Entry 51-1
Mike Wurm on Consistently Finding Bass
Consistently Finding Bass
Editor's Note: Mike Wurm, from Hot Springs, Arkansas, has fished professionally for 12 years. He's fished in six BASS Masters Classics. In seven of the eight tournaments he's fished in this year, he's earned a check, and he's finished in the top 16 in three of those tournaments. Wurm is one of the most-consistent anglers on the B.A.S.S. circuit. This week, Wurm will explain five secrets to his consistent bass fishing.
Question: How do you locate the bass you catch?
Wurm: Regardless of how good a fisherman you are, how great your tackle is, or how many sponsors you may have, if you don't consistently find bass, you can't go home with a paycheck. When you fish at the competitive level that I fish at, every one of the contestants catch bass. But no one can catch bass if they don't find them.
There are two ways to approach a bass tournament. One is to go into the tournament to earn points, make a paycheck, get a chance to go to the Classic and try and win the Classic. If you can win the BASS Masters Classic, your career is set, your future in bass fishing is assured, and your place in the history of the sport is guaranteed. Very few people remember who's won a single tournament, but everyone knows the anglers who have won the Classic. So, getting points for the Classic and earning a paycheck for my family is the route I've chosen to take. There are other anglers who go into a tournament to win, and they'll use whatever tactics required to win. However, I don't choose to employ this strategy.
Probably the reason I haven't won any more tournaments than I have is because of the philosophy that I've adopted about tournament fishing. When I go into a tournament I look for a area where I know I've caught fish in the past. I know that under certain situations, I can make the fish in the areas I've chosen bite my bait, and I can catch them. For instance, I almost always can catch bass around boat docks. My 1 1/4-ounce Strike King Bitsy Bug always will produce bass for me, and I fish it on 8-pound-test line around boat docks. I'll either have a Bitsy tube, a Bitsy trailer or a pork frog type trailer on the Bitsy Bug. On almost every lake I've ever fished, I've consistently been able to catch bass around boat houses on the Bitsy Bug. I fish the Bitsy-Bug on a spinning rod and reel because with spinning tackle, I can be extremely accurate with my casting. The Bitsy Bug is my go-to lure. I know that regardless of where I fish or what's going on on the lake, I can catch bass on the Bitsy Bug.
Many people may worry about fishing 8-pound-test line around the pilings and boat docks, because they're afraid they will get broken off if they catch a bass. However, I've found that the 8-pound-test line gives the Bitsy Bug more and better action than a heavier line does. Before you have to worry about a bass breaking off, you first have to get a bass to bite. The 8-pound-test line gets more bass to bite than a heavier line does.
Another secret that I've learned about fishing boat docks with a Bitsy Bug is that I catch more bass around the boat docks that don't have brush under them than the boat docks that do have brush beneath them. The boat houses that don't have much brush under them receive far less fishing pressure than the ones that do have a lot of brush around them. Once I find a boathouse that doesn't have much brush around it, I'll concentrate my fishing on the back posts or pilings of that boat dock because most fishermen won't fish those back posts. That's where I find a lot of my bass, especially in the springtime.
The second most-dependable place I almost-always catch bass is on points. You can work the points with a Carolina rig or a crankbait and usually find bass schooled-up on them. Points are bass magnets that provide an excellent ambush site for the bass. If you can locate a point with a ledge, a stump or a rock on it, the point will be far more productive than if it doesn't have some type of contour or structure break. Depending on the depth of the point, I may use a wide variety of crankbait. My all-time favorite crankbait is the Series 3 crankbait because it will run 6- to 8-feet deep where I think most bass hold. I'll fish the crankbait on a 12-pound-test line. Fire Tiger is my primary color choice. If I'm fishing the Carolina rig, depending on the time of year, I'm either going to be fishing a Strike King 3X Lizard or a Strike King 3X Centipede. I like the 3X material because it floats so well. If I can find grass on a point, the 3X material allows my Carolina-rigged bait to float above the grass where the bass will attack it. Over the years, I've learned that the two most-consistent places I always catch bass are boathouses and points.
