®
Winter 2021
Thumper Tail 8” Papa Boom Boom
Separ 9”
Boom Boom Rigged
Thumper Tail 6”
page
72
“I almost want to say no don’t go slower; but I will say yes for some people, because they overwork the bait,” he explained. “On the other hand, I’ve found that slower isn’t the only answer. This is especially true with the Balam. Big swimbaits have gotten more prevalent and the fish get acclimated to that slow roll retrieve on those bigger baits, so I like to vary that.”
Parris alters his retrieve cadence in variety of ways and gave some examples.
“Maybe I will start with a slow roll and halfway through my cast, I will go into two hard pumps, then back to a slow roll,” he began. “Other
times, I will do a more erratic retrieve with long reel pumps, changing the cadence to a short reel pump, then long reel pump. I am keeping the bait in motion, without giving a steady slow roll.
His slow roll thoughts are the same with a hard or soft plastic.
“I am incorporating a herky-jerky movement,” he said. “If they have become accustom to a slow roll, a change-up partially through the retrieve alters what they are used to. This change can force the fish to react to the bait, instead of letting it stare at the bait too long and then veer off.”
WEEDLESS OR BELLY HOOK
Both have their place in a Parris boot-tail
presentation.
“The Papa Boom Boom comes weedless and
pre-rigged with a treble hook on the bottom, ready
to rock,” he said. “If I am fishing heavier cover, I will
throw it weedless. But in winter, I am mostly fishing
main lake points and rockpiles, so I will throw the
rigged one with a treble on the bottom.
“This is especially important if fishing big spots.
Spots tend to hunt the baits a little bit different. They
don’t suck ‘em in like largemouth. Spots come up and nip at ‘em and you tend to get a better hookup with a hook somewhere on the belly region of the bait. That’s the same with the Thumper Tail. It has another hook hanger on the bottom, and I add an additional hook
there.”
IT’S NOT JUST TROUT COLORS
Shad, kok and trout are his top-three color profiles, but trout isn’t his first choice.
“I love trout
colors and I throw
them a lot, but
I really like the
more silver colors,”
said Parris. “With
silvers, I don’t
discriminate. A
lot of times the
planter trout that
we see from DFG
are very silvery.
There is not a lot of
red on them. They
are not always like
other trout. DFG
trout almost look
like little salmon
smolt. Because
of that, I lean to
shads and
silvers.” •