Now that the water is warming up and everyone is dusting off
their kayaks, it’s time to start restocking your arsenal of freshwater soft
plastics. Since there are thousands of
different shapes, sizes, and colors to choose from, deciding on what you are
going to buy can be tough. However, if
you are looking for a good quality soft plastics kit to get you started this
season look no further than the PowerTeam Lures Bass Attack Pack.
I bought this kit and decided to put it to the test against
winter and prespawn bass under numerous weather conditions and on several
different lakes to see it this kit would pass the test, and let me tell you, it
did and with flying colors!
OVERVIEW:
The Bass Attack Pack comes in two different color options:
lighter blues/browns and darker browns/greens/junebug colors. I chose the darker kit based on the water
color I normally fish. The kit includes each of the following: 6” Gators, 7” Ticklers, 5” Sick Sticks, 3.5”
Food Chain Tubes, and 3.5” Craw D’oeuvres.
It also includes terminal tackle like: Pea Heads, Tick Shakes, FCT Tube
Heads, and 2/0 EWG Hooks. Hog Tonic
capsules are also included in the kit.
6” Gator
The Gator is a lizard style soft plastic. These baits can be killer during the spring
time while the bass are spawning. A
lizard looks like a salamander which is a natural predator and bass won’t
hesitate to attack one near a bed. I
have had success pitching a Gator on to a bed, but my most successful method
has been a Carolina rigged gator. For
those who don’t know what a Carolina rig is, it is normally a ½-1oz. egg sinker
that is above a swivel. On the other end of a swivel is 2-4feet of 10lbs
fluorocarbon leader. Slowly dragging a
Carolina rig with a gator near a spawning flat will drive the big females
crazy.
18" Bass on the Gator |
7” Tickler
The 7” Tickler is the perfect worm for shakey head
fishing. This bait rigged on one of the
Tick Shake heads is hard to beat when the fishing gets tough. On days after a wicked cold front has moved
through, this may be the only bait that catches fish. I like working this bait over long main lake
and secondary points, as well as on ledges.
The key to using this bait effectively on slow days is to work the bait
extra slow. Most of the time I won’t
even move the bait once it hits the bottom, I will only shake it. Even the most finicky bass will be tempted to
eat this worm and don’t let the size fool you; I have caught bass from 10in to
20in on this bait.
An early prespawn bass couldn't resist a 7" Tickler |
5” Sick Stick
This bait is by far my favorite out of the kit. The 5” Sick
Stick is a soft stick bait style plastic that will catch bass any time of year
under any conditions. I have fished it
in so many different ways and have caught fish every way I have tried. If I had to pick one way to fish this though
it would be weightless on one of the EWG hooks that comes with the kit. This
rig will catch bass of all sizes, all year.
The retrieve is simple; just throw it out and let the bait sink, then
use a jerk, jerk, pause cadence to bring it back in. Vary the length of the pauses, depending on
the water temperature. The colder the
water the longer I pause.
One of many bass caught on a Sick Stick |
3.5” Food Chain Tubes
The Food Chain Tube is an excellent bait for bedding bass in
the lakes around Tidewater VA. I will
rig the Tube with the FCT Tube heads that are included in the kit. I use this bait when sight fishing for Largemouth’s
guarding beds. I will pitch the tube
directly on top of the bed and let it sit there until it gets the fish’s
attention. Once the fish locks on to it
hop it a few times. This should drive
the fish crazy and make it eat the bait. With the hook being exposed, it helps
with hook ups too.
Spawning Bass can't pass up a Tube! |
3.5” Craw D’oeuvres
The Craw D’oeuvres are the most versatile bait in the
kit. You can Texas rig them, Carolina Rig
them, jig it, use it on a shakey head, or use it as a jig trailer. I have caught fish using each of these
methods, but using this bait rigged on a Tick Shake has produced the most
fish. During the late winter, and early
spring, this produced some of my larger bass fish. Slowly hopping this bait along the bottom
mimicking a crawfish produced the most
action.
Big Winter time Pig on a Craw D |
Add Ons:
Even though the Bass Attack Pack is ready to fish now, I
have added a few pieces of terminal tackle to fully equip it. Some of these things are: Bobber stoppers for
Texas rigging, some bigger worm hooks, and a few bullet head weights in
assorted sizes.
The PowerTeam Lures Bass Attack Pack is an awesome kit that
is good for beginner and experienced fisherman alike. You can pick up a kit at Appomattox River Company
and on their website.
Spring is here and its time to go out and catch yourself a HAWG!!!
Excellent tips. Really useful stuff.Thanks
ReplyDeleteFish finder
I would do anything to be out bass fishing right now. I found some great combinations of gear that seem to work really well together. All I need to do now is find a good discounted bass fishing tackle supplier to load up my tackle box.
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