2845 Merry Lane White City , OR • ( 541 ) 944-2155
24 March 16 - 30 , 2018 VOL . 37 • ISS . 07
FRESHWATER
Panther Martin Makes Spinnerbaits ? For Bass ?
I
’ ve been fishing with old school classic Panther Martin inline spinners for most
of my life and I ’ m 50 years old ! I ’ ve literally caught hundreds upon hundreds of fish on them . Most of the fish have been trout to be sure , but I ’ ve also caught all three species of black bass , stripers , bluegill , river salmon and a big bad tempered 6 plus pound catfish on them .
The question is , why are Panther Martin Spinners so dang effective ? It ’ s all in the blade . The sonic Panther Martin blade ,
draws fish in . I don ’ t know if the spinners sound like forage or if the sonic vibration makes fish turn angry and aggressive and I really don ’ t care . All I know for sure is that the blade draws in the fish and often provokes violent strikes !
With all this in mind I was super excited this week when I learned that Panther Martin has launch a new line of spinnerbaits that incorporate that deadly Panther Martin Sonic blade . One of the baits features a bucktail dressing while the other sports a swimtail
BASS JUST DON ’ T STAND A CHANCE !
grub . Both of these baits are going to be killers on black bass , stripers and more !
The Bearded Banshee
The Bearded Banshee™ is designed specifically for smallmouth and largemouth Bass . This bucktail spinnerbait also features the Free Floating Sonic Arm to allow the convex / concave blade to swing freely and creates irresistible sonic vibrations that cause smallmouth and largemouth Bass to go into a feeding frenzy !
The Sonic Sizzle Tail The Sonic SizzleTail™ is Panther Martins first jighead style spinner . It works well in saltwater for striped bass and other species . It is also a very productive in freshwater for catching black bass and even big trout . A unique feature of this lure is the Free Floating Sonic Arm that allows the blade to swim freely . The unique design of the Free Floating Sonic Arm creates irresistible vibrations that literally calls the fish from afar !
For more information go to www . panthermartin . com and don ’ t forget to ask for these baits at your favorite tackle shop !
GONE FISHING continued from page 1
-
Bearded Banshee ™
Lethal NEW BuckTail SpinnerBait for Large & Small-mouth Bass ! Caution : Fishing with this lure just ain ’ t fair ! Guaranteed To Catch More Fish ! Also lethal on Northern Pike , Walleye , Panfish & more . Made with natural hand-tied bucktail .
800-524-4742 | PantherMartin . com | / PantherMartin | / PantherMartinFishing
YUKON SERIES
All New for 2018 ! Powered by clean , quiet dependable 4 stroke Honda Outboards
For optimum performance and safety , read the Owner ’ s Manual before operating your Honda Marine Product . Always wear a personal flotation device while boating .
See us at the Sacramento Boat Show March 8-11 . 2018
Reno Sport & Boat Show March 16-18 , 2018
• 6 Fish Catching Colors ors
• 3 Sizes - 1 / 8 oz , 1 / 4 oz & 3 / 8 oz .
Available at and other fine tackle stores .
The all New Yukon 18.5 with wider bottom and taller sides , the Yukon is the biggest , Safest and Most Sea Worthy 18 footer you can buy !
2845 Merry Lane White City , OR • ( 541 ) 944-2155
Dept . FN038L
WWW . ROGUEJET . COM
narrative occurred a half century later , the day Kevin VanDam showed Kehde an early ElaZtech bait while fishing together in 2006 . VanDam put in Kehde ’ s hands a pack Strike King Zeros , an ultra-durable stickbait manufactured by the parent company of what would eventually become Z-Man Fishing .
That same year , Kehde fished with Japanese bass legend Shinichi Fukae on Beaver Lake . “ Fukae was using the same method we had adopted , retrieving a jigworm a few inches off bottom , reeling and shaking as it went along . It gave further credence to our Midwest style of finesse bassin ’.”
Not long afterward , Kehde became a major fan of Z-Man ’ s unique ElaZtech baits . To this day , his favorite remains a green pumpkin ZinkerZ stickworm , cut in half to 2-1 / 2-inches , or a single 2-3 / 4-inch Finesse TRD . Kehde impales both on a 1 / 16-ounce Gopher Mushroom Head jig or
3707 a 1 / 15-ounce Z-Man Finesse ShroomZ . Interestingly , Kehde cherishes red jigheads , a tip gleaned from finesse expert Fukae .
To give his ElaZtech baits valuable buoyancy , Kehde soaks them in hot water and stretches them . “ Or you can let the bass do it for you ,” he adds . “ The more bass you catch on each bait , the better it gets — the more the fish seem to bite it .
“ Removing some of the salt makes the bait more buoyant , giving it a nice subtle glide . The buoyancy is key to our no-feel style of fishing . We can ’ t exactly explain it , but the more you feel the lure , the fewer bass you ’ ll catch and vice-versa . With light jigs and small hooks , big hooksets aren ’ t necessary . A lot of the success in fishing the lure comes down to instinct and intuition . And the fact the bait ’ s so good , it often does the heavy lifting for you .”
Six Secret Ned Rig Retrieves
So skilled and potent have Kehde and his loyal Midwest Finesse Network of anglers become at fishing Ned Rigs that the anglers have developed six unique retrieves — all effective , depending on the situation :
The Swim- Glide-Shake : “ After the lure touches down , immediately begin shaking the rod , continuing to
Here we see a standard Ned Rig . Note the minnow like shape !
Photo courtesy of TRADI- TIONS MEDIA
constantly shake as it sinks toward bottom . Throughout the retrieve , keep the lure swimming slowly from six inches to one foot above bottom . The glide comes in as we stop turning the reel handle and allow the lure to pendulum toward the bottom .”
The Hop-and-Bounce : “ Drop the rod to the five-o ’ clock position after the cast and hold it there . Shake the rod as the lure falls to the bottom . After it touches down , hop it up by rotating the reel handle twice , and then pause . As the lure falls back , we shake the rod . Repeat this cadence throughout the retrieve .”
The Drag-and-Deadstick : “ This is normally performed by the angler in the back of the boat ; it shines in water up to 12 feet deep . Cast toward the shoreline and shake the rod as the lure sinks . Rod held at 3- or 4-o ’ clock , the angler drags the lure slowly across bottom as the boat moves along the shoreline . As the boat moves , peel some line off the spool , creating slack and allowing the lure to lie dead-still for five seconds . You can occasionally shake the rod after the deadstick routine .”
The Straight Swim : Primarily executed with a single-tailed grub on a 1 / 16- or 1 / 32-ounce jig , this long-cast tactic works with the wind at your back , when bass are foraging on wind-blown shorelines . Depending on wind , hold your rod at 2- to 5-o ’ clock and simply turn the reel handle at a slow to moderate speed . You can enhance it with shakes and pauses , too .
The Drag-and-Shake : “ After we ’ ve reached bottom , we turn the reel handle just fast enough to get the lure to slowly travel along the bottom . As it does , we twitch our wrist , shaking the rod , line and lure .”
Strolling : “ When bass are on massive , featureless flats — especially in winter on flatland reservoirs — we use the trolling motor to move our jigs along bottom , a great ploy for locating schools of fish . The angler on the trolling motor casts to the starboard side at about a 45-degree angle toward the back of the boat . A second angler does the same on the left side , while the person in the back merely casts straight back . When the baits of the two anglers in the front of the boat reach directly behind the boat , they retrieve and re-deploy their original casts .”
Kehde concludes : “ It ’ s the only way I fish anymore . Simple . Affordable . And so dad-gum good at catching boatloads of bass and other species , it ’ s almost ridiculous .”