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TODAY’s Top 3

1. Bass fisherman suing IGFA over $1 mil snub.

Last year B.A.S.S. member and war vet Rodney Ply caught a world record (at the time) freshwater striper while bass fishing with a bait of his own making on Bull Shoals. First, AR rejected his claim for a state record because of…no good reason. Then the International Game Fish Assn (IGFA) fiddled over the world record claim for a while, eventually rejecting it saying his homemade bait was some kind of spreader bar because it was Alabama Rig-like…but not really.

Rodney appealed the IGFA’s decision, but it didn’t go anywhere. Now he’s suing the IGFA to make things right:

> Ply dove 21 hours from Diamond City, AR to Broward County to find a lawyer – and attorneys Eric Rudenberg and Mike Glasser have taken the case.

> “He’d have a better chance of winning the lottery than catching a fish like this again – he deserves [the prize money],” said Rudenberg.

> They say they believe IGFA made its ruling against Ply because it has a bias against freshwater fishing based on its own membership, which is largely made up of saltwater [anglers]. Ultimately winning the million dollars was a man who caught a saltwater tuna.

> “They bent over backwards to deny him the prize because they wanted a picture of a saltwater fish,” said Glasser. “That’s where they make their money.”

That article is referring to 2 things: Rodney was enrolled in Mustad’s Hook a Million contest when he caught that fish, and that million (guess it was just one prize?) just went to a guy who hooked a tuna…and who I’m sure has a few more sheckles in the kitty than Rodney.

So here’s the score so far:

> Salt of the earth guy + homemade lure + freshwater record striper = 0.

> Wealthy(er) dude + live/dead bait + record tuna = $1 mil.

I’m rooting for Rodney, how ’bout you.

2. Here’s the A-rig used to catch the new OK record largie…

…plus how it was modded to work at slow speeds:

> Josh Walls, owner of the Bass Fanatix bait shop in Poteau, has been modifying Alabama rigs to be lighter weight and have plenty of action when fished at slower speeds.

> “The one I loaned [the guy who caught the record] was a Mann’s rig that was modified.” Walls cuts the center wire down so it is short, and instead of putting a bait on that wire he fits it with a small willow-leaf spinner blade.

> On each of the remaining four wires he attaches slightly larger blades halfway up the shafts. He cuts off the ends, slides the spinners into place, makes a U-shaped bend to hold the spinners in place and re-attaches the swivels. “It’s just a matter of knowing how to bend them,” he said.

> The other key thing about the modified bait is the slim swimbait jig heads he uses. They’re made by Rick Short of Charleston, Ark., who makes custom rods and baits he brands as Hawg Hunter. “You can only get them at my shop and one other place,” Walls said. “I don’t think he even has a website.”

> The 1/8th- and 3/16th-ounce jig heads are made for use on umbrella rigs. They have larger hooks than most commercially available heads, Walls said. “You can get them with similar heads but they have a small hook,” he said. “These have a nice big hook.”

The lures were Gene Larew Sweet Swimmers.

3. Spawn map…so?

We all know the best way to tell what the weather is is to go outside. Kind of the way I feel about spawn maps. First, it’s a guess. Second, the best way to know is to get out on the water and look. You hearin’ me folks?! Here it is anyways…and the only thing it does for me is to make me realize that I need to move south!

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Good vid.

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News

1. Bass Pro Shops launches bowfishing derby…

…on Table Rock this weekend. You bass-heads better be ready to duck out there…but if you were hardcore you’d be fishin’ this insanely awesome derby anyhow:

2. Fish the Ram Mega Bass!

It’s this weekend, April 7! A Dodge Ram truck and checks given out every hour, plus checks every hour down to 15th, plus fishing on Lake Fork!

3. B.A.S.S. Nation gets BoatUS.

4. VA: grass carp dropped in Diamond Rez.

5. Zman settles Chatterbait lawsuit with Renosky.

Patents = expensive. Violating patents = a lot more expensive!

Contests

1. Busch: Win a trip with KVD.

2. Gander Mntn: Win Rojas’ boat (want!).

3. B.A.S.S.: Fish with Skeet.

 

Tip of the Day

Best baits for early Erie smallies.

> “My favorite soft plastic for Erie bass is the 4-inch Yum 2ube in any of the browns or green hues. I insert a 3/8-ounce football head into the body using a little Yum F-2 Crayfish Scent as a lubricant for the leadhead. I use a 20-lb braid/12-pound fluorocarbon leader for all my early Erie presentations.” Strikes range from typical largemouth “taps” to a sluggish feeling on the end of the line.

> A blade bait like the Heddon Sonar is every bit as important to Stuyvesant as the tube. While he has experimented with many color patterns, Bryan says his most productive for springtime smallmouth is chrome – although gold is a good backup for roiled water that occurs after storms. “Cast the blade out, let it find bottom, take up slack and lift it just inches off the bottom until you feel it vibrate. Then sit it back down. Nothing more. That’s all it takes for a smallmouth grab it.”

> For the jigging spoon. He prefers a ½-ounce Cotton Cordell CC Spoon in silver, but goes to a ¾-ounce model when fishing deep water in a chop. He attaches the spoon to his line with a quality snap-swivel to cut down on line twist, but it’s how he fishes the spoon which mystifies many anglers. “In the cold water Erie smallmouth will pick the spoon right off the bottom while it’s just lying there. I cast the spoon and let it sink to the bottom, then start shaking the rod tip lightly to make the spoon dance a little bit, but not enough so it jumps off the bottom. Then I pause and wait for a bass to pick up the spoon. Feel the little peck, set the hook.”

> If there’s no pickup, Stuyvesant drags or slowrolls the spoon along the bottom for couple feet much like dragging a tube. When he pauses, he shakes the spoon again. He repeats the shake-pause- drag-shake-pause all the way to the boat.

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Quote of the Day

Some fishermen complain about catching them because they don’t get as big.

– TX biologist talking about spotted bass. TX fishermen are spoilt!

On the other hand, in basson’, bigger is always better.

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Shot of the Day

Here’s why you should join me in saving to move to Guntersville…unless you live in CA or TX. These were caught yesterday, pic from the AL Bass Trail’s Facebook page.

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