November is a time to concentrate on 3- to 7-foot depths, and at least one Louisiana bass pro knows there are several artificial lures that fit the bill.
Brent Bonadona of Port Allen said, “If I had to pick one, it’d probably be a bladed jig, preferably a shad color. That’ll probably be the bait, because it’s real versatile.”
Bonadona, 45, who has fished the BASS and FLW Toyota Cup Series circuits since 2010, chooses a Delta Lures Thunder Jig, which he described as “probably the best price-wise and the most versatile on the market.”
Bonadona fishes the 3/8-ounce model, which has a weedguard, and he seldom strays from two colors: white with a white blade or white with a silver blade. Why?
“The main thing is, shad are going to be shallow. That’s standard wherever you are,” said Bonadona, who said bass are in transition from main bayous into dead-end canals in the Atchafalaya Basin, as well as up in the water column. He focuses on the front ends of those canals. As the days get chillier and the water cools this month, he also searches out the warmest water he can find.
Bonadona adds a soft plastic on the Thunder Jig.
“Probably, for that time of year, it’ll be a big-bodied, white Mister Twister grub, or a (white) Buzz Bug,” he said.
Thunder Jigs with a weedguard allow him to fish deadfalls and similar cover more thoroughly. He fishes the bait on either 15- or 17-pound Seaguar Invesik fluorocarbon, depending on the cover. If the water’s muddy or heavily stained, he uses 50-pound Power Pro braid. He spools it on a Lew’s Super Duty reel (6.3:1 ratio) and mounts it to a Lew’s 7-foot, medium-heavy rod.
