Monthly Archives: January 2025

Reading About Fishing Can Give You Tips To Help Catch Fish

Sometimes ideas that help catch fish come from reading about others’ fishing trips. That is why I try to give some details of where what and how when I am lucky enough to catch a bass.

Years ago on a Saturday afternoon before a Sportsman Club night tournament at Jackson I was reading a fishing report from a Texas lake to post on my website. It said a jig and pig was working well for bass at night.

I did not have one tied on for the tournament but went out and rigged a rod and jig for fishing. That night, with less than two hours left to fish, I had one small keeper in my livewell and was not very happy.

I decided to try the jig and pig, I had not thrown it all night. But in the next hour I caught five keepers, culling the one in the livewell and winning the tournament.

That jig and pig worked well during night tournaments for the next four years helping me win or place second. Then the club decided they would rather fish during the day when it is hot, there is lots of boat traffic on the lake and the fish didn’t bite. So we stopped fishing at night when it is cool, there is little boat traffic and the fish do bite.

Reading about other fishing trips almost got me into serious trouble when I was 19 years old and a sophomore at UGA. An article in Outdoor Life magazine talked about the good trout fishing downstream of the Hartwell dam on the Savannah River.

I skipped classes one Monday and drove over there early that morning. When I got near the river I stopped at a small store/bait shop to ask for information.

The owner showed me an ice chest full of rainbow trout and said his two sons caught them that morning before school. He said the hatchery truck dumped fresh trout in the river at the old steel bridge and told me to turn at the next right and it would take me to the bridge and I could fish there.

I bought a can of kernel corn since he said that is what they were hitting, they were used to eating pellet food in the hatchery. When I got to the bridge about 10:00 AM I found a place to park and crawled down the steep bank to the edge of the river. It was almost a half mile wide there and there were streams and rivulets running over an expanse of flat rocks all the way across, with scattered bigger pools of water.

I tied on a #2 Mepps spinner and put a kernel of corn on one of the hooks. I waded upstream of the bridge casting to small streams and pools in the rocks, and caught a limit of ten rainbow trout before lunch.

After going back to the truck, putting my fish on ice and eating a sandwich I started fishing downstream below the bridge to look at new places. After about an hour I had caught two trout and had them on a stringer attached to a belt loop. I was right in the middle of the expanse of rocks, maybe 200 yards from the bank and that far downstream of the bridge.

A car went over the bridge and the driver blew the horn. I turned and waved and turned back to fish, but something was not right. Looking back upstream there was a fog bank rolling down the river almost to the bridge.

I realized the Corps of Engineers had released water at the Hartwell dam about four miles upstream. The ice cold water rolling down the river caused the fog.

I grabbed my fish and took off running across the slippery rocks as fast as I could. When I got to the bank I was standing in water about ankle deep. By the time I put my rod and can of corn on the steep bank and hooked my stringer to a bush, the water was up to my waist and I had to hold on to a bush to fight the current!

Looking back to where I had been a few seconds before, a torrent of ice cold water several feet deep rushed across the rocks. If it had caught me there is no way I would have survived. Whoever blew that car horn saved my life.

I stopped at the store and the owner told me someone had drowned there the week before after being caught by the current. I told him I thought the Corps blew a siren at the dam to warn folks when they released water and he said they used to but locals complained about the noise.

I “thanked” him for warning me and left, glad to be alive.

Read fishing tips and try them but be careful!

Lake Guntersville Weekly Fishing Report from Captain Mike Gerry

11 Pound Guntersville Bass

Also See:

Jeff Nail’s Lake Lanier Bass Fishing Report

Lake Hartwell Fishing Report from Captain Mack

Lake Lanier Fishing Report from Captain Mack

Lake Guntersville Weekly Fishing Report from Captain Mike Gerry

Lake Country Fishing – fishing reports on Lakes Sinclair and Oconee, and more. (subscription required)

Texas Parks and Wildlife Weekly Freshwater Fishing Reports

Texas Parks and Wildlife Weekly Saltwater Reports

Fishing Report 1/18/24

I was on the water just a couple times this past week as the cold and wind were just not my
preferred fishing conditions. We did have some success, but it seemed like every time we
located fish the wind would blow us off the location and force us to have to move to make
the trip enjoyable.

