Here’s some water worth visiting! Three great locations for largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass (and more).
Lake Ouachita (Arkansas)
FLW Outdoors announced the site of the 2011 FLW Forest Wood Cup is Arkansas’ Lake Ouachita, Aug. 11-14, 2011. This sprawling body of water in the Ouachita Mountains near Hot Springs features beautiful clear water and plenty of activities for the whole family, making for a great end-of-summer trip.
Anglers can expect productive spotted and largemouth bass fishing, as well as stripers, white bass and walleye. There’s also good bluegill fishing. On a recent trip with the crew from www.arkansastournamentfishing.com, Bobby Murray caught two 5-pound-plus walleyes while vertical jigging a Cotton Cordell CC Spoon. They were delicious.
Historic Hot Springs is close by for shopping, dining and doing the tourist thing, plenty of swimming and pleasure boating to keep the kids cool and plenty of other activities. Mountain Harbor Spa and Resort (www.mountainharborresort.com) has beautiful cabins on the lake and the Spa is the kicker for nonfishing females. It’s also close to the FLW activities at Brady Mountain Marina.
Black Warrior River (Alabama)
Booyah-sponsored FLW angler Kyle Mabrey appears in the new issue of North American Fisherman magazine holding two giant (5-pound!) spotted bass he caught at one of his home waters, the Black Warrior River in central Alabama.
I took the photo during a trip in mid February with outdoor writer and friend Jeff Samsel and his son Nathaniel. “We’re gonna catch us a 5-pounder today!” Mabrey told us as we drove to the ramp. Water temps were mid to upper 40s. His first 5-pound-plus spot came on his second cast on a Booyah Pigskin Jig with a Craw Papi trailer.
Best fishing for the biggest spots is within 5 or 6 miles of the Holt and Bankhead Dams, but you can learn that from the magazine. BTW – Click here to get a free issue of North American Fisherman for signing up for a trial membership.
Upper Mississippi (Minnesota)
Few fish are stronger pound-for-pound that a river-run smallmouth. They strike with a violent jolt and the constant current makes them the strongest-fighting smallies in the world. John House is a Booyah pro staffer who loves to fish the Mississippi River near St. Cloud, Minn. Every time he launches his boat in the Sartell Pool he knows what he’s going to do (wear-out Schwarzenegger-like smallmouth) and what he’ll do it with.
“I could take two baits and be pretty happy,” House said. “I probably catch 75 percent of my fish here on a YUM Houdini Shad (Glimmer Blue) or a Booyah Boo Jig or Bed Bug (various browns/pumpkin colors) with a YUM Craw Papi trailer (greens/pumpkins). There’s something about the Craw Papi’s big flapping claws that gets to those fish.”
House also throws an XCaliburXr50 if the fish are in the deeper channels or scattered, and a Heddon Spook if conditions are right. Good walleye fishing is available on the river as well. For more information on the area go to http://granitecountry.com/.
Christie Lands in 8th at FLW Cup
YUM-sponsored pro angler Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., fell to 8th and missed the cut to fish the final day today at the FLW Forrest Wood Cup on Georgia’s Lake Lanier. This Southern reservoir is known for football-shaped spotted bass and Christie whacked 'em the first two days but couldn't add the final fish today.
(photo courtesy FLW Outdoors)
Congratulations Jason on a great showing at one of the toughest tournaments in the world.
YUM Money Hound Nets NY Angler Biggest Bass Ever
Daniel Franc of Long Island, N.Y., was fishing the Catskill region of New York State from the bank, and selected the perfect lure and the right spot to catch the biggest bass of his life, a largemouth weighing more than 6 pounds. That’s a big, old bass for that region of the country!
“It was without a doubt my biggest largemouth ever,” Franc said. “My guess was 6.5 to 6.7 pounds, which is double anything I’ve caught on Long Island.”
A smart bank-angler, Franc used Google Earth to locate a narrow area that connects the north part of the lake to the south part, a weed-choked arm that was perfect for the weedless Money Hound. He Texas rigged the Hound and worked it over and through the thick weeds in the predawn hours when the big bass struck.
Throw Muskies Something They Haven’t Seen
Bomber’s Herky Jerky pike and striper lure was created for the European pike market and is now available in the United States through Lurenet.com. Few lures perform like the Herky Jerky and it’s safe to say our muskies haven’t seen anything like it. First off, it’s loud and obnoxious. The big, multiple rattles create a huge racket, and topping it off, they make noise even when the bait is paused. Bomber lure designers worked hard to develop a lure that wobbles on the pause, thus enacting the fish-attracting rattles.
The Herky Jerky is a subsurface walk-the-dog lure, darting side to side with every downward twitch of the rod tip. As a slow sinker, the lure can be worked over weeds or in deep water and every level in between. It’s designed for pike, so it’s tough enough to take the abuse a 50 incher can dish out, and with 14 color patterns there’s sure to be one that ticks off the muskies in your neck of the woods.
Also, look for a Herky Jerky Jr. and Herky Jerky CTS (Close-To-Surface) to hit the market soon. That CTS will be a striper killa!
