Lake Smith….Friend or Foe?

By Rob Brewer

Everyone has a favorite lake to fish. Odds are it has been good to you in the form of fish. It’s a lake you know well and you’re confident whenever you fish it. On the other hand, we also have those bodies of water that we avoid fishing whenever possible. Whether it’s out of our way, too many “skunkings” or whatever reasons we come up with, we all have that one body of water we avoid whenever possible. For me, that one body of water is Lake Smith. If it were not for the tournaments BassJons holds there, I’d avoid it altogether.  

For you fans of the place, don’t fret, I’m not bashing the lake. It’s a fine fishery and probably has one of the highest potentials for catching a trophy (over 7 LB in my book) for miles. Year after year, our heaviest tournament stringers come from Lake Smith. So why it is that such a Lunker haven is not my first choice when going fishing?  

If, by chance, you’re unfamiliar with Smith, let’s put Smith under a microscope and examine it closer. The City of Norfolk manages the 198 surface acre lake. It has a concrete ramp with more room to moor boats up than there is to park boat trailers. Many multi-million dollar homes line its shores, so it has its share of docks, bulkheads and riprap. There are plenty of pads, cypress, snorkels and blow-downs along its shore. The water is always murky, with an average visibility of six inches, maybe ten inches at high noon. The deepest hole in the lake goes eight feet, but that’s just one hole. The vast majority of the lake runs two to four feet in depth, with three feet being a realistic average depth. The lake has a firm bottom in many places, the exception being where the pads are growing and a few “muck” beds near some of the cypress. The bottom itself has very few contour features, basically a big shallow flat. There are isolated stumps offshore and these are certainly worth fishing, as they aren’t pounded like the shoreline stuff is. There is no “good grass” (Bladderwort, Hydrilla, Coontail) growing in the lake, but it has its share of what I like to call “snot grass”. It’s that thin slimy green alga that is so fine it can work its way into a ball bearing swivel. Aside from bass, the lake contains some huge flathead catfish, channel cats, pickerel, carp, crappie and other panfish species. I’m not positive, but I don’t think the lake has strong shad or herring forage base. There are a few large snapping turtles and plenty of the wood turtles. There are cranes, herons, ospreys and cormorants as well. 

Here’s how I translate the above paragraph. We have a small, shallow, non-stratifying lake. The water is always murky, keeping the fish shallow and tight to cover. Since there is no grass, the fish have only two options, shallow wood or the pads. So you ask, what is my problem? Well, that’s just it. It sounds so simple to fish, but I tell you, this place confounds me! If it weren’t for the quality of the average fish caught here, I’d just call in sick come tournament day. But I need the points, even if it’s only “show up” points. 

I have no problem buying into “a bass only needs enough water to cover his back”. I have proved this to myself often enough and I have no trouble believing it. What doesn’t feel “right” is fishing thirty feet from the shore and the boat is only in two feet of water, flat, featureless water. I know this is purely psychological; nonetheless, it still affects me to an extent. 

A bass has two basic needs to survive: food and oxygen. Throw in cover to make him easier to catch. Looking at tournament weights, it is obvious that this lake meets all the needs of the bass.  

Let’s look at some proven baits on this lake. Spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, crankbaits, floating worms, jigs and Texas rigged plastics have all accounted for quality fish here. So choose your weapon according to conditions and your confidence in it. The ideal plan is to have a partner and the front guy fish one of the faster water covering baits, while backseat dissects cover with some sort of weedless bait. I feel this is the most efficient means of determining the preference of the bass that day. Due to the amount of cover, the big fish potential and murky water, there is no reason whatsoever to use anything less than 17 pound test line here. If you do decide to down size, you have been warned. 

If I were to stress two words, they would be patience and concentration. You’ll notice I didn’t mention confidence. That’s because we are already confident of where the fish are and we know we can catch them. It’s just a matter of putting the bait on them. That’s my philosophy. Take it or leave it, but it aides me when the chips are down. Back to patience and concentration. I say patience because you don’t need to zip all over the lake trying to find the fish. Try a little of both pads and the wood. Once you catch a fish, focus on that cover primarily. Keep in mind the bass is an “edge” fish. Work the cover accordingly, especially when you hit the pads. Pay attention here. The pads will often “bird dog” the fish location for you. You can watch the pads and see them move. Sometimes it is only carp, as they love to root around their bases. Always assume it is a bass until you can prove otherwise. 

As far as concentration goes, it can cost you fish if you don’t give it 100%. Because this lake is so shallow and in some places void of cover (at least to the eye), it is easy to convince yourself “there’s no way a fish is in there”. You make a token cast to prove it and wind up getting bit, but miss the fish. Soft plastic baits are more forgiving in this respect. So if you find this concentration thing affecting you, consider tilting the odds in your favor by using one. 

The next psychological effect this lake has is its size. Not only is it small, but it gets its fair share of fishing pressure. It is not uncommon to find yourself fishing “used water”. Don’t sweat it. Easier said than done, but there are several ways of dealing with it. Once you catch some fish directly behind another boat, you’ll find it easier to deal with. Meanwhile keep this in mind to reinforce your confidence. How many times have you been fishing front seat and backseat catches a fish right behind you? Same thing, only there’s fourteen feet between hooks instead of one hundred. I shouldn’t share this with everyone, but here’s trick to use only on boats that fail to observe etiquette and actually cut you off. Its psychological warfare at its best, but not unlawful. The trick is to take an old clip off of a stringer or set of culling floats and tie it on one of your rods (preferably 20lb outfit, to minimize risk). Clip a fish on it and leave it in your livewell. When the guy who cut you off isn’t looking, slip the fish over board and “catch” him again. Hold him up, pretend to unhook him and stick him in the ‘well. Do this again about four minutes later. Now the fish are all yours! He’ll be so busy watching you and failing to concentrate, he’ll never see his line swim off. For the record, I’ve never actually done this, but I have been cut off enough to cook up the idea. 

Lake Smith is a fine fishery just waiting for you to reap its rewards. In my book, it’s a “mental lake” if ever there was one. The secret, if you can call it that, is to fish here as often as possible. Pick an arm of it and work it inside out. Remember to look at the offshore side of the boat every now and again. See that lone stump out there? Pitch to it. Both you and your partner pick a word, one concentration, the other, patience. Remind each other of your word several times through out the day. It might sound odd here, but trust me; it’ll put fish in the boat. 

In closing, I’d like to part with these words. Catch and release. The odds of catching a “personal best” from this lake are really high. For the experienced basser, letting an eight-pound fish go is not hard to do, for the neophyte it may not be so. This is a personal choice and there is no “wrong” decision, but there is a “better” decision. If you take a trophy fish, give serious thought to letting it go. Measure (length & girth) and photograph the fish. You can always have a fiberglass replica made. It will look more life-like and “outlive” any real fish mount. Returning the fish will ensure it passes along its superior genes and enable others to enjoy the same memories it provided you. One day we’ll all be “fishing” from our rocking chairs and that’s all were going to catch.

 Fishing is life, Rob Brewer 

 Blastoff to Weigh-in

(An insider’s look at tournaments)

By Rob Brewer

Recently, I was asked a few questions about our tournaments and what all goes on during a typical day on the water. It was suggested to me that it may make for a good article for those who are considering “getting their feet wet”, but are uncertain as to what a typical tournament day involves. Since I am the tournament director for the club, I thought I might “walk” you through a typical tournament from start to finish.

 Know up front before you read any further, this isn’t a “how to win” tournaments article. That is something I’m NOT qualified to write. Sure, I’ve won a few and taken home some money, but I’m not always in the winner’s circle. It’s all I can do at this point to consistently finish in the top five. This article is more of a “what goes on” type, written for those are shall we say…. Curious. 

First realize there is a lot of “behind the scenes” activity that takes place. Most of this happens without the contestants giving it a second thought. It is mostly administrative in nature and just seems to “happen” for most of the anglers involved. There is the drafting of, and voting on the tournament schedule, then bouncing it off of other area club’s schedules. Once approved and released, it is posted on our website. As the tournament nears, I’ll call the lake patrol and request the gate be opened early to accommodate our launching prior to sunrise, so we can blast off at sunrise.

Two weeks before the tournament’s scheduled date, I’ll send out a “group email” to all members and those on the waiting list. This email will basically ask whether or not you intend to fish in the next tournament at Lake X. After a week goes by and I have all the replies I am going to get, I will conduct a drawing to match partners. I have all the boater’s names in a coffee can and all the non-boater’s in another. I simply remove a name from each can until everyone is paired up. There are more boaters than non-boaters; so often a few boaters are paired up together and it is up to them to decide whose rig will be employed.

Once the drawing is completed, another email is sent out. This one is called the “pairings”. It will have all the pairings listed, blast-off time and any special instructions included. These instructions might be a reminder that it is supposed to rain or to be extra early because we have to buy permits for a Portsmouth Lake that is not covered by our Norfolk permits or anything else worth mentioning. Usually during the week between the pairings email and the actual tournament, partners are talking strategy, fish location and whatever other “Intel” they may have gathered lately. 

Now it is tournament day. This is the fun part. If it is your first tournament, it’s probably a day you’ll remember the rest of your life. There are those who are always there early, launch, and get everything situated. You’ll find me in this group because I have other duties that take from my time in the morning. I try to be the first one at the ramp, get my boat in the water and park my vehicle. There is much to do before blast-off. While everyone else is comparing “dock talk”, I have entry fees to collect, livewells to inspect, waiver forms for guests to fill out and there’s always a few questions to answer. If you are fishing with us as a member or guest, your basic responsibility is to be at the ramp early enough to launch your boat or get your gear into your partner’s boat, pay me your entry fee and be ready to go before blast-off. Blast off is always sunrise for that particular day. It is not required, but some observe the etiquette of the non-boater paying the boaters $5 entry fee. 

As the time nears for blast-off, all of the boats are fired up and idle out into the water surrounding the ramp. Weigh-in time is reiterated and I announce the time I have on my watch. I mention my watch because it’s also the penalty clock as well. If everyone who said they were fishing is already there, we’ll sound the air horn, indicating blast-off. If not, we’ll wait until the “very minute” of sunrise, then blast-off. If you are later than sunrise, it does not matter if you are just pulling up to the ramp or miles away, the field is off to go fishing against the clock. If you should arrive late, you must go find a member of the club and have them inspect your livewell prior to you actually fishing and pay your entry fee at weigh-in.

During the course of the tournament day it’s “fishing as usual”. Many of the boats will talk to each other briefly and discuss how the day is going. It may be as simple as holding up a hand with the number of fish in the livewell or it may be a five-minute discussion on where and how they were caught. Everyone puts forth their best effort and the cards fall where they land.

As the weigh-in time draws near, many boats begin to fish their way back closer to the ramp. Come weigh-in, I am already back monitoring the field and looking to see if I have to “use the clock” on anyone. At weigh-in, usually 4:00, all contestants must either have their boat beached or be hauling it up on the trailer. Once I establish accountability of the field and no longer have to “watch the clock”, I can start to set up the scales. Once the scales are assembled and I have a scoring sheet ready, we begin to weigh fish. I usually weigh the fish and call the weight to the recorder. Huck, our Vice President, usually fills this role and he does a fine job at it. We don’t have a particular order to weigh-in; it’s sort of first come, first served. Some guys who have a nice limit try to hold off and weigh-in last, just to make the current contender sweat a little. Stan and his partner of the day are famous for this.

Once the weigh-in is completed, the winner is announced. Then the field is ranked first through whatever place, pending the number of teams participating. Once the field is ranked, I pay the angler who caught the lunker of the day his prize money. This is required by the rules to be split amongst the team, unless otherwise agreed to before hand. We then conduct our club meeting. The “official” portion is very brief. We address any issues or vote on items that need it and the meeting is adjourned. Then it’s time for “how it was done”. The top finishers discuss how they caught their fish. As with any group, it is basic at first, but the longer you stick around, the more details you can extract.

Personally, I can talk fishing better than I can actually do it, so you’ll find I’m always one of the last to leave, regardless of where I placed. After all, I’m here to learn. Aside from actually fishing, I know of no better way to learn than to be around guys who were just on the water piecing together the same puzzle I was trying to put together. 

That my friend, is a typical tournament day of ours. Sometimes the weather is too cold, too hot or raining, but at least we’re fishing. We have a great time and it really is a great bunch of guys who would do anything for each other. It doesn’t matter if it’s Bob breaking another rod, me trying to float my truck or Rex losing his fish and Bang-o-lure at the boat, there will always be a good fish story at the end of the day. Hopefully, this has given you a good overview of what goes on in a typical tournament of ours. Give it a shot. Theirs is no better learning tool than fishing in tournaments.

Fishing is life, Rob

A Maintenance Resolution

By Rob Brewer 

By now, many of you are suffering from an acute case of cabin fever. You’re just waiting for the first warm days of spring to arrive so you can go out and catch those roe laden pre-spawn mules. A few diehards are still out there catching bass, myself included. Whether your boat is hibernating in the garage, under a cover or still seeing use, there’s a lot more to preparing for the coming season than just buying a 2004 fishing license and lakes permit. 

Were going to look at getting your gear ready for the up coming season. The hardest part of which, is getting off your “duff” and actually doing it. Sure, you can make excuses…it’s not going anywhere, the NFL playoffs are on…. but at the same time, nothings getting fixed if you walk that path. Promise yourself that you’ll put aside the next free weekend you have and dedicate it to the task at hand, prepping your boat and tackle, especially the things that are always neglected. Besides you can listen to the playoffs on the radio while you work. Young anglers are always willing to give Dad a hand too, especially when you put a screwdriver in their hand and have them remove bulbs and other simple tasks. 

The first step involves preparation. There are a few things you can do the week before the weekend you’ve dedicated arrives. First, sit down and identify that one major malfunction you had again and again last year. Whether it was a faulty livewell connection, binding tie down strap, whatever…. Identify it. That is first on the hit list to get fixed. The second thing to do is buy a small memo pad that will easily fit inside the glove box of your vehicle. We’ll talk more about this later; just go buy it before hand. Read over the checklist (below) to get an idea of what you might need to buy before hand. Get these items ahead of time so you have them on hand. That way, you can spend the weekend actually working on the boat instead of shopping. Plus it can be construed as another excuse to go to the new Bass Pro Shops. 

I suggest dedicating each day to a specific “group”. Day one is boat, motor, trailer, batteries and trolling motor. Day two is rods, reels, accessories and tackle. Get up “early” on the weekend that you’ve put aside, pour yourself a cup of coffee and grab hold of that memo pad you bought. Get ready for a long day. 

Here’s a checklist (the items are in no particular order) I think makes for a good starting point. It is just the basics of every boat. Some of you will have specific items to repair/replace or improve. Just use it as a guide to assist with anything you may have overlooked. 

TRAILER 

Remove all the bulbs (one at a time) & record the numbers (types) in your memo pad. 

Sand all the corrosion off the bulbs and from inside the sockets. 

Spray both with WD40 before reinstallation 

Go over EVERY nut & bolt on the trailer with a wrench and socket. Make sure they are tight. 

“Break” the lug nuts and spray WD40 on the threads. 

Record the trailer’s serial & model number in your memo pad. 

Adjust (if necessary) your bunks and rollers. Replace/recarpet any that need of it. 

Grease the tongue jack and winch “teeth”. 

Inspect/replace the winch strap, transom tie-down straps or other load securing straps. 

Repack wheel bearings and if you don’t have them consider installing bearing buddies. These are “too easy” to install (all you need is a rubber mallet or hammer & piece of wood) and make greasing bearings as easy as squeezing the handle of a grease gun. 

Check the condition of those “cheap” little plastic frames that hold your license plate on the trailer. They get brittle with age. Consider bolting it (license plate) to the trailer or using zip ties. Write trailer license number in your memo pad. 

Check the tires (and spare) for proper air pressure; tread wear and signs of dry rot. Replace any that need it.  

Record tire size in your memo pad. 

Check/clean the “pig tail” (wiring harness) that plugs into your vehicle. Spray more WD40 here too. 

Check the condition/ alignment of your “guide posts” if you have them on your trailer. If you don’t have any, consider installing them. Gone are the problems of “lining up” just so on the trailer when recovering your boat. You can also install some strips of reflective tape on them. They’ll be easier to see when launching in the predawn darkness. 

BATTERIES 

Check all cells for proper fluid levels & wipe the tops of the cases clean. 

Test each cell with a hydrometer (if not sealed cases) Add electrolyte or distilled water pending the results of your test. 

Clean the posts and all connections. Time for more WD40! 

Install a means of fastening your batteries in place if not already equipped as such. 

OUTBOARD MOTOR 

Take it to a professional if you have no clue about anything. 

Change the oil & filter (4 stroke)  

Change the gear oil in the lower unit 

Inspect/ replace spark plugs. Be sure not to substitute wrong plugs and check their gap before reinstalling them. Torque them to specs. 

SLOWLY pull out the starter rope and inspect for wear, replace if necessary. 

Remove prop and inspect thrust bearing and look for pieces of fishing line fouled in it. 