We were preparing for the rattle trap season so all we fished, was the SPRO Aruka Shad rattle
bait the entire time we were on the water each day. The results were great for size and
average for numbers but getting ready for trap season that was a great result.

It’s time to set up your spring fishing days for bass or crappie, I believe it’s going to be a great
year as the numbers of small fish caught this past fall was impressive. Leaving me assured
that the lake is healthy and full of fish.

Come fish with me we have days available for the
spring we wish with great sponsor products Mercury Motors, Boat Logix mounts, Vicious
Fishing, Toyota Trucks, Duckett Fishing, Missile Baits, Tight-Line Jigs, Lowrance Electronics,
Costa Sunglasses, Dawson Boat Center, Power Pole, Lew’s Fishing and more.
Looking to entertain your customers we do corporate trips, family trips and have a group of
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Bait Size Matters

As winter slowly moves on it is a time of year where size matters; at no time during the
fishing year is the size of your bait more important than now! If your wanting to catch big
quality bass, fish with big baits, like 7 inch swim baits, ¾ oz. jigs with large trailers that give
the jig a bulky look; even ¾ to 1 oz. spinner baits with large willow leaf blades will produce
that big bite.

The thing many fishermen do not realize is that slow lethargic large bass pick their prey and
the bigger the better as their feeding is very selective and large presentations entice that big
fish. I know you all have heard that saying that this time of year (winter) you’re fishing for a
few bites; I believe this is true so if the bites are limited than the presentation of large bait
becomes even more important. Size does matter; large bass are selective, they want slow
moving baits, easy prey and that large presentation as they can lead you to that 30-pound
sack we all hunt in winter fishing. Large baits do have some negatives as some days it can
reduce the number of bites, but the bigger fish make it all worth it. Be color aware as
wintertime fishing color does matter!

Some of the baits I like with large profiles are ¾ to 1 oz. Spinner baits with big willow leaf
blades that get to the bottom easily and becomes a great large profile bait to slow roll on the
bottom this time of year. I also like ¾ oz. football jigs you combine that big jig with a Missile
Bait D-bomb trailer or Drop Craw, or big Missile Craw and it will produce big bites with this jig
as it really entices those big females. Don’t underestimate the power of a big swim bait, some
of those very expensive large swim baits when worked slowly over shallow grass can become
your best friend; these baits can be very expensive, but wintertime proves their worth.

Big baits produce big fish, and you’ll have a big time on the water; you just have to get on the
water to prove it; call me I’ll help you become a big bait fisherman!

Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service

Come fish with me I am booking for the fall and would love to take you fishing call today 256
759 2270. We fish with great sponsor products Mercury Motors, Ranger Boats, Boat Logix
Mounts, Toyota Trucks, Cornfield Fishing Gear, Costa, Duckett Fishing, Dawson Boat Center,
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St Croix Rods for LARGE-LURE ANGLERS

Trying To Fish So Much I Wear Out and Don’t Rust Out

I always said I would rather wear out than rust out, but sometimes I overdo it. In the past three weeks I have camped at and fished club tournaments on Lanier, Oconee and Bartletts Ferry and spent a day on Seminole for a Georgia Outdoor News article. Sixteen days camping and on the lake out of the first 21 this month was almost too much!

On November 1 I went to Don Carter State Park, one of my favorite campgrounds in Georgia, and set up my slide in pickup camper. The next day I met James “Lanier Jim” Harmin and he fine-tuned my Humminbird depth finders and showed me how to use them to find deep fish. He installs Humminbird electronics and is an expert on them as well as catching Lanier spotted bass.

Friday I looked around some of my old fishing spots but did not find anything that looked good. Saturday I got up and drove to Bolling Mill ramp, it was closed to my surprise, then on the way to another ramp my brake caliper tore up a rim and two tires. It took the rest of that day getting back on the road and back to camp.

