By Terry Battisti
Trophy Bass Southern Swimbait Style
The
Hunt for Giant Bass started in 2002 as a means in which to teach anglers the intrica- cies of targeting that fish of a lifetime. Over the years, trophy anglers such as Mike Long, Rob Belloni, Cris VanClef, Matt Newmann, Don Osborn and Don Moor- man have shared the tactics they use in order to increase their odds at catching that personal best fish. The Hunt has also covered swimbait use in northern waters along with a couple articles on when, where and what time is best for catching that trophy bass. It’s been a great source of information over the years – albeit the only big fish information source of its kind– but where it’s lacked is with regards to area-specific information west of the Mis- sissippi. That’s about to change.
At the beginning of this publication year, the editors of Bass West USA and I got together to discuss the future of this column. Yes, it’s great to hear how the west-coast trophy anglers do it but what about anglers in other parts of the country? Yeah, the south doesn’t have the magnitude of teeners that are produced in the west but there are still an- glers in hot pursuit of those much-bigger-than-average bass found in their locales. Then, when one considers Texas – California’s only arguable rival for big bass – you realize that there’s more to big-bass hunting than the west. Collectively, we all can learn from each other and, to be honest, that’s what this column is all about – increasing the knowledge base of trophy anglers and their strategies throughout the United States and even the world.
July/August 2009
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