Month: November 2004

So many of the “little things” in bass fishing are overlooked by anglers. They still catch bass because they do enough things right to overcome the things they may not do completely right. Over time a bass fisherman develops a confidence in his productive methods and fishes himself into a rut. Gaining a particular confidence in a technique is one of the keys to successful bass fishing but to limit experimentation because of having confidence in one successful method will inhibit your maturity as an elite angler.
An elite angler is a bass fisherman who has mastered all of the seasonal patterns and has a combined knowledge of the scientific and spiritual sides of bass fishing. I am certainly no elite angler, however what I have learned through experience is that the experience itself is the way to becoming an elite angler. Bass fishing is very similar to golf. A guy who can shoot scratch consistently but cannot shoot a 68 or 69 is a great golfer but he is no where near the golfer who can post a 60 or a 61. Here’s what separates the two golfers. The first golfer is a great golfer but has played himself into a rut because he has developed confidence in a style and will not experiment further for fear of losing his game, the second golfer has the added confidence in the success he has achieved through his continuous experimentation. The principle is same with fishing. The fear of not catching fish keeps fishermen from experimenting and enhancing their proven techniques.

Little things are what set elite anglers apart from great bass fishermen. Little things that elite anglers learn through countless hours of trial and error on the water, hours and hours of tournament competition, and fishing through many changing weather conditions are what separate them from great fishermen. After a while all of the little things add up to a specific style and understanding that is unique to that fisherman. His perception of a situation includes all of his senses and his knowledge becomes a series of confident actions.
In the next few months I am going to be targeting some of the “little things” and how to experiment and develop yourself to the next level and towards the goal we all strive for which is becoming an elite angler. Meanwhile be aware of the “little things” that you may do that define you as a fisherman, just being aware is a step in the right direction.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

It’s not the Sports Illustrated magazine of bass fishing that BassMaster is. It’s not the how to or the when and where that is usually portrayed in other bass fishing magazines. It is an in depth look at the heart, mind, and soul of real bass fishing outdoorsmen. From many angles this magazine will breakdown concepts and mind sets of proven mental attitudes and provide an understanding of being and awareness. Articles that give the biological and environmental side of the story as well as the anglers side. Many of the crucial elements to bass fishing and the outdoors that have never been captured in photographs or in writing will be shared in this magazine.

After reading the first issue of Circular Bass Fishing, cover to cover, it has already moved me up a step on my personal fishing ladder. Some of the concepts in the magazine I have experienced and knew existed, however, sometimes a series of experiences still may not reveal an obvious phenomena. But when you read it on paper you can get a better perception of a concept and the next time you enter that particular situation you will be more knowledgeable and closer to “Total Understanding”. This magazine is like nothing that you have ever read. It is the philosophy of fishing, the psychology of a bass fisherman, the bionomics we encounter when on the water, and many other interesting themes in the sphere of bass fishing. The concepts are “high tech”, yet fun to read and written so that they are easy to follow and comprehend.

Rick Clunn has been involved with the magazine from the start and will continue contributing each issue with his “In The Flow with Rick Clunn” column. This is an extraordinary opportunity for all of us to learn from such a master fisherman with unmatched tournament accomplishments. Reading his article in Volume I, he allows you to enter his zone and grasp concepts that have led to his success. According to Circular Bass Fishing, “In The Flow with Rick Clunn” will be informative articles in a building block scenario.

Since July 26, 1995 this magazine has been published on the information superhighway, the Internet. For those who are unfamiliar with the Internet it is a worldwide connection of computer users with thirty million current subscribers. Pat McCarty masterminds the layout of the magazine and is responsible for the magazine’s link to cyberspace. This is the worlds first bass fishing magazine to be published on the Internet and is without a doubt the most modern bass fishing publication. To read the online edition log onto your Internet server and go to URL location http://mcia.com/~circfish. The growth of this new online community is phenomenal and projected to more than double in size within the next year.

The feature in Volume I is written by Circular Bass Fishing’s publisher, Phil Whittemore. The feature is called “Attitude is Everything” and is an important reminder for the state of mind that you should maintain while fishing. First hand accounts of when state of mind was singled out as the sole reason for catching fish and not catching fish. Spirit and character are two topics that will be explored in future issues.

This magazine is about that realm of bass fishing that you may not have even considered; it will help you focus your subconscious activity into the blanketing weapon of your arsenal. If you are striving for achievement in fishing as I am, this is a chance to be a more balanced fisherperson and join the “Leading Edge” of Circular Bass Fishing.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

There are so many levels of awareness that a person can achieve through bass fishing. A weekend angler or even an angler who rarely bass fishes can attain close relationships with bass, nature, and his/her surroundings. A serious bass fisherman or tournament bass fisherman can reach extreme levels of awareness during outings and tournaments. Tournament fishing seems to elevate my awareness to new levels at times to where I come in and out of “the zone”. I am still learning to recognize actually being in “the zone”, when I get into it, when I leave it, and furthermore how to stay in it. Once a person can stay “in the flow” or in “the zone” anything is possible.

