Winter 2019
C
alifornians – well West Coast anglers in general –
have long lived by the adage “big baits equal big
bites.” It seems, that knowledge has begun to creep across the country, and Tennessee River anglers specifically
have begun to incorporate larger than average sized offerings
into their repertoire. One of those anglers is Bassmaster Elite
Series pro Mark Menendez, from Paducah, Kent.
The veteran of more than 200 Bassmaster tournaments
has won three events and held the record for the largest bass
caught in B.A.S.S. competition for many years. In other words,
the Tennessee River product knows what big bass want.
Part of the reason is his intuitive approach to fishing, but
also because he has a scientific background with a degree
in Fisheries Biology from Murray State
University in Kentucky.
His training in both
classrooms; university
and on the water
have shown
him that
he
needs to appeal to bigger bass by offering them a bigger meal.
“A lot of it is just the nature of bigger bass,” he said. “However, the situation is also spurred on by the inclusion of larger prey in the system, and I’m seeing it all over the country, not just the Tennessee River.”
GIZZARD SHAD TO ASIAN CARP
The first time he noticed larger prey was Gizzard Shad in the river systems of the South, he noticed larger fish keying on them.
“We used to look for large schools of Threadfin Shad primarily, but now we really look for the larger sized Gizzard Shad in order for us to find quality tournament bass,” he said. “Even when the bass are keying on Threadfin Shad, we try to locate schools of larger sized shad, because we know that larger fish will be feeding on them.”
Now that the Asian Carp epidemic is here, while he knows that it is a treat to the river he grew up fishing, and loves so much, the angler in him knows to mimic their size in order to appeal to larger bass.
“In the first three to five months of their lifespan, Asian Carp are the size that truly giant bass eat, so I use lures to
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