50 Year Old Torpedo Catches Master Smallie
On June 29th, 2010, I was fishing in the Winnepeg River. The conditions were right for smallmouth bass, but I did not have a lure for them. Many years ago I was an avid bass fisherman and could never bring myself to dispose of my lures. I looked in my tackle box and found a 55-year-old Heddon Tiny Torpedo. The hooks, spinner and the rest were all exactly the same as when I first bought it. Long story short, I hooked and landed a number of smallmouth bass, including my first-ever Master Smallmouth with a length of more than 18 inches. My fishing partners told me to write to you as a testament to the quality and longevity of a Heddon Lure. Thanks for making such a quality product. -- James Miller, West Caldwell, N.J.
True Stories Of Deadsticking Dingers
Outdoor writer Darl Black posted the following story at his smallmouth fishing blog and was kind enough to let us reprint it here. To check out Darl's blog, go to http://darlblack.blogspot.com.
By Darl Black
Over the July 4th weekend, my wife Marilyn and I spent a few hours one afternoon fishing for smallmouth on the Allegheny River here in Pennsylvania. The sky was bright blue without a cloud, the river level was as low as I've seen it in two years, and the water clearer than normal -- which altogether can make catching bass a tough proposition. Add to that the hundreds of kayaks and canoes in a never-ending procession -- I've never seen so many paddlers!
After 50 minutes of working favorite summer soft jerkbaits, swimbaits, tubes, crankbaits and topwaters along normally productive areas, Marilyn was wishing we had taken time to gather live bait ahead of time for this river outing...especially after watching a father and two sons catch several bass on creek-caught minnows.
Motering downstream a bit, in the clear water I spotted a mid-stream chunk rock ridge about 4-feet under the surface in a deep current pool. We dropped anchor in 8-feet of water above the head of the rock bar. Frustrated with casting and not catching, Marilyn nose-hooked a 4-inch YUM Green Pumpkin Dinger with only a split shot for weight...looking very much like a live bait rig. She threw into the current and let it drift down onto the rocks, where it hovered out of sight but barely off the bottom. Meanwhile, I continued slinging other lures to no avail.
Three minutes into deadsticking the YUM Dinger, Marilyn swept her rod high in a hookset! The drag squealed as she lost, then gained line, eventually netting an extremely plump 14-inch smallmouth bass. Two more minutes of deadsticking another Dinger, she had another, larger smallmouth in the net. That was my cue to switch lures.
After hitting two similar areas downstream, we called it quits -- officially tied at eight smallmouth each. The two largest were just over 18 inches. Every bass came by deadsticking a Dinger in deep current on rocks. While most bass had one or two green crawfish protruding from their throats, they could not resist the Dinger. One smallmouth had a slightly different taste in natural food -- it spit up a 7-inch mole!
Releasing the larger fish we had held for a photo, Marilyn felt obliged to say, "Who needs live bait when you can deadstick a Dinger?"
Pikee Fools Big Musky
Denise Leonhart (pictured) sent us this email about a giant musky she caught on a Booyah Pikee Spinnerbait:
This is my 3rd year of musky fishing. Last year in October I caught 4 muskies and was in Musky Hunter magazine. They also showed a picture of me on TV in their viewer spotlight. That was very cool!
My husband and I left Friday night June 4th to go fishing in Minnesota (editor's note: Denise wouldn't divulge the lake). We’re from Iowa didn’t make there until 11 p.m., so the first night we always sleep in the truck. We were up a little before 5 a.m. & around 7 I caught a musky on the Booyah Pikee. It was 39.5-inches and wasn’t my biggest, but still very exciting. We fished until 1 p.m. and got off the lake to have lunch and check into our hotel.
We went back out on the water at 4:30 p.m. until 10 and had a bunch of follows but no takers. Sunday morning we didn’t get out to the lake until 7 a.m. and I caught my 52-inch musky around 8 a.m. My husband said, "Did you get a weed?" and I said "no, it’s a fish." He said, "Is it very big?" and I said, "I’m not sure. The initial hit didn’t seem really hard.
Well, then my line started taking off! Finally after about 15 mins we saw the fish come out of the water and my husband said it was a big one.
He’s been musky fishing for 7 years and hadn’t caught one that big yet! So finally the musky gets close enough for my husband to net. Once it was netted I jumped up and screamed! I was so excited! I know you can’t get excited until it’s in the boat. I kept my line tight and everything worked out just right. We got lots of pictures, measured her (52.5-inches) and got her back in the water right away. We watched her swim away. I’m very lucky I have the guide and teammate -- and he’s also my husband!
Lizards for Year-Round Bass Fishing
By Kenneth L. Kieser
Plastic lizards are top lures for fishing largemouth spawning beds. Bass often attack this unwanted intruder to protect their precious eggs. Yet the soft-plastic lizard shouldn’t be pegged as a spawn-only bait. Bass eat lizards year-round.
Tom Johnson, state herpetologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation, says that lizards are reptiles that normally stay away from the water. A salamander spends limited time in the water and may be confused for a lizard, but on average, bass just don’t see many real live lizards. They certainly aren’t on the daily menu.
