Winter 2021
®
Texas-rigged soft plastic, such as the Zoom Z-Craw or if a more compact finesse presentation is needed, the Z-Craw Jr. My weight on the Texas-rig will depend on how heavy of cover I’m flipping. I’ll go as small as 5/16-ounce and up to a 1/2-ounce, in either instance I use is a 4/0 Lazer TroKar (TK133) Pro V Bend Flippin Hook.
Since I’m in shallow water and don’t want to disturb the bass, I’ll ease up on them with my MinnKota Ultrex Trolling Motor with a T-H Marine G-Force Eliminator Prop Nut on it and then deploy my dual Talon’s. This will help keep my boat control on point and eliminate the instances of my prop churning up the water.
ENTER/EXIT
As I idle into or out of pocket or when fishing, I pay attention to the electronics as there may be some great bottom changes that will hold fish.
Areas with a slightly deeper trench running up to shore, or a hard bottom area in an otherwise mud bottom pocket, can be prime locations for a school of bass to group up.
Many times, these pockets have no cover in them, besides what is on the shoreline, thus making the middle desolate of bass. But, if there is an isolated piece of cover
offshore, then you can be
pretty darn sure that a large
concentration of bass will be
relating to it. This isolated
cover could be a brush pile,
stump, rock pile or weed
clump.
My favorite way to fish
something like this is a Texas-
rigged Zoom Magnum Trick
Worm, rigged on a TroKar
5/0 Magworm hook with a
1/2-ounce tungsten weight in
front of it.
As you are putting hours
on the water, keep an open
eye and mind to fishing the
pockets and coves that your
Photo: Zach Rinn
lake or river has. Spend the
time to learn their details as
you may be able exploit bass
in that area all spring. •
Photo: Bartusek
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