World Record Bass Caught In Japan in 2010

Its official – we have a new world record bass. A 22 pound, 4.95 ounce bass caught in Japan in July 2010 was certified by the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) as a tie for the world record.

Way back in 1932 a Georgia boy fishing in a small oxbow lake off the Ocmulgee River landed a huge bass. He took it to the post office in Helena, Georgia and weighted it, then entered it in the Field and Stream big fish contest. That fish weighing 22 pounds, 4 ounces held the world record status for 77 years.

The reason the new bass is considered a tie is the IGFA requires a new record to beat the old record by at two ounces. There are several reasons for this, including the fact that new scales are more accurate then older scales. Also, a spring loaded scale will usually show only pounds and ounces, not pounds and tenths and hundredths of ounces, that the new ones show.

When George Perry landed the big bass in south Georgia, bass fishing was a simple sport and was more for food than sport. Rods and reels were primitive by today’s standards, as were line, hooks and lures. And bass fishermen could not even dream of depth finders, you stuck your rod tip into the water to see how deep it was.

Even when I started bass fishing in the 1950s, 25 years after Perry landed his fish, most of our time was spent in a wooden rowboat sculling with a paddle to move around. We fished with a knuckle busting casting reel that had no free spool or level wind, or one of the new fangled spinning reels. Line was a form of braid since monofilament line was just hitting the markets.

Manabu Kurita, the young Japanese fisherman that now holds the record, was using some of the best rods and reels available and casting a swim bait on high tech line. The swim bait is a very new type bait that has been on the market just a few years.

It took the IGFA months to review the application and make sure all rules were met. They even required the fisherman to take a lie detector test to verify he caught the fish legally and was not fishing in an off limits area as some gossip claimed. And the scales were carefully tested to make sure they were accurate.

The reason for all the care in certifying the record is the fact it will probably be worth millions of dollars to the fisherman. All that endorsement money has caused many false claims of world record bass, none of which have been verified.

A few years ago a bass weighing 25 pounds was caught in California and pictures were taken of it. But the fish was released and no application was made for the record because the fisherman snagged the bass in the side. While trying to get it to hit while on the bed he hooked it in the side and the rules of the IGFA require the fish be caught in a sporting manner.

Is there a bigger bass out there? Maybe. And this record may be beat at any time. But it may stand up for 75 more years, just like Perry’s record.

How Can I Catch Offshore Kentucky Bass?

Kentucky DFWR Biologist Suggests Targeting Offshore Largemouths
from The Fishing Wire

Fish offshore for post-spawn largemouth bass

Catch bass offshore on crankbaits in Kentucky

Crankbaits are a favorite once bass go deep on big lake chains like those of the TVA system in Kentucky.

Frankfort, KY. – Chris Hickey, black bass research biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, said the cool weather this spring delayed the largemouth bass spawn a couple of weeks, but now everything is on schedule as we head into the heat of summer.

He said anglers report largemouth bass gathering on the channel ledges on Kentucky and Barkley lakes.

Summer fishing for largemouth bass frustrates many anglers, although anglers themselves are usually the source of the problem. The anglers often don’t change the presentation or places they fish from the spring season, although their summer catch often consists of a few small male “buck” bass.

Forget fishing the visible cover along the bank and instead concentrate on off-shore structures such as channel ledges, submerged islands, humps and long points to catch bass during the day in July and August. Studying a map of the underwater features reveals these fish-holding structures. Anglers should plan on probing several during a day of fishing.

“I look for three things for deep ledge fishing,” said Ryan Oster, federal aid coordinator for the fisheries division of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “The first is the presence of bait, second is stumps and third is current. Mussel beds on the ledge are also a big help.”

Depthfinders are a great help in finding offshore Kentucky bass

Big-screen sonar is a huge help in locating summer bass on channel ledges and humps.

Oster, formerly western fisheries district biologist who helped manage Kentucky and Barkley lakes, prefers deep running crankbaits, 7- to 10-inch straight-tailed worms rigged on Shakey heads and heavy football jig and trailer combinations to fish ledges from 12 to 25 feet deep in these lakes.

“I like the Sexy Shad color for clear water and the chartreuse Sexy Shad for stained water in my deep crankbaits,” Oster said. “Typically, bass want it raking across the bottom. On some days, the fish want a slow and steady retrieve and on others, they want it fast. Mix it up until they hit.”

Boat positioning is important to keep these lures crawling on the bottom and across those underwater ledges and humps. Some anglers use marker buoys to visualize the ledge or hump.

Slowly crawl a Shakey head rig along the bottom, stop it every few feet and shake the rod tip to wiggle the worm and entice bass. Anglers fishing jigs may also work the bottom, but many “stroke” a heavy football jig by ripping it off the bottom with their rod tip and letting the lure fall on a slack line. Trophy largemouths often hit the jig on the fall.

