Category Archives: Bass Fishing

Bass Fishing Information

New ChatterTail™ Reinvents A Classic Fish Catcher

New ChatterTail™ Reinvents A Classic Fish Catcher
June 1, 2026
By Bobby
Z-Man® Partners with ChatterBait® Inventor Ronny Davis to Put a Modern Spin on the Inline Spinner
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There’s something about an inline spinner that sticks with anglers forever. Maybe it is the first fish you caught in a farm pond, a mountain stream memory with your grandfather, or simply the confidence of tying one on knowing it will get bit.

For legendary lure designer and ChatterBait® inventor Ronny Davis, those memories inspired the newest innovation from Z-Man®: the all-new ChatterTail™. Blending the timeless profile of an inline spinner with the unmistakable vibration and hunting action only the mind behind the ChatterBait could create, the ChatterTail delivers a fresh, modern, and more effective take on one of fishing’s oldest and most trusted lure styles.

“This is an extension of the ChatterBait, which is one of the most successful lures in fishing,” Ronny said. “The idea of the ChatterTail came straight from it. I wanted to add a vibrating blade to an inline spinner. I was just playing around and putting blades on every category of bait. I showed it to Z-Man, and they tried it out. It lit a fire under them.”

That spark quickly turned into obsession, leading Davis and Z-Man into a five-year development process to refine the concept into a perfected, user-friendly design.

chattertail
The ChatterTail is a refined lure with superior fish-attracting power that excels at drawing in prize fish of many species, like this trophy smallmouth that nailed the 1/4 oz black ChatterTail.

Classic Profile, Enhanced Performance
The ChatterTail’s defining feature is its direct body-to-blade connection that produces an aggressive, unmistakable thump from the moment the retrieve begins. Unlike traditional inline spinners that can lose vibration or foul, the ChatterTail keeps working from start to finish.

“I think it works so well for a few reasons,” Ronny explained. “First, the vibrating blade lets you know it’s working throughout the retrieve, and it won’t foul up like most inline spinners. Also, you don’t have to worry one bit about line twist.”

Paired with a willow-leaf blade that thumps and flashes at any retrieve speed instead of simply spinning, the ChatterTail sends out strong lateral-line signals and moves with an erratic, injured baitfish-like wobble that traditional inline spinners cannot produce. Its precise blade orientation and hole placement also help the lure hold depth rather than rising toward the surface. Combined with a hand-tied marabou tail that undulates naturally, the ChatterTail blends old-school familiarity with modern fish-triggering performance. And according to Ronny’s son, lifelong multispecies angler Ron Davis, that combination flat-out catches everything that swims.

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Designed for anglers of all ages and skill levels, the easy‑to‑use ChatterTail proved its appeal again with Brooks Latimer landing this rainbow trout on the Firetiger pattern.

Built for All Species and All Anglers
From smallmouth rivers and high-country trout streams to neighborhood ponds and largemouth lakes, the ChatterTail excels whether burned, slow-rolled, or drifted through current seams. Its vibration, presence, and depth control give anglers something fish simply haven’t seen before.

“I fish for all species, all the time,” Ron said. “Ponds, rivers, streams. No matter the weather conditions. I fish ’em all and this ChatterTail catches all kinds of fish. If it swims, it will bite this lure.”

For Z-Man Director of Brand Strategy Ryan Harder, ChatterTail’s appeal goes beyond performance. It taps into the emotional connection generations of anglers have with inline spinners while delivering a completely modern feel.

“When the Davises brought this project to us, I was all about it,” Harder said. “It reminds me of fishing in the mountains with my grandfather. There is so much connection and nostalgia with this lure yet it also incorporates a new spin on a traditional lure profile. Every single place I’ve taken this lure, it has caught fish.”

chattertail
Available in three weights and eight time-tested color patterns, the ChatterTail gives anglers the versatility to target a wide range of species in a variety of fishing situations.

Approachable for beginners and kids yet refined enough for serious anglers, the ChatterTail injects fresh energy into a lure style trusted everywhere fish swim.

