Major League Fishing Pro, Matt Lee is a magician with a topwater bait and with the release of the IMA Baby Stik, Lee now has a new addition to his bag of tricks.
Measuring 105mm and weighing ½ oz, the Baby Stik slots in below the Big Stik(175mm) and the Little Stik (135mm) in the IMA family of pencil poppers. Its smaller profile combined with its spitting action and side to side movement make it ideal for high pressured situations or when the fish are feeding on smaller bait.“Here in the summer and going into the fall, bass a lot of time are gonna get on that small bait,” explained Lee. “A good way to trick them is to have a topwater that spits, so they really can’t get a good look at it.”
Fishin’ the Baby Stik
“In a topwater bait, action is so important, little things can make a big difference,” saidLee. “For instance today where I live on Smith Lake, it’s a clear water lake with spottedbass and largemouths that roam and chase blue back herring and they get soconditioned and sodo fish all over the country. A little tweak or bait change will getbites. With a pencil bait it originally has always been a really big bait, but there are timeswhen you just want something smaller. The fish definitely like that spitting action andhowit looks under the water and how it pushes water out in front of it and that’s what Iget with the Baby Stik.”
As summer transitions to fall fish, Lee starts moving off the main body of the lake andinto the creek in search of schools of shad and bass. “Bass are gonna be eating shadand that’s prime time for the Baby Stik,” said Lee “Usually if you find the shad, you findthe bass. Start at the mouth of a creek and work your way to the back and when youfind an area that’s got shad, try to run that aroundto some different areas to develop apattern. As it gets farther on in the fall and the air temp cools, the fish will move wayback and if you get a big temperature change that can put them on the move big time.”
Lee likes to work the Baby Stik with a fastcadence and he does not set the hook untilhe feels the weight of the fish. When fish are schooling, he keeps the bait in perpetualmotion. If the bass are reacting to his bait but not getting it good, he will replace thefeathered rear treble with a undressed treble, a trick that works well in clear water.
Tackle Deets
The Alabama Pro likes to fish the Baby Stik on a Quantum Accurist 706 a 7′ MH fastaction casting rod, paired with a 8:1:1 Smoke S3 reel. Lee spools up with 50lb SeaguarSmackdown Braid andhe ties direct to the bait with a Surgeon’s Loop knot that allowsthe bait to move more freely.
Lee has a few simple guidelines he follows when it comes to color selection. He likes anopaque color such as Bone when it is cloudy or during low light conditions. When it issunny he favors either something shiny such as Chrome or translucent such as Real Ghost Shad or Ghost Minnow. Up North, a Bluegill pattern is a must have. “On lakeswith blue back herring, the fish seem to really be keyed into a flashy bait, but on lakeslike Guntersville if its clean and I’m around vegetation, a translucent color works well,”he explained. “Don’t get caught up in the color they were biting yesterday be sure toadjust to the current condtions. One thing that you learn fromfishing professionally ishow much fish can change on a day to day basis”