Sunday seven Flint River Bass Club members showed up to fish our tournament, but two had trolling motor problems and went home. After seven hours of casting two more went home early. I caught two keeper fish the last hour of the tournament to win with 3.86 pounds and my 2.62-pound spot was big fish. Don Gober had two at 3.05 for second. That was it!

After getting a lot of help from Oakwood Tire finding a rim and getting a tire mounted so I would have a spare on my trailer, I came back to Griffin, dropped my camper and boat off and took off to Big Jim’s Fish Camp on Seminole. I had a nice cabin there and a great fried shrimp dinner that night and Tuesday night.

Tuesday morning I met guide Chris Taylor and got the information and pictures I needed for my article. After a good nights sleep, I came home Wednesday, got up Thursday morning and wrote the article, then loaded camper and boat and headed to Oconee.

I camped Thursday through Sunday at a great Georgia Power Campground, Lawrence Shoals, and went out for a few hours on a miserable day Friday. Saturday in the tournament 18 members of the Potato Creek Bassmasters fished for eight hours to land 48 keeper bass weighing about 96 pounds. There were six five bass limits and four people didn’t have a keeper.

Mike Cox won with five weighing 12.40 pounds and Kwong Yu had five at 10.21 pounds for second. I came in a close third with five weighing 10.14 pounds, Doug Acree came in fourth with five at 9.66 pounds and Tom Tanner had big fish with a 5.36 pounder.

I rested at home Sunday through Thursday morning then went to Bartletts Ferry to stay in another Georgia Power campground, Blanton Creek, where they do not allow boats in the camping area. It was miserable cold so I fished very little Friday and Saturday.

Saturday practice messed me up, though. I didn’t go out until 11:00 and went exploring in a creek I seldom fish. In a little over an hour I caught four bass on a jig on the two bluff banks I fished in that creek. One weighed close to four pounds.

At 3:00 I went to a local tournament weigh-in and the winner had just over ten pounds with five bass. He told me he caught them off bluff banks in the creek I had caught mine.

I had a plan for the Sportsman Club tournament the next day – fish bluff banks in that creek all day rather than fish the usual places there.

In the tournament eight members landed 28 bass weighing about 36 pounds in seven hours of casting. There were three limits and no one zeroed.

Kwong Yu won with five weighing 6.87 pounds, Zane Fleck was second with five at 6.50 pounds and Raymond English came in third with four weighing 5.62 pounds. Jay Gerson was fourth with five at 5.59 pounds and Wayne Teal had a 2.33 pounder for big fish.

I fished buff banks hard for more than four hours and caught one small keeper spot. I finally went to some of my old places the last two hours and landed three keepers. My four weighed 5.12 pounds and I came in fifth!

So much for figuring out something in practice!

No more tournaments until the first weekend in December when all three clubs finish up our years tournaments. I will be “Thankful” this week for some rest. But maybe I will go to Jackson and practice a few days!

Then And Now Why Some Wildlife Is Increasing and Some Decreasing

Fishing Tips

Then And Now

By The Fishing Wire

By Bob Jensen

I looked out my office window today and saw a flock of swans flying by. For me, that was a pretty big deal. I’ve seen more swans in my home area in recent years. Certainly more than we saw just a few years ago, but I still consider it a new experience. Oddly, or maybe not so oddly, we’re seeing more and more of some types of wildlife and fish life. And also not so oddly, we’re seeing fewer and fewer of some types of wildlife and fish life. What we see and what we do in the outdoors has certainly changed from then to now.

Fishing has changed in a lot of ways. It used to be that keeping the larger fish was the way to go. On many bodies of water today, it’s beneficial to the fishery to keep the smaller fish. Northern pike are a good example of this. On some lakes, keeping the smaller pike is encouraged. A body of water can support a certain amount of fish poundage per acre. For instance, if a particular lake can support a hundred pounds of fish per acre, there can be twenty, five pounders, or fifty, two pounders. Take some of the smaller ones, the ones that we used to throw back, take’em home and eventually we’ll have bigger pike. That’s an over-simplification, but it makes sense. And when prepared properly, those two and three pound pike are outstanding on the table. The same concept holds true for panfish in many lakes. In some cases, we’re doing the fishery a favor by keeping the smaller fish.

