Why I Fish

A Yamaha Outboards ad on the Elite Series online  coverage over the weekend got me thinking about why I fish.  Then an article in Wired2fish online magazine added to my thoughts. 

The Yamaha ad has a bunch of professional fishermen saying something along the lines of “if you want to relax don’t fish with me.”  And the article gave reasons why so many tournament anglers “burn out” after a short time.

I have been tournament fishing since my first one with the Spalding County Sportsman Club in April 1974 – more than 48 years.  For most of them I fished at least two tournaments a month, and for the past six I have fished at least three club tournaments a month.

Until a few years ago I fished many more days for fun and relaxation than I did tournaments.  A few years ago I fished 443 days in a row without missing one, fulfilling a childhood dream of fishing every day for a  year.

Many hours were spent sitting on my pond dock catching bluegill and bullheads.  I would sit on the docks at Raysville Boat Club catching small bluegill for bait to run on jugs and trotlines that night. And I spent hours dabbling jigs around button bushes for crappie.

    Maybe that is why I never burned out, all fishing was fun. Although I took trying to win every tournament very seriously, I did not “have” to win to pay my next entry fee or tournament expenses. Tournament fishing was fun even if not really relaxing.

    For the past few years I pretty much go fishing only to practice for a tournament or fish one.  And most of my practice is riding around watching my electronics, trying to find school of fish and hidden structure and cover. 

    I can still make a lot of casts and work hard to catch a fish in tournaments.  Sometimes it gets frustrating that my old body won’t let me fish as hard as I want to.  But I try not to think of it as a “grind” as many tournament anglers, especially young ones, complain about nowadays.

    I will keep fishing as long as my body will let me. But I will never let it become a “grind” trying to catch a fish. If it is not fun it is not worth the effort.

Threatened Coho Salmon Return To Upper Klamath River Basin

Coho hatchery

Fisheries
Threatened Coho Salmon Return To Upper Klamath River Basin For First Time In More Than 60 Years
November 24, 2024
By The Fishing Wire
CDFW releases 270,000 fall-run Chinook salmon into Fall Creek, the first yearling hatchery salmon release following historic dam removal

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has seen the first returns of threatened coho salmon to the upper Klamath River Basin in more than 60 years following historic dam removal completed last month. Not since the construction of the former Iron Gate Dam in the early 1960s has CDFW documented coho salmon occupying their historic habitat in the upper watershed.

On Nov. 13, seven coho salmon entered CDFW’s new Fall Creek Fish Hatchery in Siskiyou County, which is located on Fall Creek, a formerly inaccessible Klamath River tributary about 7.5 miles upstream of the former Iron Gate Dam location.

“To see coho successfully returning this quickly to this new habitat post-dam removal is exciting,” said Eric Jones, a Senior Environmental Scientist who oversees CDFW’s north state hatchery operations. “We’ve already seen the Chinook make it back and now we’re seeing the coho make it back.”

Of the seven coho salmon that entered the Fall Creek Fish Hatchery last week, four were male and three were female. Two had missing adipose fins, identifying them as being of hatchery origin. The other five were natural origin fish as all hatchery raised coho salmon in the Klamath Basin have their adipose fins removed for identification prior to release.

The returning coho are being kept at the Fall Creek Hatchery pending genetic testing at the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center laboratory in Santa Cruz. Geneticists will determine which of the seven coho are the least related genetically and direct the spawning of those pairs to maximize genetic diversity.

Coho salmon in the Klamath Basin are listed as a threatened species under both state and federal endangered species acts. Coho salmon typically return to freshwater to spawn in the late fall and winter, later than the more numerous fall-run Chinook salmon.

CDFW’s Fall Creek Fish Hatchery has an annual production goal of raising 75,000 coho salmon to help restore populations in the upper Klamath River Basin post dam-removal.

Also pertaining to CDFW’s salmon work in the Klamath Basin:

** CDFW last week released approximately 270,000 yearling, fall-run Chinook salmon into Fall Creek, the last Klamath Basin hatchery release of the year and the first release following dam removal. The year-old juvenile salmon, approximately 4 to 6 inches in length, were released over four days, mostly at dusk to improve survival, and allowed to swim freely out of the hatchery into Fall Creek without handling.

“We’re releasing various life histories so that gives the fish a chance to out-migrate at different times of the year mimicking what we would see in the river naturally,” said Crystal Robinson, Senior Environmental Scientist and CDFW’s Klamath Watershed Program Supervisor.

Hatchery salmon released as yearlings in the fall show some of the highest rates of return as adults, which is attributed to their larger size at release and optimal fall river conditions with cool temperatures and strong flows.

** CDFW’s Fall Creek Fish Hatchery, a $35 million, state-of-the-art facility in its first year of operation, began spawning returning fall-run Chinook salmon in late October. To date, the hatchery has spawned 100 fish and collected 277,393 eggs. The hatchery has an ambitious annual production goal of 3.25 million fall-run Chinook salmon.

** Multiple state and federal agencies, Tribes and non-governmental organizations are monitoring salmon throughout the Klamath Basin, including the 420 miles of newly accessible habitat following dam removal. CDFW is particularly focused on newly accessible tributaries within the former reservoir footprints, including Jenny and Shovel creeks. To date, a video fish counting weir installed on Jenny Creek has recorded 310 adult Chinook salmon and one Pacific lamprey entering the tributary from the Klamath River. CDFW field crews are surveying regularly for salmon nests, or redds, and post-spawned adults.

The salmon work taking place in the Klamath Basin reflects all six priorities of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Futurereleased in January 2024. Those priorities are removing barriers and modernizing infrastructure for salmon migration; restoring and expanding habitat for spawning and rearing; protecting water flows and water quality at the right times to benefit salmon; modernizing salmon hatcheries; transforming technology and management systems for climate adaptability; and strengthening partnerships.

CDFW’s post-dam removal management strategy, as detailed in the recently released Klamath River Anadromous Fishery Reintroduction and Monitoring Plan, is to mostly allow these ocean-going fish species to naturally repopulate the 420 miles of newly accessible habitat as they are now doing.

Too Hot To Fish At Clarks Hill In August

    August is not a great month for bass fishing, but if you know what you are doing you can catch them. It is hot and uncomfortable for the fishermen and the bass are on very specific patterns.  If you don’t fish a lake a lot and keep up with the fish, it is hard to do well.