Use a swimbait to catch Kentucky bass offshore

Swimbaits can also produce when the head weight is keyed to the depth where the fish are holding.

Use at least 1/2-ounce of weight to get down on the deep structure. Many opt for 3/4-ounce or 1-ounce jigs. Shakey worms in green pumpkin, black or purple work well in deep water. Black jigs in combination with blue, purple, brown or chartreuse produce deep bass.

During the hottest times of the year, largemouth bass suspend over the ledge or hump and ignore lures worked on bottom. A swimbait works well for suspended bass.

Pearl-colored swimbaits with shades of gray, blue and light purple work well. Fish the swimbait just above bottom rigged on a 1/4-ounce or 3/8-ounce head as heavier heads deadens the lure’s action. Oster prefers 5-inch swimbaits.

Points that extend well out into the lake are high percentage spots for summer largemouth bass. Jigs slowly crawled across the point in water 15 to 25 feet deep draws strikes. Points with stumps or chunk rock on them hold the most fish.

The best ledge fishing is on Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley and Barren River Lake. Most lakes across Kentucky have long extended points and many have underwater humps.

Get off the bank and catch huge bass on the hottest days.

Author Lee McClellan is an award-winning associate editor for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. He is a life-long hunter and angler, with a passion for smallmouth bass fishing.

Media Contact: Lee McClellan 1-800-858-1549, ext. 4443

Fishing Demopolis Lake In Alabama

Sambo caught these two nice bass at Demopolis Lake

Wednesday I drove to Birmingham and met a young professional fisherman, Sambo Fish, to get information for an Alabama Outdoor News article. We pulled his boat to Demopolis Lake about 70 miles east of Birmingham. I am constantly amazed at the excellent fishing on so many Alabama lakes, even those not well known.

We started fishing shallow grassbeds and caught a few small fish and missed a lot more that hit a jig and pig flipped into the thickest part of the grass. That is fun fishing and you can catch some big fish.

We then went to a river ledge near the mouth of a creek and caught bass after bass on crankbaits, Carolina rigs and other baits. They were all about 14 inches long and fun to catch, but not the big bass we were looking for.

After checking out several more spots we stopped on another river ledge and the bass bit there, too, and were bigger. We caught several in the two to three pound range and he landed a four pound plus bass. Since it was getting later in the day and I had a five hour drive home, we left the fish feeding.

I wanted a picture of a spotted bass for the article and there are some big ones in the lake. We had caught a half dozen in the 13 inch range but they were not nearly as big as the largemouth. So he said he would take me to his “spot” hole where he always caught spots and caught some big ones.

As luck would have it we did catch a few small spots, but he caught seven or eight nice largemouth close to three pounds each. They hit a crankbait out from the rocks where he usually caught spotted bass. I told him he would have to change the name of this hole!

Demopolis is where the Tombigbee and Warrior Rivers come together. Like most river lakes in Alabama, it is narrow with coves and creeks filled with grass beds and wood cover. The river itself has ledges, the tops of the old river channel banks, that are now under water. Bass love both kinds of places.

Current on these lakes moves almost all day and that makes the bass feed better. When the lock at the dam was opened to let in a barge the current increased and the bass bit even better. It is an incredible kind of fishing.

Demopolis has some very nice campgrounds. There are many similar lakes, like Lay and Logan Martin. If you want to experience some great summer fishing, plan a trip to one of them.

Fishing In Florida’s Dry Tortugas

Take this ferry to teh Dry Tortugas

Fishing adventures await in Florida’s Dry Tortugas
from The Fishing Wire

The Dry Tortugas Ferry out of Key West makes it easy to access Dry Tortugas National Park, and you can bring your kayak with you.

A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to spend four days and three nights on Garden Key in Dry Tortugas National Park; the experience was one that I will never forget. Sneaking up on a tailing 15-pound permit in 12 inches of water, presenting a live crab to it, and having the fish scream off a hundred yards of 20-pound braid on the first run will make your heart pump like just about nothing else!

The Dry Tortugas, a series of very small islands and submerged coral reefs about 70 miles west of Key West, has a rich history and offers some of the most exceptional and exciting fishing opportunities in Florida. While you are there enjoying saltwater fishing, you will also see an array of marine and terrestrial wildlife and have an opportunity to tour historic Fort Jefferson.

Warning! This is not a posh resort. With the exception of the visitor’s center and museum, which are accessible only during the day, Garden Key has no fresh water and no electricity. So if you require air conditioning, hot tubs, cable television, fine restaurants and all the luxuries of home, you might want to consider a day trip instead.

Getting out there

Catch permit like this one in the Dry Tortuga

Permit and bonefish are abundant on the clear, shallow flats. Live crabs are top bait for the permit.

If you happen to own a sweet, 36-foot offshore boat with triple motors or something comparable, just load up all your fishing and camping gear, fuel up and bust out there. More than likely, your options include a high-speed catamaran, called the Yankee Freedom, that makes one trip per day, a commercial float plane that makes multiple trips per day, depending on demand, or a chartered vessel.

