All but a couple of his trophy bass were caught from lakes and/or ponds within an hour of Valdosta, hardly a well-known destination for trophy bass. Fishing as many as 320 nights a year, his routine was to go to work all day, come home and help with his family in the evenings, catch a few hours of sleep, and then fish all night, until he had to go to work again the next morning.
June 22, 1980, was a day forever etched in Pat's mind. That morning was foggy and drizzling rain...the kind of day most folks would just stay home. "I got to the lake a couple hours before daylight and threw a black buzzbait to a grassbed," he remembered.
By daylight, he had boated 10 bass, weighing 92 pounds, and was permanently addicted to trophy-bass fishing. Eight of those bass weighed more than 10 pounds. The next day, he added two more fish that weighed more than 10, and by the end of the week, had caught 25 bass that pulled the scales past 10 pounds.
Incidentally, Pat wasn't the only trophy-bass hunter in the family. His wife, Linda, had 27 bass heavier than 10 pounds to her credit, too. One of the couple's most memorable trips was when, on the birthday of Pat's dad, the pair landed 29 bass, with the biggest 10 weighing in at 101 pounds. Pat's biggest bass ever was an 18-pounder he caught during the 1980s. He also had six heavier than 15 pounds.
Pat released all but four bass that he caught, keeping those four (including two 11 pounders, a 13 and a 15) for a spectacular mount that graced the center of the Valdosta Mall for years, before being moved to the Paradise Public Fishing Area.
As noted by writer, Capt. Bert Deener, Pat caught some of his big fish on live bait, but the vast majority came from decades of night fishing with buzzbaits. While his family was fast asleep, he would load his Gheenoe boat, with its custom-built keel on the back and the matting under his feet, and head to whatever local lake he thought would be the ticket for that night. Some days, he spent 18 hours or more in this canoe, so it had to be right in every detail.
When Pat returned to his native Valdosta, after being gone for almost two decades, he set his mind to finding some of the fishiest waters around his hometown. He flew around the area with a pilot friend of his and marked the various lakes he saw, then spent months going around and asking permission to fish them. Sometimes, he traded his accounting skills for permission.
In order for him to spend significant time fishing the pond, it had to meet several criteria: at least 20 acres but no more than 200 acres (as larger lakes often attracted enough attention to be pressured). He also wanted the pond to be at least 10 years old, simply to provide enough time for fish to grow to trophy size. The pond had to contain a significant forage base, so that the fish could grow well, and it could not have ever had a fish-kill, whether natural or man-induced. After fishing the pond a time or two, he would assess its potential for producing trophy fish and either include it on his go-to list or remove it.
Pat further was particular about his equipment and presentation. Parallel to the affordability of his boat, his equipment of choice was within the price range of basically everyone, too. His choice in rods always was Ugly Stiks, in both trigger and pistol-grip models, with Ambassador 5500C reels. His choice in line was 17-lb. test Vicious Ultimate Monofilament, because of its stretch, which allowed it to give a little while fighting a big fish.
For a lure container, Pat used a quart-sized Tupperware container. In it were about a dozen buzzbaits, all black. They were all custom-built, and he had four separate versions that produced slightly different sounds. All came with black skirts and blades. Of his four versions, two were the traditional flat, two-bladed buzzbaits, one with a smaller hole and the other with a larger hole. In later years, he also added a four-bladed version to his repertoire. One style was made with a metal grommet, and another with metal beads. The one with the grommet had a high-pitched squeak, while the beaded one was a quieter presentation.
Even though his buzzbaits had an extra-long shank main hook, Pat always used a trailer hook to catch short-striking bass. He generally caught about half of them on that trailer, which was an Eagle Claw weedless hook (#249W), and he pulled out the weedguard. He threaded the big eye over the main buzzbait hook and secured it with a small, round piece of rubber band. And he always sharpened the hook to razor-sharp condition before using it.
Pat's casting pattern always was extremely methodical. On most summer nights, there was no wind, so boat control was no issue. Once the boat stopped drifting, he would start casting to the 12 o'clock position, then 1, then 2, then 3. After that, he would switch to the left side of the boat, casting to the 9 o'clock position, then 10, then 11. After that, he either would switch buzzbaits and repeat the pattern, or move the boat forward and start all over again. This methodical approach ensured he saturated the area. His casting always was compact, involving loading the rod and sending the lure with just a snap of the wrist.
Over the years, Pat's most productive nights were new-moon periods of July and August.
A stickler for details, each night after launching his canoe, Pat would hook his buzzbait on the eye of his Gheenoe and stretch out the line to remove its memory. He also would check his drag to make sure it was set just right. Then he would grab a handful of mud from the lake and "wash" his hands to mask the human scent. While preparing his equipment and for about 15 minutes before getting in his boat, he would stand on the shoreline and listen to see if one side of the pond had more activity than the others. If so, he would start fishing there.
While June, July and August were Pat's prime months for night fishing for bass with buzzbaits, he caught trophy fish every month of the year.
Once when asked what he considered the top requirement for trophy-bass fishing, Pat replied, "a strong heart. You cannot believe the rush when a huge bass nails your buzzbait right at the boat."
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