“ It ’ s something I have used for 30 years .”
— MLF pro Kevin VanDam
Storm SuspenDots on this Strike King 6XD crankbait ( color Sexy Green Shad ) alter the lure ’ s buoyancy and the resulting slow rise can drive offshore bass crazy .
PHOTO BY BRANDON ROWAN impact on tackle and technique
Forward-facing sonar might play second fiddle to earlier technologies when it comes to finding deeper structure , but FFS offers face-to-face advantages once fish are found . Rather than running the gamut of ledge baits – crankbait , trailered jig , worm , swimbait , drop-shot , spoon , etc . – the dialed-in pro can observe the bass ’ s response to his bait in real time and make quick adjustments .
“ When you ’ re offshore fishing , you ’ re looking at how the fish are reacting to your bait , 100 %,” Rose says . “ Swimbait , spoon , crankbait – it doesn ’ t matter . And , yes , you ’ re changing up your retrieve more , doing things to trick them into biting . Snap a jig off bottom . Let it sit . Work the bait a little slower . Shake your rod a little more … It ’ s all just trial and error .”
Rose sees the expansion of aquatic plant growth from eel grass to milfoil and hydrilla along classic TVA ledges . Where present , he limits his ledge-lure selection . He substitutes his workhorse treble-hook lures like his Strike King 6XD crankbait with baits more suitable to deep grass duty such as Texas-rigged worms and skirted jig combinations .
Advanced electronics are also demonstrating that offshore bass can be as finicky and quirky in their preferences of bed bass .
“ It ’ s like every fish has its own personality ,” Neal says . “ With some , you have to burn it by their face to get them to bite . With the next one , you may have to let the bait sit still for five or six seconds . If you can target a fish far enough from your boat , you may be able to do two or three things on that single cast to see what his mood is without having to reel all the way to the boat to try each .”
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Witnessing fish reaction to rips and twitches with FFS has put a fresh face on jerkbait fishing , to be sure . Wheeler is playing similarly with cadence , pause and subtlety working crankbaits offshore .
“ I never truly understood how effective a crankbait can be when it ’ s not hitting the bottom ,” Wheeler says . “ I can stop and twitch and impart action to it just like with a jerkbait . I can adjust the cadence , slow it down , speed it up , twitch it . You wouldn ’ t think of a deep-diving crankbait working handin-hand with FFS . But , I use it to trigger a bite , and it has been very effective .”
FFS frenzy has inspired lure makers to design baits that optimize the technology ’ s utility . To date , most have been lures that can be worked slowly and enticingly within the strike zone of suspended fish . For offshore duty , Rose notes a growing preference for jigs crafted from harder metals like tungsten . The bulky profile of an Alabama rig has resurrected interest in that multi-bait as well , if only as an FFS learning aid or practice tool . Beyond those modest adjustments , few new baits built for ledge duty seem to have been crafted with FFS in mind .
Yet , bass anglers are inveterate tinkerers ; lots of creative tools , both old and new , are earning stage time under the spotlight of forward-facing sonar .
Kevin VanDam credits Shaw Grigsby with an adjustment that has brought added advantage to crankbaits like the Strike King 5XD and 6XD he uses on 15- to 20-foot ledges . Carefully chosen snap weights or SuspenDots added to the baits enable the lures to suspend or affect a slow rise . So weighted , he can play as liberally and experimentally with his
MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | JUNE-JULY 2023