story and photos by Dan O'Sullivan
FLW Tour pro Mark Rose of West Memphis, Ark. has earned a reputation as the
most dominant angler on tour when it comes to offshore structure fishing. Since
2007, Rose has won four tour level events, an Everstart
Series Championship, a BFL event and the 2008 PAA Corporate Cup - all by
fishing offshore.
To be sure, Rose has invested many dozens of hours patrolling the waters of the
Tennessee River with his Lowrance HDS fishing systems locating prime offshore
structure locations. While the where is certainly a key to unlocking bass
location, the hows of getting them to bite is another
part of the equation.
Rose has adopted an approach that involves tossing deep diving crankbaits,
flutter spoons, big worms and of course, football jigs. With all of those categories,
Rose has developed an approach that relies on precision presentation and
positioning. He has refined his tactics with all of them to a precise science,
but the one that gives him a level of creativity is the football jig.
"I use a variety of trailers depending on what I am doing with the lure,
where I'm fishing it, and what I am fishing for," he said. "But, even
though they give me a little bit of creativity on my jigs, I still have it down
to a systematic approach there as well."
Here is Rose's approach to football jig trailers.
Jig and Jig Gear Makeup
To start with the main component of the lure, Rose tends to throw one size, and
one color jig for 90-percent of his football jig fishing. For everyday use, he
uses a 3/4-ounce Strike King Tour Grade Football Jig. If he is fishing for
spotted bass or smallmouth, then he downsizes to the 1/2-ounce version of that
jig, and trims the skirt to mimic a spider jig with a short front part of the
skirt around the head. If he is fishing for larger than average fish, he uses a
specific trailer and upgrades to the 3/4-ounce Tour Grade Heavy Hook Football
Jig. He uses the Green Pumpkin Craw color nearly all the time.
As for his equipment, he opts for a 7'3" heavy action Kistler
ZBone LE rod that he matches with a 7.1:1 reel which
he spools with 15-pound-test Seaguar Invizx
fluorocarbon the bulk of the time. "I want my rod actions to feel the same
on each cast," he said. "I use the heavier line because I want my
hookset to remain the same no matter where I am fishing."
He said he only adjusts his line size up or down if he is fishing the lighter
jig for smallmouth and spotted bass, or he is fishing the heavy hook jig for
bigger bass on specific bodies of water like Falcon or Amistad.
Trailers for Depth
With the exception of his upsizing and downsizing for the specific size of fish
he is targeting, Rose uses the depth of the water as his decision for which of
his two primary trailers for his every day offshore football jig fishing.
"I really have two primary trailers," he said. "It used to be
just one, but now we have a second model that gives me an advantage in deeper
water." Those two trailers are the Rage Craw and the new Rage Menace Twin
Tail Grub.
He prefers the Rage Craw in water to 22 feet, but deeper than that, he has
started turning to the Menace. "I really love the action of the Rage Craw,
but because it has such a wide stance in the claws, it has a lot of bulk and
feels heavy in the water," he said. "It also slows the fall of the
jig down a bunch, which I don't want in deep water."
He likes the Menace because it gives a similar action, but speeds the fall in
deeper water. "Most people don't know this, but a slimmer trailer actually
helps you recognize bites in deep water," he said. "The bulkier
trailer feels heavier on the jig, and can make you think you're getting a
pressure bite when you're not."
Trailers for Size
Rose has two other considerations for jig trailers, and they revolve around the
size of the bass. "I mentioned the two other jigs I throw for smaller and
larger fish," he said. "I also adjust the trailers to match those
jigs."
For the smaller jigs, he downsizes his trailer to a Baby Rage Craw, and for the
larger fish, he actually prefers to match his jig with a full 6-inch Rage Game
Hawg trailer. "The Baby Rage Craw matches the size of the jig, and the
smaller mouths of smallmouth and spots," he said. "But for larger
fish; those seven to 10 pounders, I like the elongated, bigger profile of the
full Game Hog. It has swimming tails to make their presence known more as
well."
Retrieves for Trailers
For the Rage Craws, Rose prefers a standard hop or twitch type retrieve. He
said that he pulls the jig slowly and alternately hops them to mimic a crawdad
scooting along the bottom. "This is the retrieve I use most of the
time," he said. "In most instances, bass will respond to a standard
drag, hop shake type retrieve."
If he is fishing the Menace Grub in deeper water when the fish are still not
extremely active, then he employs the same retrieve. However, when bass are
aggressive, but won't chase a crankbait, he uses a "stroking" type
retrieve. This involves snapping the lure high off of the bottom and allowing
it o fall back down on a semi slack line.
He prefers to the bigger profile lure moving by sweeping and dragging the lure
along the bottom. He said this allows the swimming tails to do what they do and
keep moving along the bottom.
"Jigs are great for getting bites from better quality bass, and I've
really gotten comfortable with a system that allows me to appeal to bass
everywhere," he said. "They've been a major part of my wins offshore,
and they'll help anglers everywhere do well too."
Read more like this at AdvancedAngler.com
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