WRB-2.0

Underspins have been around since the 60's, dart heads with underspins since the 70's, a fish head is a dart heat flatten. What was new was the tiny willow leaf blade. It's like saying Tom Mann invented the little George type tail spinner when that lure came out in the 50's as a Spin Rite by Pedigo. Mann's little George was a better shape and more successfully marketed as a bass lure as was Sworming Hornets, both excellent lures. I have a great deal of experience with Scroungers, tail spinners and underspins and was fishing them in the 70's for bass. What is important the tail spinners, underspins and scroungers are all good suspended bass lures. WRB

The guy in the boat with Aaron would know. Aaron fished Sworming Hornets a few years prior to that event, they were very popular out west back then and still are for that matter. I see Aaron got a lot of ink in Bassmaster on his version of the Scrounger jig. Aaron took credit for the development without mentioning his partners or the original inventor Bill Waters. The scrounger is a good suspended bass lure at Castias, Castaic or anywhere else. WRB

Glenmar the owner of Ranger, Champion, Stratos and several other boat brands has put them up for quick sale; http://www.boating-industry.com/output.cfm?id=2345977 WRB PS; Glenmar could also be sold as a business unit.

It's not unusual for state record size bass to be caught from small lakes, the SD record 9.3 came from a small pit lake. It's not unusual for anglers to exaggerate the size of the bass they catch, it's part of fishing in general. Few bass anglers get the opportunity to catch and handle big bass and most would over estimate a 7 lb bass to be 10 lbs before weighing it. I don't believe small lakes that freeze over for 3 to 4 months have a good population of big bass, the forage base may not support the growth. There is always a possibility that a few big bass live in any lake, it's survival of the fittest. WRB

Catt you get the point across with 1 sentence and it takes me a paragraph. I said the same thing in response #2; loss of wiggle. Catt related to intuition or knowing a bass has the lure by a combination of years of experience that can't be taught and that applies to nearly every underwater lure. You just know when to set the hook. WRB

A 75 acre lake is less than a mile long and you say 25' max depth, sparse weed cover, few rock piles and man made brush piles. What are baitfsih? crappie, bluegill and ??? The local expert sounds like he may be fishing at night with live bait, you don't see him during the day. Can you PM a lake name? Without knowing the topography of this little lake, trying to give you advice is difficult. You are currently catching bass in the top 10% of the population and wanting to go to the top 1%. The places you catch your biggest bass will also hold a few larger bass. You need to concentrate your efforts on specific spots that you know hold big bass and use lures or bait that these big bass are targeting. Matt's lures crappie or bluegill swimbait, jig & pig ( pork rind trailer-Superpork), big plastic worms like Mann's 12" Jelly worm and your current successful lures. Slow down and saturate the specific spots, stay on a spot for a few hours at a time. Fish the pre spawn and spawning periods heavily. WRB PS; don't listen to rumors.

Both federal and state maritime boating law, on navigable waterways, requires a boat under distress to be assisted by other boaters in the area. Inland coastguard should have been called for assistance. WRB

Pond bass live in and around the weed cover until the weeds die back. One reason is the weeds produce DO when they are green during the day time. When the green weed cover dies off, the decaying weeds use up DO, the bait fish and bass leave to "greener pastures" with higher DO levels and try to locate where the water is warmest. The warmest water should be in the deepest area of the pond as the water cools or where any springs may feed water into the pond. You can see springs by watching for fog patches. Wind blown shore areas and the dam are good places to start, higher DO levels and deeper water. If you see or meter active bass, then use reaction lures, if not then slow down and use slower moving lures. The colder the water gets, the slower and deeper you need to fish. WRB

Scroungers with flukes work good, different tight wiggle and the collar pushes a lot water. We use the 1/4 oz with baby flukes, 3/8 oz with standard fluke and 1/2 oz with super flukes in shad colors to work the water column. The collar helps to prevent brush snags, not to good in weedy cover. Good lure in clear structure lakes to work the entire water column. WRB PS; Bladerunner's spintrix works great on the hollowbody soft baits.

