Entry 261-2

Mark Menendez Adapts a New, Fuel-Efficient Fishing Strategy”

Part 2: Crankbait Secrets I’ve Learned This Year

Question: Yesterday, you told us you like to fish Strike King Series 5 and Series 6 crankbaits. What colors are you using, and how do you fish them at this time of the year?

Menendez: I use basically two colors of the Series 5 and Series 6. There’s a new tour-grade color that’s a kind of silver-shad color. It has a gray back and a white side. The other color I’m using is sexy shad. I’ve been alternating between those two colors. One of those two colors has been a really good producer every lake I’ve fished this year, and I’ve fished them all over the United States.

Question: How are you working those crankbaits?

Menendez: I always want my crankbait to make contact with the bottom. If I’m fishing in 6 to 8 feet of water, I’ll be fishing the Series 5. If I’m fishing 8 to 12 feet of water, the Series 6 is the crankbait I’ll use. If my crankbait isn’t hitting the bottom, I give it some type of erratic action, either by speeding it up, stopping it, twitching the rod tip or making the crankbait do something abnormal to get the bass’s attention.

Question: When you’ve got the crankbait digging the bottom, are you using a steady retrieve?

Menendez: I’m letting the bass tell me what type of retreat to use. For instance, a lot of times when you’re fishing hot water like we have right now, the bass will come up and just nip at the bait. He won’t inhale it like an aggressive bass will. So, if I start bringing in a bass, I see that I’ve barely got it hooked by that back treble hook and in the front of the fish’s mouth, I start using a stop-and-go type retrieve as I’m cranking it right on the bottom.

Because the bass is moving toward the bait and intends to just nip at it, but the bait stops before the bass nips at it, the bass’s momentum is moving forward. When the bait stops, the bass is on top of the bait and has it all the way in its mouth when I start the retrieve again. So, by using a stop-start retrieve as the bait digs the bottom, I’ll often get more bites, and I’ll hook the bass deeper in the mouth.

Question: On what pound-test line are you fishing those crankbaits?

Menendez: I believe that to catch the bass I’ve first of all got to get the bait down to where the bass can see it. So I push the envelope on line size. The lighter the line you use, the deeper the crankbait will dive, and the better action it will have. I fish with 8- and 10-pound-test line where most guys are using 10- and 12-pound-test line. Now the difference between 8- and 10-pound-test line when it’s attached to a crankbait is about 18 to 24 inches.

In other words, the crankbait will dive 18- to 24-inches deeper on 8-pound-test line than it will on 10-pound-test line. So, with 8-pound-test line, I often can get that crankbait down deep enough to dig the bottom with its lip, but I can’t get that crankbait down on the bottom with 12-pound-test line.

Question: What rod and reel are you using?

Menendez: I like a 7-foot Pflueger Trion cranking rod that’s a composite of graphite and fiberglass, which gives it a good parabolic action. Then when I get a bass up close to the surface, and it sees the boat, if it decides to turn and dive for the bottom, my rod acts like a shock absorber and doesn’t tear the hooks out of the fish’s mouth. Many times, when you’re using treble hooks, you’ll lose a bass right at the boat when the fish makes that last surge for the bottom. I’m using a Pflueger Trion reel in a 5.2:1 gear ratio to help me wind that bait as deeply as possible. I’ve also been experimenting with Berkley Fluorocarbon in the 8-, 10- and 12-pound test.

Question: What advantages do you think fluorocarbon gives you?

Menendez: Because fluorocarbon doesn’t have quite as much stretch as monofilament, I think it helps to drive the crankbait a little deeper than the monofilament will. With the fluorocarbon, I can also feel the bottom so much better than I can with monofilament.

Next: Bet on the Football on the Bottom

Contents:

• Part 1: Fish More and Burn Less Gas
• Part 2: Crankbait Secrets I’ve Learned This Year
• Part 3: Bet on the Football on the Bottom
• Part 4: Bet on the Big Worms
• Part 5: Hot Weather Spoonin’