Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2015 i Bassmaster

Noreen Clough, 71, who served as B.A.S.S. conservation director from 2004-2007 and again from 2011-2013, died Jan. 16 in Forest Hill, Md. Born Aug. 11, 1943, in Selfridge Field, Mich., Clough was a respected fisheries conservation leader who fought tirelessly for issues ranging from angler access to habitat conservation. Clough was awarded a degree in English from the University of Maryland and later added a degree in biology and a master’s degree in environmental biology from George Mason University. Clough retired from the Department of the Interior in 1997 after a 30-year career with the federal agency. She was southeast regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — the service’s first female regional director — at the time of her retirement. One of the many highlights of her…

Zebra mussels may be to blame for Lake Erie toxic algae blooms and proposed reductions in phosphorous runoff from agricultural lands might not be enough to counter the lake’s increased susceptibility, according to University of Michigan researchers. | Plastic fish attractors may be more effective than brush and also more durable, according to a study by officials at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. A late-fall hydro-seeding project by the U.S. Forestry Service and Alabama Power at Smith Lake will result in more habitats for bass. Four acres at Houston and Clear Creek recreational areas were sprayed with a mixture of oats, wheat and rye grass enriched with fertilizer and mulch with a “sticking agent.”…

A Georgia angler established the first Florida record for shoal bass late last year, setting the mark with a 4-pound, 2-ounce fish that was 20 inches long with a 13 1/2-inch girth. Charles “Anthony” Tucker of Albany, Ga., caught the fish Dec. 6, 2014, from the Chipola River in northwestern Florida. Tucker used a Z-Man ChatterBait with a Paca Craw trailer on a Carrot Stick rod and Shimano reel. Shoal bass were recently added to the list of black bass species in Florida, which opened a new black bass record category. A press release by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said Tucker was aware of the vacant record and the state’s requirement that any record contender had to weigh at least 4 pounds. Chris Paxton, a FWC regional…

Anglers catch all sorts of things besides fish. When anglers and birds occupy the same habitats, a bird eventually gets hooked or entangled in fishing line. Cutting the line increases the chance of the bird dying from starvation or dehydration. But freeing a wild bird presents another set of problems. The National Audubon Society and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission offer these tips. 1 Put on sunglasses or other eye protection. 2 Enlist a partner to help control the bird. 3 Grasp the bird’s head firmly and cover it with a towel, shirt or hat. 4 Fold the wings, secure the feet and hold firmly. 5 If the bird is hooked, cut the barb and back out the hook. 6 Check the bird for other hooks or line…

Former Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman Ellis Johnson loves to fish, and according to the Indianapolis Star, he soon may be ready to take his bass fishing to the next level. Johnson, a 1995 first-round draft pick by the Colts who played 10 seasons in the NFL, moved back to his home state of Florida after retiring from football. “Oh, man, I love fishing,” he said. “And the fishing down here is incredible.” Johnson grew up in Wildwood, Fla., and often fished the Harris Chain. “I’ve been gone for 20 years,” he said. “I don’t have the knowledge of the lakes yet. As soon as I get my IQ up to snuff, I’m going to start competing in the fishing tournaments.”…

Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Central Regional Where: Red River, Natchitoches, La. When: March 5-7 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open No. 1 presented by Allstate Where: Ross Barnett Reservoir, Ridgeland, Miss. When: March 12-14 Bassmaster High School Central Open Where: Toledo Bend Reservoir, Many, La. When: March 14 Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River presented by STARK Cultural Venues Where: Sabine River, Orange, Texas When: March 19-22 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Eastern Regional Where: Lake Norman, Charlotte, N.C. When: March 26-28…

THE TREND TOWARD 4-stroke outboards continues to grow in 2015. There’s no denying that traditional 2-stroke outboards remain a popular option among bass anglers, but manufacturers push harder to refine 4-stroke engines and make them more compatible for bass rigs and to comply with EPA regulations. That’s quite evident with the new introductions for this season that include lighter, quieter, cleaner and more fuel-efficient 4-stroke engines. Both Mercury and Yamaha expanded their lineups with additional horsepower offerings to fill in the gaps. Evinrude, on the other hand, remains steadfast with its 2-stroke lineup, unveiling its new generation of E-Tec G2, a direct fuel-injected powerhouse that offers the most radical design we’ve seen in years. In addition to the new outboards listed below, Yamaha expanded its SHO 4-strokes by offering 25-inch…

