Bass Pro Tour pro Gerald Spohrer leaned primarily on a 1/2-ounce lipless crankbait (SPRO Aruka Shad) to propel him to the Championship Round of Stage Three on the Harris Chain this week. His one-two punch included a bladed jig, but fishing a lipless around offshore vegetation proved most productive for Spohrer.

The Quantum pro employed a unique rod and reel setup for his lipless crankbait on the Harris Chain, which he believes helped land him a strong finish and a solid paycheck to go with it.

Spohrer’s setup:

Rod – 7-foot medium-light Smoke S3 casting rod
Reel – 8:1:1 Smoke S3 baitcasting reel
Line – 30-pound Seaguar Smackdown braided like

“I’ve been testing out different setups for a lipless crankbait and I’ve come to find that 7-foot, medium-light is perfect for two reasons,” Spohrer said. “First off, it really allows me to pop or rip the bait out of grass. You need to be able to do that when you are fishing a treble-hooked lure around vegetation. Braided line is key, too, because it has zero stretch and really allows me to clean the bait effectively.

“Second, the lighter action rod loads up really well when I do get a bite. Traps or lipless crankbaits are notorious for having a poor landing ratio. A heavy lure, treble hooks, braided line, and a long cast is usually a recipe for disaster; but that particular rod really buttons fish up well. I’ve been super impressed with it.”

A high-speed reel is another key for Spohrer with this presentation as it gives him more control over where he keeps his lure in the water column. This is imperative when fishing around submerged vegetation like the hydrilla he’s been targeting on the Harris Chain.

Spohrer keeps his rod high and bait moving fast so it barely ticks the top of the grass instead of burying up in it. Without the right rod and reel combo, it would be extremely difficult to keep the lure in the strike zone.

“To be honest I had never used a medium-light rod for this technique until this season,” Spohrer explained. “I’ve always used braid and a high-speed reel, but the rod was a new wrinkle I’m pretty excited about. That setup helped me secure a solid finish this week and no doubt will be useful down the road.”