Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2017 i Bassmaster

Is it time to breathe new life into the butt of an old rod? Perhaps the grip of your favorite flippin’ stick becomes uncomfortable after a full day of fishing. Well, we have found that the Winn Grips Rod Wrap fixes all of these situations, and throws in a bonus benefit: sex appeal. Who doesn’t want their favorite rod to look like it came from a custom builder? Here’s how easy it is to get a grip. 1 Determine the circumference of your rod grip by making an initial wrap from the butt of the grip. Once you make the first wrap (don’t take off the backing yet), mark where the initial edge meets the tape. 2 Find the mark that you made and use a straight edge to draw…

James Elam Hometown: Tulsa, Okla. Age: 30 Love the Daylight Donuts logo. But it begs a question: Since pro bass sponsorships often include free products, does that mean you get free doughnuts? Every now and then we hang out and I get some, but it’s not like I have a free doughnut card. I usually just go in and buy ’em when I want ’em. But when I’m at home, I’ll definitely go grab a couple of boxes on my way to go fishing. You were a state medalist in wrestling at Broken Arrow High School. Now, not that this would ever happen, but if you had to use a takedown move in a bass tournament, what would it be? Probably a single-leg takedown. That’s the highest-percentage scoring takedown. It’s…

Like all law enforcement officials, fish and wildlife enforcement officers hear their fair share of unusual excuses and justifications for why someone has run afoul of the law. But a recent case reported by the Brainerd (Minnesota) Dispatch may be one of the craziest excuses in a long time. According to the newspaper’s “Conservation Officer Log,” Minnesota conservation officer Joyce Kuske approached an angler on a pontoon boat. The angler hurriedly put down his rod as the officer approached, and when Kuske asked to see his fishing license, the angler responded that he didn’t need one since he was fishing with breakfast sausage.…

Costa Bassmaster High School Midwest Open presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods Lake of the Ozarks, Osage Beach, Mo., April 2 Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation Central Regional presented by Magellan Lake of the Ozarks, Osage Beach, Mo., April 5-7 Bassmaster Elite presented by Econo Lodge Toledo Bend Reservoir, Many, La., April 6-9 Carhartt College Western Conference Regional presented by Bass Pro Shops Lake Shasta, Redding, Calif., April 19-21 Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation Western Regional presented by Magellan Lake Shasta, Redding, Calif., April 19-21 Bass Pro Shops Southern Open No. 2 Lake Chickamauga, Dayton, Tenn., April 20-22 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Elite Ross Barnett Reservoir, Ridgeland, Miss., April 27-30 Costa Bassmaster High School Southern Open presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods Lake Chickamauga, Dayton, Tenn., April 29…

IN FISHING TOURNAMENTS, we go out and try to collect a limit of fish and then return to a central location to weigh our catch and determine a winner. A fisheries conservation group is using the same concept to clean up Florida’s coastline. The Coastal Conservation Association’s Florida chapter launched its CCA Trash Tour last month with a cleanup and trash “tournament” on Cedar Key, the first of five scheduled “tour stops” designed to remove trash from coastal areas and educate the public about conservation. Much like a bass tournament, teams depart a staging area and pick up as much trash as possible before returning to have the refuse weighed. There are categories for boaters and walkers, and prizes are awarded to the teams that collect the most litter. But…

Angling International, a global fishing industry trade publication, reported last fall that Berkley had named a new advertising agency of record for its Gulp brand of soft baits. This ordinarily wouldn’t be too newsworthy, but the agency’s name will ring familiar to many bass anglers: It’s Yamamoto. No, not the Yamamoto that makes one of bass fishing’s most popular plastic baits. That’s Gary Yamamoto. This Yamamoto is a Minneapolis-based advertising agency.…

Checking the brakes is especially important, stresses Bassmaster Elite Series pro John Crews. His brakes once prevented a disaster while towing his boat to his Virginia home after a tournament in Wisconsin. “I got stuck behind a tractor-trailer in heavy Chicago traffic,” Crews said. “All of a sudden, the semi locked up its brakes. I locked up mine and stopped just before running into it.” Had Crews’ brakes not been in perfect working order that close call may have been a calamity. How long your brakes hold up depends on a variety of factors, including the load and your driving habits. Some drivers may burn out their brakes in 50,000 miles, while others may get twice that many miles from their brakes. Most late-model tow vehicles come with four-wheel disc…

