“For Bass on Home Lakes, Fish Mister Twister Plastics with Michael Andres”

Part 4: When the Worm Doesn’t Work, Go with the B-A-Hawg

Editor’s Note: Michael Andres of Green Bay, Wisconsin, an avid bass fisherman, fishes the waters near his home, like most bass fishermen these days, because of higher gas prices. Fishing close to home often will produce more big bass than major reservoirs because smaller waters receive less fishing pressure. Too, you can fish them more intensely and learn where to find bass in them during all seasons. This week, Andres will tell us the techniques he’s developed that produce bass in both small and big waters.

Question: Mike, you seem to always have a backup lure in mind, if your first lure of choice doesn’t produce bass. So, if the 7-1/2- or the 9-1/2-inch Ribbon Tail Worm isn’t working, what lure do you use?

Andres: I Texas-rig the 5-inch B-A-Hawg the same way I rig the worm and pitch it on the edge of weedlines and into heavy milfoil. I primarily fish the B-A-Hawg as a fall bait. The bass see a number of soft-plastic baits on the edges of milfoil and in the holes in the grass up here in my area. Most of the people who fish the lakes I fish use soft-plastic baits. That’s why I use the RT Slug instead of the Comida when I’m pitching to holes in the grass. However, if those baits aren’t working, I’ll switch to the B-A-Hawg. If I’m fishing heavy milfoil, I’ll be fishing the Hawg on 40-pound-test braided line.

At certain times of year, the B-A-Hawg will outperform any of the other Mister Twister products because of the four tails coming out the back end of the bait and the flippers on the side of the bait. The little arms on the front of the bait generate a tremendous amount of tail action. The B-A-Hawg produces a lot of vibration and motion and has a much-different profile than anything else.

When you’re fishing a cigar-type worm rigged wacky style, the worm wiggles on both ends. If you rig it Texas style, the worm sinks and floats down with a little tail action. The Ribbon Tail Worm also has a lot of action in its tail. Every part of the body of the B-A-Hawg moves from the tails at the end and the flappers on the side to the arms on the front. This creature bait looks like a creature full of energy and action and is radically different from any other bait the bass normally see.

Too, the B-A-Hawg is more compact than a worm. Last year, my favorite color was the red shad, but this year, the watermelon-seed with the red-flake color solicited more strikes. The bass have either wised-up to that color, or the conditions in the lake have changed.

Question: What size sinker do you use ahead of the B-A-Hawg?

Andres: The water conditions and the structure in the lake determine the size sinker I use. I’ll generally be fishing a 1/4- to a 3/4-ounce slip sinker. When a bass is holding to a piece of cover, and I can’t get that bass to attack the Ribbon Tail Worm, I’ll cast back to that same spot with a B-A-Hawg and often elicit a strike. The B-A-Hawg is a great mop-up bait. After you’ve caught bass on a worm or some other type of lure and more bass are in that spot but not hitting your bait, if you’ll cast back to the site with a B-A-Hawg, you’ll catch one or two more bass you probably wouldn’t have caught with a plastic worm.