Footloose Fun

"Be ready at the end of each pump," Pete Ponds told me. "That's when they're hitting it."

The words had barely escaped his mouth when a bass proved him right by walloping my Footloose crankbait just as I finished a rod pump and began reeling to take up line. I leaned into the fish just enough to set the hook and realized quickly that it was a pretty chunky largemouth.

I'd been catching some bass, but Pete had been spanking them on the Footloose, a small Bandit crankbait that swims barely beneath the surface and that I'd never fished. It looked too fun to not try, so he's rigged me one as well.

Some anglers fish a Footloose extra slow so it stays on top, as a wakebait. Others crank it quickly and steadily to draw reaction strikes. Pete works it with sideways pumps so it swims just beneath the surface and hesitates and pops up slightly each time he reels to take up line. That's when the fish most often strike, and that certainly was the case when we fished together.

I couldn't tell you how many bass we caught on the Footloose. I just know it was a bunch and that we had a bundle of fun. I also know that I've discovered a new tool for when the bass are shallow and aggressive but won't quite commit to a topwater lure.