My old, 17-foot Whaler with a 12-gallon tank seemed a little inadequate for the trip, so I opted to take the Yankee Freedom, which arrives at Garden Key at 10:30 a.m. each day and departs for the return trip to Key West at by 2:45 p.m. The ferry holds approximately 150 passengers and makes the trip out there in a little over two hours. The boat is very comfortable, and breakfast and lunch are provided at no additional cost.

If you simply want to do some snorkeling, view the wildlife and tour the fort, a 4.5-hour stay is all you need to have a great day of sightseeing. The ferry has room for only four hard-sided kayaks per trip, so if you intend to camp and fish, reserve space for yourself and your kayak well in advance.

Camping

If you can handle a few days without all the comforts of home and want to enjoy some truly amazing fishing, try camping. At $3 per day per person, camping is very inexpensive, but spaces are limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Each camping space includes a grill and a picnic table, and your normal camp ground rules apply in terms of quiet hours and keeping things clean. Very nice, waterless restroom facilities are available right next to the camp sites.

Fishing

Visit the fort between fishingtrips

The old fort is worth a visit in itself, but the fishing and diving are the true stars for outdoors families.

For starters, the park boundaries encompass around 100 square miles of open water, but only half of the area is open to fishing and anchoring. The rest of the waters of the park make up the Research Natural Area (RNA), designed to provide protection for important shallow-water habitats. Garden Key and Fort Jefferson are within the RNA; however, a 2-mile-diameter fishing area is established around Garden Key. Within that circle, fishing is allowed except in the swimming/snorkeling area adjacent to the fort and within a couple of small coral and nurse shark protection areas. Park rangers will provide information and maps to help you stay within the boundaries.

If you are fishing by kayak (and I would suggest using one), you will be limited to the 2-mile-diameter circle around the fort, as the larger portions of the park (outside the RNA) are too far to reach by kayak. But don’t be alarmed. Within that relatively small fishing area you can catch a huge variety of species.

In the morning or late afternoon, especially during a low tide, scan the flats and you will likely see schools of bonefish cruising in 6 to 10 inches of water in search of crabs. With a little luck you will also see a solitary permit tailing as it digs crabs out of the coral rubble. To catch the bonefish and permit, you need to get pretty close and present your bait quietly to avoid spooking the fish. This can be done from the kayak or by wading, but the key is to keep quiet, cast beyond the fish and drag your bait back to the fish and then let it sink.

The water is clear and fish abundant

The clear water here makes sight fishing easy during the day, and tarpon come cruising the channels after dark.

During the day, the shallow coral reefs in 6 to 25 feet of water are covered with yellowtail snapper, mutton snapper, red grouper, scamp, graysby and various wrasses. You can also move out into the deeper reef areas and catch larger snapper and grouper, but on medium/heavy spinning tackle, the 6- to 9-pound muttons were about all I could handle from a kayak. A variety of pelagics, including yellow jacks, rainbow runners, blackfin tuna and cero mackerel, also move through the area in search of baitfish and squid.

At night, bigger game are afoot. Tarpon in the 80- to 200-pound range are just about everywhere you look and relatively easy to hook up with live bait, dead bait or by trolling diving lures. Huge sharks also cruise around in the boat basin at night and can be hooked directly from the ferry dock. You may also see one of the resident goliath grouper hanging around the dock’s fish-cleaning areas, looking for scraps. I don’t know where else you can do all that in a kayak!

If wildlife viewing is more your thing there is also an 8-foot saltwater crocodile that sometimes visits the moat during the day and several species of shorebirds that nest each summer on Bush Key.

Fishing regulations

The 2-mile-wide fishing bubble around the fort is within state waters of the Gulf of Mexico, so the fishing regulations are pretty simple. Just follow the regulations that apply to state waters of the Gulf and stay within the boundary line.

If you access the Tortugas by private or charter vessel and have the opportunity to fish outside the RNA, things become more tricky, because you have to know the Gulf-Atlantic boundary line as well as the state and federal boundary lines for the Gulf and Atlantic. You will also need to remember that grouper regulations in all state waters off Monroe County follow the regulations for state waters of the Atlantic in terms of seasons, size limits, bag limits and gear requirements.

If you need maps showing the Atlantic-Gulf boundary line, the Dry Tortugas National Park boundary line, or the state waters boundary line around the Dry Tortugas, please send me an email and I will be happy to help you access the maps.

So make your plans for a fishing adventure of a lifetime at the Dry Tortugas, and don’t forget to record all of your catches on the iAngler phone app or at snookfoundation.org. Share your photos, video and fishing tales with us as well by emailing them to Alan.Peirce@MyFWC.com.

