FULL POWER
Yo-Zuri 3DB
Series 1.5
River2Sea Ish Monroe
Bling Spinnerbait
Z-Man/Evergreen ChatterBait
Jack Hammer
FULL-POWER BAIT SELECTION
A pile of lures fit into the power-fishing category, but Birge and
Monroe find themselves gravitating to some more often than others.
1. CRANKBAITS
“I throw a Yo-Zuri square-bill crankbait a lot,” says Birge. “It’s something
that you can fish just about everywhere and anywhere. I believe there
will always be some resident fish in shallow water, and a square-bill is
one of the best ways to target these bass with the way that I like to fish.
“I’ll start early in the year with the crawfish patterns and switch to
shad patterns as the season goes on. You can do it all year long.”
2. CHATTERBAITS
Birge is also a big fan of the Z-Man/Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer.
“I throw a bunch of ChatterBaits because they work everywhere and
you can fish them fast,” he says.
War Eagle
Spinnerbait
Missile Baits D Bomb
Yo-Zuri
3DB
Series
Pencil
River2Sea Ish Monroe
Phat Mat Daddy Frog
3. TOPWATER AND SPINNERBAITS
Also favorites of Birge and Monroe, topwater baits and spinnerbaits
work well for the same reason as the ChatterBait: They can be fished
fast to cover a lot of water.
4. FROGS
Monroe’s first choice for lures would be a frog if conditions allow for it,
specifically the River2Sea Ish Monroe Phat Mat Daddy Frog. Frogs are
notorious for getting the biggest bites. Plus, they can be fished in heavy
cover where big bass live.
5. FLIPPING BAITS
Monroe’s success as a power fisherman over the years has lent itself to a
host of other signature-series fishing products, from spinnerbaits and
square-bills to flipping hooks and punch rods. The latter are among his
favorites for hauling big fish out of heavy cover.
OFF THE BANK
Though the baits and patterns
Birge and Monroe prefer to use really
lend themselves well to fishing shallow,
the concept works on offshore
fish, too. Birge likes to stay on the
move and fish fast in either case and
believes his method is valid no matter
where he’s fishing.
“If I’m fishing offshore on a long
tapering point or a rock pile, I am
always going to start fishing it with a
fast bait,” he says. “Right when I pull
up, I’m going to make several casts
with something like a crankbait and try
to get those aggressive fish first.”
If that doesn’t work, he’ll slow down
and target the area with a bait along
the bottom, especially if fishing a brush
pile or other specific piece of cover.
Monroe has a similar strategy. He’d
prefer to fish shallow around heavy
cover, but he’ll fish offshore if he feels
that gives him the best chance to win
the tournament.
Because fish group up offshore, it
actually can pay to use more aggressive
tactics in order to try and get bites
from better quality fish.
“If I am offshore, I’m still going to
be looking for the biggest fish. Ledge
fishing is a good example of where you
often see schools of fish grouped by
size,” Monroe says. “If you are catching
smaller fish, chances are that’s the
size of most of the fish in the school.
They don’t want to compete with bigger
fish, and it tells me to move on and
keep looking.”
PHOTO BY PHOENIX MOORE
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FLWFISHING.COM | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING.COM | JUNE-JULY 2020