For Period Ending Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021

Sunday, Aug. 29 (from Joe)...Made my first kayak trip in search of bass and panfish. I had wanted to try launching at Back Bay NWR, but the winds were forecast at 10 mph all day long, and I thought that might make for a frustrating day’s fishing in open water, so I decided, instead, on Oakum Creek, which I know—from Charlie's videos—to be sheltered from the wind. I took a bass rod and an ultralight spinning outfit (2 lb. test mono). Before I had even left the dock, I thoroughly fan-casted the area around it while sitting in my kayak, moored to the dock, first with a 5” watermelon Senko Texas-rigged (no weight). When that didn’t elicit any bites, I started jigging a brown-and-black Trout Magnet (1/64 oz. jig with 1” split-tailed plastic grub) around the same area with my ultralight rod. On one lift off the bottom, I got bit and played a feisty bass of a pound or so for a couple minutes until it jumped and spit the hook. That quick bite was encouraging, but, unfortunately, not a harbinger of the day’s fishing to come. After fishing the dock area pretty thoroughly, I paddled 50’ or so inland and moored to some cypress knees, and then started another cycle of fan casting. I continued this way for another hour or so, working both the Senko and the Trout Magnet around each area. I really wanted to catch a bass on that Senko, but, with no bites forthcoming, eventually decided to switch to a buzzbait on the bass rod and a small Mepps spinner on the ultralight. Tried those for a while, but it was so hot and, being the middle of the day (I started fishing around 11 a.m.), I decided that the buzzbait probably wasn’t the best choice. Tried a chartreuse spinnerbait for a half-hour or so, but no cigar. There were a lot of swirls and fishy activity—some of it, I think, from bowfin gulping air off the surface—but, with the heat and high sun, I surmised that most fish would be holding in deeper water off shore. I tied on a small Johnson silver minnow and attached a 3” white split-tail trailer, and jigged that along the bottom. Watching the action of this lure, it looked absolutely irresistible to me! I fished it for a good hour or more, all to no avail. Eventually I decided to cover a bit more ground by changing my mooring and fan-casting approach, so, since the wind was blowing me back toward the launch, I paddled a good way inland, and then let the wind blow me back while I fished. Tried targeting the shallows on the shady side up under overhanging trees and little cuts and offshoots, but nothing. Tried fishing deep somewhat off shore and even in the very middle of the creek, but never got another bite. Tried everything I knew to try, and even eventually switched back to a swimsenko and Trout Magnet, but nothing doing. Significantly before I expected it, the dock came into view. Checking my watch, it was 3:40, and my butt was so sore I needed to get out of that kayak for a bit, which proved to be a little tricky (but I managed it without turtling). I thought about an exploratory paddle across the North Landing River to see how difficult it would be to reach Milldam or Snake Creeks from Munden Point Park, but, being late, and being exhausted, I just decided to end my trip then and there. (Once these dog days of summer leave town, you'll likely find the fish a tad more cooperative, Joe. Best of luck! --Ken)

Tuesday, Aug. 31 (from Ron)...Suffered through a week in KY for work and got back on the water over the weekend, Monday and today. Skunked until this evening, and it was getting frustrating. Was nice to hear that drag and feel that tug. Redfish have been fun, but looking forward to getting back in the fresh water.

Saturday, Sept. 4 (from Ron)...Went out Friday evening to take care of something that was bothering me during the Redfish pursuit of late. Took one rod and a few trash bags. Caught some striper and hauled in a bit of trash. Back in the fresh waters this morning and only caught three small bass. The bite was very subtle, and all fell to a Zoom U-Vibe weightless worm.







Saturday, Sept. 11 (from Wayne, me and Mr. C)...The three of us left West Neck Marina together in the pre-dawn hours this morning, intent on trying to find a few fish...at least that was the case for two of us. I would be less than truthful if I didn't own up to the fact that it was another slow day, but we succeeded in meeting our goal. At day's end, after stops in four different holes, we had boated a double-limit of bass and lost a few along the way, too. The bites came on a mixture of baits. We now have info we'll need to plan our fishing day in the next tournament, our last qualifier of the current season, which is scheduled for a week from tomorrow. Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, the Mr. C mentioned earlier was a cicada that rode all the way from Wayne's house this morning to the marina, accompanied us all day long in such places as the boat's dashboard, on top of the windshield, and clinging for his life to the net on the floor of the boat as we journeyed from one spot to the next. We thought we had lost the little creature when we recovered the boat, 'cause he was no where to be seen. However, as we learned while talking to a friend, the cicada had decided the safest place for him to ride was up under Wayne's console. We heard his all-too-distinct sounds as we were talking to our friend. Don't know if we could call him a good-luck charm, but at least he was company...the silent kind, which more times than not is the best kind anyone can have.

Sunday, Sept. 12 (from Rob and Craig)...Launched from West Neck this morning in search of some new locations to cast a line during next Sunday's tournament. In their own words, it was an "OK" day, as revealed in the fact they caught four keepers between sunrise and about 11 or 11:30. Understand they also caught a couple of bream, including one real nice crappie. In any event, they're ready for next Sunday, and that's what matters.

Ever Know a Backseater Who Could Kick Butt?

My current tournament partner is one of those guys. Wayne Hayes (right) not once but twice won bass tournaments from the backseat. The first time was in January 2003, while fishing the amateur portion of a Bassmaster Pro Tour event on Lake Okeechobee. The second occasion was only a few months later, in July 2003, to be exact, while fishing as an amateur partner to a pro in the Maryland Bassmaster Northern Open on the Potomac River.

His prize each time was a fully-rigged bass boat. He kept the first one but sold the other (a $24,000 Skeeter) and eventually traded the first one for a new Ranger, which he still drives today.

During a reporter's interview after his second backseat win, Wayne said, "I've been fishing good, but never in my life could I have imagined winning two of these things. The competition is so good in an event like this."

When asked to explain his winning philosophy, Wayne responded, "I try not to throw the same baits they do when fishing tight cover. If they fish fast, I fish fast," adding that he keeps six rods rigged with baits to allow him to fish at the same pace as his boat partner. "You have to adapt and try to make friends with the guy and enjoy the day," he continued. "If you don't, you won't have an enjoyable outing. Whatever you do, don't give up. Sometimes, the last cast can do it for you," he concluded.

Another angler who has won tournaments from the backseat is Wired2Fish bass pro and writer Walker Smith, who pointed out that one of the toughest challenges for backseaters is to catch sluggish summer bass behind somebody. Following are some setups he offered to increase a backseater's success under these conditions.

Ditch the braid and grab a popper on monofilament. Braided whale rope and hollow-body frogs may be all the rage for shallow power anglers today, but back when Smith fished primarily as a co-angler, it felt like the boaters, in his words, "threw frogs nearly nonstop. I would try to change things up by throwing a pointed-nose frog if they were throwing a popping frog (or vice versa), but I never really had a lot of success. I'd catch a few fish but nothing to call mama and brag about.

