Table of contents for April 2019 in Bassmaster

1 April Fools’ Day. Head to Bassmaster.com and read the legend of Ken Gomez. 3 Don’t Go To Work Unless It’s Fun Day. If you aren’t fishing for a living, you’re excused from the office. 21 Easter Sunday. Mark this on your calendar and keep the boat in the garage for the morning. 23 Lover’s Day. Scientific studies show no correlation between kissing a fish and catching more of them. 30 National Honesty Day. Do not talk to your fishing buddies. Repeat. Do not talk to your fishing buddies.…

The South Carolina coastal city of Georgetown may be small in stature at just over 7 square miles, but its community packs enormous historic and economic weight. Today, Georgetown is a regular host of Bassmaster Elite Series events in neighboring Winyah Bay. B.A.S.S. returns to Georgetown this month. 960,000 Tons of material handled at the Port of Georgetown each year 2 Number of signatures on the Declaration of Independence from Georgetown 4 Number of rivers that converge at Georgetown 27,000 Total number of B.A.S.S. fans who attended the 2016 Elite Series event in Georgetown…

The images below were submitted by Bassmaster readers, and our antique tackle expert, Karl White, appraises the value of each unique find. To submit yours, email editorial@bassmaster.com. Weedless Zamboni Chantelle Plaisance, email $75 The Zamboni Weedless Hook Co. made several versions of the weedless hooks in the 1940s. With the card, I would value this at $75. I do believe this idea came from a manufacturer a few years prior to Zamboni. Lew Childre Combo Ron Pellegrino, email $40 Lew Childre was the first to import Shimano reels out of Japan. This was in the late 1950s and 1960s. Later, Childre came out with his own Shimano Bantam. I would value this later version at $40 for the combo. Patriotic Spinner Marcia Wilson, email $10 This spinner would probably be…

The B.A.S.S. Sticker I have about 40 years of great memories and profound feelings for B.A.S.S. In your article “Back Deck” from the latest issue highlighting the “Classic Preview 2019” you reflect on the character of B.A.S.S. members. I have been a member since about 1979 or ‘80. In the May 1995 issue, you wrote an article about your aspirations as a young journalist. In that article you spoke of boating safety and used a paragraph from a letter that I had written to you concerning my experience with lightning. One of your articles from the 1980s had saved my life in the 1990s. I have my original 1995 Bassmaster article framed. It is hanging on my wall next to my rods. It hasn’t moved from that spot since 1995.…

ALONG WITH ITS bouquet of colorful flowers, spring blossoms with incredible opportunities to tangle with enormous bass in various stages of the spawn. We’ve assembled a lineup of bona fide giant grabbers who share their tactics for fooling these spring whoppers. Brandon Card — Highland Reservoir On bodies like his Norris Lake home waters, the Bassmaster Elite Series angler from Tennessee knows that if a warm spring brings early spawners, the true giants will display deeply reclusive tendencies. Specifically, Card expects his greatest opportunities where most would overlook. “In clear water, look deeper than the average spawning range,” he says. “If there are a bunch of beds in 3 to 4 feet, those big ones will be out deeper, where you can barely see the bottom. “Also, they’ll be closer…

SEMANTICALLY, IT SOUNDS like the ultimate in obvious descriptions; however, “swimbait” means different things to different people. Sure, they’re all designed to create their namesake motion, but these popular reaction baits abound in strategic applications. For a glimpse into this realm of big-fish baits, we asked a handful of Bassmaster Elite Series sticks for their favorite swimbait application. Their insight provides tactical inspiration applicable across a broad spectrum. UPHILL CLIMB Chris Zaldain’s mail has come to a Fort Worth, Texas, zip code for the past year, but spending most of his life in San Jose, Calif., gave him lots of time to perfect his West Coast swimbait skills. His go-to pattern involves fishing glaringly obvious areas, but in a manner much different than most. “I’m going to fish the most…

“STICK YOUR HAND into the fire and see how much you can take.” That’s Bassmaster Elite Series pro Drew Benton’s formula for climbing to the highest ranks in professional bass fishing. The 30-year-old Florida native has had a meteoric rise to the summit of our sport in just four years on the Elite Series. However, Benton didn’t grow up in a bass fishing family. The first fishing trips he can remember were for catfish and bream while tagging along with his grandfather. It wasn’t until high school that Benton started fishing for bass. “My friends and I would sneak into golf course ponds, private ponds, public lakes, you name it. If we thought there was a piece of water that would hold a bass, we’d go dob a worm in…

Florida news station WJCT Public Media reported that 90,000 tons of sewage sludge has been dumped into the St. Johns River in the past decade. Residents say that sewage — the result of cleaning wastewater — is the direct result of a 2007 ban on sludge dumping in the Lake Okeechobee watershed and that lawmakers are “playing whack-a-mole” with the toxic material. When the Okeechobee ban took place, state lawmakers allowed material previously dumped in the Big O to head northward to waterways like the St. Johns River, where regulations are not as strict. Bassmaster’s Robert Montgomery tackled the issue, noting a public outcry that has prompted the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to form an advisory committee to address the matter. The Biosolids Technical Advisory Committee is set to…

