All right, guys, Derek Hudnall here, Bassmaster Elite Series pro. And I'm gonna kind of give you guys an idea of how my brain thinks in my top five lures for the month of February. When you think of February across the country, if you're where I'm from in South Louisiana, you're thinking these fish are already getting ready to spawn. If you're up north, these fish are still extremely pre-spawned or in that winter presentation. But I'm gonna tell you, guys, the month of February is when some of the biggest fish around the U.S. are caught, and there's a reason for that. These fish are trying to get fat. They're trying to get healthy. They're trying to get enough energy inside of them to last them throughout the spawn.
So there is a reason you need to keep that in mind before you start figuring out what you need to have tied on in your boat. So there's one rule of thumb that I use especially for the month of February, and we're gonna be talking about catching big fish here, and these are some of the baits that I use to catch big fish whenever. Now, look, a giant fish does not exert the energy that a smaller fish does, so they're gonna be looking for something bigger, something with higher protein, something they can not have to exert a whole lot of energy to get a big meal all at once. So that's kind of the way that my head wraps around it when I go through bait selection.
So I have some selections of some hard baits and then also some baits that have some soft plastics on them and something that, you know, you can really throw to really catch a fish of a lifetime in February, because when I'm fishing in February, that's what I'm looking for. I'm looking for the biggest fish I can absolutely catch. So these are gonna help put those odds in your favor. I mean, I could not be more excited to share with you February lures because that's my favorite time of the year to fish, especially in the south.
So we're gonna start with a couple here, and I'll kind of give you, not you guys, an idea why I chose these baits. So one is that SPRO Aruku Shad, and, man, this Aruku Shad, they come in a couple of different sizes. This is the 65. So this is a 5/8-ounce, you know, type. It's kind of a Rat-L-Trap-style lipless crankbait. This is kind of bigger in February, and everybody knows you start getting into the early months. For whatever reason, those fish really key on the grid, and whenever those crawfish start coming out from hibernation, that's the color that they are. So that's why you see a lot of fish like red more than any color that time of the year, you know, something like this Delta Craw right here.
Again, this is the Aruku Shad 65. It's a bigger profile. You can absolutely sling this thing to the moon. You want to make very, very long casts on it. I'm looking for riprap. I'm looking for... And if you're in a place that's got vegetation, letting this thing get down in the vegetation and really stroking that thing out, that causes a lot of reaction strikes from a lot of really big fish. I've caught some absolute giant bass on that bait right here. And a good thing about the Aruku Shad is when you stroke it and it goes down, it actually goes nose down. And with that nose down, it keeps the hooks out of the cover, keeps you from getting hung up more, and it'll trigger those bigger fish whenever they're really looking to feed up and they start getting up shallow. One of my favorites right here.
Switch to another hard plastic, you know, in that two-to-five-foot range is kind of where I like this, and this is the SPRO Squarebill Hunter 65 right here. It is, again, a bigger profile squarebill. It hunts extremely well. So if you're around riprap, rock, pea gravel points, anything like that, this thing has an incredible erratic action. One thing I love about this bait, especially that time of the year and the fish aren't, you know, really, really active, is that you can really burn this bait. And what I mean by burning this bait, I mean, like, you can reel it really fast, and it doesn't come and roll up on you on the side or anything like that. So that's why I really love to throw this Aruku Shad right here.
Look, and keep this in mind, especially, anytime you're throwing a crankbait, you can determine how deep this bait runs, depending on your setup. Setup is very, very important when it comes to a squarebill or any type of crankbait. You know, this time of the year, you know, I'm a St. Croix, this is a Legend Tournament 7'2" medium moderate rod. So it's got good length to it. It's got a good backbone on it, so it really gives it kind of that rubber band effect so I can make extremely long cast on it.
