Innholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2024 i Bassmaster

Many sports offer fans a chance to watch up close. You can sit courtside for basketball, but the players are flying by so fast it’s hard to read the names on their jerseys. You can sit behind home plate for baseball, but safety netting separates you from all of the action. You can sit on the 50-yard line for football, but you’re still more than a stone’s throw away from the genuine excitement. As Seth Feider proved during the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite Series event at Lake Champlain, those restrictions sometimes don’t apply to pro bass fishing. Feider spent much of his week fishing shallow cover for largemouth while the majority of the field targeted offshore smallmouth far away from the bank. In one instance, the shallow cover he targeted…

Colten Cottongin Oberlin, La. Ellie Labhart Franklin, Texas Bryce Ramsey Jacksonville, Fla. John David Sledge Midland, Texas Cold-Day Bassin’ Hello! I was looking in my recent Bassmaster issue, and I saw the Mail Call section with kids and their big smiles with fish they caught and thought that it would be so cool to see my kids in Bassmaster Magazine. So I figured I’d submit a few from this last fall and maybe someday I can show them their photos in a magazine! In November in Wisconsin we are usually thinking deer season and getting ready for ice fishing but this was an unusually warm fall/winter. So, I decided to take the kids, Elise and Dakota, out for a few hours one chilly afternoon to see if they could hook into a few bass…

During the late season, I have my favorite jig and swimbait on my boat deck but never know when to choose one over the other. What are the signs that tell me which one to use? Devonte Sauer, Roanoke, Va. Bassmaster Elite Series pro Jason Williamson This is the time of year that bass migrate toward the creeks and feed more on baitfish. So, I lean toward the swimbait, but I will also keep a swim jig and a bottom-fishing jig on my deck to keep things honest. As the water gets colder, I use the jig more. I choose a swimbait to match the size of baitfish, which are smaller and easier for the bass to target this time of year. My choice would be a 4-inch shad-colored Zoom…

XBraid Sinking SS112 $25.99 | xbraid.us Features: Yes, this braided line actually sinks. The blend combines braided line and Ester mono to create the unique attribute Perfect for winter finesse tactics, the thin diameter allows for light baits to reach targets faster and gives baits a more natural presentation Available in high-vis yellow and in strengths from 8- to 30-pound test Each spool holds 165 yards Rapala DT6 8.99 | rapala.com Features: No angler worth his favorite fishing hat would be caught on the lake this month without a DT6. Yes, they are that effective in cold water Manufactured using only the top 7% of select balsa wood, these baits have a tight wobble and float free of cover when the retrieve is stopped Although the crank is made of…

IMAGINE, IF YOU will, competing in the 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on Pickwick Lake. It’s March 20, and the tournament has already been postponed two days because of a massive storm system moving slowly across north Alabama and central Tennessee. During official practice before the storm, the lake had been 6 feet low and slowly rising, but when Kyle Welcher launched on the first morning of competition, the parking lot was flooded. “The water had come up probably 8 feet,” remembers Welcher, the 2023 Progressive Insurance Bassmaster Angler of the Year. “I was shell-shocked. The water was muddy and filled with floating debris. I learned later TVA was releasing more than 200,000 cubic feet of water a second through the Wilson Dam into Pickwick to try to…

Bassmaster Elite Series champion Frank Talley will read this article like you probably will — from a comfortable seat at his home. He’ll wait for the cool, autumn air to finally filter south to his home near Austin, Texas. He might glance at a wrapped, professional bass boat in the driveway outside. And he’ll smile, knowing he will most likely never fish in an Elite Series tournament ever again. In August, as end-of-the-season trophies were being handed out on the St. Lawrence River, Talley watched the Johnston brothers hoist dueling blue trophies. Talley saw Rick Clunn gracefully bow out of the Elite Series after 50 seasons of competing on bass fishing’s highest levels, and after six seasons on the Elite Series, he decided to do the same. Talley leaves with…

Daiwa Tatula SV100 Daiwa introduced an upgraded version of the Tatula SV100 with its patented SV BOOST System, previously reserved for high-end reels. This technology uses a proprietary spool and complementary technologies, like the Hyper Drive System and T-Wing System, to promote precision casting by self-managing resistance throughout the duration of the cast and virtually eliminating backlash. ($219.99) daiwa.us Gamakatsu Crankbait Circle Hook The brainchild of bass fishing legend Bill Dance, this hook improves crankbait efficiency by reducing hangups when fishing around cover while increasing hook-to-land ratios. A key feature, the hook’s tapered Magic Eye allows for quick hook changes. It comes in sizes 4, 2, 1, 1/0, 2/0 and 3/0. ($3.60-$4.50) gamakatsu.com Z-Man Graph ShadZ This 3.8-inch bait was created to present stunning realism while reflecting a vibrant sonar…