Toyota ShareLunker efforts are paying off in Texas, where a 14.57-pound largemouth was just hoisted from Marine Creek Lake, outside of Fort Worth. Bedford, Texas, angler Zach Sypert pulled the 27-inch bucket mouth out of the lake earlier this year. ShareLunker officials say it’s the second bass over 13 pounds that’s been caught there in the past two years. “Marine Creek Lake is an important fishery for the Toyota ShareLunker program because we have taken several steps to give the largemouth bass in the lake the potential to grow to double-digit sizes,” said Kyle Brookshear, Toyota ShareLunker program coordinator. “We stocked thousands of ShareLunker offspring in 2006 and 2008 as part of a research project to evaluate the growth of these selectively bred offspring in public reservoirs. Additionally, in 2006…

Our Facebook fans share the favorite things about the magazine and stories about who taught them to fish. Steven Tanner Henry reading his favorite magazine. Tony Dorman My dad, Dave Dorman, introduced me to fishing at a very young age! So blessed for that; it’s my passion and my dream to make it to the highest level! Shaun Avery “Bassmaster By The Bar” because I take my education very seriously…even in Jamaica where the only “bass” that I’ll find is in the reggae music. Cindy Peters Franklin Both my mom and dad. I went fishing with my parents in a backpack at 2 months old. It stuck with me and even though my mom is no longer with us, my dad and I still hit the…

IF YOU WERE to ask a hundred bass fishermen which style of fishing they like best, more than a few, no doubt, would answer “power fishing,” the technique of moving through areas quickly and reeling baits fast, regardless of the conditions. Certainly Bassmaster Elite Series angler Clark Wendlandt would answer this way. The Texas pro has fashioned a $2.5 million career with wins or Top 5 finishes at such diverse destinations as Hartwell, Beaver, Ouachita, Logan Martin, Old Hickory and the Potomac River; competed in four Bassmaster Classics and 19 Forrest Wood Cups; and won three FLW Angler of the Year titles. He’s done it not just by power fishing, but by power fishing in shallow water less than 10 feet deep. “I’m looking for aggressive fish and trying to…

TOLEDO BEND RESERVOIR turned 50 this year. The Sabine River impoundment, which straddles about 65 miles of the border between Louisiana and Texas, was born and came of age at the same time as your Bass Anglers Sportsman Society. While Toledo Bend was filling and the finishing touches were being put on the meager facilities built to serve anglers of the day, Ray Scott was filling and putting the finishing touches on his first All-American Bass Tournament. By the time Toledo Bend was officially opened in 1969, anglers were already enjoying 100-bass days, and Scott was adding hundreds of new members to B.A.S.S. each month. My research shows that B.A.S.S. held the first bass tournament on the lake in late January 1970. The Texas State Bass Tournament, which preceded B.A.S.S.…

You’ve been a serious threat in the Opens for the past three years, but now you’re in the big show. What did it feel like to earn that invite to the Elite Series? Obviously, man, it felt amazing. To be able to take your skill level and put it on another level — because you have to or you go home — it feels amazing. The Elite Series is something that we’ve shot for for a long time. We went on the Opens to try to get it done and we got it done. When did you first set the goal of becoming an Elite Series pro? To be honest with you, I didn’t even know how to get there. I was just a guy tournament fishing. I grew up…

4-7 Bassmaster Elite at Lake Hartwell, Anderson, S.C. 11-14 Bassmaster Elite at Winyah Bay, Georgetown, S.C. 17-19 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Central Regional, Lake Guntersville, Guntersville, Ala. 25-27 Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open at Smith Lake, Jasper, Ala. 25-27 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series at Bull Shoals Lake presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mountain Home, Ark. 28 Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Central Open presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Norfork Lake, Mountain Home, Ark.…

I’m looking for general info on tow vehicles and the boats they can pull. If I have a light truck rated to tow 5,000 pounds, can I pull an 18-foot fiberglass boat, or does it have to be a tin boat?@scrob87, Instagram Alan McGuckin, public relations director at Dynamic Sponsorships, a firm that works with Toyota, thinks you can. “Most 18-foot fiberglass bass boats weigh around 1,700 pounds, with a Gross Vehicle Usage Rating of 3,000 to 4,000 pounds,” he explains. “If your truck is rated to tow 5,000 pounds, it should adequately tow a fiberglass boat up to 18 feet but not much larger.” You also should be adequate for towing a tin boat of comparable length and weight, he adds. Where can I get replacement boat carpeting for…

Congratulations to the newest members of the Bassmaster Lunker Club™. Membership in the club is free and open to any B.A.S.S. member who catches a largemouth bass weighing 10 pounds or more, a spotted bass weighing 5 pounds or more, or a smallmouth bass weighing 6 pounds or more, from Jan. 1, 2018, to the present. New Lunker Club members will receive an official certificate with holder and a Minn Kota hat. [Trophy Trends] To request an application, write to editorial@bassmaster.com or B.A.S.S., The Lunker Club, 3500 Blue Lake Drive, Suite 330, Birmingham, AL 35243. A photo documenting the catch must be provided, along with the length and girth of the bass. Only suitable photos will be published in Bassmaster Magazine. We will only accept entries for bass that are…