Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2014 i Bassmaster

“I was catching my fish flipping lower units in marinas. That was the weirdest pattern that I’d ever established.”— Elite Series pro Gary Klein CONNECTING THE KNOTS What is the best knot to connect braid to a fluorocarbon leader, and what are the maximum to minimum diameters that you would use? Larry Roland, Minnesota Elite Series pro Aaron Martens For the last five or so years I’ve been using a uni knot. It seems to do better when connecting fluorocarbon and seems to be a stronger, more durable knot. On the fluoro side, I use six to seven wraps for strength. On the braid side, I use at least nine to 11 wraps, but it is hard to pull tight. The maximum number of wraps is the strongest, but the…

Northward bound: Davis had success last year on Northern bodies of water, but he’s unsure of what to expect from the Elite stop on the Delaware River. “I have no idea if there’s even a bass that lives in that place.” Favorite U.S. lake: “I’d probably say Toledo Bend. It’s such a big lake — so diverse with all the grass and the timber. I know bass die of old age there and never see a lure.” What’s on TV? When the Davis family sits down for a night of TV on the Tournament Trail, the set is most likely tuned to Duck Dynasty or major league baseball. Favorite home-cooked meal: Fried venison steaks with mashed potatoes and gravy. “If I’m really lucky, Tilly will make homemade biscuits, too.”…

Thousands are expected to descend on this town of roughly 7,000 people from June 11 to 15 for the inaugural BASSfest, a unique bass-fishing event including a five-day tournament and outdoor expo. 45 The percentage of Chickamauga’s bass that contain Florida bass genes Dayton, which bills itself as “The New Bass Capital of the South,” is the jumping-off point for Chickamauga Lake, one of the hottest bass lakes in the country thanks to the return of aquatic grass and an aggressive Florida bass stocking program by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. 49 The number in pounds of the five-bass bag weighed in during a local tournament this past February 7 Ranking of the Chick on the 2014 Bassmaster 100 Best Bass Lakes list. Nearby Watts Bar Reservoir will host the…

A small northern Nevada lake “doesn’t exist anymore” after an estimated 100,000 fish died during December and January. According to an Associated Press report, the Nevada Department of Wildlife was looking at low dissolved-oxygen levels as a likely culprit. Sparks Marina, a 77-acre lake east of Reno, Nev., opened in 2000. A former aggregate pit, the lake had been stocked with about 1 million adult fish, including bass, since 1998. Scientists say a bitter cold snap could’ve caused a violent turnover, in which warmer and more oxygen-rich surface water rapidly cooled and sank to the bottom. “The 100,000 dead fish figure is something that is probably a pretty conservative guess,” said Nevada Department of Wildlife spokesman Chris Healy. “We don’t know if any small fish have survived, but for all…

Just when you think summer’s here, it happens — one of those little cold fronts that blow through and chill the air just enough to make you break out your warmest hoodie and dream of balmier days. Where it had been warm and comfortable, it’s still not bad, but the bass might disagree. A cold front of any kind — however mild — is rarely a welcome thing. You’re about to launch on an older midland impoundment in early June. The bass have spawned but not settled into their summertime haunts. The reservoir has a typical mix of structure opportunities: channels, points, bluffs, flats. There’s also plenty of bassy cover in the form of grass, boat docks, lay-downs, rockpiles and man-made brushpiles. When the bass (largemouth and smallmouth) are looking…

WHAT ONCE STOOD tall and proud as a bird sanctuary now lies lowly in the water, providing food and shelter for bass. A tree fallen from the terra firma into the aquatic world is known to bass anglers as a laydown, blowdown or simply a log, depending on how long it has been in the water. The large trunk and heavy branches of a laydown offer ample shade and cover for bass to set up an ambush zone, while the algae buildup on the decaying tree attracts baitfish into the bass’ trap. Laydowns in bass fisheries across the country come in all shapes and sizes. Some still have tall tops attached that might only have a limb or two showing above the surface, but under the water is a bass…

The Bassmaster Elite Series anglers are just that: elite-level fishermen. They earned that status through hours and days on the water learning things the weekend duffer might not discover in years of fishing. Get a leg up over your buddies by attending one of the many seminars that will be hosted by some of the field who qualify to fish the final day. The seminars will be held on Friday, June 13, at the weigh-in site in Dayton beginning at 11 a.m. and running up until 2 p.m., when the second-chance tournament weigh-in begins. Look for a schedule of topics on Bassmaster.com in the near future.…

E-Z Bass Attractors If it’s legal to sink bass-attracting cover in your home lake, here’s a slick way to do it. Mix up a batch of cement in a wheelbarrow and pour it in plastic 5-gallon buckets, or old plastic flower pots of comparable size. While the cement is still wet, insert several 3- to 4-foot tree branches, fanning them out from the center in the shape of a bush. After the cement hardens, remove the plastic buckets or pots and drop the attractors around likely bass-holding structures such as points, humps and ledges, entering the waypoint on your GPS. Cedar and oak branches will last the longest. Charles Gale, Alabama Hose helper While installing a new graph on my bass boat, I needed a way to snake the transducer…