WHEN WINTER GRIPS the country, bass anglers feel a bit hamstrung when it comes to lure choices. Generally, it’s a Damiki rig dangled over the deep bottom, a finesse jig, a jerkbait snapped in mid-depth, a Silver Buddy-style bait ripped vertically or some kind of painfully slow, finesse approach. Well, a more open-minded approach may be better, according to innovative bass pros who have had success with quirky wintertime presentations. Here are five you might want to add to your list of tactics when your local bass are in winter lockdown. Slow Roll A Jig Gerald Swindle recalls fishing along Table Rock Lake’s rocky shoreline one wintry day. “I’d been catching bass on a crankbait, but the water started clearing up and I couldn’t get a crankbait down to depths where…

THE START OF a new year brings hope and aspiration for another calendar’s opportunities. Among them, the hunt for the year’s biggest fish consumes most anglers’ focus. Four Bassmaster Elite Series anglers shared their insights into how they track down and engage giants in the wintertime. JUSTIN HAMNER — Southern Rivers The reigning champ of the 2024 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors from Northport, Ala., won’t necessarily skip the early option during winter, but most days, he puts his faith in the afternoon warmth. “After lunch, when the sun gets up, that’s going to be the key time,” Justin Hamner said. “I’m looking for the shallow bite. I may not get many bites, but if I’m going for the big ones, I’m looking super-shallow for the…

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, 2023, to the present. New Lunker Club members will receive an official certificate with holder and a gift pack. 12-6 Joe R. Baker 1 Lewisville Lake, Texas 6-inch Texas-rigged Strike King Cut-R-Worm (red bug) 10-12 Will Anderson 2 Chickamauga Lake, Tennessee Accent Jacob Wheeler buzzbait 6-1 Cole Stead 3 Lake St. Clair, Michigan Stike King 5XD 11-4 Patrick Buckley 4 Private pond, Georgia Texas-rigged Yamamoto Senko 6-0 Len Speed 5 Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania Queen Tackle Switchblade jig 6-3 Bryan Mantie 6 St. Lawrence River,…

WHEN TEXAS PRO Keith Combs saw the first prototype of Strike King’s 10XD deep-diving crankbait, it looked more like a dog toy than anything found in most shops, and like the pit bull that he is, Combs wasn’t going to leave until he got one of his own. “It was 2012, [right after] my rookie year on the Elite Series and right before the season started. I had a meeting in Dallas with Phil Marks and John Barnes to talk about joining the Strike King pro staff. I went into Phil’s office, and he pulled out a prototype. It was pretty basic, with a composite bill, not a clear one, and a rudimentary chartreuse color. The lure hadn’t even been in the water yet, but when he told me that…

MARC FRAZIER’S BOYHOOD dream was becoming a major league ball player. The kid was a natural. He started playing baseball at age 4; by the time he was a teen, he was not only a standout pitcher, he also excelled at first and third bases. Frazier was so talented, the San Francisco Giants drafted him straight out of high school! But Frazier turned down the offer and accepted a baseball scholarship at Chipola College (Florida) instead. “I wanted to play college ball to enhance my position in the draft,” he explained. “Then I injured my pitching elbow and had to undergo Tommy John surgery.” Upon healing, Frazier transferred to Nicholls State University in Louisiana. “Nicholls State is in the heart of redfishing and duck hunting country. My dad had gifted…

1 [Learn To Work With The Cold, Not Against It] If you’re lucky enough to live in a part of the country that has open water year-around, it seems only right to take advantage of it. With that said, fishing during the coldest months of the year can be tough without the proper preparation. Toughen Up The cold (pun intended) hard truth about fishing during winter is that it’s not always going to be pleasant. Nice, brisk boat rides on a springtime morning are still months away, and we’re past the warm, beautiful evenings of the summer, so mental preparation is crucial. There’s nothing you can purchase at Bass Pro Shops to help with mental toughness. However, if you have the proper equipment, your confidence to bear the cold will…

With giant waves crashing into his boat with enough force to sometimes lift the foot of his trolling motor out of the water, many would have found it hard to stand on the bow with Texas pro Chris Zaldain during the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite Series event at Lake Champlain last August. But Zaldain didn’t just stand. He didn’t just make precise casts. He didn’t just catch giant smallmouth on a glidebait. At one point, with the waves sending an influx of water into what’s supposed to be a dry space, Zaldain caught some big air, jumping high with both feet off the deck. His nickname is a cool play on words — Zaldaingerous. But this was just plain Zal-dangerous. Many have to be looking at the photo and thinking,…