2014 – Big Bass Madness

This year has been noticeably different than other years when it comes to big bass.  It has gotten to the point this year where I pretty much expect to catch at least one fish in the 5-10 pound range every time I go out, no matter what lake I’m on.  If I don’t, I’m disappointed and it was a “tough” day.  This is a remarkably different attitude than I’ve had in the past.  So why is this year so different?  What has changed from previous years?  Now, granted, the lake I spend more time on than anywhere is Lake Austin, which is a renowned big bass lake here in central Texas.  So is it the lake?  Is it better all of the sudden?  No, I don’t think so.  There have been huge bags of bass pulled out of Lake Austin ever since I’ve lived here.  What about the lack of grass on Lake Austin this year?  Has the elimination of the cover exposed these big fish and made them easier to catch?  Eh, maybe, probably, but like I mentioned, it’s not just Lake Austin that I’ve been catching more big bass out of this year.  Ok, so if the answer doesn’t lie within Lake Austin itself, what is contributing to this year being better?  I think there are a few factors.  Let’s take a look:

Equipment.  Personally, I feel like this is the number one contributing factor.  This year I have been fortunate enough to team up with a handful of GREAT companies that produce GREAT products.  That means that I am using nothing but the best equipment these days, or at least what I feel to be the best equipment.  Using nothing but the best means that I am able to become closer to being what I call, mechanically perfect.  Being mechanically perfect means that everything is running and working exactly how it should.  This includes everything: my boat, electronics, rods, reels, line, baits, etc.  Ardent has made a big difference.  Their Apex reel series are fantastic.  I can make longer, more accurate casts with these reels than ever before.  Their Denny Brauer Signature series of rods have also been pretty great.  I was a little skeptical at first, but I gotta hand it to ’em… they handle pretty darn well and I rarely lose fish.  I contribute lost fish to the rod more than anything.  P-Line is another awesome one.  Now that I am committed to always using P-Line, break-offs on fish have nearly been eliminated.  Some of those big fish that I may have had bust me off in the past, are now coming into the boat with more regularity.  The thing that I’ve been more impressed with than anything with P-Line is their braid.  The Spectrex braid is awesome, especially on a spinning reel.  Simply fantastic.  River2Sea makes some of the best hard baits on the market.  These are tournament winning baits, guys.  I read an article a while back where one of the FLW pros was talking about how a lot of baits are liars.  As in, they don’t run true for the entire length of a cast.  They only run true during the last half or third of the cast as they get closer to the boat.  River2Sea baits are not liars.  I can use my Ardent Apex reel to fire off a long cast with a River2Sea bait, and River2Sea baits run true for the entire length of that cast.  That equates to way more productive time spent in the water.  And PowerTeam Lures… best soft plastic baits soaked in some of the best fish attractant on the market.  PowerTeam Lures just have some of the most innovative and creative soft plastic designs out there.  It’s no secret that soft plastics get thrown more than any other style of bait, and when you are fishing some of the highly pressured waters that I do here in Texas, it pays big dividends to give the fish something different to look at.  The PowerTeam Lures Ribbon Hinge worm has accounted for a ton of my fish over 5lbs this summer.  Just awesome.

Confidence/Attitude.  Because I’m working with such great companies and using such great gear, that equates to fishing with confidence.  Every time I go out, I expect to catch big fish and I expect to catch lots of them.  Because of that, I find myself fishing in a manner that I am fishing for big fish, all of the time.  Not just fishing to get bit or catch a limit.  I am fishing for the big boys and going out swinging hard every time I hit the water.  If I’m in a tournament, I’m fishing to win, not just fishing to try and do well and hopefully win.  Not only that, but I expect to have my limit and be well on my way towards a big sack within the first 2-3 hours of the tournament.  It’s just a total change of attitude from the past.  I am targeting big fish patterns and big fish areas because I know I can find them, figure them out, and catch them.  It’s as simple as that.  When you aren’t fishing with confidence, you start fishing just trying to get bit.  You stop taking the risks necessary to really find the big ones.

Experience.  Last, of course, is experience.  It is only expected that you get better at something the longer you do it right?  We all have bad years or slump periods, yes, but over the long haul, we should be able to see ourselves improving.  Every year I do this, I learn a little bit more about how this game is played and how to improve upon my game.  My philosophies about tournament fishing and about making decisions on the water have completely changed from what they were even just a few years ago.  I used to try and make tournament fishing something that was too exact of a science.  I’ve learned you just can’t do that.  Each tournament is a completely different beast and requires constant adaptation and just rolling with the punches.  They all require different strategies.  I’ve learned that the minute you try and lock yourself in to something or become too committed to something, you can possibly be setting yourself up for failure.  You’ve got to learn to go with your gut, even if it doesn’t really make sense in your head.  Which, can be really hard to do sometimes.  All of this gets easier to do, however, with experience.

Here’s hoping these trends all continue…

Here’s a few pics of some 5+ lbers from this year…