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Bass Angler's
Ultimate Tackle Box
by Steve Quinlan
A tournament bass fisherman's lures are the tools of his trade. When he packs his tackle box, he's covering all possibilities, and you'd better believe that a lot of thought goes into everything he puts into it. In addition, a lot of thought goes into the tackle box itself. The box is what keeps him organized.
A look in Gary Klein's, John Murray's and Dee Thomas' boxes demonstrate this point. Klein has no secret baits; everything he uses can be found just about anywhere. Murray uses mostly traditional baits, but has a lot of trick baits for special situations. And while Dee Thomas still catches fish on a lot of the same baits he used from Day One, his box is loaded with some of the latest baits on the market.
What baits are the big-name pros using that you're not? In an effort to find out, Western Outdoors asked three of the most accomplished tournament bass pros in the country, Gary Klein, John Murray and Dee Thomas, to dissect their tackle boxes. There were many similarities between them, but we were surprised to learn that, with the exception of a couple of hardbaits and a few bags of hand-poured worms, almost everything these guys use to make a living is available at the nearest tackle store.
The bottom line is, there are no secret lures. Sure, all of these pros modify a few of their baits for certain situations, but they are all throwing the same baits any other bass angler is throwing. The key is knowing when and where to throw them.
Two-time B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year and eight-time tournament champion Gary Klein says that the key to being a successful bass angler is being able to match the right lure to the conditions at hand, those conditions being: time of year, type of lake, species of fish and current conditions. When all four are answered, he knows what tools he's going to use and exactly what he's going to be keying on.
Of course, a pro's pro like Klein likes to have as many of these questions answered before he backs his boat down the launch ramp. By doing his homework he can eliminate three out of the four variables: the type of lake, the species of bass in it, and time of year.
"Once I've arrived at the lake, the only thing I need to concern myself with is current conditions, such as wind direction, water clarity and water elevation," Klein says.
"There are hundreds of bass baits out there. All of them catch fish, some better than others, but what it boils down to is confidence," says 16-time pro champion Dee Thomas. "With the vast amount of information now available, today's bass fishermen can be 80 to 90 percent sure of where the fish are. However, they must be 100 percent confident in the bait they're throwing, otherwise, they shouldn't be throwing it."
Gary Klein stays on top with what may be thought of as the usual bass stuff, baits like Zara Spooks, Woodchoppers, Rattlin' Rogues, Bomber Long As; crankbaits such as Bomber 6 As and 7 As, Norman's DD-22s and Little Ns, Mann's 20-Plus and 30-Plus; spinnerbaits like Lunker Lures Triple Rattleback Vibration, plus a variety of jig trailers and Berkley Power Worms. They fit into a Tackle Logic system with Plano utility boxes (below).
John Murray, the West's most consistent Top 30 finisher and all-time leading tournament money winner concurs. "The goal of every bass fisherman is to create confidence with every lure in his box," Murray says. "It shouldn't be in there if you don't have confidence in it or if you don't catch fish on it."
For Western bass fishermen, the key to consistency is versatility. Just ask Murray, who's won more than $700,000 in tournament prize money, including WON BASS payoffs, during the last 12 years. "There's a little of everything out here, from the California Delta, which is shallow and weedy, to lakes like Shasta and Mead that are deep and clear. There are also three species of bass, and each demands a variation of lures and presentations."
Basically, there are four types of lakes that bass fisherman must gear up for: man-made reservoirs; natural lakes; current water, such as rivers; and tidal water. In addition, anglers must be prepared for largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass.
According to Murray, a bass angler should be able
to catch fish on all types of topwater baits, because different
conditions call for different presentations, just as he should be
able to catch fish on spinnerbaits, jigs, jerkbaits and worms. The
key to doing so is learning when and where to throw each. Of course,
every angler has his own preferences.
