| What is a "twitch" bait?First off, what is a | | | | forward over real shallow weeds to the next |
| "twitch" bait? I first heard this term from | | | | open hole. Here are the areas I concentrate |
| my Brother-In-Law when he saw me catching | | | | on depending on the time of day.Night to |
| fish on one and mumbled, "I never could catch | | | | Early Morning LocationsWhen fishing one of |
| anything on those twitch baits." A twitch | | | | these baits early in the morning I will fish |
| bait is really nothing more than a floating | | | | shallow weed edges or flats with some kind of |
| crankbait with a very small lip.The bait runs | | | | cover. Usually you will be seeing the |
| a few inches under the surface with a steady | | | | tail-end of the night feeding crowd that has |
| retrieve and returns to the surface when the | | | | been out on the prowl. As the light gets |
| retrieve is stopped. Some examples would be | | | | brighter they will move closer to structure |
| the original Rapala(tm), or some of the | | | | for ambush possibilities.Mid-Day |
| floating Yo-Zuri(tm) lures but there are many | | | | LocationsHere is where you get to test your |
| models and brands, so pick your favorite.How | | | | casting skills. Move up towards the thick |
| do you fish it?Now onto the important part, | | | | weeds that have open pockets. Start casting |
| how to fish the bait as a "twitch" bait. This | | | | to the close pockets and work your way out. |
| is a real simple method but it requires some | | | | Move the boat quietly to avoid pushing the |
| imagination. The whole idea is to imitate a | | | | fish to other cover. If you don't cover all |
| dying fish on the surface. You've all seen | | | | of a pocket on the first cast then throw back |
| them, those fish that make a few ripples on | | | | again, the fish might not move far from cover |
| the surface and then swim a foot or so before | | | | to get their meal.Evening to Night |
| returning to the surface again due to | | | | LocationsStart moving towards the weed edges |
| exhaustion. This is no different. I fish it | | | | and flats again. The edges near the cover |
| in different areas depending on the time of | | | | that you fished in mid-day seems to usually |
| day and weather. One thing though, if its | | | | produce. I have fished these baits with |
| real windy out skip the small twitch bait and | | | | success at night but usually move on to |
| move to something that runs underwater or | | | | Jitterbugs for surface work and Texas-Rig |
| makes a bigger surface disturbance. Basically | | | | worms for fishing structure. I will write an |
| you will want to cast the bait and let it sit | | | | article soon on my experiences with night |
| until the rippes settle. Be ready for a | | | | Bass fishing.ConclusionHopefully I haven |
| strike though, because I have had fish hit | | | | given you some ideas of what to do with those |
| the lure when it first lands on the water. | | | | lures. It works for me and is my fallback |
| Give it a quick jerk to make it dive forward | | | | method when all else fails. The idea is |
| and then let it surface. Twitch it a couple | | | | simple, you just have to work at until you |
| of times on the surface to make it ripple but | | | | get the technique. Feel free to email me with |
| not move. Repeat and mix up this process. | | | | questions or comments about this article, or |
| Sometimes I will give it two or three jerks | | | | post your questions in the Online Michigan |
| to make it jump forward underwater. Other | | | | Lake Maps, Online Personal Fishing Diary, |
| times I will twitch it just enough to move it | | | | forums, and fishing articles. |