Gone Coastal is one of many ways that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Division of Marine Fisheries Management is helping recreational anglers understand complex saltwater regulations and learn more about saltwater fishing opportunities and issues in Florida. We are also available to answer questions by phone or email anytime, and we would love the opportunity to share information through in-person presentations with recreational or commercial fishing organizations. To contact the FWC’s Regulatory Outreach subsection call 850-487-0554 or email Alan.Peirce@MyFWC.com.

Bedding Bass and Bluegill, and Stupid Skidoo Drivers

This spot was caught at Bartletts Ferry

On a Wednesday in May I spent most of the day at Bartlett’s Ferry Lake trying to figure out some patterns for a Spalding County Sportsman Club tournament. I didn’t for me but I did for my partner!

Although there was a strong current coming down the Chattahoochee River and I figured muddy water was on the way, the river was still only lightly stained and the bigger creeks were clear. So clear I could see the bottom about four feet down and I looked for bass on the bed. It is late for bass to be bedding but the cool weather this year had delayed the spawn on many lakes.

Not Bartlett’s Ferry, it seems. The water temperature was about 79 degrees and I didn’t see any bass beds, but I did see a lot of bream beds with fish on them. And I saw a lot of balls of bass fry with adult bass guarding them. Those fry looked to be a couple of weeks old so I guess a lot of bass went on the bed there on the last full moon.

When the water temperature and length of daylight is right, usually on the full moon in April around here, male bass find a shallow hard bottom and fan out a bed. The beds look like saucers on the bottom, since they are usually lighter than the surrounding area. The females will come in, find a bed or several beds to their liking, and lay eggs in them. Then they leave, not sticking around to help raise the babies.

The male will fertilize the eggs and stay with the nest, guarding it against bluegill and other water critters that want an easy egg meal. And he has a lot to guard. A female will lay 2000 – 7000 eggs per pound of her body weight! He won’t eat while guarding the nest but will chase off bream and other predators by biting at them. That often makes him easy to catch.

After the eggs hatch in two to five days the male will continue to guard them for a week or two, not eating the whole time. He is usually easy to catch during this time, too, since he is so aggressive. Then, after a couple of weeks, he gets hungry and will eat his own offspring!

I was surprised I could not get the males guarding fry to hit any of my baits. They would run at it but not take it.

I did catch a good many smaller bass, from 10 to 14 inches long, on baits fished around docks. Several times I would be reeling in a jig and pig or worm after fishing a dock and see the bass run out and grab it. That was exciting in the clear water.

When I got ready to head home and got back to the cove with the ramp in it I noticed a good current coming across it. That point is a big “community hole,” a place everybody knows holds bass and a lot of people fish there. With current running across it, bringing schools of shad down the river, I figured bass would be waiting to feed on them, and they were.

I quickly caught three on my new Pflueger Purist rod and reel, giving it a good test. I had spooled the reel with 12 pound Trilene Green line and was casting a #8 Shadrap. The outfit handled the 13 and 14 inch spots easily but I am a little worried the medium action rod is too light for big bass. But it casts well and is comfortable to fish with.

I also caught a few bass on a Carolina rigged lizard and a jig and pig. But I got a bit upset at what happened while fishing there. I had noticed two skidoos being launched at the ramp. Two teen-age girls got on one and their parents got on another. The girls came out first and went at a fast idle speed between me and the bank.

I was fishing about 50 feet from the bank. So the girls broke state law, did something very inconsiderate and were stupid. I let them know what I thought as they passed within 30 feet of my boat. The parents came by a few minutes later and seemed oblivious to what the kids did, but at least they didn’t come too close to my boat.

Stupid actions like that are why kids get hurt on skidoos. They come way too close to the bank, boat docks and boats running on plane and get hit or hit something. If you have kids, teach them the laws, safety rules and some common courtesy.

I expect a lot more such stupid stuff this weekend since it is Memorial Day weekend and there will be a lot of people on the lake that should not be there.

What Is Roller Coaster Jig Fishing?

Steve caught this nice bass on a jig.

Rethinking Jigs For “Roller Coaster” Bass

How a non-traditional swim jig technique can help you crack conditioned fish

By Steve Pennaz

Like a lot of anglers, I grew up fishing bass jigs traditionally, pounding cover with an endless drop-lift-drop-lift routine. And while I caught fish, I didn’t fully grasp how truly versatile jigs are—and how they can be fished in ways that can crack conditioned bass when everything else fails.

My “Eureka” moment came on a trip with a saltwater guide who’d throw his jig out as far as he could and rip it back to the boat. Watching him catch fish taught me that we all have preconceived ideas about how we’re supposed to fish jigs.

During a TV shoot in Texas a few years back the producers asked me to burn the bait back to boat so they could get a shot of the reel handle rotating. So I start drag racing a jig through two feet of water and all of sudden an 8-pound bass grabs the bait. Here again, I never would have fished a jig that fast, but it produced a solid fish and once again opened my eyes to the efficacy of breaking conventions.