“It’s great for novice or expert anglers, to be honest,” Ronny said. “It doesn’t matter what body of water you’re fishing. Everyone knows how well an inline spinner works, so why not make it better?”

The ChatterTail will be available at tackle retailers nationwide this Fall in 1/16-, 1/8- and 1/4-ounce sizes and eight proven color patterns to cover a variety of fishing conditions. MSRP is $4.99 for the 1/16- and 1/8-ounce models and $5.49 for the 1/4-ounce version.

For more information, visit www.zmanfishing.com or see it in action at the 2026 ICAST Show, booth #4808.

Old Tournament Patterns, Such As They Are, Can Help Catch Fish Now

I did not catch these at Bartletts Ferry

These old memories often clue me in on what to try now. Maybe they can help you, even if it is to know what not to do!!

Despite the heat and inconsiderate to dangerous boat drivers on the lake, nine members of the Spalding County Sportsman Club fished Bartletts Ferry from 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM the last Sunday in July a few years ago in our July tournament.

In the eight hours of casting we landed 17 12-inch keeper bass weighing about 19 pounds. One fisherman had a five bass limit and two did not catch a keeper fish.

Kwong Yu won with the only limit and his five weighed 5.52 pounds. Jay Gerson had three for 3.22 pounds for second and his 1.50-pound bass was big fish. Zane Fleck had three weighing 3.06 pounds for third and my two weighing 2.31 pounds barely beat out Wayne Teal’s two weighing 2.30 pounds for fourth.

I camped at the Georgia Power campground Blanton Creek from Thursday to Monday. Blanton Creek is a nice shady campground on the upper end of Bartletts Ferry and it has a great bath house with hot showers, a requirement for me this time of year after a hot sweaty day on the water.

I tend to sleep late on “practice days” before a tournament so I did not get on the water until about 9:00 AM Friday. Bartletts Ferry is on the Chattahoochee River and downstream of the campground the lake is like most of our lakes, with open water, deep points and banks lined with docks and houses. There are also many creeks on the lower end, from short ones to some that run for miles.

I decided to go up the river and scout around Friday. Near the campground the lake turns into a river channel with a few small creeks but mostly banks lined with trees and bushes. Fishing can be very good up there, especially if the Corps of Engineers are generating power at the West Point dam 20 or so miles up the river.

Current moving can make the fish bite better, up to a point. A couple years ago I went up the river and the current was so strong I had a hard time fishing. At one point my boat drifting with the current with no motor running was moving 3.5 miles per hour on my GPS. A bait cast to a stump in the water would sweep by it way too fast to hit the bottom.

Friday there was barely any current and the fish did not bite for me. I hooked two small keeper bass that got off before I could land them. One wrapped me up in a limb and another jumped and came off. I did land one 13-inch keeper bass.

Saturday I got on the water about 9:00 again and decided to go exploring. The road going to the ramp crosses Mountain Oak Creek four times, the last one about five miles by water from the ramp. I like the way it looks, about 50 feet wide with trees and overhanging bushes.

I idled for about 30 minutes, the water was only two to five feet deep in most areas, and started pitching a jig and pig to all the cover on the bank on an outside bend in the creek. I was about a half mile above the bridge and the water was a little deeper, with a little current moving. I thought it would be great but I never got a bite.

When I gave up and idled back to the lake I stopped on a big mud flat where I had seen some brush in the water when the lake was low. It is just a few hundred yards from the ramp we use and there is a danger marker on it since the water is only two feet deep.

I tried to fish a jig but it came back with black moss on it, so I picked up a spinnerbait. My first cast produced a solid thump and I worked the bass to the boat, trying to hide it from other fishermen. Doing that I let it get around the trolling motor and the four-pound bass broke my line. But it gave me hope.

I looked around the rest of the day but never got another bite.

When I got to the ramp Sunday morning there was another club putting in with us. At takeoff I went to the flat and started casting, but when the other club took off at 6:15 about half the guys in the other club ran right by me, some within feet of the danger marker. I don’t know if they didn’t know what they were doing, or if they didn’t care, but it ruined my fishing.

