Classic lessons

I don't usually get much from watching fishing shows but the Bassmasters is regular viewing in the Smith house and especially during Classic Week. Usually the patterns and techniques used in big southern reservoirs don't translate to fishing around here but it's good viewing anyway.

But last weeks Classic in New Orleans was quite different and I took a lot of mental notes and believe a few lessons could be learned by watching how it was won. KVD is awesome and everyone already knew that but there were small subtle things he did that can definitely help me catch more fish, especially in early season events like Lake James.

The first thing I noticed was how the top few finishers found water that would be productive when a warming trend happened. They all mentioned finding areas where fish were coming to in preparation for the spawn and many hardly caught fish there in practice but knew they'd be productive under the right conditions. How many times have I found an area that looks "fishy" but doesn't produce? In the summer when everything is stable then it's probably not any good but in the spring when fish are always on the move, they could be absent one day and stacked the next. That's what VanDam found when he fished a large spawning flat loaded with old stumps. He knew a warming trend would send the fish flocking there and he was right. These could possibly be some of the conditions the club will face in the Mid-May event at James.

Another thing I noticed was the bait of choice for Kevin and all the top finishers. Early on they were catching fish on spinnerbaits as they were moving up and probably feeding. But as the weekend wore on and the fish were closer to making beds, they quit biting the blades and had to me coaxed with slower crankbaits that stayed in the strike zone a little longer. Heck if I caught them Friday on spinnerbaits then I'd throw that until my arm fell off the rest of the weekend. That's why I'm watching the Classic as opposed to fishing in it.

As far as lure selection goes VanDam said something interesting that I remember when he stated if the water was colder then the event would have been won on a rattling lipless bait. That is notoriously a good cold water bait and he won last years Classic throwing it in much brisker conditions. I also remember reading somewhere that an early season tournament was won on Lake James by guys throwing rattle traps in cold water. Maybe there's something to that.

Maybe I'm just eager to go out and fish a tournament, I'm not sure but hopefully these are a few lessons I'll file away when watching the replay this coming weekend. It sure beats watching Jimmy Houston kiss another bass on his show. Man I hate when he does that.

New tactics for 11'

Every year I have a few ideas for techniques I can incorporate into my fishing arsenal and 2011 is no different. Sometimes they are new baits, types of line or just philosopy in finding fish but I'm looking forward to trying them out.

Swim baits: There is a very small scenario when I will use these but I think it's something I should explore. Say I've been catching fish on spinnerbaits on a big weedy flat and they quit biting. This is when I can pull one out and possibly catch a few more fish or even a big "kicker" fish since this is a big fish bait. I can see me slow rolling one on St. Clair to imitate a goby or just using it as a big search bait.

Big Spinnerbaits: I can't wait to throw these early in the spring. They cover water and can be worked easily through weeds. I can't think of a better pre-spawn lure and that was evident last weekend in New Orleans when many of the top finishers at the Bassmaster Classic used this bait.

Swim jigs: I will throw spinnerbaits a lot this year and I think I can coax a few more bites with a swim jig when they stop biting the blades. A swim jig is essentially a spinnerbait without the blades so why won't they hit this bait? It is very weedless and can be fished finesse style over heavy weed flats.

Punching plastics: I've talked about this before and believe in a one day tournament that catching a big fish could win me lots of cash. This is a big fish bait and I will have one tied on everywhere but St. Clair. You can always find a pad field or holes in the weeds where this will work, especially on Ovid. Would you rather catch a couple small keepers weighing 3 pounds or one big one that goes over 4? I'm not a math major but that just makes sense to me.

Braided line: I have mastered a line to line knot and will throw braid a lot this year. All my spinning rods, my topwater rod and my flipping combos will all have the superline attached and I'll have a flurorcarbon leader tied on. This should save me a few bucks when buying line next week at the BPS sale and I've noticed that a lot of pros have gone to this philosophy as well.

Bringing a new baby home

After a LONG trip, Duane and I brought home my new (new to me at least) Triton Bass Boat. We're both very tired after a grueling road trip which saw us travel about 1300 miles in 24 hours which ended around noon Sunday. The boat was all it was cracked up to be and resting peacefully in my garage as we speak.

We made the transaction Saturday night around 11pm EST and headed home right after (I'll give all the travel details later). The boat is a 2004 Triton TR-186 with a 150 Mercury Optimax and although we couldn't drive it, it started right up and seemed to run really well in the garage.

Harold Mcfadded from Mcfadden Marine was a gracious host for the hour we spent in El Dorado Springs, Missouri and I would recommend his services to anyone. It was worth the drive but I will need a few days to recover since I only slept about 15 minutes on the trip. More details to follow.

Road Trip

This morning fellow fishing buddy and former club member Duane Mroczka and I are heading to Springfield, Missouri to pick up my first official bass boat. I have not seen the boat in person yet and will not consider myself a new owner until it's sitting in my driveway but I should be towing it home sometime tomorrow morning.

Springfield is about 11 hours away and we will not be stopping at Bass ProShops Headquarters or anywhere else for that matter. We'll check out the boat, if I like it I'll write a check and we'll turn around and drive right back. I'll detail the trip, boat or not, and post it sometime next week when I've caught up on my sleep.

New Boat?

I haven't posted lately due to the fact I've been searching so hard for a new boat and all my computer time has gone towards that. Just like anything else, once I get consumed with a project it takes up all my time and other things get neglected. Luckily there isn't any yard work to do but my driveway is still not clean. Hopefully I'll have a new boat to show for my dedication soon.

I've found a few things interesting while searching such as the differences in prices for the same style and years of boats. Different options such as electronics and engine styles make a huge difference in cost as do the actual make of the boat. Rangers seem to be the priciest and the Nitros seem to be the most plentiful, around here anyway. But after a while, you can tell which boats are over priced and ones that are a bargain.

I have had trouble finding a boat that suites what I want locally and have broadened my horizons. I think I might have found the perfect boat but unfortunately it's located in Western Missouri. I am currently scrambling to get my finances in order and may be taking off on a road trip this weekend. I won't divulge much until it is sitting in my driveway but it's starting to look as if it will happen. Anyone ready to ride shotgun and see the country?

I will detail my journey if it happens, I should know by Thursday or Friday. Luckily with the cold weather most of the early season boat sales are getting off to a slow start which is probably why I've found such a good deal already. Hope it works out.