On some lakes smallmouth bass have taken the place of walleyes. Largemouth bass have always been in these lakes, but they lived in areas where the walleyes didn’t. As smallmouth populations grew, they moved into the walleye’s neighborhood. The smallmouth flourished. They were more aggressive than the walleyes and forced them out of the areas that were originally walleye territory.

When I was younger, pheasants and jackrabbits were abundant near my boyhood home in Iowa. Now pheasant numbers fluctuate up and down, but there aren’t as many as there used to be, and I haven’t seen a jackrabbit in a very long time. Weather plays a role in pheasant populations, but habitat, or habitat loss, is a very important factor. Since 1990, Iowa has lost 2,637 square miles of habitat. That’s a strip of land nine miles wide that stretches from Davenport Iowa to Omaha Nebraska. That’s a lot of habitat!

In an earlier era, we never ever saw an eagle around home. When we went on our annual fishing trip to northern Minnesota, we would usually see an eagle or two, and it was always a thrill. Today, we see eagles in the back yard. And it’s still a thrill. I’m hopeful and certain that it will always be a thrill.

We also see more deer, geese, and turkeys than we used to. Seeing deer, geese, and turkeys aren’t quite as thrilling to me as eagles, but I sure do like to see them, as long as they aren’t on the road in front of my pickup.

Most people who spend time outdoors will agree that the outdoor world is changing. It’s up to those of us who enjoy the outdoors to do what we can to make those changes, on land or water, changes for the better.

Photo Caption—As the outdoor world changes, it appears that deer and turkeys are learning to read.

Deer Stand Memories

“There’s a kind of hush all over the world,” sang The Herman’s Hermits in 1967. The weather a week ago Sunday and Monday reminded me of that feeling when sitting on a deer stand. The fog and misty rain wetting the leaves and tree branches, and me, made everything in the woods hushed and quiet.

It is fun most days sitting in a tree hoping deer will wander by, but rainy, foggy days were always my favorites. Everything is very calm and peaceful. Even tree rats scurrying around on the ground searching for breakfast don’t make much noise.

Some noises are still loud. The “crack” of a Whiteoak acorn quietly falling 30 feet to smack a limb over your head will get your attention. But most sounds are muted and there is a special quiet to the woods.

The patter of water drops on the black plastic bag I used for a makeshift rain cover is relaxing, bringing back memories or raindrops hitting the tin roof of the old farmhouse where I grew up. But unlike the plastic bag roof, it did not leak drops down my collar, bringing me back to the present.

A flicker of movement gets my full concentration, but most likely it is the flip of a squirrel tail. I look at it through my scope, cranking it up to maximum power to try to prove grey squirrels have some grey hair. They do not.

Sometimes the movement is from a magic deer. The woods Houdini can suddenly appear, seemingly popping out of the ground where they stand. It is no surprise they make no noise in the wet woods, but they can walk through dry leaves just as quietly, the same leaves that made your walk to the stand sound like big foot sitting beside you chomping on ice cubes for breakfast.

If a deer does appear it is time to check it out closely. Although it is legal to shoot a deer without visible bone above the hair and count it as a doe, not one of your two bucks, you look closely. Then you don’t care because you are hunting for meat, not horns, and don’t plan on filling both buck tags anyway.

The quiet is conducive to deep thoughts as well as more shallow ones. Will a doe or buck come down the trail 30 yards down the ridge from your perch in the Whiteoak. Are you hidden well enough for deer “that never look up” to miss seeing you when they look up? Can you get your crosshairs on them without spooking them?

More important, how many other hunters have been on this ridge where some of the oaks are more than 100 years old? Did the dirt farmer that scratched out a living here, terracing the steep hillside and moving rocks so he could grow crops to feed his family in the early 1800s hope to shoot a deer with his musket for some meat?

