Siemantel generally believes that “colors don’t mean
crap.”
“It’s the last thing they think of,” he said. “The
bottom is white. Depending on the depth of the water,
it’s just not that important. In darker skies, dark colors
create a better silhouette. If it’s clear, use gray or
white.”
Despite that, he fought hard to get Morning Dawn
made and said that it’s often his go-to choice if
smallmouths or spotted bass are present.
Even when largemouths are
around, it helps
him
to see
exactly
what the bait is
doing. “It’s all visual
for me,” he explained.
“I make long,
Au Rat Bait set up
accurate casts
includes the Dobyns 765 Flippin’ Stick Photo Credit Vu Au
and you can still see it approach
46
the inside of a J-hook of grass or make it wake on a shadow line.”
While he doesn’t believe that color is always a critical element, he does believe that the three different sizes of his lure have different applications, comparing them to “a lion, a house cat and a mouse.”
“When you drop down from the big bait to the
40, mechanically it works the same,” he said.
“But with the big bait, if they like it you stick
it. You feel a hiccup, sweep the rod and the
hook up rate is phenomenal. The 40 is more like a mid-sized crankbait. When they hit it, reel into them. It’s more of a crankbait style of hit. With the 30, I use a spinning rod. When they hit it, I count to three and let them hook themselves. If you rear back and just lay into him, you’ll miss. Wait until the rod loads up. They pretty much hook themselves.”
As a result of that strategy, his tackle choices vary, too. With the biggest model, he’ll use a beefy XXH Cousins swimbait rod paired with a Shimano 300 sized reel spooled with 50 pound Maxima braid or no less than 18 pound mono. With the 40, he’ll go
®
Photo Credit Woodrow Rat Lures