Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2023 i Bassmaster

The historical relevance of 1977 was significant. Jimmy Carter was sworn in as the 39th president of the United States, Elvis Presley died, “Star Wars” hit the theaters and Larry Nixon fished his very first B.A.S.S. tournament. Starting his career at 26 years old, there was no way to know that Nixon would become the first professional angler to reach $1 million in winnings. However, he did cash his very first check in that Lake Seminole event ($900) after finishing in 16th place. He’d go on to qualify for the 1977 Classic and finish second, right behind Rick Clunn. But, 1978 might have been his coming-out party, as he won his first B.A.S.S. event that year, the B.A.S.S. Champs derby on the Atchafalaya River Basin. Although Nixon would win another…

AS THE EASTERNMOST country on its latitude, Japan’s daybreak premiere justifies the moniker “Land of the Rising Sun.” Notably, the 2023 Bassmaster Elite Series includes four anglers from this Asian archipelago, who shared their opinions and strategies for the diurnal transition. Fourth-year pro Taku Ito and third-year Kenta Kimura join sophomore Masayuki Matsushita and rookie Kyoya Fujita. Here’s what they had to say regarding sunrise fishing. WHY IT MATTERS By its very definition, the sunrise period is relatively brief; nevertheless, Ito stresses the value of getting a jump start to his day. Like his fellow countrymen, he’s not expecting much of his final bag to arrive in the post-takeoff immediacy. However, early momentum helps fuel a day’s optimism. “If I can catch a few good fish at [sunrise], they may…

Date: April 6, 2022 Venue: Lake T, a small flatland reservoir Water: 60 degrees, high, stained Weather: 50 to 60 degrees, light rain, cold front Pro: Dave Mercer, 47, of Port Perry, Ontario, Canada. Mercer emcees Elite Series weigh-ins and hosts the Facts of Fishing TV show on the Outdoor Channel. Boat: Phoenix 921 PHX with 250-horsepower Yamaha outboard, Minn Kota trolling motor, Humminbird electronics and twin Minn Kota Talon shallow-water anchors “YELLING, TALKING TOO much, running off to go fishing — it’s ironic that everything I got in trouble for as a kid is now how I make my living!” Dave Mercer, the loquacious emcee at B.A.S.S. weigh-ins, will tell you. Growing up in Canada, Mercer became obsessed with fishing; he competed in local bass tournaments and had…

Bill Lowen was waiting on a shipment of new rods and reels when the phone rang with a confusing question. “They asked if they could fit a semitruck in my driveway,” he says, laughing. “I said absolutely not. I’m on my way to go pick them up now.” No, Lowen isn’t receiving an 18-wheeler full of fishing tackle, but the veteran Elite Series angler says he is anxious to put the new arsenal of Lew’s rods and reels to use this month. “In April, everything is wide open,” he says. “But one of my favorite things to do every single year at this time is throw a flat-sided crankbait. When I hit the water early this time of year, it’s one of the patterns I am going to start out…

It’s a curious thing how Elite Series anglers look at the schedule these days. Early events on the 2023 tour excited the shallow-water guys. Okeechobee, Seminole, Santee Cooper … sight fishing, grass and a topwater or Texas rig. That’s how those events will be won. The last leg of the season excited the FFS (forward-facing sonar) group. St. Clair, Champlain, St. Lawrence River … video game fishing, clear water and smallmouth. That’s how those events will be won. Well, the best-laid plans, as they say. Lake Okeechobee launched the season, and nobody saw Tyler Rivet coming … not even Tyler Rivet. Before the tournament began, the Louisiana pro popped up the Kissimmee River looking for some crappie to catch for dinner. What he found was a couple of massive schools…

IN 1976, RICK Clunn walked into a Memphis department store with a dwindling tank of gas and not a dime to his name. In his hand, he held a paper check from B.A.S.S. that held the key to getting home to Texas. There was just one problem: Nobody would cash it. If not for the help of a local angler’s wife, one of the greatest bass fishermen of all time might have been washing dishes in a Bluff City diner to make it home. “I knew I recognized her from somewhere,” remembers Clunn. “I saw her on the way out, but I couldn’t remember her name.” Fortunately for Clunn, the woman remembered his. Her name was Dianne Dance — the better half of her bass-toting husband, Bill. Next year, Clunn…

Nationwide, hundreds of small streams hold surprisingly big smallmouth bass, yet many are seldom fished. One angler who consistently mines bronze from these overlooked waters is Indiana B.A.S.S. member George Verrusio, the most skilled stream smallmouth fisherman I’ve met in my 52 years as a Bassmaster correspondent. Verrusio has spent a lifetime wading for smallmouth and has caught scores of big ones from creeks you can practically spit across. If you’re thinking of plunging into this minimalist mode of smallmouth fishing, his advice can help you uncover the untapped smallmouth potential of streams in your area. IT WAS STINKING hot the other day while I was wading a stream west of Indianapolis. As I took a shade break beneath a bridge, a truck pulling a bass boat clattered overhead, and…

