Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2024 i Bassmaster

When we first heard that Humminbird had officially sponsored a 6-year-old, curiosity filled our livewell. A college kid? Understandable. A high school kid? He or she must be really good. But a kindergartner? Seriously? Yes. Seriously. Bassmaster photographer Shane Durrance traveled to the Lake Lanier home of young Gunnar Ingram. His parents, Charles and Amanda, agreed to meet with Durrance and spend a day fishing with Gunnar. The kid is amazing. “He casts a baitcaster better than I do, and his skill with a spinning rod was simply amazing,” Durrance said. “His focus and passion for fishing is unlike anything I have ever seen for a kid his age. This young man is legit.” According to Charles, Gunnar was potty-trained with a fishing rod in his hand. If he was…

February 29-3 AFTCO Bassmaster Elite, Lake Fork, Texas 7-9 St. Croix Bassmaster Open presented by SEVIIN, Santee Cooper Lakes, South Carolina 7-8 Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Douglas Lake, Tennessee 10 Strike King Bassmaster High School Series, Douglas Lake, Tennessee 10 Bassmaster Junior at Douglas Lake, Douglas Lake, Tennessee 20-21 Yamaha Rightwaters Bassmaster Kayak Series Championship scored by TourneyX, Lake Tenkiller, Oklahoma 22-24 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors, Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, Oklahoma…

It’s your turn to write a cutline for your favorite magazine. Follow B.A.S.S. on Facebook (@bass) and Instagram (@bass_nation) and comment with a clever caption on this cartoon that will be posted on our feed on Feb. 8, 2024. If your caption is chosen, it will be printed in an upcoming issue. Last Month’s Post Last Month’s Caption Winner: “They have all this technology? And they still can’t find me?” @harv59s  …

FIFTY YEARS AGO this month Rick Clunn competed in his first B.A.S.S. tournament. Next month, the iconic angler, now 77 years old, fishes his 500th Bassmaster event. Early on, Clunn established a dominance of Bassmaster Classic performances that included four wins over three decades. His mental mastery and the techniques used to visualize angling excellence were initially criticized, yet proven effective with a list of unsurpassed milestones. Here is a look at many of his most memorable moments, professionally and personally. 1971: Bobby Murray and $10,000 By 1971, Clunn was in his mid-20s and a member of the Pasadena Bass Club in Houston. He joined B.A.S.S. and discovered the fledgling organization’s organized, professional tournaments, including the first Bassmaster Classic won by Bobby Murray at Lake Mead, Nevada. “It fascinated me,”…

ADMITTEDLY, SPRING IS a fickle time — for fish and fishermen alike. Bass are typically spread across the various spawn phases, and anglers are left to solve a capricious bite calculus. The best baits and tactics vary day-to-day, with what’s red hot today being not so much the next. Like the vacillating pattern, so goes the weather. If there’s anything predictable about spring it’s the unpredictability. A temperate day kissed with bluebird skies can be quickly washed out with a week of wet, frigid weather. Adaptability is critical now. If you’re not comfortable, you can’t possibly perform at peak efficiency out on the water. Here’s what the best-dressed anglers will be wearing this spring. JACKETS A quality jacket is a must for springtime angling adventure. Today, manufacturers offer lightweight jackets…

Water type: Conditions shaping up for spawning on a Southern reservoir Water temp: Upper 50s Clarity: 1 to 2 feet Depth: 6 to 12 feet Structure: Rock, laydowns, bridges Cover: Docks, grass Forage: Crawfish, shad, bluegill Weather: Coming up on a full moon, warming trend approaching, building clouds Wind/current: Calm morning with warm afternoon breeze Experts: A trio of Elite Series pros explain their game plan for fishing when a full moon cycle coincides with a warming trend’s approach 1 DIRECTIONAL INFLUENCE Gerald Swindle Guntersville, Ala. First move: “The water temperature is pretty close to [triggering a spawning movement], so on a warming trend, the first place I’m going to look is any type of pocket that goes against the current,” Swindle said. “If the lake lays east to west,…

Bassmaster editors have the fun job of approving Lunker Club applications. This section has been a part of this magazine for the past 25 years. During that time, we have witnessed countless smiles on countless faces displaying bass of a lifetime. Over the past seven years, one particular face has graced the Lunker Club three times. We were made aware of this fact by Carl Chelette and will let him take it from here: “My wife, Carol Chelette, was in your Lunker Club in [the] July/August 2016 and September/October 2018 editions with a 12 3/4-pounder and an 11 3/4-pounder. Recently, on June 30, 2023, she caught a third big bass, another 11 3/4. She submitted the picture and required information, as she has done before. “I am writing you without…

“IT’S NOT THE destination, it’s the journey.” The great American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson said that. Evidently, he hadn’t flown United Airlines. He certainly hadn’t weathered the 26-hour string of flights from Birmingham, Ala., to Osaka, Japan. That particular journey is equivalent to picking out a massive backlash of 2-pound braid on a narrow-spool baitcaster … blindfolded. The destination, however, was something different altogether. For bass anglers, destination fishing is often considered a luxury. Travel is expensive; lodging and dining are at all-time highs. And it’s more difficult to unplug from work now than it has ever been. However, the moments shared, memories made and friendships both deepened and created in a capsule of new surroundings and alternate cultures are life-changing. Flip to page 24, for example, to read about…

Lake Barkley recently welcomed 675 live cypress trees to Cravens Bay. Members of the Kentucky B.A.S.S. Nation, two high school bass fishing clubs, the local Boy Scouts of America, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife and D2 Fishing LLC used grants received from AFTCO and the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame to plant and fertilize the bass-friendly habitat in a matter of hours. “It was really a great event. We split up into groups and had groups digging the holes with the auger, others dropping live trees and fertilizer and another filling the holes back in,” said Bassmaster Elite Series pro and Bluegrass State advocate Mark Menendez, who was on-site to volunteer and film the process for an upcoming episode of Mark Menendez BassTV. “All we need now is…