The Flint River Bass Club has scheduled a two-day tournament at Clarks Hill each August for the past seven or eight years, and we just don’t learn from our mistakes.  For a couple of years we caught some nice bass fishing a top water frog over the hydrilla that was widespread on the lake.

A few years ago the Corps of Engineers started a program to eradicate the hydrilla.  Coots were eating it and bald eagles ate the coots. The problem was the hydrilla had some kind of bacteria in it that was concentrated by the coots. Eagles eating them died from it. Over a ten-year period, 78 eagles were found on the lake that died from the bacteria.

After two years of spraying and putting 80,000 grass carp in the lake, the hydrilla is pretty much gone.  I am not sure what will happen to the carp, they probably will starve since their food source is gone. It is not unusual to see a 30-inch-long grass carp cruising the shallows looking for something to eat.

Without the hydrilla to keep bass shallow in the hot water, they hold in deep water and eat blueback herring. Folks over there put out cane piles, bundles of cane that stands up off the bottom.  If you can find a cane pile you often can catch bass by working a topwater plug over it.

Last year only two of us showed up for the Flint River tournament, this year three.  And two years ago nobody showed up. Last year Chuck and I fished until noon on Saturday, agreeing to go home rather than fish the second day.

This year three of us fished from 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM Saturday then agreed we had enough of the hot sun and did not fish on Sunday.  John Smith had three keepers weighing 3.39 pounds and won. My two weighing 3.02 pounds was second and my 1.76 pound largemouth was big fish. That was it!

The same time we fished there was a local Saturday Morning Open Tournament (SMOT). It produced a winning weight of five bass weighing about 13.5 pounds and second place was five at 13.2 pounds.

D.J. Hadden won the SMOT.  I did an article with him there a few years ago and another one with his son a year later.  Both showed me how they pull up on a hump or point with a brush pile on it, line up their cast and work a topwater walking bait over it.  You must know where the brush piles are and which ones are holding bass to fish effectively.  I am sure that is how the tournament was won.

I went over to my place at Raysville Boat Club Wednesday and got on the water for a few hours Thursday. The heat ran me back to my air conditioning after about four hours of looking around. 

I thought there might be some bass hanging around the bream beds in shallow water and caught one small bass. I saw plenty of bream, just no bass.  I also found a lot of fish holding on drops and old brush piles in 18 to 20 feet of water but could not get them to hit.

Friday was even hotter and I spent only three hours marking some deep brush to fish before heading in.

Saturday morning I headed to a nearby bridge and fished a topwater plug around it, catching both my keepers and a throwback before 8:00.  After that I never landed another bass no matter what I tried so I was not unhappy when we decided to not fish the second day

I spent Sunday napping at Clarks Hill with the air conditioner running!   

Fishing Is Inconsistent At Lake Guntersville

    Lake Guntersville is special. On the Tennessee River in north Alabama, it is a grass filled bass factory. The Bass Anglers Sportsman Society ranks it in the top ten bass lakes in the nation most years.

    When big tournaments are held there it is common for five bass limits weighing more than 20 pounds to come to the scales, and catches of five weighing 30 pounds are weighed in most years.

    But there are two sides to this story. Bass clubs in Alabama send in tournament results and the state compiles it in their BAIT report. That report shows Guntersville has a lower percent of anglers catching a keeper bass in tournaments than all but three other Alabama lakes.

    Fishing can be great there but the whole lake looks “fishy.”  When you stop on a point or in a cove and see hydrilla, water willow and eel grass everywhere it is hard to decide where to cast. It looks like a bass could be anywhere, or everywhere.

    The Sportsman Club fished there last weekend and our results are more like the BAIT results than the results of pro tournaments or tournaments fished by local fishermen that know the lake well.

    After fishing from 6:30 AM to 2:30 PM Saturday and 6:30 AM to 1:30 PM Sunday in very hot weather, we brought 21 keeper bass weighing about 45 pounds to the scales.  Nobody weighed in a five fish limit and three of the nine fishermen didn’t have a keeper.

    Guntersville has largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. The length limit on smallmouth and largemouth is 15 inches and in our tournament a spot had to be 12 inches long.  About 14 of our bass were largemouth, six were spots and one a smallmouth.

    Raymond English had bad/good luck and won and had big fish. His boat motor would not go into gear so he had to fish around the ramp both days, but caught six keepers, four largemouth and two spots, weighing 15.14 pounds for first and his 5.40 pound largemouth was big fish.

    My six, three largemouth, two spots and one mean mouth, weighing 8.80 pounds was second, Zane Fleck had three largemouth weighing 7.97  pounds for third and Billy Roberts had three largemouth weighing 6.13 pounds for fourth.

    I went up on Wednesday and camped at Guntersville State Park, a beautiful facility with good shower houses.  As usual I was shocked at the number of huge motor homes and fifth wheel trailers that came into the campground, were set up and the folks went inside. 

I seldom saw anyone else outside except midmorning when some came out to cook breakfast and then came back out late in the afternoon to cook dinner.  I guess it was just too hot to leave the air conditioning in their home away from home, but I don’t understand driving to campground on a beautiful lake and staying inside almost the whole time.

I spent Thursday and Friday riding around looking for deep fish on ledges on my electronics. Guntersville is famous for its deep ledges as well as its grass beds. I found many schools of fish but could not get them to bite. One local guide told me they were inactive and would not feed unless current was moving from power generation, and there was no current the whole time I was there.

Saturday morning I started on a grassbed a guide had suggested, and caught two short bass and one barely 15 inch long keeper.  At about noon I was fishing down a bluff bank, mainly keeping my boat in the shade, and caught a keeper spot. Then a little later on another bluff bank a good keeper largemouth it my small jig in a treetop. Those three put me in third the first day.

Sunday the grassbed produced only one short fish so I headed to my shady bank early.  I caught an unusual looking fish, it looked olive green, not green like a largemouth and not brown like a smallmouth.  I looked it up and it was a cross between a spot and a smallmouth, called a “meanmouth.”  It had a patch of “teeth” on its tongue like a spot and, according to what I found on the internet on my phone and a text to a local guide, it was considered a spot for size limits so I could weigh it in.

I stayed on that shady bank the rest of the day and lost a keeper spot and caught two short spots. Then, with ten minutes left to fish, I caught a keeper spot.  At 1:17 I thought to myself I could make two more cast before running in. That cast produced a hit on my small jig and I landed a barely keeper largemouth, giving me second place. 

I didn’t have time left to make my last cast!