Congratulations to the newest members of the Bassmaster Lunker Club™. Membership in the club is free and open to any B.A.S.S. member who catches a largemouth bass weighing 10 pounds or more, a spotted bass weighing 5 pounds or more, or a smallmouth bass weighing 6 pounds or more, from Jan. 1, 2016, to the present. New Lunker Club members will receive an official certificate with holder and a Minn Kota hat. 13-3 Lake El Salto, Mexico ◆ 3/4-ounce Fat Free Shad (citrus shad) ◆ Water clarity: clear ◆ Depth: 18 feet ◆ Weather: clear 10-5 Hargus Lake, Ohio V&M Slip n’ Jig, Yum craw trailer 11-5 Lake Fork, Texas handmade swimbait (shad) 10-6 Lake Guntersville, Alabama 1-ounce Big Hammer Swimbait (rainbow) 7-8 Dworshak Dam, Idaho…

The only problem now is that the boat looks like we did the work. It’s ugly. I mean, the community association asked us to remove the “wreck” from the premises. WHEN THE TEXT came through, I thought a tornado had hit my boat. My next-door neighbor, Paul Moody, and I share ownership of an old center console that we use for both bass outings and saltwater fishing. The photo he texted me showed the boat in two pieces … the hull splayed open with the top cap flopped over on a trailer. The outboard was nowhere to be seen. “Please tell me we have insurance!” I texted back, adding the emoticon with the giant eyes followed by the one puking. Come to find out, he had split our boat in…

Gimbal mount (aka flush mount) rod holders are easy to install and help make a sit-inside kayak more angler-friendly. All you need are the holders (we bought them for $10 apiece at a sporting goods store), a hole saw, a Dremel rotary tool, stainless steel through bolts and a sheet of rubber that’s suitable for making a gasket. 1 After sitting in your kayak and making sure you can turn around and grab a rod behind you, mark the spot both port and starboard where you plan to install the holders, then drill your hole. 2 Carefully grind the hole with the Dremel tool to make it oval so the rod holder’s top will lie flat against the deck. Make sure that rods placed in the tube will point straight…

April is famously rainy across much of the U.S., but where does it rain the most this month? Here’s a list of some of the rainiest U.S. cities in April (that also feature nearby bass fishing). So if you’re headed out to wet a hook in any of these places, you better pack some raingear. Baton Rouge, La. Average April Rainfall 5.56 inches The weather in southern Louisiana is strongly influenced by moisture rising up from the Gulf of Mexico, so it’s no surprise that Louisiana’s capital receives more than 5 1/2 inches of rain during April. But with a plethora of bayous, lakes and rivers in every direction, the area’s outstanding bass fishing and warm temperatures make the potential for rainfall little more than a mild annoyance. Jackson, Miss.…

Will Yocum of Carterville, Ill., started collecting fishing lures when he was 4 years old, frequently accompanying his grandfather Fred Washburn to National Fishing Lure Collectors Club shows. Eight years later, the seventh-grader holds a spot in the Guinness World Records book for the largest collection of Rat-L-Traps. According to The Southern Illinoisan, Yocum’s collection started when he and his grandfather found 364 Rat-L-Traps that Washburn had used for fishing. Today, Yocum’s collection numbers 3,653 and counting. Yocum was scheduled to be featured on a segment of The Learning Channel’s Kid’s Collectibles series. During production of the segment, an official from the Guinness World Records book traveled to Carterville to present Yocum with a world record plaque for his Rat-L-Trap collection. Yocum and his grandfather are still in search of…

It’s no secret that the Atlanta Falcons’ Julio Jones is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, but it turns out Jones is also a big fisherman. Although Jones and the Falcons fell short to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI, a headline for a pregame story in The Guardian referred to Jones as “the fisherman who could be the best player in Super Bowl LI.” Jones reportedly signed his 2015 contract extension with the Falcons so he could stay closer to the lakes, rivers and coastal fisheries that he adores. “Fishing teaches you patience,” Jones told a reporter. “You learn to concentrate on the little things that bring success and to keep trying until you get it right.” Jones, a native of Foley, Ala., was…

If you’ve never used a bait, or haven’t in years, why keep it? Load your tacklebox with “confidence lures,” the pros advise ... MY YOUNGEST SON and his wife inspired me to declutter my life, and I’m glad they did. Descending from a long line of hoarders, I needed to purge my belongings. At their recommendation, I read the book, The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art Of Decluttering And Organizing, and it was transforming. The idea is to discard every article you own that is not regularly useful or truly meaningful. As author Marie Kondo explains, if a thing does not “spark joy,” get rid of it. Of course the book didn’t apply to my fishing gear — or so I thought. Every crankbait, every bag of…

