Entry 123-2
Mark Davis - Weird Ways to Catch Bass
Fishing a Jigging Spoon
Editor's Note: Mark Davis has been successful in his fishing career. He's not afraid to try different and unusual tactics and baits that most anglers don't think will work under certain conditions, but they just do. Most anglers who know Mark think of him as a creative fisherman. In other words, he's not locked into only fishing particular baits at specific times of the year, under certain water and weather conditions. Davis has the ability to think outside the box and willingly uses various strategies that most people won't attempt to fish with, and therefore catches bass that most people won't take. This week let's look at some of the off-the-wall tactics that have enabled Davis to catch fish in ways no one else has considered using.
Davis: Most people fish a jigging spoon vertically in deep water. That's how the bait's designed to be fished. Most anglers will fish it in the wintertime or in the hot summertime to get down to deep-water bass. But I prefer to fish it on shallow structure like points, bars, pumps and water, 3- to 6-feet deep. I'll use a spoon on this kind of structure for the same reason I'll fish a crankbait in shallow-water cover. The bass have never seen a spoon in these areas of shallow water.
In the springtime when the bass are feeding on shad, they're looking for fast-moving bait. They like bait that hits the bottom pretty hard and has a lot of flash. So I've found that the 3/4- or 1/2-ounce jigging spoon really fits this bill. When I locate bass feeding on a sand bar, gravel bar or a hump, I can cast that jigging spoon out and simply reel the jigging spoon just like it's a crankbait. I reel it hard and fast and keep it coming back to the boat.
Another tactic I use is to hold my rod at about the 10:00 position, make about three cranks on my reel, pause the bait and let it fall to the bottom. Note though that I'm not jerking the jigging spoon up off the bottom and letting it fall back. When it hits the bottom, I'm just making about three quick cranks on the reel, pausing the bait and then letting it fall. When I'm cranking the reel, that bait is just barely moving above the bottom. When I pause the bait, it's falling back just like an injured shad that's swimming close to the bottom, running out of energy, falling back to the bottom, getting its strength up again and attempting to swim. If you'll try this tactic, you'll really be surprised at the number of bass you can catch.
Once again we're using a lure at a time and place when most anglers won't fish this type of lure. Therefore we're giving the bass a lure they haven't seen before fished in a way they've never seen it fished in a water depth where they've never seen it fished before.
Contents:
- Part 1: Weird Ways to Fish a Crankbait
- Part 2: Fishing a Jigging Spoon
- Part 3: Shallow-Water Crankbaits Fished Deep
- Part 4: Dropshotting a Wacky Worm
- Part 5: Finesse Worms in Public Waters