Late Fall Walleyes

Late Fall Walleyes – Quick Q&A with seasoned walleye professional and Whitewater Fishing pro staffer Jason Przekurat

  • By The Fishing Wire

Muskegon, MI – Walleyes are still on the brain. Sure, the ponds and potholes are filling with ducks and bucks are getting frisky, but it’s tough mothballing the rods when the biggest walleyes of the year are on the move. 

With that in mind, to scratch that itch, we reached out to Whitewater Fishing pro staffer Jason Przekurat for some quick pointers on late fall walleyes. The two time National Walleye Tour Champion and two time FLW Walleye Tour Angler of the Year shared some time-honored intel on how to maximize your time on the water.

1) Given a wide range of water and cover types available, what do your ideal spots consist of for targeting big fall walleyes? 

“Excluding the Great Lakes, the one thing I’ve learned over the years when looking for big walleyes in the fall is to focus on areas that have steeper breaklines adjacent to deep water access. This would include areas that have either weeds or rock, but if focusing on weeds, make sure they are still green. All of these areas must have one thing in common and that is bait. Without the food they will not come.”

2) Lures and bait…what are your favorite lures for late fall walleyes and what are the best applications?

“Here are the two main presentations I focus on during the fall bite: First, for negative or finicky fish, I focus on live bait primarily some type of chub, be it a creek chub or redtail chub. If the water is too clear and the fish are boat shy, I will cast to them with a jig/minnow combo. If the fish don’t mind the presence of your boat, it’s time to go vertical use the old standby live bait rig and slowly pull it over them with your bow mount trolling motor. The second option for me is to get aggressive with any type of glide bait. Many times, I’ve seen fish ignore a big minnow but will react to the glide baits fishing them both vertically or by casting”

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3) What are the ideal conditions for fall walleyes in terms of water temp and any other climate conditions? What days jump out and you think, “I better go fishing!”

“I’m a big fan of waiting for your lake to “turnover” before heading out for the fall bite. In most places, turnover occurs with water temps in the upper 50’s, so when the temps hit the mid to low 50s is when I consider the fall bite to begin, and that is all the way until ice up. Wind is definitely your friend this time of year, too, so don’t head for the calm side. Put on your Whitewater Great Lakes Pro suit and head to the windy side, you won’t be disappointed. And if it’s cold, the new Whitewater Great Lakes Pro Insulated suit has made fishing in the fall so much more enjoyable. It’s super lightweight but keeps you toasty warm so you can stay out longer.”

4) Walleyes are found with other species that are also in fall feeding mode. Do you ever fish for other species at the same time and if so, do you adjust your presentation and lures to take advantage of other species such as bass?

“I’ve found bass quite often on my walleye spots and fall is the best time to take advantage of the situation. Always carry a dropshot in the boat as smallmouth really group up this time of year. I’ve seen 50 fish schools of smallies and who wouldn’t want to have some fun with those when looking for walleyes?”

5) Boat handling…how you approach a given spot, and how do you prefer to target them with a boat?

“With the use of forward-facing sonar, we can now see how the fish are reacting to our presence. I’m a believer in getting as close as possible to the fish before casting or dropping a bait, but if the fish are spooky, boat control becomes crucial. Trying to point the bow into the wind helps with boat control, but it also makes a lot of “noise” from boat slap. If the fish are wary of your boat, always fish downwind to avoid that.”

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Late Fall Walleyes 1

JASON’S COLD WEATHER WALLEYE GEAR

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About Whitewater

Whitewater performance fishing apparel gives anglers distinct advantages whenever Mother Nature’s unpredictability conspires to ruin angling adventures. Whether faced with wind, rain, snow, sun, or extreme temperatures, Whitewater apparel equips anglers with the ability and confidence to overcome the elements, so they apply their focus and energies on fighting fish, not the conditions. Whitewater is a brand by Nexus Outdoors, headquartered in Muskegon, Michigan, USA. Learn more and order at whitewaterfish.com.

Cold Water Crappies

  • Fishing Tips, The Lead

  • Southern anglers can capitalize now as crappies are aggregating and settling in for the winter.

By Noel Vick

Muskegon, MI – Boats are fewer and farther between. The oftentimes obnoxious manmade waves produced by recreational boaters are largely gone. Some sun on your back feels good again. And above all, crappies can be easy to pattern and catchable in the right zones with precision presentations.

A crappie’s preferred temperature range is 55- to 75-degree, give or take a few points. And if you’re launching in the southeast, south, or south central states, you’re in that window right now.  

A clutch of southern crappies often consists of blacks and whites – white crappies usually being predominant. To that, especially in fall and winter, they’re intermixed with bream – bluegills, greens, longears, and redears, so it can be a busy bite.

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The south is reservoir country – largely, rivers dammed from the 1940’s through the 70’s to produce hydroelectric power. The bountiful byproduct being the creation of expansive reservoirs numbering in the hundreds.

Crappies flourish in many of these reservoirs. The flooding of valleys, even farms and towns, via the damming produced astonishing and varied habitat. Left on the bottom were standing trees, brush, buildings, rock formations, and roads. Over the years, much of the standing timber and brush have broken down, but the rock structure and some roadbeds remain. Moreover, replacement brushpiles are continuously being added by local fishing organizations and ambitious anglers. And these brushpiles are the linchpin for fall and winter crappies.

Historically, the best brushpiles are associated with creek channels. Creeks became submerged channels when the reservoirs were formed. Their beginnings are easily spied on a terrestrial topographical map, too, areas where valleys taper into what’s now an arm of the reservoir. Switch to a topographical reservoir/lake map – paper or digital, and you’ll see the deeper, carved out creek channels meander into the basin.

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These arms and associated creek channels are the best areas to begin your quest. For one, you have a natural edge, a break, that fish and forage of all stripes utilize. Secondly, if the original brush has deteriorated, oftentimes the replacement brushpile build-ups have been placed within or along the creek channels.

An inside-out exploration of the arm and creek channel is recommended. Start by checking brushpiles in the 10- to 20-foot range nearest the back of the arm. If you have previously pinpointed and logged brushpiles, approach slowly and make long casts. Motoring over them and probing with electronics can blow fish out or send them deep into the brush. But rest assured, they’ll reposition if it’s a favored haunt. Just give it a rest.

Said resting period is also important when you discover a new brushpile. In shallower water, there’s a strong chance the crappies bugged out before you passed overhead. So, log it in your electronics and come back later. Old-school markers still work, too. Chuck out a jug and let things resolve a bit before fishing. Multiple markers are effective for physically mapping a larger brushpile. Toss a few around the perimeter so you don’t inadvertently cross back over the top. Having a visual reference of a brushpile’s shape and size lets you maximize every cast.  

