When the leaves are falling and Arkansan Mitch Looper is on the water, chances are that several of his rods have crankbaits tied on. He knows the fish are hungry and making frequent trips to the shallows to feed as the water cools, so he keeps different sizes ready to reach a variety of depths and employs several techniques to fool fall’s feeding largemouth bass.
Striper fishermen know that a Cotton Cordell Red-Fin fishing lure is without rival when it comes to imitating big gizzard shad wallowing near the surface. The same principle applies to largemouth fishing anywhere the bass grow to jumbo sizes and make good use of big gizzard shad, according to Arkansas trophy bass expert, Mitch Looper.
Autumn is a time of power-eating for largemouth and smallmouth bass, as they pack on as much weight as possible in preparation for the coming winter. It’s also a beautiful time to be on the water. The trees are in full color and pleasure boat traffic is minimal. Add to that the fact that bass ought to be pretty cooperative and you’d better get out there before the snow flies.
My daughter’s boyfriend shows some interest in bass fishing, and as much as I hesitate to say this, I kinda like the kid. The problem is that the only fishing he’s ever done has been with a hook and bobber. It took a while for me to get my mind around the fact that he just didn’t believe you could catch a fish on something without a minnow or worm impaled on it.
It’s not your Bubba’s Mississippi River. For most Southerners, the Mississippi River is a big, rolling, muddy, deep and dangerous river. That’s just the way it is. It’s like your second grade teacher – she was old and fat and quick to anger. She’ll always be that way to you. You’d never imagine that she once was a young and virile teenager.
Norman Freebeck of Florence, Ala., considers the bone-colored Bomber Long A his secret weapon when fishing near the (undisclosed) dam along the Tennessee River, and the lure outperformed his expectations on Sunday, July 18, when a single cast netted not one but two chunky largemouth bass. Doubles (two fish on a single lure) aren’t completely unheard-of, but Norm’s double weighed almost 10 pounds.
Bomber’s Fat Free Shad series has been called the “Perfect Crankbait” many times, an opinion that was substantiated yet again recently when TJ Nissen landed the new lake record largemouth bass at Lake Austin in Texas. This giant bass weighed 16.03 pounds and took a Fat Free Shad BD7F in Citrus Shad color pattern the afternoon of Jan. 27, 2011.