Armstrong’s work has enlivened the pages of almost every issue of every magazine B.A.S.S. has published. THE EDITOR OF a magazine gets all the glory when things go right — when readers like the publication and manufacturers vie for space to advertise their products. In truth, the magazine’s contributors are the ones who make the editor look good. Starting with my first editing job, when I put together Southern Outdoors Magazine during its heyday in the early 1980s, I’ve been able to rely on some of the most knowledgeable and talented writers and photographers in outdoor journalism. The masthead list of our senior writers back then was a who’s who of the outdoors: Steve Price, Frank Sargeant, Bob McNally, Tim Tucker, Wade Bourne, Robert Montgomery and Byron Dalrymple, among others.…

“Things have a life of their own. It’s simply a matter of waking up their souls.”— Gabriel García Márquez Through the digital application of magic, Bassmaster readers will be able to experience the hidden life of departments and features they read in the print edition. I RAN ACROSS this quote while rereading 100 Years of Solitude, my favorite novel. I was sharing time between it (paying tribute to my favorite author after his death was announced this past April) and thumbing through the new digital edition of Bassmaster on my iPad. Although the content couldn’t be more different, Márquez’s use of magical realism (which is similar to my reaction on the water if I actually catch a bass) connected the 1967 masterpiece to my multimedia experience with fishing content from…

“Everyone should believe in something; I believe I’ll go fishing.”– Henry David Thoreau Unless you’re from the Lone Star State, you may have no idea that the Guadalupe bass is Texas’ official state fish. You may not have known there was even such a fish. The Guadalupe bass (Micropterus treculii) rarely basks in the limelight like largemouth, small-mouth and spotted bass. But this native Texas fish recently had a chance to seize 15 minutes of fame. Dr. Bryan Townsend of Austin, Texas, caught a 3.71-pound specimen Feb. 1 that has been recognized as the Texas record. According to a news release from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), Townsend also planned to submit the fish for several other records, including the International Game Fish Association world record. Townsend caught…

Pad Crashing Summer’s here, and even if the livin’ ain’t easy, lily pads are back in full force. Few styles of fishing rival the adrenaline rush that comes when a giant largemouth explodes through a lily pad field to inhale a lure. Here’s what you’ll need to go pad crashing. Frog With apologies to Winston Groom, frogs and lily pads go together like peas and carrots. When it comes to fishing the pads, few baits surpass the bass-catching potential of frogs. And the thrill of seeing a big fish blow up on a frog through dense pads is almost too much to take. A downside can be missed bites, but no-stretch, heavy braid helps. Jig and craw Many Elite Series pros find pad fish with frogs and then slow down…

Anglers on South Carolina’s Santee Cooper lakes Marion and Moultrie will see fewer fish-eating cormorants this spring after a special hunting season yielded 11,653 of the birds. According to The State in Columbia, S.C., anglers had pushed South Carolina state representatives to convince the state’s Department of Natural Resources to initiate the hunt, claiming double-crested cormorants were negatively affecting fisheries by eating both the baitfish upon which sport-fish rely, as well as the sportfish themselves. A 2008 study estimated there were about 6,000 cormorants on the lakes, but anglers contend the number has grown closer to 25,000. Cormorants traditionally have been a nongame species, and hunting them has been illegal in most cases. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has approved special hunts in recent years when states have…

What you’re saying about Bassmaster on Twitter Caution: reading Bassmaster Magazine as a kid may lead to strange adult behavior. @JeremiahBagwell Is my dad famous? He’s in the Bassmaster Magazine for a huge smallmouth #Lunker @Qb2488 Got my @BASS_ nation Times and Master mags in the mail today. Great shots of Classic champ @theRandyHowell [on] both covers. @FishingALure Thanks @BASS_nation for the amazing Bassmaster magazine. Great magazine with great articles!! @3AR_THE_KNIGHT Anyone else see the @BASS_ nation Bassmaster Magazine article about La Perla Lake? Incredible! @LaPerlaRanchTex @Jordan_Shipley…

BASSMASTER’S REALITY SERIES puts anglers on small lakes they’ve never seen before, then gives them seven hours to locate and catch bass while we log their every move. This month, we head north to smallmouth country with Elite Series pro Chris Zaldain of California. Instead of an inland lake venue, we’re putting the amiable 29-year-old pro on a limited section of a massive Great Lakes bay, where extreme depths, ultra-clear water and a dearth of cover will add to the challenge. Zaldain, one of the hottest young guns on the Tournament Trail, entered the Elite Series in 2011 via the Bassmaster Central Opens. Here’s what happened June 25, 2013, when he took on Bay E. Smallmouth fans, pay close attention to what follows! » 6:43 a.m. It’s cloudy and 64…

