Fishing with howard hughes The Deep - Summer STrucTure Issue 3, JuNe 2012 Summer LargeMouths a Crazy Kind Post sPawn of fishing to Summer Fishing at Lake Mead “KISS TRADITIONAL SONAR GOODBYE!” “ After just one day on the water, I’m convinced. DownScan Imaging goes way beyond traditional sonar! When you see a tree, it truly looks like a tree. You can actually see the limbs and the fish suspended in them! You gotta see it to believe it.” – Bill Dance, Host of Bill Dance Outdoors GO BEYOND SONAR.™ Elite-5 DSI Elite-5x DSI Mark-5x DSI editorial By Wayne Wasulko The warm summer months are upon us and so are all the things that this time of year brings. The largest ever Yamamoto Big Bass Challenge on the Calif.d elta just wrapped up and WesternBass.com was happy to try out our new “in-post” video capability at the event. it is our goal to bring more of these instant videos to our site users. WesternBass also underwent a server change to offer our users a bigger bandwidth and increased page load speed. i hope you are enjoying these new features - there is much more to come. ahead of us, we have one of the other highly-anticipated West Coast events - the Snag Proof open as well as the world’s largest sportfishing trade showi CaSt 2012. WesternBass will travel to the east Coast and return with some of the industry’s newest information. i look forward to the future possibilities of WesternBass and hope you are enjoying the ride as much as i am. Great fishing! Wayne EDITORIAL STAFF ADVERTISING 3 Publisher - Wayne Wasulko Sales/Marketing Manager - John Caulfield Content editor - Jody only (916) 417-7127 . [email protected] ue CONTRIBUTING WRITERS/PHOTOGRAPHERS/ VIDEOGRAPHERS 2, Iss david Brown, Ken Sauret, russ Meyer, Jim Novotny, randy Pringle, ADmINISTRATION E Jen edgar, Jody only, Marc Marcantonio, dan o’Sullivan, Publisher - Wayne Wasulko m Mike Folkestad, tami Curtis, Zack Thompson,t yler Brinks (916) 782-9540 . [email protected] U EDITORIAL CONTACT WesternBass.Com® Magazine WesternBass.Com® Magazine P.o. Box 1278 Volume 2, issue 3, June 2012 Citrus Heights, Ca 95610 (916) 782-9540 This is a Free publication to all internet users. Copyright © 2012 WesternBass.Com® Magazine. Submission requirements: all rights reserved. Unsolicited manuscripts, accepted and, if not used, returned. Unsolicited email Manufactured and presented in and from the United attachments will be deleted without opening. Please submit query letters States of america for all bass anglers worldwide. detailing story ideas. reader-submitted letters and photos may be published JUNE 2012 • Vol without notification, and all rights retained by WesternBass.Com Magazine. Issue 3 June 2012 3 CoNteNtS Issue #3 JUNE 2012 DELTA FROGGIN’ action abounds giving back with Amphibian actors by Dan O’Sullivan 6 by David A. Brown 34 post spawn to summer A look at LAkE Lopez fishing at lakE mead 8 by Ken Sauret 37 by Mike Folkestad A Crazy kind of fishing summertimE success by Russ Meyer on every lakE 12 40 by Tami Curtis mAxImIzing your pre fish the inevitable by Jim Novotny adjustment! 16 42 by Zack Thompson topping off with topwater an introduction to double G is shootin’ for 20 topwater baits the shallow bass by Randy Pringle 46 by Jody Only college fishing 101 on the boat with by Jen Edgar chris zaldain 24 50 by Tyler Brinks ughes howard h Fishing with TrucTure deep summer structure The Deep - Summer S 2012 Issue 3, JuNe fishing with howard hughes 28 by Jody Only On the COver: “double G” Greg Gutierrez reels in a SUmmer Largemouth pair of delta giants Tactics in the Pacific from shallow water. 32 Northwest by Marc Marcantonio Photo by Jody Only SummerMouths Large Post sPawn a Crazy Kind to Summer Fishing at Lake Mead of fishing Issue 3 June 2012 5 delta FRoggin’ By DAVID A. BRoWN DELTAaction abounds withFROGGIN’ amphibian actors tule berm anchored in years of peat moss mostly aggressive strikes intended to kill that which accumulation, a dense mat of tangled has shattered the fish’s cherished solitude. However, weeds, a weathered laydown – each as California frog pro ish Monroe points out, the frog forms a solid fortress for Calif. delta bass. also represents a protein-packed meal for prespawn Alike castles of old, these piscatorial strongholds fish looking to pack on the poundage. contain numerous passageways, nooks and secret chambers – all guarded by largemouth that get re- That said, you’ll want to keep the amphibian ally offended by intruders like a hollow body frog. imposter handy when working the shallows for bed Bold, audacious and capable of holding