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If the shallower brushpiles aren’t producing, continue searching deeper along the creek channel. Finding fish in 30- and 40-feet of water in the fall and winter isn’t rare. Plus, deeper crappies are less easily spooked. And as a rule of thumb, the higher crappies stage on a given brushpile, the more active they are. In the best case scenario, they’re milling overtop it. 

The last word on brushpiles associated with creek channels is locating ones on channel turns. These curves are natural fish aggregators. Typically, too, they’re associated with a steeper break, which as mentioned earlier, is preferred by panfish. 

Note, too, that we’re in drawdown season. The water levels in most reservoirs are lowered in the fall. One reason is to expose overgrown aquatic vegetation – especially invasives – and kill or reduce them. Drawdowns also afford wintertime shoreline cleanups and give operators an opportunity to make dam repairs. But the most consequential reason is to prepare for spring thaws and rains to reduce the chance of flooding.  

Why are drawdowns important to you as an angler? Because a brushpile you marked in 20-feet over the summer might be sticking out of the water in November. 

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TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

Finding fish is first, followed by weaponizing yourself with jigs for casting and vertical fishing lures, and maybe live bait and slip-bobbers. (More on floats in a bit.)

Jigs are to crappies what popcorn is to movies. Any crappie angler worth a salt carries an armory of them. And for brushpile maneuvers, you want a mix of slow fallers and depth charges. And, when fish are high above the wood or working the flanks, nothing beats a naked feathered jig.  

Bait shop shelves are juiced with options, from locally tied nuggets to universally loved offerings. Fishing what the locals use is a sagely start. Nearby tyers know what sizes and colors trip triggers. And, running a few local makes through the cash register is good for small businesses and can open the door to insider information.

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From the widely available realm, consider Northland Fishing Tackle’s Fire-Fly Jig and the original Flu Flu feathered jig. Both are reliable fish catching machines and available in an array of colors. With Northland Fire-Fly Jigs, proven patterns include Parakeet – especially if bream are in the mix – and the ‘ol reliable Pink/White.  

The magic of a feathered jig is its seductively slow fall and natural looks. Aggressive jigging is not required, either. Fling it out there and let the jig fall on a somewhat tight line, telegraphing any interceptions, which can range from a slight tick to a pull, or even stopping in its tracks – a fish rising to gobble. Line management is required or risk missing bites.  

1/16th-ounce jigs are the benchmark in most brushpile situations. Lighter, and casting distance suffers. Heavier, and it drops too rapidly. 

Tungsten is timely, too. The dense, eco-friendly metal lets you fish smaller sizes with the equivalent weight of lead. Meaning, a 1/16th-ounce tungsten jig is smaller than its lead counterpart. Northland’s Tungsten Crappie King Fly sets the bar in tungsten hair jigs. Crappie craving colors include Super-Glo Pinky and Olive, which is one of the coolest panfish producers to come around in a long time.  

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Vertical swimming jigs are crackerjack in 20-ish feet and beyond, or anytime you can hover over the fish without disturbing them. These are the baitfish-shaped, horizontal aquanauts that are widely employed in the north for walleyes and multispecies through the ice. They are lights-out on reservoir crappies, too, and should be part of your assortment. 

The gold standard for decades has been Rapala’s Jigging Rap. The W2 (1 ¼-inch) and W3 (1 ½-inch) sizes being ideal for panfish. In clear conditions, consider the Bluegill and Rainbow Trout patterns. Go to Glow Green Tiger and Green Tiger UV when it’s murkier. Northland’s 1/8-ounce Puppet Minnow is another contender. 

Working a swimming jig is simple and highly entertaining with electronics, you monitoring the action in real-time. Drop it down a couple feet above marked fish and start popping. The lure’s shape and fins cause it to swing and swim with each motion. Crappies tend to take it on the fall. Sometimes, tiny twitches or even a full stall will do the trick. These are best fished on light braided line with a fluorocarbon leader to get the full feel. 

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Seldom is live bait necessary if you’re sporting hair jigs and swimming jigs. But if bait breeds confidence, carry a scoop of local run minnows, sized as suggested by bait shop staffers.

Now, it’s slip-bobber time. A fixed cork won’t cut it at these depths. A slip-bobber with its line-tie/knot lets you adjust to any depth. There are plenty of videos on YouTube if you’ve never worked one. Also, most online tackle sources sell kits that come with the slip-bobber, beads, and knots. A #6 or #4 hook and split-shot (bobber straight and balanced but not submerged by the weight) is all you need on the business end.

For southern anglers, there’s no reason to mothball your boat like they do to the north. Take advantage of those warmer and calmer times to chase crappies. The ducks and bucks likely took the day off anyway. 

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COLD WEATHER CRAPPIE GEAR

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About Whitewater

Whitewater performance fishing apparel gives anglers distinct advantages whenever Mother Nature’s unpredictability conspires to ruin angling adventures. Whether faced with wind, rain, snow, sun, or extreme temperatures, Whitewater apparel equips anglers with the ability and confidence to overcome the elements, so they apply their focus and energies on fighting fish, not the conditions. Whitewater is a brand by Nexus Outdoors, headquartered in Muskegon, Michigan, USA. Learn more and order at whitewaterfish.com.

Tanner Hadden Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional

Georgia’s Hadden Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional on Watts Bar Lake Presented by recteq
Boater winner Tanner Hadden of Appling, Georgia, and Strike-King co-angler winner Corey Smith of Hazard, Kentucky.
Kentucky’s Smith Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division

SPRING CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 21, 2024) – Boater Tanner Hadden of Appling, Georgia, caught a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 47 pounds even to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Regional on Watts Bar Lake Presented by recteq . The tournament, which was hosted by the Rhea County Department of Tourism – Fish Spring City, concluded Saturday. For his win, Hadden earned a prize package valued at $65,805, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, $10,000 and the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus.

The Watts Bar event served as Regional championship for BFL Region 5. Originally scheduled for Clarks Hill Lake in Appling, Georgia, the event moved due to the impacts of the recent hurricanes. The field included the top 45 boaters and co-anglers based on point standings, plus each of the tournament winners, from the 2024 Choo Choo, Music City, Piedmont and Volunteer divisions. The top six boaters and co-anglers have qualified for the 2025 BFL All-American, which will be held on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, May 29-31.

