Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2016 i Bassmaster

This is the spot where Edwin Evers won the 2016 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro. Sure, it looks fishy enough. And, obviously, bass were there. But, Randy Howell had fished this area the day before with little luck. Evers arrived early and didn’t get a bite ... until a slight ripple appeared on the water. “As soon as the wind hit the surface, it was like flipping a switch,” he said. You never know what it’s going to take to win bass fishing’s biggest event. For Evers, one could argue that a little wave action was the key.…

It doesn’t happen often, but rod guides can fail. And when a tip-top or main guide does snap off, it is typically while you are in the midst of an epic bite. That’s just the way it works. So, use the following on-the-fly repair offered by B.A.S.S. member J.M. Price to keep your favorite rod in action. All you need is a safety pin (keep several sizes on hand to fit the bill), pliers and electrical tape. 1 Based on the guide that is being replaced, decide how far off the rod it should be and bend to a 90-degree angle. 2 Snip off the head of the pin to create the feet of your replacement guide. 3 Pinch the feet together until they rest on top of the rod…

PATTERN Martens locked one crankbait in his hands and tried covering as much water as he could. He fished pockets in the central and southern sections of the lake, casting at any target he suspected held bass — logs, points, rockpiles, dock pilings. The Speed Trap had a tight wiggle and is a lure he uses anytime the water is 45 to 55 degrees. LURES Luhr Jensen Speed Trap in a variety of colors GEAR 7-2 Aaron Martens Enigma Edge medium action crankbait rod, Shimano Metanium reel, 10-pound Sunline Sniper Fluorocarbon…

THANKS TO NEW materials and innovations, today’s low-profile baitcasting reels are smaller, lighter, stronger and more capable than ever. Great strides have also been made in regard to taming the dreaded backlash. All baitcasting reels incorporate a spool tension knob, plus a centrifugal brake or a magnetic brake, or both. We’ve picked the brains of insiders from Abu Garcia, Daiwa, Quantum and Shimano to get insights on how their spool braking systems work and how to adjust them for peak performance. SPOOL TENSION The first anti-backlash adjustment you should make is the spool tension. This is done essentially the same way with any baitcasting reel. • First, tie on the lure you wish to cast, reel it to the rod tip, and hold the rod parallel to the ground. •…

LOOKING BACK, I should have told the river outfitter the truth: My idea of “roughing it” is a Holiday Inn with no HBO! But those photos of giant smallmouth on his website won me over, and I figured I could peddle a story about the trip to Bassmaster. So I boarded a plane and took off for the wilderness smallmouth fishing adventure of a lifetime! Twenty-something Crosby McNutt of Wilderness Bass Expeditions picked me up out front of the baggage claim. “Dude, what’s all this stuff?” he asked as he loaded my modest stash of gear into his battered Jeep. You mean my two dozen bass rods, 30 tackleboxes, 14 camera cases, laptop, matched set of luggage, portable generator and hypoallergenic pillow? “This is a wilderness fishing expedition, dude! You…

Anatomy Of A Dock Docks provide excellent shelter and ambush opportunities for bass. They also attract prey species, including bluegill, minnows, crawfish and shad. 1 Platform – Provides overhead cover and shade. 2 Pilings – Provide vertical cover and potential current breaks. 3 Algae on pilings – Food source for baitfish, especially gizzard shad. 4 Brushpile – Often sunk adjacent to docks to attract fish. 5 Moored boat – Provides additional overhead cover and shade. 6 Open water near dock – Where bass typically spawn. More Dock Fishing Tips Learn to pitch and skip your lures! Invariably the presentation that delivers a lure to the most seemingly inaccessible spot beneath a dock is the one that gets hammered by a big bass. Be alert for a viable pattern when fishing…

Humminbird Helix 7, $399.99-$699.99 When it comes to outfitting your bass boat or kayak with electronics that will help you stay on biting fish, the Helix 7 is a solid option with a long list of impressive features. The compact fishfinder is available in five models, each offering an ultra-wide 16:9-ratio screen that provides clear and concise split-screen readouts. It features an incredibly bright screen that can be easily read under intense sunlight, even while wearing sunglasses — there’s a lot of value in a small package with the Helix 7. humminbird.com Hydrowave H2, $399.99 Fish aren’t cooperating? Try talking them into biting. The recently upgraded Hydrowave H2 is what’s next in the “Evolution of Sound” concept that appeals to a predatory fish’s instinctive feeding habits. New features and more…

Fishing class is in session this semester at Alabama’s Cullman High School. Kyle Morris, a science teacher and the school’s bass fishing coach, teaches the course, an elective for fishing team members who’ve completed other class requirements. Class meets in the day’s last hour on alternating days, and Morris, who fished on the University of Alabama bass team, instills bass fishing basics and conservation principles. The class also features lessons on professionalism and business acumen, as well as practice sessions on lakes such as Guntersville, Wheeler and Smith. We eagerly await the first student who arrives unprepared for class with the excuse, “A bass ate my homework.”…