IT IS JUST past midnight on the last day of June, and Britt Stoudenmire and I have just shoved off from the banks of Virginia’s New River. On all my previous night fishing excursions on smallmouth rivers, I have started the outing in either the last hour of sunlight in the evening or the last hour before dawn in the morning. Why, I ask, are we leaving at the witching hour? “Usually by midnight, the evening moisture will have pushed out the effects of late afternoon thunderstorms and greatly decreased the chances of a storm center reforming,” Stoudenmire explains. “Plus, I go to bed from 6 to 10 p.m. or so, then I’m good to go all night. Sometime between midnight and dawn, the small-mouth will really turn on, and…

Frank J. Tellez California 10-7 Lake O’Neill, Calif. Strike King Redeye Shad (chartreuse baitfish) Bob Martin Nevada 13-5 Lake El Salto, Mexico Storm Wildeye swimbait (black crappie) Bill Craig Texas 10-9 private lake, Texas Hyper Stickworm (watermelon/chartreuse) Shane Hoelzle Washington 7-9 Osoyoos Lake, British Columbia Rapala DT16 Matthew Mullins Georgia 10-3 Lake Swan, Ga. Pop R topwater Larry Spath Idaho 7-9 Dworshak Reservoir, Idaho 3/8-ounce Carolina rig with Strike King KVD Perfect Plastic Ocho (green pumpkin) Joe Nichols Pennsylvania 7-1 Justus Lake, Pa. 2-inch Cruncher Baits tube on a drop shot (watermelon green) JD Oden Florida 10-9 Lake Okeechobee, Fla. Shiner To request an application, write to editorial@bassmaster.com or B.A.S.S., The Lunker Club, 3500 Blue Lake Drive, Suite 330, Birmingham, AL 35243. A photo documenting the catch must…

If bass fishing is an addiction as some proclaim, then the boat is the stimulant. YOU DON’T NEED a fancy bass boat to enjoy fishing, but any craft that gets you off the bank will awaken a deeper passion and drive you to learn more. Like most veteran anglers, my fishing fervor wasn’t born in a boat, but it was that first bass boat experience later in life that helped instill an awareness of what this sport has to offer. Prior to that, my early bass encounters occurred on Wildcat Creek in central Indiana, where I stalked smallmouth bass. I’d go as far as those waders would take me, always curious about what lay around the next bend or in the next pool. The tenacity of creek bass and how…

Mark Davis Birthday: Oct. 11, 1963 Hometown: Mount Ida, Ark. You had quite a hot start to the 2014 Elite Series season, finishing in the Top 3 in the first three tournaments and narrowly missing a victory at Table Rock Lake in April. To what do you attribute that success? It’s a combination of things. I’m a better angler than what I’ve showed the past few years. I’ve made the Classic, but I’ve been maybe a little complacent. This year at the Classic, several members of the media asked me about competing against all the young guys. They didn’t call me out or call me old or anything, but it made me think. Another factor is that my oldest son got to enjoy [my] success way back when, but my…

For pointers on fishing 31 reservoirs and 18 rivers in Georgia, you can now turn to www.gofishgeorgia.com/fishing/opportunities. | The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will pay for more spraying of hydrilla and milfoil on Lake Guntersville as part of a cooperative effort with the new Alabama Board for Aquatic Plant Management. | Adding 2 million Florida-strain fingerlings to Chickamauga Lake in Tennessee since 2000 has enhanced the fishery, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.…

FISHERIES MANAGERS typically rely on methods such as electrofishing and netting to determine fish populations and learn more about fisheries. But a new method being developed may make it as simple as scooping up a glass of water. A study published earlier this year in the journal PLOS ONE shows that researchers are taking the next step into DNA identification techniques, and the method may allow scientists to use as little as a glass of water to determine fish populations. “It might be unpleasant to think about when going for a swim in the ocean, but the water is a soup of cells shed by what lives there,” said Ryan Kelly, an assistant professor at the University of Washington and the lead author of the study. Kelly’s method involves using…

The Cliff Pace philosophy of jig selection includes understanding the finer points of jig construction, including such design elements as line-tie eye locations, overall head designs, skirt lengths and hook style. Here’s what the 2013 Bassmaster Classic champion uses in his own jigs and recommends for you to try. FINESSE JIGS — My finesse jig has a round ball-style head, so it slides along the bottom easily, along with a soft weedguard and a lighter wire hook to help keep the weight down, since this is a smaller jig overall. My preferred weights are 1/4 or 3/8 ounce. I do have rattles on it. “One of the most important features of this jig to me is the line-tie eye, which is described as a ‘flat’ eye. It is not in…

Britt Stoudenmire takes a number of precautions to make nighttime fishing safer. Six easy actions are as follows. •Let someone know your exact location and what time you plan to arrive back home. •Always wear a life jacket. •Don’t fish if thunderstorms are forecasted. •Wear a headlamp for tying lures, maneuvering around the boat and removing hooks. “I prefer lights that have a red option so I can see and not blind everyone in the boat or spook the fish,” he says. •“The biggest precaution is to fish out of a stable boat,” Stoudenmire continues. “I fish out of a custom whitewater raft with a fishing frame, and it’s an extremely stable boat. I have fished the entire lower New River at night and have drifted every major rapid under…