(Editor's note: The following is the latest installment in a series of fishing tips presented by The Bass University. Check back each Friday for a new tip.)
Veteran Tennessee pro Wesley Strader doesn’t mince words about his preferred tackle setups: “I hate throwing a spinning rod,” he said. “When I have to use it I will use it, but I just feel more comfortable with a baitcasting pole in my hand.”
That distaste for finesse gear extends to many standard finesse techniques, too: “I don’t like throwing Senkos. I’ll be honest, I hate it. It’s like watching paint dry and I’m not a watch-paint-dry kind of person.”
Despite those clearly-articulated preferences, Strader realizes that there are times that he needs to do things he dislikes, particularly in heavy-pressure or post-frontal situations. That’s why when he knows fish are there but won’t bite, or if he needs a fish in a crunch, he likes to finesse-fish with power-fishing equipment. For example, if he’s been catching bass with a jig, Chatterbait or a Zoom Z-Hog, he’ll switch to a Zoom Zlinky or a larger Yum Dinger with a pegged 1/16-, 1/8- or 1/4-ounce sinker. The lighter the weight, the more the lure will spiral on the fall. He doesn’t drop down to 8- to 12-pound test. “I’m not a light-line flipping guy,” he explained. Accordingly, he tends to rely on 14- to 22-pound Sunline fluorocarbon, usually Sunline Shooter.
Unlike some colleagues who might switch to a standard 7-foot medium-heavy rod for this technique, Strader keeps a flipping stick in his hands at all time. In fact, sometimes he’ll have six or more of them on the deck of his boat. His favorite model is a Powell 765 SBR, but when he’s around big fish or in especially heavy cover he’ll switch to the 795. Either way, he pairs it up with a Lew’s Custom Pro casting reel with an 8.5:1 gear ratio.
This is not a technique where you can typically put the trolling motor on high and fly down the bank. He’ll target every likely piece of habitat – everything from docks to rocks to seawalls to grass and brush – but he’ll rarely make just one or two pitches at a specific target.
“Power-Poles are a real key in this,” he said, adding that there is a trade-off to be made. “I’m going as slow as I can go, yet as fast as I can.”
Another key to his presentation is a very specific hook, the Trokar TK130 flipping hook, a straight-shank model in either 4/0 or 5/0. He also said that in order to maximize your hook-up percentage, you cannot be afraid of losing your soft plastics. He skin-hooks them, with the point barely inside the meat of the worm for maximum effectiveness.
“You’re going to lose every single worm but you’re going to hook up 100 percent of the time,” he said.
If you want to learn some of the other secrets of how Strader flips with finesse, including the five soft-plastic colors that cover his needs from coast to coast, check out his full video, available only by subscribing to The Bass University TV.