A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology suggests fish consumption by pregnant women can lead to higher IQ scores for their children. Scientists at Spain’s Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology evaluated almost 1,900 mother-child pairs from the first trimester of pregnancy to five years, monitoring mothers’ fish consumption during pregnancy and the children’s neuropsychological development. Women who ate three to four servings of fish per week saw a 2.3-point increase in their children’s IQ scores. There’s debate, however, about the safety of fish consumption by pregnant women. Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently relaxed its position on women eating fish during pregnancy, the agency encourages women to limit consumption of fish high in mercury, such as large predatory fish like tuna. Recommended fish include salmon,…

PATTERN Lowen keyed on creek shorelines where the channel swung near the bank. He fished extremely slow with a variety of baits, catching most of his fish on tubes and jigs around rocks on the backside of docks. He had to deadstick the jig and tube, pulling it onto the rocks and shaking it to get the fish to bite. LURES 4-inch Tightlines UV Bill Lowen Flipping Tube (black/blue) with a 1/4-ounce Reins Tungsten Sinker and 4/0 hook 1/2-ounce Lure Parts Online Jig (black/blue tinsel) with a 4-inch black/blue UV Chunk GEAR Tube: 7-6 Castaway flipping rod, Lew’s Team Light (7.4:1) baitcaster, 15-pound Hi-Seas Fluorocarbon Jig: same gear but with 20-pound Hi-Seas Fluorocarbon…

“COVER WATER.” THAT’S a common postspawn rule rooted in the sensible notion of searching high and low to find those recently departed bedders that are now recuperating somewhere between the bank and their summer haunts. But must we burn gas and daylight, driven by the need to make as many casts to as many spots as possible? Perhaps not. With refined thinking anglers can dial in greater seasonal productivity. For starters, Elite Series pro Ish Monroe knows that prime time often occurs earlier than some may care to launch and later than most remain on the lake. As the postspawn coincides with steadily rising temperatures, Monroe advises stretching your days, or focusing on the ends. “Bass are like us — more active first thing in the morning when it’s cooler…

There is only one state in the nation that pays you to catch big fish. That’s reason enough to plan a trip to Florida. When you consider the Sunshine State boasts six fisheries that have made Bassmaster’s 100 Best Bass Lakes rankings, the trip is even more enticing. These storied lakes, like Okeechobee, Tohopekaliga and Seminole, get the lion’s share of the press, but there are some hidden bass fishing jewels throughout the state that are making waves through the Florida TrophyCatch program. Here are five lakes the locals are trying to keep secret. 1 Lake Jackson This lake has earned the comeback of the decade award. It went dry in 2012 when a sinkhole drained it. Now, water levels are up and stable, and the bass fishing is incredible.…

PRO ANGLER KELLY JORDON remembers “that bite” on Texas’ Lake Fork like it was yesterday. “One mistake a lot of anglers make is they twitch a prop bait like it’s a popper. Prop baits work much better with more of a ‘pull’ than a ‘pop,’ if that makes sense.” “Actually, it was several years back, in April,” he says. “I was eating a sandwich and watching a buddy work a topwater bait. Suddenly the water exploded! I’ve never seen a strike like that before or since! It looked like a manatee had rolled on his bait. He jerked back twice with his rod, and then the bait just floated back up to the surface. His reel drag was loose, and he’d forgotten to tighten it. I think he got a…

Novelist Jennifer Egan once wrote: “It may be that a crowd at a particular moment of history creates the object to justify its gathering.” This certainly defines the crowd at the 2016 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro. Unlike at a rock concert or NFL game, the 107,605 people who attended the three-day championship are not just fans, but participants whose lifestyle is reflected by those anglers bringing fish to the scales on the biggest stage in fishing. Edwin Evers’ name will forever be etched on the Classic trophy, but the crowd that shook Tulsa’s BOK Center with thunderous applause during his crowning achievement is responsible for the event’s place in the history books.…

“I’d say that on average ... males will be on a nest for 15 days, females just three to four days.”— Gene Gilliland, B.A.S.S. Conservation director THE DIRTY TRUTH In fisheries that have dirty water, like the Mississippi River, do bass retreat to deeper water after spawning, or will they stay shallow? @tim.willman, Instagram Elite Series pro Russ Lane Water clarity is a big factor when considering fish movement after the spawn. The dirtier the water, the longer they stay shallow. Once it gets so hot they can’t stand it, they will either move deep or relocate to areas with current when no deep water is available. That said, as soon as females drop their eggs, they will move from the super-shallow bed to a little deeper water, maybe 6…

