“Wake Baits” were making some waves at Beaver Lake. Wake baits are essentially floating jerkbaits reeled very slowly on the surface to create a wake. Several pros tapped into technique last week, including Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., who has been nominated by his peers as the undisputed king of wake-baiting on the FLW Tour.
Powers finished third in the Wal-Mart Open by waking Bomber Long A’s (15A) along Beaver Lake’s surface to bring curious spotted and largemouth bass up for an investigatory chomp.
Powers said. “It’s basically a topwater technique but instead of using a walker or popper, I use a Long A and reel it as slow as possible so it bulges the surface and creates a wake. At certain times it will out fish other topwaters 10 to 1 and last week at Beaver was one of those times.”
Other pros employing the technique successfully at the Wal-Mart Open included Koby Kreiger (8th), Shad Schenck (12th) and Wesley Strader (22nd). In fact, Strader used the exact same technique to finish 4th at the Lake Lanier Series in March.
Powers uses a standard floating Bomber Long A for the unique technique. He throws it on a 7-foot medium-light spinning rod spooled with 10-pound test monofilament, noting that the density of fluorocarbon is too heavy, which hinders the action of the bait.
In terms of color, Powers prefers a plain white or bone colored Long A . He’ll even take stock factory colors and scrape the paint off them to reveal more white.
“The windows for catching them good are very small and fragile because so many conditions have to come together to make it right and rarely do all those conditions stay pinned together for that long before something changes. But when it gets right, the number of fish you can catch on it is stupid.
These seems like a great technique, I have heard of guys doing something similar for smallmouths with Rapala Original Floating Minnows . I am guessing you need relatively calm water, but they seem to be pretty mum on the ideal conditions. Maybe this will be the new Chatterbait….
Rich
www.richlindgren.com
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