Entry 344-1
Mark Rose – My Five Anytime and Anywhere Strike King Lures
Editor’s Note: Mark Rose of Marion Arkansas, a professional bass fisherman and the 2009 Stren Series Championship winner on the FLW Circuit, takes chances and does whatever’s required to win bass tournaments. This week, we’ll take Rose to a mystery tournament at an unspecified lake in an unknown area somewhere in the U.S., with unidentified water and weather conditions, and he’ll tell us his five anytime, anywhere, go-to Strike King lures.
Part 1: My Survival Go-to Lure
Q
uestion: Mark, what’s the number-one lure you’ll take with you to this mystery tournament?
Rose: The first lure I’ll choose is the shaky-head worm, consisting of a 1/8-ounce Strike King Shaky Head Jig and a green-pumpkin-colored Strike King Super Finesse Worm. A shaky-head lure is like candy to a bass. The fish can’t resist its subtle action. Also, the shaky-head worm is easy to see, sneak-up on and inhale. You can fish the shaky-head lure around any type of cover at any time of year, under any water or weather conditions, and it will catch bass all year.
It can be fished around grass, tree tops, rocks, boat docks and riprap, and along bluffs. Too, it’s appropriate for any water clarity. The shaky-head worm has helped me make a living as a tournament bass angler and take bass to the scales anywhere I’ve fished in the country. I rely heavily on it, and I’ll always have one rigged on a rod in just about any tournament I fish.
Also, the shaky-head worm is a good follow-up bait. If a bass misses your primary lure, many times you can pitch that shaky-head worm into the spot where the bass struck the original lure, and the bass will take the shaky-head worm. This jig-and-worm combination is my survival lure. 
The green-pumpkin-colored head and worm are the most-versatile of all the shaky-head jigs and worms because they fit into any water color, cloud cover or water condition. I fish the shaky-head worm on 8-pound-test line with a 6-foot 6-inch medium-action rod and a high-speed gear ratio reel.
When I’m fishing in heavy cover, I may bump my line size up to 10-pound-test line. When you don’t know what to fish, you’re fishing a new lake and don’t know how the weather conditions are affecting the bass, perhaps your bass are short-striking, or for some reason you aren’t catching bass, then I suggest using the shaky-head worm.
Next: Okay Ocho
Contents:
- Part 1: My Survival Go-to Lure
- Part 2: Okay Ocho
- Part 3: Play with a Football at Any Time of Year
- Part 4: Take the Red Eye
- Part 5: The Old Reliable - the Strike King Spinner Bait
