Entry 99-4

George Cochran On Strike King Lures

The PP Spinner Bait

Editor's Note: George Cochran of Hot Springs, Arkansas, one of the truly-nice guys on the professional bass-fishing circuit and a longtime member of Strike King's Pro Fishing Team, doesn't call attention to himself. But when tournament day arrives, the quiet Cochran becomes one of the fiercest competitors on the tournament trail. The winner of two Bassmaster Classics in 1987 and 1996 and the 2004 BASS Lake Guntersville tournament, Cochran is one of the best shallow-water anglers in the nation. This week, he will tell us some of his go-to baits that have brought him success on the tournament trail.

Cochran: The PP Spinner Bait is short for the Premier Pro Model Spinner Bait. What makes this spinner bait different from all the rest is the head makes the bait look like a 3/16-ounce spinner bait. But it's actually much heavier because the weight has been shifted back to the hook, an element that gives the bait a very-small profile, but you can cast it with really-heavy line. I like to fish this bait with two No. 3 willow-leaf blades, or I'll use a No. 3 willow-leaf and a No. 3 Indiana blade.

The ideal place to fish this lure is on the lakes that receive plenty of fishing pressure because most anglers fishing these lakes will be using big spinner baits. So, the bass are accustomed to seeing big spinner baits. When you have a little compact spinner bait like this one coming through the water, the bass are seeing a different kind and a much smaller spinner bait than what they've seen before. As most anglers know, smaller lures solicit more strikes than bigger lures do. Although this spinner bait looks like a 1/8-ounce or a 3/16-ounce spinner bait, it actually has the weight of a 3/8-ounce spinner bait.

I've always liked an erratic retrieve. I like to stop and start the spinner bait regardless of its size to make the blades dance. This way you get more of the action strikes than if you use a steady-type retrieve. I think that if more anglers will start fishing this little spinner bait on the lakes that are getting pounded weekend after weekend, they will really be surprised at the number of bass they'll catch.




 

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