directly fish.a mid the flipping, pitching and dropshotting for overhead in a weedless, yet those cranky mamas, running the frog across the emotionally entangling posture maternity ward often does the trick. amazing delta of defiance, the frog really flips frog action extends well past the spring spawn period the kill switch on the big green and Ken Mah, of elk Grove, Calif. recently shared his beasts roaming this central thoughts on drawing those show-stopping strikes. drainage. indeed, these are Delta frogging pro Ken Mah likes to target big-fish spots where he can keep his bait in open water, but near promising cover. Photo Credit: David A. Brown 6 Favoring a Spro Bronzeye (standard and Poppin versions), Mah sticks with simple colors like black, natural green and white. He keeps his frog in constant danger by targeting what he calls “big fish spots.” “i spend about 75- to 85-percent of the time throwing the frog in and around open water situations; but i like for my frog to be near some piece of cover – big wood, tule clumps, mats, lay downs etc.,” he said. “i keep my 200e7 spooled percentages high by targeting specific with 65-pound Power Pro Super pieces of cover/structure. i rarely just go down Slick in timber Brown. He said a rod with a bank throwing a frog unless it holds the proper type a soft tip is essential for getting the frog to walk back of cover/structure.” and forth like a topwater plug. Balancing this flexibility “i also like to spend the majority of my frogging is plenty of backbone to pull a big fish from heavy around hard banks. This means thati have an idea of cover. where the fish are going to position themselves.i try to avoid large expansive mats of grass and tule berms.” Frog EnhancEmEnt Mah said he finds the Delta frog bite heating up relying on a frog’s inherent bass-angering traits in mid to late april. He has caught some of his biggest will get you plenty of strikes, but maximum effect bass on frogs earlier, but doesn’t usually expect to often hinges on a few bait enhancement tricks. First, catch many in the early spring. For someone that Monroe suggests upping the bait’s audible appeal wants to come to the delta and catch numbers and by shoving worm rattles into the leg holes. Monroe quality, Mah suggests planning a trip between May enhances his namesake Snag Proof PHAT Frog by and November. crushing the interior rattle chambers. Multiple pieces all clanking, clicking and rattling in unison can draw fish charging through the thickest of mats. Mah describes his ideal Delta Scent gels and waxes make frogs more appealing frogging conditions as: at close range and for those big black eyeballs, delta 1) Low minus tide sometime in the legend Bobby Barrack uses permanent markers to early afternoon add various stripes, dots and other markings to play up his frog’s visual attraction. to make sure he catches 2) two-three days of warm, stable whatever bites – even those double-digit giants that weather prior to his fishing day don’t play nice – Barrack lashes the twin shanks of his 3) light or no wind. In such scenarios, frog hooks together with braided line. he finds the frog equally effective as a search tool and a primary bait. Ultimately, Mah said it’s important to approach frogging with the right perspective. This is a high- reward bait, he notes, but you have to invest well to “i’ve had events where i wanted to locate fish, but reap the rewards. not catch them in practice,” he said. “You can usually “i consider eight to 12 bites on a frog a good frog tell how big a fish is when they come to the surface bite,” Mah said. “More than 12 and it’s exceptional to eat a frog. Then it’s a bait thati can pull away from in my book. i have had days where i’ve caught 25+ them or bend the hooks in. it is absolutely a bait that fish on a frog and my best five will push 30-pounds, someone can win a tournament on.” however those days are far and few between. it’s of course, doing so requires the right gear and also a bait that you need to throw for a considerable let’s just say that frogging demands gear with an amount of time. Thirty minutes to an hour during attitude. Mah throws his frog on a 7-foot, 5-inch the day is not enough. Keep colors simple, if you Gloomis BCFr 893 with a 7:1 Shimano Chronarch put it in the right spot it usually doesn’t matter that much.” Issue 3 June 2012 7 laKe lopEz Story & Photos By Ken Sauret a look at Lake Lopez drinking water reservoir in San luis brings with it the consistency of predictable weather obispo County, lopez lake is local favor- and fish movement patterns.