There are many definitions and perceptions of the term awareness. For the purpose of this article awareness is your ability to get comfortable enough with your surroundings that your mind takes over and have absolutely zero distractions and fish in “the zone”. Now think about this, fishing without any distractions. I am not talking about fishing fast, fishing hard, thinking hard, or trying hard, because these are all distractions. “In the flow” is a somewhat more advanced stage than “the zone”. To me, being “in the flow” is a deeper bond with the flow of nature that is prevalent in every move that you make, being aware of your surroundings, and feeling that you are a part of the environment when on the water. The feeling of being a total outcast in the environment, because of the fact that you are standing on an unnatural twenty thousand dollar bass boat, does not cross your mind. If your mind becomes “in the flow” then you, your body, your boat, and everything in it become one with nature and you connect to the flow of nature.

My experiences of being in “the zone” are few and usually only last long enough to catch a fish or two. One day in a tournament earlier this year I felt that I was in “the zone” for about two hours which is the longest that I have ever recognizably been “in the flow”. Veterans of mental mastery like Rick Clunn have experienced days in “the zone”. Rick Clunn also refers to this phenomenon as “touching perfection”. In his continuing education course called Angler’s Quest there are many articles that help understand awareness.
Angler’s Quest would be an excellent opportunity for you to study these topics further with articles designed to teach, this article is purely informative.

Being in “the zone” is far beyond catching fish or figuring out a pattern. Using your instincts and listening to your inner voices and reacting to them instead of ignoring them is all part of “the zone” that I am speaking of. Intuition plays a role as feeling. An intuition is not an idea it is a feeling. Intuition would be to do something like make a particular cast to an exact spot with the feeling that there is a giant bass there and then to catch it . Ignoring the conscious distractions and letting these subconscious feelings and intuitions flow through your actions is the goal. Having a “gut” feeling, recognizing it and then utilizing the feeling; this is when the impossible becomes possible.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Being a very popular lake for fishing and water skiing, Lake Conroe receives quite a bit of pressure throughout the summer. As fishermen, we know that fishing is usually better during the week when there less boat traffic on the lake. The fish are not spooky and nervous like they get when Conroe is overrun with boat traffic.

One way to deal with the weekend boat traffic and still catch fish is to start your trip early. I try to run half-day morning trips as much as possible during the weekend. Starting trips at 6 a.m. has been an ideal time to get started. There is plenty of light and there is hardly any boat traffic Until around 10:30 a.m. Even by then boat traffic is still at a minimum until around noon.

Opinions of Lake Conroe’s black bass fishing vary from angler to angler. The angler that understands a graph and can find underwater structure such as roadbeds, humps, creek channels, and tank dams will tell you that the fishing is great. A newcomer to Conroe without these skills will swear that there is not even one single bass in the lake. Other lakes like Lake Livingston can be fished like a big pond. Working the shoreline structure for black bass is effective ,year around. This time of the year on Conroe, the majority .of black bass are on the deeper structure from 15 to 28 .feet. So late in the summer, working the boat docks, shallow .stumps, and other shoreline structure is not as effective as fishing the deep structure. However, if you happen to be fishing at night under a half moon or more, the shoreline structure is the place to be.

The water starts to cool after the sun goes down. By the wee morning hours the shallows have cooled 3-6 degrees. The shad move into the cooler water and the bass are right behind them. Some of the shallow areas to concentrate on are lighted pier and boat docks. The lights draw the shad and minnows in and bass will hold in the shadows ambushing them.

Black bass have a horizontal line down their body that represents a system I call “The Force”. They can detect movement underwater so whether there is light or not they can find bait. For example, a black bass could find a black worm on a moonless night probably as easy as it could in the daytime. It is like a sixth sense that these fish possess which we can use to our advantage. Baits that give off vibration that is attractive to bass are the ones to throw. Texas rigged worms have always been a popular night time bait. Surface baits are also very effective during the night. A black Jitterbug is a classic, and has been taking bass at night for a couple of decades. Pop R’s and Zara Spooks are two other baits that will attract strikes.

August is one of the better months for this type of fishing. Most of the marinas around the lake are right near prime areas. In many cases you won’t even have to crank the big motor. Good luck fishing.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

December 19th, 1995 I was standing in line at Houston Intercontinental Airport waiting to board a flight to London, England. From there I would catch another flight to Lagos, Nigeria in Africa. I was anxious get this trip underway so that I could visit my parents who live in Lagos and also experience some of the offshore fishing that my dad had been telling me about.

My luggage was checked in and the only thing left was a ten hour flight to London, a six hour layover there, and finally a seven hour flight across the Sahara Desert to Lagos located on the Ivory Coast. Speaking of luggage, I had two suit cases full of items that my parents have a hard time getting. Everything from Velveeta cheese to stick spray-n-wash to flour and corn tortillas. Also, I hand carried a couple boxes of offshore fishing tackle that my dad had requested. This was a special delivery that I planned to guard with my life because tackle is hard to come by there also.