“I’d recommend having a game plan to catch a limit, and a game plan to target kicker fish.”— Elite Series pro Hank Cherry BANK ON IT What times of the year and what conditions are best for fishing steep banks, and what are three techniques to attack them with?@bass_meister, Instagram Elite Series pro Paul Mueller For me, the best times of year are winter, early spring (prespawn) before the water warms up, and also in the dead of summer. During these times, fish want to be close to deep water … they don’t want to move far to eat, get warm or cool down, so the steep banks offer this for them. As for techniques, for summertime, I lean toward a football jig from Flip Fly Tie, which has some…

Huk Raid All Weather Jacket, $349.99 Huk Next Level Kryptek All Weather Bib, $349.99 Bring on the nasty weather because with this set of raingear you’ll be able to keep the ugly side of Mother Nature at bay. Both jacket and bib feature 100 percent waterproof and windproof, nonbinding and high-stretch material and excellent breathability. The jacket has a three-piece, removable, articulated hood; front-collar venting; reflective welding around the zippers; hinged Velcro cuff closure; and reflective shoulders, chest pockets and logos. The bibs come standard with easy-to-access, zip-side entry; internal mesh chest pocket; hinged Velcro internal belt; reinforced, articulated knees; boot zip with a secure Velcro closure; and reflective branding for added safety. hukgear.com Carhartt Force Extremes Shoreline Angler Jacket and Bib, $259.99 each Rain or shine, you can’t catch…

It turns out that Eric Clapton isn’t just a rock ’n’ roll legend and guitar god; he’s also a pretty good fisherman. Clapton made headlines in August when reports surfaced that he caught the largest salmon of the season while fly fishing on Iceland’s Vatnsdalsá River. The fish measured more than 42 inches in length and weighed an estimated 28 pounds. According to reports from the website vatnsdalsa.isvatnsdalsa.is, Clapton ran over half a mile down the river after hooking the fish and spent 2 1/2 hours fighting the monster salmon. He snapped a quick picture with the fish before releasing it, adhering to the area’s strict catch-and-release policy. Although known far and wide for his music, Clapton has been fishing since childhood, learning to fish on the Wey River near…

This NoCal city will play host to two Bassmaster tournaments April 19-21 when the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series and the Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation compete in their respective Western Conference regionals on Lake Shasta. What Time Is It? Who needs a watch when Redding has a bridge that comes with the world’s largest sundial? 470-mile stretch makes Redding the largest city on Interstate 5 Fish On! Catch bass in Shasta, or ply one of the many nearby rivers for trout, salmon and steelhead. Merle Haggard Slept Here The country music legend called nearby Palo Cedro home and often fished on Shasta. With over 300 days of sunshine, Redding is the 2nd sunniest city in the U.S.…

In an Arkansas town previously known for its pickles, a small state-owned lake is becoming known for a different kind of green treat. Located in Pope County, about 15 miles east of Lake Dardanelle, Lake Atkins produced two largemouth bass over 11 pounds in the span of a week in late January. Anglers also reported several other double-digit fish and numerous bass heavier than 5 pounds during the productive winter hot spell. Atkins was home for more than 50 years to the Atkins Pickle Co., which peaked at sales of more than $40 million and employed up to 500 people in the 1980s and ‘90s, before the pickle plant closed in 2002. These days, however, the small town and its namesake lake are more likely to be associated with big…

We’ve reported often in the past few years about the development of underwater drones, but a new product that’s being marketed as a way to help anglers catch more fish takes underwater drone technology to a new level. The PowerRay, the latest drone from PowerVision, has an operational depth of nearly 100 feet, records video in 4K resolution, takes 12 megapixel photos and can stream live video in 1080p. But it’s not just a passive observer. An add-on “FishFinder” system expands capabilities with sonar to detect fish at a range of more than 130 feet, and another component best described as a robotic lure-delivery system will deliver and drop a bait on command. The submersible remote vehicle also comes equipped with LED lights, and a Wi-Fi connection sends data to…

Hack 1 All of Davy Hite’s Bass Pro Shops CarbonLite rods are the same color. This makes for confusion when he needs to fetch a rod with a particular action from his rod locker or, worse yet, from a slew of rods stuffed in a truck-top rod carrier. Hite simplifies this task by wrapping a band of colored tape around the butt of each rod: green for medium action, blue for medium-heavy and red for heavy. This lets him find the rod he needs at a glace. Hack 2 Hite brings large, bulk spools of line to tournaments so he can keep fresh line on his reels. He has found that the ice bucket in most motel rooms is ideal for holding a bulk spool when he winds on new…