I am going to give credit where it is due. I get this free newsletter emailed to me from a guy named Russ Bassdozer from Gary Yamamoto. It talks about new baits and gives tips . I find it interesting always. Here is part of the email I got this week. Enjoy!
EDITOR'S LOG
When I reflect upon the greatest moments in my own fishing,
it begins with me, my brother and three sisters fishing
practically every weekday once school ended each summer. Our
local lake ran a summer contest for kids. We could each
weigh in five fish per day. Sunfish, crappie, largemouth,
catfish, yellow perch, carp and even golden shiners were all
good. We were too young to go alone. So my Mom, often
accompanied by one or two my aunts with their lawn chairs,
and our many angling cousins would go fishing together while
our respective Dads were at work. We'd meet some of our
friends and their moms there too.
A big awards ceremony and fish fry was held at the end of
each summer. Hundreds of kids would win prizes for the best
fish of each day, each week, the heaviest of each species
overall, and grand prizes for the biggest cumulative catches
of the summer. My brother, sisters, cousins and the many
friends we had, were all good anglers. So we won fishing
rods and reels, tackleboxes, lures and more. Some of our
friends even won sleek English racer bicycles for the best
catches each summer.
As we grew into young teens, fishing became something my
brother and I did with Dad on weekends or weekday nights.
Living near the Atlantic, we went for many kinds of inshore
saltwater species. We took charter boats for deep sea
fishing too. When I got old enough for a job, at 16, I
worked as a mate each summer on a deep sea charter boat
while completing high school.
By our late teens, my brother and I fished more with our
friends our own age. Throughout my 20's, 30's and 40's, I
can recall many close angler friends, the good times I've
shared fishing with them, and the many fine fish we caught
together.
Now, almost fifty years old, the greatest moments in fishing
for me are those treasured times with my family, friends and
a lifetime of fish caught with them, since my early
childhood.
When it comes to the greatest moments in fishing as a
"sport" however, I think of the Bassmaster Classic, which
will be held this coming weekend, starting this Friday,
February 23rd.
When it comes to the greatest moments in a sport like
football, it is the Super Bowl. The greatest moments in
baseball are the World Series. In the performing arts, there
are crowning moments like the Grammy (for music), Emmy (for
TV) and Tony (for theater) awards. Likewise in bass fishing,
the Bassmaster Classic is one of these crowning moments, and
this weekend at Lay Lake, Alabama, our new king will be
crowned during the 36th annual Bassmaster Classic
championship.
__________________________________________________
WHAT MAKES THE PROS GREAT?
It is only the top pros in our sport who make it to the
Bassmaster Classic. Year after year, the who's who in the
world of bass fishing compete in the Classic. You may often
wonder, just what makes these pros so great? What enables
them to reign at the top of our sport? What gets them to the
Classic time and again?
Well, as a writer, I get a chance to interview some of our
sport's top pros, and I get to ask them that very question.
I prepare beforehand for such a privilege. I familiarize
myself with their latest tournament results. I bone up
beforehand on how they have been fishing, what tactics
they've been using and so on. Then I prepare a few killer
questions to ask them, aimed at uncovering what makes these
pros so great. My timing is perfect too, since I tend to ask
them right when they're doing their very best.
So far, I have not uncovered any secrets, tricks, tips or
shortcuts used by the top pros. I've interviewed enough of
them by now that I would be shocked if one ever said
anything that was truly some secret tip - or revealed some
secret lure. Most of them mention the same lures that you
and I use. They tend to use them in basic ways and basic
colors. In fact, most pros tend to be less "color happy"
with lures than the average angler. The colors pros use to
win top competitions are typically few and ordinary. Black
with blue jigs or worms get mentioned quite a bit. Black
neon tubes. Green pumpkin, watermelon or june bug soft
plastics. White or chartreuse/white spinnerbaits or
buzzbaits.
This goes against the buzz phrase of "show them something
they have not seen before." From what I can gather, the top
pros tend to show them something quite common.
But don't take my word for it. Here's a...
__________________________________________________
CONDENSED LIST OF CLASSIC WINNERS' LURES
We have condensed soup, condensed milk, and now we have a
condensed list of Bassmaster Classic winners' lures for the
past 35 years.
Most all the information below is summarized from the
original source material found at:
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/classic/
This condensed list may not necessarily be correct or
complete. There may be errors or omissions. For instance,
winners' lures were not cited for 1973 nor 1981.
