Entry 229-4

Mark Rose on December Bass Fishing

Part 4: I’ll Bet on the Shaky-Head Worm Tactic

Question: Mark, what do you do when the weather’s cold, and bass just don’t want to bite in December?

Rose: I do the same thing I do on the tournament trail when I have a situation where the bass are hard to catch, and no one is catching them. I’ll bet on the shaky-head worm. When I got to a lake, and I need to know at what water depth the fish are holding in, what type of structure they’re concentrating on, and what I’ll need to do to make those bass bite, the 1/8-ounce shaky-head jig with the Strike King finesse worm is my go-to bait. I’ll be fishing the jig on 8-pound-test line with a Strike King green-pumpkin finesse worm or floating worm. Watermelon and watermelon red also work well on December bass. I’ll slow my fishing down to try to determine how aggressive the bass are. I may discover that they’re really aggressive, and I don’t have to stay with the shaky-head tactic.

If the bass are taking the shaky head as it falls or as quickly as it reaches the bottom, I may change to a Football Head Jig. I can move the Football Head Jig faster and cover more water with it than I can with the shaky-head jig. But if the bite’s tough, and I’m attempting to discover what the bass are doing on this particular lake on this specific day, I’ll rely on 8-pound-test line, a 1/8-ounce green-pumpkin shaky-head jig with a
green-pumpkin Stirke King finesse worm. I know you can’t beat this technique for bass fishing on any lake, anywhere in the country in December.

Question: You’ve mentioned fishing a floating worm, Mark. Why is that?

Rose: The floating worm is somewhat bigger than the shaky-head worm. If I start catching bigger bass and learn that the bass are more aggressive, I’ll move up to the bigger, floating worm and fish it instead of the finesse worm. Too, if the water’s not really clear, and I think I need a bigger profile of worm, I’ll use the floating worm.

The shaky-head tactic came from Alabama where anglers who fished those Coosa River lakes that homed lots of spotted bass developed it. This method of fishing was next used primarily for smallmouths. But if I start catching numbers of largemouths instead of spotted bass or smallmouth bass, I’ll use the floating worm instead of the finesse worm.

Question: Why does the floating worm attract more largemouths?

Rose: Now, I’ll have to admit that during July and August I’ll be fishing the floating worm on my shaky-head jig more than I do in December. However, the type of bass and the size of bass I’m catching has a lot to do with whether I choose the finesse worm or the floating worm. But I do like the floating worm in December, when the water isn’t crystal-clear, the bass are more aggressive, or, I’m catching more largemouths than I am spotted bass or smallmouths.

Question: What color of floating worm do you like in December, Mark?

Rose: I prefer to fish green-pumpkin or watermelon-colored floating worms. Sometimes in December when the water looks more dingy and brown-colored, I like to fish a red or a red-flake floating worm. Redbug and Junebug are two other colors you may want to fish in dingy-water situations in December. But 99% of the time, I’ll fish watermelon or green-pumpkin in December.

Next: Fishing the Rage Tail Craw in December

Contents:

• Part 1: Dying Shad = King Shad
• Part 2: Play Football in December
• Part 3: Warm Days Get Red Eyes
• Part 4: I’ll Bet on the Shaky-Head Worm Tactic
• Part 5: Fishing the Rage Tail Craw in December