Well twenty six long hours later I was standing in the living room of their high rise flat. Their flat was about a mile from the coast and I could easily see the Gulf of Guinea/ Atlantic Ocean from the balcony. Looking out I also took in the surrounding homes, people, and their culture. Certainly looking around quickly gave me a new look on life.
I visited with my parents and sisters a while and then was knocked out by jet lag. It has been three years since I have traveled this far and I had long since forgotten my routine when flying these great distances that would keep me from having jet lag so bad once off the plane. My parents used to live in Sumatra, Indonesia which was actually a ways further than Lagos. Nevertheless, this was my first time to Lagos and it felt like my first time on a long trip and I slept way into the next day.

A
couple of days later I had finally gotten adjusted to the time change and was ready to fish. My dad and I fished or hunted together every weekend when I was growing up. The only thing that kept us from making a trip on the weekend was one of my little league games. However, with his overseas assignments and me growing up we have not had the opportunities that we once had to spend time together outdoors. So nowadays any trip we make is special and we were both looking forward to a few days of offshore fishing.
We left early on the 27th to go down to the boat. Lucky, the Nigerian captain, was waiting for us with the twin 250 horsepower Yamahas warming up on the back of a 28 foot Boston Whaler CC. My dad had told me the boat was awesome and was he ever right. Edwin, the security guard, also accompanied us and helped us get our gear on board.

We left out of Lagos at about 7:30 am and headed for a GPS coordinate where they had previously caught some barracuda, wahoo, dorado, and an occasional marlin. Off of the Ivory Coast there is a shelf that they call the drop. The water from the mainland gradually drops for about twenty miles to six hundred feet deep then drops according to a topography map to seven to nine thousand feet. On this break or drop is where big marlin and sailfish roam and various other fish congregate on the trashline which is usually, under normal conditions, in the same vicinity. The GPS coordinate we had were a certain draw in the drop called the Hole.

We headed out of the harbor, down the ship channel, and through the jetties. The place was similar to Freeport in a way if you have ever gone offsore from there. As soon as we had gotten passed the jetties Dad and I started rigging rods and setting up, we had about an hour before we arrived. The seas were calm, three to four foot rollers maybe twenty five to thirty yards apart.

As we neared the drop we came upon the trash line first. Lucky slowed and paralleled the trashline as Dad and I let out the baits to troll. Way out back we had a bait called a Bird that trailed a big marlin plug. Also at about the same distance we had two other big blunt headed marlin baits. The marlin baits were trolled on heavy tuna sticks with Penn 50’s spooled with eighty pound test. Closer to the boat we had three one ounce feather jigs trolled on seven foot spinning rods spooled with twenty five pound test.
It wasn’t long before we Dad and I had a double hook up on two of the spinning rods.

We both had our hands full for three or four minutes until we got each of our fish to the boat. We had double on blue fin tuna that weighed six or seven pounds each and really put up a powerful fight. Lucky got us back up to trolling speed and we went back at it eagerly awaiting another hookup. It was not long and I had a hookup on my spinning rod, this fish was stronger than the tuna and it ran out about fifty yards of line before I could ever turn it. The water was sky blue and when the fish neared the boat we could see it probably thirty or forty feet deep. It looked like a barracuda or kingfish but when I finally got it close enough we could easily tell that it was about a twelve to fifteen pound wahoo.
We fished the trashline and drop area until around noon catching tuna, wahoo, and dorado. Lucky, with his eagle eyes spotted a ship that was anchored just on the horizon and suggested that we go and troll by it. Dad and I reeled in the baits and Lucky hammered down toward the ship barely visible in the horizon. About fifteen minutes later we approached the ship and let the baits out to troll by it. It was a tanker from South America waiting to head into the harbor and unload. We trolled right by the ship and one of the big rods had a strike and the drag screamed as line was stripping from the reel. I moved toward the rod fastening my fighting belt and hooked the clips to the reel and positioned the rod in the holster on my belt. Lucky had turned the boat to my side as the fish had run way out on the port side. Dad reeled in all of the other rods and I went to work. The fish did not take much more line after the initial run on the strike but was easily holding his ground somewhere about a hundred yards away. I pumped the rod and reeled over and over until my arms were burning. About ten minutes later we could see a silvery looking fish below the boat. I worked the fish up to the boat and Dad and Lucky gaffed the fish and boated it. It was a thirty pound barracuda. I was exhausted from the quick battle and wondered how I would fare if I ever hooked a marlin that might fight for a couple of hours.

We made several more passes by the ship and caught some tuna and Dad caught a big dorado that weighed about twenty five pounds or so. We fished until four pm and headed back for Lagos. In the coolers we had tuna, wahoo, dorado, and the barracuda. We had an action packed day of offshore fishing that was the first of several days that we would be able to fish while I was there. Lucky proved to be a savvy offshore captain and I am sure my Dad will continue to rely on his knowledge of the waters there.

On another day we were out we actually had a marlin hookup. Lucky estimated the fish to be around two hundred and fifty pounds. The fish hit and got airborne and then ripped line for about forty five seconds and then just came off, but that’s just fishing.

