Lures · Bass at dawn

Surface stickbait

A floating pencil-shaped lure. With twitches of the rod tip it zigzags across the surface like a fleeing fish, and bass hit it hard.

HOW TO FISH IT← YOUBraid PE 1.0–1.5FG knotFluoro leader 20lba little heavier for bassLoop knot or cliplets it move freelyStickbait 10–14cmfloats; trebles or singlesrod tip down, twitch-twitch: walk the dogdawn, dusk, calm sea: bass
Targets
Bass, and pollack and garfish on calm days
Where
Calm beaches, reefs and estuary mouths at dawn and dusk; best in the west
Use it for
Bass

What you need

Mainline
PE 1.0–1.5 braid
Leader
20lb fluorocarbon
Connection
Loop knot or small clip
Lure
10–14cm floating stickbait
Hooks
Two trebles, or swap to singles for easier release

Build it

  1. Tie a loop knot or clip on, so the lure can move freely.
  2. Cast and point the rod tip down at the water.
  3. Wind slowly while giving short, rhythmic twitches. The lure zigzags left and right.
  4. When a bass swirls, keep going until the rod loads, then lift.
On the beach

Don't strike at the splash. Bass often miss at first. Keep the lure moving and they usually come back.

Knots for this rig are in Knots. Line strengths, hook sizes and weights are starting points: scale them to your tackle, the ground and the tide. Diagrams are schematic and not to scale.