“Catching Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie and Muskie with Greg Haut”

Part 1: Can’t-Miss Bass Tournament Tactic

Editor’s Note: Greg Haut of Waukesha, Wisconsin, tournament bass fisherman, also guides in central Wisconsin for bass, walleye, northern pike, crappie and the occasional muskie. “I guide for any species my clients want to catch,” Haut says.

Question: Greg, how do you catch bass in a tournament?

Haut: To win a bass tournament, generally the most-important element is catching a limit of five bass. After this is accomplished, you hope to catch bigger bass, so you can eliminate the smaller bass in your limit. To catch my limit, I use Mepps’ Black Fury Combo Killer early in the morning when I run to my first fishing spot. I want to catch the bass holding and feeding on the outside edges of the weedline.

Question: Why do you start with the Black Fury Combo Killer?

Haut: It casts easily, and with this bait, I can fish a lot of water quickly. I can catch five little bass in a very-short time using this tactic on the edge of the grass. The Black Fury Combo Killer is my search bait. When I fish this bait, I hope to get a limit of bass on this one lure. After I catch my limit, I’ll start fishing bigger baits slower because by catching the limit early, I’ve alleviated some of the tournament pressure.

Question: What type of tackle do you use?

Haut: I prefer 10- to 15-pound-test Berkley Big Game line when I’m fishing the Black Fury Combo Killer. With the Black Fury Combo Killer, I primarily fish the 6-foot, 8-inch St. Croix finesse rods and the Quantum Energy PTi 20 Reel.

Question: Where do you fish this bait?

Haut: I fish this bait on Big Green Lake, Beaver Dam Lake and Waubee Lake, which seem to be favorites with my clients. Waubee Lake is small and crystal clear. When I’m fishing the Black Fury Combo Killer, I primarily catch largemouth that weigh an average of 2-1/2-pounds each, and we’ve caught a few 6 pounders. Using this lure, in one 10-hour day of fishing, with two clients, we’ve caught 55 bass. We lost the biggest fish we had on the line, but we landed one that weighed 4.3 pounds.

Question: What size Black Fury Combo Killer do you prefer to fish?

Haut: I like the No. 2 or No. 3 black with white dots and white tail Black Fury Combo Killer. The white color looks like the belly of a minnow coming through the weeds. The bass really respond to that color and attack the bait. In many of the places I fish, the bass eat little shad and bluegills. The Black Fury Combo Killer imitates the bait the bass are eating. If you’re a tournament angler, a guide or you just want to fish and catch numbers of bass, the Black Fury Combo Killer is hard to beat.

To fish with Greg Haut, call (262) 385-2245, email greg@thehautdoors.com, or visit www.thehautdoors.com.