What is the Best Color of Soft Plastic Lure for Catching Bass?

Learn why an Arkansas football coach and veteran angler has a tackle box marked “TD Junebug” and how you can use his bass fishing strategy for the win.

It’s no surprise that a college football coach has a tackle box marked “TD Junebug” in his fishing boat. But Buck Buchanan’s “TD” box doesn’t mean touchdown. It means “Thump’N Dinger,” as in the 6-inch YUM Thump’N Dinger.

Buchanan, the eleventh-year head football coach at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, is a firm believer in the Thump’N Dinger. He loves the action of the curl tail on the 6-inch worm and swears by it year-round. He fishes it exclusively on a 3/16-ounce jig head.

Buchanan grew up in Denison, Texas, and learned how to bass fish on the massive Lake Texoma. He has lived in Arkansas for the past 11 years and has learned to fish the Arkansas River system as well as several highland reservoirs, including Greer’s Ferry, Lake Ouachita and Broken Bow.

Year-Round Lure & Color

No matter where he fishes, and no matter what time of year it is, Buchanan always has a Thump’N Dinger on the deck. And it’s typically in the Junebug color.

“The Thump’N Dinger is not a normal shaky head,” said Buchanan, who played football collegiately at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. “You’re really fishing a worm on a shaky head. It’s like the old curl-tail worms. I don’t think a lot of people fish it like that now. The Thump’N Dinger gets the best of both because it does stand up off the bottom and also has a lot of action on the tail. And you can fish it like a worm and get that curl-tail worm action. There are also times you want to be pitching it to targets like you’re flipping, almost. Except flipping with lighter line.”

Buchanan never fishes the Thump’N Dinger on a Texas rig. He exclusively fishes it on a jig head with light line.

“I like the fact that it’s a perfect profile for a jig head,” said Buchanan, whose Hendrix Warriors won the Southern Athletic Association championship in 2015 and qualified for the NCAA Division III playoffs. “Especially 3/16. You can throw it on a light rod – bait casting or spinning. It’s got just enough weight that you can still throw it. You get a power fishing approach along with a finesse fishing bait. It’s the best of both worlds, in my opinion. You can still throw it around cover and it won’t get tangled up. It has the old school curl-tail without a lot of appendages.

“Really, I think it’s versatile enough to do whatever you want with it. It’s really great on rocky lakes where you’re fishing points, where they’re setting up and staging. You can swim it, drag it and hop it and fish it any speed you want. You can also fish 45-degree banks or where you’re dragging it down the bank or if you know where they are staging you can cast parallel down the bank and bring it back.”

Why Junebug?

As for why he loves the Junebug color in the Thump’N Dinger, Buchanan has a very simple answer.

“I would love to give a scientific answer as to why I throw Junebug, but it’s what I catch fish on,” he said “I throw it all the time. It stands out in dirty water, and it doesn’t put fish off in clear water. That Junebug color that YUM has produced in that color – that purplish tint – it is fairly unique to other Junebugs. It’s a little darker. Maybe it’s because of my grandpa. He used purple worms with a white tail for hundred years.”

There’s another reason Buchanan loves the Thump’N Dinger.

Outstanding Value

“I think another thing – for the price point, can you get a better bait? In reality, a guy like me would pay $5 a pack for them, but I’m glad I don’t have to. Don’t let the price fool you. That’s a fish-catching bait.”

Buchanan uses the Thump’N Dinger on 10-pound fluorocarbon line and a G. Loomis MBR 782 IMX (6-foot-6, medium baitcasting rod) and Shimano Aldebaran MGL baitcasting reel.

“A lot of people like a longer rod on it, but I like the 6-6 because I can throw it a long way and be accurate,” he said. “I can throw it all day long and not get tired – especially with that light reel. I’ve caught fish up to 7 1/2 pounds on it. And I caught a 12-pound striper by accident one time! You can get away with using lighter line because that rod has a lot of bend in it. You never break fish off. You can skin hook that Thump’N Dinger on the jig head, and you get great hook sets.”

Buchanan said there are tactical advantages to the Thump’N Dinger over other finesse baits.

“One of the things that makes that bait unique, it will sink vertically with that line size,” he said. “You can be more accurate and pinpoint with your targets. I can use it on any jig head. I’ve used it on a ball head and a football head. I like the tungsten versions better. And try to get the biggest hook you can get. Fours are great. I used 3s a lot. If I could only fish one bait, it would be the Thump’N Dinger, because you can catch fish all year long on it. And if you ever decide to discontinue it, I’ll buy a thousand packages before you make your last run!”