pro-files
Amp Wakebait
By JoSH DouglAS
spring and early summer is one of my favorite times to be on the water as the fish are hanging out and feeding heavily during the post spawn. One thing that I find increases my ability to catch fish is to throw baits at them that they may not have seen 100 times. One such bait is the Biovex Amp wake bait. What makes this ½ ounce wake bait so unique is its ability to be fished really, really slow. Unlike some other wake baits that have a tendency to dip below the surface, the Amp is truly a surface lure. I like the fact that it can be fished so slow, and the rolling action combined with the big eyes that seem to glare at the fish give a whole new look to this bait that other wake baits do not have. Everyone knows bluegill are one of the main predators of bass eggs during the spawn. Once the bass fry have hatched and the bluegill start to spawn, the bass turn the tables, if you will, on the panfish, hanging out on the outskirts of their honeycomb shaped nesting beds, waiting to pick them off. This is one of the prime times that I like to throw the Amp in a Oikawa, Ayu, Perch, or Wagasaki pattern. I cast the bait near structures like weed lines or hyacinth around the beds and bring it back slowly past those places that bass would normally be staging as ambush points. The strikes are often bone crushing as the bass are literally trying to smash to death these panfish. This bait is also deadly on any lake with shad. When I fish on the Tennessee River, I like to fish along weed lines. When the bass start to boil and bust balled up shad, I will go to the Amp wake bait in a bone or shad color. I used to throw a lot of spooks and poppers in these situations, but the Amp more closely imitates the size and profile of most shad. The Amp also has such a different look compared to most traditional baits. With its slow retrieve, it looks like an injured baitfish whereas a traditional walking bait is something that the fish strike, but don’t always hook up on since they are trying to wound the bait to come back and eat it. The Amp looks like it is already wounded, so the fish simply inhale it. The hook-up ratio is awesome. My go to outfit for fishing these baits is a G-Loomis 843 Medium Heavy rod with a Shimano Chronarch reel filled with 30lb Segaur Kanzen braid. I fish a bit heavier rod than most people would but that is just what I prefer. I also throw the Amp baits quite a bit around and under docks with a great deal of success. The ½ ounce weight makes them easy to pitch sidearm under docks and the slower retrieve keeps them in the strike zone longer. Josh Douglas resides in Tennessee and is a regular participant in the B.A.S.S. Central, Northern and Southern circuits. BWU
LaTe
Summer 2013
»
77