making it look like an injured baitfish. A Basstrix Flashtrix is a great lure choice, as is a Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm. Since this is an open water technique, nose hook the worm with a Gamakatsu Dropshot Hook sized to the worm diameter.
SPINNERBAITS
Another lure I designed that is deadly for suspended bass is the Hildebrandt Double Deep sold by Yakima Bait Company.
This is a one-ounce spinnerbait with small, tandem willow leaf blades that allow it to be fished deep and quickly. The body is made from tin to give it a larger minnow profile, and the blades have a quick change feature; so you can adjust blade size, shape, and color to match the hatch.
SPYBAITS
Spy Baits are one of the newest techniques that help solve the suspended bass mystery, and I have enjoyed great success using the new Lucky Craft Screw Pointer 80 in both Aurora Black and Ghost Minnow.
Used with light line, the Screw Pointer will entice suspended bass in ultra-clear water even when they are not there to eat.
SPINTRIX
My favorite horizontal approach lure to fish over suspended bass is also designed by Rick Tietz of Blade-Runner Tackle, the Spintrix rigged with either a Basstrix trailer or a Yamamoto Swimming Senko trailer.
While the Spintrix has been effective for years, Rick has now designed a Screw Lock Spintrix that solves the problem of keeping your trailer in place. The ball bearing swivel and free-spinning blade combine the right combination of water displacement, flash, and movement that gets lock-jawed suspended bass back into a feeding mood.
This setup is deadly for largemouth, smallmouth, spotted bass and striped bass.
In fact, anything that eats minnows will eat a Spintrix.
I use the same Lamiglas Infinity 703 rod, 6-lb test Sugoi fluorocarbon line, and Shimano Stradic Ci4 Spinning Reel for fishing a Spintrix, dropswimming, and a spy baits. For spooning and ice jigs, I use a Lamiglas Infinity 704 or 705 baitcaster with 14- to 16-lb Sugoi fluorocarbon on a Shimano Curado 7.2:1 retrieve speed.
As Rick Tietz likes to tell people who pound the shoreline, 90 percent of the bass are behind your boat. A large percentage of them are suspended.
Bass will suspend for one of two reasons. The most important to us anglers is to feed on schools of baitfish. The other is to rest. Both reasons put bass in a position they can be caught, if you find them and put the right lure in the right place. With today’s quality electronics and the fishing tactics outlined above, there is no need to let suspended bass in deep reservoirs remain a mystery. Ciao!
WINTER 2017
57
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