And I will go anywhere between...I have thrown this on 10-pound Sunline Sniper all the way up to 18-pound Sniper as well, and just depending on what depth range I'm going in and depending on how thick of cover I'm in. If you're reeling a crankbait through a rock point and that crankbait is not constantly hitting the bottom, you need to get that crankbait deeper. So if you're throwing a 16-pound Sniper and you're just not quite getting it down there and really digging in those rocks, maybe you need to go down to a 14- or a 12-pound, and that will give you a little better cast ability. You're gonna be able to cast this thing a little bit further, and this bait is gonna go...it's gonna allow this bait to go deeper and get it to where you want it to be.
But I'm telling, at least three-quarters, you know, kind of the rule of thumb, at least three-quarters of your cast, that bait needs to be constantly hitting the rocks or whatever cover you're trying to deflect it on, because, I'm telling you, that's when the bite is gonna come, is when that bait deflects off of something, it causes a reaction strike, and the fish just absolutely can't stand it. Again, bigger profile bait because those bigger fish are gonna want something a little bigger to kind of hold them over a little while because, let's just face it, they can't feed 24 hours a day. They don't have the energy. Really good addition right here, especially in the month of February.
And here's a new one by SPRO. This is for those fish that are a little bit deeper. You know, you get in places where, especially early, you get really pre-spawn where this fish might be out of that, like, you know, 8-to-12-foot of water and you're really trying to get a bait down there, a little deeper than what those squarebills go, is, like, this SPRO Outsider Crankbait. And this thing right here is insanely incredible. It runs so straight, it really deflects well, and they call it an Outsider because there's a weight transfer system in it that goes to the back of this thing.
So, what does that do? It allows you to cast this thing really, really long, you know, really long way, and that's what you want to do. You want to cover as much water as you can and be as efficient as you can, and that means longer cast, bait is in the water longer, but this Outsider Crankbait tracks incredibly well. It's probably one of my favorite crankbaits out there. They just released them last year. But this Outsider Crankbait right here, especially for the month of February, you're in pre-spawn, you're going to allow it to get down a little bit further. This one right here will dive anywhere between that 9- and 12-foot range. And I'm anywhere from...I will throw this thing on 8-pound fluorocarbon all the way up to 16, just depending on the depth range that I'm trying to get to.
Most of the time, I'm going to lean toward the lighter of it, you know. If I'm tying this thing on and I'm not sure about the depth, you know, 10-to-12-pound fluorocarbon is kind of my mid-range of what I like to put on this thing. I can get this down. I can get this thing down 11, 12-foot with 12-pound fluorocarbon without a problem and in the same rod. This is a 7'2" medium rod, Legend Xtreme by St. Croix. It allows me...it's got the perfect backbone. It has an awesome tip on it, which really allows you to launch this bait. And also it bows up enough and it turns enough to where you can really keep those fish hooked up because fish on treble hooks sometimes can be an absolute beast. But make sure you have the right setup not just for this Outsider but for any crankbait into your box.
So now, we're going to get outside of the hard baits here. We're getting into some other ones. And everybody knows the old bladed jig, this right here, JackHammer, half-ounce JackHammer. I have a 4.5-inch Missile Baits Spunk Shad on the back of it. And I have probably caught more big fish in my life and my tournament career on a ChatterBait. In February, there's no way possible, I don't care where we are, that I do not have this setup in my boat. A lot of people can say, "I'm not sure why ChatterBait catches so many fish," but this thing right here, you gotta have it. You can be so versatile with it. Half-ounce is normally what I go to. Some people go down to a 3/8, and maybe I will if I'm extremely shallow.
But whatever kind of cover you want to fish it around, whether it be wood, boat docks, love throwing it in grass. I'm from South Louisiana so we have a lot of hydrilla, milfoil. Man, if you can find that in the months of February, wherever you're at around the country, man, this ChatterBait will absolutely pay dividends. I've caught some absolute giants on this thing. Setup is very important. A lot of people with a ChatterBait mess up by not putting enough backbone on the ChatterBait. And let's face it, when you're coming in February and you're chasing big fish, you do not want to bring a tricycle to a NASCAR race. You want to make sure you have the beef to get them in the boat. You want to be able to really put that hook in the fish's mouth. And there's a lot of people that throw too limber of a rod or they're not putting a big enough line size on there. And a ChatterBait's got a pretty big hook, guys. So the number one important thing with a ChatterBait is making sure you have enough beef to get that hook in the fish's mouth, and you're going to land most of them.
