BAD WEATHER FISHING TACTICS

The Day After the Front Hits

EDITOR'S NOTE: Our special guest today is Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, the 1999 B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year and 2001 BASSMaster's Classic champion.

QUESTION: What do you do on the day after a front comes through?
ANSWER: On the day after a front hits, my favorite two baits are the 4- to 6-inch Strike King 3X worms with a lead sinker up the line and a glass bead below the sinker and the worm tied on below and a spinner bait I slow roll. You really have to slow your fishing technique down after the water's had 24 hours to cool down. I'll fish the worm across the bottom slowly to give the bass plenty of time to see it and eat it. I'll shake the worm with my rod tip. I like a straight-tailed worm because I don't want much action on the bait. I want the worm to appear so easy to eat that the bass can't resist it. I leave the worm in the bass's strike zone as long as possible to have the most bites.

If I'm fishing a blown-down tree on the edge of a creek channel, I'll flip that worm into every hole I can see, really shaking the bait and giving the bas plenty of opportunity to bite. In the spring and summer, I may fish a blown-down tree for only five to 10 minutes. However, the day after a cold front, I may fish that tree for 20 to 30 minutes if I believe a bass is holding in there.

TOMORROW: VANDAM'S SECRET WEAPON