Category: Pros
Science: Bait Longevity
Here’s a subject that’s worthy of some discussion. Just how long should a good bait last, or how many bass should it catch before being relegated to the junk pile? This one popped into my head after receiving an e-mail recently from In-Fisherman field editor Ned Kehde. Ned is a big proponent of the Z-Man [...]
Martin, Stanley Going In TX Hall of Fame
If anyone needs proof about just how awesome bassin’ folks are, all you need to do is think about is not the bassers who are in the various fishing halls of fame, but all the people – some who you probably know – who could and maybe should be in one. In this case we’re [...]
How Often You Tie On Your Fave Bait?
In the course of doing the tres awesome daily BassBlaster e-newsletter – you have subscribed, yes?! – we ran across this quote from KVD: First of all, it’s wrong to have a favorite bait. You have to use what the conditions dictate. That being said, I have a lot of confidence in certain baits that [...]
Bassers Are Great: 2 Examples
We stumbled upon these while researching the 50 patterns recently uploaded to BassGold.com for Lake Norman, NC. I know you know it, but bassers are great. Check it – and btw, both quotes are from Bassin’Fan: Clay Dyer gave up more than 3 hours of fishing time to [a fellow competitor] him part of the [...]
How Well Do You Execute Your Frog?
Now that the first Elite Series back-to-back is done, we’ve been putting together the 1st- through 10th-place pattern info for BassGold.com and 6th-10th notes for Bassmaster.com. As part of that, had a long, interesting convo with Cliff Crochet, who finished 7th at the St. Johns. In that tourney he fished two frogs, all day every [...]
Non-Traditional Bed Fishing Tactics
We’ve touched on some of the most recent science concerning fishing for bedders before, and by and large, for most of the lakes throughout the country, the studies suggest it’s likely not an issue, at least for largemouth and spotted bass. The spawn is getting into full swing in many areas already, thanks to the warmer than [...]
Eyeblack: Bassin’s Last Logo Frontier?
A BassParade (or is that BassBlaster?) reader who goes by the handle Olebiker hipped me to this pic of Matt Greenblatt “wearing eye black like he’s going to play center field in an afternoon ball game” – except he was in a boat on the St. Johns River. My question, maybe yours is: Does that [...]
Ike, KVD, Cranks, Colors
Gonna hit four things here. 1. You’ve probably heard the well-known saying in the fishing biz, that baits are made to “catch fishermen, not fish.” In other words, if it doesn’t catch your eye in the store, you’re not bringing it home, regardless of whether it catches ‘em or not. 2. Bearing that in mind, [...]
Oddball Classic Colors?
Waded through a bunch o’ pattern info from the Top 11 at the Classic (all now in BassGold.com, some deets coming on Bassmaster.com or maybe already there), and these two color-related items stuck out for me. Ott DeFoe said – I believe to Bassin’Fan – that a key of the custom-colored crank he fished with [...]
Is Denny Really About Done?
Everyone see the article on Bassin’Fan titled, “Brauer Hints At Retirement…”? Was shocked to read this Denny quote: We (he and wife Shirley) built a second home on Lake Amistad this year and we’ve been down there since December,” he said. “I’ll be honest, I’ve been having so much fun fishing down there that it [...]
Hall of Fame: Another Great Night
I love the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. Love what it is, the folks behind it, the folks in it, the folks destined to be in it and the folks who go to the inductions every year. Because I, like you, love bassin’. Went to this year’s induction at the Classic, and have a few [...]
Science: Classic Coverage
Not everyone gets the chance to travel to the host site and partake in the Bassmaster Classic week of events. For every bass angler roaming the Expo floor, there are probably 10 more anglers following the event from home on their computer. We like to talk about making the sport a better spectator event, something [...]
Didya Get Your KVD Fathead Yet?
Don’t get it, the Fathead thing. Definitely get wanting to have a sports hero or rock star or whatever on the wall, when you’re a kid and your own room is your own room. Definitely get the bigger is cooler-looking thing. Don’t get the $90+ price tag. For that amount of cash, I’ll take my [...]
BASS’s Fish Wif KVD Contest
Did you see this yet? Now THAT’S a contest to enter. Whoever wins should challenge KVD to a fish-off and put him in the back o’ the boat….
A-Rig Not a Bass Killa?
Alan Clemons at the PAA recently put up an interesting post on the Alabama Rig. In it the guy who made the rig famous – Paul “kneel and rig” Elias – tells about the results of his and a few other’s tests of the rig. And it doesn’t appear to be a bass killa ever-wahr [...]
The High Price of Fuel
A couple interesting pieces of news hit the airwaves last week, both dealing with the cost of fuel. As bassers, we’re probably more affected than most when the price at the pump jumps the wrong way. Beside all the normal 9-5 commutin’, the kid’s after school activities, and whatever other chasing around you do, there [...]
Science: Who Goes Multi-Species?
According to a recent article posted over on OutdoorsFirst website, apparently Elite Series pro Brandon Palaniuk does. Being from Idaho might help in the matter, as I imagine many bassers in the northern part of the country might chase other fish species for one reason or another, especially those in states that have closed seasons [...]
Any Night-Bassin’-Only Baits Out There?
Was reading the other day an old article about short-armed spinnerbaits. In it Basil Bacon was talking about when spinnerbaits were first used in bassin’. Said they were first used only at night – I’m guessing because they don’t look remotely like anything natural. Then at some point a brave bassin’ soul decided to try [...]
The MLF: Just Fun or Serious?
Read with interest a piece on Bassin’Fan the other day about Major League Fishing. Why with interest? Because it piqued (not peaked) my interest a bit. I mean, I’m a bassin’ cynic just like you. Seen it all, done a bunch of it, just give me time to fish and some good tourneys to read [...]
Braid – Mono – Fluoro: Choices, Choices
One thing I noticed while browsing through all the Black Friday tackle sales last week is that about every manufacturer of line now has an available braid, fluorocarbon and monofilament to choose from. Another thing I’ve noticed is that from the sounds of things on the various fishing forums, lots of guys still have reservations [...]
What If VanDam, Clunn Laughed At You…
…Just Before Takeoff?! What what that do for your confidence? Well, it happened to a guy named Tim Sainato, a Missoura stick and I believe Table Rock guide at least at one point (can someone check me on that). The whole, amazing story (took place in 2000 maybe?) is too long for here, but bear [...]
K Short Winning Streak, Part 2
Here we go with the second and final part of the convo with Kevin Short on him chalking up three B.A.S.S. wins in 3 consecutive years. Pretty impressive. If’n you missed part 1, it’s here. MS River, Pickwick, Table Rock – not exactly like waters. For that matter, June, April, October – not exactly like [...]
K Short Q&A on Winning Streak
Yeah, that’s right, winning streak. With his semi-recent win of the Table Rock Central Open, Kevin Short has one B.A.S.S. win in each of the last three years. He also won the 2010 Pickwick Elite and 2009 Mississippi River Elite. Stats-crazy folks will note that that puts him in pretty rare air: KVD, Denny, Nixon, [...]
Do You Color Your Craw Tips?
Dion Hibdon and his dad are known for a pre-derby checking under rocks (actually, having Dion’s kids do it) to see what color the local crawfish are. From there, they adjust their bait colors accordingly. For Dion (and maybe Guido), that includes coloring the tips of the claws to match. Usually, they’ve said, orange, but [...]
Presentation Patience: Cool Story
Us bassin’-heads ran across this recently, in a place I can’t tell you yet because that might spoil an announcement coming at FishingGold.com. Anyhow, here goes, from the lips of the one and only Basil Bacon:
