Sometimes anglers can catch more bass on light tackle than on heavy tackle. When the water is clear and the sun is bright, bass can get finicky, and little baits and light tackle generally out-catch the bigger, heavier stuff. However, there's one problem. What do you do when you hook a big bass on light tackle, and it immediately runs into brush or heavy weeds?

 

BASS Elite Series pro Greg Hackney of Louisiana says you don't do anything. Just hold on and wait until the fish swims out of the cover.

Hackney explains, "You have a tendency to make that fish fight a lot harder on heavier tackle, because you'll put a lot of pressure on the fish trying to pull it away from the cover. But with lighter tackle, a lot of times it's easier to land that same fish. The less pressure you put on that fish, the less it'll fight back."

Hackney says when he sticks a big bass on light tackle, he works hard to keep his cool and not get too excited. "You're just loading the hook; you're not popping it. A lot of times when you pop a fish with heavy tackle, it'll spooks it, and immediately you get that power run. But with light tackle, the tendency is to just lean in to set the hook. With this technique and light line and small, ultra-sharp hooks, a lot of times that fish really doesn't figure out that it's hooked because you're not putting that much pressure on it, and it'll swim itself out of the cover. If you don't make it run in that brushpile when you set the hook, a lot of times you can just guide it right out."

The point is, don't be afraid to change to light tackle and small, subtle lures when the bite is slow. And if you hook a big bass that's in or around cover, just hold what you've got, keep a light, steady pressure on the fish, and be patient. As Greg Hackney says, many times it'll head back into open water on its own, and then you will have a high percentage chance of playing the fish down and boating it.