If your motor uses shear pins, now’s the time to buy some spares.  

Record the shear pin size in your memo pad. 

Add STA-BIL or other preservative to your fuel if it’s sitting for any length of time. 

Inspect/ replace fuel filter 

Inspect/ replace fuel line, connections and tank. 

Record the propeller pitch and diameter in your memo pad 

Record the outboard motor serial and model number in your memo pad. 

Check transom clamps for tightness and alignment on centerline.  

TROLLING MOTOR 

Record the model and serial number in memo pad. 

Now’s the time to buy these shear pins too. 

Remove propeller and look for old fishing line. Consider replacing if in poor shape or at least file out those dings. It will make less “noise” underwater. 

Check mounting hardware and tighten/ replace if necessary. 

Clean/ WD40 socket and plug 

Lubricate (w/ graphite powder) cables on foot control models. 

BOAT 

Record hull identification number (HIN) and model number in memo pad 

Record registration number and lakes permit number in memo pad. 

Remove bulbs from lights & record numbers (type) in memo pad. Remove any corrosion and WD40 them before reinstalling. 

Clean out the livewell and remove pump. Clean any debris from inside the “pick up” screen. Consider upgrading it to a stronger pump. (500 GPH minimum, 750/800 GPH optimum) 

Do the same to your bilge pump. 

Inspect & replace any PFD’s that have frayed or torn. See VDGIF website for specifics. It’s still a fine if you have them, but are not serviceable as defined in the law. Besides, it’s your life were talking about here. Get out of the “It can’t happen to me” mindset. 

Inspect all your fuses, record sizes in your memo pad and buy spares to have on hand. 

Inspect or replace fire extinguisher, first aid kit & flashlight. 

Inspect/ assemble a “spare parts” kit. Keep it simple though. 

Hide (where you can find it) a spare drain plug somewhere in the boat. Possibly duct tape it in the bottom half of your outboard cowling. 

Vacuum out rod lockers, under console, all carpet, etc. 

RODS 

You can get as extensive as you want. Some go as far as wiping down with furniture polish; cleaning cork grips, inspecting guides, etc. Do what you are comfortable with. For me, that’s basically a quick “look see” at the rod. I feel I already “know” if something happened to my rod. But that’s just me. 

REELS 

 At a minimum, peel all the old line off. If you have a lot of reels, this can be done with little effort like so. Get an old wire coat hanger, while holding the hook portion in one hand; place your other hand directly below it on the wire frame. Now pull your hands apart as far as you can. Once you have “elongated” the hanger, bend and flatten the hook portion with a pair of pliers so it can be put in a drill’s chuck. Now you can wind all that line off your reels and toss the whole mess in the trash when you’re done. Don’t refill with fresh line until it gets close enough to when you will actually go fishing again. 

Next consider lubing your reel’s gear train. This too is something you can ignore, but not forever. When was the last time you did it? Never? Well, if the reel is a few years old you might want to consider it. You be surprised what kind of “life” can be breathed back into an old reel that has dirt and junk inside it. If you don’t know how, I wouldn’t recommend trying it without a schematic of the reel in front of me. These can usually be found on the reel manufacturer’s website. Sometimes a piece just “falls” out when you open it and unless you know where it went, it is one of the most boring puzzles I’ve ever assembled. If you’re still not comfortable going there, at least clean the reel’s exterior with a Q-tip and some more WD40. Be sure to get inside the level wind hole and down inside the frame and atop the reel foot. 

If you have expensive reels, engrave your name on the bottom of the reel foot. It’s out of sight and just might help convict a tackle thief someday. 

Someday, I’m going to try “super tuning” a reel. That’s where you open up the gear case, smear some moly sulphide or other lapping compound on the gears, and chuck the reel’s drive shaft in a router or other tool capable of generating something in the vicinity of 5,000 rpms. Chuck the reel in and “rev her up” for about 30 to 40 seconds. Remove the centrifugal brakes first or they’ll burn up. Disassemble; clean the gears and reassemble, then relube. The result is supposed to be one of the smoothest, most sensitive reels you’ve ever used. I have not done it yet, but I have a few old Shimano’s that are volunteering. 

TACKLE 

Here’s a subject that I could write thousand- page dissertation on. Don’t worry, I won’t. But it’s something that deserves serious thought. I’ll try to focus on these two words. Organize and minimize. 

Organize what you have so you may find whatever you may be looking for. Consider buying several Plano cases and categorizing your tackle in the cases. That doesn’t mean you’ll need to bring all these cases with you fishing. But you will easily be able to put together a case (or two) of what you may need for a day on the water. 

Minimize what you take on the water. I know it’s common “phobia” to worry about getting caught without something you need or running out of something you have. But really, when is the last time it happened? Probably hasn’t has it? I mean sure, you may have forgotten the pliers or some other item, but have you ever actually ran out of a given lure? Purge the junk. You don’t have to throw it out, just leave it at home. Its there if you need it.  

If you have gone over all these items as mentioned, odds are you found a few potential deficiencies that were waiting to “pounce” on you at some point during the upcoming season. Hopefully, your actions staved them off and will let you continue to fish unhindered through the season with no or minimal problems. At the same time, you’ve just become more familiar with all your equipment and how it works. 

Now take that memo pad you have with all that info in it. Throw it in your glove box and leave it there. Next time you’re at the store and looking for whatever bulb, fuse, or part you need, you have all the info needed sitting out in your car. Just don’t forget its there. 

Once you take the time to do all these checks and repairs, you’ll want to go fishing just to experience the fruits of your labor. By all means do so.  

Fishing is life, Rob Brewer 

Going Pro or BUST 

Some Things Anglers Should Know Before Going Pro…Is It Worth It? 

Have you ever thought about taking your skills to the next level? Many anglers have pondered the idea and just know that they can make it happen. There are few diamonds in the rough that can actually compete at that level, but those who have the skills and talents to compete at the next level need to understand that they cannot just jump in on any of the Pro Tours, there are steps in between in order to just qualify for a Pro Tour, which are a feat within itself to accomplish.  

There are qualifications…

For instance, in order for one to qualify for the B.A.S.S. Pro Tour they would need to qualify; meaning that an angler would have to fish the Open Tours and fish well enough to be considered. Not that the Open Tours do not have Pro’s, but the Pro Tour names are not quantified like Van Dam, Yelas, Brauer, etc. And believe it or not, those Pro’s also fish the Opens, giving them another opportunity to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic. But anglers need to understand they must first get past the “Wanna Be Pro’s” like themselves, who have been fishing the Opens for years and still haven’t made it. Then they can consider fishing against the “Bigger Name” Pro Anglers. Some Pro’s strictly fish Open Tournaments and never fish the Pro Tour, even when they qualify to fish the Tour. Angler’s fishing in the Federation cannot break into the Pro Tour, but can qualify a slot in the Classic after some rigorous efforts to win. But that Angler would have to be a standout, not only within the Club, but the Region and the State, then the angler would have to compete with the largest organized fishing organization loaded with talent across the Nation; not just 175 other anglers. Also, only the Top 100 on the Tour can return to the tour. The Top 15 among the other Opens will also qualify for the other remaining slots on the Tour. This is no different than the Wal-Mart FLW Tour; anglers just can’t walk in from the ground up, they must qualify to be one of the elite in the Everstart Series and/or be accepted after going through several stages. Sure there are ways to get into the FLW Tour, but that wouldn’t be smart without first learning the ropes. 

Start Small…

Anglers should take small steps into advancing into a Professional career. The meaning of small steps would be, look for other Tournament Trails that get recognition on a National level. There are organizations out there that are just as competitive as the Pro Tours, but their names are not in neon lights; that doesn’t mean they are not good. The Federation and the BFL’s are great places to begin, but they are not the only National affiliations out there. You have the Pro-Am’s, American Bass Angler’s Association (ABA), Angler’s Choice, Fisher’s of Men and the list goes on. These are all well-known circuits that are just as competitive.  

Local Competition …

In reality, fishing the small Local Club or even Open Tournaments can be more competitive than some of the Tour Tournaments. Not that the fishing experience is better, but the local knowledge of the lakes structure and cover, knowledge of the lures and presentations and the knowledge of the competitors is a major benefactor to the local anglers. Within the local community of anglers, there will be a select few that are the “Cream of the Crop,” who will consistently place well in tournaments and win. Anyone can fish, but can they consistently put together a pattern that puts them in the Top 5 or 10 percent of tournament places? Can they honestly say that they are part of the elite, the “Cream of the Crop” within their local fishing community? If an angler can honestly believe that and say that with confidence, then more than likely they are the ones to look up to. Sure, anglers are in competition with the fish, but you have some anglers that can read fish. They understand the nature of the fish, the season, the migration patterns, the current weather conditions, etc. Those anglers can take their knowledge of the lake, added together with the past, current and throughout the day weather conditions and put a plan together right there at the ramp before launch and become successful. Now, you are not only in competition with the fish, you are in competition with the field of anglers that can dissect the current surroundings and conditions on a whim, creating a successful plan and a positive outcome at the end of the day. In any local fishing community, those anglers know who they have to beat because of the vast knowledge they carry. These anglers can also take that same knowledge and successfully transfer that onto an unfamiliar lake. If given the same Top 5% of the local anglers on their home lakes and put them in competition with the Pro’s, it would be best to put your money on the local angler. Not that the Pro’s won’t be able to compete, but because of their lack of knowledge of the water being fished. That is why competition within your community can be more fierce and competitive than those at the next level; because anglers are competing against other anglers that have a vast knowledge of the lake, making the level of competition stiffer.  

Nothing is taken away from the Pro’s perspective of what they can do on lakes that aren’t fished consistently by them. The Pro’s have the ability to look at a map, eliminate waters, scrutinize the lake and put together a game plan with the conditions being faced. Also, they fish against other anglers that may consider a particular body of water their home lake, making their outcome of winning or placing in the money even less. Another ability that the Pro’s have is that they have been there and done that, especially the old Veterans. Great Pro’s have money and they utilize that money to their advantage. Whether that is to pay Guides for trips and information, paying or using other anglers to fish for them and relay the information back so that they can rest up or satisfy sponsor obligations, flying in planes to get a bird’s eye view of the lake, etc. The thing is, Pro’s who have the money, take advantage wherever and whenever they can. When all is said and done, if an angler cannot compete within their own small local community or region and know that they won’t be getting much help because they are not well known or don’t have enough money to hire and pay for information, it would be best that they not take it to the next level. 

The Horror’s Not Shown On TV…

As Anglers, we love to see the Pro’s on TV and see how easy it is for them to win. That is because it’s on TV. Within our own small community, we don’t see the disasters that take place. That isn’t what the Tour level or the levels just below them are trying to promote.  

With 365 days in a year, a Tour Pro can spend at a minimum 250 days on the road, leaving them with 165 days to spend with their personal life. Those 165 days aren’t spent in a row of 165 consecutive days, they are scattered about throughout the year. Even those days spent at home are spent evaluating their previous tournaments, upcoming tournaments and events, contacting current sponsor’s and pursuing new one’s as well, up keeping their boat and motors, the house up keep and the list goes on. We as anglers know how tough it is at home with just a day-to-day job and having to just keep up on the house, vehicles, boats, etc. It’s not that easy.  

Things not shown…

One of the ugliest numbers that the average angler doesn’t see is the Divorce rate; somewhere in the ball park of 65%, if not higher. What isn’t shown many times are the families. Sure, on TV anglers see Jay Yelas, Kevin Van Dam and a few other Pro Angler families out in the audience, but look at who we are talking about? We are talking about the elite, million dollar anglers. Money makes the family life easier, whether they are on the road with you or at home, it’s all about the money that an angler can bring home to support their families.  

Family Support…

Families play 2, and sometimes 3, major roles to a Pro Angler. First, the family is the angler’s number one supporter. If an angler doesn’t have the support of the family, it will destroy the family or shorten the anglers Pro Tour career. Second, they become a home base for those angler’s and the family can take care of personal matters while they are away on Tour. And third, would be those families that understand that this is a way of life for them and they make every effort to help manage the angler. The family becomes part of the business by freeing up the time needed for an angler to allow him to fish tournaments, practice or experimenting with new products, satisfy sponsors by attending shows and seminars, and most of all rest. If the family can become part of the business particularly the management end, it would relieve that angler of so much stress on the business side and allow him the time to focus on fishing. Also, when it’s time for the angler to come home, it allows him to spend more time with the family and not working the business. Family members can assist with knowing where to spend the money, locating new sponsor’s, satisfying current sponsor’s, scheduling, receiving and sending products, networking with other anglers and more; all the things to keep the Angler updated on current issues on the industry; basically, the family becomes the Angler Management team. If an angler can get the support of the family, while on the road, it makes it that much easier. The FAMILY is the biggest obstacle that an angler must face. Without the family or a good management team supporting that angler, that angler will misplace his focus and his chances of success are depleted.  

If an angler doesn’t have a family, everything is on the angler; the fishing and the business side. But the angler doesn’t have the stress of having to support the family.  

Road Time…

If the angler is single and doesn’t mind being on the road, living out of a suitcase, going from hotel to motel or sleeping in a truck, then it isn’t too bad for them. But no one likes to live that way, that isn’t the featured life people want. Again, on TV anglers don’t see the sacrifices these Pro’s make because they can’t afford hotels or motels. Some anglers will room together to lower the cost, but what about those practice days when they aren’t hooked up with a fellow angler? Who likes the idea of living out of a suitcase 250 days out of the year? Who really gets enough rest sleeping in a truck; even if it does have a make shift bed? Is that even healthy? Anyone whose taken a good long nap or slept under these conditions know that they don’t get as much rest as they would have liked and they don’t wake up as refreshed. Getting on the road constantly with little rest or being exhausted from either fishing or running to and from seminars; and more than likely pulling a boat, that can’t be safe. When a person is that tired, they become delusional and they are unsafe on the road. What about food? Who really likes those small cans of Bennie Wennie’s, sardine and crackers, sandwiches all the time? When anglers are on the water, they are the best thing in the world, but that gets old quick. What about when anglers are in the hotel, there usually aren’t any accommodations for anglers to cook anything, except for a microwave. Some bring small grills along and cook burgers or eat fast food on the way. But when do they get a nice home cooked meal? They may get a cooked meal when they are near a fellow angler’s home or something, but that isn’t going to happen most of the time. For the most part, anglers are basically roughing it.  

If the angler has a family that he must support, he better be winning tournaments or have same darn good sponsor’s that kick out some mighty checks. But money isn’t the only factor when it comes to the family; it’s time spent away. If we listen to the Pro’s carefully, they try to support their families by expressing how important they are to them and their business. But if it’s one thing that they can all agree on it would be the times that they have missed watching their children grow up. Basically, the family grows without the Pro Angler, except on a few occasional days. The spouse is home continually wondering why they are doing this; not only are the anglers stressed and exhausted, but the spouses at home working and raising children are just as, if not more, exhausted. They assume that the angler is out there having fun, enjoying what they do, while they are at home raising children alone and taking care of business the way a family should be. It’s almost like being separated, but it’s not legal and the angler comes home occasionally to visit. If an angler has children, can they truly say that they were a large part of their children’s lives? How many birthdays will be missed; X-mas, Thanksgivings, school plays, school sports, skinned knees/elbows, first words/steps or when they go to the hospital and need the support of that person? The children know you, but they really don’t know you because of the time spent away. Sure, there are exceptions, but that’s the problem, there are exceptions. There shouldn’t be exceptions when it comes to the family life. Too many times I have listened and heard the stories that anglers wished that they could have spent more time with their families; especially their children. But the sport kept them away. This isn’t just targeted towards anglers, but professional athletes across the board. Professionals do it for the Glory of winning, the competition or world dominance in their profession. But they tend to leave the family out of the light because the industry doesn’t profile the family, it profiles the individual. And when the family is gone, the angler begins regretting not spending the time with them and neglecting them; whether that is directly or indirectly. When children are involved, the playing field becomes different. So one of the other major factors a Pro Angler must face is the time spent on the road away from the family. 

Money…

There isn’t enough money paid out in tournaments for anglers to enjoy leaving a good paying job. The US National Household Income as of 2001 equated to $58,208. Doesn’t sound too bad, but that is the HOUSEHOLD income; which isn’t great, just good. Leaving a sure income to something that isn’t known or set can, not only be scary, but also a threat to the family. Not just facing a possible separation/divorce from their spouse, but facing bankruptcy as well. Not many stories are told about how many anglers go for it all and find out that they were unable to finance their careers and had to file bankruptcy, losing everything; the family, home, job, friends and their dignity.  