Even after cheating death while working on the Jalisco project, Dr. Schwarz’s resolve remains unchanged. “I BET I’M the only person you’ve ever met that touched his own brain,” said Dr. Gary Schwarz as we were driving over the dirt roads of his south Texas LaPerla Ranch. I know, seems like kind of a strange comment when the subject of conversation was the latest happenings in his effort to grow a world record bass. I wrote a feature on his quest in the April 2014 issue of this magazine, and after a storm of controversial comments emailed to me and posted on fishing forums throughout the country, I figured it was time to check in. Opinions ranged from “Man, I would sell my house to fish that lake,” to “I…

I know, bass fishermen don’t use bobbers. Strike indicators are for the live bait crowd and kids. Well, float-and-fly anglers will take offense to that assertion. Plus, you may well find yourself in the midst of an epic bluegill bedding area with your child on board and wish you could take advantage of the situation. Worry not. All you need is a lighter and a straw to save the day. Here is how to make a bobber on the fly. 1 Cut the tip of a straw at an angle. This will allow for a slightly bigger gap in the next cut so the slice will fit snugly over the straw body without forcing it to collapse. 2 Cut a small section, still at an angle, from the tip of…

Green worms. They’re arguably the most ubiquitous lures in the box. Green paper. From weekend jackpot derbies to the Bassmaster Elite Series, every tournament angler’s goal is taking home some U.S. currency. Green fish. Say what you will about the dolomieu, punctulatus or any other species in the genus Micropterus, but the green bass, salmoides, is the icon of our sport. Green socks. If you don’t have a pair of lucky green socks, you’re not trying hard enough. Green planet. Keep our waterways clean by signing Keep America Fishing’s “Pledge to Pitch It” at www.keepamericafishing.org.…

As author Steve Price writes in his new book, The Fish That Changed America: True Stories About The People Who Made Largemouth Bass Fishing An All-American Sport, bass fishing’s popularity has grown in large part because “it is a participatory sport. Virtually every bass fisherman, however, can purchase the very same rods, reels and lures today’s best-known professionals use, and cast those lures to the very same places in a lake,” Price writes. Examining how the bass fishing industry has grown into the powerhouse it is today through the stories of those who had a hand in molding the sport, Price provides insight from bass fishing legends such as Ray Scott to the late Cotton Cordell, as well as pros such as Rick Clunn, Bill Dance and more. The book…

Denny and Chad Brauer are the only father and son to compete simultaneously in the Bassmaster Elite Series, but a young angler with a Bassmaster Classic champion for a father would like to become part of the second such duo. Alton Jones Jr., son of Elite Series pro and 2008 Classic champion Alton Jones, has plans to fish all nine events of the Bassmaster Opens this year. “Little Alton,” as he has been known for years while traveling with his family on the professional bass fishing circuit, has set his sights on qualifying for the Elite Series. The 22-year-old angler, who recently graduated from Baylor University with a marketing degree, made his Open debut in January at Lake Toho. He finished in 32nd place, just over 5 pounds out of…

A 57-year-old Australian fisherman was trying to free a snagged line in the Adelaide River when he was attacked and killed by a nearly 15-foot crocodile known to locals as “Michael Jackson.” Australian media outlets reported that Tran Van Lanh was fishing from the bank near the Arnhem Highway Bridge and went into the water to retrieve a snagged line. The crocodile, distinctive because hypomelanism makes its head a pale yellow color, is well known among tour boat operators and other locals, who nicknamed the crocodile “Michael Jackson.” Reports didn’t say what kind of high-end bait possessed a man to enter known crocodile waters to retrieve it.…