So why is the plastic lizard a top bass lure? It could be the egg-protection factor no matter the season. Eat it now and it won’t be there come spawn time. Or, like many bass baits, it may simply look like something good to eat that won’t be hard to get down the throat – no spiny fins or sharp teeth. One thing’s for sure, though, bass hate lizards and want each one dead.
“I use three techniques,” said David Ryan, veteran tournament fisherman. “I use the Texas rig, the Carolina rig and a weightless lizard, depending on conditions.”
Ryan pinpoints areas when pitching or casting a Texas rig. Carolina rigging is productive and an excellent choice in deeper water during either early prespawn or late postspawn and summer. Ryan also uses the Carolina rig throughout the spawning period.
“Carolina rigging is more effective for covering lots of water when bass are spawning or suspending on pea gravel,” Ryan said. “I use a ¾-ounce worm weight followed by two glass beads and a barrel swivel with a 4/0 offset-shank hook.”
Tiny Styrofoam squares from an old coffee cup are another useful Carolina-rigging addition.
Ryan threads his hook through the lizard head and then pushes it up past the offset area. Next he adds three small squares of Styrofoam on the hook, and then slides the lizard body on the hook point. The lizard will float higher for better visibility. He paints the foam to match his lizards.
A Carolina-rigged lizard is a great option during summer after a crankbait bite slows down. Say you’ve got an area – a 75-yard-wide hump covered in stumps at the inside curve of a creek channel that rises to 15 feet of water. You can work that area early with a Bomber BD7 and clean their clocks, but the bite dies at 9 a.m. Time to slow down and work the same area with a Carolina rigged lizard.
Alabama tournament angler and guide Jimmy Mason uses a weightless lizard over Guntersville’s massive weedbeds during summer when the bite becomes finicky. While other anglers are throwing frogs, punching mats or flipping the weed edges, he uses a white 7-inch YUM Zellamander.
“The twin tails on the Zellamander put out more action, but it’s subtle,” he said. “I like white because I can see it all the way.”
During postspawn Ryan fishes close to secondary points in low, clear conditions around steep banks. Bass use these types of areas for recuperating after dealing with the physical and mental strains of spawning. This area also allows quick access to feeding flats.
“I move parallel with steep bank and cast a light weight and lizard on a 1/8 or 1/16-ounce sinker,” Ryan said. “You can try a different retrieve speeds each time. Laydowns are especially effective around steep banks. I sometimes fish weightless lizards in this thick brush.”
Postspawn bass often use secondary points in clear, low water conditions. Carolina rigged lizards will cover a lot of territory in this circumstance where there will likely be less brush. Bass generally key on the breaks. Remember to fish the steeper breaks in deeper water.
Bass become finicky in postspawn, high-water, murky conditions. Try flipping lizards with bead and sinker in cover that has deep-water access closeby. Several years ago on Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee I spent a morning flipping to cypress knees and brushpiles near the deepest water this shallow lake offers, and was surprised to see so many quality bass come out of a lake known more for its bluegill than bass. We sometimes threaded the Texas-rigged lizards deep through thick brushpiles and hung fish that we couldn’t get out, but it was certainly worth it.
Treelines are always worth checking, but especially during migration times when bass are moving from deep to shallow to spawn or the reverse after the spawn. Bass use these transitions like highways. Other good spots are around steeper banks and channel swings between spawning areas and summer haunts.
Mason watches for humps near spawning areas in both prespawn and postspawn, as well as similar humps in deeper water during the summer. He Carolina rigs a Zellamander to quickly cover the hump. "Quick," is relative, of course. He casts and allows the rig to hit bottom, then slowly pulls the rig across the bottom with plenty of pauses. He may twitch the rig to create noise, or simply make slow sweeping pulls. He slows down further when he feels an obstacle like a a log or rock.
Scent and sight additives are effective when fishing lizards. Ryan uses Alka Seltzer as an additive for all three techniques, especially when bass are on their spawning beds. Cut a small slit and insert a sliver of Alka Seltzer into the lizard. This gives the lizard a bubbling action that occasionally triggers strikes.
Ryan uses a shorter leader in murky water when fishing lizards, as short as 18-inches. Beads add to Carolina-rigged lizards. Bass key on the weight-and-glass-bead noise then attack the lizard. Longer leaders of 5 or 6 feet are used in clear water. Watch closely for wind knots when casting long leaders. This weak point will break when fighting a big bass.
Popular lizard colors are normally darker for Texas and Carolina rigging. The usual suspects of watermelon, green pumpkin, black hues and Carolina pumpkin/chartreuse tail always show up in anyone’s list. For weightless Texas rigging on top of the mats or in shallow water, a brighter color provides better visual acuity.
Most anglers use high-speed reels to take up slack faster because many times bass hit when the lizard is dropping. Seven-foot rods allow both backbone and enough sensitivity to feel light taps.
Try a lizard this summer. They’re not just a spawn bait – bass hate ‘em all year long!