WRB-2.0

Poached fish rule; can't fish in a closed area. In CA we have a lot of closed areas that are buoyed off and posted no fishing. Some areas are physically posted on the water, they have lake maps with closures illustrated that are handed out when you pay to enter and launch. It's up to the fisherman to know the rules. I caught my 19.3 casting "over the line" and observers claimed it was caught illegally, one reason I didn't get a "certified" weight because of the BS surrounding the catch up set me at the time. It can be a zoo at times. Too bad this bass will be disallowed based on mislead observers and a honest fisherman just being truthful about where and how he caught the bass. WRB

Most of the states except N. Dakota and few others that I can't recall at the moment. Canada; BC, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, some of the Maritime provinces, England, Scotland, Costa Rica and Mexico. 45 years of business and vacation travels with fishing as a goal. Australia and New Zealand are on top of my list to visit and fish. WRB

Chartreuse is a common highlight color in baitfish; shad, sunfishes and crappie. Chartreuse is a blend between lime green and canary yellow. Yellow runs from light yellow to orange yellow. Mixing silver/white with blues and greens plus chartreuse is a good baitfish combination. Mixing red and black with yellow is also common, but natures warning; when red touches yellow look out fellow. Bumble Bee patterns in crankbaits have always been good color combination. WRB

+1 WRB PS; pre-spawn/spawn period

Other than El Salto no lakes can rival Texas. KVD won the Gunthersville's Elite series with a 16+lb average for 4 days at 66 lbs 3 oz. The last CA delta event was won with a 22 lbs average; 66 lbs for 3 days by Ish Monroe. After the spawn the big girls go deep and continue to eat all summer, few DD's are caught by tournament fisherman after they go deep out west, during a weekend day. The US Open will be held at Lake Mead in a few weeks, my guess a 16 lb average for the 4 day event will win. WRB

LMB 21.74; official state record 22.01; Crupi record 25.1; "Dottie" Smallmouth 9.83 Spotted bass 10.27; official world record Take your pick WRB PS: big tournament bass is any LMB bass over 8 lbs in CA. I meant Missouri st record Posted above by Senile 1 Texas state records; LMB; 18.11 Smallmouth; 7.93 Spotted bass; 5.55 WRB PS; what is considered a big bass tournament in Texas?

LMB 21.74; official state record 22.01; Crupi record 25.1; "Dottie" Smallmouth 9.83 Spotted bass 10.27; official world record Take your pick WRB PS: big tournament bass is any LMB bass over 8 lbs in CA.

Most of the good trophy bass fisherman were or still are tournament fisherman. A good trophy bass fisherman knows when, where and how to catch big bass. A good tournament fisherman knows how to manage time on the water and catch 5 daily bass. The majority of weekend tournament fisherman rarely catch big bass and don't know when, where or how to catch them consistently. If that statement offends you, it shouldn't, and you are are tournament fisherman that can catch big enough bass to win or place high enough to get a check, congratulations; you are in the top 20% of all tournament fisherman. Do the math; 5 bass that average 4 lbs = 20 lbs, enough to win the vast majority of one day weekend bass tournaments. 5 bass that average 8 lbs = 40 lbs, not a common one day tournament weight during the summer. For a tournament to average 35 to 40 lbs a day to win or get a check, during the summer, are phenomenal weights. WRB

DD bass are only common during the pre-spawn- spawn period tournaments and night tournaments. Most tournaments in CA are 1 day, 6 hour events from 7A to 2P, very few 2 day events. Pre-spawn/spawn events the weights to win are in the 35 to 40 lb range. Summer about 1/2; 18 to 20 and 15 lbs will get you a check most of the time. Example the HBC-5, a 1 big bass event at the CA delta was won with a 6.9 lb bass, everyone expected DD's and at least a 12 lb to win. Summer tournaments can be tough out west. Best 1 day, 5 bass tournament weight is 62+ lbs., so a limit of DD's can be done in a tournament, it's a rare event. Some of the top trophy fisherman tournament fish; Bill Seimantel, Mike Long, John Kerr to name a few who are regulars at local tournaments and if there is a big bass bite, they are on it. WRB