Overall I had a very enjoyable trip and hope to go back this summer or sometime next Fall. It is always interesting to visit another country and see how the people live and what they do each day. Going some place far off and having the opportunity to fish with my dad for some kind of fish is always a real adventure.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide
– Lake Havasu

Anxiously awaiting the first tournament of the 96-97 B.A.S.S. Central Division season on the Arkansas River reminds me of my first B.A.S.S. event. My first event was this same tournament last year on the Arkansas River and what a rough one it was.

My traveling partner and I had located an area full of bass in practice. Quality fish where I felt that I could get an easy limit each day. In a three day tournament a limit a day has got to be your number one goal. Well one draw back to these fish was that they were 65 miles from the tournament headquarters and there were two locks on the river that I would have to lock through to get there. Each lock takes approximately 30 minutes. So I was looking at two hours of travel time one way. As rumor had it many of the fishermen made the run and made success with the limited fishing time on the unpressured fishing areas that were so far away.

I intended to make the run if my partner did not win the toss. Once you meet your partner you have to flip a coin to see who’s boat you take and also to see who’s fish that you go to first. My first day partner was from New Jersey and he was willing to make the run. We left out in our flight and started our long run. Two locks and two hours later we pulled into my area. I quickly got the trolling motor down and started fishing. I made a few cast and eased up to a big laydown. I made a cast down each side of the tree and let the spinnerbait fall as it reached the end of the log. No fish, so I picked another target and cast. My partner is flipping a jig and flips into the same laydown I had just fished and sets the hook. A three and a half pounder comes to the boat and into his livewell it went. First of all I was amazed that the fish had not hit my spinnerbait because I know that fish had just seen it and secondly this guy was catching my fish. We fished our way around and this guy catches two more quality fish on the jig fishing behind me, used water. I come off of my game plan and put the spinnerbait down and tied on the exact jig he is throwing.

I pull up to a big tree top in the water on the edge of the bank. I have good position on it so I make about ten casts into every little nook and cranny. No fish, so I pick another target and cast. This “guy” flips in there and sets the hook. A solid fish is in the tree tangled up and dangling under a branch. I get on the trolling motor and crash into the tree trying to knock the fish off, just kidding, trying to get into the tree far enough so that I could reach it. I did and he has four solid fish in his livewell. I back off of the tree that I had just crashed into, banged into all of the branches, and even ran the trolling motor all over and figure I had better make a couple of casts into anyway. I make several flips and feel there are no more fish in it or that if there is they are so spooked that they won’t bite and then I flipped to another tree. My partner flips in there and sets the hook. It’s another three pounder and my mind is now totally gone. I was a FISHING FRUITCAKE from that point on. I somehow managed to catch a keeper fish to keep from blanking that day before we had to head back, but that was totally by mistake because I was in la la land kicking rocks with a fat lip.

Day two and three went about the same and I ended up way…. way back in the standings. It took me a while before I could analyze the tournament and see what all I had learned. One thing I had learned was don’t get waxed by your partner on your own fish. But looking back now it is kind of a humorous memory. Maybe I could have been a little more tuned in and a little more aware and the outcome would have been better for me.

Well I will be there the third week of this month and with the knowledge of what not to do and with a little luck maybe I will come out on top.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Last spring I was guiding everyday on Lake Conroe during my two week off limits for the Texas Invitational at Lake Sam Rayburn. I had been counting down the days before the event and running bass fishing trip after bass fishing trip, either two half days or a full day everyday before the tournament.

I had scheduled guide trips all the way through the Sunday before the tournament week which would begin on Monday. Well during the weekend I became so caught up in preparing for the tournament and taking care of business that I forgot about a trip that I had booked on Sunday afternoon.

I knew I was guiding Sunday morning and did not need to look at my schedule for that trip because I knew where to be and at what time to be there.

I had booked the trip for Sunday afternoon a week or so before and had good intentions of running it. When I was discussing times and meeting places with this regular customer of mine he said that he was going to be staying at April Plaza Marina over the weekend at their motel on the water. It was a thirty minute drive for him from April Plaza Marina to marina where I run out of up the lake. Even though that marina is ten miles by water out of my way I offered to go and get him and then drop him back off when we were done.

Running this afternoon trip was going to put me at Shane’s (Shane Allman, a friends where I was staying at Rayburn that week) late that night. But I figured that I could tough it out, a fishing guide/tournament pro always needs the extra money.

O.K., now you are informed on the situation so I am going to change tenses in this story and tell it as it was happening step by step.

I just got finished with my morning trip and put my boat on the trailer. My bags are packed in the truck and I get on I-45 to head up to Huntsville to take 190 to Jasper. About thirty minutes go by and it hits me, I have a guide trip booked for this afternoon. I pull over and look at my schedule, I was supposed to be at April Plaza Marina at 12:30 and it was about 1. I call April
Plaza and ask if there is anyone there looking for me, she says that there had been a couple of guys there and that they weren’t real happy with me and that they had already left.