Hadden is a senior business management major at the University of South Carolina-Union. He actually signed up to fish the entire Choo Choo Division for the first time this year just for a shot at making this Regional, since it was originally scheduled for nearby Clarks Hill. Obviously, the storms changed the plans, but that didn’t slow down Hadden.

“It all worked out in the end,” he said.

Getting the W started with adapting to conditions.

“From all the flooding, a lot of the lake was blown out,” he said about Watts Bar. “There were only a few areas of the lake that were clean. One of them was by the boat ramp, so I pretty much figured I’d stick around in that area.”

In addition to the muddy water, anglers had to deal with a cold front – a tough combo anywhere, anytime of year. The cold, muddy conditions pushed the fish off the bank. Hadden relocated them about 50 feet out suspended on the edge of some grass over about 15 feet of water. Schools of bait were suspended in these areas, too.

“I fished two half-mile banks for three days pretty much,” he said. “That was it. And they were in the same pocket. I pretty much fished one creek arm all week.”

Hadden used Garmin LiveScope to find and target his fish with a white jerkbait and a Greenfish Tackle Bad Little Dude (BLD) Jig.

The mornings were slow all week. In fact, most days the fish didn’t turn on until after 11. On day two, it was closer to 1 p.m. The most interesting part was how defined the bite window was each day. Hadden saw fish on his sonar all day long, but they just wouldn’t bite until after the sun got up and something triggered them to get active. Each day, he experienced a similar flurry of activity.

“At 11 the first day I went through one stretch and caught three 4-pounders within like 30 minutes to an hour,” he said. “And then the second day, I struggled until 1. They didn’t start biting until 1 because it got colder the second day. At 1 o’clock, I caught two 3 1/2-pounders back to back off that same stretch.

“The third day it was like 11 o’clock when I got on one stretch and just started catching them. I caught pretty much everything I caught in like 15 minutes. It was a timing deal.”

Hadden’s limits included a mix of species. Day one, he weighed four largemouths and a 4 1/4-pound smallmouth as part of his 18-pound, 11-ounce limit. Day two, his three biggest keepers were three different species – largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. Hadden weighed 14-11. The final day, he weighed in a 13-10 limit of five largies to move into first place for the win and his shot at the 2025 All-American.

The top six boaters who qualified for the 2025 All-American finished:

1st:        Tanner Hadden, Appling, Ga., 15 bass, 47-0, $65,805 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:       Dustin Dyer, Johnson City, Tenn., 15 bass, 45-3, $9,805
3rd:       Jeremy York, Conyers, Ga., 14 bass, 45-1, $5,829
4th:        Nathan Reynolds, Nashville, Tenn., 15 bass ,45-0, $3,642
5th:        Dillon Falardeau, Hixson, Tenn., 12 bass, 44-14, $1,761
6th:        Parker Batts, Dandridge, Tenn., 13 bass ,44-8, $1,585

The rest of the top 12 finished:

7th:        Jonathan Dagley, Wartburg, Tenn., 15 bass, 43-5, $1,409
8th:        Vince Botts, Bluff City, Tenn., 15 bass, 43-0, $1,233
9th:        Josh Womack, Gallatin, Tenn., 15 bass, 42-10, $1,057
10th:     Jake Gardner, Lenoir City, Tenn., 15 bass, 42-8, $969
11th:     Hunter Bouldin, McMinnville, Tenn., 15 bass, 42-6, $881
12th:     Riley Faulkner, Jacksboro, Tenn., 14 bass, 37-14, $881

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The top-finishing boater from each division (not including the winner) earned a $1,000 bonus for placing highest in the event. Those anglers included:

Music City:       Nathan Reynolds, Nashville, Tenn., 4th Place, $1,000
Choo Choo:      Jeremy York, Conyers, Ga., 3rd Place, $1,000
Piedmont:        John Wiese, Charlotte, N.C., 24th Place, $1,000
Volunteer:       Dustin Dyer, Johnson City, Tenn., 2nd Place $1,000

Matt VanMeter of Grant, Alabama, won the Berkley Big Bass boater award and earned the $1,000 prize.

Corey Smith of Hazard, Kentucky, won the Strike King co-angler division Saturday after bringing a three-day total of 13 bass weighing 39 pounds, 1 ounce, to the scale. His $50,000 prize package included a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.

The top six Strike King co-anglers who qualified for the 2025 All-American finished:

1st:        Corey Smith, Hazard, Ky., 13 bass, 39-1, $50,000
2nd:       Ernest Stephens, Orrum, N.C., 12 bass, 38-13, $4,946
3rd:       Dewayne Drummonds, Gray, Ky., 11 bass, 30-2, $2,719
4th:        Luke Shrader, Monticello, Ky., 11 bass, 30-0, $1,984
5th:        Brad Sampson, Knoxville, Tenn., 11 bass, 29-8, $889
6th:        Cy Matlock, Crump, Tenn., nine bass, 27-11, $1,300

The rest of the top 12 finished:

7th:        Wayne Crouch, Jamestown, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-14, $811
8th:        Konnor Sweet, Abingdon, Va., 11 bass, 26-13, $622
9th:        Kenny Botts, Alvaton, Ky., 10 bass, 23-15, $533
10th:     Darren Kelly, Wartburg, Tenn., six bass, 23-11, $489
11th:     Justin Stephenson, Jasper, Ala., eight bass, 23-10, $945
12th:     Joshua Green, Cartersville, Ga., seven bass, 19-14, $445

The top-finishing co-angler from each division (not including the winner) earned a $500 bonus for placing highest in the event. Those anglers included:

Music City:       Luke Shrader, Monticello, Ky., 4th Place, $500
Choo Choo:      Cy Matlock, Crump, Tenn., 6th Place, $500
Piedmont:        Corey Smith, Hazard, Ky., 2nd Place, $500
Volunteer:       Dewayne Drummonds, Gray, Ky., 3rd Place $500

Justin Stephenson of Jasper, Alabama, won the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award and earned the $500 bonus.

The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
 

Are There Two Sides To the Gun Control Argument

This from the article scares me: “It scares me that, in a recent PEW poll of “journalists,” 55 percent say every side of an issue DOES NOT deserve equal treatment.”  

    I try to listen to both sides, I really do.  But on some issues, like guns, it is almost impossible to hear both sides.

    When trying to read Jesse Jackson’s Griffin Daily News July 14 Editorial “Assault weapons are weapons of war” I had to stop in the second paragraph.  When he wrote “They are useless for hunting” I knew I was wasting my time. 

