Summer 2020
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He’ll throw the Gunfish on 6’9” Daiwa Tatula Elite Medium Lt Feider rod, Daiwa Tatula reel, and 30-pound test Sunline Xplasma Asegai braid to a 19-pound test Sunline Shooter Defier monofilament. He’ll also swap out the stock treble hooks with Gamakatsu Aaron Martens TGW Nano Finesse hooks.
From there, it’s just a matter of covering water, both up against the bank or out over open water (depending on water clarity). What he’ll always be sure to be doing is watching his topwater, seeing if any bass are following.
If he gets a hook-up, great, but if he gets a blow-up miss or a follower, it’s equally as good, as he can reel in his topwater fast and then fire back out with one of two approaches.
“If I’m fishing up shallow, I’ll go with a wacky rig, and if it’s out deeper, I’ll throw a Neko rig,” says Ehrler. “Up shallow, the fish will be moving more horizontal. So, I’ll want that wacky rig to be able to cast ahead of the fish as it swims away and float it in his face. If I’m out deeper, the fish is going to swim straight back down, and that Neko rig does a better job fishing vertically.”
He uses a similar setup with both rigs: 7’1” Daiwa Tatula Elite Medium Dropshot rod, Daiwa Tatula reel, and
12-pound test Sunline Xplasma Asegai braid to an 8-pound test Sunline FC Sniper leader.
He’ll use either a 5-inch Yamamoto Senko or a Daiwa Yamamoto Neko Straight Worm for either rig, with a rubber O-ring. On the Senko, he’ll use either a No. 1 or 1/0 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Stinger Weedless Wacky Hook and on the Straight Worm, he’ll use the same hook but in either No. 1 or No. 2 sizes. For his Neko rig, he’ll add a 3/32-ounce Ark Tungsten nail weight, and one thing he’ll be sure to do is slide the O-ring down closer to the nail weight as opposed to in the center of the worm like he does on the wacky rig.
From there, it’s just trial and error to see which worm does best as a follow-up.
“The Straight Worm falls slower on the Neko,” says Ehrler. “So, if the fish that came up was suspended, I’ll usually use that to allow it to hang in his face longer, and he’ll usually eat in on the sink.
“Up shallow, I’ll use either. The biggest thing is to always lead the fish. It’s like throwing a flag pattern in football. Throw it way ahead of where the fish is headed, and he’ll swim over to get it.”
After he does, then it’s back to chucking the topwater. Because, you know, who doesn’t enjoy that? •
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