Let’s take for example a family that makes the National Income average at $58,000 a year (this figure would be smaller if narrowed down by anglers only). To make it fair, we won’t say that the Male figure is the dominating household income, so let’s split it in half, $29,000. If an angler removes himself from a sure income to the unknown, it leaves the working spouse to take the remaining $29,000 to budget for the household. This doesn’t include taxes (lets just say 7% across the board and this is way off on the low end here, but let’s look at it) which will knock that down to $26,970. Also not calculated in would be rent; low balled at $700 ($26,270) and a vehicle payment more than likely (not including 2^nd vehicle and boat for angler) again, low balled at $270 leaving only $26,000. Well, medical and dental expenses haven’t been taken out, nor insurances and we haven’t even talked about paying utilities and other minor bills. Let’s just say now that that income is fortunate to be $24,000 to spend on the family when all is paid. That averages out to about $2,000 per month ($67 per day) for that family. That just isn’t enough to support the family and we haven’t even gotten to the expenses of the angler being on the road. The angler has to eat; he has to put gas in the vehicle and the boat, entry fees, hotel/motel and vehicle/boat maintenance just to name a few. But the angler cannot afford to suck up anything from the household income, but it will happen and as it is happening it not only puts a financial strain on the family, but strain as a hole on the family. It’s tough enough to juggle the family budget, but now to support the angler with the household money shouldn’t be part of the bargain.  

For instance, if an angler is fishing the 6 FLW Tour events, the year’s entry fees would be $14,600. This cannot come from the household income stated above or the family couldn’t survive. And in order to get a check, they would have to place in the Top 75 and that won’t give them their money back in entry fees, much less expenses. Sure, placing in the Top 75 of an elite crowd of 200 Pro- and another 200 Co-Anglers, but if the payout isn’t covering money spent, the angler is going backwards. When an angler goes all out, the family, as well as the angler, is gambling on instant success.  

Let’s use Curt Lytle’s numbers for this past 2003 year as an example, who actually didn’t have a bad year. Curt fished both the FLW (164^th) and B.A.S.S. (33^rd) Tours, which is tough in anyone’s book to do. Curt only fished 4 events on the FLW Tour collecting only 1 check at $3,500. On the B.A.S.S. side of the house he fished 10 Tour, 1 Open and the Classic, where he scored 8 checks totaling nearly $52,000. He fished 4 FLW events (about $1,800 per event) costing $7,200 and for the 10 B.A.S.S. Tour events (guessing $1,200 per event) and $800 for the Open he paid $12,800. Assuming that the Classic entry is free, unsure, that means he put back about $20,000 just to fish in the events, leaving him with $32,000 in winnings. Had it not been for the decent wins within B.A.S.S., he would have been in trouble. Actually, had he not made the Classic and placed 5^th (earning a $25,000 check) he would be in trouble. Of course, sponsor money hasn’t been calculated in either, but not included either are the expenses incurred during the year. This was actually a good year for Curt, but imagine had he not made the cut in the Classic, or placed 5^th to collect that big check. That $32,000 is now $7,000; actually because of being in the Classic, he probably would have gotten some money within the 61 angler field. Even the 25^th place angler received $7,000. 

Usually, there are only about 25 to 30 anglers on the Tour that either break even or better. Most good Tour Pro’s can get their sponsor’s to pay for some of their entry fees, but I will get into Sponsors later on. 

In order to take a step up in competition, an angler has to have some serious financial backing. Whether that be from an angler that is financially well off, owning their own personal business, another household income from a spouse or some serious sponsor backing.  

Sponsors…

If an Angler doesn’t have at least 2 or 3 major Sponsor’s backing them, they will be in a world of hurt, unless they can financially fish on their own. In the beginning, angler’s are not familiar with how to retrieve good sponsor’s and usually end up with what is called a, “Product Sponsor,” but that is not what a Pro Tour is looking for. What that means is that an angler may have a sponsor with a Product that they can utilize, but they will only provide that angler with Products, not money. In return, the sponsor will want the angler to not only fish their products, but to field test their new products and attend seminars and shows at little to no money. Most of the time, anglers are smart enough to convince the sponsor to pay for their expenses during seminars and shows, but usually its minimum wage, they pay for hotel expenses, gas, mileage and per diem. So in reality, the angler isn’t getting much out of it. Some product sponsors aren’t that bad, but those would be the type of sponsors that have a huge line of products that cover multiple areas of the fishing industry.  

Now anglers are thinking out of the box and finding ways to benefit from non-fishing companies. This allows the angler to be more versatile in his approach to sponsorship. It also forces the angler to target a money sponsor and reaping the benefits of not being limited to a particular sponsor’s product line. Most of the Pro’s targeting the fishing industry type sponsors not only look to get money from their sponsor’s, but free access to their product line as well. An angler doesn’t necessarily have to be a good angler to be a money and product sponsor. If they have good people skills, good speaking and public skills, enthusiasm, selling skills, mannerism, knowledge of the products, the ability to relate and understand a diverse audience that appear at shows and seminars, well groomed and dressed, etc. these folks can also get paid well because they provide their sponsors with a talent that doesn’t have to be taught.  

In order to make into the big time, an angler must have multiple sponsors, but not too many that they cannot control their sponsors and satisfy their needs. If a contract is breached by the angler, their sponsors will not only drop them, but will look to be compensated in money. Also, if potential sponsors call your previous sponsors, how you depart with a sponsor can wreak havoc upon you. It’s no different than a White/Blue collar company wanting to know previous employers and point of contacts with them.  

Sponsors are an angler’s best friend out there and anglers cannot afford to lose them or play unethical games with them. That could mean having too many sponsors on board because that can be in direct conflict with the competition of another sponsor that the angler may have. Anglers need to ensure that they are not putting their sponsor’s up against their competitors; else that sponsor may drop the angler. On the other hand, if an angler doesn’t have enough sponsors, it can work against them because Sponsor’s are a key to being able to be successful in this business. Without Sponsor’s on the Pro level, this sport couldn’t happen. That’s almost like telling NASCAR that they cannot utilize sponsors anymore; it ain’t going to happen. Sponsors are what make the business go forward and are the industries biggest asset. 

Am I really that Good? Am I willing to sacrifice it all?

Too many anglers say, “I know that I am good and I know that I can compete at the next level,” well that may be true, but what anglers need to realize is that there are a lot of, not good, but great anglers out there. But when an angler is faced against the best in the business and they compete against those that sacrifice everything, they are competing against a monster and the odds are against them. We are all good in our own way in our community, but before taking it to the next level you need to honestly ask yourself, “Am I really that good?” And if you can honestly say, “Yes,” then try taking a small step up and see how the competition is there first. When and if an angler feels that he is good enough then, well he can step it up a notch more. But SAYING you are good is a lot different than KNOWING you are good.  

Yet and still, even after KNOWING that you are good, the ultimate questions is, “Are you willing to sacrifice it all?” Think about the job and the money that will be sacrificed; the family that will be left behind with minimal financing and missing the head of the household; sacrificing leaving the children; lower living standards because the lack of money; dignity in knowing that you are not as good as you though in comparison to the Pro’s because you didn’t sacrifice enough and the list goes on. And for what, a little satisfaction of GLORY? Is it truly worth it?  

Anglers don’t have to be on the Tour to be a Pro. Some Pro’s shouldn’t be called a Pro, but they are because they made the sacrifices and they pay to be in that status. Personally, we all know folks who we think can make it to the next level or the Tour level, but we don’t have to make the sacrifice, they do. And if those anglers are smart, they will weigh there options before attempting to do so. 

Not Busting Any Dreams…

It sounds like this is about busting up a dream opportunity, but that is not what it’s about. It’s about exposing SOME things that the Pro’s go through that many anglers don’t know about.  

In reality, anglers can win more and kick out less money in their own local community tournaments. Sure it takes a while to get any kick backs, but they are surrounded by friends, they are not too far from home, they are with their families, they have a steady income and they can get all the GLORY needed from their fellow anglers.  

We all would love to see those in our own fishing community to take it up to the next level, but not if it takes away from their families. If an angler THINKS they have the ability to go Pro, don’t go for BUST. Take your time, it will always be there. Personally, I have thought about it over and over again, but I cannot make that sacrifice. I have taken it up and fished National Circuits and done well and felt that I had the ability to take it up one more level, but never have because of the sacrifices that I would have to embark. I was not willing to sacrifice my income from my family so they can lower their standards for my satisfaction of pursuing a dream that was more than likely going to fail. But how do we know, unless we try? We don’t. That is a chance that has to be taken, but there will be sacrifices and broken dreams; there always is.  

The next Kevin Van Dam or Jay Yelas may be setting in our own fishing community, but it won’t be me; not yet. Right now, I can be proud of those anglers within my fishing community and in knowing that if the Pro’s came into town to fish our lakes, that I can hand select a group of anglers and know that WE could beat the hell out of them.  

These are just some of the things to think about before making a decision.

 Neal Robinson

The Past Eighteen Months (A look back…)

By Rob Brewer 

In my last article, I explained what I believe to be the advantages of belonging to a bass fishing club. Having fished in tournaments for the past eighteen months with the club and having shared a boat with several different partners during that time, I’ve learned a few valuable lessons and made some humorous observations. Learning should be a never-ending process. I try to learn something new on every trip. It really doesn’t matter what it is, as long as I walk away with something. It could be a new hot spot, or the fact that culling floats truly are a time saver or any of the other ten million possibilities that the dedicated pursuit of bass fishing affords.  

One of the things I’ve done to help retain these “nuggets” of wisdom is modifying my fishing log. I have added a section titled “lessons I’ve learned”. When I return from each trip, I have to write something new in there that I have picked up. Sometimes this can take several hours of reliving the day; sometimes I immediately start writing and don’t have enough room in the block. I will share some experiences. In an effort to help you catch more fish, I want to share with you some of the things I have learned while fishing both for fun and in tournaments. I’m sure some of you will be able to relate directly to some of these items.  

Never take your eyes off your bait when fishing topwaters. The second you turn your gaze toward that boat that just went by or the wildlife ashore, a 4-pound bass will slurp it under just long enough for you to see him spit it out. 

Trailer hooks DO boat more fish. I wish I had started using them 10 years ago. They don’t foul enough to warrant not using them. Boating three consecutive fish on the trailer hook only, was all the convincing I needed. 

Carrying a big “possum belly” with every lure imaginable is a waste of boat space and only adds weight. Instead, pick four lures that will cover the entire water column. 

Master those four lures. Refine them to only one or two colors that you have confidence in. Gone are your decisions about lure selection and color. You do fish with four rods in your boat don’t you? 

Want to use more lures? Confine experimenting to prefishing or fun fishing. Tournaments are not the place. Time is too valuable of a commodity to waste. 

Back to those four lures again. You can change those four lures according to the season. For example, lose the topwater for a silver buddy, jigging spoon, or rogue in the cold water season.  

Your best five bass usually average 2.5 to 3 pounds whenever you are prefishing. When you return for the tournament, those bass have mysteriously managed to lose fifty percent of their body weight or they’ve disappeared all together and have been replaced with pickerel and bowfin. 

Stren, Trilene, and P-line. All three have won tournaments. All three have taken big fish awards. I’ve used all three this year. NONE have failed me on a fish. Use what you have confidence in. Whichever brand you choose, it won’t fail you IF YOU DO YOUR PART. What’s that you ask? You must tie good, wetted knots & test load them, inspect your line often, retie often and use an appropriate line for the application at hand. If you are worm fishing with 8lb test, you’re fishing on borrowed time. 

When launching your boat in the predawn darkness, don’t keep your eyes fixed in the rear-view mirror. The sound of water entering your cab will break your concentration real fast. 

Speaking of launching boats, there are people out there who think you prepare your boat to launch in the “launch lane. Usually it’s a “new boater” who has no clue about ramp etiquette or how back up a trailer. Not only could four boats have launched in the time in took for this person to prep their boat, but six more could have launched by the time they backed their boat in the water 

Bass are not half as smart as we give them credit for. Sometimes they elude us, but it’s not because of their “intelligence”. We’re simply doing something wrong. 

I still can’t understand what makes one fisherman “hot” and the other "not". You and your partner can be fishing the same bait, same line diameter, etc, etc and one will catch more fish than the other. Backseat more so than front seat.

Premium hooks will boat more fish. It doesn’t matter if they’re Gamakatsu, Daiachii, Owner, Hookerz, VMC, or Mustad. Spend the money for them; you’ll see a difference. It still amazes me how some people can shell out $10 for a lure they think looks good, but skimp when it comes to hooks and line. When you think about it, that’s ALL there really is between you and the fish. 

All those bluegills biting your bait aren’t necessarily bluegills. Don’t refuse to set the hook because they are harassing you. Keep swinging at them. You’ll either hook a few “blue-bass” or you’ll collapse from exhaustion. 

Culling floats are not a novelty item. You can cull in 1/10^th the time with a fish on a float. If you do not find it difficult and time consuming to cull an “unfloated” fish, your live-well is probably too small or your aeration system isn’t cutting it. 

A twenty-minute run to a honey hole takes thirty-five minutes to return from when the live-well is full. 

A pack of cellular phone fuses are the same size and amp rating as my fishfinder. 

Different people keep their boat in various states of repair. Time spent fiddling with live-wells, fishfinders and battery connections is time lost fishing. Fix problems at home; use your fishing day to fish. 

Make it a rule to always have a hook “wet”. If you need to pause from fishing to retie, take a leak, eat a sandwich or whatever, throw a worm or fluke out and let it sit while you do whatever it is you must do. Remember those times you were picking out a backlash and you caught a fish? 

As part of time management, do any of the above-mentioned items, when motoring to another hole if possible. Maximize presentation time. A dry hook can’t catch fish.

When prefishing a lake with a tournament competitor, don’t show and tell all if his boat is faster than yours is. 

Don’t “shoot the bull” with your partner. Focus on fishing and concentrate on your bait. Before blast off ask your partner point blank, Can you swim? Do you know how to use the net? Can you operate this outboard motor? If you’re the one being asked, answer honestly. There is an art to netting fish. It’s better to “boat flip” one aboard than dork around with a net and knock the fish off if you aren’t experienced. The other two questions may save a life.  

Whenever you catch your limit before 10:00, all fish caught after 10:00 won’t cull anything. 

When fishing grassbeds and continuously fouling your bait with grass, one of those “clumps” will be a 7-pound bass. They usually hold on long enough for you to see a glimpse of their 1 ½” wide lateral line or to get a quick peek inside that coffee can size mouth as your lure comes sailing out of it. 

When fishing grassbeds and continuously fouling your bait with grass and one of those “clumps” begins to swim away, it will only be a 1-pound bass. 

Always go with your “gut instinct”. Ignore “dock talk” and what others are saying. Stick with your plan. You did think this through for the past couple of days didn’t you? 

Pay attention to weather forecasts. Where is the wind supposed to be from? How strong? Is it going to be sunny or cloudy? All of these factors affect fish location and activity. Observe weather conditions a few days out. Incorporate these effects into your strategy. 

Just because it is 12:00 and you have not boated a fish, don’t let your confidence dwindle. Stay focused and fish hard. It’s not an easy thing to do, but it’s a must do if you want to have any hope at all of placing or winning. On that note, guys who had empty live-wells at 2 PM have won some of our tournaments. 

The lunker of the year or tournament winning fish can bite anytime your bait is in the water. Remember that. Fish like that too. Murphy’s Law mandates it happen when you are least prepared to react to it. 

On that same note, fish your bait like an eight-pounder is eyeing it. You would not believe how many bass actually are watching your lure. 

If you find the “skunk” is still in your boat and it’s late in the day. Resort to your “confidence presentation” whatever that may be, and stick to it. Slow down and fish thoroughly. 

Sometimes the fishing actually is pretty darn tough. 

Bass will bite a topwater anytime of the day. Morning, evening and overcast days may be prime but they’re not exclusive.  

I live by the rule that bass will bite if shown a reasonable presentation. If I am not catching fish, it’s because I’m not putting my bait in front of fish. It’s that simple. 

Show others courtesy. Just because you are in a tournament, it doesn’t give you any more right to the lake. A wise man once told me “If you think you are pissing somebody off, then you probably are”. Don’t do anything to another angler you wouldn’t want them to do to you. 

Lure depth and speed are far more important than lure color and size. 

Some guys break more rods in a single season than I’ll ever own in my life. 

I’m amazed at the number of “serious” fisherman who do not own a pair of polarized sunglasses. 

Why does time go by so fast in tournaments but crawls along when fun fishing or prefishing?  

No tournament is over until it is over. You have not won or placed anywhere until the weigh-in is completed. Even if you got “skunked”, as long as you went home with a valuable lesson, you still won. You will only get out of it what you put into it. I hope you were able to learn something from my experiences and I hope you all will continue to share yours with me. 

Fishing is life, Rob

Should I Join a Bass Club?

By Rob Brewer 

Should I join a bass club? Is competitive fishing for me? What are the benefits of belonging to a club? Many of us have asked ourselves some or all of these questions at one time or another. What my intent here is to examine what I see as the benefits of “clubbing it”.

First a little history. I began fishing the Suffolk lakes in 1988. A friend whom I work with said, “lets go fishing”. He took me to Lake Meade. We murdered the bass. It was just one of those days, I guess. Anyway, it goes without saying that I would return to this lake many times.