That proved to me he was clueless about his topic and was just pushing an agenda. Nothing that came after such an inaccurate statement could be relevant. When I read something patently untrue, I cannot keep reading.

First, the 2nd Amendment has nothing to do with hunting. 

    Second, “Assault weapons” are a fake term given to what sportsman call “Modern Sporting Rifles.”  One of the most common designs is the ArmaLite Rifle Model 15, usually shortened to AR 15.  It is a type gun that comes chambered in more than 60 different calibers. The vary from rimfire calibers like the .22 long rifle, bullets usually used for squirrel hunting, to .30 Remington, specifically designed for deer hunting to even larger calibers.

The .223 caliber is one of the most common in the AR platform and it has been legal for deer hunting in Georgia for years.  That cartridge is a relatively small caliber and does not have a lot of powder, so it has much less kick than rifles like by old Marlin 30-30, but it is legal and efficient for killing a deer.

It is a good choice for young hunters and those that don’t want a gun that kicks hard. I am using mine for deer hunting rather than my 7 mm Mag since I have a port in my right shoulder and am afraid to expose it to too much recoil.

    It scares me that, in a recent PEW poll of “journalists,” 55 percent say every side of an issue DOES NOT deserve equal treatment.   The same poll found that 76 percent of all Americans say both sides SHOULD get equal coverage.

Maybe that is why a recent Gallup poll shows only 11 percent of Americans trust television news and only 16 percent trust newspapers.

Almost as bad is a PEW poll showing 64 percent of US adults approve the recent gun control laws passed by congress, but 78 percent say the law will do little or nothing to affect crime.  But 63 percent say they want more useless laws like the one passed that they know will do little to no good.

Maybe the reason they support useless laws is they hear only one side. Most mall shootings are hyped 24/7 for days, but the recent shooting in Indiana got little coverage. Was it because a good guy with a legal gun killed the shooter before he could kill many people?

As long as only one side is pushed by the media, I will adamantly oppose any gun control legislation, not matter how often those pushing the agenda call it “sensible” or “reasonable.”

Their call for compromise always means “do it my way” even if you know it is useless.

A current political ad says the recent “Constitutional Carry” law in Georgia makes it easier for criminals to carry loaded guns in Georgia.  I question any law enforcement officer that claims criminals would not carry guns if it was just against the law.

A good example of the mindset of the gun banners is New York Governor Hochul. When the Supreme Court overturned a state law that made it almost impossible to get gun or carry it in her state, she got laws passed to make it a felony to carry guns in almost every building in the state.

Her reason? In response to a reporter’s question if she had any data to prove her claim that citizens carrying guns would endanger millions of New York residents, she said “I don’t need to have numbers.  I don’t need to have a data point to say this.”

I will fight “feelings” from gun banners like her with facts and truth, if I can be heard.

Smallmouth Stories from St Croix Rods

Smallmouth Stories

October 14, 2024

You never know when or where you’ll connect with the fish of a lifetime

PARK FALLS, Wis. (October 9, 2024) – Sometimes referred to as “a foot deep and a mile wide,” the sprawling Susquehanna River rises in Central New York’s Otsego Lake and drains over 27,000 square miles in three states before dumping into the Upper Chesapeake Bay. Bisecting the entire state of Pennsylvania and containing a rich forage base, the Susky is full of spunky smallmouth bass… for anglers who can get to them.

Shallow and rocky, the Susquehanna is the domain of the jetboat; ideal craft for skimming over and around treacherous rocks and ledges that would destroy an ordinary bass boat. Susquehanna fishing guide, Joe Raymond, bought his first in his twenties and now runs a 300-HP Rock Proof River Rocket. He’s been guiding anglers on the Susquehanna for over 15 years. In that time, he watched his clients catch a lot of big bass. A couple of weeks ago, Raymond caught one of his own.

Along with tournament partner and fellow guide, Tom Mills, the St. Croix Rod and Z-Man ambassador recently accounted the entire story to Susquehanna Fishing Tackle owners, brothers Mike and George Acord, on their Tackle Shop Live podcast.

“For George and me, we looked at this picture and were absolutely shellshocked,” Mike told viewers in his intro. That speaks volumes, given the Acord brothers’ some-50 years of experience fishing on the Susquehanna River, not to mention the hundreds of big smallmouth photos they see from their customers each and every year.

Raymond described the series of events leading up to the historic catch.

“Tom (Mills) and I had talked about fishing a Williamsport Bassmasters Charity Tournament for Toys for Tots,” Raymond said. “We’d only fished up there a couple times and it had been a few years. We remembered both times being a dinkfest, but we decided to do it and have some fun while supporting a worthy cause. There was a big thunderstorm the night before. My roof was leaking and I didn’t sleep at all. We didn’t have much of a gameplan and just headed upriver in the dark to a spot we’d had some success at before. There was already a boat there so we just kept going.”

Raymond says they finally pulled into a spot and started fishing. “The plan was for me to fish for a limit and Tom to target a lunker,” he recalls. “I was throwing a 3” Z-Man MinnowZ swimbait on a weedless jighead and I kept losing fish. Nothing big, but it was aggravating,” he says. When Raymond opted to switch to an open jig, a new sort of misery crept in. “I started to catch a few small ones, but I was getting snagged on almost every cast. I told Tom I was done and we had to move.”

The pair bounced around to a few spots in the largely unfamiliar water without a lot of success. “There was an area up there in one of those pools we had passed… it looked so good,” Raymond says. “We agreed it had to have fish, but we’d never caught anything there during our two prior trips to this part of the river. We decided to try it anyway.” 

The pair arrived at the back end of the pool and Raymond started fishing his 3” MinnowZ on a 7’ medium-power St. Croix Legend X spinning rod paired to a 3000 Vanford reel with10-lb. smackdown braid and a 10-lb. Tatsu fluoro leader. The curse continued. “I broke off again… like right away… and had to tie on a whole new leader,” Raymond says. “Tom was throwing a Ned rig in a current seam and he had broken off too.”

Raymond was sick of snagging up, so he tied a fresh EZ Money-colored Z-Man paddletail with a weedless jighead onto the fresh leader.

“There was a log on the bottom in the back of this pool in about four feet of water. I made a cast to it and flipped the bail closed after giving the bait a couple seconds to get down,” Raymond says. “I reeled tight and felt weight and immediately thought I was snagged again… then I felt movement. I hit this thing and it came screaming up and did a backflip in front of the boat. The fish looked huge, but I was still trying to process what had happened and how big the bass actually was. It only took a couple more seconds before I realized what I was fighting.”

