“Catching Everything on Mepps and Mister Twister Lures with Kraig Albright”

Part 2: Are You Asleep Back There?

Editor’s Note: Kraig Albright of Dayton, Oregon, a competitive bass fisherman, also fishes for rainbow trout, salmon and steelheads.

Question: Kraig, I understand you’re a big fan of the Comida. Why?

Albright: The Comida is my confidence bait when I’m fishing for largemouth bass. I prefer to fish it on heavy flipping tackle. I use 17-pound-test fluorocarbon line and a No. 5/0 keeper hook without a sinker. My favorite color is watermelon seed. To fish the Comida effectively, you have to learn to leave the bait alone. I’ve found that I catch more bass by dead-sticking this worm.

The Comida really goes against the grain of a fisherman, because all our lives we’ve believed that to entice a bass to bite, we’ve got to put some type of action into that bait. We deliver that action either by shaking the line, twitching or dragging the bait with the rod tip or increasing or decreasing the speed of the retrieve. So, it’s hard for us to understand how a piece of rubber that looks more like a cigar than it does a worm can just lay on the bottom and cause a bass to bite. But that’s exactly what I do when I fish the Comida.

I’ll actually let the Comida sit on the bottom for 30 to 45 seconds, not give the bait any action and then move it 1 foot, let it lie on the bottom for another 30 to 45 seconds, move the bait one more time and allow it to lie still before I reel it out and cast it again. So, when I’m fishing the Comida, I’m letting it lie still three-separate times for 30 to 45 seconds before I move it, which is a long time for a bait to sit still without moving it. I’ve learned that if a bass doesn’t take the bait on the fall, the fish often will come up to it, look at the Comida and then inhale it. Not many fishermen understand that dead-sticking a bait like this will produce bass. They believe that they always need to move the bait or the bait won’t attract bass. But when I’m fishing the Comida, instead of trying to make the fish bite my bait, I’m waiting for the bass to move in and take the bait.

Question: Around what kind of targets do you throw the Comida?

Albright: I usually fish it around hard structure, like logs, trees lying in the water or even bluff banks or docks. In the areas I fish, we have both largemouth and smallmouth bass. When I’m fishing this bait, I’ll often catch both. Generally if I catch a smallmouth on the Comida, it will be a big smallmouth, about 2 to 4 pounds. The largemouth usually will weigh from 1- to 5-pounds each. Some fishermen use other cigar-shaped worms, but not many people know about the Comida and how to dead-stick it. The bass hold onto the Comida a little bit better, possibly because of the scent, than they hold on to other stick-type baits. Too, I drive my fishing partners crazy with the Comida.

Question: What do you mean you drive them crazy?

Albright: When I’m waiting on a bite, my partner will look back and say, “Are you going to move that bait?” Or, “Hey, are you awake back there, or are you taking a nap?” But they find out how awake I am when I’m hollering at them to get a net to land a bass I’ve just hooked on the Comida, using the dead-stick tactic.