Entry 181-2

Mark Davis’ Five December Patterns

Part 2: Crank ‘Em, Don’t Jump ‘Em

Editor’s Note: A big and often quiet man, Mark Davis of Mt. Ida, Arkansas, is one of the most-fierce competitors in tournament bass-fishing today. Davis has won in years past the title of B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year and the Bassmaster Classics and more than $1 million over the years in tournament bass-fishing. This week, Davis will give us his best five December patterns for catching bass.

Question: What will be your No. 2 lure choice for fishing the month of December?

Davis: I’ll choose a Strike King Series 3 crankbait. Depending on water clarity, I’ll either be fishing chartreuse with a brown back or red. I want this crankbait to imitate a crawfish. I’ll be fishing it in the same places I’ll be fishing the jig. In lowland reservoirs, I’ll be targeting stumps, and in highland reservoirs, I’ll be targeting rocks. I’ll be fishing creek and river channels along drop-offs. The Bitsy Bug and the Series 3 crankbait is my one-two-punch tactic for catching bass in December.

Question: What kind of action will you give the Series 3 crankbait?

Davis: I’ll fish it slow to medium-slow with plenty of start-stop action. I’ll try and pause the lure, crash it into cover and then pause it again, which is what I call a typical crawdad retrieve. When you’re fishing a crankbait during December, you need to hit the cover, pause the lure, crank the lure, stop it and then start it again. I’ll be changing the type of retrieve I’m using until I catch a bass, and then I’ll know what type of retrieve the bass prefer on that day.

Question: When you get a bite on a crankbait at this time of year, how quickly do you strike the fish?

Davis: I won’t strike the fish. When the bass attacks the crankbait, I speed up my retrieve and pull the rod back, not jerking it. I let the bass set the hook. If you jerk back hard when you fish the crankbait, you’ll actually pull the bait away from the fish rather than setting the hook. Remember, you’re fishing treble hooks. So, you need to let the bass get the bait in its mouth and then just apply steady pressure. If you snatch, pull or jerk it, you’ll lose a lot of fish that you should have caught.

Question: How do you keep a bass from jumping and throwing the crankbait?

Davis: The biggest mistake most fishermen make when they hook a fish on a crankbait is they pull up on their rod. Don’t ever pull-up on the rod. Pull the rod sideways, and keep steady pressure on the bass. You want to keep your rod tip down, so don’t reel it really fast. Remember, the harder you pull on a bass, the harder he’s going to pull back on you. If you fight a bass hard with a lot of pressure, the bass will want to jump.

You can make them jump, but don’t forget, when you’re out there bass fishing, you’re not trying to make a TV show. If you’re making a TV show, you want to make the bass jump. But any other time you’re catching bass, you want to keep the fish in the water and prevent it from jumping and throwing the crankbait. If you want to make a fish jump, you can hold your rod high over your head and get that bass to jump, but you’ll lose more bass than you catch. So, if you catch a bass, keep your rod tip down, pull the rod to the side, and keep your bass in the water and not in the air.

Mark Davis’ Five December Patterns

Part 2: Crank ‘Em, Don’t Jump ‘Em

Next: Catch More Fish This Month With the Sandblaster

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