Nevertheless, this list give a great feel for what the pros
have used to win Bassmaster Classics:
** October, 1971 - Classic I - Lake Mead, NV
Bobby Murray (Hot Springs, AK) fished a 1/4 oz Stan Sloan
Zorro Aggravator tandem blade spinnerbait.
** October, 1972 - Classic II - Percy Priest Lake, TN
Don Butler (Tulsa, OK) used a Small Okiebug spinnerbait of
his own design.
** October, 1973 - Classic III - Clark Hill, SC
Rayo Breckenridge (Paragould, AK). No lures cited.
** October/November, 1974 - Classic IV - Lake Wheeler, AL
Tommy Martin (Hemphill, TX) used a white Fleck Weed Wader
spinnerbait with a trailer hook. Also, shad-colored Rebel
Super-R and Bagley Balsa B crankbaits.
** October, 1975 - Classic V - Currituck Sound, NC
Jack Hains (Rayne, LA) fished purple/yellow plastic worms,
Johnson Silver Minnow spoons and Fleck Weed Wader
spinnerbaits.
** November, 1976 - Classic VI - Lake Guntersville, AL
Rick Clunn (Montgomery, TX) "bulged" a white Fleck Weed
Wader spinnerbait with two huge blades and a sinker crimped
onto its arm for added weight. Also, a small balsa Honey Bee
crankbait.
** October, 1977 - Classic VII - Lake Toho, FL
Rick Clunn (Montgomery, Texas) fished with a Floyd's Buzzer
and used a black Johnson spoon.
** October, 1978 - Classic VIII - Barnett Lake, MS
Bobby Murray (Nashville, TN) used a black TimberKing spoon
with a chartreuse skirt. He added a silver Hildebrandt
spinner on front and a trailer hook on back.
** September, 1979 - Classic IX - Lake Texoma, TX
Hank Parker (Clover, SC) flipped heavy jigs into thick
cover.
** September, 1980 - Classic X - St. Lawrence River, NY
Bo Dowden (Natchitoches, LA) used heavy jigs with pork frog
trailers.
** October, 1981 - Classic XI - Lake Montgomery, AL
Stanley Mitchell (Fitzgerald, GA). No lures cited.
** October, 1982 - Classic XII - Lake Montgomery, AL
Paul Elias (Laurel, MS) fished deep diver crankbaits.
** August 1983 - Classic XIII - Ohio River, OH
Larry Nixon (Hemphill, TX) fished with a 5" black/blue Ditto
Baby Gator Tail worm on a 3/16 oz slip sinker rig. Also, a
white spinnerbait early in the day, and a white buzzbait.
** August, 1984 - Classic XIV - Arkansas River, AK
Rick Clunn (Montgomery, TX) used one crankbait having a wide
wobble, and a second crank with a more subdued wiggle.
** August, 1985 - Classic XV - Arkansas River, AK
Jack Chancellor (Phenix City, AL) fished Chancellor's Do
Nothing worm on a Carolina rig.
** August, 1986 - Classic XVI - Chickamauga, TN
Charlie Reed (Broken Bow, OK) used plum-color worms and a
deep diving crankbait.
** August, 1987 - Classic XVII - Ohio River, OH
George Cochran (North Little Rock, AK) used a 6"
purple/white Mister Twister Phenom worm.
** August, 1988 - Classic XVIII - James River, VA
Guido Hibdon (Gravois Mills, MO) pitched a 3/16 oz Stanley
Jig with a Guido Bug soft plastic crawfish trailer. Also
used a spinnerbait.
** August, 1989 - Classic XIX - James River, VA
Hank Parker (Denver, NC) slow-rolled a 3/4 oz Hawg Caller
spinnerbait modified with tandem gold blades.
** August, 1990 - Classic XX - James River, VA
Rick Clunn (Montgomery, TX) fished cranks, leading to his
design of Poe's RC1 cedar crankbait.
** 1991 - Classic XXI - Baltimore, MD
Ken Cook (Meers, OK) used a spinnerbait.
** July/August, 1992 - Classic XXII - Lake Logan Martin, AL
Robert Hamilton Jr. (Brandon, MS) used a 9A Bomber; Cordell
Super Spot; Norman DD22 crankbait; a 3/4 oz Stanley
spinnerbait; a 7/16 oz Stanley Jig (with Berkley Power Craw
or Hale's Craw Worm trailers); and a Luck "E" Strike Razor
Worm.