Steve Scherrey of Conway, Ark., won the $50,000 top prize in this past summer’s Arkansas Big Bass Bonanza, an amateur-only, big-fish tournament held on the roughly 300 miles of the Arkansas River within the Natural State’s borders and featuring more than 2,200 anglers. Scherrey’s 6.98-pound largemouth from the river’s Dumas pool was impressive, but perhaps more impressive is the fact that the victory was Scherrey’s second in the long-running big-bass derby. Scherrey also won the 2000 version of the Big Bass Bonanza, earning $100,000 with a 6.76-pound largemouth.…

The films they showed us in seventh grade said herpes was bad, but reports from Wisconsin show that a form of the virus is deadly for some carp species. According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the koi herpes virus was the likely culprit behind a common carp die-off in Horicon Marsh, Lake Sinissippi and Silver Creek this past summer. The virus is found in ornamental koi but is transmissible to common carp. Previous die-offs related to the virus have been reported in Michigan, New York and Ontario, Canada. Wisconsin DNR officials said no forage or sportfish were harmed in the die-off. The virus is not harmful to humans.…

Spring Is Coming Winter has finally loosened its grip and prime-time fishing is available over much of the country. You’ve scored a day on the water and have chosen to fish a nearby river. It’s not the mighty Mississippi, but it’s big and loaded with bass — largemouth and smallmouth. The water temperature is in the mid-50s, nudging 60 in the afternoon, and it’s dingy to muddy, depending on where you stop to look. You’ve got the usual mix of flats and bluffs, feeder creeks and bridges, channels and points. For cover, there are laydowns, stumps, a few boat docks and even some vegetation. The bass are fat and happy dining on threadfin and gizzard shad, bluegill and crawfish. A nice warming trend has things moving in the right direction.…

THE TREES ARE like one giant thicket waiting to latch onto our lures. Their limbs twist together above the water, snarled and spiny, skeletons of the forest that existed here just a few years before. I can only imagine what lies unseen beneath this lake’s surface. I don’t mean the trees. I mean the bass! Hundreds of thousands of them, or millions! Josh Ward and I have already had a sampling. Since daybreak we’ve caught one fish after another, first on topwaters, then on spinnerbaits and now on worms and jigs, as the sun has climbed higher and the fish have drawn tighter to the cover. In the process, we’ve suffered repeated hang-ups, which our guide has patiently retrieved for us. “Gracias, Oscar,” we’ve offered sheepishly, to which he’s replied,…

LANIER, MARION, GUNTERSVILLE, Okeechobee — we know their names as well as we know the cities and towns we regularly visit. But where did they come from? Who or what are they named for, and why? Since most of them are getting pretty old and many predate anyone reading this article, the story of how they were named has faded from living memory. So I did some digging, and here’s what I found about the names of some of the best and most famous bass fishing lakes in the United States. As you might expect, there’s a predictable mix of Native American names and the names of early settlers, war heroes and prominent politicians who were in power when construction began on a dam. Actually, that just about covers…

If you want to master a certain technique, this is the place to do it. You’ll get instant feedback that lets you know when you’re doing things right. ON THE PESSIMISM-OPTIMISM scale, I hover somewhere between Eeyore and Rodney Dangerfield. If you always expect the worst, I tell myself, you’re never disappointed. That’s part of the reason I hesitated to tell my traveling companions the outlandish tales I’d been hearing about bass fishing on Mexico’s newest hot lake, Picachos. There was no way the action during our trip to the western Mexico reservoir would be able to match the hype. According to reports, one pair of anglers from Alabama caught 264 bass in one day on the new reservoir. A father-son team boated 269, mostly on fly tackle. That’s a…

Used boats, especially bass boats from 18 to 21 feet long and less than 8 years old, are in demand. PEOPLE CAN TALK about that “new car smell” all they want, but nothing compares to the smell, feel or pride one gets sitting in a new bass rig. We bring that up because this is the time of year when the “new boat virus” hits every angler who has an aging vessel sitting in the garage or driveway. You can do like most of us — resist the temptation and send ol’ Betsy back into battle again this year — or you can spruce her up and see what you can get in a trade-in. Here’s the good news. March is prime time to talk trade-ins with dealers. More importantly,…