Did his children and grandchildren that lived on the land after he did shoot squirrels here for a stew, or wait for deer, maybe sitting on the big boulder almost under your tree? The old man that sold you his final piece of property before dying told you he hunted here, as did his ancestors. Remembering brought a tear in his eye, giving up the last of his ancestral land.

It almost made you regret buying his families land but if you had not, someone else would have. And they might have developed it and a subdivision might be covering the ancestral lands now.

I have insured through a “Land Conservation Covenant” that nothing will be built here before I die. I hope some future hunter will enjoy the peace of this place like I do but I fear some may sing the Joni Mitchell song from 1970: “You don’t know what you got till its gone. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”

Beau Browning Knows Bass and Qualified For the Bassmasters Classic

By The Fishing Wire

Z-Man® officially welcomes Bassmaster Elite Series angler Beau Browning to the family

Ladson, SC – Freshly qualified for the 2025 Bassmaster Elite Series, twenty-three year old Beau Browning recently paused to reflect on his earliest fishing memories. At seven years old, little Beau was already fishing Arkansas high school bass tourneys—and winning.

“It’s kind of funny now to remember this old cable-drive trolling motor we had,” recalls the newly minted Z-Man pro. “At the time, I was pretty little and didn’t even weigh enough to steer it with my foot. So, I’d actually hop up there and stand on the pedal with both feet or even kind of stomp on the thing just to get it to move. Somehow, I made it work.”

Indeed, he did. For even as a first-grader, the young Browning was regularly out-fishing kids more than twice his age, “winning most of them.”

Beau’s boat captain (and father), the great Stephen Browning was adamant from day-one that he’d pilot the big motor, but otherwise, let his son figure things out on his own. “He never wanted me to run the trolling motor,” notes Beau’s father, who plans to fish select Bassmaster Opens against his son in 2025. “Never wanted me to be the reason he succeeded or failed out there.”

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Stephen and Tammy Browning celebrate their son’s Elite Series berth at Lake Martin.

Even from the beginning, the elder Browning never even needed to nudge son into fishing. “For Beau, like a lot of us, something about catching bass just clicked,” notes the legendary Z-Man confidant. “Back when we lived on Lake Catherine (near Hot Springs, Arkansas), I’d often wade out onto the shallow flat behind our house and test different baits. We have a picture of little Beau standing in the water, holding a stick, pretending he was fishing with me. Couple years later when he was 5 or 6, he’d hop into a little boat with our Boykin Spaniel and go explore the lake.

“Beau tells people I wanted him to be a golfer,” Stephen Browning continues. “But back then, they didn’t yet offer college scholarships for bass fishing. So I never pressured him into tournament fishing because I thought he was a good enough golfer to get a scholarship.” A year later, following his dreams, Beau finally earned that fishing scholarship with University of Montevallo. (On the college circuits, Beau often finished in the Top 10, winning at Lake Dardanelle in 2021 and Norfork Lake in 2022.)

This past May, while somehow managing to fish a full slate of tournaments, Beau Browning graduated with a major in communications and minor in digital marketing—savvy choices for an angling professional today.

Z-Man Pro-Staff and Promotions Manager Joey Prochazka still remembers young Beau at all the big fishing events, papa Stephen’s smiling shadow and ever-curious companion. “Pretty early on, we knew we’d eventually be welcoming Beau to the big leagues,” says Prochazka. “Through our friendship with Stephen, Beau’s been a part of the Z-Man family for a long time. We’re super happy today to welcome him to our official pro team, even though he’s been an honorary member for around fifteen years.”

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Beyond his undeniable angling skills, Prochazka emphasizes Browning’s natural ability to connect with people: “Everyone who meets Beau comes away impressed. At just 23, he’s got the bass dialed in, of course. But it’s his positive energy and laidback, approachable personality that continues to make him a fan favorite. Beau’s a good soul who takes the time to treat everyone like a friend.

“Let’s just say we’re happy Beau took up fishing, rather than golf,” Prochazka laughs.