** August, 1993 - Classic XXIII - Lake Logan Martin, AL
David Fritts (Lexington, NC) used crankbaits: Poe's 300 and
400 Series deep divers; Poe's 400 Plus; a Poe's 400 Plus
modified to dive even deeper. All blue chartreuse. Also, a
shallow running flat-sided crankbait from a friend.
** July, 1994 - Classic XXIV - High Rock Lake, NC
Bryan Kerchal (Newton, CT) pitched a red-shad color Culprit
worm.
** August, 1995 - Classic XXV - High Rock Lake, NC
Mark Davis (Mount Ida, AK) fished a 1 oz white Strike King
Pro Model spinnerbait and Bomber Fat-Free Shad crankbaits.
** August, 1996 - Classic XXVI - Lay Lake, AL
George Cochran (Hot Springs, AK) slow-rolled a 3/4 oz white
Strike King Premier Pro Model spinnerbait with double
Colorado blades. He flipped a red Riverside Pro Rib worm.
Also a 1/4 oz buzzbait, a Cordell Little O crankbait. Also
flipped a tube jig.
** August, 1997 - Classic XXVII - Lake Logan Martin, AL
Dion Hibdon (Stover, MO) skipped a Luck "E" Strike Dion's
Secret soft twin-tailed skirted grub on a 1/4 oz jighead of
his own design.
** August, 1998 - Classic XXVIII - High Rock Lake, NC
Denny Brauer (Camdenton, MO) flipped a 3" black neon tube he
Texas-rigged with a 1/4 oz bullet weight.
** July, 1999 - Classic XXIX - Louisiana Delta, LA
Davy Hite (Prosperity, SC) fished a 1/4 oz black Boogerman
buzzbait; a homemade white plastic frog; a yellow/black
crankbait from a friend; and a junebug Gambler Bacon Rind,
rigged with the 3/8 oz screw-in sinker and a 5/0 Owner
Riggin' hook.
** July, 2000 - Classic XXX - Lake Michigan, IL
Woo Daves (Spring Grove, VA) fished a 1/8 oz Zoom tube jig.
Daves may also dropshot and slow-rolled a heavy spinnerbait.
** August, 2001 - Classic XXXI - Louisiana Delta, LA
Kevin VanDam (Kalamazoo, MI) used a 1/2 oz Strike King
Premier Elite jig (black/blue/purple) with a Zoom Super
Chunk trailer. Also, a Strike King Wild Thing soft plastic
creature bait.
** July, 2002 - Classic XXXII - Lay Lake, AL
Jay Yelas (Tyler, TX) used a 5/8 oz Berkley Classic Power
Jig designed by Jay Yelas with a brown/black/pumpkin
Powerbait skirt and a Berkley Tournament Strength Power Frog
chunk type trailer in green pumpkin color. Also a Berkley
Frenzy deep diving crankbait (fire tiger color).
** August, 2003 - Classic XXXIII - Louisiana Delta, LA
Mike Iaconelli used a Mann's Stone Jig as well as Mann's
Super Finesse Worm and Mann's Swim Worm.
** July/August, 2004 - Classic XXXIV - Charlotte, NC
Takahiro Omori (Emory, TX) used a shallow-running Bagley
balsa crankbait; a Lunker Lure jig; and two Texas-rigged
soft plastic creature baits - Gary Yamamoto's Kreature and
Zoom's Brush Hog.
** July, 2005 - Classic XXXV - Pittsburgh, PA
Kevin VanDam (Kalamazoo, MI) fished a Smithwick Rogue
jerkbait (chrome color).
** February, 2006 - Classic XXXVI - Lake Toho, FL
Luke Clausen (Spokane Valley, WA) used a 6" Mann's HardNose
worm (junebug color).
Most all the information above is summarized from the
original source material found at:
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/classic/
__________________________________________________
SO WHAT MAKES THE PROS SO GREAT?
If you've read this far, thank you.
You may have concluded by now, that what separates the pros
from the rest of us, it isn't their lures, the rods, reels
or fishing lines they use. Not their boats nor motors.
Consider other sports or endeavors also. What makes an
Olympic gold medallist excel at swimming or ice skating?
It's not the pool, the rink or the skates. What makes an
extraordinary student score higher grades than the rest of
the class? It's not the textbooks nor the pen they use.
In fishing as in life, what separates the greats from the
rest of us is hard work, time practicing and training,
study, and the drive to succeed. That's what makes the pros
great. There are no secret tips or shortcuts to achieve
that.