Randall Tharp Birthday: Feb. 24, 1969 Hometown: Port St. Joe, Fla. You came to the sport of professional bass fishing later in life than many others. In fact, you were almost 40 years old. Why did you decide to pursue a career in bass fishing? I started paying attention to tournament bass fishing in my early 30s. I felt like to become a better angler, I needed that level of competition. But that’s just a small part of it. I was in the construction business and the recession hit, and I was having to look for work like I never had before. I won more money fishing bass tournaments than in my business. In 2008, I started fishing the Bassmaster Opens and the FLW Stren Series. I won three events,…

For the second time since 2013, the eyes of the bass fishing world will focus on southeastern Texas, as the Bassmaster Elite Series returns to the Sabine River system. What’s in a name? Following a series of name changes in the 19th century, the city was renamed Orange because of the native orange groves that attracted the attention of boatmen as they navigated the Sabine River. 880 The number for the Orange exit ramp from I-10, which is the highest-numbered interstate exit ramp in the U.S. 49 pounds, 6 ounces Texas pro Todd Faircloth’s winning weight in 2013. He had survived an up-and-down derby to win by more than 6 1/2 pounds. Football factory. Legendary coach Bum Phillips and Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas were born in Orange, and Texas…

Most Americans will set their clocks forward an hour March 8. Anglers will welcome the change because it means more daylight time to fish after work. But this time-changing tradition has deep and complicated roots. Grammar School. For the record, it’s daylight saving time, not daylight savings time. Ancient History. Daylight saving time (DST) has been in use for only a century, but some ancient civilizations adopted similar schemes to adjust their schedules to the sun, including the Romans, whose water clocks used different scales for different months of the year. It’s Not All About The Benjamin. Although often given credit for “inventing” DST, founding father Benjamin Franklin merely suggested the idea of saving money by adjusting one’s alarm clock. While serving as a U.S. envoy to France, he wrote…

Boating while intoxicated is a bad idea and against the law. Being under the influence of alcohol and backing your boat into a police officer’s vehicle while trying to put the boat in the lake is just plain dumb. According to New Jersey’s Hunterdon County Democrat, police arrested John Fiorilla of Elmwood Park, N.J., after a boat trailer attached to a 2001 Jeep Cherokee driven by Fiorilla struck Patrolman Michael Akers’ car at Round Valley Reservoir’s boat launch parking area. Akers, who sustained minor injuries, was on the scene as part of a water-rescue attempt. Fiorilla was charged with driving while intoxicated and failure to produce proof of registration.…

A West Sacramento, Calif., man went fishing in a wilderness area and ended up being rescued by a search team after being lost for five nights without food. Mike Vilhauer told Sacramento’s KOVR TV, the local CBS affiliate, that he wandered away from his lakeside camp in search of crickets to use for bait. Vilhauer soon realized he was lost in the mountains of Alpine County. He drank from mountain streams and searched for his camp from high ridges before eventually settling in one spot and spelling “HELP” in pine needles. Search and rescue teams spotted the sign on Vilhauer’s fifth day in the wilderness. He was found uninjured about four miles from his campsite next to the lake. “That’s when they told me,” Vilhauer said, “‘by the way, there’s…

I DON’T RECOMMEND it, but if you called Bassmaster Elite Series pro Tommy Biffle of Oklahoma a hardhead, he just might agree with you. Throughout his long and storied career, Biffle has stubbornly stuck with flippin’ and pitchin’ 90 percent of the time. It’s ironic that a jig called the Hardhead pried Biffle’s death grip from his Quantum flippin’ stick. A friend of Biffle’s designed what is now called the Gene Larew Biffle Hardhead. His friend gave him a few of the baits to play with six years ago. It is a football head weight with a worm hook loosely attached to it. The joint between the hook and the head allows whatever plastic bait you attach more freedom to waggle. The first time Biffle tied on a Hardhead was…