THE TOURNAMENT CONTENDER and research and development specialist for Duo International has made a career out of chasing suspended fish. He was one of the first U.S. anglers to crack the code of spybaiting and then helped to spread the word coast to coast, and now he’s tilting at windmills once more. This time, however, he’s a Johnny Appleseed not for a specialized hard bait, but rather for shaking and pulsing small soft plastics.
He’s a student of the game, having followed the finesse stylings of the legendary Don Iovino since the 1970s, and makes frequent trips to Japan — so he has combined the shaking, doodling and darter-head heritage of the West with Japan’s ultra-lightweight gear. In some corners, it’s known as hover-shotting, hover strolling or midstrolling, but he has made it his own when the fishing is especially tough.
“The goal when you find
