During the first round of an old CITGO Bassmaster Classic in Pittsburgh, Terry Scroggins was surprised by a 13-ounce smallmouth that suddenly leaped into his Triton/Mercury rig. To the Florida pro, it must have seemed like manna from heaven in a tournament where keeper-sized bass were, according to one writer, "as scarce as Paris Hilton's brain cells." Alas, a chagrined Scroggins simply grabbed the illegally caught fish and tossed it overboard, no doubt muttering something about being teased by the finny stowaway.
That scenario was the motivation for some research into other weird ways Bassmaster pros have boated bass over the years, along with the strange circumstances that were involved. Spend enough time on the water, and strange catches are bound to occur, as revealed in the following examples.
Ambitious Bass. The fishing was so tough on Georgia's Lake Russell in a past BASS event that the country's top tournament pros were highly appreciative of any and all bass that would cooperate, even the smallest legal fish. That included Kevin Wirth's 12-inch, 12-ounce largemouth, which ranked as the smallest specimen of the week.
"That fish hit a 12-inch worm," said the Kentucky angler. "These fish are nuts. That's why we're not catching more of them."
Tug-of-War Bass. Pete Thliveros chuckled when he remembered a crazy bass that appeared during an outing with friends on the St. John's River.
"A couple of buddies in two different boats were fishing one little point," he said. "We were close enough together that we were throwing at each other and goofing off. I made a cast, and one of my buddies in the other boat made a cast right on top of where I had thrown. He was laughing when I felt a fish and set the hook. He jerked at the same time, and the fish came up between the two boats. It had two worms in its mouth. I pulled a little harder, and it came off his hook, allowing me to land the 13-incher."
Amateur Lesson. Randy Howell recalled a time when he didn't feel much like the pro in charge of his boat.
"I was fishing a Tour event on Neely Henry Lake, and my partner was using one of those Yankee-rig worm things with three hooks in it," noted the Alabama pro. "He had caught a couple behind me, and I asked to borrow one. I tied it on and caught a 3-pounder right before we came in. That's probably the weirdest bait I've ever caught one on."
Bass Traffic. In the final round of his wire-to-wire domination of the 2002 Classic on Alabama's Lay Lake, Jay Yelas somehow caught a 6-pounder in the wake of an obnoxious boater who purposely ran over his spot.
"This guy in a pontoon boat ran between me and the bank, and he was only about 10 feet from the shoreline," said Yelas. "I don't know what the deal was with that guy. After he did that, I said 'It'll take an act of God for me to catch one there now.' So I certainly need to thank God for that 6-4."
Largemouth Assault. Little-known Florida pro Greg Brightbill took big-bass honors in a Georgia Invitational with a Lake Lanier trophy largemouth weighing 8 pounds 6 ounces. Its sheer size was impressive enough, when you consider that Lanier is renowned for its spotted-bass population. But the way in which Brightbill lured and landed the fish made this saga seem even more incredible.
"I flipped a Berkley Power Worm up against this dock, and I felt a little twitch, so I set the hook on a little spot of about 9 inches," he recalled. "I had started reeling it in when I saw a big ol' bass coming out from under the dock, and he just sucked that little fish in and ate it. I set the hook again, and as I was fighting the big fish, he spit out the spot, which was about 11 inches up the line by the time I landed them both."
Then-assistant tournament director Trip Weldon ruled that this inadvertent bit of live-bait fishing was perfectly legal. If only the spotted bass had been 12 inches long, Brightbill would have weighed in perhaps the most unusual double in BASS history.
Shared Fish. North Carolina pro Dustin Wilks once caught a 2.5-pound Lake St. Clair smallmouth that he shared temporarily with an amateur partner.
Said Wilks, "I laid my rod down and tried to net my partner's fish, but it was hooked in the belly and got off. When I picked my rod back up, I had a fish on it. The fish had a grub snagged in its side, which turned out to be the same fish my partner just had lost. It didn't fight very much because he had worn it down already."
Tripleheader.
During a Tour event on Arkansas' Lake Hamilton, top western pro John Murray caught and landed three bass on the same cast. One was hooked on a Frontrunner teaser, while the other two nailed his topwater bait.
Chinese Rig. Arizona pro Brett Hite once caught a bass on what is called the Chinese rig.
"It's like a drop shot," he said. "Where you normally would tie the weight for a drop shot, though, you attach a Carolina rig weight. Tie a swivel and then tie another leader with a lizard or something behind it."
Fly Rod Surprise. While fishing crystal-clear spring waters with a fly rod and popping bug, Florida pro Shaw Grigsby hooked a little guy, maybe 10 inches long. As it jumped out of the water, he saw a big one right behind it.
"All of a sudden, my little fish started feeling heavier and heavier. Turns out the big one had eaten the little one and gotten hooked, and I landed the 4-pounder. There was no sign of the little one. That was really wild."
Hand-y Bass. North Carolina's David Dudley had an interesting encounter en route to winning a BASS tournament on the James River. It began when his rod and reel became separated on a hookset.
"I stuck the rod between my legs and started hand-lining the fish in," he recalled. "Just about the time I was going to flip him in the boat, the fish came off. So I was sitting there fooling around when that bass came back and grabbed my lure again. I saw my line taking off, so I set the hook by hand, then hand-lined him in. It was one of my biggest fish."
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