Although the bulk of Murray's box is filled with all the usual bass stuff: Pradco Zara Spooks and Super Spooks; Ozark Mountain Woodchoppers; Smithwick Devil's Horses and Rattlin' Rogues; Rapala Shad Raps, Fat Raps and floating minnows; Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps; Bill Norman Little Ns and DD-22s; Bomber Long As; Mann's 1-Minus shallow cranks; and Strike King buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs and pork trailers, Murray doesn't leave home without his must-have trick baits.
Murray's not-so-easy-to-find hardbait lineup consists of: Lobina Ricos, Rio Ricos, Suaves (topwater), Magendas (jerkbaits), Tequila Gold spinnerbaits; and Team Daiwa Minnows, both deep and shallow divers.
"These are all baits with a slightly better look and a slightly different action than what the fish have been accustomed to seeing," Murray says. "Anytime you combine those two qualities, you're going to get a couple of extra bites a day, and on tough days that can be the difference between winning and losing."
The same goes for Thomas. Anytime he's fishing a tournament, you had better believe he's packing Weapon spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, jigs and hooks; Pradco Model A Bombers; Hopkins spoons; Zara Spooks; Woodchoppers; and Owner hooks for tube baits.
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Need help in locating the baits preferred by our bass pros? Contact these manufacturers for information, and mention Western Outdoors: Berkley, 1 Berkley Drive, Spirit Lake, IA 51360; (712) 336-1520. Better Fishing Ways, (Bobby Garland Gitzits), Route 1, Box 170, Midway, AR 72651; (501) 481-5363. Big Boy's Baits, 1649 W. State St., Hurricane, UT 84737; (801) 635-2746. Bill Lewis Lures, P.O. Box 7959, Alexandria, LA 71306-0959; (318) 487-0352. Bill Norman Lures, P.O. Box 580, Greenwood, AR 72936; (501) 996-2125. Daiwa Corporation, 7421 Chapman Ave., Garden Grove, CA 92842; (714) 372-4704. Designer Baits, P.O. Box 1659, Lancaster, CA 93539; (805) 270-1024. Don Iovino Products, 3220 W. Wyoming Ave., Burbank, CA 91505-1923; (818) 848-6180. Gamakatsu Hooks, 2103-B Frank Albert Road E., Tacoma, WA 98424; (206) 922-8373. Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, P.O. Box 1000, Page, AZ 86040; (520) 645-3374. Hopkins, 1130 Boissevain Ave., Norfolk, VA 23507; (757) 622-0977. Keeper Reapers, 1318 G St., Reedley, CA 93654; (209) 638-1598. Lobina Lures, 4710 E. Falcon Drive, Suite 114, Mesa, AZ 85215; (602) 985-7011. Luhr Jensen, P.O. Box 297, Hood River, OR 97031; (541) 386-3811. Lunker Lures, P.O. Box 64, Carterville, IL 62918; (618) 985-4214. Mann's Bait Co., 1111 State Docks Road, Eufaula, AL 36027; (334) 687-5716. Normark, 10359 Yellow Circle Drive, Minnetonka, MN 55343; (612) 933-7060. Owner Hooks, 17165 Von Karman Ave., Suite 111, Irvine, CA 92614; (714) 261-7922. Plano Molding Co., 431 E. South St., Plano, IL 60545; (708) 552-3111. Pradco, P.O. Box 1587, Fort Smith, AR 72902; (501) 782-8971. Strike King, 174 Highway 72 W., Collierville, TN 38017; (901) 853-1455. Tackle Logic (division of Plano), 431 E. South St., Plano, IL 60545; (708) 552-3111. Top Brass Tackle, P.O. Box 209, Starkville, MS 39760; (601) 323-1559. Uncle Josh Bait Co., P.O. Box 130, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538; (414) 563-2491. Weapon Lures, 1109 W. Ninth St., Upland, CA 91786; (909) 931-2525.
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In addition, he thinks Luhr Jensen's new Speed Trap crankbaits are the greatest thing since sliced bread. "It's my favorite crankbait," says Thomas. "In fact, I've got all 18 patterns they make."
