Table of contents for April 2018 in Bassmaster

When looking at Bassmaster covers from the ’90s, it becomes apparent that the “grab and grin” shot was most popular. What was also apparent was that bass fishing pros started to dominate as cover options. Up until 1990, fish were the focal point. Although many superstars of our sport surfaced between 1990 and 1999, like Rick Clunn, Dean Rojas, Denny Brauer and Shaw Grigsby, only one pro was featured on the cover more than one time. Any guesses? If you said Bernie Schultz, you are correct! To commemorate this special accomplishment, Schultz was selected as the cover boy for this issue, which highlights the best moments in bass fishing in the ’90s. Schultz had eight Top 10 finishes during this decade. And by the time you read this, the Florida…

The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership is encouraging anglers to take a stand for angling access on public lands via its Public Lands Proud campaign. “Imagine your favorite hunting or fishing destination on public lands — the one you dream about in the offseason and can’t get enough of when the season is open,” the group says. “Now think of that place being transformed into an industrialized landscape full of heavy machinery, dust and noise. Unless lawmakers understand the need to manage public lands in a balanced way, that’s what could happen to some of America’s finest sporting destinations.” Visit sportsmenscountry.org to sign a petition supporting angling access across America.…

Are Power-Poles always mounted on the jackplate?@hsimmons10, Instagram No. Curt Hill at Power-Pole says it depends on the boat and transom.“If you have a flat transom, you can mount the anchor directly to it,” he says. “We have a couple of adapter plates that get mounted between the motor and the transom if there is no jackplate.” There is a lot of confusion about batteries and chargers. How do the pros charge their batteries (flood, AGM or lithium)?@andrewybarbo, Instagram Most use an onboard charger because of the ease and use of charging capabilities. Most companies offer a version based upon the number of batteries being charged, amp rating (for charging speed) and weight of the onboard charger. For example, Brad Henry at Minn Kota notes that Minn Kota offers digital…

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, 2017, 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…

WELL INTO THE 1990S, B.A.S.S. and its tournament trail were Southern to the core. Bass tournament fishing, like stock car racing in the early days, was dismissed outside the Southeast as a redneck pastime and not really a sport at all. In the 1989 Bassmaster Classic, for example, only four of the 42 competitors came from outside Southern states. That wasn’t surprising, since most tournaments were held in Dixie. New York became a popular destination for B.A.S.S. tournaments as early as 1977, but in the first three decades, the circuit ventured west only three times: twice to Lake Mead, Nevada, including the very first Bassmaster Classic in 1971, and to Lake Powell, Arizona, in 1979. Otherwise, it seemed as though the Continental Divide was just too steep to tow a…

I WAS AT FULL THROTTLE on the way to our first spot. About halfway there, my outboard made a noise. I would later explain to the mechanic that it sounded like someone picked up a half-full metal toolbox and started shaking it. As my boat drifted to a halt, I looked at my son, Austin, and said nothing. “So, that’s not good, right?” he asked. We were fishing his second high school tournament of the season. The first event featured 48-degree muddy water, and half of the 100-boat field zeroed. Austin and his partner Zach were in that goose-egg category. Being their boat captain, I felt mostly responsible. So, I had done my homework and felt good about the second event … until my outboard exploded. “No, Austin, this is…

Population 14,008, and every one of them will have eyes on Lake Oahe when the Bassmaster Elite Series rolls into town next month. Pierre sits alongside the Missouri River, about 4 miles downstream from the 370,000-acre lake. Bass here share the water with walleye, northern pike and Chinook salmon. The Lake Oahe shore holds the possible burial site of Sitting Bull. Pierre will play host to a smallmouth-centric event. Oahe is known as a walleye fishery, but the city of Pierre is hoping that playing host to the Elite Series will put it on the map as a bass town, too. 1,172 Miles that the Dakota Access Pipeline carries oil. The controversial pipeline runs beneath Lake Oahe 2 States that Lake Oahe spans (North and South Dakota) 865,454 Population of…

