Professional bass angler Sean Hoernke is hooked.  No, a lure is not hanging from his shirt or stuck in his hand.  Hoernke, a professional angler from Woodland, Texas, is hooked on the Reaction Strike Revolution Bluegill.  Hoernke like the majority of other professional anglers know how deadly a bluegill imitating lure catches bass in the spring when bass or bluegills go to spawning in the spring; however, unlike other professional anglers, Hoernke doesn’t just catch fish on the Revolution Bluegill in the spring.  For him it’s a year round lure that he uses to catch them almost anywhere, anytime.

Just like any bait, knowing when and how to present a lure can mean the difference between a successful fishing trip or getting skunked.  “The key to catching fish on the Revolution Bluegill is to fish it like a crankbait or wake bait; its deadly on bass located in 5- to 7-feet of water,” explained Hoernke.  In the springtime, Hoernke will fish with the Revolution Bluegill near bass or bluegill beds.  He likes to use a stop and go retrieve, dead-stick it right in the bed, or just cast past the bed and reel it in very slowly.  One technique Hoernke has been successful with is sight fishing.  Once he has spotted a bed, Hoernke will cast the Revolution Bluegill right into the bed and give the lure a series of soft twitches. “This makes the bait look like its eating the eggs in the bed and no bass can stand it,” said Hoernke.

During the summer months, Hoernke will fish the Revolution Bluegill in the same areas he normally fishes a lipless crankbait.  “I like to use either the fast fall or slow fall depending on how deep the grass is,” he continued, “it works extremely good when angling pressure has them turned off a lipless crankbait.”  Key areas to fish the Revolution Bluegill are in pockets or shallow areas that are loaded with bluegills. 
During the summer months, Hoernke likes to make a long cast and burn it back.  In the fall, Hoernke will fish the same areas that he did in the summer, but also fish docks.  “In October and November, bluegills like to hang around docks and bass will go to looking for an easy meal,” Hoernke continued, “I move the bait really fast; I like to burn it back and deflect it off cover or docks.”  In the winter, Hoernke normally will only use it when fishing in the deep south and focus on boat docks. 

When fishing the Revolution Bluegill, Hoernke prefers off-colored, somewhat tannic or clear water.  Some examples of the lakes he has had success when fishing the lure on are Lake Norman, High rock, or Wylie, all in North Carolina; Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas around hydrilla; and using the wake model on Smith Lake in Alabama.  His two favorite color patterns are male bluegill and red ear sunfish.

The Revolution Bluegill comes in three models: fast fall, slow fall, and wake.  Each one is made to fish a different strike zone in the water column.  Fast fall is for 4- to 10-feet deep, slow fall is for 4-feet to the surface, and the wake is made to fish just below the surface.  One unique feature is the hook hanger locations.  The back tail area has two hook hangers.  One is located on the upper back tail sections and the other on the lower tail section.  This allows anglers to rig a treble hook towards the back where bass have a tendency to strike during the spawn.  “I like to use two split rings when rigging the treble hook on either of the hook hangers in the back sections of the lure; a size #6 treble hook works good, any bigger and it will change the action of the lure,” explained Hoernke. He rarely puts treble hooks on both hook hangers. 

One characteristic that makes the Revolution Bluegill different from larger swimbaits is anglers can fish it on standard fishing equipment.  Hoernke prefers to use 15-pound fluorocarbon fishing line most the time, but will switch to 12-pound fluorocarbon fishing line in open water situations.  For reels, he uses one with a speed ratio of 6.3:1 or 7.1:1 in most situations.  “For a fishing rod, I use a 7' Medium/Heavy Crankbait Rod, something like you would throw a medium diving crankbait with; nothing really stiff because you have trebles,” said Hoernke.

It’s easy to see how Hoernke got hooked on the Revolution Bluegill.  The incredible, lifelike, four segmented hard bodied swimbait looks and acts like the real thing and during the spawn is lethal for catching bass. 

Sean Hoernke sponsors:  Tiremax, Mybasscoach.com, and Reaction Strike Lures.