Like Murray, Thomas doesn't go anywhere without his trick baits. Among his favorites is the Don Iovino Splash-It (topwater). "I use the baby bass pattern when the hatch is three to four inches," he says, "and I throw the shad pattern in fall. In winter, I go with the trout pattern."
Murray's selection of spoons is basic, easy-to-find stuff: He prefers Luhr Jensen's white or silver Crippled Herring in 3/4 and one ounce sizes, and Hopkins' 3/4 ounce in silver. Thomas doesn't spoon often, but when the fish are schooling he is quick to tie on a 3/4-ounce Hopkins. "You can put a limit in the boat fast when they're on a spoon bite," he says.
And then there's plastics. Both Klein and Murray are firm believers in Berkley Power Bait products, but Murray contends since plastic worms and grubs are probably the most effective baits on Western lakes overall, especially heavily pressured waters, a bass angler has to find some sort of edge to stay one step ahead of the competition. And in order to do so, he uses a lot of hand-poured worms in an assortment of hard-to-find colors.
"Western waters have a few more variables than Eastern waters," Murray says. "There are a lot of really clear, barren moonscapes like Mohave, Powell, and much of Lake Mead. Hardbaits just aren't going to work on them."
For flippin', Murray uses a new bait made by Robo Worms called the Zipper. Basically, it resembles a fat, flattened-out rib worm. His No. 1 color is brown with orange tail. "The Zipper gets bit better when it's falling or being dragged than it does when it's being bounced," he says. "I use a 3/16 or 1/8-ounce bullet weight and a 2/0 Gamakatsu offset hook when I'm using the Zipper."
Thomas, known as the flippin' king, usually flips with Bobby Garland tube baits or Weapon jigs. "In spring, when the water is less than 52 degrees, I prefer heavy jigs [5/8 and 3/4 ounce] in brown, brown and orange, brown and red, and brown and chartreuse," Thomas says. "Once the surface temperature reaches 54 degrees, I switch to 1/2 to 3/8 ounce, and stay with the 3/8-ounce jig through late spring."
In summer, Thomas prefers a smaller jig; in fact, he even goes so far as to thin out the rubber on his skirts to create a smaller profile, then trails them with three-inch Power Craws or grubs. "I stay with browns and greens in summer, and in fall, I go back to a full-size jig, and stick to black and red exclusively," he says.
Like the rest of his baits, Klein's favorite lure for flippin', the Triple Rattleback jig made by Lunker Lures, is available just about anywhere. It's also his all-around lure, period. "This lure is great year-round in dirty or off-color water less than 10 feet deep," Klein says. "It's most effective in pre-spawn, but it catches fish all year. I always throw it on 30-pound Berkley XT line."
Lunker Lures makes two more of Klein's favorites, the Triple Rattleback Vibration spinnerbait and the Flat Shad buzzbait. "The Triple Rattleback Vibration spinnerbait is very versatile," Klein says. "I fish it from pre-spawn through spring using a slow, down and out-of-sight retrieve, but in summer I like to burn it just below the surface to where it's in sight at all times."
Klein throws the Flat Shad buzzbait in fall and during prespawn using 30-pound Berkley Fire Line. In spring, Klein targets dead wood, and in fall he throws it near any available cover such as boat docks, and fishes it in open water also.
In the worm department, Murray swears by Power Worms, just as Klein does, for splitshotting, Carolina rigging or Texas rigging, but in certain clear-water situations he prefers California Worms, made by Wayne DuBoise, and Double D (Dave Deadman) worms. Worms are his go-to baits. In California Worms, Murray prefers four-inchers in oxblood with red flake, and green weenie shark. His favorite Double D baits include watermelon reapers and lizards.
