Clay Dyer – Living Life and Bass Fishing Beyond the Limits
Some of Clay Dyer’s Favorite Lures
 Editor’s Note: Clay Dyer of Hamilton, Alabama, is an outstanding, unique and highly-successful individual and bass fisherman. Dyer has found a way to take what 90% of us would consider a disadvantage and turn it into a tremendous advantage. “I stand out at every fishing tournament in which I compete,” Dy er mentions. “I’m usually the only fisherman there with no hands, only a partial arm and no legs. I’ve discovered that to be successful in this industry, it helps to be unique. I don’t have to wear sponsor shirts, have my boat and truck wrapped or have my name printed on all my equipment. Most of the time, when I go to a tournament, the fishermen and the spectators will know who I am, and the products I fish and why when they see me or before they leave.” This week, we’ll take a look at the life of Clay Dyer – one of the most-amazing and unique anglers in the world of bass fishing.
Question: Clay, what lures do you often use in tournaments?
Dyer: I really like the new 3/4-ounce-size Strike King Red Eye Shad and Strike King’s new color patterns. I can cast that Red Eye Shad a long way, fish it deep and catch a number of bass with it. Too, I’ve been fishing other Strike King lures – including the new Burner and the Bottom Dweller spinner baits and the new plastic baits like the Game Hawg, the R age Space Monkey, the Ocho and the Rage Anaconda.
Question: Why do you like the Game Hawg and the Space Monkey?
Dyer: There’s a ton of creature baits on the market, and most of them look and perform the same. As a tournament fisherman, I look for a lure that will give me an edge over the lures the ot her competitors use. The Rage Space Monkey and the Game Hawg are two totally-unique baits. Anytime I get a factory lure, I try to modify or change it, so the lure will be unique for my style of fishing. I either cut baits or shave them down, whatever I can to give them a different action. But I don’t have to do that with the Game Hawg because this bait’s not round. It has seven flat sides, to give the bait a unique gliding action as it falls that the bass haven’t seen previously. Now, I still may use my Spike-It dyes to change up the colors some just to be different, but I don’t have to modify the bait itself.
There are three-different features I like about the Space Monkey. Strike King has taken a flat, paddle-tail-type soft-plastic lure and added appendages to the sides and the tail, resulting in a small profile that produces plenty of action. The bait’s compact enough that you can flip it into grass mats and other types of heavy cover, and it will go through that cover without getting hung-up. Once the Space Monkey moves through the cover, it has a big-bass appeal in a small package, which is very difficult to find in most creature-type baits. That’s the reason I like the Space Monkey. My three-favorite colors are Bama Bug, green-pumpkin and black-and-blue. I carry some watermelon and June bug colors, but I typically carry markers and dyes with me. Then I can change the color of any lure while I’m in the boat to better match the water and the weather conditions.
I’m always trying to make my lures look somewhat different from everyone else’s. In most waters, green, black and blue will catch bass. I use the dyes to give each lure a different spot, stripe, appendage or mark that separates it from the lures anyone else is fishing. Most of the time, I’m flipping or pitching the Space Monkey, but I have used it on a Carolina and a Texas rig. When I want a big-profile bait, I’ll use it as a trailer on a jig. But 90% of the time, if the cover allows it, I’d rather flip and pitch the Space Monkey.
To learn more about Clay Dyer, visit http://www.smgoutdoors.com/claydyer.html, or call (214) 632-4416.
Tomorrow: Clay Dyer Can Hit a Gallon Bucket from 50 Feet |