And why is that?

Bass are typically released after they are caught, which means a percentage of any bass population has been “conditioned.” Larger fish have seen it all. That’s why fishing new bait designs, colors and techniques are essential to staying ahead of the curve.

Like modifying your jig routine to offer bass something different.

We’ve been taught to fish the three main jig styles according to head design. For example, traditional round-head designs are usually flipped to cover on heavy braid, while a football head is typically dragged over bottom. The keel head (swim jig) is designed to slither through grass and other cover, usually higher in the water column or even bulging the surface on a steady retrieve.

But a round-head jig can also be used as a punch bait to penetrate thick vegetation. Likewise, a football head can be fished on a steady retrieve, even burned back to the boat. The heavy weight typically keeps it down, and in situations like riprap, a football head will bounce from rock to rock like a crankbait. I’ve also used footballs in shallow water, burning them over weed tops like a silent spinnerbait—definitely not the norm.

Choose the right jig and trailer

Roller Coaster Swimming

Yet, of all three major jig head designs, the keel head (or swim jig) is probably the most versatile. Case in point, I don’t often fish them with the rod tip close to the water using a slow, steady retrieve. I like to activate the trailer tail by swimming it three or four feet and letting it glide back to the bottom on a semi-taut line, then repeating until the bait is back to the boat. I call it “roller coaster” swimming.

The bait spends very little time on the bottom, and this retrieve offers multiple triggering points on every cast—there’s strike potential during the sweep, the drop and the pause. The technique works in channel areas, flats, around stumps, and open areas off emergent vegetation like cattails—and a lot of other areas, too.

When you watch what happens underwater, the sweep makes a trailer like a 4-inch PowerBait grub or Havoc Beat Shad paddletail go crazy, then come to an abrupt stop on the pause, then beat again like crazy again on the glide. Get the cadence right it and the presentation seems almost magical. And it’s a lot more fun than the standard jig retrieve.

Fall Rate

The most crucial component of the ‘roller coaster’ system is fall rate. Head weight, skirt bulk and trailer all factor in. My go-to swim jig head size for shallow water is 3/8-ounce. Go too light and the bait doesn’t fall fast enough; go too heavy and you drag bottom at typical retrieval speeds. However, as bass orient in and around deep weedlines later in the summer you may want to go with a heavier swim jig fished with a slower ‘roller coaster’ retrieve to achieve maximum depth.

Another essential component of the ‘roller coaster’ program is the use of fluorocarbon line. I’ll typically fish 12- or 15-pound test, sometimes moving up to 20 if I’m on a body of water with big fish and lots of cover. Fluoro’s slow stretch means excellent sensitivity, solid hooksets and the line’s sinking tendency gives the bait a natural appearance on the retrieve. Fluoro’s near-invisibility under water can be key in shallow, clear waters. Most importantly, fluorocarbon helps keeps jigs near the bottom even at faster retrieves.

Next, a properly matched rod and reel can be a huge plus. I fish swim jigs on a fast-action medium heavy seven-foot and a medium-speed, low-profile 7.1:1 ratio baitcaster like the ultra-lightweight Abu Garcia Revo MGX. The reel takes in 28 inches of line for every turn of the reel handle; about the same as other reels geared 6.4:1.

Pick the right jig head

More Tips

Besides using a soft plastic trailer that matches the color of the skirt/jig head and produces a gentle wobble, I’m a big fan of modifying stock weed guards. I like to remove about a third of the bristles to improve my strike-to-hook-up ratio. The addition of rattles is also a good idea at times, especially in more turbid waters.

Another thing: A lot of guys will immediately start reeling and let the rod load, letting the fish set the hook. When I get a hit I drop the rod tip and set the hook.

Final Word

My challenge to anglers fishing jigs is to think about how other anglers aren’t fishing them—then experiment with those methods. The ‘roller coaster’ swim jig routine is but one example of the myriad ways you can modify your jig game to catch more fish.

ABOUT
Award-winning fisherman/journalist, creator of Knot Wars, formerly with the North American Fishing Club, Steve Pennaz has launched Lake Commandos, a new brand that includes Lake Commando television/social media series on Pursuit Network and TuffTV.

Full Lakes and Fishing Jackson and West Point

Two nice Lake Jackson bass

It is great to go to full lakes this summer, the first time in several years. But all the rain sure is a mixed blessing. It fills the lakes but fills my yard with mosquitoes and I think it encourages fleas that continue to be a problem.

The rain also makes it so humid it is hard to fish during the day. Even when it is not raining I sweat so much I stay wet. And the clouds will fool me every time. I don’t think I need sunscreen until I realize, too late, I am getting blistered.

Wednesday I went to Jackson Lake and met Jason Williams to get information for a Georgia Outdoor News article. He got there that morning and fished until he met me at Berry’s Boat Dock at 1:00 PM. I was disappointed when he told me he had caught some small bass but nothing over two pounds, what we needed for pictures.

