Rogue Leader

For those of you willing to brave these cooler days the fishing is turning on!  Fish are cold blooded creatures which means their body temperature and metabolism are directly affected by the water temp. This time of year in Kansas the water is slowing warming up - around my area it's only in the mid 40's so fish are still pretty sluggish and slow but they're still looking to feed and presenting a tantilizing and irresible bait is a great way to catch some quality fish while others are sitting at home watching fishing on TV still.

Enter the smithwick rogue series baits. In particular this time of year I like using the suspending version. This long and narrow jerkbait is perfect for enticing Bass of all sizes to strike in cold water conditions because it memics a dying bait fish. By using the suspending version, it keeps the bait in the strike zone so when you pause the bait the bass sees it as an opportunity for an easy meal.  This bait is also easy to learn how to use and sure beats the slow and methodic presentation required for presenting jigs and small plastic baits this time of year.

Working a jerkbait is pretty simple. You'll cast it out, give the reel a few turns to drop the lure down to suspending depth (this is typically between 2ft-4ft) and then pause. Next give the rod a couple twitches, pause, and the reel in your line slack and repeat the process.  Experiment with the cadence of your twitches and pauses and pay attention to what type and cadence of retrieve elicits strikes and repeat this process.

This is a great way to put quality fish in the boat in early spring - I boated 3 fish over 4lbs yesterday using this method.  All of the fish hit it on the pause and I never felt the strike, just felt the resistence when I went to reel in the slack.

Get yourself some suspending rogues, get out on the water, and try this fun and fish producing technique soon! Until next time - tight lines!