The only thing that comes between Jacob Wheeler and fat bass is Sufix® fluorocarbon line. Adjusting his line size allows him to throw a DT®-6 at multiple depths. Changing your line size to control how deep the bait runs is super important during cooler water fishing,” explains FLW pro Wheeler, the 2012 Forrest Wood Cup Champion and 2013 Cup runner-up. “That’s how I can throw that Rapala DT-6, one of my favorites, in several situations.”
When Wheeler targets a rock or bluff bank, he throws a DT®-6 on 8- to 10-pound Sufix® Castable Invisiline™ 100% Fluorocarbon. But when he follows bass into the backs of creeks, he upgrades to 17-pound Sufix® fluoro.
“I really like how the DT®-6 deflects off cover in the backs of creeks, but I don’t want it to run too deep, so the heavier fluoro helps keep it up in the water column,” he explains. “On 17-pound test Sufix fluoro, it will only run about four feet deep. But on rock walls, the 8- or 10-pound test will get it down there in six to seven feet of water.”
Sufix® Castable Invisiline™ 100% Fluorocarbon casts like mono and is virtually invisible. Resistant to ultra violet rays that can damage line, it’s incredibly strong, abrasion resistant and sensitive. A low-stretch index provides optimal hook-setting power.
Wheeler’s favorite DT®-6 color patterns are Helsinki Shad, Blueback Herring and Disco Shad. He throws them with a 7:1 gear-ratio baitcasting reel on a 7-foot to 7-1 medium-action casting rod with a fast tip.
Cold Water X-Rappin’
Tweaking line size helps Wheeler get the best action out of another of his favorite cooler water baits, Rapala’s X-Rap® .
“When the water gets down to 50, 48, most jerkbaits will start rising up, because they have a natural buoyancy at a certain water temperature,” Wheeler explains. “But you don’t want your jerkbait to float up. You want that bait to either be neutrally buoyant – stay perfectly still – or just slowly sink. And that’s what that X-Rap® will do if you use 12-pound Sufix® fluorocarbon.”
It’s because fluorocarbon sinks that it helps counteract a jerkbait’s tendency to float up at certain water temperatures. Sufix® Castable Invisiline™ 100% Fluorocarbon sinks four times faster than traditional nylon lines. “This allows my bait to get down to the strikezone faster, and stay there longer,” Wheeler says.
Sufix® Castable Invisiline™ 100% Fluorocarbon has exceptional handling for both spinning and casting reels and an exclusive G² Precision Winding virtually eliminates line memory. “And that’s really important, to be able to make super-long casts,” Wheeler says.
When fishing an X-Rap® in cold water, remember to pause it after a few jerks, Wheeler says.
“90 percent of your bites are going to come on the pause,” he says.
Wheeler throws his X-Raps on a 6-foot, 10-inch medium-action baitcasting rod with a fast tip, paired with a 7:1 gear-ratio baitcasting reel.