Entry 181-4
Mark Davis’ Five December Patterns
Part 4: You Gotta Fish the Spinnerbait
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’s your next choice of lure for this month?
Davis: I must pick a Strike King spinnerbait. I like a 1/2-ounce in the emerald shad color with a Premier Plus with Perfect Skirt with double willowleaf blades. I think the 1/2-ounce comes with a 4-1/2- and a 3-1/2-willowleaf blade. I like this spinnerbait because it has plenty of flash and it pulls hard and has a lot of resistance to the water. I like to fish it on bluff channel banks on wood, and I can fish it a variety of ways around many different kinds of cover and structure.
The bait imitates a wintertime shad. If I’m fishing it in clear water around brush, I can call fish from the bottom up closer to the surface to attack the bait. If I’m fishing in stained water, I can fish the spinnerbait around wood cover, brush or grass. Many times, I catch bass reeling this lure fairly fast. I’ll usually fish this spinnerbait on 17- to 20-pound-test line.
In clear water, I’ll reel the bait fast. In stained water, I’ll slow the bait down, and I like to bump cover with it. If I’m fishing muddy water, I’ll change to the fire-tiger color, and I’ll be using gold blades. I’ll be fishing slowly on heavy cover close to deep water. At this time of year, I’ll target good cover close to deep water, no matter if that cover’s boat docks, grass, wood or whatever type of cover the lake offers me.
Question: What kind of retrieve will you use?
Davis: If I’m fishing muddy water this month, I’ll slow roll the spinnerbait through that cover. I may let it flutter. Then I’ll bump it, crawl it and slow roll it through the cover.
Next: The Wild Shiner
Contents:
- Part 1: Bet on the Bitsy
- Part 2: Crank ‘Em, Don’t Jump ‘Em
- Part 3: Catch More Fish This Month With the Sand Blaster
- Part 4: You Gotta Fish the Spinnerbait
- Part 5: The Wild Shiner
