk rock, and riprap.

This lure is phenomenal, and I've used it in very different situations from one end of the country to the other to produce fish. I’ve thrown it around cypress trees down in Pascagoula and Mobile to catch fish and caught fish in the grass beds up in Lake Champlain. It’s a very versatile lure. It is a lure I think needs to be in everyone's tackle box as a mainstay lure. It is something that will produce for you day-in and day-out - no matter where you are fishing.

Question: What kind of retrieve do you use with the Series 3 crankbait?

Wurm: You can vary your retrieve all you want, but nothing beats a good steady retrieve. You don't need to burn it; you just need a steady retrieve. You need a retrieve so you can feel it when it hits something. That is the real key to fishing crankbaits. When you hit something with the crankbait it makes the crankbait tremendously more affective. Suddenly you have an injured baitfish and still just a baitfish swimming along, it hits something and deflects off it, it causes something very erratic and odd, and the fish knows it. So any time you are fishing a crankbait, hit something with it. Make the crankbait deflect off of something.

One key thing you need to remember when throwing this around any kind of limb structure, like a limb or lay-down, be aware of your crankbait. Lots of guys fishing a crankbait forget what they are fishing and just throw it out there and reel it in. But a crankbait works as a field bait in many situations. Not only will you feel the fish hit the bait, you’ll also feel him spit it out.

If you feel it hit a piece of structure, particularly a limb, slow that lure down when you know your coming up on it. If not, it’ll go underneath the limb, wrap completely around it, and hang you up. The hooks may not even touch the limb, but the line will go all the way around and hang you up. If you slow it down and give it long enough time for the bill to catch the limb, the bill will deflect it over. But if you are going to fast it will just go around it. That’s a good tip to remember.

Mike Wurm

Strike King Series 3 Crankbait

Next: Series 3X Soft Bait

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