I call the number that I have down on my schedule to at least leave a message. It’s a fax line, I know I have called them before at this number what is the deal I thought? Oh well, there is nothing I can do about it now except go on to Shane’s. What got me was that they were not at the marina waiting for me as I came off of my morning trip because I had told them that I would pick them up down the lake. I was trying to be nice but it cost me because I forgot. This would have never happened if I would have had them come to my marina like normal.

I get to Shane’s and try the number again but the fax sound comes back again. I guess that I’ll just have to wait for them to call my house and leave me a message as to where in the hell I was and why I wasn’t there to take them fishing.

On Tuesday night I call my house to check the messages on my answering machine. They had called and left me a polite message wondering why I didn’t show up and also left their phone number.

I called them right then. My customer answered the phone and I tell him who I am and he awaited my explanation. I told him that I completely forgot and that I had tried to call the marina but they had already left and that I tried to call his house but only got a fax. He said that they had accidentally left the fax on instead of the answering machine and he seemed as though he might forgive me. I told him that I would take him out fishing for free trip in order to make up for my mistake. This is where the story begins.

A few weeks later when I take them out on their free trip they tell me of their horrible weekend that goes like this.

He and his friend had come to the lake with their own boat on Friday, got settled into their room and decided that they were going to go out on the town that night. They called a limousine service and arranged for a nine O’clock pick up at their motel. About ten thirty they were still there waiting, they called and waited some more but no limo. About eleven they said the heck with it and went to sleep.

They got up the next morning and went fishing. They caught a few fish and had a good morning and decided to come in and rest up for the afternoon. They went out that afternoon and caught a nice bass, about a seven pounder and wanted to take a picture of it but the camera was in the truck. They got back, pulled the boat in their wet stall and left the livewells running to keep the fish alive. They decided they wanted to take the picture the next morning in the daylight.

The next morning they get into the boat and push off, they start rigging their rods and gear, meanwhile the wind pushes them out into the lake. They get ready to start the motor but the battery is dead from the livewells running all night. They drop the trolling motor in but it doesn’t work. They try paddling but the wind is too strong. They finally wave down another boat who comes and gives them a jump. They put the boat on pad and run back to the marina to charge the battery and check on the trolling motor.

They go to get tools out of the truck but remember the keys are in a jacket on the boat. They look for the jacket but it must have blown out of the boat while running back to the marina. The keys are gone. It’s Sunday morning about eight am, not the best time to be trying to get a locksmith. Anyway they finally get a locksmith and for eighty five bucks he opens the truck and makes him an ignition key. They start charging the battery and work on the trolling motor until they get it working. They figured that they would just right off the morning and wait for me to show up to take them out at 12:30. About 12:15 they go out on the dock to wait where I said I would pick them up. They waited and waited, but I never showed. They ask the marina operator but she didn’t know where I was.

Finally, agreeing that I was pretty much a you know what, they went fishing in their own boat. They ran way up the lake to fish some rip rap. They put the trolling motor down to start fishing, one of them on the trolling motor and the other was digging in the tackle box for the right lure. The trolling motor was not running properly and they were about to be blown into the rocks. So the one on the trolling motor jumped behind the wheel and cranked the big motor and goosed it to avoid hitting the rocks. The other guy fell into the tackle box and got a treble hook buried in his hand pass the barb on two of the three hooks. They went to a marina nearby and tried to get someone to help. One guy tried the string trick to get them out but they were too deep. They left the boat tied up and got a ride to the Medical Center in Conroe. For three hundred and seventy five dollars the emergency room removed the hooks and sent them on their way. They got a ride back to April Plaza to where their truck and trailer was, packed up their stuff and went all the way around to the north end of the lake to get the boat. They successfully got it on the trailer and made it back to Houston all right by midnight on that Sunday night.

We have had some laughs together over this and this has got to top any of the mishaps that I have experienced. Someone really took a lot of things into consideration when they said, “Once a fisherman always a fisherman.”

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide
– Lake Havasu

It is approaching that time of the year that I absolutely love. Early springtime is when BIG ol’ hog bass in the 10-pound range will be prowling the shallows going through their annual spawning ritual. Many different lures will be chunked at these big bass during the upcoming months, but I assure you that few will be as effective as the spinnerbait.

Spinnerbait’s come in all shapes and sizes and more than a few pro’s believe the spinnerbait to be the best all-around lure that you can have tied on your line. As with all baits there are a few on the market that have a reputation for being “real killers”. Strike King produces the Pro Model and Spin-Dance spinnerbaits with the always attractive Mirage silicone skirts. Stanley Baits has a full line of baits that are proven winners, and the Houston-based Texan Lures has an assortment of baits that are flashy and get the attention of lunker bass. Just recently the Texan 1/2-oz spinnerbait (chartreuse body with chartreuse willow leaf blades) accounted for some real heavyweight fish on Lake Conroe and Lake Sam Rayburn. You never know for sure what these Texas bass will want, but I would sure have a few of these chartreuse on chartreuse baits in my tacklebox before I head to the lake. And as most of you know, during the springtime there is not a hotter color than red for our East Texas lakes. This is basically because the red is an easy color to see in murky water and at this time of the year there are an abundance of red and red/orange color crawfish in area lakes. My son and I stuck some real heavyweight bass on Lake Fork last year using this red on red combination.

