Rear View - “Dressed” rear trebles are a matter of personal choice; but consider that a little lifelike appearance in the backseat often convince indecisives, or those left lazy by lackluster tides.
Swim & Swing — Co-angler extraordinaire Gary Haraguchi loves his swimbaits; but working from the back deck doesn’t always allow him the luxury of a full, heaving cast. No worries, he won’t hesitate to pitch his big bait into tight spots within passing vegetation where a cast isn’t possible. The sudden appearance of a swimbait profile might trigger violence from pre spawners staging therein.
Punch Drunk — You may not think of a jig as a search bait, but Mah often steps up to a 1.25-ounce jig and actually punches it like a Texas- rigged creature bait. Pairing his heavy package with a Big Bite Baits Chunk, he’ll target dead tules and floating debris adjacent to spawning areas. Driving this big bait through the cover often triggers big bites from staging fish.
Plastic Prowess — One of the more creative uses for a craw, comes from FLW Tour pro T-Roy Broussard, who rigs an unweighted Rage Craw on a wide gap hook and briskly retrieves it over matted grass or sparse pads. In a scenario where a plastic worm or a medium-sized swimbait could work, Broussard said he opts for the Rage Craw because it creates a look the fish don’t commonly see.
“It creates more turbulence and no one else fishes the bait like that,” he said. “It’s basically a soft body buzzbait.
“This gives me a different option for highly- pressured areas or times of the year when crawfish are active.”
Just a straight-up reaction bite, this technique also works around wood or paralleling a shallow bank. When the fish are snapping, switching to the bulkier Rage Tail Lobster increases the display. Remember,
bigger is often better in the pre spawn.
SPRING 2017
13