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Summer 2018
Kyle Wood
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18
SPECIAL TRICKS
Once he knows where the schools are, Dunkin said that he eases into the area on his trolling motor, and he deploys his Power Poles to help keep him stealthy in the shallow water pockets. He will wait for a while to see if the bass will naturally begin to feed on the shad. If that happens, he begins making casts with his arsenal. If not, he will employ a pair of tactics to help, but one is a last-ditch effort; because if it doesn’t work, he has to move on.
The first think he likes to do is turn his HydroWave Baitfish activator onto Bait Blitz on a delay pattern to try and make the bass think that feeding is happening nearby.
“The delay pattern makes the sound turn on for several seconds, and then off again for a set time,” he said. “Often times, this delay will make the bass respond because the sound is basically intermittent.
If waiting, or the HydroWave loops don’t help, Dunkin said he will rush the schools of shad with the trolling motor. “This is the last thing I try because if it doesn’t work, then I’ve spooked everything,” he said. “But, there are
times that the shad will spook down on top of the bass and the bass will react by charging the bait to the surface, and schooling activity ensues; then I begin my casting.”
BIG RESULTS
The technique works until late fall, and while he largely enjoys the technique on his favorite Tennessee River impoundments as a fun fishing outing, he has also used it effectively on the pro tours.
“I have had so many hundred fish days at home on this that I was always drooling looking for it to happen during a tournament,” he said. “I used it at lake Norman during the
FLW Tour Invitational
that Bryan Thrift won to
Andy Hagedo
finish 16th, and If I landed
a couple more of the four
pounders that I had on,
I might have scared ‘ol
Smoke (Thrift) there a bit.
“All I know is that I’ve
had so much fun with
this pattern and caught
so many 20-pound limits
during tough times that I
kind of hate to talk about
it,” he said. “But, it was
bound to get out soon
enough, because it can
be that good.” •