One of the deadliest techniques for fishing a spinnerbait is what we commonly refer to as “slow-rolling”. Best results come when using a spinnerbait weighing between 1/2-ounce and a full ounce. The heavier spinnerbait will allow you to cast further and keep the bait deeper than when throwing the lighter varieties. The heavier weight will also allow you to feel the bait better when that north wind makes fishing other lures difficult. Best depths to fish tend to be between 5- to 15-feet. If you think you are fishing too fast… slow down even more. The key is to allow the bait to work slowly and stay in contact with stumps, grass, weeds, or anything near the bottom. You should be able to feel the blade as the bait “thumps” it ways along, and any interruption in the blades rhythm is a signal to set the hook hard because a big ol’ lunker bass is probably on the other end of your line. A longer rod is helpful when slow-rolling because it allows you to not only make longer casts, but it also provides the backbone to set the hook with authority. Keep a tight grip on your rod when slow-rolling a spinnerbait or a big bass might take it away from you.

Here is a general guideline for selecting that early springtime spinnerbait:

Blades – Murky water use larger blades. The red and chartreuse colors work well, but remember that vibration is really the key. Use a blade that will give off maximum vibration so that bass can easily pick up the sound through their lateral line. Some anglers sware by the Colorado blade because of it’s vibration, while others say there is no better blade than the willow-leaf, especially when fishing near submerged grass.

Color – White and chartreuse are proven colors, but be sure to toss in a couple of black, yellow, or a combination of the two. If I had to select one color pattern it would probably be the white/chartreuse combination. It is an all-around dynamite color and has been for a number of years.

Trailer – There is nothing that makes a spinnerbait come alive more than a plastic worm or pork chunk placed on the hook as a trailer. The trailer will slither and undulate through the water and make the bait look like something that a big bass just has to clobber. I recommend the Strike King Pigtail Trailer because of it’s diamond dust finish and lifelike leg movement.

Spinnerbaits and early springtime weather go together like cowboys and rodeos or red beans and rice. If your not chunkin’ a spinnerbait during the next few months you will definitely be missing out on some great fishing action. – Lake Havasu

Get Ready!!! The Texas Black Bass Unlimited (TBBU) Houston Gala and Conservation FishFest ’96 in Dallas are on their way. TBBU, it’s fine members, and platinum sponsors, will join together to promote a project involving the revitalization of aging Texas fisheries. The Houston Gala and Conservation FishFest ’96 fundraising will champion the cause for re-establishing native habitat in Texas waters. TBBU has targeted Lake Lewisville in north Texas and Lake Livingston east of Houston to be the two test lakes in the habitat restoration program. And to make things even better, the Army Corps of Engineers and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will match TBBU fundraising donations specific for aquatic habitat restoration. Along with funding for this very worthwhile purpose, TBBU will continue it’s commitment to youth programs and support of the Texas Freshwater Fishing Center and Fish Hatchery in Athens, Texas.

The Houston Gala will take place May 4th, 1996, and host site will be the fabulous Sam Houston Race Track. Rumor has it that this will be one of the most spectacular conservation fundraising events South Texas has ever seen. May 4th is also Kentucky Derby Day, so the TBBU event should be a real show-stopper. Entertainment for the Houston Gala will feature one of country music’s very best as fellow bass fisherman Mark Chestnut takes the stage. This is one of the hottest acts in the nation and will be a guaranteed winner. In addition to the fine crooning of Mr. Chestnut, there will be a silent auction and raffle that offers the opportunity to bid on guided fishing and hunting trips, guns, art, boats, and much more. If you want to rub elbows and have your picture taken with fishing celebrities and other dignitaries… this is the place to be. Mark May 4th on your calendar and plan to attend the Houston Gala for some super fun.

And don’t think that Dallas is going to take all of this Houston celebrating lying down. The 1996 edition of Conservation FishFest will once again be held at the world famous Southfork Ranch, home of the famous Ewing family of DALLAS TV fame. A silent auction and raffle will also take place at this event, and the prizes will be fabulous boats, outdoor merchandise, guided fishing and hunting trips, and much more. Entertainment for Conservation FishFest will be provided by country music legend Waylon Jennings. A *****tail reception will also allow you to meet all of the celebrities and dignitaries as you leisurely tour through the Ewing Mansion. And oh by the way…. did I mention that a host of the top touring professional bass fishermen will be on hand to give you tips and techniques to improve that upcoming fishing trip? What A Night!!

Rumor has it that the Houston event will outshine the Dallas event, however, when I talked to the Dallas folks they were saying that their event would be the biggest and best ever. Only time will tell which group comes out on top, but I assure you that each of the events will be first class and something you don’t want to miss. – Lake Havasu

If you are not currently a member of Texas Black Bass Unlimited (TBBU) you sure need to be. TBBU is an organization that works for fisherman and is operated by fishermen. It’s a hard working group of folks that certainly look out for your best interests when it comes to issues involving the outdoors. And in the past year TBBU’s hard work allowed the organization to donate $100,000 toward the completion of the Texas Freshwater Fishing Center in Athens, Texas.

