Postspawn masters and deepwater anglers will prevail at Toledo Bend

By Jim Root


APR 28, 2014


MANY, La. — As the pros get ready to compete in the 2014 Evan Williams Bourbon Bassmaster Elite at Toledo Bend, and as fans likewise get ready to set their teams for Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing, it’s a good time to take note of the weather and the conditions the pros will face.


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Fishing B.A.S.S. or FLW this week? Here's a preview of what you'll find.

As tournament bass season rolls on there are more events taking place each week.  From Arizona Virginia anglers will be competing at various levels across the county.  Here are a few tournaments that I picked to give some predictions on for the upcoming week.

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The unmistakable advantage of Trokar.

The competition in the world of fishing hooks just took a back seat!

Every angler has a story.  A nightmare.  A memory of that one fish that shook the bait off and got away at the boat.  It's enough to make you sick to your stomach.  The piece of mind that comes from knowing how unlikely it is to ever have that happen again is something anglers would pay dearly for.

Which is why you are using Trokar hooks, by Eagle Claw.

Unlike any other fishing hook you've ever seen, these are undeniably different.  The very appearance is almost scary, it is as if there's a sinister darkness that surrounds each hook.  I imagine it's what something of Batman's would resemble in real life.  Dangerous.  Strong.

Dominant.

It screams out "You'll do as I say" via a presence that commands obedience by the fish.

People who have used Trokar hooks swear by them.  In particular, the drop shot hook is particularly impressive.  Not only are they made of the strongest, cold-forged, high carbon steel on the market, but the point resembles a broadhead, and will penetrate even the toughest jaw of any smallmouth bass.  With each run, jump, turn, you'll gain more and more confidence in your ability to keep fish from shaking you off while hearing yourself say "Oh please don't jump, stay down, stay down" with less frequency.  That kind of trust is priceless.  Each hook is surgically sharpened like no other, and made in The USA.

You will absolutely find Lazer Trokar to have the sharpest, longest lasting point on the market.  So stop losing fish, and start fishing Trokar!

It pays to love a jerk!

After a long cold winter in the Northeastern United States the ice is finally melting off most of the lakes in New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire. With temperatures climbing near 80 on some sunny afternoons, it can be a great time to get on the water. But go too early in the morning, and the cool 30 degree air will quickly remind you that it's still early spring. Bass are still deep. It'll be another month at the least before they begin the spawning process (breeding season). For now, the water remains in the 40s, but despite the cold water this can be a tremendous time to catch cold-water bass on jerkbaits.
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Trout season in full swing across the US

Guide Josh Sheldon with a great stream Brown Trout from Wharton Creek, in New Berlin NY

There is little purer than Trout fishing in America. It's timeless, romantic, and above all else it represents the end of winter. Much of what I learned came from my grandfather, Les. It's not easy, and unlike other bodies of water, small streams require very specific conditions to be productive fisheries. In streams like this one, if the water is too high, too low, too warm, or too cold, and you're not properly prepared it'll leave you empty handed.

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The "Crawside" of the Moon

Understanding crawfish patterns and coloration is key to big bites!




There are very few people in the world who don't throw jigs or other crawfish imitations when bass fishing. Some people have no less than three jigs tied at any given time on their boat. So what is it that makes them so deadly on bass, and how do you know what color to use? There has been a lot of research recently that says it's not enough to throw a tube, you need to know the correct pattern.


Click here to read the rest at my feature blog at Weather Underground, Reel Weather.

He said we should go. The story of a red canoe.

I was so young the first time my parents took me fishing that I can't remember it.  I don't remember the fish, the river, or the photo that followed.  I remember the Zebco 202 that was my first fishing pole.  I can still see it, green and white, dirty, leaning against the old plank wooden walls of the garage, and the bobber half attached.  I can still hear my mom's voice reminding me as I would set it in the crotch of the stick that I had shoved in the ground that "don't walk from that or you'll lose it like I did that day", referencing the memory of having her fishing pole dragged into the water while not paying attention to the bite she had.  There were many trips, and many fish, and many more that would come without my parents and with children of my own.  Fishing became my joy, my celebration, and my way to cope.

It's nice out, let's go fishing!

I'm getting married, let's go fishing!

I don't want to talk about it, let's just go fishing.

It's the thing that has always been there for me and my brother through those very moments.  My bachelor party was a fishing trip to Lake Steere, a private lake in NY that had served as a second home to my brother and I growing up.  It was just like it was when we were kids:  fishing, Terry's amazing french toast for breakfast, playing cards, laughing so hard our sides hurt.  My "friends" made me row a jon boat with a kayak paddle while the rest of them fished out of boats with motors of some kind.  I caught nothing.  Our dad wasn't able to join us because he had been recovering from lung cancer, but he said we should go and have a good time.  We did, but it wasn't quite the same without him.

Pictured left to right: Jim Root, Clayton Kappauff, Seth Knapp, Mike Root

Shortly after that my Dad bought a used canoe.  It was red and had a very shady patch in the side.  My Dad was really excited about this hot new item of his.  "We're gonna get that thing out this summer and do some fishing!" he would say while rocking on his heels and lifting his head in the air.  It became the thing my brother and I would do together.  It was our thing.  I'm pretty sure that my Dad never had any intention of actually using it himself.  I think seeing his two boys load it up in the truck and take off for a day or even just a couple hours was ultimately the reason behind buying it.  It provided us an opportunity to catch smallies like the one I'm holding below, or to just get away and talk with each other.

Years later when my brother was getting married we again settled on a weekend of fishing for his bachelor party at Black Lake in Hammond NY.  Known as "Nature's Fish Hatchery", the weekend would come to be packed with cards, steaks, beverages, beautiful Northern Pike, Walleye, Smallmouth, and the Largemouth Bass my brother is holding below.  Again our Dad was unable to go.  This time, he was dying, but he insisted that my brother and I take a break from alternating nights caring for him, to go as we had planned.  "I want you to go, Jim.  It's important to me that you and your brother go."  So go we did, and as it should be my brother caught the biggest fish of the weekend, and I in turn caught the picture of the biggest smile anyone would see on his face for weeks before or to come.  In that brief moment of time holding that fish, everything was right in the world.  We weren't heavy-hearted and struggling to keep our emotions in control.  The wedding was a month later, but our father wouldn't be there.  He would pass away less than two weeks after our trip North.

Fishing can be those things.  That's what makes it so special, so unique.  It can be your family tradition, your lunch break, your honeymoon, your solace, your heartache, your bonding with your son or daughter, or a reason to buy a patched up red canoe for your sons because you'll know there will soon come a time when they'll need it.

And need each other.