Suspending Limited Rogues

[edyer]

I attended a stickbait seminar at the Fishing and Sport Show in Grand Rapids, MI Thursday night.It was put on by Don Watts, a very well known successful and respected fisherman up here in Michigan. He is respected up here for his fishing very much like Bill Babler is on Table Rock. His "go to" bait is the 5 and 1/2 inch, 1/2 ounce special edition Rogue. He modifies it with a red hook up front, and dressed treble on the back, and he weights the front end treble and front with suspend strips. In Michigan/Indiana he throws mostly the perch color(which most of us think looks like a bass pattern), but he also uses the Tennessee Shad and Thunderbird(silver with blue back/orange belly) colors.He throws it using 14 pound spider wire with a medium rod. I've tried it in some Michigan tournaments, but didn't really know the minute details of how he fished it before, and I still caught some good fish with it.He thinks it should work on Table Rock as well.He could and would throw any of the other baits mentioned on here, but he fishes a ton of tournaments and wins a lot of money on these baits. Not to mention the fact that they cost $6.99 compared to what Lucky Craft, Spro, and Megabass cost. He likes the bigger profile, which he thinks puts him on bigger fish, which are needed to win tournaments. We also have Northern Pike up here to contend with and you lose a few baits to them.I have the Lucky Crafts, Megabass, Spros, Rapalas, and Rogues, but just wonder why I haven't heard anything on here about these bigger Rogues.I've been coming down to Table Rock since 1980 and remember when a guy won a BASS tournament down here throwing the huge magnum Rapalas.I've tried that too, but it really is a lot of work.I listened to the podcast of Bill's Stickbait seminar and thought it was great, but was left feeling like I wish I was there in person to really get the full benefit.

[techo]

Not sure about those particular rogues, but I started stickbait fishing with rogues. The issue I had with mine is getting them to suspend right. I was always fiddling with the little sticky weights to get them right. The McSticks, (buy a couple every year) seem easier to tune (if that is the right word). I still have to stick on a little weight sometimes, but not so much.

I still think lure choices comes down a great deal to confidence. Denny uses a grub year around, I use an Eakins jig, another guy uses a spoon, I suspect Bill has a megabass tied on somewhere. When it does come to stick baits, I have more confidence in a McStick than a rogue and can't afford many megabass. If you like a rogue and do well.....