My success varied with each trip. Some day’s fish were jumping in the boat, other times I was just out washing lures. I began fishing these lakes by renting a boat. Slowly I accumulated pieces of equipment. First a trolling motor, then an outboard. Eventually I bought a boat and no longer had to lug all this stuff to a rental boat.

I was a “real” bass fisherman now. I started hitting other lakes that didn’t have rentals available. Still, my success varied. But without making this into an autobiography, I studied hard at learning the ways of the bass, different techniques and so forth. I wanted to catch fish every time I went out.

Being active duty Army, I get plenty of opportunities to miss out on fishing, whether it’s deployments or getting assigned overseas for a tour. I have not been able to consistently fish the Suffolk Lakes since 1988. It was on one such overseas tour that I “met” Bob Bullen (AKA Big ‘Ol Bass) via the Internet. He was talking about starting up a club of Jon boaters fishing the Suffolk Lakes and asked if I’d be interested. That’s when I began asking myself the questions that opened this article.

Well, now we are at the close of our second season and my first “full” season with the club. I can honestly say without hesitation that joining the club, was the absolute, best decision I have ever made that put me on the “fast track” to more fishing knowledge. Consider this, you and your buddy are out fishing. There are only three real possibilities for the type of day you’ll have (with regards to catching fish). It will either be excellent, mediocre or the pits. It’s the latter two types of days that raise questions. What did I do wrong? Where were the fish? How could I have caught more?

Unless you know a lot of fishermen AND they happen to be there fishing when you are, most likely your questions will go unanswered. Now enter tournament fishing with a club. First of all you will meet many new anglers of various skill levels. But there is a common bond here. Everyone wants to catch more and bigger bass. Everyone I’ve met is more than happy to share what they know with one another. Remember the saying “two heads are better than one”? Well consider the knowledge base of 20 or 30.

Someone is always catching the fish. You might come in with little or nothing, but somebody’s got fish. It might be just one or two when everyone else has none or it might be a sack of 4 and 5 pounders when everyone else has a limit of keepers. That’s the beauty of tournament fishing. It puts a whole field of anglers (or teams) against each other, in the same lake, under identical conditions, for the same period of time. Come weigh-in, the field is brought together and results are tallied. This is where all those questions can actually be answered.

Going back to the “you and your buddy” fishing scenario, the two of you also suffer from “lack of exposure”. By that I mean the two of you always fish together and quite possibly fish the same structure with the same methods. Now in our tournament format, you’ll be paired with someone different more often than not. While some may be resistant to change, the beauty of this is you are exposed to someone else’s style, locations and techniques. You might be fishing with me and I’m throwing something you wouldn’t ever consider throwing in a hundred years. Turns out, it’s my confidence bait and I’m catching fish on it. You tie it on too and start catching fish. Now what other circumstance can put you in that same scenario? As I see it, none. You might try something different, but after 15 casts without a bite you take it off because you have no confidence in it.

Another benefit of fishing with different partners is seeing how everyone “reads” the water. Everyone sees a lake differently and has different opinions about where the fish are. And it doesn’t stop there. One swears by P-line another swears at P-line, one likes Mercury, another Evinrude. One guy will only throw June bug colored baits, another only green pumpkin. Funny thing is both will bring in fish. You learn things like confidence. Nothing instills that better than catching fish. But the bottom line is exposure to other anglers. That’s what will ultimately increase your knowledge base.

You might be thinking about weigh-in. Am I up to coming to weigh-in with an empty sack in front of everyone else with fish? Well, you better be. It’s part of the game and everyone’s been there at one time or another. Unless you have an ego problem, it shouldn’t phase you one bit. Other guys don’t sit there and laugh at you or anything like that. There may be some friendly joking, especially if you talked a lot of smack at blast off or managed somehow to partially submerge your truck at the ramp when launching your boat. But no one is going to think less of you for not catching any fish. Remember, it’s called fishing not catching.

Then there’s security too. Not back for weigh-in? You can bet a couple of boats will be out looking for you and you’ll get a tow. Need a hand with a flat tire? Truck won’t start and need a ride? The list goes on and on.

Should I join a club? I can’t believe your still asking that. The answer is YES! Unequivocally, hands-down, absolutely Yes! But only do so if you are serious about catching more and bigger bass. You won’t glean an ounce of knowledge by just belonging, you’ll need to show up and fish all through the seasons.

I can say without any reservation that joining Bass Jons was the single most, fish catchingest decision I have ever made. Go ahead and check out a few of the local clubs. Aside from Bass-Jons, there’s Rule 9, APAR and Bobby Kinsey’s circuit. Read their by-laws, tournament rules and membership criteria then pick which appeals most to your liking.

Fishing is Life. Rob

Local Makes it into the BassMaster Magazine – 4/14/3

BassMaster Article
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- One of our locals fishing Guru’s makes it into the March’s issue of Bass Master magazine. Steve Sexton is featured in an article about the Suffolk Lakes.
- Steve an outstanding fishermen in his own right and has fished these waters for years.
- A regular on the Suffolk Team Tournament Trail and 80 citations to his credit. He and his wife have been in the winners circle a few times.
- I had a chance to talk to Steve in early Jan while fishing Lake Prince, he showed me all the photos of his citations and we talk a good hour on fishing cold water techniques. A great all round guy, Graduations Steve from all us at Bass-Jon’s
- Get a copy and look at the article or view here, lots of good tips.

Observations on the Suffolk Lakes – by Rob Brewer

The following information is a mix of fact and opinion. I was asked to write an article on bass fishing the Suffolk Lakes. While I’m no expert on any given lake, I have fished them all, some more than others. What follows are the observations I have made, mixed with facts from the Norfolk area lakes website. While not specific in terms of how to catch bass, it is my hope that what follows will help you in choosing an area lake to fish. Consider time of year, migrational patterns and your specific style of fishing when determining what water to fish. Remember, all these lakes are fished with permit only. There is no bank fishing except in designated areas. Lake Meade- This is a Portsmouth owned/managed lake. At 510 acres (full pool), it is filled from Lake Cohoon and drains off two dams. One into Lake Kilby and the other into what I believe to be the Nansemond River. It has a ten horsepower motor limit and receives what I deem to be moderate fishing pressure. It is the only Portsmouth Lake containing Striped Bass. Key structure in the lake is some old house foundations, an old roadbed and some old bridge pylons. The lake holds good numbers of small bass with some good ones amongst the mix. There are a fair amount of blowdowns, stumps and other shoreline cover awaiting one who wants flip or pitch. Lake Cohoon- Another Portsmouth owned/managed lake. This one at 512 acres (full pool), it is filled via a small stream beyond the railroad tracks and drains into Lake Meade. Again, there is a ten horsepower motor limit. In my opinion, this is one of the better lakes to fish. It has numbers of quality fish and they gladly oblige a well-made presentation. The lake has a good number of cypress trees, willow trees along with several blowdowns. The lake contains two sets of old bridge remnants that I am aware of. This lake is prone to low water conditions depending on weather and other conditions. When the water is low enough and you can pass under the railroad tracks, there is a nice chunk of cypress swamp in the back by the feeder stream. But cypress is strewn throughout this lake so be sure to fish its root systems. Late May and early June are prime times to hit this lake. Lake Prince- This Norfolk managed lake probably gets more pressure than all the other lakes. Once you experience a good day there, you’ll know why. This place has some serious bass in it. It’s in the top ten statewide for trophy fish citations issued. It’s 810 acres (full pool) and has 62.4 miles of shoreline. This is more shoreline to fish than any other area lake. If you’re a “bank-beater” this is the place. Not only are there so many miles of shoreline to fish, the place has more blowdowns and logjams than you can shake a stick at. You cannot fish this lake in one day. It also has some choice humps, bars and islands in it too. The lake is often frequented by those pursuing striped bass. It holds a good number of them and it is not uncommon to catch some while targeting largemouth. This lake contains city maintained aerators and they seem to be hot spots for the stripers. Other underwater structure includes and old roadbed near Gardner Lane Bridge. There is an old bridge underwater right next to Lake Prince Drive Bridge. This lake also has a considerable abundance of cypress flats to fish. Lake Prince is second only to Burnt Mills in the abundance of grass. I’ve also noticed more alligator gar in this lake than any other. They are always willing to nail a fluke or slug-go thrown their way. There’s also a nice population of shellcracker, bream and other panfish for the cane poler who has a tub of crickets. This lake has a 12 hp maximum horsepower limit. Western Branch- This Norfolk managed watershed is the biggest of the Suffolk Lakes. It contains 1,253 acres at full pool. Don’t let the size fool you though. It only has 40 miles of shoreline and doesn’t have nearly the cover it should have. I have noticed this lake contains more rocks, marl and clay bottom (hard bottoms) than any of the other lakes. This lake is another striper haven. Again, they seem to like the aerators quite a bit. This lake is a great spawning season lake to fish. It has numerous flats of considerable size and they are peppered with stumps. There’s also a well-defined creek channel with many turns and bends if you like to fish deeper water. I estimate this lake to have more islands than any of the other lakes. I have seen hundreds, if not thousands of small bass schooling this past summer. So it is apparent that it had a very successful spawn this past year. They actually became a nuisance during some tournaments. While fun to catch, you couldn’t weigh them in. If there is a topwater lake in the area, this one is it. Because the cover is not visible in a lot of places, a pop-r or other chugger seems to be a good choice here. Again, the stripers will oblige when you least expect it. This lake has the best ramp facility of all the Suffolk lakes. It’s a two laner with a dock to tie off on running down the middle. This lake has a 12 horsepower maximum limit. Burnt Mills- Norfolk owned/managed. This too, has a 12 horsepower limit. Burnt Mills is definitely the clearest of the Suffolk Lakes. Because of this clarity, it has the most grass of any of the Suffolk Lakes. It has a 590 acre surface area at full pool, containing 36 miles of shoreline to fish. The “ramp” is quite primitive. In fact, it’s only a bare piece of shore with an insufficient grade to launch most boats, so plan on getting your feet wet if the lake is not at full pool. This lake has some serious bottom contour changes. It will go from eight feet to thirty feet in a blink. It is a great crankbait lake, especially with all the humps, points and bars it contains. The clarity of the water helps too. While there are no stripers in this lake, it makes up for it in chain pickerel. You will see a number of them following your bait to the boat if not already hooked. Burnt Mills has more stumps and standing timber that is flush with the water’s surface than any other Suffolk Lake. So be certain to go through it at a slow throttle unless you want to break something on your boat or motor. This lake has no aerators in it. This lake is a great early spring lake to fish and it does hold some dandies in it. I would rate it only second to Prince for big fish. It probably has as many or more, but since it doesn’t receive the pressure Prince does, the numbers don’t reflect it. Fishing is life, Rob Brewer

Chillin’ For Bass - by Rob Brewer

With the winter well upon us, the area lakes have chilled down to the lower forties and the cold water season is upon us. If you want a change of pace from the tree stand or just have a case of cabin fever and want to bust some lips, here’s some helpful hints to key on that will tilt the odds in your favor. First of all, be sure to dress warmly in layers. Pile it on, you can always remove layers as you warm up. Zipping down the lake creates quite a chill when you consider the wind blowing on you. Also pack some foods high in sugar and carbohydrates. Don’t forget a thermos of hot coffee or tea. Be sure to pack along some water. Dehydration is still a factor in the cold. Finger-less gloves are nice too. Now that you’re dressed for the occasion, lets get ready to go fishing. There’s no need to be on the lake early like you wanted to in the summer. Hit the water about eight or nine in the morning. The water will still be cold but the sun will be high enough to shine on you and begin warming the water. If you know of some deep spots check these first. By deep, I mean twelve feet or more. Motor over these holes and see if you can mark any fish. Winter bass tend to be congregated in large schools in a small area. Spend your time looking for such a spot; don’t worry about covering a lot of water. You want to thoroughly cover the few spots that you believe have bass stacked up on them. If you don’t mark any fish don’t give up on the area. Sometimes they’re actually sitting on the bottom as opposed to suspending. As far as lure selection goes you’ll only need a few different lures and maybe four-rod combos. Two of which should be spinning outfits spooled up with 6-10lb mono. You’ll want to try a variety of lures and retrieves (we’ll cover both) in the few holes you’re going to. For starters, rig up a spinning outfit with a 1/16-ounce slider jig head (or even an unweighted worm hook) and put on a Zoom Super Fluke or 4” finesse worm. This rig will sink ever so slow and entice any bass who watch it fall. The way to fish this is to cast it out and let it fall on a slack line. Watching the line for a “tap-tap” indication of a pick up. If you are unable to discern any takers with the slack line, let it fall on a tight line. But be sure to let it fall all the way to the bottom. Once it hits bottom, gently pop it once and let it fall again. Fish this all the way to the boat like such. The retrieve should take a couple of minutes. If it doesn’t you’re fishing it too fast. On your other spinning outfit tie on a marabou crappie jig or similar lightweight leadhead, above this, attach a small foam float. Experiment with the depth the jig is under the float. The beauty of this rig (aka floating fly) is the lure remains suspended at whatever depth you rig it. It is awkward to cast when there’s any distance between the float and jig. If it gets too cumbersome try letting the wind drift it away from the boat for you. Some who specialize in this technique have custom rods made on fly rod blanks. The long rod aids in casting this rig when there’s ten feet between float and jig. A slight wind action or wavelets make the marabou plumes undulate while the lure remains pretty much stationary and suspended at the depth you’ve adjusted it to. One tactic is to cast this out and let it “dance” while you work another lure. When the bobber disappears, set the hook. Another popular lure choice is a suspending jerkbait or countdown Rapala. Cast these out and work the water column from six feet down to the bottom. You’ll want to fish these with short twitches of no more than 6” at a time with a pause anywhere from 5 to 20 seconds between twitches. Be sure to have sharp hooks on all baits. Since most bites are light and occur on a slack line. Be prepared to lose some baits to pickerel. Silver buddies, Cordell Gay Blades and Heddon Sonars are popular with many local anglers. They’re compact, heavy baits that get to the depths quickly. The disadvantages are they are easy for bass to spit out and are difficult to fish slowly without vertically jigging them. They’re also prone to snagging often. Nonetheless, you’ll find many area experts with at least one rod rigged with a silver buddy. I have not figured out the “secret” to these baits yet and am not likely to use one. But you can bet there’s half a dozen in my box during winter. Something I need to force myself to fish more often. Let’s not omit the ever-productive jig and pig. This is a great winter bait. The key is getting the right weight/ trailer combination to get just the right fall. Start with a 3/16 jig and put on a Strike King baby Pork-O for a trailer. This will fall ever so slowly. Take a pair of dikes and cut the weedguard off flush with the leadhead to aid in hook ups. Remember that most bites will come on the fall and that weed guard won’t help things. The large pork trailer does run the risk of bunching up in the fish’s mouth and fouling an otherwise “textbook” hookset. If you are missing fish, assume this is the case and try a smaller trailer. File some lead off the head to get the same slow fall if necessary. My own designed “winter jig” is a 4/0 Gamakatsu worm hook with only a black/blue spinnerbait skirt slipped over it. Add to that a bit of power worm on the hook’s shank and a #11 pork frog. You now have a “slow jig fizz”. Try a white skirt and trailer to simulate a dying shad. Fish this the same as the Slider jig previously mentioned. That’s about all the lures you’ll need to be successful. I’m sure there’s more that will produce. I’m only going off what works for me. The two most important factors are finding the proper depth holding the bass and fishing slowly. Focus on those two items in that order. It takes a great deal of discipline to fish as slow as is necessary. Be aware of that and force yourself to slow down. Just when you think you are fishing slowly, kick it down another notch. If you’re doing it right, each retrieve will bore you, that is until you catch a fish. Spend your fishing day on a few choice areas probing the depths thoroughly. You’ll gain a better understanding once you hook a coldwater bass and notice how lethargic they are. Once you catch a fish, don’t move on! More bass are there where you caught the last one. Know up front that you aren’t going to catch significant numbers of fish. Six bites is a great day. A safety note. Coldwater fishing is dangerous. Hypothermia is a rapid killer. You’re survival time in forty degree water is reduced to about fifteen minutes for a healthy, physically active individual. Most of us will succumb sooner. It would be wise to pack a set of dry clothes and a towel or two. If fishing alone, be certain to wear your PFD. It works as a great insulative vest when worn under a jacket. Use extra caution at this time of year; tell someone where you’re going and when you expect to be back. Don’t forget your cell phone either. Remember to fish slow and enjoy your day out on the water. Fishing is life. Rob Brewer