It’s a sentiment not necessarily shared by the bass or his fellow competitors. In just his first full year on the Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifiers (EQs), Browning qualified for the prestigious Elite Series. Helping secure his spot, Browning earned four top 20 Opens finishes, including 13th at Leech Lake, Minnesota and 9th at Okeechobee—both with Z-Man baits.

“I made the Elites thanks largely to two Z-Man baits. One was a Mag FattyZ™, customized with strands of silicone for a larger fuzzy dice profile. That thing worked everywhere,” noted Browning.

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Browning says the new Tungsten ChatterBait Elite EVO has become his go-to bladed jig.

“The other one’s the lure everyone’s talking about these days, the Tungsten ChatterBait® Elite EVO™. I get asked about this all the time, and while the JackHammer™ and EVO both have their days, I now throw the Tungsten EVO ninety percent of the time. My dad’s the same way.

“For me, it comes down to how well I’m able to stay in tune with the bait, when the blade hits the head. The vibration’s so powerful and sharp that it tells you everything, like when you hit a blade a grass, or when a bass comes up and just nudges the lure. The tungsten is the ultimate transmitter of underwater sound, and it goes both ways— attracts big bass and transmits messages straight to your rodtip. It’s also the perfect ChatterBait for a newbie because you feel everything.”

Watching his son ChatterBait his way to success brings a smile to the elder Browning’s face. “I’ve always been a shallow water power fisherman who likes to catch the easy ones. But even though we both love the ChatterBait, Beau’s really on the other side of the spectrum: He excels at catching finicky fish, often with a spinning rod. I think there was only one day he didn’t weigh a limit during all the (BASS) Opens. That shows me he truly understands the game. And we’re so excited to go along for the ride and watch Beau grow in the sport he loves.”

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In Bass Fishing, What A Difference A Day Can Make

Last weekend produced two very different results at Jackson Lake for me. Although the weather was very similar, cloudy and cool with little wind both days, a lucky guess made a big difference for me on Sunday.

On Saturday 20 members of the Potato Creek Bassmasters fished our final 2022 tournament at Jackson. After fishing from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM we landed 42 12-inch keeper bass weighing about 58 pounds. Three people had five fish limits and six did not weigh in a bass.

Mike Cox made it two wins in row with five weighing 8.76 pounds and his 3.02 pounder was big fish. Buddy Laster had five at 6.88 pounds for second, Lee Hancock placed third with five weighing 6.49 pound and Kenny Delay came in fourth with five at 6.27 pounds.

On Sunday 13 members of the Flint River Bass Club and the Spalding County Sportsman Club fished our last tournament of the year at Jackson in a two-club tournament. We fished from 7:30 to 3:30 PM and landed 34 keeper bass weighing about 40 pounds. There were two limits and two zeros.

My five weighing 8.97 pounds won and I had a 2.84 pound largemouth for big fish. Raymond English had a limit weighing 5.66 pounds for second, Jay Gerson was third with five at 4.08 pounds and Zane Fleck came in fourth with three at 3.64 pounds.

Last Friday I went to Jackson after lunch to look around a little. I wanted to see how much the heavy rain on Wednesday had affected the lake.

I was surprised to find clear water in coves at the dam but the river was stained, and got very muddy going up past the mouth of Tussahaw Creek. Tussahaw Creek was clear as it usually is and the Alcovy River upstream of the mouth of the South River was clear at least up to Rock Creek.

I found fish with my electronics in a couple of places in Tussahaw Creek and the Alcovy. One group was on a sandbar point with a creek channel running by it and another on a creek mouth point. Another school was on bluff river wall where the rocks dropped almost straight off into 30 feet of water.

Saturday my partner, Robert Howell, and I started on a shallow seawall and he quickly caught a keeper on a shaky head worm. A few minutes later a keeper spot hit my wacky rigged Senko on rocks about a foot deep.

I moved out to the creek mouth point and could see suspended fish that I though might be bass about ten feet deep over 30 feet of water, with more on the bottom under them. I cast a Carolina rig and as it sank it took off. A keeper spot hit the worm on the way down.