“When a guy like Joe Raymond tells you to get the net because he just hooked the biggest smallmouth of his life, you move quickly,” Mills says. “The fish was just digging behind the boat puking up crayfish like crazy. The water was so clear it was like watching the scene in an aquarium.”

“The fish fought so hard,” Raymond says. “I was thinking, is this real life?”  Then the St. Croix took a deeper bend and the fish took off downstream.

Raymond snapped out of his daydream and took the MinnKota off of Spotlock to follow the big brown bass that was now peeling line and headed for some rapids. “We caught up and netted it,” Raymond says. “Both of us were staring into the net and going crazy like a couple little kids.”

Raymond weighed and measured the fish quickly before snapping a couple of photos. She stretched the tape to 24 inches and bottomed out at 7.19 pounds. Later, the fish would weigh 7.08 at the tournament weigh in.

“I just kinda lost it,” Raymond says. “Like any guide – or any serious fisherman – I obsess over big fish. I’ve celebrated with so many of my clients after helping them catch personal-best bass over the years. This fish is the first over six pounds I’ve ever caught on the Susquehanna, and only the second over seven anyone I know has ever heard of from the river. It wasn’t a super-fat fish, just thick all the way through and super healthy. I actually know the guy who caught the other documented 7-1 back in 1981. His name is Russell Fuller. I heard the story over and over when I was young and was always suspect until I got the chance to meet him and speak with him later in life. He brought the mount into the restaurant a few years ago and I was blown away when I saw it. He caught his in the spring, basically right behind the house where I now live in Duncannon. It was a 23” pre-spawn fish, so it was quite a bit fatter. Mine wasn’t as deep but was an inch longer.”

Raymond has a few key tips for all smallmouth anglers.

“You never know when or where you’ll connect with the fish of a lifetime,” he says. I certainly never expected to run into this fish in the spot we were fishing. I was lucky that I had just re-tied my leader. We’ve all gotten lazy about knots and leaders and it always bites you. I learned this early as a guide. If you cinch down a knot and it doesn’t feel right, or your leader knot gets hung up in your guides, or you feel some nicks in your leader, take the time to re-tie and avoid disappointment.”

Raymond is also a firm believer in using the best gear you can afford. “I’m not rod heavy; I’m rod particular,” he says. “Unlike a lot of bass fishermen who have a dedicated rod for every specific presentation they make, I’m the guy who has a handful of different rods that I like and trust with a few powers and actions that suit the lines and lures I most often fish. There are a ton of great rods on the market today. For me, it’s hard to beat the quality and performance of St. Croix and specifically their Legend X series. These rods are made in the USA, light, load up great, and are extremely sensitive. It’s the same with the lures I most often use. Z-Man ElaZtec plastics mimic everything in this river a smallmouth eats and the material is incredibly soft with unmatched durability. For me, that means my clients can catch a bunch of fish on a single bait before I have to replace it. The Z-Man MinnowZ swimbait is the best bait ever for guiding. They can be rigged in a bunch of different ways to match the conditions and have a shimmy almost like a spybait on a slow steady retrieve. You will catch fish hopping them on the bottom and burning them through the water, too.”

Finally, Raymond encourages anglers to handle all fish with care and to release the ones with the genetics that make better fishing possible for everyone. “I think most bass anglers are in the same camp about caring for big bass and releasing them healthy, but we still have some archaic regulations and procedures in some states, especially when it comes to recognizing record fish,” he says. “In a lot of states, you just can’t get a record fish certified without killing it. No record or recognition is worth killing a huge, old fish. The very same day I caught my fish here in Pennsylvania, a guy fishing a tournament in New York caught a nine-pounder, which would have smashed the state record. He called the DEC and was told to put the fish on ice until someone could come out and certify the fish the next day. He would have had to kill it to get it certified. That’s a huge problem. To his credit, the angler – Dante Piraino – knew better and had no part of that plan. After it was weighed and revived, he adamantly directed tournament officials to put that fish right back into the St. Lawrence River with all the rest of them. States need more protocols and procedures that make it easy for people to certify fish like this without killing the fish. These are genetic freaks and all of us need to let them continue to do their thing.”

Contact Joe Raymond or book a trip with him through his website, susquehannasmallmouthguides.com. Follow him on Instagram and Facebook.

For up-to-date information on fishing in the Susquehanna River, or for tackle recommendations, contact Susquehanna Fishing Tackle at 800-814-7433 or via their website, sfttackle.com.

St Croix Rod and Reel Combo voted Best Rod and Reel Combo at I CAST 2024

  • GEAR, THE LEAD

Get Your Hands On The Best New Rod & Reel Systems For Bass

  • By The Fishing Wire

Voted Best Rod & Reel Combo at ICAST 2024 just two weeks ago, all-new St. Croix GXR Bass Systems are available to elevate bass-fishing experiences starting August 1. St Croix rods are my favorite rods.

Park Falls, WI – St. Croix Rod exists to give every angler the upper hand on the water with over 800 fishing rod models, engineered and handcrafted to deliver excellence in any fishing technique or presentation.

One year ago, the 76-year-old privately-owned American company introduced SEVIIN Reels, a new brand established with the goal of creating the most dependable reels available, so anglers can enjoy fishing more and worry less.
 
Today, St. Croix Rod and SEVIIN Reels announce the availability of St. Croix GXR Bass Systems – a carefully curated collection of eight high-performance technique-focused St. Croix rods, precision-matched and balanced with smooth and dependable complimentary SEVIIN GXR casting and spinning reels. Voted best new rod and reel combo by fishing tackle retailers and media members at ICAST 2024, GXR is the first and only off-the-rack precision-matched rod and reel system to combine St. Croix performance and SEVIIN reliability. Four casting models and four spinning models are available at an angler-friendly retail price of $200 to $225. Two-piece GXR models are also available.

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GXR begins with a proven St. Croix performance platform – crisp, strong, and responsive SCII carbon-fiber blanks mated to lightweight and durable hybrid stainless-steel guide trains that promote exceptional balance and reliable performance with all line types. Handles are an angler-preferred traditional split-grip design with premium cork grips, blank-through nylon reel seats, and black stainless-steel and nylon hoods. “GXR casting and spinning rod share DNA with several of our most popular bass series, including Bass X and our retired (previous generation) Mojo Bass rods,” says St. Croix Brand Manager, Ryan Teach. “These are proven, technique-optimized rod platforms that fish light with surprising power and exceptional balance.”
 
