Editor’s Note: “Why in the world would you spend $60 on one bass lure,” I asked my friend Mike Carter of Cedar Bluff, Alabama, who primarily guides on Guntersville Lake – one of the nation’s top big-bass lakes. “You know if you lose that lure, you’ll have just thrown $60 down the gutter.” Carter answered, “I did lose the first $60 lure I bought on the first day I fished it.” When I asked if Mike bought another of those $60 bass lures, he said, “I’ve bought several dozens of these lures after I lost the first one.” So, I set-out to learn how a bass lure would be worth spending $60 on it. To learn more, visit Mike Carter’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ and his website at https://mikecartersguideservice.com/. Here’s what I learned.

John E. Phillips: Tell me the differences in the Bull Shad and the Bull Shad Wakebait.

Mike Carter: You can control the depth of the Bull Shad better than you can the Bull Shad Wakebait. You can fish this lure right up against the surface by retrieving it fairly fast, or you can let it sink down about a foot deep and slow your retrieve down some with a medium retrieve. Then the bait will stay at that 1-foot level all the way back to the boat. But I’ve found that the most-productive retrieve is to use a medium-fast retrieve, so that the Bull remains about 2-4-inches under the surface of the water. I prefer to throw the Bull Shad Wakebait because it tends to produce fewer bass, but bigger bass. I had a client fishing with me that caught a bass that weighed a little bit over 7 pounds on the Bull Shad Wakebait late in the evening. The trip was originally set-up to be a night-fishing trip, but we got on the water about 1 hour before dark. Then instead of fishing a top-water lure like we normally would, I asked this gentleman to use the Bull Shad Wakebait. And, that’s when he caught the bass that weighed more than 7 pounds.

Phillips: Do you fish the Bull Shad or the Bull Shad Wakebait at night?

Carter: No, I only fish these lures during the daytime. Fishing them early in the morning or late in the afternoon seems to be when these two lures are the most productive. However, we’ve caught some really-good bass fishing both lures in the middle of the day. When the air temperature’s 90 degrees with no wind and really, really, hot, we’ve caught bass in the middle of the day with these two lures.

Phillips: How long have you been fishing the Bull Shad and the Bull Shad Wakebait?

Carter: I’ve been fishing them for 8 years.

To learn more about bass fishing, check out John E. Phillips’ book, “How to Bass Fish Like a Pro,” at http://amzn.to/YpoJvD, available in Kindle and print versions, and https://www.amazon.com/ for Audible. (On right side of the Audible page for this book and below the offer for free Audible trial, you can click on Buy the Audible with one click). You may have to copy and paste this click into your browser. (When you click on this book, notice on the left where Amazon says you can read and hear 10% of the book for free).

Tomorrow: Where to Fish $60 Bass Lures with Mike Carter – Lakes with Big Bass and Private Ponds