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A War Eagle Buzzbait generates big strikes, if one misses it though, I’ll come back with these soft plastics.
frog – one to eat it
or two, to injure it for an easy follow-up meal.
A follow-up lure is perfect, when the missed strike is because the bass’ intent was to injure the bait for an easy follow-up meal. The other time when a follow- up lure is needed is when a bass isn’t able to hit the frog properly or if a solid hook-up wasn’t achieved on the first strike.
Many times after a bass hits a frog, there is an open pocket to pitch back into. In this situation, I choose a Texas-rigged soft plastic, such as a Zoom Z-Craw Jr or Super Hog, because of its compact profile.
Since I’m pitching this bait into heavy cover, I use a Wright & McGill 7’4” Victory Pro Carbon Jig/Big Worm rod with a Victory Pro Carbon baitcast reel spooled with 65-lb Seaguar Flippin’ Braid. This combination allows me to feel the bite, but also get a solid hook up on that bass and get the fish out of the heavy vegetation quickly.
To help get my bait through the vegetation I use a Lazer Sharp Tungsten weight that will range from 3/8- to ¾-oz, depending on the density of the vegetation. I rig my soft plastic on a Lazer TroKar 4/0 TK 130 Flippin’ hook.
Another option for a follow-up bait for a frog is the same frog back to the same area, with a pause in the blow up spot. For this strategy, I will throw my frog just beyond the area where I had my hit and slowly
8
drag it across that
area again. Then, I
let the frog sit still
in that open hole.
Many times a bass
will think that this is
the injured bait that
it hit originally and
is now wounded.
With both of
these tactics, I
rely on my Minn
Kota trolling
motor and Talons,
to stay in that
exact same spot.
By deploying
the Talon, I can maintain my position without the need of my trolling motor. This can increase fishing time in the key area.
BUZZBAIT
Fishing a buzzbait is a great way to target bass in shallow water and cover water quickly. Sometimes a bass will hit a buzzbait out of pure agitation and slap it out of the water. When this happens it is important to quickly get the line in and cast out a second offering.
Throwing a soft plastic stick bait, such as a Zoom Fluke Stick or Magnum Trick Worm, will have a slow sink presentation and look like an injured baitfish. This is just perfect to entice a bass into biting.
With either of these plastics, I rig them weightless on a Texas or wacky-rig. Both options allow me to make a long cast and stay off of the cover where I got a hit.
Once I get my lure out to the area where the bass missed my buzzbait, I let my plastic bait slowly sink. I’ll move it a few times and bring it back several feet, beyond where the initial strike occurred. If I don’t get bit again, I’ll take one more cast with my follow-up lure.
My second choice is to use the buzzbait and repeat multiple casts to the general area of the missed strike, changing the angle or cadence of the retrieve. One retrieve change that I make is to stop the buzzbait ever so briefly and then quickly begin the retrieve again. This erratic action may just force that bass into biting.