This right here is a Legend Tournament by St. Croix. It's a 7'3" medium-heavy fast, probably the most versatile rod on planet Earth that I can name about 20 baits that I throw on this setup right here. I typically stay around 18-pound Sunline, either Shooter or Sniper, depending on how heavy the cover that I'm in. I will go down to 16 sometimes, and I will go up to 20 sometimes, just depending on how thick that vegetation is. And kind of like the Aruku Shad, especially if I'm around grass, I really like to get this ChatterBait down in it, and I really like to stroke it and rip it out of that. So you need to have, you know, a little bit heavier line size when you're doing that in order to really rip it free of the grass, and that's when you're going to get that reaction strike from that giant bass that you're going to catch, especially in the month of February.
But again, these baits have no calendar, but the month of February is really where these baits and these setups shine. And especially if you're on a bait like this that you're really trying to stroke it, you need a fast gear ratio, either A 7.3 to 1, like this 7 reel. This GF Series casting reel, it's a 7.3 to 1 or even an 8 to 1, because you really want to pick up lines, you know, the slack really quickly with a setup like this.
And last but not least, number five, one of my favorite things to do really year-round but especially in the month of February is flipping a big jig. I feel like that's something that people have just gotten away from. This right here is a Missile Baits. This is a Flip Out. So this is the bigger style jig. It's a full size, and this is a 3/4 ounce here, along with the Chunky D, the full Chunky D on the back of it. I'm a green pumpkin guy, unless you get in the muddy water, especially that time of the year. But why a 3/4 ounce? That time of the year, you heard me use the word reaction in almost every one of my baits, sitting on my boat right now, and that is the key to the month of February, because like I said, they're not just actively schooling everywhere. You need to get those fish reacts.
So I don't care if you're flipping docks, if you're flipping wood, heavy vegetation. I like a fast fall for those fish to react to it, and there is no better protein source that those fish would rather eat than either a falling crawfish or they might think it's a bluegill or something like that. And this is another one, you don't want to bring a tricycle to a NASCAR race. I am 50-pound Sunline Xplasma Asegai Braid. I'm a 7'4" Legend Xtreme by St. Croix. It's got a lot of meat to it. I really want to get a good hook in those fish. And the sensitivity on this rod is just insanely incredible. The energy transfer with all the carbon fiber and the proprietary handle and everything is just exactly what you need. Fast gear ratio, 8 to 1.7. By Seviin reels, you want to be able to pick up slack, you know, big time. I'm telling you, when you flip it out there, 99.9% of the time whatever cover you're flipping in, with a big jig like that, he's gonna hit it on the fall.
You need sensitivity lightweight to be able to see and feel that strike because you've got to, you know, whenever you see it, you better hit him quick because sometimes they just don't hold it long in the month of February. But a lot of times, when that happens, it is an absolute giant. So the month of February, guys, just remember, these fish are wanting to feed and they're wanting to feed on big baits And of course, they make a lot bigger baits than what I'm showing you here, but these are all bigger profile. I use the word reaction a lot because the fish are reacting to a lot of lures because they're just not that Active that time of the year because of the water temperatures.
Big baits, big fish, big line, big rods. I'm a power fisherman through and through, and the month of February is one of my favorite times to catch something. If you're looking to catch your fish of a lifetime, the month of February is the time to do it. And I can promise you, you have this set up right here, these five rods, these five baits, I'm telling you, you are going to have some success and you're going to catch a fish of a lifetime if you just stick to it. Use the right mindset. Look for the fish that are the biggest fish in the pond. Try to go to the biggest, you know, the areas of your lake that have the biggest fish in it. Try to get those big fish to react and give them what they want. And I can promise you, you guys are going to have success.
So thank you, guys, for watching. Tight lines, and I hope this helps put more fish in your boat.
