Follow-Up Casts: A Good Way to Make Up for Missed Strikes

While fishing last Saturday's tournament in the Dewey Mullins Memorial Bass Series, I had a fish smack at the shallow-running minnow lure I was using like a topwater bait. Unfortunately, the fish missed getting the hook, but my partner, Wayne, was quick to cast a worm to the exact spot where my strike had come. A few turns of the reel handle, and he had hooked up with my missed fish.

As it worked out, this fish was on the smaller side. During an earlier tournament, however, he performed the same magic, and the fish was a decent keeper.

Anglers fishing solo often keep a follow-up lure rigged and ready to cast back to spots where there have been missed strikes. In my case, I always defer to my partner because his marksmanship with a fishing rod in his hands is second to none. He proves that on every trip.

Granted, not every follow-up cast results in a bare-knuckles brawl with a lunker, but every fish you catch during a tournament can mean the difference between cashing a check or just finishing in an "also ran" status.

Read the other day about a guy named Steve, who travels the countryside filming and writing about bass fishing. One of the things he talked about in this particular article is an early lesson he learned about the value of follow-up casts. He was fishing a Bassmaster Open event on Lake Oneida in mid-state New York at the time.

As he explained, "During practice, I had located a vast flat covered with sand grass. Smallmouths were cruising this flat and annihilating baitfish. Every few casts with a walk-the-dog topwater would end in a mean bronzeback taking my lure and running with it.

"Then came competition day. I jetted down the lake to the flat and anxiously started throwing the same topwater. In just a few seconds, a smallie blasted it...but failed to hook up. This happened again and again over the next hour. My nerves were frazzled, and frustration led me to abandon that area and try somewhere else.

"I later learned...too late, of course...that the smallmouth were slashing at the lure, attempting to stun or kill it. Then they would come back and devour the wounded shad.

"Little did I know at that point," said Steve, "that this was the perfect situation for a follow-up lure. As I said, I learned the hard way."

There are many lures that meet the following criteria for a follow-up lure: slow rate-of-fall, have enough bulk to make a decent cast, can be fished around cover, and a natural look. A soft-plastic weightless jerkbait that's heavily impregnated with salt is an excellent option. Other good follow-up baits include weightless stick baits and drop-shot rigs.

Simply toss in an ample amount of casting accuracy, and you'll likely have it "made in the shade."