When it comes to practicing for a tournament, Paul will have three rod and reel combos with different swimbaits tied on, any more than that and ''you are basically junk fishing'' says Bailey, ''even though they are all swimbaits.''
California, winning the 2010 WON Bass Angler of the Year in the pro divi- sion, taking three top ten FLW finishes since 2005 including a win on Lake Havasu in 2005, and more recently a fourth place finish on the Clear Lake Everstart event in 2012. Bailey can win on any body of water with limits as small as 10-pounds or as large as 35 or even 40-pounds. Most of us commoners have so many questions and ‘what if’s when it comes to chucking swimbaits all day, es- pecially during tournament situations. For Paul Bailey, swim- baits are his confidence bait, the bait he wants in his hand in any situation. He has caught swimbait fish in water tempera- tures ranging from 39 to 79 degrees, on lakes where two- pound fish are kickers and lakes where ten pounders are common. If there is water and bass Bailey wants to throw the swimbait. There simply isn’t a situation in which he feels he can’t find a swimbait that will catch a bass, he explains, “there is not a lake in this world with bass that won’t eat a swimbait.” When it comes to practicing for a tournament, Paul will have three rod and reel combos with dif- ferent swimbaits tied on, any more than that and “you are basically junk fishing” says Bailey, “even though they are all swimbaits.” He focuses on the three best swimbaits for that situation on a given lake working them all to find biting fish. Deter- mining the three best swimbaits for a given situ- ation is a difficult process, but over the years Bai- ley has a good feel to what will work win. “It’s not something I can just chart out on a piece of paper and pass out. That wouldn’t work. It’s more something that you have to feel and that only comes with fishing a swimbait a lot,” Bailey stated. Keep in mind swimbaiting is based on conditions, what lake you are fish- ing, and most importantly what the bass want, every situation is differ- ent. Knowing what these feisty bass want can only be figured out with practice and time on the water, chucking swimbaits. “If I could make a list with what the best swimbait are for every situa- tion, I’d be a rich man. It just doesn’t work like that. Sometimes it even switches throughout the day. The way the fish are taking the bait, or the reac- tion of followers, and there are a lot of followers when you throw swimbaits, that will clue me in on what I need to be doing.
Spring 2013
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