Kurita told the Japanese interviewer he caught the bass near the Biwa bridge, under a dock. The Biwa bridge turns out to be a restricted area. http://www.kramergonefishing.com The George Kramer interview details this issue. Why is this a rumor when Kurita himself stated where he caught his fish? Let the Japanese resolve this issue, if indeed there is and issue. It's difficult for anyone that doesn't trophy bass fish to understand the jealousy involved by a few bass fisherman who have never caught trophy bass. When you add a potential world record catch, the crazies go nuts and start all kinds rumor through innuendo and passive aggressive comments. I hope the Kurita bass makes it to the record books, it's about time a a new LMB record is established. WRB

You are right, that could be misinterpreted or misstated. Most to me met over 50% of all the weekend tournament fishermen combined, excluding the top pro tournament trails. There will always be the top 20% that win 80% of the tournaments. The top 20% are excellent fisherman, extremely knowledgeable and skilled. The will also be the lower 50% that are learning, some will become the top 20%, most will stay where they are because fishing local bass tournaments is a good time out on the water. The good trophy bass fisherman spends a lot of time on 1 or 2 lakes and has a good knowledge of bass habits, better then most tournament fisherman. Let say you are a tournament bass fisherman and need to catch a bass over 8 lbs to win, where would you go on the lake and what would you use to catch the big bass? WRB

The only issue with the Kurita bass is the location it was reported to be caught may have been a restricted according to GK's interview and the original interviews in Japan. It's up to the Japanese authorities to clear that up, not the IGFA. The IGFA will review the application and accept it or require additional information and a possible personal interview and/or lie detector test. Fishing in restricted areas is common; most marina's have signs "no fishing" near launch ramps and dock areas that are rarely enforced for example. Technically a catch from a posted marina or casting over a buoy line could be a local violation and the IGFA couldn't accept a fish caught if a local authority enforced the rule, or witnesses (2) signed an affidavit, the fish could be considered "poached". Every state, county, city ordinance can affect a record catch. Anyone applying for the WR LMB will be under close scrutiny. Lets hope this catch makes it, if not it goes into the already bazaar history file for the WR LMB. WRB

It's been my experience once you can determine a particular big bass pattern on one lake, the daily rhythm of that pattern changes each day for a few days then changes completely or vanishes. There are days that bass don't react to any presentation anywhere on the lake. If someone claims they can catch good size or large numbers of bass every time out on the water, then questioning that claim is reasonable. I don't know of any bass fisherman who fishes a lot that doesn't blank occasionally. Some days it's just not right for you and nothing works, other days you are a genius and can't do anything wrong. We can praise the moon phase for good days and blame it for bad days, the truth lies somewhere within. WRB

Catt, you have posted a ton of good advice about fishing outside structure, because from experience you know where big bass live most of the year. How many weekend warriors leave the bank farther away than a casting distance? very few, although more each year. I mentioned club bassers due to the topic, should of said weekend warriors.

It's been my experience that the majority of tournament fisherman will not take the time to learn the habits of trophy size bass or get into the rythym of what the bass are feeding on in the body of water during the seasonal period they fish. One reason is time limitations; the tournament fisherman is restrict to a start time and weigh in time, what happens after or before, they believe doesn't affect them. The simple fact is most 5 bass type tournaments can be won in or near the marina they launch from. How many tournament fisherman would even consider that fact? very few, you can't run 75 mph in the marina and some are restricted areas. The lakes I fish are small and the spots are well known, few are secrets.Today's fisherman are knowledgeable and have state of the art tackle. Most tournament fisherman simply do not know bass habits and fish unproductive water hoping to catch bass with a magic lure or presentation. Good tournament and trophy bass fisherman take their time and fish productive water. WRB

The rumor the bass was caught from a restricted area came out immediately from other Japanese trophy bass fisherman. The live bait wasn't an issue as far I know. It's no different than our domestic trophy fisherman; a thousand eyes are on your every move. It was interesting to learn that Jim Bagley had a hand in planting FLMB in Japan with the help of Natio Nishiyama in lake Ikehara in 1988. Wait and see; it doesn't sound good for the Kurita bass at this time WRB

If you are fishing a big bass tournament, where 1 bass wins the prize, then you are trophy fishing with time limits and governing rules that usually restrict livebait and trolling. Most big bass fisherman will have a milk run of specific spots where they camp out. WRB

