On his first cast with the Berkley J-Walker 100, my brother Larry hooked up with a 4-pound largemouth bass. It smashed the lure, took it down, then up and entirely out of the water. Woo-hoo!
What a way to start our adventure.
We drove to Guntersville on a four-day trip, three on our own and one with a guide. Our anticipation got the best of us, so we headed out on the road early, 4:30 AM. I stopped for a big breakfast at Cracker Barrel in Corinth, MS, then set off for the three-hour drive to the lake.
Just after 9:30, we are fishing! Overcast skies, light breeze, and 65 degrees. We were in Heaven. I rigged up a Berkley 6" Hollow Belly HD Yellow Perch. Brother ties on the J-Walker, Blue Bullet, which looks black to my eyes. The J-Walker casts like a bullet and is easy to make the walk-the-dog across the surface. First, cast, and it's one for Larry. No takers for me.
Next is a Berkley 12" Power Worm (Black/ Blue Fleck). Thirty minutes later, without a bite, I swap it out with a PowerBait MaxScent Creature Hawg, Texas rigged. On the third cast, BIG STRIKE, but I failed to connect: user error. Ten minutes later, my first score!
I planned to fish some great-looking crankbaits, the Berkley Dredger 14.5 and 20.5, but the lake was infested with eelgrass which ruined my presentation. So, back to the Hollow Belly. This time I tie on the 5" version, Gizzard Shad color. This lure looks excellent in the water. Steady head, active tail motion, rigged on a 4/0 weighted hook. The overall weight and aerodynamic profile make for long casts. I thought the Hollow Belly looked yummy, but the bass would not cooperate.
Next up is the PowerBait MaxScent Hit Worm Magnum (Watermelon Candy). I Texas rigged it with a 4/0 Gamakatsu Offset Worm Hook, 1/4 oz tungsten bullet weight, unpegged, and attached with 15-pound Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon line. After thirty minutes, I switched colors, back to Blue Fleck. Still no takers.
Larry hooked up on the PowerBait MaxScent Creature Hawg (Green Pumpkin/ Watermelon). Another 3- to 4-pound largemouth keeps him one fish ahead of me. We were both pumped, but the fishing was slower than expected.
Time to bring on "The Magic Bait." The Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm is hard to come by right now, but I have a pack of Black Shiner and another Smoke Black Purple. I rig them on a drop-shot, #4 Gamakatsu Octopus Circle Hook, and a 1/4 oz bell weight. The rod & reel are spinning tackle spooled with 6-pound Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon line.
On my fifth cast, BINGO! Superb strike, but a weak fight. I thought it was tiny until we saw the fish. Not a bass, but a nice size crappie that surprised us. A short time later, another crappie, but no bass. So, I switched colors.
Unfortunately, that was my last fish of the day. My brother caught two more small bass with the Creature Hawg, both on Green Pumpkin Purple Fleck.
We got back to the Guntersville Lodge and talked with several guys about their day. Of the eight guys we met, seven zeroed—tough day in Rim Rock. So, the Berkley baits put fish in our boat when nothing else worked.
My following report will be about these baits on Pickwick. I think we are on to something and look forward to throwing the Berkley crankbaits in the coming weeks. Next time it will be "Our Day."
