My 3 Favorite Baits for Fishing Woody Cover

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It’s no secret that wood cover holds big bass throughout the entire country. While you can catch a few fish on wood with a variety of presentations, Walker has developed a lot of confidence with three specific baits. He lives on a very pressured public lake that hosts tournaments every single weekend of the year, so differentiating your presentation from other anglers’ is essential.

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When he first approaches a good-looking piece of cover, he tends to reach for a squarebill. This allows him to pick off the most aggressive fish in an area and cover water most efficiently. As he notes in this video, the biggest bass aren’t always hungry as their feeding windows are quite small, so a fast-moving lure can elicit some crucial reaction strikes out of sheer aggression or territorial behavior.

After he covers an area with a crankbait, he’ll pick up a compact flipping jig to pick apart the area more thoroughly. While several different sizes will work, he tends to rely on a 3/8-ounce jig due to its versatility. This size works excellently in a variety of depths and makes its way through cover with ease.

Finally, if the bass are particularly finicky, Walker likes to use a swimming worm. This technique was largely originated in the south and he learned it while fishing Lake Seminole as a teenager. While this isn’t necessarily the largest or bulkiest profile, the pronounced tail thump and enticing swimming actions tends to draw reaction strikes when other, more obtuse presentations might spook nearby bass.