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Tackle Box: Tackle Logic system with Plano utility boxes. Topwater Baits: Lobina Rico, shad with chartreuse (green) back; Pradco Zara Spooks, silver glitter shad, clear; Ozark Mountain Woodchopper, perch (green top, orange belly); Lunker Lure Flat Shad 1/2-ounce buzzbait in shad, chartreuse, black; Lunker Lure 1/2-ounce gold blade buzzbait in shad, chartreuse, black. Crankbaits: Bomber 6A and 7A in firetiger; Bomber Flat-sided 6A in Tennessee shad; Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps in firetiger, chrome/blue back, gold/black back, red/black spots, and shad pattern over chrome body; Bill Norman DD 22, blue gelcoat on chartreuse; Bill Norman Little N, blue gelcoat on chartreuse; Mann's 20-Plus in chartreuse/brown back, and firetiger; Mann's 30-Plus, chartreuse/brown back, firetiger. Ripbaits: Smithwick Rattlin' Rogue in clown; Bomber Long A, black back with gold insert and orange belly. Spinnerbaits: Lunker Lures Triple Rattleback Vibration spinnerbaits, two chartreuse colors, two shad colors. Jigs: Lunker Lures Triple Rattleback in black/blue, brown. Jig Trailers: Uncle Josh No. 1 Big Daddy in black/blue, brown; Uncle Josh No. 10 Big Daddy in black/blue, brown; Uncle Josh Hank Parker's Pro Cut frog in the same colors; Power Craws and hand-poured Power Chunks. Plastics: Berkley flip tail Power worms, six-inch and eight-inch red shad and black; Berkley Power Lizards, six-inch and eight-inch black, blue fleck, green. Hooks: Assortment of Berkley Gold Points. Line: Berkley Fire Line and XT monofilament, both in 30-pound test. Tackle Box: Plano Over and Under. Topwater Baits: Ricos in striper, fry; Rio Rico in striper, fry; Suave in minnow; Woodchoppers in black, Tennessee shad; Spook and Super Spook in chrome, baby bass and glitter shad; Devil's Horse in Tennessee shad; Rapala floating minnow, No. 11 silver/black back, No. 13 silver/black back; Strike King buzzbaits, white and chartreuse. Ripbaits: Smithwick Rattlin' Rogue, silver with black back; Bomber Long A in Excaliber naturalized shad; Lobina Magenda minnow; and Daiwa T.D. Minnow, shad. Crankbaits: Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps, chrome/blue back, clown, red; Mann's 1-Minus, pearl; Bill Norman DD 22s in Smokey Joe, chartreuse gelcoat; Bill Norman Little Ns in Smokey Joe and chartreuse gelcoat; Rapala Shad Raps, Nos. 5 and 7 in crawdad and shad; and Rapala Fat Raps, Nos. 5 and 7 in the same shades. Spinnerbaits: Lobina Tequila Gold spinnerbait, 1/2 ounce Colorado/willow leaf; Strike King, 1/4 ounce chartreuse, 3/8 ounce red, and 3/4 ounce white, all in double willowleaf. Jigs: Strike King, 1/2 ounce black, black/blue, brown/ orange, all with rattles. Jig Trailers: Strike King Bo Hog pork trailers. Plastics: Yamamoto hula grubs, watermelon/red flake, watermelon/ black flake, pumpkin/red, green flake; Yamamoto football jig heads, 1/2 ounce to one ounce; Berkley Power Worms, four-inch purple curl tail, 10-inch watermelon; six-inch black/chartreuse; Berkley Power Craw trailers; Big Boy's tube baits in electric green, electric chartreuse; Double D worms, watermelon reapers, watermelon and chartreuse lizards; California Worms. Spoons: Luhr-Jensen Cripled Herring in assortment of sizes; Hopkins in an assortment of sizes. Hooks: Gamakatsu worm hooks, 2/0, 3/0 and 4/0; Gamakatsu treble hooks; Gamakatsu tube bait hooks (riggin' hooks). Line: Berkley Fire Line, 20-pound test; Berkley Pro Select line, 8-pound test; Berkley Big Game mono, 15 and 20-pound test. Weights: Top Brass bullet weights, 1/8 and 1/4-ounce brass and glass. Tackle Box: Plano 3600 Series utilities with Plano 3372 Soft-Sider. Topwater Baits: Don