Going Psycho When Fishing Gets Tough
Posted by Shane Beilue on May 10th 2020
By Shane Beilue
Occasionally you find the answer to some of life’s challenges are right under your nose. Such was the case for me on a recent spawn of the year outing where catching finicky bass in ultra-clear water was a challenge. I remembered a previous text exchange with a family member offering advice on how to solve the challenge of getting wary bass to respond. It went something like this:
Me: Lot’s of fish moving shallow - can’t get many to bite
Uncle: Try a shaky head craw
Me: I’d rather catch nothing than fish a shaky head
The truth is, I was only half-joking. I’m not one to belittle the finesse game, but for a guy who likes to stick and move with a “power bait” or pitch a Flappin’ Hawg to shallow brush, fishing a light weight shaky head in the Texas wind is something akin to watching the lake rise after a rain: S-L-O-W.
However, desperate times lead to desperate measures, so I gave in. I fumbled around in the jig box and found a 1/4-oz shaky head with a stout 3/0 hook. Hmm, that might actually get to the lake bottom before dark so let’s find a craw to go on it. I have a box full of various sizes but remembered a little something about the GYCB PsychoDad craw that seemed appropriate: floating claws. Two casts into the endeavor and my line was moving sideways for some reason, resulting in bass number one. Beginner’s luck, I thought. A couple casts later, no tangible tap, but the line was sideways again: bass number two. Within a span of 10 minutes I had four bass in an area I’d picked through looking for spawners with my “power tools” only moments before. Amazing!
Throughout the day, I was able to catch a few more visible males guarding the nest (which I immediately released) or the occasional unseen bass from the deeper rock ledges with the same combo. Guess who’s about to order some more Psycho Dads?
If you check out the PsychoDad description in the catalog you’ll see it’s designed for punching mats with a heavy weight and punch skirt. However, at only 3 ¾ inches long with floating claws, it’s also an ideal finesse set up for a shaky head, as it stands up nicely with pincers raised when resting on the bottom – a trait common to many, but not all soft craws. The bait is quite soft, but also surprisingly durable when screwed onto a jig head and rigged weedless. As with all GYCB soft plastics, there are plenty of killer color combos to choose from, Green Pumpkin Red (color 369) was the ticket for me in very clear water.
The PsychoDad is certainly a worthy finesse craw that seems to fly a little under the radar in the bass community. The small profile and floating claws also pair nicely on the back of a football jig, as well as a Carolina rig or split shot. I’ll be darned if I won’t have this little craw threaded on a ¼ ounce head when things get tough - I just need to swallow my pride one more time and tell my uncle that he was right.
Occasionally you find the answer to some of life’s challenges are right under your nose. Such was the case for me on a recent spawn of the year outing where catching finicky bass in ultra-clear water was a challenge. I remembered a previous text exchange with a family member offering advice on how to solve the challenge of getting wary bass to respond.