If you fish for suspended bass, you already know how important the jighead minnow has become. Over the last five years, and especially with the growth of forward-facing sonar, that little soft plastic minnow on a jighead has absolutely exploded. It’s simple, it looks natural, and it catches fish. But there’s one problem, everybody is throwing it! And after more than 30 years of professional fishing, I can tell you one thing for sure: bass get used to seeing the same thing over and over. That’s why I’m always looking for alternate presentations. Jerkbaits like the Berkley Stunna 112 and Stunna 112+1, spy baits and crankbaits are all great options, but now there’s a brand-new player in the game. It’s called the Berkley Doom Stroller, and this thing is one of the coolest hybrid hard baits I’ve seen in a long time.
The easiest way to describe the Berkley Doom Stroller is part jerkbait, part crankbait and part jighead minnow. It combines some of the best qualities of all three into one bait. The Doom Stroller comes in three sizes, 70, 90 and 110, which lets you match the size of the forage. The little 70 has been magic for me when bass are feeding on small, young-of-the-year baitfish. The 90 is probably the most versatile size and can imitate threadfin shad, small gizzard shad, shiners or herring. When the forage gets big, that 110 gives you the larger profile you need. But what really makes this lure special is its design. You get a 90-degree line tie positioned near the nose, an internal weight that keeps the lure balanced and lets you bomb a cast, and incredibly sticky Berkley Fusion treble hook. There’s a treble on the belly and another hook positioned on top of the back with feathered hackle. That hook setup is a big deal because suspended bass often swipe, slap or headbutt a bait instead of completely eating it. With the Doom Stroller, those short-striking fish have a much better chance of getting hooked.
The other thing I love about the Berkley Doom Stroller is that I can create three totally different actions with the same bait on the same cast. That’s something you just can’t do as effectively with a traditional soft jighead minnow. The first—and probably most important—is the roll. Cast the Doom Stroller out, let it sink to the level of the fish or slightly above them, and then shake and reel, shake and reel. That creates a hard side-to-side rolling action with a ton of flash. In fact, I’d say 60 to 70 percent of the suspended fish I catch on this bait come while I’m making it roll. But don’t stop there.
- Shake and reel: Creates that aggressive side-to-side roll and flash.
- Straight retrieve: Produces a subtle head shake that’s killer on pressured or finicky bass.
- Controlled fall: Lets the bait wander and fall erratically like an injured baitfish.
That straight retrieve is a sleeper technique. Just reel the bait at a medium pace and that head starts making these tiny movements while the feathered tail moves behind it. If the fish won’t commit to the harder rolling action, switch to the straight retrieve. Then there’s the fall. Give the Berkley Doom Stroller controlled slack and it wanders down through the water instead of dropping straight. That looks like an injured or dying baitfish, and bass have a hard time passing up an easy meal.
Here’s where it gets really fun. Combine all three actions in a single cast! I’ll throw the Doom Stroller past a suspended fish, let it reach the right depth, and start shaking and reeling. I’m getting that hard roll and flash. Then I stop shaking and simply reel it. Now the bait changes into that subtle head-shaking action. If I see the fish or bait getting deeper, I stop and let the Berkley Doom Stroller wander down on controlled slack. One bait just gave that bass three completely different looks. This technique is also deadly around vertical structures like bluff banks, bridge pilings, seawalls, dams and steep riprap. And remember those treble hooks! A bass doesn’t necessarily have to inhale this bait. If it swipes at it, headbutts it or just nips at it, those sticky Fusion trebles give you another opportunity to hook that fish. When bass have already seen hundreds of jighead minnows, changing the profile, flash and movement can be exactly what you need to trigger the bite.
The best part is you probably already own the equipment you need to fish the Doom Stroller. For the 70 and 90, I like the same spinning setup I use for lighter jighead minnows: a 7- to 7½-foot medium-light rod. My favorite is the 7’4″ medium-light Abu Garcia Ike Series spinning rod. For the bigger 110, I step up to a medium-heavy spinning rod, and the 7’6″ medium-heavy Abu Garcia Ike Series is perfect. You can also throw that 110 on casting equipment similar to what you’d use for a jerkbait or crankbait. For line, I like 10-pound Berkley X5 braid or Berkley Forward Braid connected to a 2- to 4-foot fluorocarbon leader. Ten-pound fluorocarbon is great for the 70 and 90, and I usually step up to 12-pound for the 110. Berkley 100% Fluorocarbon and Berkley Trilene Fluorocarbon Professional Grade are great choices. The fluorocarbon helps the bait achieve that natural action while staying less visible in clear water. Guys, the bottom line is simple: when everybody is throwing the same thing, you need another player in your rotation. You’ve got the soft minnow, jerkbait and crankbait, now you’ve got a hybrid option. The Berkley Doom Stroller gives suspended bass something different to look at, and sometimes different is exactly what it takes to get them to bite!
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