With spring here, big female bass are getting ready to spawn in shallower, warmer water. After the spawn is finished in most parts of the country, anglers will start to hit the water to throw their favorite lure back into the spot that the beast bass got away last year.
Most of the time these wise, old bass need a different approach. Sometimes the approach is the bait, but often times it is the location, and the time of the day.
The largest fish know that the shallows will be the best place to warm up and find easy meals in the spring. Often times, the best places to fish for the giants is lakes and ponds that have long coves filled with water that is two to six feet deep.
The problem with getting into these places by foot is that they are muddy swamps near the shore. Some people like to use small boats to get into these hard to reach places.
The world records come from guys in small boats
Bass hunting is perfect for using small water craft. The world record bass caught in Georgia in the 1930s was caught using a homemade boat that was powered by paddles. George Perry caught the world record bass in 1932 with his homemade boat and a Creek Chub Wigglefish. He was a 19 year old farmer who had taken the day off, because the fields were too wet to work in. He was interested in catching food for his family when he landed the 22 pound largemouth.
And he did end up feeding his family with the green giant.
Fast forward to 2006, 70 years later, and another group of fisherman, fishing a lake that only allows small boats with electric motors tied into a world record breaker. Fishing with simple white jigs, in the shallows, Mac Weakley landed a 25lb monster of a female largemouth. During the time between these two catches, the stealth bomber had been created, bass boats have littered every lake in the nation, and millions of state of the art lures have been produced, but the biggest bass was caught by a simple boat with a simple lure.