"If you notice your boater obsessing over his heavy-duty frog setup," he continued, "I strongly suggest grabbing an old-school popper on 12- or 15-pound monofilament. This setup has caught big bass for decades, and it certainly hasn't gone out of style. I'm a firm believer that big bass quickly become conditioned to popular baits. I remember back when hollow-body frogs first came out, and giant bass would inhale them for a few years because they'd never really seen them before. But in my area, that has all changed. They've been dive-bombed with 'em for years now, and they're becoming wise to our offerings, which means we have to get a bit more creative about things."

Smith pointed out that a popper such as the Strike King KVD Splash (pictured above) is an excellent co-angler choice for targeting isolated cover in lieu of a topwater frog.

"Boaters tend to fish frogs pretty quickly," he said, "especially when they're searching for a pattern, which means they can certainly overlook key pieces of cover. With a popper, you can really saturate a specific limb or stump and leave that popper over key areas for an extended period of time, even if you're having to cast behind the boat. I've caught a lot of key 'bonus fish' doing this over the years. It's a much different sound than most frogs on the market, and to be quite honest, I hardly ever see anyone throwing poppers anymore. So maybe that has something to do with it as well.

"Simply cast your popper past the piece of cover you're targeting, pop it a few times, and let it sit completely still until the ripples dissipate...and repeat. Most of your bites are going to come on the pause, and be sure to keep your wits about you. The vicious bites will scare the tar out of you."

When the boater is hitting everything, reach for a wakebait. Smith confessed that he drew some really good boaters back when he was doing the co-angler deal.

"That's both a blessing and a curse," he said. "It's great because you're probably going to be around fish, but it can be frustrating, because they leave absolutely nothing for you to fish. It has really spun me out a few times.

"During one tournament, I got desperate," he continued, "and I tied on an old Cotton Cordell Jointed Red Fin...a great lure all around the country but not one I had a bunch of experience with. Instead of throwing it right at the bank, I'd land my cast about 10 feet from the bank and slowly retrieve it at a 45-degree angle. In my mind, I (hopefully) was targeting a totally different population of bass than the ones being annihilated by my boater...and it worked.

"The fish I was catching were situated off the break line, where the shallow water dropped into that mid-depth range of 12 or 15 feet. I think a whole bunch of anglers, myself included, totally forget about that depth range, and we get too caught up with the words 'deep' or 'shallow.' There's a lot of 'in between,' too, and you can bet your fishing rod that plenty of fish live there."

Smith's absolute favorite wakebait of all time is the old, original Buckeye Wake Up, a discontinued bait, but he's quick to admit that a Red Fin will work just fine as well.

"Be very careful, however," he said, "to avoid reeling it too fast. It's not a crankbait, and an accelerated retrieve will really hurt your chances of getting bites. Instead, keep a high rod tip and very slowly reel it along the surface, so it leaves a pronounced V-shaped wake behind it. If you see it start to dive, stop your retrieve, let it float back to the surface, and resume a super-slow retrieve. You'll be amazed how many big summer bass will absolutely smoke this expensive lure."

Pitch and flip a weighted fluke behind a jig. This is another trick Smith learned out of sheer desperation.

"I was fishing behind a buddy who honestly is one of the best jig anglers I've ever shared a boat with," he noted. "After several hours of watching him make all kinds of crazy-good casts, my confidence was pretty low. I love skipping a jig, and I can hold my own with one, but there wasn't a square inch this dude wasn't hitting.

"So instead of trying to beat him at his own game, I decided to totally change profiles to give the bass a different look. I never had tried it before, but I ended up taking a Mardi Gras-colored Zoom Super Fluke (pictured above) and Texas rigging it with a 3/16-ounce weight. It was hot, there wasn't a breath of air, but I kept seeing a bunch of bluegill suspended beneath the boat docks, so I figured there had to be bass stalking 'em nearby. This little rig looked like one of those two-finger-sized bluegill bass love to ambush in summer, so I started skipping that little sucker around the dock posts.

"Long story short, I crushed 'em that afternoon and discovered a cool little rig for tough fishing from the back deck. I've had so much success with it as a co-angler that I'll still pitch it around, even when I'm on the front deck of my own boat. I haven't seen any underwater footage of this rig, but I figure the bass might think it's a little bluegill pecking around, looking for food or something. Either way, I guess it doesn't matter because the bass eat the heck out of it either way.

"As I mentioned," continued Smith, "try to imitate a bluegill when picking your colors this time of year. A good ol' green pumpkin-colored Fluke will work just fine, but personally, I like to choose a green color with a little bit of red flake in there. It might just be a confidence thing, but I feel like I get more bites that way. Mardi Gras can be a tough color to find at times, so another great option is traditional watermelon red.

"The next time you find yourself stuck fishing behind another good angler on a hot summer day," concluded Smith, "I highly recommend trying one of, if not all three, of these techniques. Get a little creative because, in 90-degree water temperatures, any little thing sure helps a lot."

When the Water Is Slicker Than a Baby's Behind, Fishin' Can Be Tough

I'm not the only one who has that opinion, either. I've heard many anglers say the same thing. And just this morning, I read the accounts of three experts who shared that opinion as well. However, these latter folks went a step farther and shared some ideas for making those glassy-calm days on the water a bit more palatable. Best of all, they generally agreed on the "how-tos."

For openers, it's necessary to answer this question: Why does it get so tough when it's calm out? The answer is because the bass get wary.

In muddy or stained water, the calm isn't as bad. In clear water, though, it gets downright difficult. They can see everything, including you. Let's face it: More often than not, when the wind dies, the bite shuts down, too. Without that ripple on the surface to break it up, the bass are afraid to do much of anything but sit still.

However, it's generally agreed among the experts that glassy-calm conditions don't necessarily mean all hope is lost for a productive day. They've developed a four-pronged approach for fishing under these conditions and have used it to record some big finishes while fellow competitors were left scrambling.

Here are their four prongs, along with some background info on each.

Keep your distance. The primary impact of glass-calm is that it heightens bass' senses. They can see farther and become much more susceptible to being spooked. To compensate for that, it's hugely important that anglers try to stay as far back as possible when targeting bass in calm water.

Casting distance and accuracy becomes even more of a top priority when it slicks off. That's because you need to stay as far back as possible in order to get bites. If flipping laydowns, get back as far as you can and still flip accurately. The same thing applies for casting. If fishing a grassline under calm conditions, try getting way back and just bomb your casts in there.

Aside from the bass not seeing you, staying back also keeps your shadow from falling over the bass, which is something else you want to avoid any time but particularly when the bite is tough.

Go natural. Calm, clear water leads many anglers to assume finesse tactics should be the order of the day, but in reality, it's more important to present natural-looking baits.

