Fishing with the Stick Bait
by Ken Sturdivant
Southern Fishing Schools Inc.
Top water fishing is always exciting
because the strikes can occur from the time the baits hit the water
to the end of the retrieve. Water temperatures are already high and shallow
as well as deep fish will take a very effective bait all day and even
at night. The lure is called the stick bait. This bait is very easy
to
use
and on light line top water fishing becomes even more challenging.
This lure is also referred to as the jerk bait simply because that is
how
it can be fished. With simply jerks on the rod tip these lures dance
across
the water and fish cannot resist a tempting meal. These baits can be
fished on the surface to 5 feet deep.
Many anglers have discovered
that making
the lure move in a rhythm can be very effective. Once the lure reaches
a likely stump or grass line the lure can be stopped and it then
floats up on the surface. Many times this lure may be dead still and
all of
a sudden a bass comes out of the darkness and destroys the bait.
These lures
come in a wide variety of sizes and colors. In the early spring,
the lures should be smaller because the bait fish are small. Then as
the
summer progresses
the lures can be as long a 7 inches and still be very productive.
Most anglers find that using light line and a spinning or spin cast
reel is much easier to use with these lures. The line is almost always
very
loose
on the reel due to the lack of pressure placed on the lures retrieves.
A shorter rod can be helpful because the rod tip is pulled downward
on the retrieve. Short pulls or jerks can make the fish react to
the bait
and this makes the lure look alive to the fish.
Colors are as endless
as the rainbow and almost any combination can work. Shad, bream
and blue and
silver combinations can catch fish almost all summer long. In
colored or stained water brighter colors are easier for the fish to see.
In
clear water pick try a wide variety of colors until a pattern works.
Cast these
lures and then start with simple downward jerks on the rod and
take up the line at the same time. Practice with these lures and duplicate
the
retrieves that draw strikes.
