and down through cover. And not just grass and laydowns; you can hop it over rocks or any other structure. This bait imitates shiners, baitfish, crawfish, everything. ”
Lane said he ’ s fished the Knuckle Bait bare and with a trailer, but the dressed version has proven significantly more productive — similar to a swim jig or vibrating jig. His favorite is the Berkley Havoc Grass Pig Jr.
YO-YOING
“ One of my favorite ways to fish this bait is to hop it up and down; kind of pump it up and down, almost like a Yo-Zuri Rattling Vibe (lipless crankbait), ” Lane said. “ What that does is it gets that knuckle flying. so the fish watch it go up and they watch it go down. They ’ re used to seeing a lot of different baits, but this is something they ’ ve never seen. With that swimbait kicking back and forth, it really triggers those reaction strikes. ”
Now, like any moving bait, reaction bites often are heavy on aggression, but light on aim. That being said, the Knuckle Bait won ’ t cause you to miss bites by pulling it out of the strike zone.
FALL 2017
HOPPING
“ With a spinnerbait, if a fish misses (the first bite) you have to keep reeling because you want to keep the blades moving, ” Surman said. “ With the Knuckle Bait, you don ’ t have to do that; you can kind of fish it like a swim jig.
“ When I ’ m using this retrieve, if a fish misses the bait, I let it fall to the bottom and I hop it. I did that on Lake Okeechobee and when I gave it that first hop, I
got a serious thump and caught n
8-pounder. ”
AS A FOLLOW-UP
So, a versatile bait that allows
you to quickly vary your retrieve to fit
a certain scenario or habitat feature
without the time of reaching down
and swapping rods — that ’ s a definite
time-management booster. And
here ’ s another benefit: the Knuckle Bait ’ s a great follow-up presentation — even for the bait with which it could be confused.
“ The traditional spinnerbait has been around forever and it will always catch fish, ” Surman said. “ But this bait fished behind a spinnerbait will out-fish it 2-to-1. ”
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