Westernbass Magazine October 2011, Page 23

Westernbass Magazine October 2011, Page 23

No, Not a charlIe sheeN INterVIew... the techNIques behINd Ish moNroe’s 2011 seasoN

winningwith

bigfishbaits k

nowing this is where his

strength lies and that his

specialty is big fish baits

regardless of the location he is fishing, Bassmaster elite Series pro ish Monroe found that

walkin’ his Phat Frog and punchin’ a Paycheck rig around the

country was the foundation that led him to pocket over $125,000

from B.a.S.S. events in 2011.

The West Coast pro fished his way into the final field, top-12 cuts in

four of the last six elite Series stops this year and climbed all the way into

the top-4 at West Point, Wheeler and the arkansas river. He topped

that with a short rest at home in Hughson, Calif. followed by a quick, cross-

country drive to New York last month for a season-ending victory at the third

Bass Pro Shops Northern open in Syracuse. From the California delta to NY’s

oneida lake, Monroe has rocked the U.S. waters from coast-to-coast, as a wire-to-

wire winner and credits his winning ways

to always being on the hunt for the big

bass with big fish baits.

He explained, “i throw my frog and

i punch, all year long. Those are big fish

baits and that is what i fish for, even

when i’m at a place where everyone else

is on schools of spots, i am going to get

out my big fish baits and try to get a on a

largemouth pattern.”

The 6-time Classic qualifier continued

with his thoughts, “Fishing to win is fishing

Photo by Jody Only

to be more consistent with big bass,

bigger than average bass and to catch

bigger than average bass you have to use

bigger baits. during a couple of trips on

the water, Monroe showed off his fishing

Issue 4  October 2011

23