Luling’s Steven “Rock” Rockweiler has been chasing bass for years, and that means he’s built up quite a collection of tackle from which to choose.
But that doesn’t mean his boat is packed to the gills every time he goes out.
“I probably have as much or more tackle than most fishermen, but over the years I have trimmed the amount of stuff I keep in the boat,” Rockweiler said.
Here’s the list of lures that lures he turns to tournament after tournament:
• Spinnerbaits — Delta Lures and Humdingers with white and white/chartreuse skirts — and sometimes even black skirts — are his favorites. He uses 1/4- to 1/2-ounce models, depending on the cover he’s fishing.
• Crankbaits — Mann’s Baby Minus 1s, Strike King KVD 1.5s, Bandit 200 series cranks, Rat-L-Traps and Cordell Spots are tops on his list. He also includes Rapalas and Rogues in the list of lipped hard baits.
“Crankbaits are a good choice to cover a lot of water,” Rockweiler explained.
• Soft plastics — “I mainly use worms, craws Beaver-types and Brush Hogs,” Rockweiler said. But he also adds Missle Baits D Bombs, Zoom Speed Craws and Paca Craws to his box.
• Skirted jigs — This bait produces year round, he said. His choice is normally a 3/8-ounce casting jig, although he’ll often swim the lure instead of bouncing it along.
“I really love to swim the jig along if there is grass and weeds in the water,” Rockweiler said. “In areas that the bass see a lot of lures, a sublte swimming jig seems to trigger strikes.”
• Frogs — Rockweiler usually uses a Ribbits for working around scattered grass or duckweed, while turning to floating frogs for denser vegetation.
