Live Lizard Bass Fishing

One of my blog supporters, Brayden Norton, got a hold of me through my Instagram account, and told me about a crazy way to catch bass using lizards. He doesn’t use a soft plastic lizard like you would normally use for bass fishing, but an actual living  lizard, which are oftentimes found in the rocks along the shorelines of a lake. He has caught some monsters on his local lake with live lizards. Here are the in’s and out’s of what Brayden told me about “Kraken” bass using live lizards.

Brayden is a sponsored wake boarder who lives in St. George, UT. When he is not wake boarding, he loves the outdoors, and especially bass fishing. Live lizard bass fishing is something he discovered with his grandpa while they were out fishing from the shore at Sand Hollow Reservoir. He caught a lizard sitting on the rocks where they were fishing, and decided to put it on a hook. He threw it out in the water,  let it slowly sink, and got his rod nearly ripped out of his hand when a bass choked it up. He’s done the same thing numerous times since, and it has always seemed to produce really big fish.

The best time of year for this technique is in the summer, when lizards can be found more frequently on the rocks. The best bites usually come during the twilight hours of early morning, evening, and into the night. Brayden has tried replicating the technique with a plastic lizard and a dead lizard, but hasn’t had nearly the same success. “You have to a use a live lizard, dead ones just don’t work as well,” says Brayden.

What you need:

Here is a list of what you need to do some live lizard bass fishing:

• Hooks: An offsest worm hook in a 2/0 size will get the job done.
• An old shirt or old towel: This is key to increase your chances of catching those fast lizards on the rocks.
• Live Lizards: You won’t be able to pick these up at a tackle store, so you’ll have to go catch them on the rocks.

How it works:

Find a good rocky shoreline where lizards can be found in abundance. When you spot a good lizard basking on a rock, sneak up as close as you can, and throw a towel/shirt over it. The weight of the towel will trap the lizard, and you can hustle over and grab it. Brayden says it’s harder catching the lizards than catching the bass. It sure pays off big dividends when you catch one of those reptiles.

Next, you want to run the hook through the lizard and chuck it in the water. The best spot to hook them is through the belly.  Then, with your rod and reel, launch the lizard out in the water. The key to this technique is to let the living lizard do all the kicking, and let it sit out in the water until it sinks to the bottom. Oftentimes the bass will crush the lizard within seconds of it hitting the water. When they hit on this technique they hit hard, so hold on tight to that rod of yours!

This sounds like a fun technique, something I know my family will get a kick out of. I’m looking forward to trying it out this summer. Special thanks to Brayden Norton for sharing this technique with us, so all of us can have some fun “Kraken” bass!

As Always,

Stay Stoked!