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| Week of 9/22/99 #101 |
| Question: You are fishing in a strange lake. It is approximately 20,000 acres in size. It's late summer. The surface temperature is 70 degrees F. It's a sunny day with little wind. What would be your initial approach to catching largemouth bass? |
| Winning Answer: by
Don Applegarth. I would start out at the mouth of a major creek, and follow
the channel using a Crankbait, and a Spinnerbait. I would stay
with a white or white and chartreuse color to imitate the shad,
or whatever baitfish happen to be there, as they should be on
there way into the backs of these creeks to begin their Fall
spawn. I would pay close attention to the wind and fish the windy
areas, especially rocky banks and points because these areas
will hold a lot of weak baitfish being pushed up there by the
wind. I would use the same lures, and cover a lot of water until
I located the bass. If I notice a lot of schooling bass in the open water areas that I am fishing, ( which happens a lot at this time of year) I would try throwing a Lipless rattling lure, such as a Rat-L-Trap, or Cordell Hot Spot. Another good lure, especially for bigger bass, would be a white Zoom Super Fluke, or Trickworm, rigged weightless on a 5/0 Wide Gap Gamagatsu Hook, with a barrel swivel attached about 8" away to prevent twisting. Let it sink out of sight under the schooling fish and then twitch it to get the better ones which generally hold below the smaller ones on the surface! |
Week of 9/27/99 #102 |
| Question: It's early fall. As you head out from the boat launch you notice that bait fishing are breaking surface in various spots near the shoreline. As you approach with your trolling motor you see bass chasing the baitfish right up to the edge of land. Occasionally you see the baitfish jump right on to the shore line to get away. You have three rods with you. What do you tie on each and how would you fish them? |
| Winning Answer: by Joel Harper. Fishing in late fall I would tie a Spinnerbait, size of the blades would depend on the size of the bait I was seeing. The Spinnerbait would be a 3/8oz. so I could reel it pretty fast (burn it). My second bait would be a soft-plastic jerkbait. Once again, size would depend on the size of bait I was seeing. My third bait would be a lipless Crankbait (Rattletrap type bait) In 1/4 or 1/2oz.and to I would burn this bait. I would work all three of these baits parallel with the bank as long as the fish stayed on the bank. Color on the bait would depend on the water color. Clear water I would throw a white spinner with two silver willow leaf blades, in stained water it would be chart/white with two small Colorado blades, painted blades if possible, if not one gold one silver. On the jerk bait the color would be white or albino, and on the rattle bait the color would be chrome/blue back or bluegill colored. |
Week of 10/06/99 #103 |
| Question: You are fishing on an early autumn day. There is little wind and the sun is shining. The water temperature is in the low sixties. You come up to a long stretch of rip rap which runs along a bridge embankment. The lakes contains a good supply of Smallmouth bass. What is your first approach to catching them? Lure? Presentation? |
| Winning Answer: by Ted Hardgrove. I would use a small curly tail white grub. I would try different sizes from about 1 1/2 inches to 3 inches in length. I would thread them on a light jig. I would also experiment with several different weight jig heads to see the drop speed that they wanted. I would start out with a 1/4 oz and move up or down from that point. I would try several different presentations. One would be just a slow reeling retrieve. Another would be two or three twitches and then let it drop for several seconds. Third I would let it drop on the cast and then bring it in with a series of slow pumps and drops. |
Week of 10/13/99 #104 |
| Question: It’s early fall. The water temperature is in the low sixties. It’s been raining for the past three days. You are fishing a shallow lake that has some weedy areas. The air temperature is in the low fifties and it’s still raining as you head out from the launch. What is your approach to fishing this lake under these conditions? |
| Winning Answer: by Doug Dye. Early Fall is the time to head for the back of the major creeks and scout for the clouds of baitfish that gather. Top water baits i.e. pop-r, chug bug, red fin, etc., are good choices to start with. The schooling bass are hungry and aggressive. Don't be put off if the schools of frenzied bass ignore your bait at times. Be sure to vary the sizes of your presentations. Floating worms around shallow submerged weed-beds and edges and any wood cover offer prime ambush areas for the lunkers of this active season. Don't be put off by the rain. Some of the most exciting fishing can be enjoyed by those who aren't afraid to brave the elements that the Fall season has to offer. |
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Disclaimer: The answers to these questions are very subjective. There certainly are more than one correct answer to each of these questions. The Bass Fishing USA staff's decision is final . By entering this contest, if you are the winner, you agree to having your answer and name published on this site. |