Fall 2018
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such as gizzard shad – and it probably has to occur under favorable (i.e., stable conditions).
Even with all of that, if the angler or anglers who commit to the technique aren’t on the winning population of fish, we’ll likely never know about it.
That shrinks the window even more.
In fact, even if someone chunking the big hard baits is on the winning school or winning pattern, the big baits produce lots of followers. Accordingly, while they might help him to locate the winners, they may not produce the actual fish catches that we see on BASS Live or the subsequent television shows.
Despite all of those strikes against it happening, I hold out hope that within the near future one of the national tours will feature a winning catch caught primarily on an 8- or 10- or even 12-inch hard swimbait.
If you remember the famous footage of Larry Nixon at Megabucks in Florida cowering in terror as a monster bass went skyward with his plastic worm, you’ll get to see that stress factor grow exponentially as a big bass thrashes its head with a face- full of plastic or resin or heavy wood, all on a live broadcast. It’ll make for some of the finest footage in BASS or FLW history, and while it might not send every easterner running to refinance his house to invest in box full of these baits, it’ll change the way we think about the game. •
A giant bass imitator from Deps Credit: Tyler Brinks
Former Bassmaster Elite Series pro
Greg “Double G” Gutierrez shows
off a Roman Made Mother Credit:
Courtesy of Greg Gutierrez
Former Bassmaster Elite Series pro Byron Velvick won on troutless Clear Lake – not once, but twice – throwing large soft plastic swimbaits. Credit: B.A.S.S.
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