Entry 84-1
Roger Stegall On Largemouth Bass
The Diamond Shad
Editor's Note: Roger Stegall, of Iuka, Mississippi, is a bass-fishing guide on Pickwick Lake on the Alabama/Mississippi/Tennessee border. Although Roger has built his reputation on catching big smallmouth, he also produces a tremendous number of largemouth for his clients each year. Even though he catches plenty of largemouth in the same places he catches smallmouth, on some days he targets only largemouth bass. This week Stegall will tell us about his favorite largemouth bass baits and tactics.
Stegall: My favorite lure when I'm fishing for largemouth is either the 1/4-ounce or the 1/2-ounce Diamond Shad, and I believe that the Bleeding Bait Series with the red hooks will attract even more bass this season for me. Red is a dominant color in the water, therefore these bleeding baits will not only be hot at Pickwick Lake, but they will catch bass on any lake.
If someone is coming to Pickwick Lake, and has never fished the lake before, I'd tell them to fish the Diamond Shad. I like to use a stop-start retrieve. I'll cast the bait out, reel it really hard for six or eight cranks, stop the bait and then let it fall. Many times if a bass is following that bait, when I kill it is when I'll get the strike.
I also like to fish the Diamond Shad with the yo-yo technique. I'll reel it in, let it fall to the bottom, pull it up with my rod tip and then allow it to fall back. I also catch plenty of bass with just a steady retrieve. I fish the Diamond Shad on a 7-foot cranking rod, and I use either 15- or 20-pound-test line. The reason I like the heavier line is because I can feel the vibration of the Diamond Shad better with it.
My favorite color is chrome blue. In the spring however, I prefer to fish a gold-colored or a chartreuse-crawfish Diamond Shad. During the summer months and fall, I throw more of the shad-color Diamond Shad bait like the chrome with the blue back and the chrome with black back. I believe that not only on Pickwick Lake, but on any lake you want to fish you can cover more water quicker and locate concentrations of bass faster with the Diamond Shad than you can with any other lure.
