My Go To Bait (baby bacon rind)
Do you ever get out on a lake to find that
the bite is really tough? Or does the bite ever just shut completely
off? Well if so then hopefully what you are about to read will
help you out!
I decided to write this article because, on
April 22, 2001 I was fishin’ a tournament and had a good
start for the day. I had 4 fish in the live-well within the first
hour. But after that first hour the spinner bait bite I had going
totally shut down. I kept throwing it for about another hour
looking to quickly put some more fish in the boat but, it didn’t
pay off. I knew I had to change my whole game plan now because,
my game plan for the day was to go throw spinner baits all day
long and cover a lot of water.
I switched over to a bait that has come into
play in many situations like this one. It’s a 4" Baby
Bacon Rind made by Gambler. It’s a small bait, yet bulky
enough for bass to find in dirty water. It has a very neat action
and glides through the water when you swim it off the bottom.
So, I started throwin’ this bait up against docks and barges
and then shakin’ it and swimmin’ it off the bottom
to produce vicious strikes from fish.
I ended up catching the rest of my 7 fish
limit and then some, including one fish that was nearly 6 pounds,
and one that came off next to the boat that was over 7 pounds.
The fish I was catching on this bait were good quality tournament
fish and much bigger than the spinner bait fish I was catching.
Normally people think a big bait equals big
fish, that is true, except for when the bite gets tough. I think
it would surprise some people to see the amount of quality fish
that can come off this bait. After I weighed in I was very happy
to find out that I ended up with a 2nd place trophy, and a big
thanks to the Baby Bacon Rind!
Now let’s talk about how I rigged this
bait. First of all I was fishing it on a 6’6" St. Croix
medium heavy rod. I chose this rod because, it gave me the chance
to get a good hook-set on the fish and enough back-bone to get
them in the bat quickly. It had a perfect tip, so that I could
feel even the smallest amount of pressure from a fish holding
onto it. To match the rod I used a Shimano Curado with a 5;3:1
gear ratio. With this gear ratio, I was able to move the bait
just a little at a time instead of moving it to quickly and too
much with a 6.3:1 reel. This reel was spooled with green 15lb
Big Game by Berkely/Trilene. This line is super strong and perfect
for fishin’ in dirty water.
As far as the bait it-self, it was rigged
with a 2/0 Super Line hook by Gamakatsu. I really like these
Super Line hooks because, they are very strong and super sharp,
which gives it a great penetration into the fish’s mouth.
Over all there is one thing that I think really helped make the
difference and that was using a 3/16 ounce Pro Rattlin’
Worm Weight also made by Gambler. This weight has brass rattle
weights built in which I think definitely helped the fish find
my bait as I was shakin’ it on the bottom.
Hopefully this has given you a new look at
this bait! So, go out and give it a chance on your favorite lake
or river and I am sure you will be glad you did. Good luck.
Justin Lucas
Junior Pro-Staff |
