Vary retrieve to determine pattern
Consistently building hefty stringers of bass requires maximizing the time spent on the water — and Pierre Part’s Cliff Crochet said that means working every piece of cover for all it’s worth.
“Make different retrieves and work different angles to single targets,” the Bassmaster Elite Series pro said.
For instance, when he approaches a cypress tree, his goal is to make at least three retrieves past the cover.
He begins with a long cast well past the tree.
“Maybe on that cast, I might retrieve the bait past the tree — just a steady retrieve,” Crochet said.
If he doesn’t get a bite, he sends the lure back at the tree. But he changes things up a bit.
“When I get closer, I might cast past it and then kill (the lure) when I get to the tree,” he explained.
If that retrieve doesn’t result in a strike, the angler then makes another cast at a different angle. Perhaps he pulls the lure pas the opposite side of the tree while pumping the rod to give the lure extra action.
“That way I get three casts on that tree, and I did it efficiently,” Crochet said.
But he can do so without sacrificing speed.
“I never quit working down the bank,” Crochet said. “You get more casts at the same piece of structure and you’re steadily working down the bank.
“It’s about being efficient, not going fast.”
Varying the retrieve also allows him to figure out what will trigger bites that day.
“Once you figure out what retrieve is most productive, you can spend more time doing that retrieve,” Crochet said.
