My latest release at Wired2Fish-

I like to reminisce from time to time. Most fishermen do. I think back to some of my most memorable moments spent on the water. Growing up fishing with my dad. Some have stuck with me on account of a big fish catch. Others were just great days on the water. All, however, involved one thing for certain—a fishing lure.

Some bait or another was a part of each and every memory. I can think back to a plethora of past plastics and hard baits that I haven’t laid eyes on in years. I remember every color, texture and smell. 

Baits that I grew up fishing. Baits that brought in thousands of pounds of fish, or so I like to remember. Everyone who has fished a large portion of his or her life has baits like these. Memories from one manufacturer or another. > see more at Wired2Fish.com.

My latest release at AON Magazine- 

There are few places on earth as densely populated with giant spotted bass as the Black Warrior River. I grew up fishing the Coosa River and can attest first-hand to the ferocity that lies in store each time you hook into a Coosa Spot. However, the more I come in contact with the Black Warrior, the more impressed I am with just how mean and big its spotted bass can be.

Coosa Spots, as violent and plentiful as they are, can’t compare to the spotted bass fishery found in the Black Warrior River, in strength or in number. There are several contributing factors to what sets the Black Warrior apart, but the dominant key has to be an abundance of current.

A part of the largest watershed encompassed entirely in the state of Alabama, the Black Warrior is charged by numerous feeder creeks and some of the most nutrient-rich runoff in the country. This nutrient-packed, ever-moving water is like a lifetime supply of protein bars and a gym membership for every bass in the fishery. > see more at AONMag.com.

My latest release at FLWOutdoors.com-

The Detroit River FLW Tour Open has come and gone and it was an eye-opener for me personally. I have fished all my life and covered tournaments across the country but I’ve never seen fishing quite like its done on St Clair and Lake Erie. For starters, the contour of St. Clair seems to change less than an inch per mile.

There are areas like those along the shipping channel, where massive freighters leave 20 feet tall wakes, that have a significant depth change. However the Bell River Hump, where half the top 10 fished (including winner Larry Nixon and runner-up Bill McDonald), is basically a 10-square mile flat under 14 feet of water. > see more at FLWOutdoors.com.

My latest release at FLWOutdoors.com-

When our coverage crew set sail on Lake Lanier to cover the Forrest Wood Cup, the common focus was down lake where most of the fishermen were located and where the tournament was one just two years earlier. The majority of the anglers were targeting deep-seated spotted bass with a drop shot and an array of other baits. Very few had turned left out of Laurel Park and headed up the Chattahoochee River.

However, one of the anglers who did was the eventual Cup champion, Jacob Wheeler. Wheeler went way north, to the point where the vast, winding Chattahoochee turned into a babbling stream littered with laydowns and submerged rocks. A hazardous wonderland, that produced the majority of an astounding 21-pound, 15-ounce bag on day one for Wheeler, and had him in a commanding lead. > see more at FLWOutdoors.com.

My latest release at FLWOutdoors.com-

Although I had never been to Lake Champlain prior to our coverage of the Walmart FLW Tour Major held last week, I had always heard that it was as diverse a fishery as it was plentiful. The Tour anglers certainly validated both statements. During the four-day event we saw thousands of fish caught and it was dealer’s choice as to which technique was employed. There were certain baits that bested others of course, but for the most part, if you backed your boat in Champlain, you were going to catch fish. > see more at FLWOutdoors.com.

My latest release at Wired2Fish-

Florida bass fishing can be some of the best in the country no matter what time of year you hit the water. With mild to scorching hot temperatures year round the bass never get cold in Florida, so they never stop growing. Arguably the best time to head south however is on or around the spawn. Large females move in to the shallow weedy waters of lakes like Lake Okeechobee to feed up, lay their eggs and then feed heavily again before returning to open water or burying up in thick vegetation.

The tail end of the spawn is one of the most exciting times to bass fish in Florida. It seems that there are hundreds of bass per acre fresh out of the spawn and no longer preoccupied with furthering the species along. Once the females lay their eggs, they don’t wait around for room service. Instead they hop out of bed and get on the prowl for whatever they can find. This presents a perfect opportunity to peruse the shallows with reaction baits and load the boat. > see more at Wired2Fish.com.

My latest release at FLWOutdoors.com 

Just prior to the FLW Tour Major on Table Rock, the common starting point for most anglers was shallow. However, the prevalent notion that the event would be won sight-fishing didn’t prove true. Instead, the majority of the top-10 anglers found large limits of pre-spawn females in a 5-mile stretch of Long Creek that had the most stained water.

Although the tournament was won by Brent Long pitching a jig, the rest of the anglers fishing in the area were throwing moving baits and bringing in big weights as well. The key bait for most was a shallow running crankbait that anglers bounced off wood and rock to trigger reaction strikes from the big bass that were feeding up before going onto the bed. > see more at FLWOutdoors.com.

Article by Rob Newell (Courtesy FLWOutdoors.com)

Shaye Baker of Reeltown, Ala., moved up to fifth place with two-day total of 33 pounds, 14 ounces.

Baker, who is a freelance writer and on-the-water reporter for FLW Outdoors, is backing up his pen and camera with a rod and reel this week at Lake Seminole.

His ticket on day one was a blistering shad-spawn bite early in the morning. Today, however, his shad-spawn bite waned and he had to adapt with a topwater.

“The key lure on the shad-spawn place is a homemade spinnerbait,” Baker said. “And when I go down the lake I’m throwing a Jackall Bowstick topwater. Yesterday I didn’t have to go way down into the lake, but today when my shad-spawn spot died, I went down there with the Bowstick and it really saved me with a 4-pounder and two 3-pounders.”

For the entire article click here.

My latest release at Wired2Fish -

When discussing giant spotted bass in the southeast, a lot of the talk centers on the Coosa River. With fisheries like Jordan, Mitchell and Lay Lake making so much noise in the fishing world, there is often little mention of the Black Warrior River and the lakes that make it up. Don’t be fooled, however, the Warrior is a mecca for giant spots as well, and many experts believe it will be the location of the next state-record spotted bass.

The Black Warrior River is the largest watershed entirely in the state of Alabama. It’s composed of the Locust Fork or Little River and the Mulbery Fork which flows out of Smith Lake. Logs, rock bluffs, lily pads and pea gravel points present different cover to compose a diverse fishery. The Warrior has some current but nowhere near as much as the Coosa since its dams aren’t the primary source of hydroelectric power generation for the area. > see more at Wired2Fish.com.