Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3710 April 27- May 11 2018 | Page 9

FRESHWATER VOL.37 • ISS. 10 April 27 - May 11, 2018 9 Bass Fishing For Trout Anglers < A lot of trout anglers are curious about bass fishing, yet have zero desire to fish in a bass tournament. In reality, most trout anglers would enjoy casual bass fishing if they gave it a try and they likely already have the rods and reels they need to get started. ^ As an entry level bass angler, there is no need for you to buy a bait casting outfit. A fast action spinning rod teamed with a good quality reel spooled with either monofilament or braid is all that you need to get started. > When the going gets tough and you absolutely have to catch a bass, break out the soft plastic. Here, Cal Kellogg shows off a beautiful Lake Berryessa smallmouth and one of the deadliest lures on the West Coast bass fishing scene, a Robo Worm! ^ Author Cal Kellogg likes to toss traditional inline “trout” spinners at bass. His all- time favorite bass spinner is a quarter ounce Rooster Tail. With this lure, Cal has landed a lot of bass including a 6 plus pound smallmouth. presents Let’s Dye Our Hair Platinum Blond, Get A Jersey And Go Bass Fishin’ Son! I grew up with Roland Martin and Orlan- do Wilson. They were on TBS on the weekend and if I couldn’t be in front of the TV, the VCR was set to record! Back in the ‘80’s those guys didn’t go fishing for bass, they went BASSIN’! And they didn’t throw swimbaits or tickle the fish with finesse worms. They used 27 inch purple Jelly Worms and spinnerbaits with tandem blades the size of silver dollars. The water was brown and a gator could be lurking anywhere…. I loved it! I knew nothing about bass fishing, but I knew I wanted to do it. I collected a tackle box full of gear. 95% of the stuff I collected would work in Florida, but not in a clear water California canyon reservoir. Hmmmm…. Today, while I’m by no means an expert or even good bass angler, I do enjoy bass fishing with a decent level of success in the spring and throughout the summer. Bass fishing in the fall and winter can be great too, but at that time of the year I’m usually engaged in other things. I know there are a lot of trout guys out there, that would like to give bass fishing at try. They know there are lots of bass in many of the lakes they fish for trout. While they have no aspiration to buy a bass boat or sign up for a tournament, they would enjoy slugging it out with a few bass. I once had a family doctor named Dr. Stepman. He was an avid striper guy with a houseboat in the middle of the Delta and he’d always tell me, “I’d sure like to catch a largemouth on a rubber worm.” Despite the fact that he was surround by largemouths that would gobble a plastic worm, I don’t think he ever gave it a try. Don’t be that guy…Let’s catch some bass! If you’re a trout guy, you likely have a selection of trolling rods and spinning rods. We want a spinning rod. Something with a fast action that isn’t too wimpy. A 7 foot fast action graphite rod rated for 6 to 12 pound line would be just about perfect. Balance a rod like that with a reel holding 150 or more yards of 8 or 10 pound mono and you’re ready for action. I like either P-Line CXX or Trilene Big Game Line in moss green. Go with a brand and color you have confidence in. You can catch a bunch of bass with a single rod like the one I’ve described, but two rods are even better. Why? While there are a zillion differ- ent bass lures in the world, they can mostly be pushed into one of two categories…Reaction Baits and Finesse Baits. Reaction baits are designed to appeal to aggressive feeding fish. These are lures that move and vibrate. In contrast, finesse lures are usually soft and are moved slowly on the bottom, giving both active and inactive fish a chance at an easy meal. In general reaction baits are more fun to fish, but finesse baits hook fish more consis- tently. If you have two rods you can rig one with a finesse bait and the other with a reaction bait. This will maximize your chances of hooking fish. Before I get into a discussion of lures, let’s think about where the bass in your local reservoir will likely be found in the spring and early summer. That’s actually pretty simple. Whether fishing from a boat or the bank you can pretty much count on the bass being from the sur- face to 20 feet deep and they’ll generally be FISH SNIFFER HOW – TO by Cal Kellogg CONTINUED ON PAGE 16