101 Bass Fishing Tips - by Rob Brewer

What we have here is a collection of tips and tricks that I have learned over the years of my fishing life. I did not invent or think of all these on my own. Some are from books; some are from other fisherman and some actually are my own creation or observation. It took Roland Martin an entire book to explain 101 tips. I haven’t read that book yet. But here’s how to do the same thing in just a few pages. Anyway, here’s my 101 “greatest hits”. I hope you find something that helps you stink up your livewell. 1. Buy a battery operated hook sharpener. You’ll actually sharpen hooks like you never thought possible and your bite to hook-up ratio will increase ten fold. 2. Crimp a splitshot sinker on a worm hook near the eye. Use this when fishing tubes instead of buying manufactured jig heads. 3. Put split rings on the hooks of any bait that has hook hangers (Zara Spooks, Jitterbugs etc.). This will lessen the fish’s ability to throw the hook and assist in actual hook ups too. 4. Always wet your line with water, saliva etc. before drawing a knot tight. It reduces friction, a major stressor of monofilament line. 5. Make your own marker buoys by cutting “H”s out of a sheet of foam insulation. Tie on 30’ of Dacron and a 4-oz weight, then wrap it up. 6. The colors yellow and red have caught more bass than all other lures combined. Keep this in mind when making a lure selection. 7. Carolina rigs work better with a slow “sweeping” retrieve as opposed to a “hopping” retrieve. 8. Wrap some solder wire around the front treble’s hook shank to make your bait suspend or to simply lessen its buoyancy. 9. Try fishing a plastic worm on a jig instead of a pork frog. It’s something new for the bass to see. 10. Fat round lures have a wide wobble and long thin lures have a tight wobble. Remember wide for warm water and tight for cold water. 11. Fish a Slug-go on a weighted shank hook. It will impart some great action on the fall. 12. Cast a topwater out and let it sit and sit and sit, just when you can’t take it anymore, wait another 10 seconds, then give it just a twitch. 13. Remove the factory hooks on a Pop-R (unless they’re the Excalibur ones) and replace the front with a larger premium treble and put an Owner feather treble on the tail. The feather breathes and will net you more bites. 14. To make a great buoyant lure for Carolina rigging, insert a foam earplug (or foam “peanut” from packing material) inside a Gitzit or other tube bait. 15. Saw off 6” or 8” inches off an old broom handle and stick it in your tacklebox. Whenever you get snagged using braided line or heavy mono. Pull out the stick; wrap about 6 turns on the stick and pull. You’ll either break off or get your bait back without cutting your fingers. . 16. Use rubber bobber stops to peg worm weights. 17. The week before and the week after the March full moon is the best time (easiest) to catch a big bass. 18. Remember fishes metabolism is linked directly to water temperature. Adjust your retrieve accordingly. 19. Keep a detailed fishing log and record notes you learn on the areas you fish. Within a short period, you’ll have good database developed of what works, when and where. 20. When ever the water is down exceptionally low. Go to the lake and pencil all the good stuff on your map and take some pictures of it too. Later, when the water is back up, you’ll have some offshore honey holes and the photos will assist you in determining the best angle to fish the cover. 21. Make yourself fish a piece of cover more thoroughly. Don’t place one cast and move on. Set a number for yourself and make at least that many pitches. 22. Ask yourself what your weaknesses are. Force yourself to develop them. It’s best to do with someone who is fairly adept at the tactic you are working on. 23. Confidence! Confidence! Confidence! Believe in yourself and your abilities. Confidence is the most important lure in your box. 24. Remove the split ring on the front of those crankbaits and other lures. (save them for tip #3). Either tie directly to the lure or use a duolock snap. 25. Look in your tacklebox. See any snap swivels? Throw them out. 26. Fish the windy sides of points, grasslines, blowdowns and such. As annoying as it can be to keep the boat positioned, this is where all the plankton and bait is blowing to. Guess who’s following closely behind? 27. Rising humidity means a falling barometer (good fishing); conversely fog means rising barometric pressure on the edge of a cold front (tough fishing). I am not referring to the morning mist often seen on the lake at sunrise. 28. Plant some cover in your favorite lake. Be sure to take some compass bearings and mark it on your map, so you can return to it. 29. Learn as much as you can about your quarry, especially it’s seasonal migration patterns and the prevalent forage in a given area. 30. Replace the swivels on your spinnerbait blades with ball bearing snaps. This will make changing the blade a snap. 31. Learn all there is to know about the operation of your fishfinder. Do you know your transducer’s cone angle? 32. Use a jig as the weight in a Carolina rig. You’ll get those guys who eat the sinker and maybe pick up a double. 33. Make your own Excalibur treble hooks by bending the hook about ten degrees off center. 34. Remember, any object that is isolated is attractive to bass. 35. When fishing a lake without any cover (like Little Creek Reservoir in Toano) keep in mind that depth is “cover”. 36. When fishing Cypress trees, be certain to fish an area at least five feet around the trunk. These trees often have a doughnut like root ball and the bass could be anywhere within it. Work around the snorkels too. 37. Save your old tore up jig and spinnerbait skirts. Use the strands as pegging rubber for your worm weights. 38. Erratic lure action is the single most effective means of raising the aggression level in a bass. In otherwords, avoid a steady retrieve. 39. Any bass you can see can also see you. Act accordingly, keep movements slow and subtle. 40. Be wary of lures that are “too loud” (be it color or sound). Nature is mute, dull, quiet and camouflage. Working the more subtle side will get you the aggressive, active and neutral fish everytime. 41. Always have a follow up rod rigged and ready when topwater fishing. Often a bass will miss the topwater, but throw something different and you’ll usually hook him. 42. When bed fishing in the spring, be certain to cast at any stump, log or other “rubbing” object that may be near the bed. Females often hang around wood and actually rub against it prior to going on the bed. 43. Bass prefer a PH level of 7 to 9. Closer to 9 is better. 44. It is documented that about 50% of tournament released bass hang around the release site. Some for months. Exactly how close “hang around” is, is uncertain to me. But it’s certainly something worth remembering. 45. Willows on the water’s edge always have major root structures. They always seek water. Never pass one up when you see it. 46. Remember 90% of all thermoclines are between 10’ and 18’. 47. A Carolina rig is the absolute best presentation for catching inactive bass offshore. 48. Put your tacklebox on a diet. Empty it out completely. Now go through and remove all the lures that you did not fish or catch fish on. Put these aside in a Plano case. Someday, you’ll “need” them again. 49. Keep your crankbait crashing into cover; this triggers lots of strikes. 50. Take a kid fishing. If you don’t have one, borrow one. 51. Get a map of the lake(s) you are fishing. Study them prior to your trip. No basser worth his plastic worms would fish a lake he didn’t know without a map. Eventually, you won’t need the map anymore, you’ll have it memorized, but that comes with time. 52. Remember when setting, adjusting or testing your drag always pull the line from the rodtip, not the reel. The guides add considerable friction and could cost you a fish when using lighter line. 53. When searching for bass, always look for the bait first. The saying “You can’t catch them where they ain’t” is very true. Find the bait and you have “found” the bass. 54. Back off your reel’s drag at the end of the fishing day. It relaxes the drag washers. Keeping your drag tight all the time compresses the drag washers and they take a set to them. The result is a jerky drag as opposed to a smooth one. 55. Always peg your worm weight. You’ll feel more bites and your worm will penetrate cover better. 56. Always pull your knot down the eye of a Pop-R (or other chugger) so that it points to the lake bottom. The lure will have better action. 57. Disassemble, lube and clean your reels at least once annually. By the same token, avoid over lubricating them. A quality reel, with proper maintenance will last a lifetime. 58. Never buy lures advertised on “infomercials”. Examples are Walking Worm, Bionic Minnows, Flying Lures etc. While they may catch a fish here or there, they aren’t the magic tools they’re advertised to be. That money could be better spent on some other lures that consistently catch more fish. 59. Tie an 18” dropper line on the back of a topwater. Add to this a small crappie jig. You’ll be surprised at how many quality fish bite the tiny jig. Not to mention, the chance at a double. It DOES happen. Take it from me. 60. Take another kid fishing. If need be, borrow that one too. 61. Avoid making unnecessary noise in the boat, you’ll send fish fleeing to the depths or shut down the bite when fishing in deep water. 62. Avoid negative smell tracks. Gasoline, bug spray, sunscreen, reel lube all repel fish. 63. Wear sunscreen and drink only Gatorade or water when out on the water. 64. At least once a year, go fishing with nothing but a lure you want to improve your skills with. It’s hard to do, but make yourself do it anyway. It will pay big dividends once you have developed some confidence in it. 65. Carry at least one spinning rod in your “arsenal”. It lends itself well to pitching light lures like tubes and original Rapalas. 66. Buy or make your own plug knocker. It will pay for itself AND you’ll catch more fish because you’ll throw your lure where you normally would not. 67. Keep spare line in the boat. At least enough to refill a reel or two. You never know when Murphy might show up. 68. Buy your line in bulk and respool often. Line is too critical to neglect. It’s cheap insurance. Never discard old line overboard. 69. Every so often, remove your trolling motor prop and inspect for old fishing line wrapped on the shaft. If left unattended, it will eventually cut into the seals that keep your motor’s armature safe and dry. 70. Write an article and submit it to this page so that I too may learn something. Reading my own stuff gets old fast. 71. Save your old plastic worms, instead of discarding them. You can use a piece of worm as a spinnerbait trailer and you can use pieces on a jig’s hookshank to give it some body when the skirt is flared out underwater. 72. Unplug your trailer lights before immersing your trailer. My lights leak big time, but once I started doing this, I have yet to need to replace a bulb. 73. Consider using clear or dark green mono instead of line with fluorescence. You’ll have to concentrate more to detect bites, but who says that’s a bad thing? 74. When you catch that first bass of the day, start asking yourself questions. Did he bite as the bait was on the fall? Was it paused? How deep was it? Fish don’t speak our language so we need to learn to speak theirs. 75. Generally speaking, tapered points hold active bass. Steep, shelf-like points hold inactive bass. Observe weather conditions then choose accordingly. 76. When catching fish in one spot and the bite tapers off, switch lure size/color. You’ll often pick up a few more fish. 77. A five fish limit caught on jigs will outweigh a five fish limit caught on anything else. I bet Bobby could make me eat these words. 78. Retrieve a buzzbait so the blades just ripple the surface. Many anglers fish these baits way too fast. Slowing down will get more bites and more hook-ups. 79. Slowly motor along side bridges and watch your LCR. Often vandals have thrown things like shopping carts, old appliances or other debris off the bridge. While their presence is unknown to us, the fish notice and move in. 80. If you’re just now entering into bass fishing and don’t own a lot of rods yet. Find one you like and by all your future rods the same make and length. This will eliminate the casting inaccuracies associated with picking up another rod after having thrown the same lure/rod combo for the past hour. 81. When buying a reel and deciding which model to buy, ALWAYS buy the one with the faster retrieve speed. Don’t buy into that more power to winch fish out of cover hype. While you may feel it in your hand when deep cranking, you’ll be glad when you hook Mr. Hawg and he puts the move on you. 82. Male bass rarely exceed 16”, while females frequently exceed 22”. 83. Bass DO become conditioned to lures and scientific research shows that bass can remember a negative experience for more than 90 days. Maybe you might want to try a different lure when returning to a locale where you lost a nice bass. 84. Watch for birds such as Great Blue Herons along the shoreline. As obvious as it may seem, many overlook the fact that these birds are “baitfish sentinels”. These birds are feeding on the same bait that bass are. 85. Use a crankbait that is rated to run deeper than the water you intend to fish. This will keep the lure nudging the lake floor. It will in turn kick up little puffs of silt that mimic a crayfish swimming along. 86. To make the ultimate weedless crankbait, buy a jointed number 11 floating Rapala. Cut off the tail section and remove the front hook. Now add a split ring to where the after section was attached. Add to the split ring a 5/0 worm hook. Put on a Slug-go (Texas rigged) on the 5/0 and throw at the thickest cover you can find. This has great action and rarely hangs up. 87. When dropshotting tie an overhand knot in your line between the hook and sinker. When you snag your rig, the line will always break at the knot, leaving your hook and soft plastic bait. 88. While it’s not the Gospel truth, learn this saying and adjust your fishing style accordingly. Wind from the north, don’t venture forth; wind from the east, fish bite least; wind from the west, fish bite best and wind from the south blows the hook in fish’s mouth. In otherwords, flip, pitch or deadstick in a north or east wind because the fish are “post frontal” or difficult to catch. Cast or crank a west or south wind because the fish are active. 89. In May when you see many Brim & Bluegills bedding, fish the deeper water adjacent these. Often bass are lurking nearby waiting for a spawner to stray too far from the nest while warding off nest raiders. 90. Always fish a visible mudline in the water. Cast parallel to it and be sure to fish both the murky and the clear side. 91. Don’t rule out a topwater presentation in cold water. Though not the norm, bass have been caught on topwaters in water as cold as 42ºF. Just be sure to fish slow. 92. Try an artificial frog, especially in July through September. Fish it on 15lb (or more) and throw it up on shore. Swim it out into the treetops. I have caught a number of quality bass doing this when nothing else seemed to work. 93. Put 8ozs (per 10 gal) of rock salt in your livewell. As simple as this may seem, it will tremendously aid your bass in recovering from the stress of captivity. 94. Keep in mind if you have a temperature sensor on your LCR, it only reflects surface temperature, not that of the entire water column. 95. Subdue your lures finish with steelwool or 800 grit sandpaper. You want that dull, mute natural look, not some glossy, flashy showroom paint job that belongs on a car. 96. A floating dock will draw more bass than one on pilings. Docks on pilings closer to the waters surface draw more bass than those up high. 97. Contrary to popular belief, sunlight does not hurt a bass’ eyes. Shade is preferred because the bass is a predator. Shade enhances the bass’ camouflage. 98. Look at how you hooked a bass when crankbait fishing. If he swallowed it or has both hooks in his mouth, then you have the right color/size. If hooked lightly then consider changing size/color. 99. Try whacky worming or swimming a worm. Show the bass something new. It may seem dorky at first, but once fish start biting, it loses that image real quick. 100. Slip an old pair of nylons over your livewell’s aerator pump. The ultrafine mesh will keep scales and other debris out of your pump and make cleaning it simply a matter of exchanging the nylons. 101. For Pete’s sake, take that kid fishing already will ya? Share the Knowledge Fishing is life. Rob Brewer

Spring Spinnerbaits-by Rob Brewer

In the lull between the close of deer season and the area lakes warming up, you’ll find me pouring Spinnerbaits. Spinnerbaits are great! They require no special skill, cover lots of water, are relatively weedless, and catch lots of bass, big bass. The following is how I approach spinnerbaiting in the tidewater area from “ice-out” on into April. I like to use a 5 ½' casting rod spooled up with 14-17lb mono. I’ve used many brands of spinnerbaits. I like my own the best, but Terminators, Strike King and Stanley will work just as well. I prefer to use a ½ oz to 3/8 oz lure with single #5 or 5.5 gold willow leaf blade. I find dark colors (black, blue, purple, root beer) work best in the spring. I always use a twin tail trailer too. I find the undulating action of the tails really bring the bait to life. I don’t use trailer hooks but I do make certain that my hooks are razor sharp. Ideal conditions are just after a warm spring rain. The runoff has washed in bait, raised the water level and made the water murky. These are all positive factors to make fish move shallow. Key areas of the lake to hit are points, flats and underwater humps. The key to identifying good areas are shallow (1-3’) water with deep (8-12’) adjacent to it. If it has cover on it, so much the better. Just be sure to keep the boat “out of the fish”. By that I mean remain out in the deep water, casting up onto the flat. If you can cast your bait up onto the edge of the shore and slowly pull it into the water. Sometimes bass will be sunning themselves in water less than a foot. It’s quite exciting when a bass turns into a torpedo and almost beaches itself trying to inhale your bait. Be certain to work the deep water adjacent to the flat as well. Stealth is paramount. Any noise you make in the boat or sloppy casting will send “ol’ mossback” scurrying into the depths quickly. The retrieve should be very slow (AKA Slow rolling). You should never see your lure during the retrieve. You should be able to feel the blade turning though. Learn to concentrate on that and be a line watcher. Often, you can feel a slight variation in the bait’s vibration just milliseconds prior to a bite. Whenever there’s a funny feeling, your line moves, or the blade stops, set the hook! I use a sweeping motion so as not to introduce any slack to the fish. These methods have brought me several 4-6 pounders. You’ll catch the “dinks” too, along with pickerel and bowfins. Give it a shot. Believe it or not, there was a time (1990) when I had absolutely no confidence in these lures. Now, I always have one tied on. Remember that fishing is life! Rob Brewer