During 1996 TBBU will continue an aggressive campaign involving habitat improvement in lakes across our state. You and future Texas anglers will be the big winners of this fine program by having the opportunity to catch more and bigger bass.

And don’t think that the younger anglers are not a major concern of TBBU. Youngsters across the state are being introduced to TBBU youth programs that teach the fun of outdoors, fishing, and the importance of conservation. The anti-hunting and fishing movement continues to target the sports that we love so dearly. Pro-sporting organizations such as TBBU are essential in assuring that our future generations hear the real message.

TBBU is an organization that will keep you informed and one that you will be proud to associated with. I encourage each of you to take an active part in assuring that your kids, (and their kids), have an opportunity to enjoy the sport tomorrow that you enjoy so much today. Join TBBU and make a difference. – Lake Havasu

The Carolina Rig is a method of plastic worm fishing that is very effective for structure fishing for black bass. There is a wide variety of structures in the lakes of East Texas.

On Lake Conroe there are pond dams, old road beds, old railroad trestles, creek channels, ridges, and submerged timber. Most of these structures are below the surface, some of these as deep as fifty feet.

The Carolina Rig is designed for deep water fishing with a plastic worm. This method of fishing separates the weight from the worm so that very heavy worm weights may be used without taking action away from the worm. The heavy weight of the Carolina Rig makes fishing deep water structure much easier. Even in water twenty feet deep or more the Carolina Rig with a one ounce worm weight will get down to the bottom quickly and allow you to stay in contact with the bottom. Constant contact with the bottom structure will keep the bait in the strike zone longer. When fishing deep water, long casts are necessary so that more water is covered on each cast.

The Carolina Rig is rigged in a very unique way. To rig a worm Carolina style you need: three quarter to one ounce brass worm weight, glass bead, barrel swivel, and number two hook. Before rigging cut a piece of line about three feet long for your leader and put it aside. Take the line coming from your rod and run it through the brass worm weight. Next run the line through the glass bead. Slide the weight and bead up the line and tie the line to one end of the barrel swivel. Tie the three foot leader to the other end of the swivel. On the loose end of the swivel tie on the number two hook. Then rig the worm onto the hook as if it were a Texas Rig.

The purpose of the brass weight and glass bead are to make noise and attract bass. Each time the Carolina Rig is pulled across the bottom the brass weight and glass bead engage they create a clicking sound. The clicking sound resembles the sound that a crawfish makes when it pops its tail for locomotion. Black bass feed on crawfish and are naturally attracted to the imitation of the brass and glass. Using brass worm weights instead of lead weights is better for the environment. Each time a rig is hung up and lost the weight falls to the bottom and contaminates the water. One weight is not harmful but figure every time someone goes fishing they lose five to ten weights. Over the years these lakes build up a high content of lead and become contaminated. Brass weights do not emit hazardous elements and are environmentally safe. In the future lead fishing weights will be outlawed and brass weights will take their place. Using a seven foot heavy action rod will make the Carolina Rig much easier to handle and cast. The two to three foot long leader is very awkward to cast when using shorter rods. Long casts are necessary and the long rod handles them with ease. The rod must have plenty of length so that when a strike occurs on a long cast a powerful hookset can be attained. On a long cast there may be ninety feet of line out and a long rod will allow you to generate the power to overcome the stretch of the line.

Fishing the Carolina Rig is one of the simplest methods of worm fishing there is. Once you are in an area that you want to fish simply cast the Carolina Rig towards the structure you intend to fish. Let the rig settle to the bottom. Often, this is when a strike occurs because the weight falls to the bottom quickly and the worm is left suspending and slowly falling to the bottom. This fluttering action that the worm has when falling to
the bottom is one of the most important features of the Carolina Rig. After letting the rig settle on the bottom for about twenty to thirty seconds begin retrieving the bait. Hold your rod parallel to the water and in a direction forty five degrees away from the bait. Slowly turn the handle on the reel so that you make a full revolution of the handle about every ten seconds. If you reel your rig across some bottom structure, like a tree or a log, let it settle to the bottom. You should be in constant contact with the bottom, but when you come into the strike zone you want to let the bait flutter to the bottom in the strike zone. Strikes on the Carolina Rig are not always very obvious. Sometimes several taps on the line are all that will be felt. Other times a pulsating pressure will be felt. Also, fish will actually inhale the bait and nearly jerk the rod out of your hands. Most of the time the bites are subtle and a great deal of concentration is necessary to detect these strikes.

Once a strike is detected a sweeping hookset will increase your chances of landing the fish. Because most bites will occur with a lot of line out if you sweep the rod to set the hook a more direct line to the hook is attained. If the rod is jerked straight up, the weight must be lifted before a direct line to the hook is achieved. When the sweeping hookset is used the weight must still be lifted to create a direct line to the bait but more power is generated in the hookset.

