Innholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2020 i Bassmaster

The St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario — the monster Great Lake it feeds — make up one of the largest bodies of water the Bassmaster Elite Series visited in 2020. But even with all that water to cover, the bass couldn’t hide. Some, in fact, were found by more than one of the 85-angler field. That was the case on Day 2 with Canadian angler Chris Johnston and veteran pro Clifford Pirch from Arizona. Like really the case. The two anglers, who reside 2,186 miles from one another, wound up fishing almost gunnel to gunnel during the third Elite Series event of the COVID-19-interrupted season — and that gave Pirch an up-close view of one of Johnston’s many fish catches. Johnston was just beyond Pirch’s rod tip as he…

BASSMASTER ELITE SERIES anglers typically try to avoid law enforcement by obeying traffic laws and adhering to highway towing regulations. But when a police officer approached Gerald Swindle at a gas station in Knoxville, Tenn., the interaction bespoke a simple truth that even an abnormal 2020 cannot dampen: The relationship between Bassmaster fans and the anglers they follow is stronger, indeed more vital, than ever. “Me and LeAnn were on our way back from [the New York swing] and this cop came up to me at a gas station and said, ‘I don’t want to bother you; I just want a picture,’” Swindle recalled. “He had no idea what that meant to me. I’m just coming off a rough two-week road trip and that was like taking medicine. “For someone…

When Seth Feider first came on the pro fishing scene with his perfect mustache and signature flowing blonde locks, there was an urge by many to typecast him as a “smallmouth specialist.” The reasoning was strong. Feider hails from the land of snow and ice in Minnesota, and he’s turned in some of the more impressive catches of brown bass in Bassmaster Elite Series history. But any notion he can’t catch the big green uglies is false — and he reinforced that once again during the Bassmaster Elite on Lake Champlain when he spent much of his week targeting largemouth around shallow cover. This particular catch — one of the highlights of a great tournament week — occurred as Feider flipped a jig under a pontoon boat and got an…

The images below were submitted by Bassmaster readers, and each unique find was appraised by antique tackle expert, Karl White. To submit yours, email editorial@bassmaster.com. Antique Spinner Austin Goode, email $75 Joliet Spinner. $75. Made around 1904. Oxygen Producer Stephen Winkler, email $20 Looks like an oxygen producer to keep minnows alive. If sold to a baitcasting collector you might get $20 out of it. Neat item! Old Crankbait Jim Grimes, email $15 Arbogast Hula Dancer from Akron, Ohio. 1947. Value $15. French Spinning Reel Tom Spade, email $40 The first spinning reels were made in Europe in the 1890s. During WWII, spinning came to America from France. The Bache Brown and the Mitchell were the first from France. Your reel is a slightly later model, as it has a…

Duo Realis Crank G87 20A $15.99 | duo-international.com Features: This is a big bait (almost 6 inches long, including the bill) built for catching big weight. Although the G87 weighs in at 1 1/4 ounce, it is a floater/diver that will reach 20-foot depths when fished on 16-pound line. Duo’s Neodymium magnetic weight transfer system is as technologically advanced as it sounds. Expect superlong casts. The design of the G87’s diving bill is narrow but cupped on the tip. This makes the bait dive quickly but does not put a lot of stress on the angler, reducing fatigue from all-day cranking. The Crank G87 is offered in 17 forage-mimicking colors. Picasso Dock Rocket $5.99 | picassooutdoors.com Features: Designed by Bassmaster Classic champ Hank Cherry, this jig almost skips itself. A…

FOR MOST OF us, our time on this earth is a journey of joy, hope and sadness. As much as we’d like to, none of us can avoid the last one. At the age of 45, in his second year on the Elite Series, Frank Talley has already experienced an abundance of all three. The Joy On Day 2 of the YETI Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair, Talley sacked the biggest bag of his young Elite career with 22 pounds 10 ounces. That moved him into 10th place in the tournament and 27th in Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. “I was on cloud nine,” he said. But on Day 3, well, Talley tanked. The wind died down, and he only caught three fish. Talley dropped from 10th place…