Sound Advice - by Rob Brewer

Silence may be golden, but it’s also one of the secrets to catching fish on a regular basis. If you and I never fished together in the same boat, you haven’t heard my lecture on noise yet. Bass-Jon’s non-boaters are warned, you’ll get to hear my spiel on noise sooner or later. Heavy fishing pressure educates fish quickly on what sounds and other stimuli mean danger. I think you’d be surprised at some of the activity bass are able to detect. The goal here is to avoid sending negative signals to fish that will send them swimming to the depths. Sound is nothing more than vibrations traveling through a medium, such as air or water. Sound in the air travels at 1100 feet per second, but did you know in the water it travels at 4400 feet per second? That’s almost a mile second! If you have ever scuba dived or snorkeled you know what I mean. Here are two simple experiments to reinforce this point. Next time you’re swimming in a pool, have someone hold their key chain in their hand underwater and jiggle it. No matter where you go in the pool, you’ll hear it plain as day. The other one is to cast a rattletrap out and listen to it through the hull of your Jon boat. You don’t have to put your ear to the hull. Just pay attention as you retrieve it, it’s quite easy to recognize. All bass, hawgs and dinks alike, are in perfect tune with their surroundings. If you haven’t noticed, so are the more successful hunters and fisherman. Ponder this. If a bass can feel the vibrations emitted from a minnow’s fins or a spinnerbaits blade, doesn’t it stand to reason that they have no problem picking up the vibrations from your trolling motor, fish finder or boat’s displacement? Those are the three “silent” offenders, we can’t hear them but the fish can. So what do we do? Well, the easiest fix is to turn off your fishfinder whenever possible, keep the trolling motor off and avoid traveling very fast in the boat. Of course we’re not willing to give up our technology or speed, so a compromise is in order. Use the fish finder only when needed and travel slowly long the bank with the trolling motor on as low a speed as possible to move you along. There are other noises that are far more dangerous to our fishing success. It’s the sudden, startling noise of a tacklebox slamming shut or sliding across the deck, a rod being dropped against a gunwale (gunnel) and so forth. There’s a hundred other noises made in the boat that half of all anglers don’t give second thought to. To name just a few: anchoring, coolers, livewells, shifting items in the boat, the list is endless. The bottom line is, we must make a conscience effort to keep our presence hidden from the bass’ keen senses. Of course, accidents will happen and we inevitably spook fish just as we will continue to lose some fish that we hook. A final note, it is fine to carry on conversation in the boat. Talking does not spook fish. Fishing is life. Rob Brewer

Combating Murphy - by Rob Brewer

Murphy’s Law- If it can go wrong, it will go wrong. We’ve all heard it before and experienced it at one time or another. I’m not certain just who the infamous Mr. Murphy was, but I do know this, he’s not welcome in my boat, ever. A saying I’m prone to use is “Luck favors those who prepare”. While I didn’t coin the phrase, I certainly agree with what it is implying. If you’ve ever experienced an equipment failure out on the water, you remember how it affected your game plan. It may have cost you the tournament jackpot or maybe you had to be towed back to the ramp. How often was it a simple fix that made you say to yourself “Man, if only I had a widget, I’d be back in action”? Lets look at some items that could potentially save the day. On-board spares Fuses- keep a pack of the same ampere rating as those in your fish-finder and any other electrical items (livewell timer, nav lights etc.) Spark plugs- Keep one or two pre-gapped plugs on hand. I have a two-stroke and I sometimes go a little heavy on the oil, risking a fouled plug. Spare Propellers- This is the most costly item in the kit, but consider its value out on the water. Lose or destroy a prop and the day is done. I have been on both ends of the towrope. Spend enough time on the water and so will you. Keep both a trolling motor and outboard prop onboard. Shear Pins- These are too vital (and cheap) not to carry. The funny thing is I’ve never had one do its job. If you’re unfamiliar with a shear pin, it’s the little pin that goes through your propeller shaft and propeller seats against. The purpose of this pin is to shear or break when the prop strikes and object hard enough to damage the prop. I started carrying only shear pins, since they’ve never worked; I’ve added the spare props. Starter rope- These rarely fail without neglect on your part. You should replace it once it begins to show signs of fraying. Next time you see a lawnmower in the trash, stop and cut off it’s starter rope. It’s free and it works. Basic tools- I keep a #1 flathead and Phillips screwdriver, spark plug wrench, crescent wrench, pliers, emery cloth, electrical tape, small can of WD-40 and a few miscellaneous hardware items (cotter pins, solderless connectors, wing nuts, washers etc.) onboard as well. Storage- All of the previous mentioned tools and parts fit into an empty Army surplus .50 caliber ammo can with room to spare. The can is waterproof, durable, requires minimal space and weighs only a few pounds. Tacklebox spares Rod repair kit- I keep a Fuji rod repair kit on hand. It has 5 or 6 different size rod tips, and some ferrule cement to install them. Reel repair kit- I keep some oil and grease along with some small screwdrivers. I also have a small vial of screws and washers from old reels. I do not carry spare reels with me. Be sure to have some spare mono on hand too. You never know when the “bird’s nest” will appear. Vehicle spares Drain plug- Mine is fastened to my trailer’s tie-down strap. That way I CANNOT launch my boat without noticing it. You may laugh, but I’ve seen more than one boat launched and sink before anyone noticed. I keep a spare in my glove box just because of the vital role (and cheap cost) this item has. Spare bulbs- Carry spares for your trailer in the glove box. The cost of these is negligible when compared to a traffic ticket. I found that if I unplug my trailer’s lights just prior to launch, I rarely ever have to replace a bulb. Vehicle and trailer tires- Check the condition of your spares periodically. Check the compatibility of your vehicle’s jack and lug wrench with your trailer. Waiting until you have a flat is not the time to discover your trailer’s lugs are different than the tow vehicles. Barring catastrophic failure, these items will keep you out on the water until you want to come home. What I’ve done is put together the items most likely to fail or really end the fishing day. You can adjust this list as you see fit, this is what works for me. It time tested, minimal in weight/space, and the cost is affordable. Hope to see you on the lakes soon. Fishing is life.

My Confidence Bait-by Tommy (Fishin Bucky) Richardson

Over the past year or so, I devoted myself to finding that special lure that has all the qualities of a confidence bait. Through my research and experimenting, I have found that very lure, the Weedless Bass Jig. I’ll flip it, pitch it, cast it, swim it, or any thing else I can think of. Whenevr I’m getting ready to go fishing, the first box I pull up to look through is always my jigs. From 3/16oz to 1/2oz, I’ll throw one sometime during the day. Ever since I caught my first fish on a jig, I was “hooked”. There are many uses and situations for jigs to excel in. Here, this might help more. Flipping & Pitching- I use both Baitcasting and Spinning for this. I like to use 3/8-1oz jigs for most flipping and pitching needs. I flip with Medium-Heavy Baitcast gear and 17-25lb test Mono. The thicker the cover, the heavier the jig is needed to punch through. When I’m flipping my jigs, I’ll find cover with the most “snag-appeal” and plop my jig right in the middle of it, hoping old Mr. Bucketmouth is home. When I’m pitching jigs, I mostly opt for Medium action Spinning gear with 8-12lb test Mono. With this method I’ll just pitch along a bank to visible cover and/or and irregular features I might notice. Swimming- I prefer spinning for this method, baitcasting will work also. I’ll start out working along cover and structure with a medium to slow retrieve, the same as a spinnerbait. If I don’t get any strikes that way, I’ll start a “yo-yo” retrieve by visible cover or even on “bare-bank” areas. Vertical Jigging- When the bass (and temperature) lower, I use this method. I use a sonar to locate any brush or humps on the bottom of the lake and drop a bouy to mark it. Then I troll back around with an ½-1 ½ oz jig tied on an heavy casting and drop the jig straight down to the structure and wait until it hits bottom and start hoppin’ it. I the length of the hop and pause between hops. If I go “bass-less” for about 5 minutes, I reel up and troll further away or closer and drop again. I’ll use almost any jig, but I prefer Strike Kings and Bass Pro Shops Enticer Series. I have all sorts of weights, but mainly 3/8 oz. My favorite colors in clear water are watermelon, camo, blue/white, black/red, and stained to muddy water I opt for black, black/blue, black/chart., about anything that has black. Trailer wise, I often use plastics over pork because I don’t want to risk the pork rolling over the hook point, but pork can be good in muddy water. I like the 5” Fat Albert Grub by Zoom in Smoke/Black-flake and Root Beer. I also like 3”Black grubs barely on the hook for more of a swimming action. When I use pork, the Uncle Josh SwimCraw in Black gets the go. And last but not least, is the attractant. I like the Real Craw or Yum, depending on the color of the water and presentation. Tommy Richardson

Face the Facts - by Tommy (Fishin Bucky) Richardson

When it comes down to choosing lures for tournaments or for just everyday fishing, you gotta look at the facts. Now, as most of us bassfisherman know that the plastic worms were/are the most bass producing lures of all time. From 1967-2001, 32% of all B.A.S.S. tournaments were won by throwing plastic worms. Now 25% percent of the 32% were Texas-Rigged worms. In second is the ever-so popular, Spinnerbait. With 26% of the victories on the B.A.S.S. tours, the spinnerbait is most pros’ confidence bait, and for good reason. A spinnerbait works from Jan 1st to Dec 31st in the muddy waters to the clear. Rounding out the top three is the Crankbait and (my favorite) the Jig. Both have a respectable 20% of the 1st place spots. These lures are gaining more and more popularity in the Bass Fishing world. These lure are also considered as “back-up” lure for when the bite is “off”. Considering how the Crankbait produces reaction strikes and the Jig can be dropped on a bass’ head makes them top players. ** When seasons are the deciding factor for what to tie on, take a look at these facts: * In Winter, 1st Worms with 35%, 2nd Jigs 24%, and 3rd Spinnerbaits 22%. In Spring, 1st Jigs 25%, 2nd Spinnerbaits 19%, and 3rd Worms 18%. In Summer, 1st Worms 45%! 2nd Spinnerbaits 30%, and Crankbaits 28%. In Fall, 1st Spinnerbaits 28%, 2nd tie between Cranks and Worms 28%, and 3rd Jigs 19%. To hit more closer to home, here in the East, these rank up top:* 1st-Crankbaits 59% 2nd-Spinnerbaits 32% 3rd-Jigs and Worms 20% 4th-Tubes 9% 5th-Buzzbaits and Lizards 7%** *Information is from Bassmaster Magazine’s Editor, Dave Precht **Totals may be more then 100%

Pre-Spawn Bass Fishing Local Reservoirs - by Bob Bullen

To each his or hers own. Is a common phrase and one that definitely applies to Bass Fishing. We all have our favorite lures and techniques. With this in mind, here’s one of my favorites for Pre-Spawn fishing. It’s no secret and long known that crankbaits in early spring produce some nice size bass. I’ve found that the big females start to roam the shores and banks late February and early March. The water temp is on the raise and so are the big females which start to move in closer from their deep water winter spots looking for prime bedding areas and to feed. Normally you can see them in about the 8 – 10 foot range making forages closer to the banks in the 1 – 4 ranges occasionally throughout the day. Now all the local lakes are good for Pre-Spawn bass, but you will most likely see me on Lake Prince or Burnt Mills during this timeframe. Start off by looking into the coves that have the best northern exposure, these will warm up faster then the southern parts of the lake. Next pick a cove with ample cover and structure. I normally find that early morning produces the best, but if cloudy skies and a bit of wind are on your side, the bite should last throughout the day. My favorite lure for this time a year has to be the Rapala Shad-Rap RS-5 (original Basal wood version) in fire tiger or clown. This lure has the depth range I’m looking for, now position the boat far enough away from the bank so the lure will have to transient the 10-foot range. If your alone in the boat cast parallel to the shore and try to keep it in the 2 – 4 foot strike range as long as possible. My best success comes when the Shad-Rap hits an underwater branch, limb or cover. I work the lure over the obstruction and then stop for a second, twitch and if a female or buck is within striking range, it’s all over but the weighing. Now depending on the wind and bite. I may have to add a suspending dot just forward of the front treble hook. This holds the floating Shad-Rap in place just a little longer and also points the nose of the bait down, which in turn it looks like an injured minnow. Plus it aids in getting that plastic lip to hit the wood first and allow you to work it up and over without getting hung up. If for some reason they don’t want the Shad-Rap I will switch to a stick bait like a Lucky Craft Pointer 78 in pearl white or shad and work it in a similar manner. The only trouble I have with this method is I Normally get my fair share of Chain Pickerel. As I said before there are many techniques that work for the Pre-Spawn Bass Fishing, if you have one please share with rest of club. This method work for me last year in Bill’s Marine Small Boat Tournament early March. (Big.Old.Bass)

Limnology 101- by Rob Brewer

Most of us are familiar with the term “eliminating water”, yet often our elimination tactics involve nothing more than fishing an area. The whole idea behind eliminating water is to identify water that’s not worth fishing in the first place. Armed with an understanding of the bass’ liquid environment and how the seasons affect it, eliminating water becomes quite simple. The first step to effectively eliminating water is a basic understanding of limnology. For those unfamiliar with the term, limnology is the science that deals with the physical, chemical and biological properties of fresh water. Let’s begin by dissecting a Tidewater lake in summer when there’s three distinct layers in the lake. These layers are the Epilimnion (top), the Metalimniom or thermocline (middle) and the Hypolimnion (bottom). Let’s look at each layer in more detail while it’s still summer time. Epilimnion- this top layer contains the warmest water in the lake. It’s warmest at the surface, but as you penetrate deeper into it, the temperature gradually drops. This layer contains plenty of oxygen and just about ALL of the bass at this time of year. Metalimnion- (Thermocline) this thermal barrier separates the epilimnion from the hypolimnion. This band of water rapidly drops in temperature in just a few feet or less. The thermocline varies in depth and width (distance between epilimnion and hypolimnion) on any given lake. Keep in mind that the thermocline may not be at a uniform depth throughout the same body of water. For example, a windy day may slant the thermocline, making it deeper on the windblown side and shallower on the opposite shore. The thermocline has diminishing levels of oxygen the deeper in it you go. The thermocline often contains a surprising amount of particulate debris and sediment constantly suspended in it. This suspended debris is what enables you to see the thermocline on your sonar unit. Finding the depth of the thermocline enables you to eliminate all water beyond that depth. Hypolimnion- this bottom layer of the lake consists of the coldest water in the lake and tends to have a more uniform temperature throughout. This layer is usually void of bass because it lacks sufficient oxygen. This is due to all the decaying organic matter typical of the fertile lakes in our region. Not only does this decaying process consume the oxygen, but also it also produces methane as a byproduct and further makes the layer even more intolerable for bass. Imagine it’s a hot July day. You and your partner are beating the banks with worms and spinnerbaits, occasionally hooking a runt here and there, but the bite is tough. The two of you discuss a possible deepwater bite and motor to a hole 25’ deep. One of you rigs a Carolina rig, the other a Mann’s 20 plus. You begin fishing and after a half-hour without any action, you begin second guessing your move. Eventually, you head back to the bank and stick with what worked. Had you a better understanding of limnology, you would have realized your lure choices were doomed. Those lures worked too deep, they plied the waters of the hypolimnion where there are no bass in our lakes. Had you found the thermocline and fished some structure at that depth, sooner or later, you’d connect with fish. Finding this magic depth is the first key in unlocking a deepwater bite. Once found, it’s map and graph time. By now your probably asking, how do I find this thermocline thing? There are a few ways to find it, some easier than others. The most common way is with a sonar unit. You’ll need to turn off the automatic settings and turn up the gain (sensitivity). Often, you’ll pick up a very minute, but distinct line at a given depth. Some find it and mistake it for interference. Another way with a graph is to motor around marking fish. Note the depths of the deepest fish you’re spotting. Probably the most accurate way is to construct a limnograph (Pg 60, Jul/Aug 2000, Bassmaster). A last resort is for you and your partner to fish two different depth working diving plugs. Start at 8’ and 10’ and gradually work deeper lures until you connect. Keep in mind that thermoclines are usually shallower in murky/stained water than they are in clear water lakes. Our tidewater lakes remain in this stratified condition until late fall when the water begins to cool. As the surface temperature cools, it becomes denser and begins to sink. Bass are still occupying the epilimniom, but don’t relate to the thermocline as much due to the cooler water throughout the epilimniom. As the water continues to cool, the thermocline compresses and becomes a thin band. Eventually the epilimnion will cool to the same temperature as the thermocline. Once this happens, the thermocline ruptures and fall turnover takes place. After the thermocline has ruptured, all the trapped particles and toxic methane are released into the entire lake. The water becomes very turbid and oxygen levels are at an all time low. Turnover is very stressful for bass and other species. Fishing is very tough now. So tough, that you’re better off in a tree stand. Bass can be anywhere in the lake since there’s no longer a hostile hypolimnion. Turnover is one period where we should welcome cold fronts. You want the winds to come and mix things up. This will help stabilize conditions. Once the bass adjust, they will begin feeding again. If you find you must fish during turnover, try the headwaters or any underwater springs you know of. Once winter is upon the lake, It will again stratify, but not to the extent it did in summer. Remember water is densest at 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Let that be your clue to finding warm water. If the surface temperature is 36 degrees, you know it’s warmer in the depths, likewise, if the surface temperature is 41 degrees; it’s colder in the depths. Winter bass are usually in deep water due to the stability of conditions there. Often, they stack up in just a few areas of the lake for whatever reason. Find this area and adjust your presentation to the slowed metabolism of the fish and you can have a real productive day. Just how cold the water gets will dictate whether or not there will be a spring turnover. If the surface temperature goes below 39 degrees then a spring turnover will commence as soon as the water again warms to its densest temperature. If the surface temperature never dips below 39 degrees, the lake will not experience spring turnover and will slowly begin its stratification process until it has gone full circle back to where we began this article. Hopefully, this has given you some insight that will help you effectively eliminate water according to the season you’re fishing. Remember, fishing is life. Rob Brewer

