 FISHING
WITH PROFESSIONAL BASS FISHERMAN TODD ARY
Fishing Aquatic Vegetation Lakes
EDITOR’S NOTE: Todd Ary of Moody, Alabama, a
professional bass fisherman, fishes all the FLW and
Everstart tournaments. This week, Ary talks about what
types of lakes he fishes and the tactics he uses to
catch bass in the fall.
QUESTION: How are you fishing lakes with aquatic vegetation
at this time of year?
ARY: As winter approaches, you have to understand what
is happening to the vegetation. Big mats of grass begin
to come loose from the bottom. These mats have caverns
under them where bass like to hole-up and ambush bait.
One of the most-effective ways to fish these mats is
with a Strike King Mini King  mini
buzzbait. This small buzzbait imitates the size of the
shad that are in the lake at this time of year. Therefore
the mini buzzbait is more appropriate than the standard-size
buzzbait. The secret to catching fish while using this
tactic is to find channels in the broken mats of grass.
You will not catch nearly as many bass if you try to
fish the edge of the larger mats of grass. I have learned
that the broken mats are better because they allow me
to fish in areas that most other fishermen tend to skip.
I like to fish this buzzbait on 15-pound-test Mossy
Oak Fishing Line. The channels that I cast in are 12-
to 36-inches wide. If you’ll fish with a limp
line, you can cast more accurately, compared to a stiff
line with more memory. If you are a right-handed fisherman,
larger-diameter line will cause your cast to drift off
to the left. The reason for this is when you cast the
larger line, it will put more friction on the guides
of your rod. When you cast a light-weight buzzbait,
the line drag against the left side guides on the rod
will cause your line to track to the left more than
if you use a smaller-diameter line. Instead of casting
normally, you’re going to have to cast more to
the right to compensate for the line drag.
Another problem most anglers have with fishing a buzzbait
like the Mini King, is that when the bass blows up on
it, the fisherman has a tendency to jerk it away from
the bass before it gets the buzzbait in its mouth. One
of the reasons this happens is that most of us use line
with very little stretch in it. I solve this problem
by using a  medium-heavy
rod with a limber tip to fish the Mini King. Compared
to a rod with a stiff tip, the limber tip allows me
to cast the bait better. While using a limber tip, I
don’t set the hook when a bass boils up on the
bait, instead, I continue with my retrieve. After the
bass load the tip on the rod, all I do is pull back.
If you’re using a stiff-tipped rod with low-stretch
line, you tend to react so quickly to the strike that
you move the bait away from the fish. By using that
limber-tipped rod, you can eliminate the problem. If
you’re trying to set the hook while using the
standard-size buzzbait, you’ll miss twice as many
bass, unless you have a line with some stretch in it.
QUESTION: What color Mini King do you prefer?
ARY: I like to use white or black.
QUESTION: Do you use a trailer hook?
ARY: Yes, and sometimes I prefer to use two trailer
hooks. However, when a bass attacks the bait, he usually
gets the lure deep in his throat. This is another advantage
of using a mini buzzbait like Strike King’s Mini
King, instead of the standard-size buzzbait.
 QUESTION:
While using the smaller bait, how big are the bass you
catch?
ARY: At this time of year on Lake Guntersville in Alabama,
often I catch 8- or 9-pound bass using this technique
and this bait. You don’t have to use big baits
to catch big bass. If you use smaller baits like the
Mini, you’ll be offering the bass a different
type of lure than what they’re used to seeing.
At this time of year, most people use crankbaits, jigs,
jerkbaits, soft-plastic baits and flukes. If you put
that small buzzbait around grass, hold onto your rod,
and you’ll watch the bass eat it.
To learn more, visit www.strikeking.com
and www.mossyoakfishing.com.
TOMORROW: GRASSY LAKE TACTICS
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