Jim Kline Congratulations Rick!! Definitely one of the Best Ambassadors of our Sport!! Was his 1991 Classic Driver in Maryland. Wishing you all the Best Rick. Johnny Nowell You are the best hope to see you at the classic. David Macfarlane Congratulations Rick! I have followed you since 1976 and have been an inspiration in My fishing ever since. Thank you! Glenn DeLong Not only one of my heros but one of the best humans you will ever meet. If you ever get the chance to talk to Rick you will not be disappointed.. Thanks for all your help and wisdom along the way Rick. Your the best!…

When sonar accessories are attached to the trolling motor, should they have “give” or be fastened tightly? @lilo_fishing, Instagram Keeping them loose will definitely affect their performance, so making sure they are snug is crucial, advises Bill Carson, marketing product manager of Johnson Outdoors, the makers of Humminbird electronics. But the security doesn’t end there. “Use a ‘kickstand’ — formally called a Motor Stabilizer Kit — to secure the motor between the head and the floor when it’s being stowed and you’re running down the lake,” he explains. “This is especially important when MEGA Live or 360 have been added. This will help minimize the vibration and help secure the trolling motor and reduce the bounce when traveling through big waves and wakes.” And naturally, if you’re securing a transducer…

New Iberia, La. The last time you appeared in this column, you were a sophomore Elite. What have you learned about life since then? That’s a deep question. The biggest thing I’ve learned is don’t get comfortable when things are going well. Stay hungry. Stay humble. Stay goal-oriented. In fishing, it’s not a matter of if but a matter of when the rug is going to be pulled out from underneath you. When that happens, you can choose to put in the effort or not. You know, I came into the Elite Series at a time when the pros were only fishing the Elite Series. I fished against Kevin VanDam in my first year. I fished against every single Top 100-level guy, and then the next year, the split happened.…

The images below were submitted by Bassmaster readers, and our antique tackle expert, Rob Pavey, appraises the value of each fascinating find. To submit yours, email editorial@bassmaster.com. Johnson’s Sure-Spin Model 640 half-bail spinning reel Lyndall Jones, email $40 to $75 These interesting reels were made in the late 1940s and early 1950s by the Louis Johnson Co. of Highland Park, Ill. They weighed only 5.5 ounces and featured a nylon main gear. The Louis Johnson Co. is most widely known for its popular spoon, the Johnson’s Silver Minnow. Bud Stewart Crippled Wiggler or Mouse Bill Gratsch, email $50 to $80 Bud Stewart, born in Canada in 1913, grew up in Flint, Mich., where his parents moved when he was a child. He rose to fame as a master carver and…

ACTIVE ANGLER Incredibly, more than half a decade has blown by since the first widespread introduction of forward-facing live sonar by Garmin in 2018. In that time, a technology that began as a novelty podcast topic spread rapidly throughout the tournament fishing world, transforming the face of tournament fishing today. In 2020, Lowrance joined the fray with ActiveTarget, followed closely by Humminbird MEGA Live Imaging in 2021. Already, manufacturers have released new iterations and upgrades of their initial offerings, leaving veteran Elite Series angler Brandon Lester excited by their advancements. Lester, a longtime Lowrance advocate, says he is seeing the future of fishing after upgrading to ActiveTarget 2 last season. BLUE-COLLAR BREAKDOWN ActiveTarget 2 is an advancement on Lowrance’s original live sonar, providing higher-resolution views of fish movement and structure…

THE SPORT OF bass fishing has traditionally been a game of trial and error, with anglers making educated guesses as to the location of the bass. The sharing of successes and failures over time forms a “conventional wisdom” regarding where the fish are most likely to be found during the four seasons of the year. Professional bass tournaments have been a proving ground for developing cutting-edge bass tactics and have accelerated the learning curve for the wider fishing community. However, what if scientific analysis revealed that many of the established beliefs about bass behavior are incorrect? Such was the task of Todd Driscoll and Jake Norman, fisheries biologists for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department of the Jasper and Tyler offices, respectively, when undertaking a study of bass behavior recently…

FINISH THIS BASS fishing phrase: Ripping… Most probably said “traps,” and, for casual conversation, that’s right on point. However, when it comes to intentionally ensnaring baits in aquatic vegetation only to snap or rip them free, there’s much more to the tactic than the angling colloquialism implies. For starters, the term “trap” — an abbreviated form of Bill Lewis’ innovative Rat-L-Trap — often serves a generalizing role for the lipless bait category, just as we often say “Coke”, “Frisbee” or “Jell-O” for any cola, flying disc or gelatin dessert. It’s one of those “you know what I’m saying” deals. Folks get it, but to sink our teeth into this highly productive technique, we quizzed a handful of Elites who’ve shortened more grass than the Lambeau Field grounds crew. Some of…

WHEN RICK CLUNN caught a 31-pound, 7-ounce limit of bass on Day 3 of the Bassmaster Elite on the St. Johns River in 2016 and then went on to win the event as a 69-year-old, I guess I closed the book on him. It was the greatest thing I’d ever seen in fishing — and in my mind, the greatest thing I’d ever see. So, I celebrated it with a multipage photo spread in B.A.S.S. Times Magazine that commemorated all of Clunn’s career accomplishments, with that 2016 win as the capper. That decision showed me that the greatest mistake in fishing isn’t forgetting to charge your batteries the night before a tournament. The greatest mistake in fishing is underestimating Rick Clunn. Three years later at age 72, Clunn broke his…