Topwater Tales

Nicolo Raffo has been pioneering the night bite with the MS Slammer since 2001, and recently he found a night bite that few of us will be lucky enough to experience in our lifetimes.

During a 1 month period, no fewer than 30 fish over 6lbs were caught on the 7", 9", and 12" MS Slammer at one lake.

On the first night, the best 5 largemouth combined between Nico, Rob Belloni and Cris Vanclef on the Slammer weighed in at 13-3, 10-11, 10-0, 8.8 and 8.4 for a stunning 51.1lbs combined! Subsequent catches that month on the Slammer included bass weighing 10, 10-5, 12.5, and 13-12 and a simply astounding number of 3 to 9 pound fish. Truly a testament to the effectiveness of the MS Slammer.

When you're working the Slammer at night, we recommend varying the retrieve to determine what the bass want most. But when in doubt, just retrieve the bait steadly back either on the surface or 1 to 3 feet down. When you get a bite, it can be a gentle slurp or a huge explosion. No matter what the fish does, wait until you feel the weight of the fish on your reel before setting the hook with a strong fluid hookset. Heavy tackle at night is a must. 25 or 30lb test is highly recommended. With two large treble hooks on the Slammer, a good percentage of the fish that eat the bait are going to find the way to the boat, an important consideration at night when fish sometimes have a hard time getting the lure.

Click on the picture link to see some of these great fish. And remember to catch and release!

Pictures