Baby D Bomb is a blast to fish, in January
Caleb Sumrall of New Iberia, a Bassmaster Elite Series pro, downsizes from one of his favorite soft-plastics, a Missile Baits D Bomb, to a Missile Baits Baby D Bomb after Christmas and into early February.
“I fish with it a lot a good percentage of the time. It’s always on my deck in January,” said Sumrall, 32, who knows what he’ll have on the business end of a fishing rod in January, a time of the season when getting bass to bite can be difficult.
The 2017 B.A.S.S. Nation Championship champion, Sumrall gets fish to bite with a soft-plastic creature bait he has plenty of confidence in while punching and flipping in and around the Atchafalaya Basin and at Toledo Bend.
“When it is colder, I want a smaller-profile bait going through the mats,” he said. “Colder weather makes them a little lethargic and the smaller profile bait gets a few more bites.
“The fish are starting to stage under mats around cypress trees. Any time I’m around the Basin or a canal-type system, I focus on laydowns, grass mats and cypress trees.”
The 3.65-inch Missile Baits Baby D Bomb is smaller than the popular D Bomb, thinner with a ribbed body that can still accommodate a 3/0 flipping hook, according to Sumrall. For those who prefer to fish it other than Texas-rigged, it’s good to go on a shaky head or drop-shot.
When Sumrall punches with the soft-plastic bait, he uses it on a 2/0 or 3/0 Gamakatsu flipping hook under a 1- or 1½-ounce Kajun Boss tungsten worm weight. He ties it to 50-pound Sunline Xplasma Asegai braid on a high-speed reel with a 7-foot-10 Kistler Zbone 5 Heavy casting rod.
For flipping purposes, Sumrall likes to use a 3/16- or ¼-ounce Kajun Boss Tungsten worm weight.
“Typically, I want a lighter weight in the colder months. I want a slow fall,” he said. “Typically, I pick apart laydowns and wood and mats. I let the fish tell me what I want.”
Sumrall flips the Baby D Bomb on 18- or 20-pound Sunline Sniper flourocarbon tied to a 2/0 or 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook. When flipping, he uses a high-speed reel seated on a Kistler Helium 7-foot-4 Medium Heavy X-Fast Fishing Rod.
He has two favorite color combinations: bruiser/flash (black/blue) and California love.
Sumrall said the soft-plastic creature bait displaces water on a straight fall thanks to the thinner-ribbed body design and the pronounced think tails — which can be fished connected or separated. It’s also very durable, he said.
But it’s a soft plastic with subtle action as it drops through the water column.
“You don’t want anything with a lot of action that time of year. You want a subtle action,” he said.