Instead of grabbing finesse baits...something like a shaky head, maybe...burn a white spinnerbait. If that doesn't work, switch to a green pumpkin chatterbait, which will look a lot more like a bluegill. In other situations, it may be as simple as switching from a white fluke to a watermelon one.

Speed up. This idea probably sounds counterproductive to many anglers, but it's the right thing to do. Speed up to 10 on everything you're doing, say the experts. When you're winding, do it as fast as possible. If flipping, go with a heavier weight and keep it moving the whole time. The idea is that you don't want to give the fish too good a look at your bait. In short, you have to manufacture an obstructed view by fishing fast.

A perfect example of high-speed success occurred on day three of the 2015 Elite Series event held on Alabama's Lake Guntersville. Gerald Swindle caught almost 20 pounds that day and jumped from 47th to 26th place, ensuring that he would fish the final day, which turned out to be dead-calm. He pulled into a bay that was gin clear and had to share it with 15 other boats, none of which were catching any fish to speak of. He immediately started burning a green pumpkin swim jig on a 7.3:1 Quantum reel, and in about 20 minutes had boated 20 pounds, including a 7-pounder. Said Swindle, "You can't swim a bait too fast for a bass, especially when it's calm."

Quiet down. Vision isn't the only bass sense that is heightened when it's calm. They also can hear much better. Without any wind, the background noise is dramatically decreased. Because of that, it's important to pay attention to how much noise you're making in the boat and try to minimize it.

Blend in with what Mother Nature's doing. When it's really quiet, you might even consider turning off your locators, turning down the trolling motor, and doing everything you can to make as little noise as possible. One of the biggest mistakes anglers make when it's calm is not thinking about how their entire presence blends in with the current conditions.

A lot of anglers have commented that they believe that's the most effective use of a device like a Hydrowave. They mimic forage really well, but they mask your noises with noises the fish are used to hearing and avoiding, putting them on the defensive when you move into the area to fish.

Whether you're running impoundments, river systems, or natural lakes, being stealthy; fishing your lures fast; making long, precise, quiet casts; and using more natural colors will all help your success in bass fishing and other species, as well, on those clear, calm days that other anglers find very difficult.

There's SHO Time...

In a mere 3.5 hours this morning, the "giddy-up-go" on the back of Wayne Hayes' Ranger went from a two-stroke to this very-low-mileage, high-flyin' four-stroke, which put a part in this old-timer's hair...a pretty neat trick for a "chrome dome," no less.

And Then There's SHOW Time

In about the same amount of time this morning, Rob Chatham boated this beauty from a newfound honey hole that I dare say he undoubtedly wasted little time entering into his boat's electronics.

Takes Work, But an Old Boat Need Not Be an Eyesore

That's the word from Walker Smith of Wired2Fish. As he explained, "I have an older bass boat, and I'm dang proud of it, to be honest. While there's certainly nothing wrong with the newer varieties out there, I see no reason to upgrade just yet and strap myself to a bunch of payments. My 22-year-old boat does just fine, and it's paid for, which is always a huge plus in my book."

As a retiree living on a fixed income and knowing that I likely don't have a lot of years left, I can relate to what Smith said. I'd be foolish to even consider buying a new boat at today's prices. That's why it was a no-brainer for me just to have the Yamaha on my old Skeeter rebuilt when a cylinder went belly-up a bit more than a month ago.

Although his boat is on the older side, that doesn't stop Smith from taking good care of it.

"I'm not too compulsive about it because, like any older boat, mine has plenty of small scratches and imperfections," he acknowledged. "But heck, I just fish better out of a clean boat.

"I want to put a few ideas out there that'll help you keep your old boat looking good, too. Just because it has some years on it doesn't mean it can't keep turning heads at the ramp."

Wipe it down every single time. Your boat might not look dirty when you put it on the trailer after a day of fishing, but as Smith noted, "In all honesty, it's probably pretty filthy. Wiping down your boat after every fishing trip is a great way to stay ahead of the mess and keep your boat looking polished at all times.

"I fish a lot of muddy water," he continued, "so I normally keep an old bath towel in my boat and wipe it down completely while I'm still at the ramp. The towel gets damp from the residual water, which helps cut through some of the grime. When I get home and back my boat into the shop, I'll wipe it down a second time with some sort of quick detailing spray. I've been using Pro-Tec's Showroom Conditioner for the last few years, and I really like it. Cleans, polishes and keeps my old gel coat looking surprisingly shiny."

There's something else Smith likes about this conditioner, too: It neutralizes static electricity on your boat.

"My boat shop used to be a woodworking shop," said Smith, "and decades-old sawdust is the bane of my existence. No matter how much I clean, that nasty sawdust just seems to appear out of nowhere, and, of course, it likes to get all over my boat. This Showroom Conditioner, however, prevents dust from sticking on the top cap of my boat, so it stays clean for a really long time."

Ditch the vacuum. While some people drag a big shop vac all over their boat, Smith has found a cool little "hack" to get around this obnoxious chore. His father-in-law introduced him to using one of those battery-powered blowers like you see in Lowe's or Home Depot.

"Although it was meant to be used for keeping leaves and what not off the porch," explained Smith, "I use it on my boat carpet. I've told a few buddies about it, and they all agree; it's so much easier than vacuuming, and it only takes about 20 or 30 seconds.

"When I get home from the lake, I grab that lightweight blower and get all the debris off my carpet before putting the boat in the shop. This helps avoid the gradual buildup of sand, dirt and gravel dust from the local boat ramps. It keeps your carpet looking great without breaking your back."

Stay ahead of blood stains. During his college days, Smith learned a trick from a buddy of his who was super particular about his boat.

"It was the cleanest boat on the water," said Smith, "and whenever I fished out of it, I was kind of afraid to touch anything. One afternoon, my buddy tongue-hooked a bass and, of course, some blood got on his carpet. I thought he was going to freak out, but he calmly grabbed a bottle of hydrogen peroxide from his back compartment and put a little bit on the blood stain.

"After blotting it with a towel, the blood came out immediately, and you couldn't even tell anything happened. From that day on, I always have carried hydrogen peroxide in my boat.

"I do a lot of hybrid and striper fishing in the summer months, and if you've ever caught 'em before, you know how much they bleed. I'm constantly removing blood stains with this method, and my carpet never has looked better."

Don't make my mistake with your seats. Several years ago, Smith had decided his original seat upholstery had seen enough abuse. It was shredded to pieces, but the inside cushion and padding still was in outstanding condition, so he decided to get 'em reupholstered. He made sure to ask the repairman to use UV-resistant thread, and he swore he would.

"Less than a year later, though," said Smith, "I learned that he did not use UV-resistant thread, and my seats started falling apart. It's important to understand that I don't step on my seats, and I don't let my passengers step on my seats, either. It's kind of a pet peeve of mine. So I'm not rough on them at all, but the sun was just shredding that cheap stitching.

