Having spent most
of my life in Florida, I’ve enjoyed grown quite
fond of the largemouth bass whose “get big” genes are so
revered that the Sunshine State’s green fish have been widely
stocked beyond our borders. For the record, I still love those mossback
monsters, but recent years of bass tournament coverage have introduced
me to a little brown fish that has captured a piece of my heart.
I say “little” because the top end for smallmouth is just
a “good” fish in largemouth circles. Nevertheless, these
bronzy boogers pack a lot of punch in their compact forms. Although
I’ve yet to hang into anything worth bragging about, this southern
boy has yanked on plenty of 2-pound smallies that gave a thoroughly
convincing impersonation of a 5-pound fish.
Impressed as I
am with smallmouth, I know I have some road to cover before I can
claim any level of proficiency. But for my fellow smallmouth novices,
let me suggest you get to know the green pumpkin tube on a personal
basis. No, it’s not the anytime, anywhere always-on
smallmouth bait. Such things don’t exist – for any species.
However, if you can locate some rocky or shell laden bottom in smallmouth
waters, drop a green pumpkin tube and hang on to the rod.
My FLW buddy from
Pennsylvania, Jason Ober shared some tubing insight during a recent
outing on Lake Champlain. For starters, Ober advises hopping the
jig over uneven, rocky bottom to minimize hang-ups, but for shells,
he’ll drag
the tube for maximum noise.
Ober uses a tube
style lead head jig of ¼- to 3/8-ounce, depending
on depth. With the lead head shoved inside the tube and the line tie
poking through the plastic, he cuts a ¼- to ½-inch slit
in the tube’s body along the inside edge of the hook shank. This
helps eliminate hook set impediments. Also, when bed fishing, Ober
trims 1/8- to ¼-inch off the bottom edge of his tube’s
skirt.
“Cutting the side of the tube gives it a better hookup ratio
because there’s less plastic getting in the way of the hook,” Ober
said. “Secondly, I cut the tentacles off the back because when
they’re on the beds, I cut a little more off because it gives
the bait a smaller profile and helps the action of it.
“Sometimes the tentacles on these skirts aren’t fully
separated, so trimming the tips ensures that they’re separated.
Bass bite the tube from the back end, so with the tentacles cut off,
you have more area for them to hook up with less plastic getting in
the way.”
Rock bass, yellow perch and other bycatch species can drive you crazy
between smallies, but Ober suggests a firm, measured response to weed
out the wanted and unwanted bites.
“Anytime you’re using an exposed hook – a tube,
a dropshot, a wacky-rigged Senko – when you wind down and load
up, you can instantly tell if you have (a bass) or if it’s just
something pecking at the bait,” he said. “If you feel it
load up, just wind.”
Bassmaster Elite
pro Charlie Hartley also likes to ensure optimal jig action by snipping
open all of his bait’s tentacles. Also,
lubricating the bait with Berkley Power Bait scent bears psychological
and practical benefits.
“I think it matters to us (fishermen) more than it matters to
the fish,” Hartley said. “A smallmouth bass is a very aggressive
creature. If he’s going to bite something, he doesn’t run
up to it and at the last second say: ‘That didn’t smell
just right.’
“The (scent formula) is also a lubricant that helps get the
jig head up into the tube. Also, anything that doesn’t smell
like a human is probably better than smelling like a human.”
Agreed. Anything
that helps a Florida boy catch more smallmouth bass gets a check
in the “good” column.
Through his professional writing business, Tight Line
Communications (www.tightwords.com),
David A. Brown offers journalism and marketing communication
services.
