It didn't take long to figure out that the fish wanted no part of a popper or a crankbait or a Spin Bait. I was not ready, however, to believe after a half hour of casting, that there were no fish on or around this choice hump. It was more likely they were in a weather and/or post spawn funk and needed to be seduced by something subtle, sexy . . . which is to say a wacky rigged soft stickbait.
Don, who had been working hardbaits too, joined me patiently sinking, twitching and pausing an unweighted soft stick, sometimes as deep as 15'.
Between us, we CPRed 15 fine smallmouth in 4 1/2 hours. This trip was not the first when the fish refused a variety of other baits but inhaled a Senko (or other brand) soft stick.
Speaking of "inhaled," I've greatly reduced the number of gullet-hooked bass since I switched to circle hooks. I use a size 1 Gamakatsu Octopus circle for a 4" bait and a 1/0 for a 5". When bit, train yourself to reel down until you feel the fish then simply reel faster. The hook should set up something like this:
Yours, wackily,
WW