The night before Jason and his partner had come in second in the Tuesday night Berrys tournament. They had 7.5 pounds and it took only nine pounds to win. That is a low weight for one of their tournaments and shows how tough fishing is right now.

Jason showed me ten spots to put on a map where he catches bass in the summer. Unfortunately, all ten were spots I already knew about and fish often. But that just shows they are good spots – when a fishing spot is good it seems a lot of fishermen find the same place.

We didn’t fish much since it was so hot. I was very glad to get back in my air conditioned truck at 4:00 to head home. I would much rather fish at night this time of year.

Last Sunday nine members of the Flint River Bass Club fished our July tournament at West Point, and the fishing was tough there, too. Several people stayed home because we figured the lake would be a madhouse since it was a holiday week, but the all-day rain kept most pleasure boaters off the water. We didn’t see a single skier and only a couple of skidoos all day.

After fishing from 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM we brought in 34 bass weighing about 41 pounds. There were only four largemouth weighed in. Five people had limits and there was only one fisherman without a keeper.

Al Rosser made it two in a row, winning with five weighing 7.02 pounds. Chuck Croft had five at 6.72 pounds for second and his 2.63 pound largemouth was big fish. Third went to Roger Morrow with five at 6.09 pounds and Don Gober’s limit weighing 5.93 pounds was good four fourth.

It seems the smaller fish bite better right now at West Point and Jackson than the bigger fish. And most of the fish caught at Jackson were spots, too. They are more aggressive and feed more than largemouth in any kind of weather.

The old saying “If it wasn’t for bad luck I wouldn’t have any luck at all” seems to be my motto lately. I keep shooting myself in the foot, losing bass I hook in a variety of ways. First thing that morning I had a strong fish pull off a chatter bait. That is a bad way to start the day. Then I missed a couple of hits on a topwater bait.

Al fished with me and caught a keeper at about 8:00, on the next cast after I saw a spot about the same size chase my jig and pig back to the boat without hitting it. Then I hooked and lost a bass in the same place on a jig head worm.

I did land one keeper from that point before we left. Then Al got another keeper off the next point we fished. A little later he got his third, then I caught a spot on a jig and pig from a brush pile.

The next rocky point we fished I felt a hit and missed the strike. As I reeled in I saw a bass weighing at least five pounds chase my bait almost to the boat and turn away without hitting it. Al got two more off the next point we fished, filling his limit.

A big school of fish came up and started feeding on top and Al and I had fun catching a some three pound hybrids. We kept two to eat but went back to trying to fill my limit. I got hung on a rock and as I eased the boat over to get it, shaking my rod tip trying to get it loose, a fish grabbed it and took off. I missed it but Al’s worm was right beside mine and he caught his sixth keeper. I finally got my third with just a few minutes left to fish out of a brush pile but that was it.

An even worse way to start happened at 5:15. We started down the road to Pyne Park ramp but a pickup was blocking it. I called the campground and woke the manager up and he said the ramp was blocked off because of all the vandalism in the park over the weekend.

Al and I got on the phone and called everyone in the tournament and changed to Horace King Ramp nearby. As we turned around in the campground, not easy in the dark with a boat, the campground manager came out and said he was moving his truck and opening the ramp, but it was too late.

The least they could have done was put up a sign at the highway saying the ramp was closed!

How Should I Fish an Umbrella Rig?

Casey Martin shows the umbrella rig

Casey Martin On The Umbrella Rig

Alabama pro offers tips on multi-hook devices called “Umbrella Rigs.”

By Frank Sargeant
frank@thefishingwire.com

It ain’t as easy as it looks.

Though he wins plenty of money with the umbrella rig, he says he’d prefer not to throw it any more than he has to. That’s the message from FLW pro Casey Martin about flinging the notorious umbrella rig, AKA the “Alabama Rig”, on the waters of the southeastern U.S. in pursuit of tournament-winning largemouth bass.

“It can be really effective and catch fish that other lures won’t, but you’ve still got to get in the right places for it to work,” says Martin, who lives south of Huntsville, AL, near his favorite lake, Guntersville. “It’s no miracle rig, for sure.”

Martin said that, contrary to popular belief, he doesn’t consider the A-Rig to be primarily a winter rig, either.

The five-armed wire rig allows creating the illusion of a baitfish school running through the water. It has proven amazingly effective on big fish in deep water.

“I throw it pretty much year around, except during the peak of the spawn,” says Martin. “If you’re fishing tournaments you pretty much have to have 5 pound fish to be in the money, and the umbrella rig gives you the best shot at those fish in most lakes most of the time.”

The big chore in success with the multi-lure rigs, says Martin, is studying charts and then idling along and watching your sonar. If you don’t put in your time finding the offshore areas likely to hold schools of fish, the A-Rig won’t bring you much success.