At 9:00 we ran to the dam and I caught another keeper on the wacky rigged worm on shallow rocks. That made three on that pattern so we though we had something going. As I fished to another shallow seawall, a keeper hit my DT 6 crankbait right at the boat. I had four in the boat before 10:00 so I felt pretty good.

After fishing a couple more shallow seawalls near the dam we ran up to the bluff wall and fish were everywhere on my electronics. I missed one bite on a shaky head but it was the only bite I got.

We fished hard the rest of the day but never caught another fish. My four weighing 4.36 gave me 8^th place in the tournament.

Sunday I ran straight to the bluff bank since there were so many fish there. I quickly caught a keeper on the crankbait but could not get another bite.

I decided to try for shallow fish and caught the big largemouth at 9:00 on a jig back in a small creek. For the next two hours I tried that pattern but never got another bite. At 11:00 as I fish a main lake point coming out of a small creek I caught my third keeper, on a shaky head.

I tried several things for the next four hours with out catching anything else. At 3:00 I decided to hit one more rocky point near the weigh-in site. I caught my fourth keeper at 3:10 and my fifth one at 3:15 on a shaky head.

With five minutes left to fish I got my shaky head hung and broke it off. Rather that re-tie I picked up a Carolina rig and caught a two-pound keeper that culled my smallest fish!

That last fish would have helped me a lot more on Saturday than it did on Sunday, but that’s fishing.

Abu Garcia Max PRO Spinning Reel

Gear

Abu Garcia Max PRO Spinning Reel

By The Fishing Wire

The Abu Garcia Max PRO receives a stylish new look and innovative upgrades

Columbia, SC– The Abu Garcia Max PRO, part of the beloved Max family of spinning reels, has helped so many anglers enter the world of fishing over the past decade. Spinning reel technology has advanced significantly. During this time the Max PRO has stayed at the forefront leading the way with top-notch performance and loaded with features only found in this reel.

The Max PRO’s complete overhaul integrates a 7+1 stainless steel ball bearing system and a Carbon Matrix Drag System. Inspired by the Abu Garcia Revo and Zenon series of spinning reels, it provides anglers with a buttery smooth drag system normally only found in higher priced options. The Max PRO also features Abu Garcia’s Rocket Line Management system and Rocket Spool Lip design reducing wind knots and improving line control for a smooth day on the water.

Similar to its relatives in the Max family; the Max X and Max SX, the Max PRO features a lightweight graphite asymmetric body and the revolutionary V-Rotor and V-Spool design to help reduce weight and decrease start-up inertia. The Max PRO is also available as a rod-and-reel combo, which includes a 24-ton graphite blank with a high-density EVA handle for increased sensitivity and comfort. Additionally, the combo is equipped with an Abu-designed reel seat that enhances hand and blank contact, improving responsiveness and bite detection.

Key Features – Max PRO Spinning Reel
• 7+1 stainless steel bearings
• Carbon matrix drag system
• Lightweight graphite A-Symmetric body design for a more compact design
• V- Rotor design reduces weight and start up inertia
• V- Spool design for a more compact, lighter weight spool
• Rocket Line Management system helps reduce “wind knots”
• Rocket Spool Lip allows for better line control
• Gear Ratio: 6.2:1
• Weight: 8-9.9oz (following reel sizes)
• Reel sizes: 750 • 2000 • 2500 • 3000 • 4000

MSRP: $79.99

Key Features – Max PRO Spinning Combo
• 24-ton graphite construction for improved sensitivity
• High density EVA for increased feel
• Abu designed reel seat for increased hand/blank contact

MSRP: $99.99

The Abu Garcia Max PRO Spinning Reel and Combo is available now on abugarcia.com.