A 7’1” medium-heavy power, fast action ALL AROUND model is available in both GXR casting (GXRC71MHF) and spinning (GXRS71MHF). It’s a rod that can do about anything well, from skipping docks to swimbaits to jigs, flukes, topwaters, and more.

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Get Your Hands On The Best New Rod & Reel Systems For Bass 1

On the casting side, a 7’2” heavy power, moderate action REACTION BAIT model (GXRC72HM) provides a parabolic design optimized for crankbaits, chatterbaits, and other swimming lures, while a 7’4” heavy power, fast action FROG & FLIP (GXRC74HF) is the GXR model anglers will want to have in their hands when pitching, flipping, frogging, or fishing other lures in and around heavy cover.

image 311

Two additional spinning models round out GXR’s technique-optimized lineup. A 6’10” medium-light power, extra-fast action FINESSE (GXRS610MLXF) is optimized for light-line applications such as drop-shotting, as well as presenting Ned rigs, downsized creature baits, and smaller hair jigs. An additional 7’1” medium power, fast action STICK BAIT spinning model (GXRS71MF) excels in presenting wacky rigs, light Texas rigs, shaking minnows, heavier Ned rigs, and more.
 
Finally, Teach says GXR’s appeal is further widened by the availability of a pair of two-piece models. “Because not every bass rod lives on the deck of a bass boat full time, two-piece bass rods are trending,” Teach says. “GXR gives bass anglers two-piece convenience for travel and storage and one-piece performance in the unique GXRC71MHF2-C (ALL AROUND) and GXRS71MF2-C (STICK BAIT) models.”
 
SEVIIN designed complimentary GXR casting and GXR spinning reels from a blank canvas to balance and enhance the performance of these technique-optimized GXR rods. “The goal was to create a new series of bass-fishing systems for anglers of all levels that are ready to fish with heightened St. Croix performance and SEVIIN castability and reliability,” says SEVIIN Reels Product Manager, Robert Woods. The SEVIIN and St. Croix Product Teams worked together to create a series of hard-core bass rod-and-reel combinations with wide appeal and performance that exceeds their retail price, fully backed by St. Croix and SEVIIN warranties and customer service.”

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SEVIIN GXR casting reels are crafted on a compact, 100-size lightweight graphite frame. Castability and operation are enhanced by anodized aluminum spools with Japanese stainless-steel spool bearings, magnetic cast control, and 6+1 stainless-steel bearings that support key moving parts. Strong and exceptionally smooth drag comes from a carbon fiber and stainless-steel drag stack, while a versatile 7.3:1 retrieve ratio provides optimal performance in a wide variety of bass presentations.

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Lightweight and strong SEVIIN GXR spinning reels feature 3000-size carbon fiber bodies and rotors with anodized and ported aluminum spools. 8+1 stainless steel bearings yield silky-smooth operation, while a carbon fiber and stainless-steel drag stack ensures slick, consistent, and reliable drag performance in all conditions at all settings.
 
St. Croix GXR Bass Systems Features
 
•  Precision-matched high-performance rod and reel systems (4 casting and 4 spinning), optimized for popular, technique-specific bass presentations
•  Premium SCII carbon fiber blanks with FRS (Fortified Resin System) for increased flexural strength with reduced weight
•  Lightweight, black stainless-steel guides with aluminum-oxide rings for reliable performance with all line types
•  Traditional split-grip premium-grade cork handles with premium EVA accents
•  Nylon reel seat with black stainless-steel hood and nylon and stainless-steel locking nut
•  5-year rod warranty backed by St. Croix Superstar Service
•  100-size SEVIIN GXR casting reels feature 6+1 bearings, durable and lightweight graphite frames, aluminum spools and accents, high-performance carbon fiber + stainless-steel drag stacks, soft-touch rubber paddles, and versatile 7.3:1 gearing.
•  3000-size SEVIIN GXR spinning  reels feature 8+1 bearings, lightweight and rigid carbon fiber bodies and rotors, ported aluminum spools, high-performance carbon fiber + stainless-steel drag stacks, premium EVA paddle, and versatile 5.1:1 gearing.
•  1-year reel warranty backed by SEVIIN
•  Designed in Park Falls, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
•  Retail price $200 to $220

St. Croix GXR Bass Systems Models
 
•  GXRC71MHF-C / ALL AROUND – 7’1”, medium-heavy power, fast action, casting / Retail $210
•  GXRC71MHF2-C / ALL AROUND 2 – 7’1”, medium-heavy power, fast action, 2-piece casting / Retail $225
•  GXRC72HM-C / REACTION BAIT – 7’2”, heavy power, moderate action, casting / Retail $210
•  GXRC74HF-C / FROG & FLIP – 7’4”, heavy power, fast action, casting / Retail $210
•  GXRS610MLXF-C / FINESSE – 6’10”, medium-light power, extra-fast action, spinning / Retail $200
•  GXRS71MF-C / STICK BAIT – 7’1”, medium power, fast action, spinning / Retail $200
•  GXRS71MF2-C / STICK BAIT 2 – 7’1”, medium power, fast action, 2-piece spinning / Retail $220
•  GXRS71MHF-C / ALL AROUND – 7’1”, medium-heavy power, fast action, spinning / Retail $200

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Get Your Hands On The Best New Rod & Reel Systems For Bass 2

Put simply, GXR Bass Systems are the right tools for the job – a collection of premium, technique-optimized rod-and-reel combinations designed and crafted to give bass anglers of all levels a series of synergized tools that move them forward towards new wins on the water, including more and bigger bass, and more exceptional fishing moments and memories. Embodying trusted St. Croix performance and SEVIIN reliability… right off the rack… all-new GXR Bass Systems are available at St. Croix dealers and online at stcroixrods.com starting today, August 1, 2024.

Interested in becoming a St. Croix Dealer? Email [email protected].

#stcroixrods

About St. Croix Rod

Headquartered in Park Falls, Wisconsin, St. Croix has been proudly crafting the “Best Rods on Earth” for over 75 years. Combining state-of-the-art manufacturing processes with skilled craftsmanship, St. Croix is the only major producer to still build rods entirely from design through manufacturing. The company remains family-owned and operates duplicate manufacturing facilities in Park Falls and Fresnillo, Mexico. With popular trademarked series such as Legend®, Legend Xtreme®, Avid®, Premier®, Imperial®, Triumph® and Mojo, St. Croix is revered by all types of anglers from around the world.