Bradley Whatley tried. He really tried. But around 2001, he knew that he couldn’t take it anymore — he could no longer pretend to be a jig fisherman in the winter. “I was a power fisherman,” starts Whatley. “Back then, we didn’t have YouTube or the outlets that people have nowadays to learn, so all I knew was that it was wintertime, and in the winter, people throw a jig.” Relying on tried-and-true winter techniques, the boisterous Texan would saunter off to fish his favorite haunts, like the Sulphur River. But one day, he says that he just snapped. “I absolutely hated throwing a jig. It was like watching paint dry. I couldn’t do it, and I said, ‘There has got to be another way to catch fish in the…

This simple project repurposes old backpacks and laptop carriers to keep those leader spools, line cutters, tournament identifiers, hook sharpeners, noisemakers and other stuff from being strewn onto your kayak’s sole (nautical term for “floor”). 1 You want old backpacks and laptop bags that have sewn-in organizers for pens, business cards and cellphones. Check garage sales, resale shops and your attic. 2 Simply cut the organizer part out with sharp scissors. 3 To attach near the seat I used Command Picture Hanging Strips, which hold securely and allow removal. Velcro would work. 4 Just attach your adhesive to the back of the organizer. 5 Stick where it’s handy and load your stuff. Now you won’t be groping under your seat or behind you in your crate to find those oft-used…

Should I use short-shank hooks on topwater poppers/walking baits?Craig Long, Ohio Bassmaster Elite Series pro Chris Groh If you ask this question to 10 pros, you will probably get nine different answers. That said, I use short shanks on my topwaters but only on the front. The key is to run the biggest hooks you can on the front of the bait without them tangling. Therefore, shorter shanks in larger sizes give you a bigger “bite” but won’t tangle like longer shanks do. Still, every topwater bait is different. Some walking baits have a lot of space between hook hangers, so you can get away with longer shank trebles. If it’s a three-hook topwater, like the Berkley Cane Walker that I use a lot, I put two short-shank Berkley…

THE RIGHT TOOL for the job — it’s not just a wise construction-site mantra; this logic clearly applies to bass fishing. To help you toward the ultimate objective, we’ve assembled a sampling of new products for your consideration. BIG BITE BAITS BFE — Blending the slender profile and gliding fall characteristic of a tube with the sturdiness of a solid-body creature bait, Big Bite created a versatile flipping bait that’s fit for just about anywhere you want to throw it. The narrow body sports a set of rib-like rings that increase the visual presence without impeding hook sets with excessive bulk. With a thin tail and subtle appendages, the BFE fits well on a wide gap or straight-shank hook and easily works into and out of grass, wood or rock…

DOTL Challenge: Put a Bassmaster Elite Series pro on a small lake he’s never seen before. Give him seven hours to locate and catch bass while we log his every move. Date: Nov. 6, 2019 Venue: Lake M, a flatland reservoir Water: 56 to 61 degrees, stained to clear Weather: High of 65 degrees with clear, light, variable winds Pro: Caleb Sumrall, 32, New Iberia, La. He’s fished the Elite Series since 2018, qualifying for two Classics. Boat: Bass Cat Cougar FTD with 250-horsepower Mercury outboard (has since switched to Xpress boat powered by Yamaha), Minn Kota trolling motor, Lowrance electronics and Power-Pole shallow-water anchors “GRIND” IS ONE of those words that sounds like what it means. As a verb, “grind” means to reduce something to small particles, like when…

1 [Keep Your Tactics Current] Many of the nation’s best bass fisheries are flood-control reservoirs where dams manage the storage and movement of vast amounts of water. Current created by the release of water from the dam impacts everything from boat control, tackle/line choices and lure selection/presentation to bass location, forage preference and feeding behavior. Here’s how Bassmaster Elite Series anglers use current to their advantage. Moving Water Impacts Bass Current increases dissolved oxygen and moderates water temperature, thereby creating a healthier environment for bass. Current repositions and concentrates bass. Once water begins flowing, bass that were scattered and inactive will gravitate to current-breaking objects from which they’ll attack prey. Current “delivers” forage. Baitfish, including shad, school tightly in fast water and tend to move with versus against the flow,…

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, 2019, to the present. New Lunker Club members will receive an official certificate with holder and a gift pack. [Trophy Trends] Species 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 be provided, along with the length and girth of the bass. Only suitable photos will be published in Bassmaster Magazine. We will only accept entries for bass that are…