My 17 lber... the untold story

Every successful angler sets goals to help stay on track but somewhere out there in the distance, even farther than the tangible is the intangible. The intangible consists of things too far fetched to even be called goals, they are left in the realm of dreams. One of my dreams was to someday log on to bassmaster and see a picture of me holding a giant bass. Thanks to Dan O'Sullivan I got to see one of my dreams come to fruition. Thank you DanO for doing a great write up and telling the untold story of my biggest bass. A lot of people know that I caught her but even some of my close friends didn't know the details of the catch. I'd like to think I've come a long way from then but then again, maybe not. Afterall, I've hooked a lot of big bass with a rod and reel but none as big as her. DanO wrote it best when he titled the article "Help From Above." There is no doubt in my mind I was meant to catch that fish. I did everything wrong! From the single size 1 treble to the light line, to the light action rod, I couldn't have made poorer decisions but it just goes to show you that when its your time, there is no stopping the inevitable. All I can say is while I did everything wrong, I still managed to be in the right place at the right time, during the right feeding window. Bassmaster.com Article Check it out, I'd love to hear your thoughts! And yes, I assure you the story is true.

Swimbait Sink Rates Explained

Does anyone else remember when swimbait fishing was simple? Not only were you the only guy on the lake throwing a swimbait but you only had 3 or 4 legitimate options when it came to choosing a bait. Now there are so many brands and models that it can get really confusing knowing what bait you need. Let’s say you finally made the decision to buy an 8″ Huddleston Deluxe and you even chose the color. You would think all the decision making would be over but its not! Now you have to choose between 4 different sink rates, also known as “rates of fall” or “ROF”.
Multiple people have been asking about these different sink rates as well as about the rigging options for each model. I hope this video sheds a little more light on the subject. My personal rule of thumb is to fish the lightest model available that still has a molded in jig hook protruding from the back.

Gary Dobyns: Passion wins tournaments

Over the next few weeks I plan to do a series on the mindset behind winners. It doesn’t matter if you’re out to win a tournament, catch a trophy bass, or just make it big amongst your friends. No matter what your goal, preparing your mind to win is a huge part of consistently coming out on top. In this video Gary Dobyns talks about his win at the 2009 US Open, the most prestigious tournament on the west coast.
What does it take to win the biggest tournament in the West? What makes one angler so much better than the rest of the field on a given day? Was it preparation, some secret spot no one else knows about, or is there something more? The first aspect of a “winning mindset” that we will discuss is PASSION.
Listen to what Gary has to say about the US Open but as you hear it listen to the underlying theme. Though Gary never used the word “passion”, it is woven through everything he says. After you’ve watched the video consider if you have that kind of passion. Would you be willing to do what it takes, whatever it takes, to win?

If you want to consistently win and don’t have passion you need to develop it before you take another step into the bass fishing arena. While passion is only one aspect of a successful angler it is incredibly important! Watch for a few more videos on this topic in the weeks to come.

Fall Swimbait Fishing

Since filming the post, “Which swimbait should you choose” I’ve had quite a few questions come in about how to fish the baits as the water cools. Throwing a swimbait in late fall and into winter is very different from the rest of the year. Its no longer about trying to attract big fish from a long distance or about getting them to react to the bait. Instead, your goal is to present a big, slow meal and do it in a way that appears very easy to eat. I’ll likely follow this post up with another that shows a simple modification that will allow your baits to kick at slower speeds so that you can more easily target cold water fish.
All of the questions about how to catch these fish inspired me to actually get out from behind the computer screen and head to the lake. Luckily the fish were right where I expected them to be and I was rewarded with a gorgeous Northern California bass. She weighed in at 8.85 lbs and as the video shows, was caught creeping a swimbait along the bottom in 30-35 feet of water. If you watch closely you see me bump into a rock and then she crushes the bait!