Lizards are one of my favorite lures to fish, especially the Zoom Lizard. I used to fish them about all the same way, throw the lure out, let it sink and then move it by lifting my rod tip 6 inches to a foot at a time. I did pretty well with this technique. Then….
I moved to Florida and fished with a guy that caught twice as many bass on a lizard as I did. I didn’t think to much about it and thought it was his lucky day. We went fishing again, using the same lizard and line and guess what? He caught twice as many bass as me again. Now..
He has my attention and I started watching him. Finally, I just ask him what he is doing different. He says the tails and legs on a lizard are made to work and catch fish, so he uses that to his advantage. He reels his lizards in just fast enough to make the legs and tail move and keeps it on a steady retrieve. I tried his technique and caught more bass.
I came back to Ohio and tried his technique and sometimes didn’t do nearly as well as just moving the lure slowly along the bottom by lifting my rod tip 6-12″ at a time. So, what is the difference?
Well, the difference is the activity of the bass. If they are feeding and you have a lot of activity then swim it like he did making the legs and tail move on a steady slow retrieve. If the feeding activity isn’t quite as good then try moving the lizard slower by raising your rod tip 6-12 inches at a time and let it drag along the bottom.
I have also found this works with many plastics, like worms. If the bass are active then make the tail work, if not slow it down and use your rod tip.
Try it!