I finally caught a keeper spot on a bluff bank 30 feet deep on a jig at 9:00 then got my second keeper at 2:30 on a shaky head on a seawall by a dock in only a foot of water.

It was a frustrating day!

Remember These and the Horse Head Spin, the Forerunners Of Underspins So Popular Now?

Gear

Bucktail Pro Road Runner

By The Fishing Wire

Bucktail Pro Road Runners feature original Road Runner head design, more bucktail than most, holographic eyes, nickel over brass smooth willow blades, ball bearing swivels and high carbon premium needle-point hooks.

These are great for bass, walleye, striper, snook, redfish, tarpon, amberjack and much more!

Available in eight fish catching colors.

The 1/8 has a 2/0 hook, ¼ has a 4/0 hook, 3/8 has a 4/0 hook and the ½ has a 5/0 hook.

They can be cast, jigged or trolled.

MSRP $7.68 – $8.62

IP remember having a Horse Head spin in my tacklebox when i was still riding my bicycle to farm ponds to fish.

Contact ron@tticompanies.com for more info.

Website: www.ttiblakemore.com

Fishing A June Tournament At Oconee Was There A Pattern?

i came in fourth at Oconee with four little bass

On a June Saturday 18 members of the Potato Creek Bassmasters fished our June tournament at Lake Oconee. After casting from 5:30 AM to 2:00 PM we brought 21 14-inch-long keeper largemouth weighing about 36 pounds to the scales. Nobody had more than three keepers and 9 fishermen didn’t weigh in a fish.

Lee Hancock won with three weighing 6.19 pounds, beating Raymond English’s three weighing 6.18 pounds after Raymond had a .02-pound penalty for a dead fish. Raymond did win the big fish pot with a 2.67 pound largemouth. Caleb Delay had three weighing 4.66 pounds for third and my three at 3.79 pound was fourth.

Robert Howell fished with me and we had high hopes as we ran to a grassy point near the dam. It was barely light enough to see so I picked up a spinnerbait and started casting to the edge of the water willow grass bed that ran around it. Robert was following me with a topwater popper.

On about my tenth cast a fish grabbed my spinnerbait and I landed a 15-inch keeper. That made me feel pretty good. A 13.5-inch fish quickly followed, fun but too short to keep. After we rounded that point we idled across to the next one with grass running around it.

Since it was getting light enough to see a little better I started casting a buzzbait. I like to wait until it is light enough for the bass to home in on a moving topwater bait and make sure they don’t miss it.

I caught my second keeper before 6:00 AM on the buzzbait. It was just over the 14-inch line on my keeper board. Then I got another 13-inch fish on the buzzbait. Two keepers and two throw backs in 30 minutes seemed like a good start.

When the sun came over the horizon we ran to a deep rocky bank back in a creek. As we fished down it we made some casts to the bank, working our baits from a couple feet deep to almost 20 feet deep at the boat. And we would make some casts parallel to the bank. I had found a line of boulders in about 20 feet deep running parallel to the bank here last fall and caught some fish off it, but they did not produce anything this time.

About halfway down the bank Robert set the hook and his rod bowed up. The strong fish stayed deep pulling straight down, often a bad sign, and sure enough when he got it where we could see it was a ten-pound flathead catfish. Fun to catch and a good fight, but no help in a tournament.

For the next five hours we fished a variety of places, casting to grass beds, skipping baits under docks, working brush and rock piles from shallow to 20 feet deep and any other places we could think to try. We caught a couple of short fish but no more keepers.

Just before noon we fished into a small creek, casting to docks and the seawall. I told Robert there was a little trash on a secondary point ahead of us where I had caught some fish in the past. When I hit the trash with my shaky head, I got a bite and landed a barely 14-inch-long keeper, giving me three with two hours left to fish.

