Entry 52-3

Mike Wurm's Defensive Fishing

Fishing Defensively in Middle America

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, now pretend you're fishing the Lake of the Ozarks in November, and the weather has been warm - 50 to 60 degrees in the daytime. During practice, you have had beautiful sunny weather. But on the first day of the tournament, the surface temperature is 20 degrees. Just about everything you have learned in practice has gone out the window, so how are you going to find and catch bass? You have clear water and cold weather, which indicates terrible fishing conditions.

Wurm: When the weather gets bad and I have to catch fish, I will always go to the Bitsy Bug first and downsize my line. I will also key in on boat docks, boat ramps and points. These places are where you can always find bass. My primary target under these weather conditions at this time of the year will be concrete boat ramps. Most fishermen will be fishing the boat docks, but few fishermen will be fishing the boat ramps. I'll fish the Strike King Premier Elite spinner bait also on these boat ramps.

Another lure I will have tied on is Strike King's new Zulu soft-plastic lure. I'll put a small 1/8-ounce lead out in front of the Zulu to keep it a little deeper in the water, and I will also try a suspending bait like Strike King's Wild Shiner. The boat ramps absorb heat because they are made of concrete. They can transfer that heat into the water and that warmer water will attract shad and bass. Because there isn't any overhead structure like you find at boat docks, most fishermen never consider the possibility of fishing the boat ramps. So, the ramps will usually have very little fishing pressure on them, and I really believe I can catch bass on these ramps using these lures under cold, bad-weather conditions.

My second fishing target will be floating boat docks. I especially like boat docks that are close to creek channels or bends in the creeks. My two primary lures for these floating docks are the Wild Shiner and the Zulu and I'll fish for the suspended bass holding under these docks.




 

© 1996-2008 Strike King Lure Company