Entry 88-3

Mark Rose

Our Bait Spits Better

Editor's Note: Thirty-one-year-old Mark Rose of Marion, Arkansas, has fished professionally for several years and has several top-10 finishes. In the past, he's worked as a district executive for the Boy Scouts of America's national office. He went pro with Strike King several years ago. Although he's never won a tournament, Rose proves his consistency by always fishing near the top. This week he'll share with us what baits work best for him.

Rose: I believe the Strike King's Spit-N-King is a more-productive lure than other top-water chuggers because the Spit-N-King has a more-rounded-oval mouth than most other top-water chuggers have. When you fish a Spit-N-King, you'll discover it stays on the surface and spits water better than other top-water chuggers do when you fish it through choppy water. In calm water, the Spit-N-King actually spits water forward, rather than splashing water straight up like other baits do. I've found the Spit-N-King to be effective when I fish in extremely-clear water for spotted or smallmouth bass. Under these conditions, you want a top-water lure that can make a very-subtle spit and won't spook the bass.

I use the Spit-N-King anytime I fish open water and want to pull bass to the surface and make them hit a top-water lure. I usually like to fish the Spit-N-King when the water temperature is above 60 degrees. On an early-summer morning, the Spit-N-King can be an awesome top-water lure to fish down the bank. I almost always fish a Spit-N-King on points in lakes that have smallmouth and spotted bass. This lure is really effective on extremely-calm days, but you can also catch bass on points with this lure when the water is choppy.

This year, Strike King has jazzed-up the Spit-N-King by adding to its Bleeding Bait series. Red on any lure makes bass bite it better, but by putting red hooks on the front of the Spit-N-King, I've noticed I have more bass attack the head of the lure. Too, I get more hook-ups than I did before Strike King produced the Bleeding Bait series. Now, I don't believe that you should fish the Spit-N-King only on open water. I like to fish the Spit-N-King under limbs and branches, down the bank and inside boathouses. When I use the Spit-N-King in shallow water, I use a walk-the-dog retrieve by giving the bait short twitches with the rod tip.




 

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