A little after noon we stopped on a rocky main lake point and something thumped my worm. When I set the hook a strong fish ran a few feet to the right and I thought I felt my line rub something, then it broke. When I reeled in to re-tie, the last six inches or so of my line was frayed.

It may have been a big catfish or a gar. Both are strong and a gar’s teeth will fray and cut your line. And catfish will try to run under rocks and fray your line. Whatever it was I will never know.

With thirty minutes left to fish we stopped on a brush pile in front of a dock and Robert and I both landed short bass. That was it, we had to go in to a surprising weigh-in. I was shocked to come in fourth.

While we fished there was an ABA tournament on Oconee. It took 16.57 pounds to win and 16.39 pounds to place second and 6.64 pounds came in 18^th!

A Few Years Ago at A Bartlett’s Ferry Tournament On Memorial Day Weekend

Tournament

I camped at the Georgia Power campground Blanton Creek at Bartletts Ferry from Thursday to Monday. Blanton Creek is a nice shady campground on the upper end of Bartletts Ferry and it has a great bath house with hot showers, a requirement for me this time of year after a hot sweaty day on the water.

I looked around the rest of the day but never got another bite.

I finally caught a keeper spot on a bluff bank 30 feet deep on a jig at 9:00 then got my second keeper at 2:30 on a shaky head on a seawall by a dock in only a foot of water.

It was a frustrating day!

How I Rig and Fish My Neko Rig

A couple years ago i started using a Fluke Stick on Texas and Carolina rigs. Got a six pounder at Eufaula on one Texas rigged in practice for a tournament.

Last year i decided to play around with one Neko rigged. But frugal, or cheap, me used what i had. No 50 cent special weights or hooks.

i had some tiny screws in my tool box. Found sticking a hole in end of Fluke Stick with an ice pick then screwing it in was easy. Stayed through several fishk did not get thrown out. i rig about ten ahead of a tournament.

And i used either a #1 weedless hook or a straight-shanked #1 Gamakatsu hook I had in my tackle box.

That worked for a 6 pounder at Hartwell last April in the Potato Creek tournament.

I do put a ring around the Fluke |Stick – they are tough and hold up a long time.

I got on pattern for two-pound spots at Hartwell and i could land three or four on one Fluke Stick before getting out another one!

Try it, you might like it. And if you want to spend more, buy the special hooks and leads.

By the box, screws are about 6 cents. — ready to rig Neko rigs

if you can see, the #4 1/2 inch screws are about 1/64 ounce. #6 3/8 inch screws are about 1/32 ounce. The #6 are longer and thinner, so easier to insert.

I may try the thicker hooks in practice, but light wire hooks make hook ups easy. But i throw them on medium-fast action St Croix rods and 14-pound Sunline, so i worry i need a stronger hook

Why Do I Love Bass Fishing?

I will never forget the first bass I caught. All my short life I had caught bream and small catfish on my cane pole with cork bobber. Usually the bobber would twitch or go down and when I lifted the pole tip the fish would pull down and make circles.

When about 12 years old, while fishing in the spillway hole below Usury’s Pond dam, my cork popped under the water. When I raised my pole and set the hook an 11-inch bass exploded from the surface of the water. It pulled hard, running all over the place and jumped two more times. It hooked me much better than I hooked it.

When I was in high school I loved to water ski. Daddy bought a fantastic ski boat for the time, a 17-foot Larson with a 120 hp Mercury inboard/outboard – now usually called and outdrive. It wasn’t fast but it would pull up six skiers on double skis or three on slalom.

But it was not much of a fishing boat. We could run trotlines, bank hooks and jugs for cats and tie up or anchor to fish. And it was very good for trolling. Linda caught an 8-pound, 10 ounce largemouth on a Hellbender plug pulled behind it in 1972.

Of course it had no trolling motor up front so working down the bank was a problem. The spring after Linda caught the 8 pounder, I made a wooden platform that fit over the front running light and hooked to the front cleats.

I put a small trolling motor on a bracket hanging down in front so I could sit on the platform and turn the motor with my foot. To turn it on and off I unclipped the battery clamp from the 12-volt battery sitting beside me. It was ok as long as the wind didn’t blow, that small trolling motor would barely move it.