The Hawg Trough is the standard, accepted measuring device for the growing number of catch-photo-release kayak bass tournaments. Basically a 30-inch plastic bump board, it can use some modifications right out of the package. Making it easier to use and harder to lose and constructing a holder to stow it aboard your ’yak is a quick, inexpensive project. 1 New Hawg Troughs come with the measurement lines unmarked. Carefully touch up the lines with a Sharpie to make it easier for tournament judges to see what line the tail touches. 2 Hawg Troughs sink to the depths if accidentally kicked in the water. Self-sticking, 3/8-inch foam insulation strips fit neatly in the slots on the Hawg Trough’s back and will keep it afloat. 3 An easy way to keep the…

Just days before the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro officially kicked off last month, longtime Elite Series pro Byron Velvick announced that the 2016 season would be his last. Velvick, who fished his first B.A.S.S. tournament in 1990, captured three B.A.S.S. titles and a total of nine Top 10 finishes on his way to amassing more than $460,000 in winnings. He still holds the B.A.S.S. record for heaviest catch in a three-day tournament (83-5). The West Coast native (who now calls Texas home) was a pioneer of the swimbait movement and is still considered one of the best in the world. Velvick will turn 52 this June, which is well short of the average retiring age for bass pros. So, why throw in the towel now? “My wife (Belinda)…

April means springtime almost anywhere you fish in the U.S. Things may not be consistently warm, but it’s getting there, and the fishing is heating up, too. It’s prespawn in the mid-South, and the weather’s fine. Time to get on the water. For this edition of “Triple Threat,” we’re on a large reservoir with all the options — grass, lay-downs, flats, points, channels and more. The largemouth are feeding on shad, crawfish, pan-fish and anything else that presents itself. The water temperature is in the high 50s, and it’s very stained — 12 to 18 inches of visibility with a definite green tint. The water level is also way up — several feet into the bushes and willows and washing over the top of some permanent docks and piers. It’s…

PATTERN Christie spent the entire tournament winding heavy spinnerbaits slowly around rocks, dock posts and wood on the flatter side of pockets in the midsection of the lake. He ran the bait between the bottom and the surface with a slow retrieve, opting for the larger Colorado blade because it thumped hard and helped the fish find the lure in the muddy water. LURES 1-ounce Booyah spinnerbait with a No. 6 Colorado blade (blue/white for clearer water, chartreuse black for muddy water) with a 5-inch Yum Pulse Shad swim-bait (white) as a trailer GEAR 6-11 Falcon Cara Christie Frog Rod (medium-heavy), 22-pound Sunline Flipping Fluorocarbon, Lew’s Team Light baitcaster (5.8:1)…

YOU OFTEN SEE anglers leaned over their tailgates exposing too much humanity at bass tournaments. This exhibit is on full display at launch ramps, nearby motels and wherever anglers prepare for the next day’s onslaught. No matter how much tackle you squeeze into your boat lockers, you invariably discover you need to keep something in the back of your pickup truck. Some anglers meticulously organize their bass boat but give little thought to how they store the tackle in their truck. They are the individuals you see behind their trucks rooting through clusters of rods, utility boxes, open cartons, jumper cables, ad infinitum. The needed item may never be found, even though it’s hiding somewhere in that mess. A cluttered truck can also be costly, which was once true for…

BASSMASTER’S “DAY ON the Lake” series puts Bassmaster Elite Series pros on small lakes they’ve never seen before, then gives them seven hours to formulate a successful bass-catching pattern. This month, Chad Morgenthaler takes our challenge. The 49-year-old Coulterville, Ill., pro, a six-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier, has fished B.A.S.S. events for 16 years and won the January 2015 Southern Open at Lake Toho (Florida). Here’s what happened April 2, 2015, when we put Morgenthaler on Lake J, a small, remote reservoir. What follows may help you more effectively handle unstable weather conditions during your spring bass outings. » 6:13 a.m. I meet Morgenthaler at a campground near the lake. He’s towing a Phoenix 921XP bass boat equipped with a 250-horsepower Mercury outboard, Minn Kota trolling motor and Humminbird electronics. It’s…

Algers Getsum Made in about 1916, the wooden Getsum with its elaborate hook protection plate was invented by Frank Algers of Grand Rapids, Mich. An advertis ement for the sinking lure — priced at $1 — declared: “You can get Foxy Old Bass and Mistah Pickerel every time. Throw it among the weeds and lily pads — right where the big fellows are browsing around for food, and they’ll grab it in a jiffy.” Value: $150. Mercury’s magic I have been reading Bassmaster Magazine for as long as it has been published. I have a 6 HP Wizard outboard motor from 1952. My dad bought it brand new at Western Auto Store in Bessemer, Alabama. It still runs and is in good shape. I received it after my dad passed…