About Pure Fishing

Pure Fishing is a collection of the world’s favorite fishing brands. Every day, all around the world, someone experiences the joy of catching a fish with one of our products. From gear for epic battles at sea to a relaxing day with family at the lake, our portfolio includes the most recognized and admired brands in fishing tackle, lures, rods, reels and storage. Abu Garcia, Berkley, DAM, Fenwick, Fin-Nor, Frabill, Greys, Hardy, Hodgman, Johnson, JRC, Madcat, Mitchell, Penn, Pflueger, Plano, Prologic, Savage Gear, Shakespeare, SpiderWire, Stren, Ugly Stik and Van Staal.

What Is the Most Important Improvement In Bass Fishing?

Unlike my picture taken in 1994 that accompanies my Griffin Daily News article, I have aged a lot in the past 30 years. I have also seen many changes in fishing, especially bass fishing, during my life. Some I like, some others like but I don’t appreciate. To each his own, I guess.

I think the most important change in bass fishing is the development of the electric trolling motor. I will never forget the fun I had sculling an old wooden jon boat for my uncles. Back then one person sat up front and fished while the other in the back used a paddle to move and position the boat for casting.

That back seat job often went to us kids. We learned a lot watching and listening, but it was frustrating, too. Sometimes we got to make a few casts, with the adult taking over the paddling, but usually it was expected our turn fishing would come when we were adults. We were not spoiled like kids nowadays.

Sometimes we tried fishing by ourselves and sculling from the front. It worked pretty well, but it meant positioning the boat, putting the paddle down, picking up your rod and reel and trying to get a cast in before the wind or waves moved the boat out of position.

Now with the touch of a button and rock of the foot you keep the boat in position perfectly, freeing your hands to cast at all times. Newer trolling motors even allow you to push a button and the trolling motor will hold you in one place, allowing you to move around the boat to fish or sit and tie on a new lure without worrying about where the boat will go.

My first ‘depthfinder” was a heavy cord with a used spark plug on the end. Knots were tied every foot, and every yard a double knot marked it. I even used freezer tape to put a numbered tag every yard to keep up with how much string was out.

My newest “depthfinder,” a Garmin Panoptix Livescope, shows everything in front of the boat out to 100 feet in detail, even showing fish as they move in the water. With a little practice I have learned to identify the kind of fish I am seeing and make a pretty good guess if they will bite. Most of the time.

The Panoptix cost a bit more than a ball of cord and spark plug weight. A paddle is a little cheaper than a spot-lock 36 volt trolling motor.

Fishing line is another huge improvement. I will never forget Edgar Reeves, Mr. John Harry’s son who was 15 years older than me, taking me with him to Clarks Hill in May. I mostly skulled his boat while he cast a Devil’s Horse topwater plug to flooded button bushes and sweet gum trees.

He told me I could cast some but when I picked up my Mitchell 300 spinning reel loaded with monofilament line, he said it would not work with topwater. The new-fangled line was not any good compared to his braided line.

He was right in a way. Monofilament has improved a lot over the past 60 years since my trip with Edgar. It is much thinner, stronger and limper than the old stuff. But I use much more fluorocarbon line when fishing since it is not visible underwater and does not stretch as much.

Unlike monofilament, fluorocarbon sinks so it is not suitable for topwater baits. But I seldom use mono for topwater, new kinds of braid, very similar to what Edgar used, are now the best line for topwater most of the time. What goes around comes around!

Spinning reels were introduced to eliminate the problems with bait casters. The first bait caster I tried to use had no free spool, the handle revolved backwards when you cast. It was called a “knucklebuster” for a very good reason.

And there was no level wind, you had to move the line with your reel holding hand thumb across the reel spool as you reeled in to keep it even. And there was no drag system.

Spinning reels had problems of their own, from loops forming when you cast that made a mess on the next cast to line slipping under the spool and jamming. But they were much easier to use.

Then spincast reels, also called closed face reels, were developed to make casting even easier but the first ones jammed way too often, and dirt and debris collected inside the closed face. New ones are much better.

I fell in love with bass tournament fishing the first time Jim Berry took me to a Sportsman Club tournament in 1974. I still fish three club tournaments each month. But the intensity of many young fishermen, “grinding” it out and not having fun but turning it into work while fishing, worries me. There are hundreds of other great developments in fishing. I hope I am around to witness a few more!