Rapalas and Sallys — Graham’s go-to lures

When Kyle Graham fishes the Pascagoula River marsh for bass in January he has three go-to lures and a new one that he’s testing.

His primary bait when the tide is blown out and the bass are stacked up in deep holes is a Rapala DT 4, DT 6 or a DT 10. Simply put, DT means “Dives To” so Graham bases his selection on the depth of the hole he is fishing.

When the tide is higher and up in any remaining eel grass, he uses a 3/8-ounce Hildebrandt Snagless Sally in the bruiser color or a gold Rapala F11.

“When you have eel grass and the tide is coming up then use your Sallys or your shallow water crankbaits like a Rapala F11 or a DT 4 and rip it through that grass,” Graham said. “I’ve caught tons of bass that way.

“The eel grass won’t all go away during the winter. It will form points, and fish will gather up there and it won’t be 2 or 3 feet deep. The tide will be coming in and bass will be on these points. You can throw Sallys or shallow crankbaits up there and catch a lot of good bass that way.”

Jason Lauban, owner of Sea 2 Swamp in Gautier, introduced Graham to the Savage Gear Shrimp, which Graham is now testing. These shrimp imitations are incredibly life-like and almost perfectly mimic a live shrimp swimming in the water. Fish these baits in both the eel grass and slow-rolled through the deeper holes.

Graham believes daylight is a good feeding time year-round so he’s on the water fishing when the sun peeks above the trees. He believes the best part of the tide to fish is the last 1½ of the tide whether it’s coming in or going out, but he always prefers a falling tide.

“Ideally you want to be there the hour and a half before total low tide and the first hour and a half when it’s coming in,” he said. “You want to be at the end of the falling tide and the beginning of the rising tide.”

Graham isn’t particular on rod brands, but he likes a medium action with an extra fast tip in a 6½- to 7-foot length.

Graham is particular on reels, using nothing but Shimano reels. He has used a variety of reels over the course of his fishing career but found he gets more wear out of Shimano Citicas and Curados in a 5.3:1 gear ratio.

Graham uses 20-pound Sunline monofilament, which has the diameter of most 14 or 15-pound line, and he knows how deep each crankbait will go using this line. If you prefer a different size line understand the depth of your crankbait may vary based on line diameter. The smaller the diameter, the less drag the line will have in the water and the deeper a lure will dive.