Entry 135-1

Kevin VanDam - How I Make Bass Bite

Why Red Makes Bass Bite

Editor's Note: Thirty-seven-year-old Kevin VanDam, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, was the 2001 BASS Master's Classic Champion and won the BASS Angler of the Year three times. VanDam's a student of what makes bass bite, and he will share the information he's learned with us this week.

Question: What's your honest opinion about all the emphasis on the red coloring on Strike King's Bleeding Bait Series? Are these bleeding-bait lures just some form of hype to sell fishing lures, or do red hooks really make a difference?

VanDam: I've been experimenting with the Bleeding Bait Series for over two years, and I'm 100-percent convinced that they're more effective than other baits in causing bass to bite. I can hardly fish a lure without red hooks on it, if the water I'm fishing is clear or slightly stained. I've proven to myself time and again, especially in Michigan where I live, that bass target red hooks. I've tested red hooks on a jerkbait by moving the red hooks from the front to the back, and I've seen the bass take the bait wherever I've put the red hook. If you look at the bait with red hooks in the water, you can see those red hooks flash as they move. Regardless of what bait you have the hooks on, whether it's a crankbait, a jerkbait or even a jig, when the bait moves, the red color flashes. A flash of red is a cue to the bass, letting him know a baitfish is injured and presenting an easy meal.

For years, professional fishermen have used magic markers to paint red on the throats of our crankbaits and jerkbaits to get bass to bite. If you watch shad in the water, you'll see their gills are red and swollen, their anal fins are red and swollen, and their tails have red on their ends. Bass aren't looking for the strongest baitfish in the school to chase down and eat. Bass are searching for the weakest fish, the cripple, the wounded or the dying, because that weak fish provides an easy meal to a bass. Then the bass has to expend the least amount of energy to catch and eat that bait. Bass are energy misers. Yes, they can attack, chase, catch and eat bait, but they prefer to swim slowly and pick up the easy baits they don't have to chase. If a baitfish has a scar or a sore on its side, the bass's instincts tell it to attack.

Question: How important is giving a lure erratic action on the Bleeding Baits Series of lures? I know that many anglers take the lure out of the package and want to cast it out and reel it in. However, I see that you twitch, jerk, pop, shake, stop, start and give your baits all kinds of erratic actions.

VanDam: I think any time you fish a lure, whether it's a Bleeding Bait Series or any other type lure, you should give the bait some type of erratic action. Erratic action is another stimulus that causes bass to attack. When a bass sees a baitfish that's not swimming or moving like other baitfish, the bass knows there's something wrong with the baitfish. Once again, as a predator, bass look for the easiest meal that costs them the least amount of energy to catch and eat. Therefore, whether a bass sees the red on the hook, the red on the gill plate of the bait, the red in the skirt of the spinner bait or the red anywhere on the lure, it's going to attack. By using an erratic action that triggers strikes and having the red color on the lure, you're giving the bass two key elements to cause it to bite the bait.

Question: The next logical question is if red is such a dominant color, why don't we fish with all-red bait?

VanDam: When a fish dies, it doesn't turn red, and but if it's injured, it doesn't turn completely red. The key element of red on a lure is that bass see a flash of red, which indicates bleeding or injury. When a bass is looking at a bait, wondering if it can catch the bait or not, if a bass sees a flash of red, then the bass thinks the baitfish is wounded and will be easy to catch and eat. This reason is why Strike King has put the red color in strategic places on its lures. Then the bass will see a flash of red when the bait moves.

Kevin VanDam - How I Make Bass Bite

Why Red Makes Bass Bite

Next: Change the Retrieve to Make Spinner Bait Bass Bite

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