Casey Martin lands a nice bass on the umbrella rig

“There have been tournament days when I’d go all day long without putting one fish in the boat, and then find a school on a main river ledge and catch a limit in five casts-in fact I once caught a limit of five-pounders in two casts, three on the first cast and two on the second.”

Martin primarily throws the Picasso School-E-Rig Bait Ball, a five wire rig with added spinners, to which he adds jig heads from 1/8 to 3/8 ounce and shad tails 3 to 6 inches long.

He fishes this where he finds a set of conditions that usually spell success.

“I want to be on a hump that’s near the main channel or a deep creek drop-off, I want to see a lot of shad on the sonar, and I want some trash on the bottom, rocks or stumps or mussel shell. If you hit enough spots that look like that in 15 to 25 feet of water, you’re going to find a school of big fish sometime during the day,” says Martin.

Martin says that fish of this size are a must to place well in large tournaments, and the umbrella rig is one of the easiest ways to connect with them.
He said his side-scanning sonar/GPS units, two on the console and one up front, are an important part of his strategy.

“A lot of times you’ll see bait or cover out to the side that you’d miss completely if you’re just looking straight down with conventional sonar,” says Martin. “You really have to have the structure-scanning electronics to be competitive in tournaments these days.”

Martin said he lets the umbrella rig do most of the work once he heaves it out to where the fish should be.

“I let it sink to bottom, and then I crank it back steadily just fast enough to make the tails on the soft plastics swim,” says Martin. “You don’t have to add any extra action-there’s enough going on with all the spinners and shad tails.”

Unlike many anglers, he fishes the rigs on 25-pound-test fluorocarbon rather than on 65-pound-test braid.

“I just don’t like the way braid casts, so I stay away from it unless I’m fishing where there’s a lot of wood cover,” says Martin. “I lose a few rigs, but I think I get more hits than I would with braid.”

PROS AND CONS OF UMBRELLA RIGS

Casey Martin readily admits he’d rather not throw the umbrella rig ever again-but he has to if he’s going to make a living as a pro angler.

“If you’re fishing a tournament where it’s legal, 90 percent of the time you have to fish it or you don’t finish in the money,” says Martin. “I’d just as soon see it banned for all competition, but as long as it’s legal I’m going to throw it.”

He said he does not agree with some anglers who say the extra hooks on the rig cause lasting injuries to fish, however.

“It does stick them sometimes and you’ll see some fish with sores, but they’re minor and they heal up fast,” says Martin. “The reason I don’t like the rig is that it’s murder to cast all day, and it takes some of the interest out of trying to figure out a pattern that you’d be fishing otherwise.”

To learn more from Casey Martin, visit his website www.caseymartinfishing.com.

My Favorite Outdoor Books

The Quest and the Quarry
by Gordon Hutchinson

“The Quest and The Quarry” written by Gordon Hutchinson shares with those fortunate enough to read it a feel for growing up in the south and how important family and traditions are to southerners. Well written and easy to read, the book leaves you wishing it was longer. It is more about hunting than it is about fishing but it is an excellent book for anyone that loves the outdoors. The Quest and The Quarry was selected for an “Excellence In Craft” award from the Southeast Outdoor Press Association in 2006.

Fishing For Catfish
by Keith Sutton

Keith Sutton knows catfish and his book will help you understand them and how to catch flatheads, blues and channel cats.

Fishing Georgia
by Kevin Dallmier

Kevin Dallmier was a Georgia fisheries biologist when he wrote this book. It has excellent tips on where to fish in Georgia to catch all freshwater and saltwater species in the state. It also includes profiles of fish found in Georgia.

The Everything Fishing Book
by Ronnie Garrison

Yep, I wrote it in 2002. Lots of what I think is good information for the beginner fisherman, from tying knots to finding places to fish.

Can I Catch Saltwater Fish By Fly Fishing?

Sailfish can be caught fly fishing

Step Up to Saltwater Fly Fishing

A World-Renowned Angler and Teacher Talks About Getting Started
from The Fishing Wire

Only a handful of fishermen have attained the reputation and status of Capt. Jake Jordan in the world of saltwater fly fishing. He attained his incredible bank of knowledge by catching almost every oceanic gamefish that swims on the fly. How many people can you name who have caught salmon sharks in Alaska on a fly rod?

Sailfish are a perfect target for the saltwater flyrod. Fast and acrobatic, they readily take a fly when lured into range with teaser lures.

Jordan has over 40 years of experience as one of the top flats and tarpon guides in the Florida Keys. He pioneered a series of exclusive saltwater fly fishing schools for bonefish and billfish, taking small groups of anglers to exotic locales like Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Exuma where he instructs them on how to fish for, and successfully catch, the world’s premiere gamefish with fly tackle. The remainder of the year he splits between his home in North Carolina, where he charters for red drum and false albacore during the fall, and Marathon, Fla. in the spring, where he takes charters for his first love-tarpon. His clientele fish exclusively with fly tackle and they include some of the most accomplished anglers in the world as well as newcomers who want to learn at the hands of one of the true masters of the sport. During the winter months, he is a featured speaker and presenter at the top fly fishing shows around the nation.