Tournament fisherman are governed by rules, day and time limitations. The trophy fisherman is unrestricted, within local law, to when, where and how to fish. The tournament fisherman has different goals; it's a contest to win money or club status by catching the heaviest 5 bass limit, within the rules. Generally that requires catching bass that average 3 lbs. The trophy bass fisherman can fish when he or she wishes and use whatever technique or presentation, including live bait and trolling. There are no off limit areas unless posted locally and no time limitations. The goal of the trophy fisherman is to catch the largest bass possible. Very different approach to bass fishing between a tournament angler and a trophy fisherman. The tournament fisherman targets aggressive young adult size bass with little life experience, easy targets. The trophy fisherman targets the the most experienced and wary bass in the lake, the giant bass. Both have different mind sets, both are challenging. When tournament fishing I target active bass early with reaction type lures first; buzzers, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, spooks, poppers, jerkbait and cover water trying to locate aggressive bass. When I find feeding bass then I will stay on them. As the day progresses the presentations slow down if the bass bite slows down or I need a kicker bass. When trophy fishing I start slow and check out known big bass locations by metering and probing quietly with swimbaits, big worms and jigs. If the location feels right, I will stay on that spot for a few hours before moving and may come back a few hours later during the day. WRB

One reason big bass are caught during the spawning season between 10 and 2 is optimal sight fishing conditions when the sun is over head or slightly behind your position. Nothing to do with feeding patterns, poor light is to the basses advantage during spawn. The vast majority of giant bass are caught during the spawn by sight fishermen, most of the other big bass are caught during low light conditions, light rain being optimal, during the pre spawn, advantage to the fisherman. WRB

I can speak for myself. The majority of the giant bass are caught during the pre spawn or staging period and during the spawn when they are most less wary or feeding prior to moving up into shallow water. Because I believe the moon phase affect spawning activity, it also affects the pre spawn. I spend every day possible fishing the pre spawn that last about 45 days where I fish; early February to mid March, most years. During that time period it's possible to have 2 full moon cycles, 1 every 28 days, depending on the February cycle. The 5 days of each of those cycles I'm on the water. The odds are that is when I catch my big bass and most other trophy bass fishermen are doing the same thing. Is it the moon phase or the belief in the moon phase? take your pick. WRB

Bass activity is cyclical during every 24 hour period. Activity changes due to several factors; weather, boat traffic and seasonal periods. When the conditions are ideal, bass activity peaks. It has been my observation that peak periods occur on a regular schedule, timing that schedule requires a lot of time on the water to figure out. If the active period occurs during a full moon cycle, with the moon at 12 o'clock, then you tend to believe that a full moon is good time. Remember that the moon can be over head during the day time as well as night, in regards to gravity affects. WRB

If bass never jumped they would be carp. If a big bass wants to jump, it's going to jump. Just enjoy the moment and try to keep the fish under control. WRB

The solunar table/ moon phase affects are ongoing debates. http://fishlab.nres.uiuc.edu/Documents/FME%202008.pdf is one study report that is contrary to commonly held belief that moon phases affects bass behavior. My observations over a lifetime experience supports the 5 day period around the full moon; 2 days before, full and 2 days after being more active feeding periods, during the pre spawn and summer periods. Reason; increased light allows sight feeding fish like bass to be more successful catching prey during the full moon cycle. Bass are very active during pre spawn and summer nights. The balance of the year, not sure and haven't noticed any pattern, except spawning cycles starting around the same full moon cycles. WRB

Big bass are more experienced than smaller bass and harder to catch for everyone. The old saying to catch big bass you must fish for for them. That means you can't catch a big bass if you are fishing in the wrong place at the wrong time and can when you are at the right place at the right time. Central CA, where you fish, has some excellent big bass lakes; Isabella, Kaweah, Pineflat and Success are all potential good big bass lakes. Fishing from shore you don't have a lot of options. Plastic worms and swimbaits are your best bet. During the summer very early morning evening or night is the best time. Deep water access areas; major points and dam zones are your best areas. For a swim bait buy yourself a plastic Lunker Punker wake bait*. Plastic worms; 7" Roboworm in cinnamon blue night crawler* for day and mid night for low light. Texas rig the worm with a brass n glass (Iovino products) and 3/0 # 011 Gamakatsu worm hook or equal. You will need 7'10" Okuma hvy swimbait or similar rod and reel to handle 25 lb line for the swimbait and a 7' med/hvy worm/jig rod and whatever reel that will handle 10 to 14 lb line for the worm. Fish water that is at least 30 feet deep and slopes shallow during the day. Good luck. WRB * suggested wake bait, Mattlures bluegill or another big bass wakebait will do. Roboworm makes a premium worm, another choice is Bonzai 9" in similar colors. PS; welcome, hope you find this reply after it was moved?

Yes, one time line class world record holder. WRB