“Wintertime Sauger, Crappie and Bass in Indiana with Jerry Cary, Jr., and Mister Twister Lures”

Part 4: Catching Bass with the RT Slug

Editor’s Note: Jerry Cary, Jr., from Indianapolis, Indiana, is a multi-species fisherman. “I fish for sauger, crappie and bass. And at this time of year in November and December, sauger fishing is my top priority.”

Question: Jerry, you’re a largemouth bass fisherman too. What lures are you using to catch those bass?

Cary: One of my favorite ways of catching bass is to use the RT Slug after the spawn. What I’ve learned about the RT Slug is that it’s an excellent bait for skipping. I’ll hook the RT Slug and expose the hook. Then I’ll skin-hook the point of the hook back into the top of the RT Slug. I look for overhanging trees and bushes and skip the RT Slug up under the bushes and trees during the post-spawn. I use a 7-foot rod with 20-pound test Berkley Fireline, because it has an 8-pound test diameter.

The first tactic that I use is when I get the RT Slug skipped under the brush, I don’t do anything. I just let it fall as though it’s a baitfish that has hit something and is dazed. Most of the time, the bass will take the bait on the fall. Once the RT Slug hits the bottom, I twitch it up to the surface, twitch the bait out to the edge of the overhang and then let it fall again. If the bass still doesn’t take the bait, I’ll twitch it slowly and steadily back to the boat.

Now you can make the RT Slug into just about any kind of bait you want it to be. It can be a swim bait, a twitch bait or a fall bait. There’s a lot of different ways you can work the RT Slug to get a bass to bite. Too, you can swim it really fast. I’ve found that fishing it as a fall bait and then fishing it as a twitch bait really seems to turn the bass on during the post-spawn. The bites are very explosive, because the bass are really aggressive at that time of the year. Many times, you’ll see the fish bite. But one of the secrets I’ve learned to getting a good, solid hook-up is I don’t set the hook when the fish blows up on the bait or even when I see the bass inhale the bait. I wait until I feel the fish on the line, and then I set the hook.

Often waiting until you feel the fish is hard. All of our lives, we’ve been taught to set the hook when the bass takes the bait or blows-up on the bait. But I’ve found that if you wait until you feel the bass on the line to set the hook, you’ll hook and catch more bass while missing fewer bass.

Question: What color RT Slug is your favorite?

Cary: I like the shad color that’s silver with a blue back.

Question: When are the bass the most likely to take the bait?

Cary: I’ve found that early in the morning, the bass will usually take the RT Slug when it hits the water and starts to fall. Later in the day, the bass seem to want to follow the bait until it comes out from under the overhang. Then they’ll hit the RT slug in that open water. Now if the bass are in a peculiar mood, and they don’t seem to want to take the bait when it starts to fall on that initial drop, I’ll start twitching the bait as soon as it hits the water. And if the bass are in a more-aggressive mode, I’ll catch more fish using that tactic. Water temperature and how aggressive the bass are usually will dictate which type of retrieve is the most productive.

Question: What size bass are you catching?

Cary: I’m catching fish that are 3-5 pounds each on the RT Slug.