Iovino Splash-Its in bass, trout and shad patterns; Pradco Zara Spooks in green back with silver flakes and white belly, frog with yellow belly; Weapon buzzbaits, chartreuse 3/8 ounce, silver blades, white 3/8 ounce, silver blades, and black 3/8 ounce, silver blades; Ozark Mountain Woodchoppers, assortment of colors Crankbaits: Luhr Jensen Speed Trap 1/8 and 1/4-ounce shallow runners, all colors (Dee carries all 18 patterns of his favorite crankbait); Bomber 7As in shad, firetiger, red crawdad. Spinnerbaits: Weapon R.A.L 1/2-ounce spinnerbait, No. 4 gold willow in front, gold Colorado button, white/chartreuse skirt. Jigs: Weapon brown, brown/ orange, brown/red, brown/chartreuse, in 3/8, 1/2, 5/8 and 3/4 ounce; also, black/red in 1/4 ounce. Jig Trailers: Keeper Reapers, with plastic pork, Nos. 101 and 11; Berkley three-inch Power Craws or grubs. Plastics: Designer Baits cow tongues in oxblood, june bug, green weenie; Don Iovino worms, six-inch oxblood, june bug, green weenie; Keeper Reapers in chartreuse with brown tip, june bug with chartreuse tip, brown with orange tip, medium and large sizes; Keeper Reapers Critters (long reapers), same colors; Gitzits, chartreuse, brown, june bug, orange, pumpkin, watermelon. Spoons: Hopkins 3/4 ounce. Hooks: Weapon worm hooks, reaper hooks; Owner 3/0 Rig 'N Hooks for tube baits; Owner Big Bite, wide-gap offsets. Line: Berkley Fire Line, 8/20, 12/30 for flippin'; Berkley Big Game mono, eight to 20-pound test; green for clear water, clear for off-color water. Weights: Top Brass bullet sinkers, 1/8 to 5/16-ounce brass and glass. |
Thomas uses hand-poured plastics only, such as cow tongues and Don Iovino worms, both made by Designer Baits; and reapers, Critters and Plastic Pork by Keeper Reapers. Thomas says he never uses pork trailers anymore.
In shallow water, especially when sight-fishing in spring, Murray prefers Big Boy's tube baits, which are made near Lake Powell. His favorite colors are electric green and electric chartreuse. Murray says there's no other tube bait available in these hot Western lakes colors.
Another hot plastic made near Lake Powell is the popular Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits. Murray has enjoyed success on all of the Arizona lakes as well as the Colorado River lakes using Yamamoto spider jigs, otherwise known as hula grubs, rigged on 1/2 to one-ounce Yamamoto football heads. His favorite colors are watermelon with black flake and pumpkin with red and green flake. The spider jig is his No. 1 deepwater plastic bait, he says.
As for weights, Murray and Thomas both use Top Brass bullet weights in 1/8 to 1/4-ounce sizes, and glass beads made by the same company. These quality brass and glass setups make a lot of noise, and mimic the sound of a crayfish's claws clicking together when it's in the defense mode.
In the way of hooks, Murray uses nothing but Gamakatsu EWG 2/0, 3/0 and 4/0 offset hooks for wormin', and No. 4 and 6 trebles on all his hardbaits. Klein uses an assortment of Berkley Gold Point hooks.
Line-wise, Murray uses nothing but Berkley: 20-pound test Fire Line for flippin', eight-pound Pro Select for spinning reels, and 15 and 20-pound Big Game for topwaters, spinnerbaits and crankbaits.
Klein swears by Berkley line also. In fact he preaches about Fire Line. "This is the newest, most innovative product I've seen in years," Klein says. "It makes anglers a lot more efficient on the water. I use a seven-foot fiberglass rod for every application, and Fire Line gives me positive hooksets and instant control over the fish. It has also increased my casting distance by 15 percent. This stuff is just phenomenal on spinning outfits, especially for floating baits."
