Entry 52-2

Mike Wurm's Defensive Fishing

Playing Defense Down South

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.

Question: Mike, pretend that once again you've had a great practice and you're catching plenty of bass on Lake Martin in Alabama on deep ridges out in the middle of the lake during October. But the last day of practice, as you are coming in to the check-out point, a thunderstorm moves onto the lake. By the time you get to your motel room, the rain is coming down in torrents. The rain lasts all night. The next morning you have to put your rain suit on to go out and fish in a downpour. The skies are black. By 9:00 a.m. you haven't caught a fish. You've gone to the same humps that you've been successful on in practice and can't get a bite. Now what will you do?

Wurm: I'll hit the boat docks. Historically, fishing boat docks is the most consistent pattern for producing bass at Lake Martin. Since I'm fishing in October and the rain is coming down, instead of starting with a Bitsy Bug as I normally will, I'll start with a Strike King spinner bait. But I'll also have my Bitsy Bug tied on and my 4-inch plastic worm. My spinner bait of choice will be a Strike King Premier Elite 3/8-ounce spinner bait with a No. 4 willow-leaf blade and a No. 2 Colorado blade with a chartreuse-and-white skirt.

If I use the Bitsy Bug, I'll fish a 1/4-ounce green crawfish with a green-pumpkin trailer. The worm would be a 4-inch finesse worm with a 1/8-ounce lead head jig. I like this worm because I call it an Alabama Shaky rig worm. I put the lead head jig about a 1/4-inch in the worm and bring the hook out, turn the hook, and then put the hook back in the worm Texas style. This makes the worm weedless. I will pitch the worm under the boat docks. However, instead of hopping it, dragging it or swimming it, I'll let it lie on the bottom, shake my rod tip and cause the worm to shake.

I prefer a green-pumpkin worm with a tail that will float up so that when I shake my rod tip, the worm's tail will really shake, but the head of the worm will remain on the bottom. Regardless of whether you are fishing in Alabama or in Maine, you've got to carry green-pumpkin soft-plastic lures. I believe that green pumpkin is the most universally-accepted color by bass.




 

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