Photo by Tom Evans

By Dusty Routh

My introduction to the concept of dragging for bass came on western Washington's Lake Sammamish in the middle of January. I was invited to give it a try by one of the earliest Northwest practitioners of the method, semi-pro bass angler Paul Hall, who lives just east of Lake Sammamish in North Bend, Wash., and considers Sammamish as his home lake.

In deep winter, when most smallmouth anglers are pining for the arrival of spring, you'll typically find Hall out on Sammamish catching big cold-water smallmouths that are holding deep. His trick? He drags his baits.

Dragging is really quite simple. You essentially drop a plastic grub to a lake's bottom in areas likely to be holding bass, and use your trolling motor to drag the bait across the bottom while also maintaining constant contact with structure.

The day we went it was blinding cold outside. Dressed in snowsuits and armed with hot coffee and a box of doughnuts, we blasted onto the lake in Hall's green sparkle Ranger, and went at it. Standard Northwest dragging equipment consists of a half-ounce football-shaped jighead (unpainted), a Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits Super Grub (usually a 5-inch curly-tail in the No. 176 color, which is a night crawler-brown with black flake), and super light 6-pound-test line.

Since that early experience, Hall has put more big smallmouth bass - particularly deep-holding winter fish - in his boat by dragging than I've eaten doughnuts, and that's saying something. As for me, dragging is so effective it is my go-to method for all kinds of conditions, including early spring and summer fishing, when fishing the depths can be frustratingly slow.

In winter, this can be as deep as 30 to 45 feet of water. In spring, when bass start to move up, you can drag in 15 to 30 feet of water. And, in summer you can find fish by dragging from the banks out to 15 feet deep.

"What you're really doing," says San Diego-based bass pro and Yamamoto pro-staffer Bill Schaeffer, "is you're stirring up the bottom which gets the fish's attention, like a crawdad scooting along the bottom, leaving a mud trail."

Light line accomplishes two things: It's hard to beat for sensitivity, since bass don't tend to hit-and-run a dragged grub so much as they simply sup it up and close their mouths; and light line is key to a stealthy approach that won't spook fish if you're fishing gin-clear water.

While it may have originated as a winter technique, dragging isn't just for cold water or deep-holding smallmouths. It's such a simple way to find fish that it's hard to do it wrong, and it can be effective in all kinds of water, in all kinds of conditions for virtually any type of black bass. Most of all, it's a fail-safe, fallback method if you're faced with really tough conditions, such as fishing behind a cold front.

"I think it's a gray area," says Schaeffer, "but everybody does it. Unless they want to add it to tournament rules, that it's illegal to fish using your trolling motor to move a bait, then people will keep doing it because it works. It's very effective, not only for cold-water bass, or really deep bass, but it's a great searching technique, too. A lot of tournament anglers do it during practice days. It let's you cover a lot of ground. You can drag a bait around while you're searching with your electronics. And for just the casual, fun-type bass angler, it's a great way to catch fish."

Besides a simple jighead and grub, Carolina rigs and split shot rigs can be used for dragging, too. "What you're trying to accomplish with whatever rig you're using, is dragging the weight on the bottom and kicking up the mud. The bait floats up behind," Schaeffer says. "The mud trail is the key. That really can get the attention of fish.

"I've seen dragging done with grubs, Senkos, really with almost anything, including little creature baits that look like crawdads. It's even been done with Rapalas or Rebel minnow baits, because they float up behind where the bottom is being stirred up."

For line, Paul Hall uses 6-pound green McCoy. Schaeffer is a fan of Maxima in the ultra-green. "In really clear lakes," Schaeffer says, "you'd think you'd want to use clear line. But I've seen sunlight really light up a clear line all the way down the water column. I think it's best to go with a smoked or slightly colored line."

It's a matter of personal preference, but a double clinch knot positioned in the center of the jig eye seems to be the most effective for tying the jig on vertically so that it sits correctly on the bottom. Add scent to the grub, like Pautzke's Krill Gel Scent or Smelly Jelly, liberally applied so that you can achieve a scent trail to go with the mud you're kicking up. In water where there's heavy concentrations of crawfish, go with a craw scent.

Most jigheads right out of the package will be sharp, but be sure to keep them sharp during the course of the day for the subtle bites you'll often encounter. Hooks will dull and hook points will even cave in as they're pulled over rocks, timber, weeds and sand. In addition to the traditional football-shaped jighead, Owner makes a Stand-Up Head model in a 3/8-ounce size that's perfect for dragging.

One of the real standards in the West for grubs is the aforementioned Yamamoto 5-inch single tail in the No. 176 color (night crawler with black flake). This is particularly good for deep or stained water. So is the No. 159 (blue black/chartreuse). Another option is the smoke/large black flake (No. 150), which is terrific to use in clear water. To complete your arsenal, also carry No. 140, which is a cinnamon brown/green flake.

Kalin's 5-inch Pumpkin/S&P is also a deadly grub for dragging. Its fat profile is not only highly visible but it displaces a lot of water. For dragging in shallower water and broken rock bottom, you can sometimes get away with a slightly lighter, 1/4-ounce jighead adorned with a Mister Twister 4-inch curly-tail Exude. This is a thin, solid black grub with a slime coat that leaves a significant scent trail.