"The next time I get those seats done, I'm going to buy a separate spool of that UV-resistant thread and request that the upholstery shop uses that specific spool. That way, when the seats are done and I pick them up, I can get the rest of my spool back and tell whether it was used. I know it sounds like being a 'Karen' about it, but man...that upholstery work ain't cheap, and if I'm dropping a bunch of money in it, I want it to last longer than a year."

Final thoughts. "If you have an older bass boat, there isn't a thing in the world to be ashamed of," Smith concluded. "You worked hard for it, saved for it, and it's all yours. That's awesome and something to be proud of, for sure. It ain't a fashion show. It's not going to be perfect, and it'll have some blemishes, but guess what? That big ol' bass doesn't know what kind of boat you're driving and isn't impressed by anything you have. To keep your boat in tip-top shape, however, try these little tips, and I guarantee you'll get more life out of your prized investment."

Wanna Keep Critters out of Your Boat When It's Stored?

Here's what you need: peppermint spray, Irish Spring soap, and dryer sheets. At least, that's what Wired2Fish angler and writer Walker Smith uses.

Too many times, boats that just sit for a spell become a breeding ground for the likes of spiders, roaches, mice, or even chipmunks, to name only a few. Follow the tips that follow, though, and Smith "guarantees they will work, and they're also pretty affordable."

Peppermint Spray. It wasn't until Smith got on Amazon and started researching "spider repellent" that he discovered a number of products with a billion 5-star reviews for the same thing: peppermint oil spray. The only problem was that the retailers all wanted upwards of $20 for a 20-ounce bottle.

"I didn't just fall off a turnip truck," said Smith. "I'm not paying that kind of money for a bottle of peppermint spray."

Instead, he asked his wife where they had put a package of essential oils they had received for a wedding gift. She told him, and he grabbed it, put about 25 ounces of water into a clean spray bottle, and then dropped about 75 drops of peppermint essential oil into it.

"I closed the bottle and shook the heck out of it," explained Smith. "Took me about three minutes and cost me almost zero dollars. I then went out to my shop and started spraying it on my carpet, underneath my console, in my compartments, and between my seats. It was insane to see how many tiny spiders started jumping ship and getting out of my boat. I was immediately sold.

"From what I've read, the strong scent of peppermint screws up their ability to smell and hunt, which makes them immediately vacate the area where this scent has been sprayed.

"In addition to repelling spiders, peppermint spray also does a good job repelling chipmunks, which can absolutely wreak havoc on boat tow vehicles and boats. They'll chew the heck out of wires if you let 'em. We have a pile of chipmunks and squirrels on our property, so I use this spray inside the fender wells of my truck. I used to see chipmunks hop on top of my tires and into my engine well, but since I've used this spray, I haven't seen a single critter within 15 feet of my truck."

Irish Spring Soap. Smith went on to explain that when growing up, his buddy's dad swore by bathing with Irish Spring soap before every deer hunt.

"I always thought that was weird, because you're supposed to be scentless whenever you're in the woods," noted Smith. "But that joker killed more deer than all the rest of us combined. He didn't use it for the scent, however. He used that Irish Spring because he said a bug wouldn't come within 10 feet of him in the deer stand. This was long before Thermacells and what not. We had to use whatever we could think of to keep those mosquitoes from carrying us off."

As Smith would come to learn, too, from a conversation with a buddy and colleague, a bar of Irish Spring soap in the sump compartment of your boat (where the batteries and stuff are) will almost certainly ensure that mice, rats and other nasty furry things won't get in there. In addition, the soap reduces the amount of fuel smell coming from the back compartment.

Dryer Sheets. After a full night of research regarding spider tendencies, Smith further came to discover that dryer sheets work well against them, as well as bugs. Accordingly, he uses the dryer sheets in those areas where he keeps thousands of dollars' worth of custom-made crankbaits. He also puts them between his seats and underneath the console.

"If you're planning on taking a break from fishing this fall and winter to get out in the deer stand or duck blind," offered Smith, "I strongly urge you to try these little tricks to keep all the nasty bugs and rodents out of your boat, especially if you keep your boat outside. You'll notice an immediate improvement, and you won't have to buy a bunch of expensive and potentially harmful chemicals to keep your boat clean."

A Fishin' Tip From Jonathon VanDam

A number of pro anglers take steps to avoid hooking bass during tournament-practice sessions on the water. Stumbled across this tip yesterday while reading the latest issue of Jay Kumar's BassBlaster. It's just another idea. Here's the link for it: https://www.instagram.com/p/CSzId7FFxAx/.

Jig Pioneer Lonnie Stanley Passes

Read in the latest issue of Jay Kumar's BassBlaster where the bass-fishing world lost another old-timer on Aug. 20, 2021.

The 75-year-old Stanley, a native Texan, has been described as "the father of the modern-day jig." He understood about balance...to get a jig to fall right, to look natural, to stand up, all that.

He understood about the bite angle...how different hooks and weedguards change the bite angle of a jig, and if you cut down on the bite angle, you miss more fish. He invented the nylon-bristle weedguard system.

It also should be noted that he later got into building spinnerbaits.

Stanley competed in more than 100 Bassmaster tournaments, amassing more than $300,000 in winnings. He earned over a third of that by winning the 1987 Megabucks event on Florida's Harris Chain. A decade later, he beat a stacked field at the 1997 Texas Central Invitational on Sam Rayburn.

Stanley qualified for and competed in the 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, and 1992 Bassmaster Classics. Along the way, he also found time to host ESPN's Sportsman's Challenge and G3 Outdoors. He was elected to the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in 2012.

Jay expressed it best when he said, "Love to his family and work family. Bless 'em and Lord, thank you for Lonnie."

Shallow-Water Hangouts for Summertime Bass

The late Bassmaster tour pro David Wharton believed that, even during the hottest part of summer, you still could find and catch bass in shallow water. The secret to success is knowing where to look.

Years of tournament competition on reservoirs throughout the United States showed Wharton that summer bass utilize a number of warm-weather habitats, depending on what's available to them. Not all bass in a lake move shallow when the temperature soars, of course, but certainly enough of them do to make exploring places like the backs of creeks worthwhile.

Here are several shallow-water options Wharton thought anglers should consider when looking for largemouth in summer.

Vegetation. "If a lake has shallow vegetation in summer, you don't need to look anywhere else," said Wharton. "It can be something as simple as scattered pondweed, lily pads, or small patches of shoreline wiregrass. Regardless of the species of vegetation, it will attract and hold bass.

"A number of lures can be used to fish shallow vegetation," continued the Texas pro, "ranging from early morning topwaters to plastic worms."

When fishing vegetation, his choice along the deeper outside edge of a grassline was a small popper. If the vegetation was matted on the surface, like hydrilla and milfoil will do, he would try a plastic frog or rat over the top. He also would use shallow-running crankbaits, spinnerbaits and even buzzbaits.

