(Editor's note: "Catching Bass with Dustin Wilks" airs four times per week on the World Fishing Network – 6:30 p.m. ET Monday, 2:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 6:30 a.m. Sunday. The six-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier provides BassFans with additional insight about each episode in these submissions.)
This was by far my favorite episode of the year. It was April with beautiful weather and low-60s, fairly clear water, and you all know that means spawning bass.
There were a lot of cruising bass this day in addition to spawners. They were just swimming down the bank looking for a place to bed, or just cruising away from the bed looking for something to eat. Who knows, but either way, I’ve seen it before and knew exactly what to do. Enter the raw chicken.
What does raw chicken have to do with bass fishing? It is a color of the Culprit Skinny Jerk that is pure evil on bass in the spring.
Something about the raw chicken still draws out their meanness, but also appears natural for neutral fish. Basically, you can’t go wrong with this color in spring. I’d advise stocking up now because they can’t make them fast enough come spring. I use all the colors, but by far, raw chicken is my favorite.
I was using a 6’10’' Falcon Lowrider spinning rod and 15-pound Yo-Zuri Super Braid with a 12-pound Yo-Zuri T-7 leader. This set up is perfect for skipping around and more efficient than baitcasting gear for this technique. The Skinny Jerk is 6 inches long and not as thick as other soft jerkbaits, so there's not as much plastic and that results in better hooksets with the spinning gear. After you are out of the strike zone, spinning tackle allows you to reel in by just turning the handle hard a couple times and letting go, letting the momentum reel in for you. This is something you can’t do with casting gear.
I often add a little weight to the hook shank in the form of lead golf tape, but not always. If you add more weight, 3/32-ounce to be exact, the Skinny Jerk has a deadly fast shimmy on the way down that crushes deeper, clear-water fish. The Skinny Jerk can be a bit touchy to get the right action, but once you get the hang of it, you won’t want another bait. It casts like a bullet and eliminates a lot of missed fish due to less plastic.
I touched on covering water and getting the aggressive fish, only occasionally stopping for a bedding bass. If you get bogged down on a bedder that is tough, your chances go down on having a great numbers day. Often too, the biggest bass bite first cast when surprised from a distance, so while bed-fishing can be great in tournaments, it is not always the answer, especially if you are just out for fun or without an onslaught of tournament boats on the water.
This was the final show of this season – thanks for watching and catching up with my post-show summaries here on BassFan.com. All of them will re-air on WFN the rest of the year and during the first quarter of 2022, so if you missed some, there are plenty of chances to catch them again.
I’m in the middle of filming the new shows for 2022, which are shaping up to be the best yet! Thank you to all who have tuned in and made such nice comments along the way. That is what motivates me each day on the water to make it the best, most informative and action-packed show it can be.
