key points to keep in mind when it
comes to finding the right sound.
matching the hatch
Bass listen and use their lateral
lines to locate prey all the time, and
those senses are especially impor-
tant in low-light or dingy conditions.
It only makes sense to try to match a
lure’s sound to the forage’s sound.
What exactly does a shad or cray-
fish sound like? It’s tough to say, and
you don’t really need to know the
specifics in many cases. Like what
my lure-designer friend did at the
start, it’s important to keep testing
until the bass in your lake let you
know what they like. Even when
you’re already on a good pattern,
you can still learn more. For
instance, if you’re catching them on a
“standard” lipless crankbait, swap to
a bait with a single knocker-type rat-
tle and see what happens.
noise makers
No matter how “silent” a lure
claims to be, chances are it’s almost
always making noise. Hooks clanging
against the body of a crankbait,
weights hitting against the hook eye
on a Texas rig, the weight ticking
rocks as you shake a drop-shot –
they all make noise.
You can’t really control some of
those variables, but some you can.
Those are the ones you should
experiment with. A lure will sound
entirely different if the rattles are
made of tungsten instead of steel,
or if it has a one-knocker instead of
multiple tiny rattles.
You can also control sound by
changing bait types within a catego-
ry. Topwater is a good example.
There will be days when the gurgle
of a buzzbait is going to outperform
the plop of a plopper-style topwater.
Even different metals in a buzzbait
will create different sounds when the
blades smack the water.
Listen to the music
Once you determine fruitful sound
patterns, they’ll probably carry over
on most bodies of water, even if the
fisheries are not 100 percent the
same.
This not only counts for rattles,
but also lures such as poppers that
come in a lot of varieties. A popper
that splashes tends to be better
around bass eating shad because
the splashes of water hitting the sur-
face sound like feeding baitfish,
while a popper that makes a loud
“bloop” sound is better around
bluegill-eating bass because it better
mimics the popping noises bluegills
make while eating at the surface.
There are exceptions to every rule
in fishing, but, generally, once you’ve
determined sound patterns for vari-
ous forage types, they usually carry
across bodies of water.
Be Willing to change
Bass are moody. There will be
days when a loud, obnoxious bait is
a turn-on for bass, but on other days
they practically run from it. You need
to consider their overall activity level
based on the season and conditions
and realize that, many times, why
fish want one thing and not the
other isn’t easy to pinpoint. Try dif-
ferent things, but don’t limit your
exploration to only colors and bait
types. The sound a lure makes is a
critical part of the package too.
WINNING LINEUP!
SUPERBRAID ™ ƲƁƲTOPKNOT LEADER ™
SUPERBRAID™
ƁƲ6q٧ʧƲq|»q¿®¨Ʋ»¿¿Åq¨}
ƁƲÙÅ»§¢ÚƲ¢®ÔƲ¿Å»Å}Ʋ
ƁƲÓq¢q|¢Ʋ¨Ʋ ¢ÊƃƲq» Ʋ »¨ƃƲ
ƲƲq¨ƲbÅ
MIKE SURMAN
Yo-Zuri Pro Staff
TOPKNOTǙƲLEADER
ƁƲİįįDžƲ ¢Ê®»®}q»|®¨
ƁƲa»ÅÊq¢¢ÚƲ¨Ó¿|¢
ƁƲS¨Ʋq§Å»
ƁƲNʸ»®»Ʋ ¨®ÅƲ¿Å»¨Å
ƁƲ|»q¿®¨Ʋ»¿¿Åq¨Å
G®Å®Ʋ}»ÅƂƲ 1bƃƲ11
Yo-Zuri.com
sprIng 2019 I fLWfIshIng.com
53