"It's important to remember where you catch bass doing this," added Wharton, "because you probably can return to the same spot later and catch more fish with a worm. Something in that spot attracted bass, and it will continue to replenish itself."

Backs of Creeks. Wharton also noted that in lakes without vegetation, as well as in river systems in which current is largely controlled by releases through dams, summer bass frequently move to the backs of creeks. "The most important requirement," he said, "is current, with cover a close second.

"When I talk about going to the back of a creek, I mean going back so far you can usually make one cast completely across from bank to bank, and the water will seldom be more than 4 feet deep. When you travel this far back in a creek on most lakes, you're probably in water that doesn't get fished very often.

"Is it reliable? Absolutely, and it works everywhere. Anglers have qualified for the Bassmaster Classic just by fishing this pattern on different lakes around the country.

"The current is critical because it keeps the water oxygenated and a few degrees cooler, especially if the creek is spring-fed. Creeks without this current tend to become stagnated by late summer and do not usually offer good fishing.

"Cover also is very important in this pattern, and the best types tend to be stumps, trees and laydowns. If bass can use the channel itself as cover, then stumps and trees may not be required," said Wharton, "but the very back of a creek always will be more productive if other cover is available.

"What I like to do in situations like this is slow roll a spinnerbait along the bottom and bounce it off stumps and laydowns," he explained. "Sometimes, I'm making long casts into water just 15 inches deep because I don't want to risk spooking fish with the boat. Then I just slowly start winding the lure back.

"Another lure I often use is a small, square-billed crankbait that can be fished slowly along the bottom and come through cover surprisingly well. Plastic worms and craw worms can be productive, but this is really one place where spinnerbaits are easily the top choice for most anglers."

Mouths of Small Creeks. On river systems and occasionally on lakes where power generation produces a noticeable current, the mouths of small tributaries may provide another shallow-water option, although it isn't as reliable as the backs of them. Specifically, this pattern works best on the downstream point and when current is present.

"Basically, the current usually forms a small eddy around the downstream point where bass may gather to feed," Wharton explained. ''The actual size of the productive zone may be quite small, so accurate casting is important. I've seen this pattern work often enough to remember it when I'm fishing river systems.

"This is a time to fish small plastic worms or jigs, pitching them slightly upcurrent from the point and letting the water wash them down across the point and into the eddy. It's not a pattern that tends to produce a lot of fish from a single spot, but if you're heading upstream or downstream and see such a point, it's always worth trying."

Boat Docks and Piers. "On docks with pilings," said Wharton, "the pilings themselves normally hold the fish, and most often, bass will be on the shady side near the bottom. On floating piers, bass frequently suspend underneath the dock itself, and shade becomes the key ingredient. I normally think the docks with pilings are more reliable and tend to hold bass longer, too."

Wharton's preferred lure for pilings was either a Texas-rigged worm or a tube lure. Either can be pitched or skipped underneath the structure, then hopped along the bottom around each piling. For floating docks, Wharton preferred a 1/2-ounce spinnerbait that he ran just out of sight underneath the floats. If the spinnerbait didn't produce, he usually would switch to a light swimming jig and work it the same way beneath the dock.

He considered docks in shallow water the easiest to fish because you can fish them faster. For that reason, he generally started with those and gradually worked his way deeper. He also usually started with the larger tributaries, simply because they usually would hold more fish, as well as more docks.

Standing Timber. On many of the deeper clear-water lakes of the West and Midwest, where oxygen often is depleted in late summer, bass frequently suspend in or over standing timber. Even though the trees may be in water 50 or more feet deep and not even visible, the fish themselves may be less than 10 feet below the surface.

"I have only seen this on lakes like Table Rock, Bull Shoals, Mead, Powell, and a few others," explained Wharton, 'but I know it happens on other deep-water lakes with little shoreline cover. The bass simply move vertically, rather than horizontally.

"This is a great time and place to throw a big topwater lure like a Zara Spook or a jointed Redfin, and just slowly wobble it across the surface. Your boat may be in 100 feet of water out in the middle of a cove, but the bass aren't deep at all, and they'll absolutely smash a topwater lure like this.

"It's a pattern that most believe originated on Bull Shoals, where anglers were fishing for striped bass," said Wharton, "but it works for largemouth, too."

Bridges. The bass fishing world certainly remembers how Aaron Martens finished second in the 2004 Bassmaster Classic by fishing a single bridge for three straight days, and Wharton acknowledged the pattern is often overlooked in today's fast-moving bass world.

Wharton believed that rather than studying the piling structures themselves, anglers should study the bottom very carefully for some type of change. This may or may not be the actual river channel itself, but instead a pile of rocks on the downstream side, or perhaps a washed-out hole along an abutment. Many larger bridges also will have logs, brush and other debris piled against one or more abutments on their upstream sides. These will help attract and hold bass at a bridge, too.

"It's important to remember that an entire bridge--every piling or abutment--will seldom be productive," he emphasized. "Years ago, I used to fish a spot under the Hwy. 147 bridge that crosses Rayburn. I caught a lot of bass there, but not around any of the pilings, which never produced for me. Instead, I found a hump right in front of one piling, where the bottom rose from 20 feet to 12, and it had some of the piling's brush around it. Those are the kinds of features that truly make a bridge a good place to look for summer bass."

Wharton's two favorite lures for bridges were shallow crankbaits or plastic worms, but spinnerbaits and even buzzbaits fished right beside the abutments also could produce amazing results. "For the most part," he said, "bass are suspended and thus will readily come up for a surface bait."

Riprap. The riprap around bridges, dams and other places on a lake also offer excellent warm-weather fishing opportunities. The rocks themselves often have algae growing on them that attracts minnows, crawfish and smaller fish that feed there and may use the cracks and holes between the rocks for shelter. Bass, of course, prowl the riprap looking for these morsels.

"Riprap may look intimidating at first," said Wharton, especially if it stretches half a mile or more across the water, so I look for several features that often eliminate a lot of unproductive areas," he explained. "First, I like larger rocks, rather than smaller ones, and if there's a small area of larger rocks, surrounded by smaller ones, so much the better. Don't ask me why, but it just seems bass prefer the larger rocks.

"Next, I look for corners in the riprap, places where the wall of rocks creates a bend or even where it ends. Not only do these places offer something different, but they are also transition zones where the bottom conditions may change. The ends of a riprap wall, especially, may mark a shallow place that soon drops to deeper water."

Slow rolling a spinnerbait parallel to the rocks and bumping them with the lure was Wharton's favorite technique here, but he also used one of his favorite square-billed crankbaits, covering water down to about 4 feet. He also was found using swimbaits at times.

"Overall, the most important thing to remember when both the air and water temperatures are scalding hot," concluded Wharton, "is that bass will be in shallow water where the conditions fit their needs, and you can catch them there."