1 [The Case For April Topwater Action] Depending on your geographic location, chances are that you sit around all winter and early spring dreaming of warmer days and topwater explosions, but once we reach April, those dreams can become realities. April is widely associated with the spawn across the majority of the country, but it can also be a great time to catch a trophy bass on a topwater. There’s A Time And Place There’s really no way around it — throwing a topwater in April is not always going to be the best way to get a ton of bites. However, April can provide the opportunity for anglers to catch big bass on a topwater bait. After the true prespawn period, a large number of bass make the move…

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, 2022, to the present. New Lunker Club members will receive an official certificate with holder and a gift pack. 12-9 Robert Brown 1 O.H. Ivie Lake, Texas 5/16-ounce tungsten Texas rig (watermelon bluegill) 10-2 Nathan Craig 2 Private pond, Florida Z-Man ChatterBait 11-5 Brian Hopkins 3 Richland Chambers, Texas Berkley Power Worm 12-7 Ken Mitchell 4 St. Johns River, Florida River2Sea Biggie squarebill 10-12 Mason McMillen 5 Lake Lamar Bruce, Mississippi Zoom Magnum Finesse worm 6-4 Corey Dean…

Everyone around our lakes throws bladed jigs over grass early in the season. What are some good tricks for fishing these lures to get a few more and perhaps bigger bites?William Wilcox, Austin, Texas Bassmaster Elite Series pro Bryan New I am an avid user of bladed jigs, and I’ve found the trailer is key to fine-tuning your presentations. For example, if I want to fish it faster and deeper, I use a Zoom Super Fluke that creates less drag; if I want the bait to run slower and higher in the water column, I use the Zoom Z Craw for a trailer on my 1/2-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait because the Z Craw creates more drag and I can fish it slower over grass. Now, if I want to fish a…

IN SOME WAYS, while I considered myself an awful candidate to write an article that would express my reaction to an electric-boat bass-fishing experience, at the same time, I could be an ideal candidate. That is, on the minus side, I knew nothing about bass fishing from boats powered by electric outboard motors. But on the plus side, I knew nothing about bass fishing from boats powered by electric outboard motors. That means that I came to this topic without preconceived notions. Indeed, I really didn’t know what to expect when I drove east from Atlanta to a lovely 1,370-acre lake with the unlikely name of Hard Labor Creek Reservoir in Georgia recently, curious to see what the fuss was about. At the floating dock, I stepped onto a custom…

GRAY CLOUDS HUDDLED in the skies over the Niagara River not far from Lake Ontario when Patrick Duncan eased back on the throttle. It was a downright cold-front blustery morning, but we were determined to get after the pugnacious smallmouth bass that filter into the river in early spring. Duncan figured it was going to be a Ned rig kind of day and handed me a tricked-out Z-Man TRD. “What’s this?” I asked as I fumbled with the TRD that had a small spinner protruding out of its tail. “Just cast it out there toward the bank where there are some rocks on the bottom,” he said with a smirk as he picked up a Ned rig without the spinner and cast toward shore. It wasn’t long before I felt…

GLEN ANDREWS DOESN’T forget much. Even at 91 years old, his memories of fish catches are etched in his mind with the clarity of scenes forever chiseled in stone. There was a time when Andrews was considered the best bass angler in the world. He had the credentials to prove it. But the memory of who he was has quietly dwindled from the annals of bass fishing. Andrews’ impact on the sport of bass fishing, though, along with his memories, have stood the test of time. “I believe my dad is the missing link,” said Shane Andrews. “He trained Ray Scott. He trained Bill Dance. He trained Bobby Murray and so many more. Nobody knows that, and he’s the one who kind of slipped through [time’s] fingers like sand.” To…

1 A couple of paddle holders for paddle and net, a rod stager system and anchor setup added about $265 to the kayak, which retailed for $799. 2 A FlexRod Stager System from Yakgadget ($45.99; yakgadget.com) carries three rods horizontally, away from overhanging branches. The stagers mount in the factory-installed tracks with YakAttack’s Feelfree Adapter Plates ($25 for six; yakattack.us). We turned the front stager 180 degrees to keep rod tips away from brush. 3 On the starboard forward track we installed a Low Profile Kayak Anchor Wizard ($125; anchorwizard.com). It is low enough to easily crank even with a paddle in the YakAttack Dual RotoGrip Paddle Holder ($40). 4 We routed the anchor line with a couple of YakAttack Padeyes ($12 for a six-pack) inside the starboard aft track.…

Bassmaster.com is full of videos that can help bass fishermen across the globe, with everything from tournament highlights to tackle tips, lifestyle videos and more. Below is a collection of four videos that outline the type of content that you can find at Bassmaster.com/videos. [Clip of the Month] The 2023 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee was certainly an interesting tournament to watch as Elite Series pro Tyler Rivet took the win by throwing a Berkley Stunna jerkbait while using his forward-facing sonar to target fish coming into and out of a spawning pocket in the Kissimmee River. But more notably, he found the spot where he caught his winning bag while going to catch crappie for dinner as it was his night to provide for his roommates Hank Cherry…