Entry 222-5

Catching Big Bass with Randy Dearman

Part 5: The Red Eye Shad

Question: Randy, you’ve been tournament fishing more than 20 years, and you’ve been earning a living as a fisherman most of your life. You were one of the earliest Strike King pros on the team. Why did you decide to go with Strike King?

Dearman: I got involved with Strike King in the early days because of Bill Dance. I drew Bill in a tournament, and he and I became friends. He introduced me to Charles Spence, who owned the company in those days. Strike King was my first sponsor, and it’ll probably be my last sponsor.

I’m 60-years old and I’m still in pretty-good physical shape. I’d like to think I’m as strong as I once was, but realistically, I know I can’t physically keep up with some of these young kids I’m competing against. But what I lack in physical endurance, I make up for in knowledge. I’m on my way to Sam Rayburn Lake here in early October to fish the Texas Tournament Trail Championship. I’ve slowed down quite a bit. I’m only fishing about 10 or 12 tournaments a year now, but I still conduct quite a few fishing seminars.

Question: Is there another lure in the Strike King line you depend on a lot?

Dearman: Yes, the Red Eye Shad. Strike King’s Red Eye Shad is a lipless crankbait, but I fish it in open water like you’ll fish a jigging spoon. You can fish this crankbait slow, fast, shallow or deep. I like to fish the Red Eye Shad in open water because it doesn’t sink like an anvil. The Red Eye Shad swims to the bottom when you kill the bait, so it resembles a dying or a wounded shad.

I like to fish this lipless crankbait during the colder months of the year, when the shad are dying off, and I also like to fish it when I locate schooling bass. This time of year is an ideal time to fish the Red Eye Shad, especially on channel breaks and ledges. I let the lure freefall to the bottom, rip it up off the bottom and then allow it to fall back to the bottom again.

In the spring, I’ll fish the Red Eye Shad around grass with a really-fast retrieve, trying to elicit a reaction strike. But this time of year, I want that bait to appear like it’s dying. What I like most about the bait is when I rip it about 5 or 6 feet off the bottom, the bait doesn’t fall back to the bottom. Instead, it swims back to the bottom.

If you’ve ever noticed dying shad, they don’t just stop swimming and drop like a rock. They stop swimming, glide to the bottom, lay on the bottom and rest for a few minutes, then muster up a dose of energy, swim up about 5 or 6 feet and then glide back down to the bottom again. When you give that bait this kind of action, even if a bass isn’t hungry, you’re presenting him a meal much like you’ll drag a steak in front of a bulldog.That bulldog may not be hungry, but with a steak flaunting itself in front of his nose, he’s just got to bite it.

Question: What pound-test line do you fish with the Red Eye Shad?

Dearman: I usually fish the Red Eye Shad on 17-pound-test line. I’ll catch bass that weigh up to 8 or 9 pounds using this technique through the fall of the year. I talked to Shaw Grigsby, another Strike King pro, last week, and he was filming a show in Mexico. He was using this same technique with the Red Eye Shad to catch those Mexican lunker bass. I think the Red Eye Shad will be one of the hottest new baits this year.

Contents:

• Part 1: The Amistad Reservoir Tournament
• Part 2: Count on the Spinner Bait
• Part 3: Fishing the Zero
• Part 4: The Strike King Denny Brauer Premier Pro Model Jig
• Part 5: The Red Eye Shad