It Threatened Rain All Day, But Only a Couple Light Sprinkles Fell

At launch time this morning, I and a number of other anglers would have bet we all probably were going to get wet before the day was over, but fortunately, the weather gods smiled on us today and allowed us to get the tournament in without any deluges like we had a couple weeks ago. For that, the 23 anglers in 12 boats indeed were grateful. At day's end, these competitors had weighed a total of 54 bass, for a combined total weight of 123.19 lbs. Using those numbers, the average weight per fish was 2.28 lbs., and the average weight per boat (of those 11 boats that weighed in) was 11.19 lbs.

Here are the anglers who excelled today and, in the final analysis, took home pay envelopes:

1st Place, the brothers team of (from left) Allen and Chris Napier, five fish, 15.61 lbs. total weight, with a 4.57-lb. big bass.

2nd Place, Mark Ingram, five fish, 15.07 lbs. total weight, with a 4.39-lb. big bass.

3rd Place, the team of (from left) Gabe Himmelwright and Fred Crawford, five fish, 13.60 lbs. total weight, with a 4.11-lb. big bass.

4th Place, the husband-wife team of (from left) Andy and Diana Morath, five fish, 13.31 lbs. total weight, with a 4.61-lb. big bass.

Lunker Prize, the team of Gary Coderre and (not pictured) Dave Anderson, 5.84-lb. big bass, with five fish, 11.84 lbs. total weight after 1.00 deduction for two dead fish.

Here is how everyone else finished the day:

     * The team of Bobby Moore and J. P. Twohig, five fish, 12.04 lbs. total weight after 0.50 deduction for one dead fish, with a 3.78-lb. big bass.
     * The team of Rob Peppers and Mike McCluskey, five fish, 10.62 lbs. total weight after 0.50 deduction for one dead fish, with a 3.70-lb. big bass.
     * The team of Richard Hall and Dave Dozier, five fish, 10.33 lbs. total weight, with a 2.64-lb. big bass.
     * The team of Wayne Hayes and Ken Testorff, five fish, 9.57 lbs. total weight, no big bass.
     * The team of Keith Klotz and Aaron Leigh, five fish, 6.93 lbs. total weight, no big bass.
     * The team of Rob Chatham and Craig Jones, four fish, 4.27 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Steve Bailey and Dennis Dean didn't weigh any fish.

No more contestants became eligible to participate in our season-ending two-day Classic tournament in October.

Congratulations to all the winners today and thanks to everyone who came out to participate. For planning purposes, our next event is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 4, from safe light to a time to be determined by the tournament director and announced prior to the start of that event.

One Last Cast

Tossed a worm up beside one of my favorite laydowns today, felt a tick in the line, gathered up the slack, then watched my line start moving steadily away. When I decided it was time to set the hook, I felt nothing but slack in the line.

Split seconds later, though, as I was straightening the line from where it had wrapped around my rod tip on the hookset, I felt pressure on the rod and realized the reason why I thought I had missed the fish. Simply stated, the fish apparently had been running directly at the boat on the hookset.

As soon as I had unwound all the line from the end of my rod, I tried to remedy my blunder, but by this time, the fish had had all he/she wanted, spit the worm, and left me scratching my head and staring at the swirl he had left behind.

For Period Ending Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021

Monday, Aug. 16 (from DMac)...Fished a few times as a guest in a real bass boat in Carolina...one complete with power poles, no less. Put my crappy jon boat in the water this past Monday and found some fish early. Given the mid-day water temps of 86 to 88 degrees, I was happy to boat the few I did get and unhappy with the ones I didn't. The fish in this photo thankfully didn't shake the hook. It weighed in right at 4 lbs. Caught it on a frog.

Friday, Aug. 20 (from Ron)...Targeting the redfish for a change. Got a few and also a surprise striper.

A Float-Fishing Trip Remembered

Many years ago, when I lived and worked in Northern Virginia and was fishing the Shenandoah River regularly, I always longed to make a float trip down it in pursuit of smallmouth. I wanted to take the trip with another guy, so we could park one vehicle at the starting point and the other at the stopping point.

Like a lot of other dreams I had during that period of my life, however, that one never saw the light of day, and maybe it was best it didn't, if the one I read about online recently is any indication of how things could have turned out. I'll share that tale with you here, so you can see for yourself why I say that.

Dell and his fishing buddies, Todd and Mike, had decided to take a float-fishing trip on the Yellowstone River (pictured above) in Minnesota. They floated a section extending from Mayor's Landing in the town of Livingston, where they put in, to Sheep Mountain, where they planned to stop--a distance of 12 miles or so downriver. The take-out point was off an old dirt road outside of town. Not much was around other than cattle and a few ranch houses.

Prior to leaving, they had called and made arrangements for a local outfit to come drive their vehicle to the take-out point. Dell had used this lady...Tootsie was her name...many times before. When he called, Tootsie answered the phone, and she immediately recognized Dell. "Hi, Tootsie. Two friends and I are going to float from Mayor's Landing to Sheep Mountain today. The keys will be in the gas cap."

"OK, Dell," she said. And with that, the plan was set.

The trio fished all day and into the late evening. By the time they reached the take-out point, it was pitch black. Dell headed to the parking area to get his old Jeep Cherokee to load the drift boat on the trailer and head home. When he reached the dirt parking lot, though, his vehicle wasn't there. In fact, there wasn't a car in sight...nothing.

"What the heck?" he wondered. All he could do was go back and tell Todd and Mike. They all agreed Dell should walk to the nearest farm house and ask to use the phone. This was before cellphones became so popular, and besides that, no mobile service had reached this area yet.

Dell made the long walk to the nearest farm house in his waders. As he knocked on the door, the house erupted into a cacophony of dogs barking. It sounded like there was a kennel inside. Soon, a lady who looked to be in her 40s, dressed in a tie-dyed garment, and wearing a nose ring appeared at the door. She had 10 or more Mexican chihuahuas following her, all barking their heads off. You didn't see a lot of tie-dyed garments or chihuahuas around rural Montana in those days, so Dell was thinking to himself, "OK, this is kinda weird."

The lady was nice enough, though, and agreed to let him use her phone when he told her what had happened. She told him to come on in, but when he pointed out he was wearing waders and boots with dirt and crap on them, she took the phone to him at the door. As she opened it, he could see many more chihuahuas in the house, all still barking at him.

Dell quickly called Tootsie to ask where his Jeep was but only got her answering machine. He left a message but also called back immediately, only to have the same results again. He told the tie-dye lady what had happened, and she offered to have her daughter drive him back to Livingston. He gratefully accepted, and the tie-dye lady left to get her daughter, leaving him standing at the door with all the dogs still barking.

He started glancing around and saw a woman sitting on the couch with four or five more chihuahuas that he hadn't seen before. She looked like Rosie O'Donnell in Carhartt jeans, a bikini top, and wearing logging boots. He said hi, but she didn't respond, so he thought she perhaps hadn't heard him...given the fact the dogs still were upset and barking.

