Bassmaster Fantasy Picks, Power-Pole Slam

 

 This week's tournament on Lake Okeechobee in Florida will prove to be a battle. To give a little perspective on this lake, it has a similar shape to Mille Lacs but is approximately 10 times larger and averages 8-9 feet deep throughout. It is home to about 18 different types of grass and vegetation, which leads to prime habitat for the huge Florida strain largemouth bass. The biggest factor in my opinion will be the weather. A sudden cold front will shut down this fishery in an instant. Also, due to the size of this lake, wind can spoil an angler's game plan instantly, as certain areas of the lake can become extremely rough. 

I believe the anglers will fish two primary presentations. Flipping into heavy mats and vegetation and also casting and retrieving fast moving baits like lipless crankbaits or swimbaits. Sight fishing doesn't seem to be a huge factor this tournament, as most anglers are stating that the spawn may be over. As always, we will wait and see what happens. 

For a great, in-depth analysis of this week's fantasy fishing picks, visit the Fantasy Fishing Insider and listen to the podcast. Great insider info with interviews with the pros. 

Bass Spawn...What to lure to use?

This week in Palatka, Florida, the B.A.S.S. Elites are fishing on the St. Johns River and many of them have been targeting spawning female bass. One of the top questions asked of these anglers is what lure are they using on these bedding bass. I have heard reports of Yum Dingers, Sweet Beavers, and UV soft plastics being successful this week in Florida. With the unseasonably high temperatures sweeping across the nation, the spawn will be upon us in no time here in the Midwest. When I think about bedding bass and my soft plastic arsenal, I think about one soft plastic bait in particular: a black with red flake Zoom Lizard.

Zoom Lizard: 6" Black/Red Flake

Bottom line, bass hate lizards with a passion. If I was a spawning bass, I would hate the slimy creatures too that try to sneak into my nest and eat all of my eggs. Typically, I will rig the lizard Texas style with a 1/4 - 3/8 bullet weight. The Zoom Lizard I use is 6" long, so I will typically use a 4/0 Extra Wide Gap hook and 15 pound Seaguar Red Label line.

Bed fishing is an art form. Stealth is really the key if the fish are not biting aggressively. A seasoned bed fisherman will constantly be aware of how the boat is positioned with relation to the sun. One doesn't want the bass to see a shadow, much less the fisherman himself. I heard this weekend that some anglers will even change into a green shirt to look more like the grass the fish are laying in! For most, we don't go that extreme, but we will shut off our electronics, go easy on the trolling motor, and use Powerpoles to quietly anchor the boat into position. A great pair of polarized sunglasses are needed to cut through the glare on the water's surface to spot the beds and their inhabitants. If you find them, great. Getting them to bite, however, can be an exhausting, time consuming activity. For tournament fishermen, knowing when to leave a non-biting female can be the winning ticket. One of the biggest mistakes I hear from people from all levels is that they stayed too long fishing for that one fish that just wouldn't bite.

Next time you are bed fishing for those large female spawners, try my go-to Zoom 6" Lizard. It has worked extremely well for me in Minnesota when our season falls during the spawn. Remember, grab your best sunglasses, be quiet and sneaky, and when you are tournament fishing, know when to move on and find the next big bite.

Smallmouth Tips from James Linder

On March 3rd, the MN B.A.S.S. Federation held their banquet to raise funds for the coming year, recognize the talented youth participants, and bring the MN B.A.S.S. fishermen together for food and drinks. A silent auction was held and items that were included were numerous rods and reels, spa packages, custom rods, a 788ci Humminbird depth finder, and an 101 lbs thrust MinnKota trolling motor. Social hour with drinks preceded dinner where I enjoyed a great steak, salad, and veggies.

After dinner, James Linder, from Linder's Angling Edge, gave a great presentation on smallmouth bass fishing. I would like to simplify his message here, as he made some really good points that I can use in all of my bass fishing. James broke down tournament smallmouth fishing into 4 parts, which I have outlined below.

1. Know the nature of the fish you are targeting. 
Linder said we need to know the seasonal movements of smallmouth bass and what their forage or food consists of. According to his experience, smallmouth are much different that largemouth, stating that smallmouth act much more like walleyes. Smallmouth will travel miles overnight to follow food or to move into the warmer water during the spring. A smallmouth's diet is much more diverse than a largemouth's, consisting of crayfish, perch, shiners, ciscos, other minnows, and yes, bugs. Smallmouth tend to follow baitfish schools in schools of their own, so locating large schools of baitfish is a great indicator that smallies are near. Obviously, it is crucial to know how the fish will move as the water temperature fluctuates with the changing of the seasons.

2. Understanding and utilizing your electronics.
This is a fairly obvious topic, but I would like to point out a few tips that Linder shared. When setting up his Humminbird unit, he does a shallow water shade of 0-3 feet. He said it is always good to have an idea where all the real shallow water is located. It can save you a lower unit. Next, he does a color shade where the fish are active. For instance, if he wants to fish in 8-10 feet of water, he will highlight or shade in that area so he can see all of that water in the entire lake on his map. He will mark a gps waypoint for almost every fish he catches when practicing for a tournament so he can see if there are any patterns with regards to movement during his prefishing and tournament days. He showed us images from his map with waypoints and you could see what the fish were doing. It was extremely interesting. 

3. Understanding and utilizing your baits and lures in your tackle box.
During this part of the presentation, Linder went through his favorite smallmouth baits and presentations. If he had only one lure to use for all situations and seasons, his go-to bait is the jerkbait. He had an absolute favorite color, but I think I will keep that to myself... He recommended using a prop bait for great topwater action. Also, he highly recommends that we all try hair jigs if we haven't already. He said that the hair jig is one of the best to get fickle, cold water bass to bite. The secret presentation that works the best for him when using the hair jig... cast and count down the jig until it is about a foot off the bottom. Then reel a straight retrieve as slow as you can. Don't jig a hair jig like a jig, you jig fishermen.

4. Using all of the information to make quick and efficient decisions on the water.
What makes a great tournament fisherman? Obviously, he needs to perfect the mechanics of the sport. He needs to be able to be a great caster and know a lot about his bait and tackle. There are thousands of fishermen like this. What separates the best is their ability to analyze the water and make decisions that put themselves around tournament winning fish. These decisions are almost gut reactions to the information that is constantly being processed throughout the tournament. The decisions are quick and most often correct, and experience and one's ability to analyze situations are key. Linder said not to fish spots, but to fish the fish. Search where they are currently located, not where they once were.

Overall, it was a great night that ended with raffle prizes and the conclusion of the silent auction. Our club had a full table and it was fun to have a night all about bass fishing. If you have any specific questions about the topics above, please leave a note or send me an email and I will do my best to answer them.

Thanks for reading!