It was cumbersome but it was better than anything else I had. Clambering over the windshield to get to the front was not a problem when I was that age.

Linda and I bought our first car together the first year we were married, a 1972 Cutlass Supreme Convertible. Our next big purchase was a bass boat, a 1974 17-foot Arrowglass that had tolling motor and depth finder, top of the line at that time. Oddly enough, each cost $3500.00, more than half the annual pay each one of us made as teachers.

We fished many hours out of that boat, pulling it with the Cutlass. For camping we loaded a big Sears 6-man tent and all our supplies in the trunk and back seat. We caught untold numbers of bass, crappie and catfish from that boat.

Jim Berry invited me to join the Spalding County Sportsman Society in March of 1974, the week after I bought the boat. Fifty years later I still fish in that club but not that boat!

I fished with Jim in my Arrowglass at Clarks Hill in the club tournament in April that year, my first tournament. And I fell in love with tournament fishing. I had never enjoyed playing games or sports and still don’t, but somehow the competition of tournament fishing hooked me.

In January 1976 I caught an 8-pound, 4 ounce bass from that boat while fishing with Bobby Jean Pierce at Jackson in a club tournament, finally breaking that mark. It was big fish in the tournament. In 1978 I caught another 8-pound, 4-ounce bass at Jackson in a January tournament while fishing with Cecil Aaron. It was third biggest bass that day. Fishing has changed since then!

I have had nine bass boats in my life. The current on, a 20-foot Skeeter with a 250 Yamaha four stoke motor, top of the line trolling motor and all the electronics and other bells and whistles now available. I bought it used but new it listed for 30 times the price of my first bass boat. Prices have changed, too!!

There is a saying “the difference between men and boys is the cost of their toys.” Most outdoor hobbies from golf to shooting are expensive. I am sure I could get by with cheaper equipment but don’t want to.

My current boat is almost 9 years old and things are starting to fail. But the cost of an new one, or even a used one, is scary! But I don’t think I can go back to fishing with a cane pole from the bank. Not all the time, at least.

Now I fish with three bass clubs and seldom miss a tournament, due to a very understanding wife. And I plan on fishing tournaments until I am not competitive. I am afraid that will be all too soon.

Two Young Fishermen Give Me Hope for the Future and Night Fishing Memories

This past Sunday I spent seven hours in a boat on West Point with Rob Boswell, his son Brent and Brent’s tournament teammate Dylan Thayer. They provided me with information for my September Map of the Month article.

Brent and Dylan won two high school tournaments at West Point during the past tournament year and both impressed me with their skill casting, knowledge of bass and use of electronics. Both just graduated and know more than I do after more than 60 years of bass fishing!

The thing that impressed me most was the maturity, courtesy and manners of the two young men. They worked hard trying to catch fish and never gave up. They never had a cross word for each other or me, even when I asked stupid questions. I told Rob he had trained them right!

Young men like those two give me hope for the future even on days when the news is full of the opposite kind of youth and adults.

The day was miserably hot, with bright sun, dead calm wind, water temperature 90 degrees and the air even hotter. It reminded me of why I prefer fishing at night this time of year.

One of my first night fishing memories is going to Raysville Bridge and fishing under it. I heard fishing under there was good and even back then I got fired up, just knowing I could catch catfish, bream, crappie and bass. I spent hours getting my rod and reel ready.

We got a bucket of minnows and walked the long causeway out to the bridge and got under it. I was tired from the walk and soon got sleepy – and irritable.

It seemed every cast got hung in the rocks and I had to break off and retie my line with sinker and hook. And we never got a bite.

Another memory is of daddy and how patient he usually was with me. We were camping at Elijah Clark State Park on Clarks Hill and could see the big Highway 378 Bridge a half mile across the water.

We had rented and old wooden jon boat and paddles. I talked daddy into paddling me to the bridge to fish one night. We loaded up the boat with rods, reels, ice chest with drinks, snacks and rope to tie up with and daddy and I, mostly daddy, paddled us to the bridge.

