Bass Fishing
Swimbaits in the spring? You bet
Pete Ponds never hesitated when he pulled the front end of his bass boat close to the seawall of a 500-acre lake. […]
bass
Bass Fishing
Top spots for fishing the bass spawn
Pete Ponds wishes his schedule would allow him more time to fish several of the smaller waters in Mississippi. […]
Bass Fishing
Bumping the stems at Ross Barnett
April is a magic month, with bass readying to go on the bed, turkeys gobbling and everything in nature turning green. […]
Bass Fishing
Pete Ponds: The perfect Texas rig
The Texas-rigged worm — or lizard, crawworm, critter bait or any other soft plastic lure — is one of the most basic bass baits, used by millions of fishermen of all skill levels. […]
Bass Fishing
Bass 101: Finding the right stick
Like most tournament bass fishermen, B.A.S.S. Elite Series pro Pete Ponds will have as many as 10 or 12 different rods in his boat, rigged and ready to throw. […]
Bass Fishing
Bedtime — How to catch spawning bass
Pete Ponds slid his big bass boat into position, with the bow pointed right into a little nook of a cove on the upper end of Okhissa Lake. He was kneeling on the front deck working the trolling motor with his hands. […]
Bass Fishing
Chikara crankbaits
Bass fishermen are tying on a hot product from Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits. Surprisingly, it isn’t a soft plastic like the ever-popular Senko. In fact, it’s a hard bait with an attitude. […]
Bass Fishing
Late pre-spawn tip: Start shallow and fish out
Bass pro angler Pete Ponds of Madison explains how he approaches the final stages of the bass prespawn this month in Mississippi. […]
Freshwater Fishing
Gonad weight
“If I’d caught her before she spawned, she would’ve weighed over 9 pounds,” proclaimed the enthused angler as he showed off his trophy 7-pound bass. […]
Bass Fishing
Big bass and lots of them
In late winter and early spring, I believe Pickwick Lake is the best bass fishing lake in the state. In March, water levels and the amount of rain received are the keys to where you’ll find bass. […]
Bass Fishing
Pre-spawn debate: Swimming jig vs. swimming lizard
Let’s get ready to caaaaassssssttttttttt!
In this corner, weighing in at roughly 3/16s of an ounce and wearing mostly natural colors, the long-time champion of pre-spawn bass baits, the soft-plastic swimming lizard. […]
Columns
Readying for a successful spawn
Have you heard the term “energy crises?” We are reminded of limits to energy when gas prices jump a quarter per gallon (energy for our vehicles) or grocery prices soar a couple hundred dollars a year above what we spent last year (energy for our bodies). […]