Catching Bass in Late Summer with Mark Rose: Fish the Shaky Head Worm for Shallow Water Bass
John E. Phillips 08.21.12
Editor’s note: Mark Rose of Marion, Arkansas, who has won more than $1.5 million, is a professional bass fisherman, a member of War Eagle Boats’ and Strike King’s Pro Staffs and the winner of six FLW tournaments.
Another lure to use in August and September when you get into shallow-water sites with your War Eagle boat is the Shaky Head Worm. Yesterday I mentioned skipping lures in the shallow areas with a lot of shade. One of my favorite lures to skip far back into the shade is the shaky head worm. I’ll cast the shaky head out in front of me to a tree lying in the water that provides shade and cover for the bass. I can pick out the best targets beside the trunk of the tree and in the tree’s limbs and pitch that shaky head worm right to each target. I’ll let the bait fall, shake the worm and either catch the bass or quickly retrieve the lure and pitch it to another target. I’ll find an over-hanging tree that’s creating shade or an undercut bank where bass can hide in the shade of it, I can skip that shaky-head worm in areas I can’t cast to and spots most other fishermen won’t even try to fish. I like the Strike King 3/16-ounce Tour Grade Shaky Head Jig or the 1/8-ounce jig, when I’m fishing these back-water spots. I also like the Strike King Finesse Worm, either in the 4-inch size or the 7-inch size, in green pumpkin. If I’m catching bigger bass, I’ll move-up to the new Strike King Fat Baby Finesse worm, which has a larger profile and tends to catch bigger bass.
Many people fish the shaky head worm with different types of retrieves, depending on the region and depth of water they’re fishing. When I’m using my War Eagle boat to get to fishing sites other anglers can’t reach, I pitch to the place where I believe the bass are holding. I let the shaky head worm sink all the way to the bottom and start shaking it for a few seconds with my hand where I’m gripping the reel. That way the rod tip shakes, the line shakes, and the jig shakes. Because I’m target fishing, if the bass doesn’t attack the shaky head worm within 2 or 3 seconds after it starts shaking, I quickly reel the bait back to the boat and cast it to the next target.
If I’m catching too many little fish and not enough big fish in August and September, I’ll switch to a KVD Plastic Frog, skip it as far back as I can into those shady areas and work the frog on top of the water. You’ll catch a bigger bass with the frog than you do with the shaky head worm, and get more bites and catch more bass. The big advantage to fishing the KVD frog is you can skip it into those shady places, just like you did the shaky head worm. The real key to this kind of fishing in the hot summer months is being able to get to those hard-to-reach backwater regions away from the main lake or river. I trust my War Eagle boat to get me there, and to get me out of those skinny-water areas.
To learn more about how to fish for bass with Mark Rose, click the titles for these two new bass books by John E. Phillips, “How to Bass Fish Like a Pro” and “Catch the Most and Biggest Bass in Any Lake,” or go to http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, and type in the names of the books to buy them. Too, you can download a Kindle app for free and buy the books from Amazon to read on your iPad, SmartPhone or computer.
To learn more about top-quality War Eagle boats, click here.
Click here to learn about fishing a boathouse for bass in late summer and early fall.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
