Fall 2021
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“If a bass is jumping out of the water to eat a dragonfly, it’s hungry,” says Bertrand. “So it doesn’t always matter what bait, but those two things do seem to help.”
From there, it’s just fishing like normal and keeping your eyes and ears at the ready for the signs of a fish. As soon as Bertrand sees or hears one eat a dragonfly – it’s a distinct sound, he says, when a bass clears the water to eat one – he’ll put the trolling motor on 100 to get within distance to make a cast. In tough tournaments, he’s even spun the boat around for one that’s blown up behind the boat.
The reason is the catchability of that fish is quite high, he says. The fish is already hungry and you know exactly where it is located. It’s just getting your lure in front of it before it moves too far.
Now, Bertrand does admit this is typically not a big- fish pattern, but for fish in the 1 1/2- to 3-pound range, it’s perfect.
“If you need that final keeper to fill a limit in a tough tournament, as ridiculous as this pattern sounds, it’s the pattern to do it come fall,” concluded Bertrand. •
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