Triplett Ready for National Championship

Larry T. at Ouachita River
All pics ctsy Audrey McKenney

      The BASS Nation National Championship Tournament is about to get started and the Colorado State Champion Larry Triplett is ready to get started.

    

A Lot Going On This Year!

A summer event for Walmart

Also at: Matt Massey Outdoors

     Not the least of which is the fact that the Rayovac FLW Series Championship Tournament about to start, but Matt has been a very busy angler.  Between tournaments and filming for a Television show, he’s landed his own keeper at home!  Or, did he get hooked himself?

Lightning Strikes at Grand Lake Rayovac

Matt at the Day 2 weigh-in on Grand Lake
credit: Matt Massey

     Grand Lake O’ Cherokees, Oklahoma in April promised to be a bass-on-beds bonanza and the popular lake certainly did not disappoint at the Rayovac FLW Series held April 16-18, 2015!  Nearly every one of the top Pro’s reported catching their limits by sight fishing, including Matt Massey.

Larry Triplett Maintains lead on Day 2 of BASS Nation Western Divisional

Colorado BASS Nation State President Audrey McKenney
stands out as the boats take off on Day 2, photo ctsy bassmaster.com

The bass are getting bigger at the 2015 BASS Nation Western Divisional!  Today there were three bass at the scales over 10 lbs. and the current Big Bass of the tournament now stands at an even 11 lbs!  There were even a few nice size smallmouth today!  And a few reports of catching double-digit bass only to have to let them go because CA regulations require that fish must be hooked inside the mouth at all times, not just when sight fishing.

2015 Clear Lake Western Divisional, Day 1

Colorado BASS Nation 2015 State Team
Photo ctsy of Bassmaster.com

     The 2015 BASS Nation Western Divisional at Clear Lake, CA started this year with a fog delay for an hour and a half, creating concern during the important morning bite, according to many anglers who anticipated an early limit of eager plus-sized largemouth bass.  Despite the delay there were some great bass caught and the next two days of the three day event only promises to be better.

Gary Collins Wins Second Cal BASS Nation Event

From L-R: 4th Brian Day,
3rd and Big Bass Dejon Lewis
1st Gary Collins
2nd Jason Hemminger
Pic ctsy of Mike Landy

The second of four California BASS Nation qualifying tournaments, held August 24-25, 2014 at Lake Nacimiento, CA, was an exercise in persistence and tolerance for most.  The numbers were there even if the sizes were not.

What’s Your Line? Part 1: Monofilament

Recently the question was asked about what kinds of line to use in which situations, and why.   Here are a few basic guidelines I like to follow for monofilament lines.

There are a lot of choices when it comes to monofilament fishing line and that is one of the pluses associated with it.  Another is that monofilament is a cost-efficient choice for those that replace their line often.  Monofilament costs a lot less than fluorocarbon and braided superlines.

Everyone grew up with monofilament fishing line.  Likely your first snoopy rod or Zebco 33 had 8 lb. Stren monofilament on it.  Monofilament line is still the standard that other lines are compared to, even if just talking about limitations or comparing diameter.  Since I am most familiar with the Berkley Trilene brands I will use them as a base for this topic.

There are certain applications where monofilament line is the preferred choice and not the other options.  Monofilament line floats and is great for topwater lures that walk or pop, lures that move slower and sometimes stop and sit still in the water.  Fluorocarbon lines sinks, so using it with these types of lures will pull the front of the floating lure down and often under the surface of the water and prevent the lure from operating as it is intended.  Mono also has plenty of stretch when that big fish hammers the lure and the immediate reaction from the angler is to set the hook hard on a fish with a mouthful of treble hooks.  When fishing topwater plugs I like to use 17 pound Trilene XT (Xtra Tough) since it is a reliable, strong line that can handle any bass that hits it and still has a great chance of getting your lure back just in case that 20-30 pound striper or wiper takes off with it.

Because mono is less expensive it also makes a good value for those reels that may need new line often and where the sensitivity of the other lines is not necessary.  I specifically use Trilene XT for spinnerbaits and buzzbaits because often these lures are cast across, into and against heavy cover like timber and brush, and the abrasion resistance of XT keeps me from losing fish, yet, being so close to cover means that checking your line often and retying as needed means you are losing line by the foot as the day goes on.  Spinnerbaits and buzzbaits are my favorite techniques and my set-up is “Old School” across the board.  When most are favoring 7 ft. rods or longer, I like a 5.5 ft. pistol grip Fenwick HMG or HMX with 17-20 pound Trilene XT because I can be as accurate casting this outfit as flipping a jig with a flipping stick, which is important when enticing bass out of a large field of brush where only inches of casting lane is available between the bushes.  A short, sidearm cast can place the lures into tight spots, adjacent and parallel to cover, next to laydowns or under overhanging cover, better than an overhead power cast, bringing fish hanging tight to cover out for that split second of action it takes to hammer the lure, yet the line is still strong enough to power the fish away from cover before they get tangled up underwater.

Monofilament line, Big Game, is also on about half of the reels I have seen aboard the saltwater boats and the consensus seems to be that the stretch of the line is often desired to keep from losing big fish that otherwise would have broken the line or pulled the hook on less-stretch or no-stretch lines.  Since bigger reels are the norm in saltwater then the heavier, larger diameter lines can still be used without compromising reel capacity.

Most of the light line (Trilene XL,) spinning reel applications that I once would use monofilament line for has been replaced by fluorocarbon line, but anytime a line needs to float instead of sink then monofilament is the line to use, like, for instance, a very small popper or a floating lure that needs a spinning outfit to cast well, or a float-n-fly outfit with dry flies.

The use of monofilament line, in many applications, has been replaced by the tantalizing sensitivity of fluorocarbon or the super strength of braided line, but monofilament line is still a necessary tool in my book.