"Often, strikes come just after I start shaking a second time. I shake it, then let it sit there, then shake it some more before I reel in for another pitch. I pitch to a target or flip through hydrilla, and let the lure sink to the bottom. Even my shaking presentations are deliberate. "Overall," he says, "I believe a slow and deliberate presentation is best. He uses both 7- and 7 1/2-foot medium heavy rods. This is a smaller hook size than many use, but Pruitt believes it presents a more natural appearance, and with 20-pound-test monofilament or 40-pound-test braided line (for hydrilla), he still gets good hook sets. After I pitched in a Mad Man craw, I caught the fish in less than five minutes."įor virtually all his crawfish fishing, Pruitt prefers a 3 1/2-inch lure, which he rigs with either a 2/0 or 3/0 wide gap hook. "In fact, during that Toho tournament, I spent two hours trying to catch an 8-pounder, but I never got a second look, even with a variety of lures. I've caught bass on beds with a crawfish in just a few minutes, after other anglers had worked on them for hours with other lures. When a bass approaches, I shake the lure slightly, and pretty often that's all it takes. "I like to pitch a crawfish in the bed and then just leave it. (He caught 34 pounds, 13 ounces of bass in one day with a crawfish during the famous BASSMASTER Top 150 at Lake Toho in 2001.) "I think bass instinctively know crawfish are not supposed to be in their spawning beds, so they don't let one stay around very long," notes Pruitt. This is another time a rattle can be important." If bass aren't right beside the crawfish, then I think this type of action may help get their attention and perhaps draw them to the lure. "First, I let it sink to the bottom, then I start shaking my rod tip again to make the lure start dancing in place. They often attach themselves to the hydrilla strands underneath the mat."īass, of course, are underneath the mat, too, but until Pruitt determines exactly where, he works the crawfish at various depths. I like the crawfish because this is a natural place for them to be. You can also use a heavy 'grass jig' as well as a large plastic worm in this situation. "This is purely a vertical presentation," he explains, "and the crawfish lure is just one of several that fishermen use in these conditions. He uses a sinker ranging from 3/8 ounce to 1 ounce in size, depending on the thickness of the vegetation and the depth of the water. He doesn't usually peg his sinker, but he does when he's fishing hydrilla or other heavy vegetation.
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