Entry 177-5

Bass Fishing with Mike Wurm

Part 5: The Five Lures I Bet On

Editor’s Note: Mike Wurm of Hot Springs, Arkansas, has fished the Bassmaster Circuit since 1991. This past season, he brought in a one-day stringer of five bass that weighed a total of 32-pounds and 4-ounces.

Question: Mike, what five lures did you use most this past season?

Wurm: Without a doubt, the Strike King Series 3 Crankbait was my No. 1 go-to lure. This bait is one of the most-versatile, usable lures in my tackle box. This crankbait is small and it runs about 6- to 8-feet deep. I have it tied onto one of my tournament rods every day I go on the water.

Question: What type of retrieve did you use most often to catch bass?

Wurm: Usually, I just cast it out and reel it in with a moderate retrieve. But there are some times when you have to pause the bait, then speed it up, or completely stop the bait. The real trick to fishing the Strike King Series 3 Crankbait is to make sure you crash it into something. My No. 2 bait is a Strike King spinner bait. I like the 3/8-ounce compact series the best.

Question: Why do you like the little spinner baits better than the big baits?

Wurm: The compact spinner baits have a smaller profile than the bigger spinner baits, but you don’t give up the weight. Most of the time, I like a smaller-looking spinner bait, particularly the Strike King Premier Pro-Model White Shiner and Alpha Shiner Spinner Baits. I always fish different-colored blades. I usually fish with a Colorado gold-colored blade and a willow leaf blade that’s silver. The fifth lure that I bet on is the Strike King jig. I like both the Denny Brauer Premier Pro-Model Bitsy Bug and the Premier Plus with Perfect Skirt Jigs. When we were fishing the Lake Champlain tournament, I caught every fish I weighed in on the Strike King Premier Plus black-and-blue jig.

Question: How did you work the jig?

Wurm: I’d cast it at any type of tight cover I could see. I also threw it around the base of trees. In some instances, when I couldn’t flip it, I threw the jig on the outside of the cover and caught the bass. I have to include the jig in my top-5 lures.

Question: What’s your opinion of the Bassmaster Classic that will be held on Lay Lake in February, 2007?

Wurm: I think we’ll have a great tournament, if the weather doesn’t get really nasty. We’ll be hitting the lake at a really good pre-spawn time of the year when the bass will be moving up close to the bank because they’ll be hungry. We may have a large catch this year because the first bass at Lay Lake, just outside Birmingham, Alabama, will be heading into the banks. I’ll bait the jig, the tube, the spinner bait and the square-billed crankbait. Those baits will be important for catching bass. I think that for a fisherman to win, he’ll have to catch 18 pounds or better per day.

Contents:

• Part 1: Monster Bag of Bass
• Part 2: You Don’t Have to See Them to Catch Them
• Part 3: A New Love Affair with the Zero
• Part 4: How to Make the Classic
• Part 5: The Five Lures I Bet On