RU fishing with YUM F2?  It’s the new soft plastic baits by YUM.  What’s so special about YUM F2?  F2 stands for Ferocity Squared that is a highly concentrated formula clinically tested powerful scent.  It was tested by Mississippi State University under the strictest scientific conditions and the results are documented that bass prefer YUM F2 by 30 percent.  Why does this matter and how will it help me catch more fish?  Bass will strike a lure for a number of reasons.  Some strikes are reaction or done to protect its territory.  Other strikes are more deliberate.  That’s where scent becomes a major factor in catching a bass.  A bass may first notice a scent before even seeing the bait.  Once the bass realizes the scent is food, it will begin searching for it.  After it is located, a bass will either attempt to taste or eat it.  What else makes YUM F2 unique is it will retain its suppleness and “swimability” when left out of the package.  So it won’t dry hard or shrivel which is great, but it can also be infused into traditional soft plastics giving them the same scent. 

There are certain times when scent is critical to getting bites and catching bass.  For example, a lake that is under intense pressure due to overfishing.  The bass in these lakes have seen and smelled every lure you can buy.  Beaver Lake in northwest Arkansas is a prime example.  During the summer months it’s not unusual for there to be 10 to 12 tournaments being held out of different marinas and boat ramps in one week; in addition, to buddy or benefit tournaments that draw over a hundred anglers.  These are well educated bass and in the normally crystal clear waters of Beaver Lake extremely wary.  Beaver Lake is blessed to have a good population of largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass.  The smallmouth bass are typically located in the dam area to the highway 12 bridge.  While they are easy to catch shallow on a variety of baits in the early spring and when spawning, the larger smallmouth generally migrate to deep water hang outs in the summer.  Drop shot rigs, shaky heads, and football head jigs rigged with soft plastic baits are normally used to catch these bass after they have moved to deeper water.  Spotted and largemouth bass can be found from the dam area all the way up either War Eagle Creek or the White River feed creek arms.  The spotted bass and largemouth can be found in both deep and shallow water year round except in extreme cold water temperatures.  Just like the smallmouth bass, anglers will fish for bass that have moved to deep water structure with drop shot rigs, shaky heads, and football head jigs during the summer months.  How long these bass in Beaver Lake hold on to a bait in deep water depends on scent.  Needless to say, the longer they hold on to a bait, the better your hook up ratio will be.

YUM F2 (www.lurenet.com)  is available in six styles right now.  Four of them are new bait styles including the Wooly Bullee, a Flippin’ style bait; the Mighty Bug, a six-legged creature bait in three sizes; the Salleemander, a 6-inch swimming lizard; and the Shakealicious Worm, a 6-inch shaky head worm with an undulating skirt at the head.  The YUM Dingers and Money Craws will be available infused with F2 and in a number of new color patterns.  

Anglers need every advantage possible to catch these bass.  On Beaver Lake, any advantage like having the right scent will put more bass in the boat.  Scent plays a major role in how many strikes anglers get and how many they catch.  YUM w/ F2=more strikes, bass holding on longer, and anglers catching more fish.