Biggest Stringer Records I very much enjoyed your recent January/February 2018 edition of Bassmaster Magazine — in particular, the article “50 Milestones of the Late ’60s and ’70s.” The 1970s are when I caught bass fever as a kid, and also when my father, Dan DeGarmo, was a prominent bass guide in central Florida out of Camp Lester on Lake Kissimmee. The one exception I had with the article was on page 29, where the reprint from your May/June 1977 edition referenced a possible record of 20 bass that weighed 148.23 pounds. Although that is certainly an amazing stringer, it does not come close to the 20 bass my father and his friend Walt Calvin caught on Jan. 12, 1973. That stringer weighed 242 pounds! He has since passed away,…

IF YOU WERE cutting your bass fishing teeth in the 1990s, you had a steep learning curve. Rods, reels and line started taking cues from space-age advancements, and the technology in these areas, for a lack of a better term, sky-rocketed. Even terminal tackle made waves that anglers still feel today, as hook design and new rigging methods introduced from across the ocean changed the face of bass fishing. Of course, electronics saw scary-cool innovation, some of which was just a little ahead of its time. Still, fishfinders became a tool that a competitive angler could no longer live without. And perhaps the most impressive aspect of this decade was the rise of current day superstars of the sport. Denny Brauer and Kevin VanDam are just a couple of pros…

Jacob Foutz Hometown: Charleston, Tenn. You qualified for the Bassmaster Classic at 19 years old by winning the 2017 Carhartt Bassmaster College Bracket presented by Bass Pro Shops. Tell us what that felt like. It was indescribable. Throughout the day, things were happening that just happen when it’s your time, and I figured I gave myself a really good shot at winning it, but to actually do it was super emotional and unbelievable. Winning the bracket also waived your entry fees for the 2018 Opens. Is that bigger than the Classic? Both are super nice, but fishing in the Classic has been a lifelong dream for me. You can always fish the Opens if you fork over your own money, but the opportunity to be in the Classic means something…

Is it better to bed fish with large baits or smaller baits?@carter.z71, Instagram Elite Series pro Skeet Reese Sometimes a big bait will get a fish excited enough to bite. I typically start with my highest hook-and-land ratio presentation, such as a flipping rod with 20-pound line and a Texas-rigged Pit Boss. If I don’t get a reaction, I’ll toss a spinning rod drop-shot rig in there. If that doesn’t work, I might show him a big, 9-inch bait. What general rule of thumb do you apply to assess where to begin looking for beds before you launch the boat?@jonah_kubecka, Instagram Elite Series pro Terry Scroggins It depends on what kind of water I’m fishing. My general rule is to start on the north end of any lake in the…

Bassmaster readers, we’re celebrating family this month! We asked you to send us a picture of your family fishing, and let us know why they love casting a line! Sheron K. Brown We were fishing gin-clear water in early June and Junior was swimming on one side of the boat and my daughter Azaylia was playing with a bluegill in the livewell when I caught this quality bass! Tony Gravois Dad recently lost his battle with cancer (Feb. 3, 2018). In his 2 1/2-year battle, he wanted to just be normal for as long as possible. We went fishing and hunting every chance we had. Now that he is gone, I still feel the love he had for the outdoors every time I set the hook. Thanks, Dad,…

red herring / noun / ˈred ˈher-iŋSomething, especially a clue, that is or is intended to be misleading or distracting ANY ANGLER WORTH his salt knows that if you understand the habits of the dominant forage in a lake, you can usually find the bass nearby. On Southern shad lakes or Northern waters, you can narrow the search to defined bottom structure and cover where shad, bluegill or yellow perch relate most of the time and provide buffet tables for smallmouth and largemouth. But on many Southeastern waters and a few other places around the country where the blueback herring keep fish well fed, it gets a lot trickier. “When you get on a blueback herring lake, you have to forget about everything a bass is supposed to do,” says…

One of the simplest installs on a kayak is a water-resistant USB port. One part of my dual USB outlet runs my iPad and its Navionics app for GPS and mapping; the other outlet either charges my phone or keeps my waterproof Bluetooth speaker charged and playing tunes stored on the iPad. Gearing Up…