Entry 155-2
How to Catch Bass Now with George Cochran
The Rubber Has More Wiggle
Editor’s Note: George Cochran has won many professional bass tournaments, including two Bassmasters Classics and his recent $500,000 win in the FLW Championship. Cochran has proven that he can find and catch bass at any time of the year, so we’ve asked Cochran to tell us where and how he fishes during the month of December.
Cochran: One of the many things I like about Strike King’s new spinner baits are the skirt designs. These new skirts have a lot of body, and I’ve always been a big fan of spinner baits anyway. These new skirts are just like the old rubber skirts, in that they have a lot of bulk and body, but, unlike the other skirts, the new ones have tails on their ends. The tail on this new skirt looks like the tail of a shad when it comes through the water. The new skirts also look more realistic than the old skirts.
Strike King has come out with a new red skirt because there are certain times of the year when the red color is very effective, regardless of which lure you use. There are two to three times in the year when a crawfish’s coloring is red, and these are the best times to use red lures. If you put the red skirt on your spinner bait at the right time, it can make a big difference in how many bass you will catch. Even during the month of December, the new skirts will produce more bass than the old skirts will. Too, the tail on the skirt helps to hide the trailer hook. If I go fishing this month, I’ll use a Strike King spinner bait with a new skirt-and-blade combination.
One of the best places to find large amounts of people is at a restaurant. Wherever food is located, normally you’ll find groups of people as well. Bass are the same way in that they don’t want to get too far away from their food source. You’ll find bass in the backs of creeks, where shad feed, and the Strike King spinner bait is one of best baits to catch these bass. While fishing in the backs of creeks in December, I bet on shad-colored spinner baits with contrasting color blades.
Another lure I like at this time of year is a white spinner bait with white blades. I don’t know why it works so well; I just know this lure works. If you don’t catch fish on the shad-colored spinner bait with contrasting blades, switch to a white spinner bait with white blades. If the sun is shining and the fish are deep, I use silver and gold blades. If the wind is blowing or the sky is cloudy, I use white blades. I fish the spinner bait in shallow water around cover, and if the water is clear, I buzz the bait across the surface. If I fish in deep water, then I slow-troll the bait along the edges of the creeks.
Contents:
- Part 1: Spinner Baits in the Backs of Creeks
- Part 2: The Rubber Has More Wiggle
- Part 3: Use Strike King Buzzbaits
- Part 4: Bet on the Crankbait
- Part 5: More from Cochran on the Crankbait
