COLOR : CHROME SEXY SHAD
TRISTAN McCORMICK ’ S DEADLY DIMINUATIVES
STRIKE KING BITSY SEXY DAWG The “ Dawg ” got downsized treatment but delivers big-time results when bass are herding small baitfish and feeding on top .
COLOR : TRIPLE MAGIC
STRIKE KING KVD FILLER WORM A favored finesse offering , switching to a slim plastic worm often turns the tide when facing highly pressured or stubborn bass .
COLOR : SMOKEY SHAD
STRIKE KING BABY Z-TOO Perhaps the most popular mini plastic in the Strike King line , the 3.5-inch , Y-tailed baitfish imitator presented on a ballhead jig is ideal in FFS face-offs or any Damiki-style presentation .
“ Are smaller baits simply better bass catchers than we previously supposed ?”
FFS observations have also influenced Strike King to downsize a number of popular baits . A new series of hard bait offerings includes the 1 / 8- ounce Bitsy Jerkbait , 1 / 8-ounce Bitsy Shad lipless crankbait and a pair of tiny topwater baits — the Bitsy Sexy Dawg walking bait and Bitsy Splash walker / chugger .
While FFS has ignited this “ small bait ” renaissance , the phenomenon is also expanding our awareness of how bass act and feed in their underwater world .
“ We use FFS as a tool to understand fish as much as for making or selecting baits to catch them ,” notes Murphy . “ We didn ’ t realize how much bass feed on much smaller forage .”
“ Before when we witnessed fish blowing up on small baits at the surface ,
we waited to throw quickly to the next boil ,” says Bertrand . “ Now , with LiveScope , we can follow the fish . When they go down , we can follow their movement on the screen and chase them between those surface feeding frenzies .”
For a look at additional lures designed with FFS in mind , see “ New Tools for a New Age ” in our February / March 2024 issue .
winning ways with suspended fish
The most striking revelation of FFS may be that bass suspend in the water column , tailing schools of roaming baitfish , far more than we once thought . Targeting these fish has become the most popular strategy on just about every tournament trail , even accounting for the entire Top 10 at Bass Pro Tour Stage One on Toledo Bend .
When targeting suspended fish , Berkley pro Justin Lucas stresses “ control ” as the biggest advantage of small swimbaits and minnow imitators like the Power Switch and Finisher . He calls them “ 365-day baits ” — good in stable , consistent weather , great in tough , post-frontal conditions .
“ We can target these fish that are suspended , fish we weren ’ t able to target before ,” Lucas says . “ Being able to drop a cast on these fish and keep a bait in their face goes a long way . We can keep these baits in their strike zone for a lot longer .”
Tristan McCormick believes that combination of pinpoint presentation with the bite-getting power of small baits is the reason Damiki-style rigs have taken over the fishing world . He keeps a Strike King Baby Z-Too on a ballhead on his deck at all times .
“ It ’ s a finessy rig that can catch those suspending fish we call ‘ floaters ,’” he says . “ You force feed them by putting the bait in front of their nose to make them bite .”
The jighead minnow technique , referred to by a range of other monikers including mid-strolling , moping and hover-rigging , places a premium on buoyant baits that can hold to a decided depth and hover with subtle , tantalizing action . Lucas ’ go-to is Berkley ’ s PowerBait MaxScent Flatnose Minnow . While the 4-inch bait has a slender profile , he proved its ability to generate giant bites when he used it to stack six bass weighing 42 pounds ,
50 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | APRIL-MAY 2024