September/October 2019

Bassmaster

The Worldwide Authority on Bass Fishing

Bassmaster3 min read
A Moment Of Reflection
WITH AGE, COMES reflection, it seems. As I celebrate my 20th year with B.A.S.S. this month, it feels natural to take a look backward, if for no other reason than to gain perspective for illuminating a path forward. Dave Precht hired me in 1999 as a p
Bassmaster3 min read
Kyle Monti
Your hometown is instantly recognizable. Did you grow up fishing Lake Okeechobee? Yes. Absolutely, but I grew up on the south end of the lake. Now, I live in the city of Okeechobee, on the north end. On a calm day, you can run from one end of the lak
Bassmaster4 min read
Scientific Angle
Brian Snowden remembers hauling across Lake St. Clair after several days of pre-fishing for a Bassmaster Elite Series event. The six-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier had hours and hours of charts logged, and enough waypoints to make a go at a big bl
Bassmaster2 min read
You Ask, Pros Answer
Early fall fishing can be tough because the fish tend to suspend a lot and scatter. There are always a few fish, including some big ones, shallow, so I cover a lot of shallow water, catching one here, one there. You can usually catch a limit includin
Bassmaster2 min read
Bass Boating
Is it possible to add a “quick-connect” to Power-Pole pumps so I am able to disconnect the hydraulic lines to put in/take out my batteries? Right now, the hydraulic lines for my Power-Poles run over the top of my batteries, making it quite difficult
Bassmaster6 min read
The Flipping Bait Conundrum
DURING THE FIRST WEEK of February 2018, Drew Cook became a legend of sorts, although he’d have preferred that it happened a different way. It wasn’t the fact he finished third that week in the Bassmaster Eastern Open on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes,
Bassmaster5 min read
Clark Wendlandt: The Science & Art of Finding Bass
THE PATH TO a successful and enduring tournament career is paved with an assortment of stones: Some anglers opt to run and gun; some fish slower and more methodically; while others rely on a primary strength such as flipping. Yet they all share the c
Bassmaster2 min read
New Options For Boaters
$1,199.99 | humminbird.com • Providing sonar clarity more than three times the traditional 455 kHz frequencies, the 360 Mega provides a high-resolution, 360-degree view around the boat and is integrated to allow full use of the trolling motor• The 36
Bassmaster4 min read
The Smallmouth Grass Attack
PLAY THE WORD association game and “rock” goes right nicely with “smallmouth,” but fishing’s a dynamic game, the success of which hinges on versatility. So, in waters such as Lake St. Clair, Cayuga and Oneida, Bassmaster Elite Series standout John Cr
Bassmaster6 min read
Digging Deeper Into Finesse Essentials
SURE, YOU FISH with finesse. But now it’s time to dive deeper into the techniques. Once upon a time, grizzled bass fishermen believed “finesse fishing” to be an unmanly practice, executed with tackle better suited to kids at a sunfish derby. No more.
Bassmaster7 min read
Land of Giants Fooling Fall Big ’Uns
DAYS ARE GROWING shorter and temperatures are trending downward, so bass know it’s time to fill their bellies and pack on the weight that’ll get them through winter’s forthcoming lean period. Check out what these Bassmaster Elite Series anglers have
Bassmaster6 min read
The Shadow Knows
ANY BASS ANGLER who doesn’t have a side-viewing graph on his boat’s console is severely handicapped. But even with today’s most advanced electronics, you must learn how to interpret the displayed images to take full advantage of this remarkable techn
Bassmaster9 min read
John Crews [Fall]
DATE: Oct. 25, 2018 VENUE: Lake N, a flatland reservoir WATER: 65 degrees, stained WEATHER: 50 degrees, rain PRO: John Crews, 40, Salem, Va. Crews is a B.A.S.S. tournament veteran and an 11-time Classic qualifier. BOAT: Bass Cat Lynx with 250-horsepo
Bassmaster6 min read
Mike Long Scandal America’s Big-Bass Guru Exposed
BY HIS OWN count, Mike Long of San Diego County, Calif., has caught hundreds of bass weighing more than 10 pounds, dozens in the teens, 82 over 15 pounds and one weighing more than 20. That last fish was the famous “Dottie,” which weighed 20 pounds,
Bassmaster8 min read
Meet Africa’s Greatest Bass Angler
THEY CALL HIM the KVD of Africa. He has won every title imaginable, multiple times, and few, if any, will argue Justy Varkevisser isn’t the best bass angler ever to come out of southern Africa. Soon, if all goes as planned, the farm boy from Gweru, R
Bassmaster5 min read
Bill Lowen’s Banging Bait
Bill Lowen may have earned over a million dollars catching tournament-quality fish, but he’ll be the first to admit that winning a check isn’t always easy in September and October. “Those two months are some of the worst fishing of the year, to be ho
Bassmaster4 min read
How Elite Pros Get Pressured Bass To Bite
Not only is bass fishing experiencing explosive growth, today’s anglers are more skilled than before, thanks to such factors as greater access to angling information via the internet and the popularity of high school and college bass fishing programs
Bassmaster3 min read
Follow The Fall Food
Water type: Major creek arm of a TVA reservoir Water temp: 66 to 68 degrees Clarity: 1 to 2 feet Depth: 5 to 25 feet Structure: Rocky channel with shallow flats and isolated rocks Cover: Stumps and scattered wood Forage: Threadfin shad, gizzard shad
Bassmaster1 min read
Pickup Cap Gear/Sleeping Shelf
Carpenter friend and Jackson Kayak pro staffer Jeremy Crowe put together a shelf that vastly increased the storage in my Nissan Titan’s 5 1/2-foot bed when toting a yak. Add a couple more smaller pieces of OSB to roll out a sleeping bag on top of an
Bassmaster1 min read
The Answers
If you didn’t catch the First Cast image on page 8, flip back to the front of the magazine and take a gander. Now, this image was taken moments later and gives us answers to pressing questions. Yes, Elites Series pro Cliff Pirch was hooked up to a ba
Bassmaster3 min read
Gone Fishin’
THIS IS MY 353rd column for Bassmaster Magazine, and by far the hardest I’ve had to write. Like almost all my previous columns, I’ve procrastinated in writing it until I’m snug against a deadline. This time, it isn’t the final day of magazine product

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