By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor
Time is ticking down. The pattern that worked yesterday isn’t working today. It’s crunch time. There’s an hour left in the day. Your nerves are starting to fray. What do you reach for when you absolutely need to generate bites?
We’ve been asking pro anglers from the various leagues that same question as a way to find out what their ultimate confidence baits are regardless of the situation, along with the reasoning behind their choices. As one might expect, the answers have run the gamut, from big-line, big-weight flipping to light-line finesse and from topwater to slow-dragging baits.
For Jeff Kriet, a finesse presentation puts him in his comfort zone and also seems to give him the confidence he needs to put fish in the boat at crunch time.
After checking out the latest installment in the series, head over to our Feedback page and let us know what your go-to bait is and how you rig it.
> Angler: Jeff Kriet
> Confidence bait: 4.75-inch Big Bite Baits Coontail Worm (tilapia with tail dipped in chartreuse dye)
> Gear used: 7’4” medium-heavy Denali multi-purpose spinning rod, unnamed spinning reel, 10-pound HI-SEAS Grand Slam braided line, 8- to 12-pound HI-SEAS 100% fluorocarbon line (leader), 1/8-oz. homemade shaky-head jig (4/0 Laser TroKar 90-degree bend light wire hook).
> Origin: “The thing I found with the Coontail is it still gets bites, but it gets bigger bites; the same bites you’d get on a jig. In cold water, it’s gotten to be my favorite bait. No matter if you’re in a ledge tournament of wherever you are – even on a slugfest lake – after four days, every tournament becomes a shaky-head or Neko or wacky-rig tournament. Even if the bite gets tough at Kentucky Lake, I’m not afraid to throw this. It’s bulky enough to get big bites.”
> Why he trusts it: “It’s a ribbed bait and gets a lot of bites. It’s just a different look and gives off a different action. It creates more bubbles and is really soft. If you shake it, the ribs give off a lot of action.”
> One more thing: “It’s just a different look than a regular shaky-head. If I’m on primarily a largemouth lake, I’ll throw this more than a traditional shaky-head.”
