Bass Fishing Dec 2019 - Jan 2020 | Page 33

Clapper usually concentrates his cold-water search in 22 to 30 feet of water. smallmouths seem to concentrate in the biggest groups around small, stairstepping breaks that are usually next to a major deep-water sanctuary. depth and structural elements may vary from lake to lake, but the key factor remains being in close proximity to the main-lake basin. “you may have to hunt and hunt,” Clapper adds, “but when you find them, it’s the motherlode.” Baits and Tactics once he locates a school, Clapper cycles through a handful of productive lures. bare hair jigs are a northern favorite, and Clapper’s experience with bucktail dates back at least 30 years. in fact, he was the first to show me the technique, which later resulted in the two of us teaming up on a 30-pound five-fish bag. Clapper’s hair jigs are all hand-tied and feature a mod- erate amount of grey bucktail surrounding a stout 3/0 hook. weight selection varies from 1/4 to 3/4 ounce, depending on depth, waves and wind. retrieves are sim- ple drags, with the jig lightly hopping over rocky bottom. while a heavy hair jig with no trailer sinks like a stone, don’t be fooled into thinking it’s not a subtle presenta- tion. For years, i’ve studied hair jigs, trying to solve the riddle behind why they are so effective, despite being so simple. i believe the answer lies in the bucktail itself. even when the jig lies motionless on the bottom, the hair slightly quivers and shimmies. Cold-water smallmouths – especially those found around the massive waters of the Great lakes – regularly key in on small baitfish such as emerald shiners during this period. perhaps the hair jig mimics the tiny tail kicks of these baitfish species. another old-school lure in Clapper’s arsenal is the Vib- e blade bait, which is effective for casting and vertical pre- sentations. Color preferences are simple gold or chrome, and Clapper suggests using relatively small hooks to increase the vibration of the lure. he presents them on a casting rod and 15-pound-test fluorocarbon. blade baits are often misunderstood lures. anglers often overwork them. Clapper’s method utilizes continu- ous light hops, with the lure momentarily touching bot- tom in between. rod lifts jump the bait a foot or two and not more. still, in terms of cold-water smallmouth fishing, this is heavy-handed tackle that’s capable of muscling in big fish much more rapidly than light-line applications, yielding a better chance for landing a monster. A selection of Clapper’s baits for big smallies. wInTEr 2020 I FLwFISHInG.com if hair jigs and blades aren’t producing, Clapper’s third choice is one he’s refined most recently: the swimbait. he relies on the 2.8 or 3.3 Keitech swing impact Fat paired with a homemade jighead poured with a small, powerful hook. often, Clapper relies on a football-style head to really “grind the bait into the bottom.” he’ll use spinning or casting gear with line in the 10-pound-test range. retrieves are fairly standard, with constant motion and few pauses. The Presentation regardless of his lure choice, the key component to Clapper’s system is a precise presentation. long ago, Clapper revolutionized the deep-structure game by refus- ing to drift with the wind like most big-water bass anglers. instead, he invented a system of utilizing a long- shaft trolling motor to hold his boat on specific targets. it’s a method that other big-water anglers and i have adopted and continuously refine. Clapper starts by making accurate casts to specific deep-water rocks and drops. he keeps his bait in the strike zone the same way an expert flipper does along the shoreline. no time is wasted, and structures are sys- tematically eliminated throughout the day. “i always like to be pulling my bait with the current,” he adds. “[sometimes] that can be against the wind, and that’s a detriment. but if it’s a spot i have confidence in, i’m going to mill around until i figure out how to catch them.” Clapper confirms – and i can attest – that angle is often everything. once the proper cast is determined and the first catch lights up the school, succes- sive giant bass can often be the result. For Clapper, the appeal of giant smallmouths from the biggest waters seems to never wear off. despite spending an entire lifetime chasing brown bruisers, Clapper continues to discover and refine new techniques on nearly every outing, reinforcing that there are endless possibilities in this final frontier of bass fishing. 31