Entry 322-4
2009 Angler-of-the-Year Contender Mark Menendez
Editor’s Note: Mark Menendez of Paducah, Kentucky, finished fifth in the Angler-of-the-Year points, after winning the Lake Dardanelle tournament on the BASS Elite Series and enjoying several top-10 finishes in 2009. He’s earned at least $200,000 in tournament winnings this season, which makes 2009 one of his best years as a competitive bass fisherman. This week, Menendez will be fishing for the Angler-of-the-Year title with the top-12 other qualified pros, including Strike King pro Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, in the two Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year tournaments being held September 12-18 on Lake Jordan in Wetumpka, Alabama, and the Alabama River near Montgomery, Ala. We caught-up with Menendez to find out why he’s had such a spectacular season, how he plans to fish these two tournaments, and what advice he’ll give to help us all become better bass fishermen.
Part 4: Flippin’ and Crankin’ in Big-Boy Britches
Question: Mark, you mentioned yesterPart that when you put-on your big-boy britches, you started flipping and cranking more. What crankbaits did you use, what was your number-one go-to crankbait in size and color, and how did you fish it?
Menendez: I’ve really fallen in love with the Strike King crankbaits. I like all of them, from the Custom Shop wooden crankbaits to the Tour Grade crankbaits. But the two lures I’ve used the most this year have been the Series 5 and the Series 6. The Series 5 caught more bass for me this year than any other crankbait. I fish the Series 5 at a really-high speed, winding it as hard as I can to get a reaction bite from the bass. Every tournament I fish, you can bet I’ve got a Series 5 crankbait tied-onto my rod.
Question: What color Series 5 worked the best for you this season?
Menendez: I caught most of my bass on the Sexy Shad-colored Series 5 winding at Mach 1 speed as hard and as fast as I could.
Question: What do you do when that Sexy Shad-colored Series 5 hits cover?
Menendez: Because I’m using a 7-foot Power Tackle fiberglass rod, when that crankbait hits the cover, that rod acts like a shock absorber, and the crankbait usually will deflect the cover. When I can feel the rod start to load-up, I stop my retrieve. Generally the bait will float-up then and over the cover.
Question: What do you do when your crankbait gets hung-up in the cover?
Menendez: I try not to pull the lure, which will drive the hooks deep into the wood or whatever cover the lure is hung-up on, but instead I’ll hold my rod tip up and try to let the bait float-up out of the cover on its own. If the bait doesn’t slowly float-up out of the cover, I’ll use the bow-and-arrow technique by popping my line to try to pop the crankbait out of the cover. Using this technique, I usually can get my lure out of the cover 50% of the time.
Next: Prepare to Win
Contents:
- Part 1: How and Why I’ll Fish the Next Two Tournaments
- Part 2: From the Middle of the Pack to a Front Runner
- Part 3: A Ragin’ Season
- Part 4: Flippin’ and Crankin’ in Big-Boy Britches
- Part 5: Prepare to Win