Fishing line is also an important aspect of the Carolina Rig. Fishing the deep waters of the lake requires a line that is strong enough to handle the torture of being exposed to rocks, trees, and other rough bottom features. A new type of line was introduce to the world of bass fishing in 1993. A line composed of braided Kevlar and polyethylene was introduce. This line is very small in diameter yet extremely strong. Monofilament, a plastic based product, is our conventional line. To compare the two and their qualities almost seem unfair. A piece of monofilament with a pound test rating of ten is equal to the diameter of the Kevlar braided line with a pound test rating of thirty. The Kevlar braided line is much more sensitive and does not have a high stretch factor. Because the line stretches very little, there is hardly any loss of sensitivity due to the line absorbing sensitivity.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu

Still attempting to get my act together on the BassMaster Invitational Circuit I headed to the Arkansas River last month to fish the first Invitational of the Central Division. The section of river we were able to fish was about 100 miles long. Like last year I chose to fish the southern portion of tournament waters. It was my intentions to fish backwaters and creeks being that it was Fall and that the shad would be back in the creeks spawning again with the bass along with them.

This never fail Fall pattern proved to hold up again as I found a good load of fish back in a main creek. The creek was textbook: deep, with timber, with milfoil, with coontail, with lilly pads, and with small tributaries draining into it. I fished these fish for two days during heavy rain trying to figure out the best way to catch them. Normally I would have just figured that out during the tournament but in this case time was a major factor. These fish took two hours to reach one way so fishing time totaled about three and a half hours. Even late into the second day with all of the rain the water remained clear and it seemed that the runoff was not going to change the water clarity. There was so much aquatic vegetation that I figured any major runoff would be filtered by the matted thick grass that choked the creek.

With my “ace in the hole” fish located I went north for the third day and practiced near the harbor. The tournament would run out of the harbor and it is always good to have a few fish located there just in case.

At the pairings meeting on Wednesday night I drew a guy from Kentucky for the first day. We agreed to head South to my fish the next day. So far so good.

The next morning we leave out in Flight 2C right on time and we are headed out the harbor when we hit a wall of fog just before we reach the Arkansas River. The fog was so thick that we could barely see the front of the boat. Fortunately we were near the bank so we at least had a landmark. My partner said he had a creek nearby that he had caught fish in during practice, so we idled to it. We did not have many other choices being that it was too dangerous to travel in the fog with 152 other tournament boats on the water not to mention the spectator boats, barges, and rock dikes lining the river and harbor.

We stayed in the harbor all day and I caught a limit of fish. I felt confident about the day but knew I could have done better down south on my backwater fish. Anyway I was off to a good start and was in the top 50. My partner for the second day agreed to go South and fish my fish.

We left out Friday morning in Flight 1B and headed down river on our two hour journey. Travel time is only one hour but to go that far South you have to lock down twice which take about a half hour each.

After the second lock it was about thirty five minutes to my fish. I shaved the corners of the river, ran on the insides of the channel buoys, and screamed by the ends of rock dikes trying to cut the distance down a bit in order to get there faster. We turned off of the river and headed into the creek running wide open all the way, I could not wait to get there. During that time I totally forgot about the tournament and all I wanted to do was to get there and enjoy the awesome fishing that was in store for us. As I neared the back of the creek and began to slow an ice cold chill hit me as I realized the water was the muddier than Trinity Bay on a North wind. I quickly looked around and knew this place was impossible in the time that we had to fish. I picked up a spinnerbait made several casts trying to figure out what to do. My partner a very knowledgeable bass fisherman from Oregon agreed that it was hopeless in the time that we had.

Between the second day of practice and the second day of the tournament two days had passed and enough run-off had drained into the creek and ruined the entire backwater. Sure the fish were still there but muddy water initially sickens the fish and makes them lull and not bite. You can still get reaction bites if you get your bait close to them. Well actually the fish in this situation were new to me because I had never fished for bass in water that was this muddy. It was not off color or stained it was rolling mud. Anytime I had ever encountered water that was this muddy I would just go someplace else and fish. This was my key area that was ruined but I did have two lesser backup areas. We fished them and scrambled up a couple of fish each for the day but my expectations were no where near fulfilled.

The third day treated me worse than the second and I fell out of the hunt but I also relearned an old lesson. The lesson being don’t count your chickens before they hatch. I thought that I had a for sure honey hole down in that backwater and my plan backfired with me not ever even considering a back up plan. So in a sense I was not mentally prepared because I had not thought out alternatives for all of the possible situations. Looking back it is as simple as pie, you have to roll with the punches and roll with the weather that Mother Nature deals out. You have to get “into the flow” of Mother Nature. I was obviously no where near the “flow” in this tournament.

In tournament bass fishing there are always variables that can help you be a hero or cause you to be a zero. At any rate my learning continues and I’ll start the whole tournament process over in Georgia late this month at Lake Hartwell.

Also, a special congratulations to my friend and traveling partner Brian Utecht for finishing up in 12th place in Arkansas Tournament. Brian’s fish held up through all of the rain and he mastered three baits during the tournament to coax his fish into biting in a twenty yard stretch of shoreline. Good job Bro.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Havasu