Day 2 coverage of the Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray showed Texas pro Lee Livesay fishing a Netbait Super Twitch for bass targeting the blueback herring spawn.
Hardly a novel concept. That soft jerkbait technique’s a good fit for mimicking the form and motion of vulnerable baitfish distracted with their reproductive ritual. Even after the morning spawn subsides, this presentation remains viable for bass chasing down scattered herring.
Practically everyone does it. But…no one does it like Livesay did it, and he’ll likely be doing it again today.
While the standard technique uses moderate rod tip twitches, often with a “fast reeling” cadence, Livesay uses his upper body to work his bait with a long, sweeping motion.
With feet firmly planted, he’ll make a cast and then rotate his torso more than 90 degrees to rip his bait across the surface. Quickly gathering slack as he rotates forward, he repeats the aggressive action throughout his retrieve.
If this sounds a little like a peppy version of Carolina rigging, you’re not wrong, but Livesay actually traces his inspiration to a late-January trip to the Amazon. While the Brazilian rainforest tributaries are no place for largemouth bass or blueback herring, there’s no lack of giant peacock bass — the source of Livesay’s inspiration.
Targeting these super-aggressive predators with jumbo prop baits called Wood Choppers, Livesay quickly learned how the effective technique required an equally aggressive retrieve predicated on that bold upper body rotation.
“That (soft jerkbait) technique comes from ripping that big ‘Chopper down there and catching peacocks,” Livesay said. “Those herring go 100 mph when they get chased, so if I move the bait too slowly, the bass miss it or they don’t hit it at all.
“On my home waters of Lake Fork, the gizzard shad are slow, so I use slow baits. Here, herring are fast, so I work my bait as fast as I can.”
Another tip: Livesay uses a 4/0 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Flipping Hook with a few wraps of lead wire. That modification adds weight to maximize his casting distance.
