BEST NEW LURES OF THE PROS

Bigguns Like Little Baits

EDITOR'S NOTE: Each year, tackle manufacturers and fishing pros develop new lures and new tactics for catching bass. Most companies employ professional fishermen to tell them about problems they find throughout the year while competing and to help them create new lures to solve these fishing problems.

Mike Wurm, a 51-year-old angler from Hot Springs, Arkansas, has won one Bassmaster tournament, has had 11 top-10 finishes and has participated in seven Bassmaster Classics. Wurm's all-time BASS tournament winnings total $325,400. "I'm a fan of the new 3X soft baits produced by Strike King," Wurm says. "I like the lures because I can keep them in the water longer and get them back in the water quicker than I can other soft-plastic lures. When you eliminate the time you need to re-rig plastic baits, you're gaining fishing time. I have a definite advantage because I may not use more than one to three soft-plastic worms in a day of fishing for bass, whereas I may use as many as 15- to 30-other kinds of plastic worms. I save precious fishing time by not having to rebait because my worm is torn-up. The 3X lures are also very sensitive and move at the slightest touch. My favorite color is green pumpkin.

"Another 3X lure that I've really liked this year is the Zulu, a soft-plastic jerkbait that can be fished right on top of the water, in the middle story of the water or rigged on a Carolina rig and fished on the bottom. You can determine the depth of water where you want the lure to fish by the size hook you use. A light-wire hook will make the Zulu swim on top and a heavier hook will get it down deeper. My favorite colors of Zulu are gray and pearl shad.

"I also fish the 3X lizard often in the green-pumpkin or the watermelon colors. Although the worm, the soft-plastic jerkbait and the lizard are not new lures, the action you can give this 3X material, the length of time it stays on a hook, and the action that this material allows you to give to the bait really makes 3X lures unusual.

"An old lure that many people aren't fishing that is probably the number-one lure in my tackle box is the Strike King Bitsy Bug. This lure is my go-to bait. When you hear the word finesse, it's usually written in front of a worm, but the Bitsy Bug is a finesse jig. When bass aren't biting, I can use this small, compact, little-bitty jig to make them bite. Adding this year's new Bitsy Craws to the backs of jigs make the jigs new-looking to the bass. With the Bitsy Craw on the back of the Bitsy Bug, I can hop that little jig on the bottom. Its size and movement don't intimidate any bass, regardless of its size. This lure seems to work best when bass fishing is the hardest, when the water temperature is between 40- and 50-degrees F. One of the problems that anglers often have fishing this little-bitty jig is they think that small jigs catch only small bass. However, I've caught some of the biggest bass of my life when I've been fishing a Bitsy Bug jig."

TOMORROW: THE LITTLE CREATURE, AND THE 3X LINEUP