back to school ( s )
For Mark Rose , patience is a virtue when fish move deep in the late summer / early fall .
‘ Bass are like ducks ’
Mark Rose learned ledge bass behavior on the fabled Tennessee River reservoirs . Bass , he noted , ease out to key locations following their postspawn recovery . And they aren ’ t necessarily in a hurry .
“ They gather on bars and river ledges . Every day more and more fish gang up ,” says the FLW 2018 Tour Angler of the Year from Wynne , Arkansas . “ They sit in eddies , on breaks in the river channels , on stumps and gravel bars .” The schooling reminds him of a fall waterfowl gathering . “ They ’ re kind of like ducks ,” Rose explains . “ You put out decoys and five or six ducks come . If you don ’ t mess with them , more keep coming . But once you start to catch some , they — like ducks — start to split up .”
These river bass feed heavily on gizzard and threadfin ( yellowtail ) shad .
“ But for those tournament-winning fish on the Tennessee River , the primary forage is gizzard shad ,” Rose asserts .
Gizzard are the magnum members of the shad clan , and Rose mimics them with lures like the 5.5-inch Strike King Sexy Spoon matched to bait size or a Strike King Pro-Model crankbait matched to depth .
“ Another favorite is a 3 / 4- or 1-ounce football jig trailed with a Strike King Rage Craw ,” he says . “ When fish don ’ t seem to be hitting the football jig but I feel they are in the area , I won ’ t leave without snapping the jig a few times or lifting the jig high and letting it fall . Time and time again , hopping it high off the bottom is how they want it . They eat it on the way down .”
Rounding out Rose ’ s offerings to ledge schoolers are 5- to 6-inch swimbaits on a heavy Squadron Jighead or Scrounger head , a swinghead jig with a Strike King Rage Bug and an 8- inch Strike King Bullworm .
“ I also like a 3 / 4-ounce white bucktail hair jig ,” he adds . “ Just hold the rod at about the 10 o ’ clock position and reel fast three times . Don ’ t drop the rod . Just let the jig pendulum down on a slack line .”
PHOTO BY PHOENIX MOORE
Jig with Strike King Rage Craw
Strike King Rage Bug
48 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021