Bass Fishing Jun - Jul 2021 | Page 34

COLUMN : TACTICAL BASSIN

Conventional wisdom says to use natural colors in clear water , but these smallies — which bit chartreuse-and-blue swimbaits — proved otherwise . fishing by the book

Sometimes rules are just meant to be broken
PHOTOS COURTESY TACTICAL BASSIN
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Matt Allen and Tim Little are well-known big-bass experts who own Tactical Bassin , a website and social media channels dedicated to educating the public about bass fishing .

W

hat if the “ book on bass fishing ” is wrong ?
Bass fishermen are full of superstitions , stigmas and preconceived notions . From what they wear to what foods can come on the boat ( leave the bananas at home ) to what it takes to catch a bass , the “ rules ” are endless . Ironically , many of these notions are built on fallacy .
While brainstorming a list of common misconceptions for this column , I was shocked at how many came to mind without any effort . The few that really stood out involved widely held truths we ’ ve probably all heard time and again : about when to throw naturallooking baits , when not to
throw topwaters , and so on . While each of these topics certainly has merit in very specific instances , there are countless examples that disprove them as broad commandments . From our own personal experience and countless hours on the water across every corner of the continent , here are a handful of chapters from the book on bassin ’ that aren ’ t always so cut and dried .
Clear Water = Natural Colors
The idea that you should be throwing natural-colored baits in clear water is generally accurate . It ’ s a great idea to throw green pumpkin Senkos or watermelon worms when the bite is tough . No one is
going to argue that these staple colors haven ’ t earned their place in your tackle box . Many anglers , though , overlook the merits of bright , bold colors in these same scenarios .
While a natural-colored worm might fool a bass into biting , a bright pink or chartreuse worm may pique their curiosity and tempt them when nothing else is working .
A natural-colored swimbait may get bit consistently in clear water , but I can recall a very specific instance where Tim and I caught dozens of 3- to 6-pound smallmouth on a chartreuse-and-blue Keitech swimbait in crystal-clear water . The fish were staging before the spawn and feeding on small baitfish . The water
32 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | JUNE-JULY 2021