Aaron Martens used the Sworming Hornet during the 2004 Bassmaster classic and referred to it as a fish head. Blakemores early Roadrunner, horse head jig was the fore runner of this type of underspin jg. Martens made a deal with Blakemore shortly after the 2004 classic. Another good underspin is Bladerunner tackles spintrix http://www.bladerunnertackle.com A little off topic; the underspins work OK at Casitas when the bass are feeding on shad and excellent at Castaic year around. WRB

Most western bass fisherman will acknowledge 2 local bass fisherman who invented finesse fishing; Don Iovino and Dick Trask. Don published a book; Finesse fishing and the sonar connection and is in the fresh water hall of fame. Dick Trask however was more obscure, unless you fished western tournaments, then you knew the name. Trask is acknowledged for inventing the split shot presentation, Google; Dick Trask, WB article, it's a good read. WRB

Casitas bass are extremely line wary due to high fishing pressure. Suspended bass are suspended for a reason; they are inactive or feeding on shad schools. If you can meter bait and the thermocline depth, that should put you on feeding bass at the right depth. Structure spoons are very effective fished on 8 lb FC and drop shot 5" Roboworms fished on 5 to 6 lb FC in red crawler is a good choice at this time. Good luck. WRB PS; the spell check is located on the right side in blue letters.

We all have preferred technique and lures that we like to catch bass on; our "go to lures and presentations" Those are the rods, reels, lures that we pick up first and the majority of the time we catch bass with, regardless of what the conditions are. My favorite lures are casting jigs, plastic worms/creatures and swimbaits, always have those ready to go year around and only revert to light tackle or other presentations when fishing with someone else or feel compelled to catch a few bass and my go to stuff isn't working. I also use my sonar to locate bass on deep structured lakes and depending on the seasonal period will adjust my presentations to fish the depth the bass appear to be holding and mimic the prey the bass are feeding on. Force feeding bass your favorite lure isn't always the best presentation for that particular day on the water, but at the end of the day it's your time on the water to enjoy. WRB

I often must share water with tournament fisherman and usually just wait for them to leave and move on to another spot or area, then move in a fish the used water. Often when fishing a spot, tournament fisherman will fish quickly past me or wonder what I'm fishing for out in deeper water. It's not that big bass can't be caught using reaction lures, they can, just not often under the circumstances and conditions this thread questioned. Catts "fish deeper" reply is correct. WRB

I fish deeper outside structure where weather conditions are less of a factor. Most bass fisherman over react to cold fronts and change their tactics to the point they are ineffective. Tournament fisherman are run and gun type of bass fisherman because they are under restricted time to fish and covering a maximum amount of water gives them a opportunity to catch 5 keeper bass. Is it better to slow down and catch larger adult size bass or run and gun, that is a decision each fisherman needs to make for themselves. WRB

Think about the 80-20 rule, LMB are inactive about 80% of the time and active about 20%. Fish faster reaction lures when the bass are actively feeding and slower moving ,in their face type lures like jigs and soft plastics (worms & creatures) the balance of the time. If you fish fast reaction lures and present it perfectly to inactive bass, your chances of catching those bass is nil. Slow down and give those inactive something to eat that they can take time to strike. Bass being cold blooded animals slow down in cold water and may only be active for short periods during the day. WRB

I don't recall the name of the video; Big Mouth? where big bass are shown engulfing crankbaits and spitting them out without the angler detecting the strike, amazing footage. I believe the best hook set is a crank set and rod sweep. By cranking you get the hook point(s) started to grab flesh, the added force with the rod helps to penetrate the hook point(s) deeper. It's almost like a top water bite, you need the let the bass turn with the lure to get a good hook setting angle. By cranking you don't alarm the bass and it may keep after the fleeing lure. The loss of wiggle action is an indication the bass has the lure and a lot of the time the bigger the bass is the lighter the strike feels. WRB

Good reminder! With coldweather we (older) get stiff easy and are not as agile and accidents can happen quickly. Store a change of clothing in a plastic bag and keep it in the boat, it could save your life. Also know how to get back in your boat if you happen to go overboard, an emergency transom step works good. WRB