Klein also is a big fan of Power Worms (six and eight-inch flip-tails in red shad and black) and other Power Bait products such as Power Craws and Power Chunks for jig trailers. "They've made a believer out of me many times over," he says. "For starters, the fish hold on to them longer. And, you get a lot more strikes over the course of a season on them. That adds up to a lot of money for me. I use six and eight-inch Power Lizards in black, blue fleck and green more than any other pieces of plastic in my box."
In the way of crankbaits, Klein loves a good ol' Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap, not only to catch fish but to locate them. "Rat-L-Traps cover a lot of water quickly," he says. "They're the best crankbaits I've ever fished around aquatic vegetation because they allow me to control the depth. I have the option of burning it or slowing it down when I want it to fall over something."
Klein says his favorite method of fishing a Rat-L-Trap is to pump it, then let it fall back. "This lure catches big bass," he says. Klein's favorite patterns are firetiger, chrome with blue back, gold with black back, red with black spots and shad pattern over chrome body.
Klein's top two diving (lipped) crankbaits are Bill Norman's DD-22 and Deep Little N, both in blue gelcoat on chartreuse. The DD-22 is not for deep water only, he says. It is also very effective in water of less than 10 feet because it digs down and leaves a dirt trail. Bass can't resist a crankbait that does that.
"My favorite method is to crank it to the bottom and pull it along with the rod tip. Then, I take the slack up with the reel in order to maintain contact with the bottom," Klein says. As for the Deep Little N, Klein claims that this is another hot lure for aquatic vegetation. "It gets down pretty deep, which allows me to maintain contact with the vegetation," he says. "Two other excellent deep divers are the Mann's 20-Plus and 30-Plus which can be used for the same application."
Klein's topwater arsenal consists of three baits: Lobina's Rico, Pradco's Zara Spook, and Ozark Mountain's Woodchopper. He uses the Rico in post-spawn months mostly (summer and late fall), and prefers the shad pattern with chartreuse back.
The Zara Spook is his main pre-spawn topwater bait for colder water. He has two favorites: clear, and silver glitter shad. The Woodchopper is Klein's No. 1 muddy water bait, which he uses all times of the year. Perch is his confidence color (green back, orange belly).
Incidentally, the Zara Spook and Woodchopper were the only two lures that all three pros agreed on. Thomas says that when the topwater bite is on, he usually goes to the Splash-It to catch a fast limit, then he switches to a Spook for bigger fish.
"Anytime I'm catching them on buzzbaits and the bite suddenly shuts off, I switch to a Woodchopper," Thomas says. "Rip it, then stall it. Remember, the strike zone is smaller when the water is up. Stall it longer; that's when the fish will come up for it. Be prepared to change between all three [Splash-Its, Spooks and Woodchoppers], because topwater patterns change from one minute to the next."
The only other thing these guys agreed on was the tackle box itself; well, at least the manufacturer. Murray uses a Plano Over and Under box, while Thomas prefers the Plano 3600 Series utility boxes with 3372 Soft-Sider outer shell. Klein employs the Tackle Logic system with Plano utility boxes.
"I purchased this system to match the layout of my boat," Klein says. "They're easy to store in my vehicle, just as they're easy to store in my boat. In fact, that's the main reason I use the Tackle Logic system. They're stored in compartments and out of the way. That way I have full run of my boat.
"I travel a lot, and when I get back from a tournament, the first thing I do is empty my boat. And when I get ready to leave for the next tournament, I go back to the basics and start all over. I identify the type of lake I'll be fishing, the time of year, the current conditions and the species that are in the lake. Then I load up my boat accordingly. My storage system keeps me organized."
Associate Editor Steve Quinlan, an accomplished basser in his own right, also is editor of the WON BASS supplement of Western Outdoor News.
⌐ Western Outdoors 1997. All rights reserved.
