I caught her about 8:30
on Thursday morning. It
was my third stop of the
day. She was in a school
of bass holding on the
side of a main lake point
in about 25 feet of water.
The spot was fairly
ordinary except that it
had several big rocks
scattered around.
The spot was good. That
was a given. I caught a 5
pounder on my first cast
to it in practice. But I
also said it was ordinary.
What I meant was that it
was the typical kind of
spot you’d find bass in
a reservoir at this time
of the year — deep,
offshore, holding on
something a little
different.
My bait was a Big Bite
10-inch Red Bug Kriet Tail
Worm, Texas rigged. My
basic technique was to
carefully position my boat
and throw past the school.
I hopped it along with
sharp upward jerks and
short pauses on the bottom
until it was into the
school. The big bass bit
on the far outside edge of
the group of bass.
I don’t like to throw
directly into the school.
I don’t want to startle
them or make them
skittish. All I want to do
is pick off the ones that
are feeding. My sinker was
a common 3/8-ounce
bullet-type weight. My
hook was a 6/0 Gamakatsu
SuperLine Offset EWG. I
was fishing a big bait and
looking for a big bass. I
wanted a big, strong hook.
I used a 7 foot, 6 inch
extra-heavy Nuclear rod.
(They're a relatively new
company doing business
here in Tennessee and
around the South.) My reel
was a Shimano Calais
(6.2:1 gear ratio) and my
line was 16-pound-test
Sunline Fluorocarbon.
There are several
lessons from this catch:
1. At this time of the
year, you should fish deep
offshore structure. That
means spending the time to
learn how to find it with
your electronics. There
may be fish shallow, but
the majority of the
tournament winners are
deep.
2. Use a big lure. I
don’t argue the point
that you can catch big
fish with a 4-inch bait.
But, you’ll catch more
big ones if you upsize to
a 10-inch worm.
3. Carefully position
your boat. Each cast has
to be precise. I knew
where the rocks were, and
I knew where the fish
were. I was able to throw
past them and then fish
back towards them. I
honestly think that’s
why I caught her.
