Louisiana Pro Sue Crochet

 I’m not one of those died-in-the-wool bass anglers who had a fishing pole in their hands when they were old enough to walk.  My mother never was the outdoors type and although Daddy was always gone fishing or hunting, I think it was assumed that we girls are best suited for things like cooking, cleaning, and picking up after the guys.  It wasn’t until I met my husband that I realized how much I’d been missing all those years!

Even during those early days when he was tying on all my baits, putting new line on my reels after I’d backlashed them, and instructing me on how to fish with each new lure, I was drawn most to the art of fishing with plastics … the methodical placement of the lure, working it enticingly through the structure, and that unmistakable tug letting me know that I had a taker.   For me, there’s nothing like the tap-tap, sudden thud, or “feeling of nothing” on the end of my rod to make my heart race faster.  

At that time, my plastics “arsenal” consisted mostly of worms in a couple different lengths and a handful of colors.  Technique was more critical, because I had fewer options to choose from, but I believe that this taught me to be a better plastics angler.  I guess the fact that I always did love a good challenge may have a little to do with it, too.  ?  Whichever is the case, I’m sure that having fewer options helped me to focus on technique in my earlier bass fishing years. 

Unlike other “chunk and wind” lures that usually require a bass to be somewhat aggressive to generate a strike, I love how I can take a plastic lure and virtually make a bass eat whether he wants to or not!  Today, there are so many different types, sizes, and colors of plastics, which really helps when the bass are being extremely finicky.  Over time, learning how to use various types of plastics has allowed me to become more versatile than I’d ever dreamed. 

One of my favorite methods of fishing the Fluke, or some version of this lure, combines the “speed worming” technique with today’s popular technique of “dead sticking”.  Doesn’t sound right, does it … speed and dead?  When the grass begins to form matted areas on my home lake, Toledo Bend, this can be a deadly summertime pattern.  Since this lure is rigged weightless, but is heavy enough to make long casts across the mats, it’s easy to hold your rod tip high and skip the bait along the surface.  Invariably, the bass will blow up out of the mat and if you stop your retrieve, allowing the lure to sink for a couple of seconds, the fight is on! 

When the bass are a little less aggressive, but you can still see them moving around in and under the mat, you can steadily real the lure across the mat until it reaches the edge.  Allow the lure to fall, then twitch back to the boat in a one, one-two rhythm, occasionally allowing it to fall for a couple seconds.  It helps to be a line watcher, because they’ll often pick the lure up and start moving off with it very slowly.  Another thing I like about this method of fishing plastics is that because the lure is weightless, it feels much more natural to the bass and they will hang on to it longer.  This give you plenty of time to reel up slack line, find the fish and get a good hook set.

I recommend using a 6-1/2 to 7 foot heavy action rod rigged with 15 to 20 pound test line.  The length of the rod allows you to easily skip the lure across structure without getting hung up and gives you the added leverage to hook and land the fish when fishing in thick structure areas.  I’ve had greatest success with Trilene 20# test Big Game monofilament, which is light but very durable.

This technique requires practice and a lot of patience, but I’m sure if you try it and have any success at all, you’ll be hooked yourself and you’ll catch more bass, too!  Good luck and good fishing!