Meanwhile, the tie-dye lady came back with her daughter--a gorgeous 26- or 27-year-old. She said she'd be glad to give him a ride back to Livingston to get his vehicle. They subsequently walked out to her Jeep Wrangler and got in. She then lit a cigarette, started up the Jeep, cranked up Hells Bells by AC/DC on the radio, and headed down the road. I asked her how many chihuahuas they had at the house, and her answer was 40. "Wow! That's a lot of dogs," he said.

"Yeah, and I hate all of 'em," she responded.

Then she tapped on Dell's leg and asked, "So, you married?"

He answered yes, adding that they lived in Billings.

"Oh well, I just moved here from LA to live with my mom for a while," said the daughter. "I used to be a stripper, and my mom thinks I need to find something else to do. I think I'm going to try modeling."

Dell then noted she might have a good chance at modeling, given how beautiful she was, but added that Livingston, Montana might not be a good modeling base to work from. 

She agreed with him and said, "Hey, do you want to stop and get a beer?"

Dell answered back that he still was in his waders, and, too, his buddies still were waiting for him to get to the take-out site with the vehicle.

"That's probably best for me, too," said the daughter. "I shouldn't be drinking beer while I'm on Prozac, anyway."

"Yeah, probably not good," confirmed Dell.

When they finally arrived at Livingston, Tootsie was there with Dell's Cherokee. He thanked the former stripper for the ride, and she said no problem. He then hopped in his Cherokee and headed to Sheep Mountain to pick up his waiting friends. He backed the trailer down the steep dirt ramp...one of the worst ones on the Yellowstone. There was big river rocks, dirt and mud the whole 10 yards length.

The trio loaded the boat on the trailer and immediately got stuck. Dell put the Cherokee in 4-wheel drive but nothing happened the first time. He tried a second time with the same results. "Why does God hate me?" asked Dell.

Bottom line: Still in his waders, Dell had to go back to the farm house to ask tie-dye and her daughter if he could use their phone again. He knocked on the door, and just like before, the dogs erupted again. Tie-dye answered the door and gladly let him use the phone for a second time. This time, though, Dell had to borrow the phone book to find a tow truck. While looking at the book, Carhartt Rosie approached him and said, "I can tow you out. I've got a 4-wheel-drive van. My husband and I have been building a cabin, and I have chains on the back of the van."

Dell was like "OK, gee thanks!"

Everybody got in the van, including tie-dye mom, stripper daughter, Carhartt Rosie, and three little rat dogs.

Upon arriving at the ramp, Carhartt Rosie jumped out, along with tie-dye mother and stripper daughter, plus the rat dogs. Two dogs ran under the Cherokee, while the stripper held one. Todd asked me where I found all these people. Carhartt wouldn't let Dell or his buddies help with putting on the chains. She had it done in no time and had popped us off the ramp with her van...no problem.

Mike went to take the chains off the vehicle, and Carhartt Rosie jumped out of the van, pushing Mike out of the way. She took off the chains and unhooked everything herself. Mike said, "I got this," but Rosie pushed him aside, saying, "No you don't...you're taking too long"...which drew a snicker from both Todd and Dell.

Meanwhile, Tootsie came driving up and was falling all over herself apologizing for her failure to do our shuttle. Carhartt, tie-dye mom, and stripper daughter jumped back in the van. Dell yelled "thanks" to 'em, and Carhartt waved back, as Tootsie was pushing $25 toward him, saying she felt terrible about being so forgetful. He told her that he understood and that sometimes stuff just happens. He said she could make up for it by providing free shuttle service the next time. She agreed, then headed off down the road.

About that time, Todd asked Dell if he needed a beer. He responded, "Yes, I do, but first let me get out of these waders." As they were getting beer out of the boat and he was taking off his waders, one of the chihuahuas came running up. "Oh, for God's sake," groaned Dell, "this night is never going to end." No sooner had he said this than Carhartt's van came driving up, tie-dye mom stepped out and said, "We forgot Pearl. Come on, Pearl." She picked up the dog, and off they went.

On the ride home, Dell told his friends about all they had missed. Mike responded, "Only in Montana, man." Todd chimed in, "That stripper was cute." And they all busted out laughing.

"You Won't Catch Any Up There"

Have had more than one angler say that to me over the years, as I let loose with an errant cast that landed in the tallest tree around, but I'm not alone...by any stretch of the imagination. A quick review of the Internet today revealed there are a lot of anglers who couldn't hit the proverbial broadside of a barn, even if their lives depended on it.

Take, for example, the guy who had made himself a topwater, walk-the-dog lure. One day, he aimed a cast "just a little too high," to use his own words, and his prized homemade lure landed about 12 feet up in a tree...I'd say that would classify as "just a little too high," wouldn't you? At first, he tried pulling it out of the tree, but the hooks just dug into the wood.

He next moved his boat to a position about 5 feet to the side of a direct line to the lure, with a plan to cast a jig into the tree with 20-lb. mono tied on, pull down the branch where the lure was snagged, and remove it. "I didn't care about the jig; I just wanted to get my handmade lure back," he said.

Unfortunately, his line snapped, and he ended up having to leave the jig in the tree with his homemade lure. On the way home, he decided to bring a saw the following weekend and cut down the whole tree. "The lure was that important to me," he noted.

During that week, however, he talked himself out of that plan, opting instead to rig up two 1-oz. sinkers to a 32-foot piece of twine, throw the sinkers over the branch holding the lure, and pull the branch down with that rig. This plan worked, and he went home a satisfied camper.

Also read about a fella who said he usually goes into a destruct mode when he gets a $5 lure stuck on a branch. "One way or the other, through sawdust or burning ashes," he shared, "I'm getting my bait back. And that reminds me that I have a Heddon perch color baby torpedo stuck in a cypress tree at my pond. Strange thing is that it's the only tree with the lowest branch at 20 feet. All the others are like 5 feet above the water, and I never get hung in them...only the tree with the high branches."

Let's face it: Most, if not all, have caught their fair share of "branch bass." And don't let it's small size fool you. Even a limb the size of the one in the earlier photo can put up enough of a fight to break your line, snap a rod tip, and/or tie your patience in a knot.

Tree limbs aren't the only obstacle anglers have to deal with. In yet another instance, I read about a young lad who seemed to have trouble getting hung up on stuff in and under the water. For that reason, he wore shorts and sneakers all summer long, so he could wade out and free his lures. "As an outdoorsman, I believe that getting wet is all part of the experience," he said. "I wouldn't recommend my type of fishing for anyone who's afraid of snakes, where there are gators, or if you're like me and happen to live in Philly. Here, you see, you also must not be afraid of an occasional floating body."

A Look at Cold Fronts Through the Eyes of the Late Homer Circle

Why does bass fishing get so tough when a cold front moves through an area? Following are some of Uncle Homer's reflections on this subject.

