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Hitting Homers with a Throw-Back Rig

(By: Jerry Carlson)

photo of jerry carlson

My first introduction to bass fishing with a throw-back lure happened on the backwaters of the Mississippi many years ago. My two younger brothers had invited me for a relaxing weekend of grilling, family socializing and largemouth bass fishing.

As you can well imagine, the socializing and barbeque routine were not the top items on the list. They were thrown into the mix in case there was time left over after spending a long day on the water.

The backwater strategy my brothers had developed focused on fishing the quiet bays that were covered with green duckweed. With water that was only three feet deep and duckweed as far as we could see, it wasn’t the kind of bass’n country I was used to.

We started off throwing Johnson Silver Minnows up close to shore and then working this lure across the surface of the duckweed back to the boat. Every cast left a neat little trail through the weeds so it was easy to see where we had been.

Every so often, a big ol’ bass would blow up on the surface lure. The explosion would throw mud and weed debris in the air. However, our hook-up percentage was very low. That was where the throw-back lure would come into play.

After the missed strike, it was easy to see the opening in the duckweed where the fish was located. Knowing that bass was sitting right underneath that hole, we would toss out a lightly weighted PowerBait worm and let it sink in the opening.

I was never quite sure if these backwater bass hated plastic worms or if they were embarrassed about the fact they had missed an easy offering. Either way, they would crunch that worm like it was their very last meal.

Last summer, I again found myself fishing the Mississippi only this time it was for smallmouth. The fish we were targeting were hiding in shoreline rocks as well as trees, logs and other cover.

Through the process of elimination, we discovered these fish would strike at buzzbaits that were thrown in their vicinity. However, like the backwater bass from so many years ago, the hooking percentage was low. This is where the throw-back lure saved the day.

On this particular outing, our throw-back rig consisted of a small wacky rigged worm. Even though these smallmouth wouldn’t look at the buzzbait on a second cast, they hardly ever refused the wacky worm offering.

Throw-back lures do not have to be plastic worms. However, they need to be something that is presented at a different pace or a different depth than the original lure. Lightly weighted plastic worms or wacky rigged worms do provide a slow, tantalizing drop that is often hard to resist.

If I am fishing something slow and methodical, I may choose to utilize a spinnerbait as a throw-back rig. This spinnerbait throw-back works as well for northern as it does for bass.

At other times, a jig and minnow may be a good follow up for bass or northern that are hitting but not hooking. This is especially true if fish are deeper. Sometimes, a crankbait ripped at high speed will turn half hearted strikers into vicious eaters.

The whole concept behind throw-back lures is to take advantage of a fish that has shown some interest in eating. Once the location of a fish that is somewhat aggressive has been determined, it only makes sense to try to offer it something different to trigger a strike.

Having a pole rigged and ready is often the key to throw-back success. Usually, the faster you can get to a fish after a missed strike, the better chance there is of finding that fish willing to hit.

Throw-back lures are not a new concept in the fishing world, but they are something that is often ignored by anglers, especially those fishing shallow water. Throw-back lures don’t always work, but when they do, you can turn a missed strike into a home run!