Jig Magic by Rob Brewer

While there are flashier, more appealing lures to fisherman, few, if any lures have greater appeal to big bass. The venerable jig n pig has been duping bass consistently for more than half a century. Yes, plastic worms may account for more numbers of fish, but a jig will net more pounds per bite. Why? I honestly don’t know. But I do know from experience that it is fact. There’s something magical about jigs and big bass. Of course you can use a jig right out of its package and still catch fish. But there are also numerous little enhancements that will increase its success ratio. Here’s how I “doctor” a jig: Leadhead- Don’t use those commercially manufactured “eye-busters” to remove the paint in the line tie. These put burrs inside the line tie. Use an ice pick or old hook. Now tie on a foot or so of 30 or 40 pound test. Draw it down tight and work it back and forth to clean all the paint from the eye. Weedguard- Trace every bristle from the leadhead to the end of the fiber. Often these get fused together in the manufacturing process. Make certain each fiber stands alone. Don’t hesitate to remove a few using nailclippers or sidecutters. Keep in mind if you shorten the weedguards, they become stiffer. Hook- Using pliers, bend the hook open about 2 degrees more than it was manufactured. Now bend it to the right or left 2 degrees as well. Just be certain not to exceed the protection of the weedguard. Some jigs (such as Arkie brand) have an insufficient barb on the hook. Take a triangular file and “deepen” the barb some. Now hone the hook to a razor’s edge if it isn’t already. Save all your old Berkley Power Worms and other powerbaits. Take 11/4” to 11/2” pieces and slip these on the shank of your hooks. These will give the jig some body when the skirt strands are flared out in the water. Furthermore, the scent will permeate the skirt and the worm itself will make the bass hold the jig longer. Add a trailer and the jig is ready to fish. I prefer pork to plastic. But each to his own. As for fishing with jigs, the proper outfit is essential for success. The jig should be manipulated with the rod tip. All the reel does is store line, take up slack, and assist in fighting fish. Having said that, spend your money on a quality, sensitive, heavy action graphite rod. I use a 6’ Berkley Bionix matched with a run of the mill Shimano 5.1:1 reel. Some say use a low geared reel to assist in winching bass out of heavy cover. I disagree. I never met a bass I couldn’t reel in. If I had a faster reel, I’d use it. Don’t skimp in the line department. Use at least 15lb test and don’t shy from something heavier. I’ve had some nice size bass break me off with 15lb test in heavy cover. It’s not the norm, but it happens. If you’re fishing a jig where it was meant to be fished, you’ll have some bass break you off. It’s part of the game. I don’t like superbraids. They’re too darn sensitive. I find myself setting the hook into everything. If your just starting out with jigs, you may want to consider braided line as you develop your sense of feel. I have fished jigs for too many years with mono and I’m not willing to put forth the effort required to “reeducate” my senses. Jigs are not for everyone. They demand absolute concentration for them to be effective. It’s a lure that you must stay in touch with. A bass can inhale and exhale a jig so fast it’s imperceptible. Jigs must be fished on a “controlled slack” line. By that I mean you must follow the lure down with the rod tip at the same rate of descent as the jig. The lure will pendulum out of the strike zone if you move your rod too slow, too fast, and you lose touch with the jig. Jig bites vary from a “tap-tap” to a “wet towel” feeling to a feeling of weightlessness. Never pause on a jig bite. Always set the hook HARD Right away! Whenever in doubt, set the hook. You may catch the occasional “stickfish” but better safe than sorry. Keep in mind when penetrating cover such as trees, often the line will be lying over a branch, reducing your sense of feel. Be sure to pay extra attention at such times. With practice and experience, you’ll be able to identify what your jig is doing and what type of cover its in all by feel alone. If you’re not already a jig magician, go fishing once with nothing but jigs. You’ll have no option but to fish them but by day’s end, you’ll be glad you did. Fishing is life. Rob Brewer

Mapping your way to Success - By Rob Brewer

As Bass-Jon tournament anglers, some of us will have to fish lakes we have never fished before. With the right mindset, this can be less intimidating than it really is. We must remind ourselves that we had a “first time” at our favorite lake. Obviously something happened to make us go back again and again. Fishing new water is one of the best catalysts for angler improvement. New water puts your fish finding and catching abilities to the test. There’s a saying that goes “Even a blind hog finds an acorn every now and then”. We don’t want to be that hog. We want to find fish so we can catch fish. This involves eliminating the unproductive water. The fastest way to do this is with a map. Keep in mind that a map won’t show it all. However, it is the best starting place. Study the map well in advance of the tournament and identify all major structure and break-lines you can see. This will be your starting point. Of course you’ll still have to apply what you already know according to season, weather and such. Over the years, I’ve learned a few tricks, methods and other ideas regarding maps. It will still be up to you to put fish in the boat but these tips should help you bolster your confidence. First thing to do when you acquire a map is to make a “working copy” of it. The original is known as the “master”. The master can be paper, on floppy or on the Internet. The point is to always be able to produce a new copy when needed. When starting with your first working copy, take permanent marker (fine point) and trace the contour lines different colors. This will dramatically aide in pinpointing shelves, slopes and other rapid bottom changes (just look for the rainbows). Likewise, you can easily identify flats and humps too. Now laminate this map with contact paper or some other equivalent. This is now your new best friend on the lake (along with a pen). Anything you find pertinent should be penned on your working copy. Personally, I mark every fish I catch and any significant structure I discover not already on the map. Every year this “new info” goes onto the working copy prior to it’s lamination. Ultimately, you are compiling a visual database of fishing experience. When the bite is tough, or someone’s “camping out” on your favorite spot, you’ll have viable alternatives already available. One of the best methods to update a map is to go to the lake during an extremely low water period. Be certain to bring a working copy of your map and a camera and/or camcorder. There’s nothing like firsthand experience to see just what really lies beneath. I’ve taken pictures of cover in areas I never would have thought was there. What this translates to is areas with little or no fishing pressure. No secret methods here, just facts that will make you a better bass angler. Fishing is life. Rob Brewer

Slaughter ‘em with Slug-go’s by Rob Brewer

Prespawn bass are hungry, plain and simple. The key to catching them is finding them. If you’re already familiar with a lake’s known spawning beds, great. If not, here’s where to look. Start with some firm bottom in protected coves or other sheltered areas. Search depths from 2 to 6 feet for starters. Look for dishpan shaped holes in the bottom. When you find these, mark them on your map. Bass will use them year after year. The point here is to locate spawning sites for future reference. Once the locations are known you have a starting point to find prespawn bass. Once found, these bass can usually be suckered with a soft plastic jerkbait. The market is saturated with various brands and finding them is easy. I like Herb Reed’s original Slug-go by Lunker City. Jerkbaits are great bass catching tools. They weedless, make a soft entry into the water, and work in a muted, subtle fashion that bass fail to become accustomed to. It’s the same reason why jigs and worms never lose their bass appeal. Choose one in a natural shad or minnow color. Just be sure it has some pearlesence to it so can be seen. Seeing the bait and how it is working will let you know if you rigged it right. To be effective, the bait should randomly dart about with every twitch of the rod. If it spins or constantly veers to the same side, reel it in and re-rig it. It must be perfectly straight on the hook to work it’s magic. Try not to “overfish” the lure, especially with the cooler water temps you’ll be experiencing in the prespawn. Fish these on a medium action casting rod spooled up with 12-17 LB mono. I use a 5/0 (for 6” baits) and a 3/0 (for 4” baits) Gamakatsu offset hook for these. They’re strong and sharp right out of the pack. Fish the bait around all forms of visible cover. Work it up to the cover and let it “die” down into the cover, then hang on! Make certain you also work any ledges, tapered points and other key holding areas in the vicinity of the old spawn beds. Start at about 8 feet and work shallower. Even if the cover is shallower, don’t hit it first, fish up to it. Strikes vary from bone jarring to a flash with a swirl. Sometimes your line will just swim off left or right. In any case, set the hook hard as if worm or jig fishing. There are several ways to rig these baits. I most often used a weightless Texas rig with the hook point barely exposed. For a different look, try one of the hooks with the weight molded onto the shank. These hooks impart a nice wobbling action to the bait as it falls vertically on the pause. Sometimes this makes all the difference. I have fished right behind other boats throwing the standard fare (spinnerbaits & worms) and caught fish where they blanked. If you want to keep the random action but fish the bait deeper, buy a box of small finishing or paneling nails. Insert one or two of these in the bait near the head. It’s much cheaper (and easier to fine tune) than the lead weight sticks sold for the same purpose. With a little experimentation, you’ll find the right combination of ballast needed to get the action you want. Yet another way to rig these is with the popular drop shot rig, though I’ve yet to try it. I’m surprised more anglers aren’t throwing these baits. They’re cheap, effective and not that difficult to learn to fish. What more could you want? Give these baits a whirl, you’ll be glad you did once you hook that first hawg. See ya’ on the lake. Remember, fishing is life! Rob Brewer

Topwaters in Tidewater - by Rob Brewer

By May, the majority of bass are through with the rigors of spawning and the “lockjaw” often associated with the post-spawn period. The water has been steadily warming and that has been increasing the bass’ metabolism. This all translates into more bites from our finned friend Micropterus Salmoides. From early May on through late fall, its topwater time in Tidewater. If you’ve never experienced a bass exploding on a topwater lure, you’re missing out on one of fishing’s greatest thrills. Topwater strikes vary from explosions to subtle slurps. They just open up that huge maw and your lure silently disappears. Occasionally, bass will launch out of the water like a missile fired from a submarine and come crashing down on top of the bait. Often times, you can watch the bass swim up and eye the bait before he blasts it. Keep in mind any bass you can see can also see you. So keep movements subtle as you manipulate your bait. He is focused on your bait and will remain so as long as you don’t do anything to spook him. The most common problem with topwaters is seeing the strike and reacting too soon. Easier said than done, but wait until you feel the fish before setting the hook. My topwater outfit is a 6’ Mitchell Classic rod matched with a Diawa 5.1:1 reel spooled up with 10lb Trilene. This is going a little light in the line department, but I’ve yet to experience a break-off from a fish while fishing this setup. I like 10lb because it allows me to manipulate my bait lively and for it’s reduced visibility when the bait is paused. Someday, I’ll be broken off by a hawg, but I’ll chance that risk for more bites. Nine times out of ten, my topwater choice is a Bagley’s Spinnertail Bang-O-Lure (#5). This a large balsa minnow bait that lands softly for its size. Don’t let the lure’s five-inch length deter you from using it. I use this bait for two reasons; 1) the lure is big enough to entice any lunkers lurking about. 2) The lure displaces enough water to make its presence known to any bass inside cover who can’t see it. I remove the factory treble hooks and replace them with Excalibur rotating trebles of the same size. I also remove the split ring because knots break too easy with the 10lb mono. I tie the lure on with a knot called a spider hitch, some of you may know it as a king sling. They’re both the same knot. Don’t cast topwaters to cover like you would a jig or worm. Cast well beyond the cover and work your lure up to it. Crash the bait into it and pause it. This is usually where you see the strike coming, but expect to get bit at any point in the retrieve. Always work the bait in an erratic manner with various pauses and twitches. Avoid steady retrieves. The goal is to duplicate the writhing death throes of a wounded bait. Always have a “follow-up” rod rigged and ready. Sluggo’s and jigs are good choices. Rig whatever gives you confidence, just be sure it’s not another topwater. Sometimes bass miss the lure or expose their whereabouts, but don’t bite for whatever reason. Throw them something different and most of the time you’ll hook that fish. My last bit of advice is to shy away from buzzbaits. They’re fun to fish, but everybody is throwing them. Add to that the number of missed strikes and the fact that you can’t pause a buzzbait, you’ll realize there are better topwater choices. Fishing is life. Rob Brewer

Making Scents of it all - by Rob Brewer

Have you ever had a nice bass charge your lure only to turn away at the last minute? Perhaps you had one interested enough to follow but would not strike. Why does this happen? Maybe the bass saw you; maybe the bass saw the boat. It could be that you just plain stink. Not due to lack of personal hygiene, but that you are leaving some sort of a negative smell track on your offering. We all know that live bait emits an odor that fish find to their liking, but did you ever stop to think what kind of odor you may be emitting from your “scentless” lure? The purpose of this article is to make you aware of what scents are good, bad or indifferent. Obviously, we’ll want to obtain the good ones and eliminate the bad or indifferent ones. Lets look at what research has already done for us. Negative*---------------Neutral*------------------------Positive* L-serine----------------Alcoholic-----------------------Fish oil (human skin oil)--------beverages Nicotine----------------Human---------------------------Fish guts ------------------------Urine Petroleum products------Soda pop------------------------Fish slime (gas, oil, WD-40) Sunblock----------------Chlorinated water---------------Natural bait Insect repellent--------Treated septic water------------Milk Plasticizers used-------biodegradable soap--------------Human saliva In soft plastics Manufacture *Information obtained from The Scientific Angler, Paul C. Johnson, 1984, Charles Scribner & Sons, New York Just look at the negative column! Are we setting ourselves up or what? The majority of us are introducing negative scents to our fishing whether we know it or not. Now that we know what we’re doing wrong, lets look at some ways to tilt the odds back in our favor. Gas up your boat and vehicle the night before instead of on your way to the lake. Don’t decide to perform reel maintenance on the lake. Put on sunblock in the morning (at home) before you start burning. When you reapply on the lake wash your hands off with fish attractant such as baitmait, real craw or whatever brand you like. Mix fish attractant with all of your soft plastics. Store all your soft plastics separate from other lures, believe it or not they will absorb the odor. When applying insect repellent, be certain to wash hands with fish attractant when done. Use care not to get repellent on line, rod, reel or lure. If you can, avoid using it altogether. Remember that not only is monofilament damaged by petroleum products, it absorbs their odors when stored in close proximity. Remove about 50% of the brine in your pork baits and substitute with fish attractant. Spray your reel’s spool (while full) with fish attractant. This will permeate your line and create a positive scent track. Yes, all this may sound extreme, but I consider it attention to detail. Often it’s the little things that make big differences. If you haven’t already read Paul Johnson’s The Scientific Angler, I recommend you do. It will certainly give you greater insight to the bass’s world and the acuity of their senses. Fishing is Life.

Gone to Carolina (Rigs that is)- by Rob Brewer

Now is a prime time to resort to a Carolina rig. The dog days of summer, combined with low water levels tend to send the bass deep for a good portion of the day. Still beat the shallows with a topwater if you get out early enough. But as the sun climbs and the temperature along with it, consider probing the depths as part of your game plan. While a crankbait may be more fun to fish, a Carolina rig will usually catch more fish. First, it stays in the strike zone longer, and secondly, it possesses that same subtle factor that worms and jigs do. If you’re not familiar with a Carolina rig, its nothing more than a worm weight (or egg sinker) threaded in front of a glass (or plastic) bead threaded on the line before swivel. After the swivel comes a length of monofilament leader (usually 14” to 24”), then a worm hook loaded with your favorite soft plastic bait. Some guys actually rig crankbaits on Carolina rigs. I’ve never did it though. I think the bait would spend too much time sitting vertical against the leader. A variety of lures will work for Carolina rigs. I favor the Riverside air series of baits. These are manufactured with a series of bubbles or air pockets in them, making them very buoyant. Ideal for Carolina rigs. You can be certain of keeping any bait off the bottom, simply by threading a foam earplug on your leader just before you tie on a hook. My Carolina rigging outfit consists of a 6 ½’ Shakespeare IM7 Intrepid rod with a Daiwa procaster reel. It is spooled up with 24lb braided line. This is the only application where I use braided line. Since a Carolina rig is usually fished on a longer line than Texas rigs, the braid eliminates all the springy stretch associated with mono on the hookset. Plus, it holds up better against abrasion while dragging that sinker all over the lake bottom. The mono leader serves a threefold purpose. 1) It keeps the bait up off the bottom. 2) It acts as a shock absorber. 3) It hides the fact that there is actually a line attached to that piece of plastic Mr. Bass is about to ingest. Always use a heavy sinker when Carolina rigging. The key is to stay in contact with the bottom at all times. I usually use a ½ ounce sinker, but will up the weight to as much as 1 ounce depending on wind, depth fishing and other conditions. Another key is fishing on a hard bottom. Bass seem to like hard bottoms; also you can feel what is taking place on the business end of your line. A mucky bottom “swallows” the weight and makes it hard to feel what is going on. If you are fishing a hard bottom and suddenly it turns to muck, set the hook, that’s a fish! Like Texas rigs, you fish the Carolina rig with your rod tip. Sweep your rod along horizontal to the water in 6” to 12” increments and wait for the “tap-tap” bite that you get when worm fishing. Fishing a Carolina rig is a different feel, but one you’ll adjust to after a few casts. When you do get a strike, take up all your slack and set the hook with a long sweeping motion. Accept the fact that you will lose some fish due to the very nature of this rig. I find the lost fish are directly proportionate to the length of the leader! The weight so far forward of the hook aids the bass in getting rid of it. Also consider the numerous angles involved with the actual hookset. Keep in mind when have a tight line, it’s only tight against the sinker. The bass could be between you and the sinker as much as the length of your leader. This is the reason for the long sweeping hookset. As a rule of thumb, try to sweep your hookset at least twice the length of your leader. That’s about the only “secret” to Carolina rigs. Fish the rig along points, creek channels, humps and any other “bassy” structure. Basically the same places you wanted to throw that crankbait. Try probing the 8’ to 12’ depths when things don’t pan out shallow. For some reason unknown to me, Carolina rigs are good limit catchers but not a “big fish” catcher. I have never caught a bass over 4lbs on a Carolina rig and that wasn’t the norm. Once the bite slows on the Carolina rig, go ahead and throw that crankbait you were considering to pick up that “kicker” fish. Lastly, pay attention to your sinker. Don’t reel it up too close to your rod tip. Remember that the reel to rodtip length is shorter on any rod that is bent or loaded up. If the fish comes unbuttoned at the last minute, you could break your rod tip. When the weathers hot and the fishing’s not, go to Carolina! Fishing is life. Rob Brewer