It is nearly impossible to predict accurately what a record size bass in a Tennesse water shed lake or anywhere else may strike. Each trophy bass fisherman has there own lures or baits they have confidence using, the odds favor the lure or bait they fish with most often. Sometime back I posted board topics regarding my opinion about giant bass (topics 1243873480 & 1244073579) based on my own experiences. Catt believes in and uses soft plastics, good choice. However I have never caught a bass 15 lbs+ on a plastic worm or creature; 14.2 lbs is my best plastic worm bass. Just because my preferred lure are jigs and swimbaits doesn't mean plastic worms and creatures won't work, they do. The best lure can't work unless it's fished in the right place at the right time. How deep big bass are located is dependant on both seasonal periods and the type of lake. I have caught a lot of 10 lb+ bass and the average depth where I fish is about 15' deep. I caught them spawning in 2" of water and 60' deep during the winter, that is why it is important to determine where the big bass are located and what they are feeding on. Jigs and swimbaits work extremely well during the pre spawn where I fish. Soft plastic worms and creature work well during the spawn and high overhead sun light is the best time to sight fish spawning bass. If you don't bed fish, then mid day sight fishing may not be a good time. I also love to night fish, however have never caught a giant bass over 15 lbs at night, lots of 10 lb to 12 lb bass and that doesn't mean a giant size bass can't be caught at night. WRB PS; Don Iovino, the father of finesse fishing, caught a 18.5 lb bass doodling a 5" plastic worm. Don spends 95% of his time finesse fishing, so the odds were his PB would a finesse fish. For me it's jigs.

You pay a premium price for a reel (spinning or casting) with a good drag, use it. The 1/3 line strength is a good ball park for all fishing reels. 8 lbs is about the maximum a fresh water bass rod can handle without breaking and most fresh water reel drags can hold. You can use your thumb to stop a casting reel spool or your index finger to stop a spinning reel spool, if needed. Use a scale to set your drag, then pull off some line to "feel" what a set tension is like. 4 lbs of drag tension is a lot more force then you might believe without testing it. Don't have a scale; use 1/2 gallon jug of water and try lifting it. WRB

Usually a smaller cove located near good feeding area will attract bass when they can push baitfsih schools into the cove and "trap" them. If there isn't anything in the cove that offers the bass something better then the nearby feeding area, they leave and relocate where life is easier. How do you know the bass are feeding in the cove? trail & error, sometimes you can see the activity. The place looks great, but nobody is home. WRB

The Gibson Co. lake thread lead me to believe you just might be promoting a fishery and nothing wrong with that. The reason I posted Murphy's book is his detailed illustrations of how big bass relate to structure and bass behavior from 40 years of remarkable catches of big bass. I fished with Bill back in the early 70's and he was very secretive back then and it surprised me how much detailed information he shared in his book. Murphy passed away from skin cancer a few years ago. Fishing sun up to sun down or longer and not bringing anything home to eat gets a remark from the wife occasionally. Please feel free to ask a specific question regarding catching potential record class bass; how would you fish in lake X to catch a record bass? Just need some info on lake X to answer properly. WRB

I get the idea you are fishing for more than a few helpful hints. Each lake has it's own potential for growing record size bass depending on several factors. The strain of largemouth bass, the quantity and quality of the prey, fishing pressure, length of the warm water period, quality of the water, deep water sanctuary, other competing predator fish are just a few to consider. If the lake is producing catches of NLMB over 10 lbs, the potential for a 14 to 15 lb NLMB is possible. There isn't any panacea's to catching trophy bass, no magic lure or presentation. Learn big bass habits, what they eat, where they live and spend a lot of time on the water and you may be rewarded with a catch of a life time. WRB

Throw a 6" weedless Hudd or for something bigger, an 8" 3:16 mission fish. You could also throw big wake baits, no worries there about getting hung. Agree the 6" weedless Huddleston should work depending on the type of baitfish the bass are targeting. Matt Lures soft Bluegill or Crappie is also a good choice. Hot wake bait today is the Lunker Punker. Wood, including trees, is considered cover. During the cold water period the big bass should be located near the dam area or the lower 1/3 of the lake. Structure (the dam), major points, humps with saddles near deep water, etc. Most giant bass are caught during pre spawn, spawn and summer nights. During late fall and winter cold water periods it is rare to catch record size bass. Although the big bait big bass theory works sometimes, big bass are often caught on small lures like jigs for example. If you are a serious trophy bass fisherman or want to be, then learning bass behavior is important. My recommendation is read; In Pursuit of Giant Bass by the late Bill Murphy. You may not agree with Bill on his techniques, however this is one of the best books written to date on big bass behavior and location in deep structured lakes. WRB

If you want to catch big bass consistently you must fish for them. I know this sounds ridiculous, but it's true. Take the time to learn what big bass in the lakes you fish are using as primary prey, then use lures that replicate that prey or the live prey, where the bass feed. Swimbaits are an excellent artificial lures and made in nearly every prey type across the country. Jig replicate crawdads primarily and crawdads are in every bass lake that has big bass populations. Low light or night when the lake is quite is a good time to target big bass. WRB