"The most prevalent belief is that bass are extremely sensitive to the slightest change in water temperature. When a northern cold front drops the air temperature from, say the 70s, down into the 40s and lowers water temperatures by a few degrees as well, bass become lethargic, and their appetites don't return until the weather warms.

"That's part of the story but not all of it. I think cold water does put bass off their feed, but the increase in barometric pressure that follows the passage of a cold front also plays a vital role.

"I recall a time many years ago when I helped out Glen Lau (left, Homer Circle right), while he was filming his video classic, Bigmouth. Our 'stage' was Florida's Silver River, where about a billion gallons of water spew out every 24 hours, and the water temperature stays an almost constant 72 degrees.

"The severest of cold fronts can't affect this volume of water, insofar as temperature is concerned. Yet, at one point in our filming, a cold front turned off the lunker bass that we had been catching. The temperature of the water just a few inches below the surface hadn't changed, so I pondered what else could have caused the big mood swing in the fish. I asked Glen to try and determine where all the big bass had gone. He went scuba diving for more than an hour. When he returned, he wore the smile of one who knew something the rest of the world didn't."

"You wouldn't believe what happened to the bigger bass," said Lau. "They were bunched tightly around cypress tree roots, just sitting there, not moving, like they were stuffed. I saw one big female literally draped over a root, so stressed she couldn't maintain her equilibrium."

So, there it was. The water wasn't any colder than before the front arrived, yet the effect on the bass could not have been more dramatic had somebody dropped a giant ice cube in the water. It took three days for normalcy to return, and fishing improved as the barometric pressure abated.

"I think that in areas where the water temperature already is cool," continued Uncle Homer, "the effects of a passing cold front on fishing are even more dramatic. Nowadays, I alter my fishing approach whenever the barometric pressure rises radically after a front. For the most part, I ignore the dormant lunkers for at least a day or two and go for smaller bass, which will remain active to varying degrees.

"During the down time, when bigger bass are more or less inactive, I use smaller 1/4-to-3/8-ounce floating crankbaits offered by such companies as Mann's, Rapala, Bomber, and Bandit. I like the ones that have maximum vibration, even when I retrieve them slowly, which seems to be the speed at which most bass want them. Single-blade spinnerbaits fished along the bottom also have a deserved reputation for producing post-front bass.

"It's better to fish a lake before a cold front arrives, presuming you know that one is on the way. After the cold front, good luck. Don't expect to catch many big bass, if any, although there are exceptions to every rule.

"I recall another time when I was fishing with Lau at a lake in northern Florida after a cold front. We happened onto a trove of bass holed up in a mixed bed of hydrilla and peppergrass along about 200 yards of shoreline. We caught 40 bass weighing between 2 and 6 pounds by casting unweighted soft jerkbaits into the cover and then letting them sink to the bottom in 5 or 6 feet of water. The most important thing we did with the lures was nothing. We didn't move the baits at all for a minute or two. Then we slowly lifted up our rods, and if we felt a tightness or twitch, we set the hooks. If we retrieved the lures in normal fashion, with slow, steady jerks, the bass ignored them completely.

"If you can find the small place in a lake where big bass congregate after a cold front, you can catch fish when nobody else does. The first job is to locate the thickest cover along any sort of drop-off. Then position your boat over it and fish with a tube bait, a drop-shot rig, or a grub and jighead.

"Work the bait so slowly that you can barely stand it. In fact, just let the lure settle on the bottom and leave it alone. If the bass are there, they will let you know when your impatience finally forces you to move the lure."

Bass Anglers and Their Toys: Is There No Limit?

At the 2017 FLW Series event on Lake Champlain, the device that got the most attention from fans who followed along was a big orange cone that anglers were peering through while leaning over their gunwales.

Technically called a bathyscope, the device is basically a plastic cone with a viewing window on the narrow end. When the wide-bottom end is placed in the water, the user can peer through the top and get a closer look at what's down below, which is extremely handy for sight-fishing deep smallmouths on overcast or choppy days.

As first reported in a 2011 magazine article, a bathyscope was imported from Europe by pro angler Chad Pipkens and his friend Jeff Cox to use for sight-fishing on clear-water lakes of northern Michigan. And Poor Boys Baits, which sponsored Pipkens at the time, began selling them on its website. That device, known as the Flogger (the most common "street name" among anglers), still is sold under the LureCraft brand name at sites such as Tackle Warehouse (retail price is $114.99).

Scott Dobson, who's also from Michigan, is one of the anglers who adopted the bathyscope for bass tournament fishing. He used it extensively on Champlain, where the tournament days coincided with a surge in deep smallmouth-bedding activity.

Said Dobson, "Many of my fish were very tricky to locate because they were locked down so much that they barely moved. Also, the bottom content was dark, and so were the beds. The bathyscope made it much easier to locate the biggest fish in practice and re-locate them in the tournament."

Dobson went on to explain that the funnel shape of the Flogger expands the viewing range, and by extending his arms and tipping the cone to one side, he can see out 10 yards or so to the side. He wraps the cone with black duct tape to cut out light penetration. The tape adds a bit of weight but not enough to be a bother.

The most frustrating part of using it, he said, "is that the constant standing, kneeling and shuffling around on the deck can get tiresome. Plus, the Flogger is so light it can bounce in waves and smack the user in the face."

Pipkens described the situation this way: "You must be physically nimble (that alone eliminates me) to get it right. That means getting down on your knees or belly, putting your face to the contraption, and taking your lumps. I've had black eyes, bloody lips, and holes ripped in my jeans from doing it," he said.

"You also need either a friend or a second set of arms to flog and fish at the same time," continued Pipkens. "Friends of mine who fish team tournaments use the two-man approach to get it done. One guy mans the bathyscope and tells the other which way to move the lure and when to set the hook on a finicky fish. That's all well and good in two-man situations or when fishing for fun, but in top-level competitions, where the competitors have to do everything themselves, it's not so good. Even in non-team events, it's not feasible, because who wants to lose valuable fishing time to help the other guy or gal in the boat beat them?"

Also, the popular Flogger model is cumbersome to haul around in a bass boat. Dobson takes it along when he knows he's likely to use it a lot. Otherwise, he keeps a similar yet smaller device called the FissureMan in the boat.

He also has tracked down a larger bathyscope that's similar to the Flogger and is sold on a European carp-fishing website. Other anglers reportedly have built their own out of everything from Plexiglas and trashcans to various plastic pipes or buckets.

Bathyscopes like the Flogger are specialty tools that, as described, are extremely valuable for finding deep bedding smallmouths in air-clear water. If you don't live in the upper Midwest, Canada, the Great Lakes, New England, or other areas where those scenarios are common, a scope might still have some uses.

Dobson has used it to identify deep-grass types and bottom-contact changes, and even to spot bass on deep grass or structure. Obviously, water clarity would limit the effective viewing range, but there are plenty of clear-water impoundments throughout the continent where it might have similar uses.