“When I started taking charters fly fishing in the Keys the 1960s, there were probably not more than 20 fly fishing guides in the world,” Capt. Jordan recounted. “And they were ALL in the Keys!”

Jordan has developed cutting edge techniques for casting, hooking and fighting big fish of every stripe, and has personally released blue marlin that would have crushed the current fly rod 20-lb. tippet world record except for his personal conservation ethic-he will not kill a billfish anywhere for any reason. In recent years, he developed a night fly fishery for Florida Keys tarpon that produces more hookups and releases in a three-month period than most guides can account for in a year. He has revolutionized the techniques for fighting big fish on fly tackle, and the technique is slowly catching on with other types of light tackle fishing.

The Yamaha team recently had a chance to sit down and talk with Jordan about what stepping up to saltwater fly fishing entails for a newcomer. When we arrived, he had just finished washing his favorite skiff, a Yamaha-powered 20′ Jones Brothers built just a few miles away from his home. The boat is aptly called the Fly Reel.

Captain Jake Jordan is one of the nation’s top saltwater fly fishing guides, with venues in North Carolina and the Florida Keys and travels worldwide.

“I spend a lot of time at fly fishing shows and fishing clubs giving presentations on topics from tarpon to sailfish to blue marlin,” said Capt. Jordan. “Interest in the saltwater aspect of the sport is growing, especially interest in catching big fish with fly tackle. Most of the anglers I come into contact with are either accomplished saltwater anglers with spinning and conventional gear who want to try something more challenging, or anglers who use fly tackle in freshwater and want to make the move to salt. Anglers in both categories have some learning to do, but it has never been easier to access the information you need or obtain personal instruction.”

Jordan is not only an International Federation of Fly FishersTM certified instructor, he was a member of the organization’s original board of directors back in the 60s. He said that any angler new to the sport will benefit from casting lessons.

“Learning to cast the right way from the beginning is much preferred to picking up bad habits that have to be unlearned later,” said Capt. Jordan.

“There is a major difference between casting with fly tackle and spinning or conventional,” said Jordan. “With spinning and conventional, you are casting a weighted lure that pulls light line, monofilament or braid, off the reel. It’s the complete opposite with fly gear where you are casting a light, often wind-resistant lure called a fly with a line that has a forward section weighted to pull the fly behind it. You’re casting the line instead of the lure, and the dynamics are very different.

“The front 30 feet of most fly lines is weighted and tapered,” Jordan explained. “Fly lines are rated (10-WT, 12-WT, etc.) for a specific rod designed to cast that weight line. You wouldn’t use the same rod and reel for sailfish as you would for bonefish any more than you would use an 80-lb. class standup tuna outfit for casting poppers to striped bass. While the rating system might sound confusing at first, it’s actually quite simple. The first thing you should do before you run out to buy fly tackle is identify what your main target species will be, and then get some good advice on the appropriate rod, reel and lines you will need to fish for it. You can do this at a fly fishing show, a local fly shop or in the fly tackle departments of big box stores where they have experienced and educated fishermen on staff.

Sails are capable of lightning runs and greyhounding leaps, making line handling a real challenge with fly fishing gear.

“You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to get quality tackle anymore,” he continued. “High performance fly rods are available for a fraction of what they used to be, and there are a host of very affordable fly reels to mate with them. I’ve worked with Temple Fork Outfitters to develop rods of a quality level that would have cost well over $500 a few years back, but now can be purchased for less than half the price.”

Where can a neophyte go for casting instructions? There are hundreds of books and videos for sale from great fly fishermen like Joe Brooks, Lefty Kreh and Stu Apte. You can do a keyword search on YouTube® and pull up hundreds of free videos on all phases of fly fishing in saltwater. Do a search for fly fishing shows and you’ll probably find one or two good ones in your area where you can meet casting instructors, fly tiers and compare rods, reels, lines and flies from dozens of manufacturers and pick up some great deals, too.

“Probably one of the best resources you can find is the International Federation of Fly FishersTM website www.fedflyfishers.org,” Jordan suggested. “They have videos, seminars, libraries, lists of casting classes held all over the country by FFF-certified instructors, youth classes, fly tying how-to and much, much more. It’s the ultimate information source and a great place to start.

“Fly fishing is a challenging and highly rewarding way to fish for almost any gamefish. Once you get bitten by the bug, you’ll be hard pressed to put down your fly rod for any other type of tackle,” Jordan advised. “With the right gear, knowledge and practice, you can catch pretty much any fish that swims.”

For more information about Capt. Jake Jordan, visit www.jakejordan.com and be sure to sign up for his regular fishing reports blog – it’s fascinating!

About Fishing

Welcome To About Fishing