Successful Catch & Release - by Rob Brewer

Most, if not all of us practice catch and release. We catch a bass, put him in the livewell or we release him right away when not fishing a tournament. We all do this because we hope to catch the same fish again later on. Our “not so secret” agenda is that he will be a little bigger next time around. Research, acceptance and the practice of catch and release has increased by leaps and bounds over the last twenty years. Most tournament circuits require it and some have conducted extensive research on the effects it has on bass. I remember when everyone owned a stringer and success was measured by the number of fish hanging on that stringer. Fortunately, times have changed. Today’s angler is better equipped, educated and relentless in the pursuit of their quarry. I have just finished reading Dr Keith A. Jones’ (Ph.D.) book, Knowing Bass (Lyons Press, 2002). This article is in no way, shape or form an advertisement for this book. But I do want to give credit where it is due and I did learn a lot about bass from the research compiled to write this book. I want to share some of that knowledge with you. Dr. Jones is a fisheries biologist who has spent the last sixteen years conducting various experiments and research on bass (and other gamefish) at Berkley’s multimillion dollar research lab in Spirit Lake, Iowa. The book reads very scientific and might not prove interesting reading to a neophyte angler, but all you “bass junkies” out there would probably like it. I think you will find this book to be the most comprehensive available today with regards to what research has discovered about the senses and preferences of finned friend Mr. Bass. Anyway, back to the point of this article. I want to share what I’ve learned from this book regarding the stress angling and captivity (livewells) place on bass and how to counter those effects so that we may achieve minimal mortality amongst our released bass. After all, why release them if they’re going to die? Wouldn’t it be better to just take them home and eat them? Just for a moment, imagine you are a bass in one of the area lakes. You’re hiding amongst the many branches of a “blowdown” awaiting an unsuspecting morsel of prey to wander by. Along comes this fat, juicy plastic worm. As it falls down in front of you, you flare your gills and vacuum up the morsel. Suddenly you find yourself pulled from your hiding spot by some invisible force. You have no idea what is the matter, but instinct takes over and you fight for your life. You jump from the water, you sound to the security of the depths, but nothing is working. Eventually you are exhausted and must relent to this force. As you are pulled alongside this large rectangular floating “log”, a hand reaches down and “lips” you, removing you from your liquid environment. While you are suffocating in this semi-foreign environment, an angler is fumbling for his pliers or camera. After what seemed an eternity, you are placed into a dark, humming container, but at least you can breathe again. Little do you know, Now is when you will really begin the fight for your life. When a bass is hooked, it’s survival instinct takes over. It experiences a hormonal change just as you or I would during an adrenaline rush. What happens is the bass’ own adrenaline glands (yes, they have them too) kick in to high gear. This hormonal activity affects the entire physiology of the fish. It shuts down other biological systems like the immune system and feeding urge is suppressed as well. The adrenaline release has caused an increase in the flow of blood to the muscles and stores of sugar are released into the blood to provide extra energy. The side effect of this is a build up of lactic acid in the blood. This is caused by unusual increase in metabolism. The increase of lactic acid lowers the bass’ blood acidity, which reduces the blood’s ability to absorb oxygen from the water. Obviously, this makes it harder for the bass to breathe. Remember earlier, when I said the bass is only beginning the fight for his life? Well now it’s time to settle all those metabolic “debts”. First the suppressed immune system must kick back into gear. There are several infectious bacterias always present in the water and bass’ blood. Without the immune system, the bass is a goner. The bass must now exchange through the water all the metabolic deficiencies it has incurred along with ridding the body of wastes and byproducts the body has generated during the fight. Let’s take a moment and study the bass’s gills. We’ve all seen these bright red “strainers” on healthy fish. The reason they are so red is because you are basically looking directly at the blood in them. The membrane covering these things is only 1/10th the thickness of a human hair! Needless to say these are very, very delicate and must be treated accordingly. The membrane is so thin to allow gases like oxygen and CO² to pass freely to and from the blood. These membranes are so thin that water actually enters the bloodstream as well. The bass’ kidneys filter out this water in the form of urine. A bass urinates more than 20% of its body weight each day. Included in this urine are wastes such as urea and ammonia. Now here’s how livewells (sort of an oxymoron huh?) stress bass more than the fight of angling does. This is assuming you use a closed loop system of course. A closed loop system is one that constantly recirculates the same water over and over. While the bass is recovering from metabolic shock (in the livewell), it is excreting and leeching wastes into the water, while at the same time extracting all the needed electrolytes and oxygen from the water. Eventually the water in your livewell (though aerated) is becoming a hostile environment to the bass. As the bass consumes the needed nutrients from the water and secretes its wastes in to the water, it is essentially transforming it into an aerated waste tank. By now, you may be wondering what can be done to improve the water quality in your livewell and ensure the successful release of your limit. The minimum you can do is exchange the water in your livewell every three hours or so. Still there’s more you can do. Some use livewell conditioners (such as Please Release Me). This is where the closed loop system shines. It allows you to control water quality as opposed to pumping it over the side. Now here lies a case for argument. You could say that open loop livewells constantly exchange water and bring in fresh nutrients while removing wastes. And you’d be right. BUT you cannot control the water quality that comes in and it is futile to attempt to do so since its constantly discharged overboard. Here’s how you can control closed loop water quality without purchasing livewell conditioners and still make the water quality better than that of the lakes. Fill an old nylon stocking with 8 ounces (per 10 gal) of rock salt (not table salt) and hang it with a ziptie on the spraybar of your aerator. This will replenish the electrolytes in the water and the bass will absorb them through the gills. The nylon holds the salt crystals and keeps them out of your livewell pump. You can sedate bass using oil of cloves (3-5 drops per 10 gal) and the effects wear off almost immediately once returned to clean water. This is the same oil of cloves we used for toothaches as kids. Lastly, you can cool the livewell water by freezing some water in a few two-liter pop bottles. Put these in your cooler with your drinks. They’ll act as ice in the mean time. Once you have a fish or two, put one in your livewell and it will cool the water gradually without putting the fish in shock. Following these three simple steps will dramatically increase your bass’ chance of survival. We have one more step to cover though, weigh-in. We certainly don’t want all this effort to be for naught do we? Did you know that 10lb of bass in a weigh bag (with 2-gal water @ 86ºF) can reduce the oxygen level to less than 3ppm in only two minutes? Reach 1ppm (part per million) and the fish is dead. If you can, wait until the very last possible minute to bag your fish. If you have a huge limit, use multiple bags or weigh your fish straight from the live well. Try to keep handling to a minimum whenever possible. As ethical sportsmen, we owe this to the fish and to the image of our sport, especially with all the fire fishing is receiving from the misinformed animal rights organizations lately. If we’re gonna do it, lets do it right. Fishing is life. Rob Brewer

Making Suspending Lures - by Rob Brewer

It’s time for a fish story. When I was around seventeen years old, a friend and I were fishing a stump field in a clear Pennsylvania reservoir. I remember it as though it were yesterday. It was one of those times when a light came on. And on it has stayed. I was targeting bass using a Heddon River Runt. I was catching a few bass, and every so often, a pickerel. Eventually, my lure got enough holes from the pickerel’s teeth, that it absorbed enough water to become neutrally buoyant. Instantly, my catch rate skyrocketed. Now every time I reeled up to a stump and paused, the bait just hovered in place. The fish would appear out of nowhere and slam it during the pause. I realized the bait now better mimicked the movements of actual forage. Ever since, I’ve had this affection for suspending baits and it continues to this day. Let me tell you, they’re not only for cold water bass! About the only time I won’t use one is when I’m cranking cover and I want a bait that will float out after impact. Over the years, I’ve tinkered with lots of lures trying to make them suspend. I’ve also destroyed several in the process. Here’s the voice of experience talking about what works (and what doesn’t). For the purpose of this article, there are three types of baits; floating, sinking and factory made suspending models. I don’t really like too many factory made suspending lures. I don’t know if it’s the manufacturing process or what, but rarely do they suspend to my standards. I find they either sink or float. Granted, it will be very slow, but I want it to hover in place. Because it’s easier to sink a floater than float a sinker, we’re only going to work with floating baits. There are several lures that maintain original action and lend themselves to suspension modifications. To name a few, there’s Poe’s Cedar series, Bagley’s DB series, Original Rapalas and several plastic baits like Bomber A’s, Rebel Shad R’s and Excalibur’s Fat Free series. Odds are good one of these methods will work on your favorite bait too. Different baits require different methods, but some can be used on more than one type of lure. These methods vary from super simple to time consuming. You will need to make some sort of a test tank. Try an aquarium, bucket, bathtub or swimming pool. Read on, one of these methods should appeal to you. Heavier Hooks- Often, just changing to heavier hooks alone will make a bait suspend. If this works, great, because you can always restore the bait to it’s original condition. Be aware that you may have to experiment with several hook sizes to accomplish the buoyancy desired. Solder Wire- The addition of fine solder wire (.032 diameter) wrapped around the shank of the front treble’s shank is another removable modification. I use this diameter because it does not clog the bite of the hook, as thicker solders will do. When heavier hooks alone won’t work, start adding solder wire to the hook shank. You can also crimp a small split shot on to the shank instead. Suspend Dots/Strips- These are commercially manufactured by Storm Lure Company. These adhesive backed weights and strips are yet another removable modification. You can fine-tune these with a few strokes of a file. The draw back with these is the possibility of them falling off with heavy use and their lack of adhesion to some baits. Drilling & Weighting- Here’s where things get tricky. Also there is no going back from this one. These baits are permanently modified. Don’t let that scare you. This method is for wood lures like Poe’s and Bagley’s. I suppose you could use this on a plastic bait, but I wouldn’t. Choose a worm weight and set it on the hook of the bait you want to suspend. Pick a weight that will sink the bait. Now remove the hooks and bore a small 3/32” pilot hole on the underside of the bait between the diving bill and front hook attachment. Poe’s baits are easiest to do this modification to because they use screw eyes instead of internal wiring to attach the hooks. You must be very careful not to foul the wire when drilling a Bagley. Now bore a hole in the pilot hole that is big enough to accept the weight, but tight enough to hold it in place with friction alone. Reattach the hooks and push the weight into the hole. Now test float the bait. It should still sink. Now remove some lead one file stroke at a time and test float between strokes. Once you attain the desired buoyancy, remove the weight and allow the bait to thoroughly dry. Once dry, reinsert the lead and seal with two-part epoxy or RTV. Drilling & Syringe- This is the method for the plastic baits like Excalibur, Bomber etc. The good thing is this is another reversible method. Remove the hooks and bore a small 1/16” hole in the top center of the lure’s air cavity. Using a hypodermic needle, inject some water into the cavity. Plug the hole with a round toothpick and cutoff almost flush. You will probably have to remove this a few times. Reattach the hooks and test float. Add or remove water until the desired buoyancy is attained. Now either cut off the toothpick flush or plug with a small dab of RTV sealant. To undo this procedure, simply pierce the RTV plug with the syringe and vacuum out the water or remove the toothpick and do the same. If you take your time and don’t rush things, you can be pretty certain of a successful modification. Accept the fact that you may ruin a few lures if you attempt the drill & weight process. Otherwise, the rest are pretty simple and foolproof. If you do mess something up, try to learn from it so you don’t repeat it. Tight lines all. Fishing is life. Rob Brewer

Backlashes and Snags - by Tommy (Fishin Bucky)

Every fisherman has to deal with them sooner or later, some sooner than others. In this article, I’d like to give some tips to dealing with these pests. Backlashes: I can remember when I was first learning the ways of the baitcaster reel. Almost every one of my first 30 cast ended up in a Crow-Sized bird-nest. After a summer of “training” I could make 20-30 cast before I’d have to start “picking’”. There have been many sorts of products designed to help anglers have fewer backlashes. We all know of a popular Abu Garcia reel that said it could reduce the amount of backlashes with some sort of a bar thing to stop the tangles from forming or something. Well after reading numerous poor product reviews for it, I lost interest. Bass Pro Shops has produced a pick “pen” that can help sort through the mess with less trouble. I have never used one, but I’d like to own one to see if it works. The best tip I can give that I personally will use often and trust is the “cast-n-tape”, which is what I call it. First, find a heavy lure, about an ounce, and make the longest cast possible. Once the lure hits the bottom, grab a small strip of electrical or masking tape and place the strip along the length of the spool covering the line on it. Now reel back in, tie on a lure and start fishing. With that tape being there on the spool, if you are to backlash, the tangles would not go farther then the piece of tape, thus making it quicker/easier to get un-tangled. Snags: “Ahhhh! I think I got a fish! Wait…..aw it’s snagged on something.” This line is very familiar to fisherman. Being an avid jig fisherman, I say it often. Let’s give three situations and some resolutions. 1: You are throwing a “weedless” spoon through some Lily Pads and saw some bass boiling in the distance. You get really excited and toss the spoon 40 feet too far to the left. As you reel in to make another cast, your line gets tight, oh no…a fish? Nope, you just put that hook 2 inches deep into a Lily’s stalk. When your done cussing’ it out. You think, “Hey, those fish might still be over there, I better not use the trolling motor, but how will I be able to get it?” Well, there is one choice I can think of. First, don’t try to use the pole to get it back, instead grab the line, but only use it with 17pound test or more. Wrap you hand in a towel and then the line, next give steady pressure increasing every five seconds until it pops through, luckily the stalk pops, not the line. Or, just forget the fish and get your 3 dollar plus spoon. 2: You got a new crankbait and you can’t wait to use it on those monsters in Burnt Mills, etc. You tie ‘er on and heave it 3 miles into air and wait for the “splash”. Once it hits the water, you start cranking. Right as you feel bottom, those trebles snuggle themselves deep in a 10 inch thick sunken log. You pull and pull but that baby isn’t reeling up without some effort. Now this situation has two possible answers. First, try using a “Plug Knocker”. Just pop it on your line and let it slide to disengage it. Second, reel up the slack and grab the line between the reel and the first guide. Next pull back on the rod like your fighting a 30-pound Striper. Then pull the line back like a bow-and-arrow and release it while simultaneously pointing the rod right to the snag. After a few “pops”, it should become loose. 3: Like in #2, you toss the crankbait 3 miles up and instead of hearing a “splash”, you hear some leaves shiver. Well that wasn’t the wind hitting those leaves, that was your crankbait latching onto the highest branch of the 50ft Maple Tree on the shore. Well, you can only do one thing, cut the line. That baby’s gone. Next, just hope Bob’s in the boat to loan you a new one! Tommy Richardson

Shore Fishing 101 Notes – by Tom Surles

I thought I'd give Rob a break and add my two cents. Being boat-less I do most of my fishing from shore. Simple as it seems, there are a few tricks to know. When walking around your fishing area, do so lightly and as far from the waters edge as you can. Vibrations will alert the fish and they can see you. Wear subdued or if you have it camo clothing (anything to gain an edge). Being you will move a lot, you'll want to downsize your tackle box. I found a nice little bag that will hold three stowaway boxes and you can sling it over your chest and shoulder, keeping both hands free. If you’re not using treble baits a fanny pack works great. Tackle is simple too. A couple of spinnerbaits, shallow and medium running crankbaits, a popper, your favorite plastics and a jitterbug. Say what you want, but those classics lures are STILL catching fish. Also always carry more than one rod. Murphy preys on those not prepared. As for where to fish, we are blessed to live in an area of many ponds, lakes and reservoirs. Some require permission, some don't. Never be afraid to ask someone to fish on their land .The worst they can say is no. As long as you keep things clean and don’t bring a lot of your buddies, most landowners won’t mind. DO the little things like offering to help with things it shows your appreciation. Remember no good deed goes unnoticed. One last thing, be prepared for anything. I have caught some big bass, including my personal best, from shore. Now grab your gear, get in your truck, and go fishing! Tight lines...