When you notice Mike Wood slipping two 30-year-old Lew’s Speed Spools out of their zippered plastic cover, you might think he’s about to show you an antique.
But he’s just getting ready to go fishing.
“I love these reels and they still work just fine, so why do I need new ones?” Wood said.
And then he explained the cover.
“The reason they still work so well is I keep them cleaned up and they stay in these covers when I’m not fishing,” Wood said. “That’s the key: It keeps dirt and grit out.
“The way they are made, they can last forever.”
He keeps them spooled with new P-Line, with 12- to 14-pound test being the norm.
Wood’s rods are not the hot new models, either. His favorite two are a Zell Rowland All-Stars and a Berkley Lightning Rod.
When it comes to setting the table for bass, the angler’s menu is pretty basic.
Wood picks a local favorite spinnerbait —the Mr. Hooty in the 1/2-ounce size — he learned about during a stint at the LDWF office in Ferriday. He fishes two colors: white or white/chartreuse.
His top crankbait is a silver/blue back Rat-L-Trap, and he didn’t have a one in his box that wasn’t scratched from end to end with fish teeth marks.
Rapala deep-divers and medium-depth shad-colored Bandit lures are also near the top of his list of lures.
When it comes to plastics, he loves the Z-Man creature baits, which are made out of a plastic that allows him to catch upwards of 30 fish with a single lure.
They are a bit expensive, but because of that not everyone is willing to pay for them — so they sometimes end up in a end-of-the-year $1 bargain bin. If Wood sees them before you, you won’t get one.
Favorite colors are earth tones: pumpkinseed, brown, watermelon and motor oil.
One interesting tip Wood picked up also pays dividends for him.
He saw a fishing video where a crankbait fisherman wrapped his lures’ hooks and body with rubber bands, which all but eliminated the hooks getting tangled with other lures. Most of the crankers in his box were wrapped like that.
He could hold five or six in his hand without any tangles, while those that weren’t wrapped were all tangled together.
