As most of you know, I fish three different places where we live: Walker County Lake, Smith Lake, and the Sipsey Tailrace. All three are within 25 minutes of our house, and all three are heavily fished. In other words, they are pressured waters. I learned years ago that if I wanted to be successful fishing pressured waters—especially the areas you call your home waters—I couldn’t fish the way everyone else was fishing.
When we called Tupelo, Mississippi home back in the mid-70s and early ’80s, I fished with baitcasting and spinning reels. I would always carry two to three combos with me—both baitcasting and spinning gear—and I consistently landed more fish using the spinning gear. Both setups were medium to medium-heavy. Landing a standard 12- to 14-inch bass wasn’t much of a fight on either combo, but the spinning gear was always the winner.
Then came my first experience using ultralight combos in the spring of 1977. Back then, nobody really used light tackle on the four lakes my fishing buddy and I fished. True, you could purchase light tackle, but it wasn’t promoted like it is today. I started with a 6½-foot Eagle Claw ultralight action rod and a small to medium Garcia spincast reel spooled with 6-pound test monofilament.
I still remember that trip because we had company coming for dinner that night—and I was late. The reason? I had the best fishing trip I had ever experienced. In one afternoon, I landed between 40 and 50 bass in the 11- to 14-inch range using my Garcia combo. It was mid-afternoon, overcast, and there was no wind. That one trip changed the way I fish to this day.
Ralph, my fishing buddy during our years in Tupelo, caught fish too—but not nearly the numbers I landed. In fact, I felt so bad about the success I was having that I gave up the front seat in the boat to him. On our next trip the following week, guess who had the same combo I was fishing with? We still talk about that trip and all the others we made together.
Over the next couple of years, I really got into ultralight fishing. The day we left Mississippi for Jasper, I owned five ultralight combos. Two of those were microlight rods in lengths of 7½ feet and 8 feet. Those two are the only ones I still have from the original five. Since then, I’ve added a couple of 7-foot Spinmatic ultralight rods to go along with my microlights.
Today, I mainly use the micro light rods when Cathey and I fish for the huge bluegills on Smith Lake in July and August. My grandchildren use the 7-foot ultralights when they’re fishing the 15-acre lake in Greystone Farms, where Jason has a house. He lives there four to five times a year, and the rest of the time he’s in Sacramento working for Kaiser Health. Cathey and I house-sit for him while he’s away.
So how did I land all those bass that day with the Garcia combo? I was fishing a small 4-inch bleeding shiner curly-tail worm rigged on a 1/0 hook. I rigged the worm so it would have a slight bend, which caused it to swim with circular motion. I worked the worm slowly with short jerks—there was no mistaking a strike. I attached a barrel swivel to the eye of the hook to prevent line twist, which is a must when fishing this worm using a finesse presentation. I still land bass today on Jason’s lake using this method—and so do the grandkids. It’s a little unconventional, but believe me, it works.
That little 4-inch worm is not the only lure that produces results with ultralight combos. Remember, you’re presenting lures to the fish that the fish don’t see very often. Tiny crankbaits, rattle traps, 1/32- to 1/8-ounce jig heads rigged with Z-Shad grubs—or any grub that resembles a baitfish—can all be fished effectively on a 7-foot ultralight. The microlights spooled with 2 to 4lb. test line are also very effective when fishing tungsten-bead Woolly Buggers slowly. . The lighter the line the more distance you get with each cast. I’ve landed huge bluegills fishing Woolly Buggers with both the microlights and fly rods.
The rule I have followed ever since that epic day in 1977 is this:
When fishing clear, pressured water—go smaller.
When fishing cold water—go smaller.
Even in the springtime, stay with smaller lures.
You will be rewarded.