After tying up I got my rod and started to bait my hook, and there was no minnow bucket! I had forgotten to put it in the boat. Daddy patiently untied, paddled us back to the campground, got the minnows and paddled us back to the bridge!

I don’t remember getting a bite that night.

When I started teaching school in 1972 I had summers off so I often spent a week at a time at our camper at Raysville Boat Club. I would fish a lot at night, fishing from 6:00 PM to 9:00 AM and then sleep all day for a week at a time.

A few nights I tied up under Raysville Bridge in my bass boat and fished for whatever would bite. Two nights really stand out in my memory.

One trip I planned on fishing all night so I carried food and drinks with me. I tied up a few feet from a family in a big boat and we all sat there, catching a crappie or hybrid every once in a while.

About the time I started getting hungry the woman in the boat beside me pulled out a big box of fried chicken. The smell wafting across to me made my mouth water.

Although I ate my sardines and saltines, which I usually loved, they were just not that good that night. I kept hoping the family would offer me a piece of chicken. I even considered grabbing one of the bones they threw in the water and gnawing any tiny shred of meant left!

Another night worked out better. There were a dozen boats tied under the bridge but no one was catching anything. It was frustrating, we could see big hybrids holding about five feet down under our lights and sucking in tiny young of the year shad.

Drifting a shiner minnow in front of them did no good, they ignored it, the shad they were eating were no more than a half inch long. I remembered the adage “match the hatch” and got an idea.

I dug around in my tackle and found a black #6 long shank bream hook. I peeled some shiny foil off my pack of cigarettes and wrapped the shank the hook with it. When I dropped it down under a small split shot, the hybrids ate it!

I think they saw the tiny glint of my foil and mistook it for a little shad. Whatever happened, I caught more than a dozen big hybrids and no one else ever caught one. That laughed at me when I told them the “bait” I was using, I guess they thought I was lying, and they never tried it.

It’s a good idea to be flexible when fishing!!

Big Bite Debuts New Sensation Fuzzy Stick

Big Bite Debuts New Sensation Fuzzy Stick, it looks weird but catches fish
By The Fishing Wire

Irving, TX – The Big Bite 4″ Scentsation Fuzzy Stick is creepy, crawly, and killer on bass. Featuring “fuzzy” appendages that are designed to drive fish crazy, the Scentsation Fuzzy Stick is truly unique and already has a proven track record.

“I first started using the Scentsation Fuzzy Stick at the St. Lawrence River tournament last year, which I won,” explains Big Bite pro Michael Neal, referencing his 2024 victory on the Bass Pro Tour. “It’s a bait that can mimic a variety of forage such as shad, bluegill, gobies, and crawfish. It’s all dependent on the color selection.”

The Scentsation Fuzzy Stick also shines in a variety of different techniques. “It can be fished a lot of different ways as well, including on a drop shot, nail weight, or Ned rig,” says Neal. “I feel like the bait shines on pressured fish that need a different profile to react. The skirt material is almost constantly moving with the water, so it looks much different than anything we currently have in the Big Bite lineup.”

Featuring Scentsation technology designed for bigger and longer bites, the Big Bite Scentsation Fuzzy Stick is available in 6 proven colors and comes 5 per pack.

For more information on Big Bite Baits, please visit their website HERE, or find them on Facebookand other social media avenues.

For additional questions or inquiries, please email marketing@gsmorg.com. Or, if you’d like to see the entire family of GSM brands, please visit www.gsmoutdoors.com.

About GSM Outdoors:

Few American outdoor companies enjoy a mutually respected relationship with their customers that span over five generations. GSM Outdoors is among those few! For over 70 years, the GSM family of brands has been helping passionate hunters, shooters, knife enthusiasts and anglers succeed through innovation and the manufacture of high-quality, reliable products that continue to prove themselves in the field, on the range and on the water. GSM Outdoors continues to leverage the latest technology and provide customers with the best products on the market. Tradition, heritage, and loyalty to outdoor enthusiasts of generations past and generations to come…that’s the GSM Outdoors guarantee!

Locusts and Cicadas and A Sinclair Tournament

Momma’s parents lived on a small farm in Thomson until grandaddy died when I was six years old. I have a few memories of visiting there even at that young age.

There was a small barn for the milk cow and a tiny pasture for her, a hog pen where a couple of hogs were raised to butcher, a small chicken coop for eggs and meat and a big garden. Behind the barn was a pine thicket I loved to explore.

Every trip I could find “locust” shells on the pine trees. I put locust in quotation marks because later I found out they were really cicadas, a totally different bug. Locust like in the bible are just grasshoppers that cause terrible problems when they swarm. Fortunately we don’t have locusts in the Southeast US.

We do have cicadas. The adult female lays up to 400 eggs on branches and twigs that hatch into nymphs that look pretty much like the adults without wings. They immediately dig underground to suck sap from plant roots.

This stage is interesting. There are about 3000 species of cicadas and they are divided into 23 “broods” in the US. Those broods’ nymphs live underground for two to 21 years!

When they are ready to molt they come out of the ground and climb up trees and bushes. The nymph sheds its exoskeleton, the shell I found on the pine trees, and the winged adult comes out. It then mates and starts the cycle over again.

When broods emerge there may be thousands of adults looking for mates. When there is a big emergence, you can hear a humming sound for miles as the males flex their rib tymbals to make the “song” and females answer by rubbing their wings together.

The adults may live for six weeks before they die, so we often hear the “song” for weeks at a time. Around here, brood XIX, the Great Southern Brood, emerges every 13 years. They last emerged in 2011 so they will emerge again next summer.

One strong memory I have of the 2011 cicadas is a tournament at Lake Sinclair. I fished for several hours without a bite while listening to the hum of the cicadas all around. Dead adult bugs littered the water surface.

When I looked at one closely I realized it had a red hue. I knew all fish that could get them in their mouth, from carp to bass, gorged on them, so I put a red worm on my Carolina rig and caught two or three bass after switching colors!

I have read that about the only time you can catch carp on a fly rod on top is during a brood emergence. Carp will feast on the floating bodies and a dry fly imitating them, with a little red or orange in it, will catch them if placed in front of a rubber lipped mudsucker eating the bugs.

All this came to mind when I found a cicada shell on the post of my garage. I guess that one got confused and I bet it never found a mate!

——-

Last Sunday 12 members of the Spalding County Sportsman Club fished our July tournament at Sinclair. After casting from 6:00 AM to 1:00 PM we brought 38 largemouth weighing about 66 pounds to the scales. There were four five bass limits and one member did not catch a keeper.

Raymond English won with five weighing 12.48 pounds and got big fish with a 5.96 pound largemouth that almost broke our six-pound pot. My five at 10.87 pounds was second, Jay Gerson came in third with five at 7.29 pounds and Lee Hancock came in fourth with five weighing 6.63 pounds.

I had an exciting start, catching three nice keepers, including a 3.06 largemouth, on a topwater frog around a grass bed the first 30 minutes. When a bass slams a frog working through grass the bite thrills me then I get hyper trying to get the bass out of the grass and into the boat.

The bite slowed way down and I caught two small keepers on a Trick worm worked weightless in grass, filling my limit by 7:45. Then I culled one with a two pounder that hit a jig.

Punching grass means using a very heavy rod and strong line with a one ounce or heavier sinker in front of a plastic bait like a Fighting Frog. You get your boat in close and drop the heavy weight into the grass where it “punches” through. A bass in the grass will often suck the bait in as it falls the foot or so to the bottom.

The heavy outfit wears out my weak arms and I have to sit down to fish and that makes it more difficult, so I do not do it much. But I keep a rod rigged and ready just in case. About 10:00 I picked it up and the first punch caught a 2.5-pound bass, culling my smallest one. But although I wore my arm out for over an hour punching, I never got another bite!

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