Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
- Details
Ray Scott and Larry Nixon
Bassmaster Classic champion and two-time Angler of the Year Larry Nixon will be among the Elite Series field when the 2023 season kicks off on Lake Okeechobee, Fla., on Feb. 16 officials announced today.
“I’ve missed B.A.S.S. for 16 years ... B.A.S.S. has always been at the top of my list,” said Nixon, a Quitman, Ark., native. “This is something I’ve wanted to do for the past 2 to 3 years, and I am super excited to have the opportunity. And I want to make the Classic and hear that roar again.”
The first Bassmaster millionaire, Nixon’s consistency on the trail has been unmatched. For 12 seasons between 1977 and 1988, Nixon never ranked lower than eighth in the Angler of the Year points standings. For nine consecutive years — 1979-1987 — he was in the Top 5, with AOY titles coming in 1980 and 1982. In addition to winning the 1983 Bassmaster Classic on the Ohio River, the 25-time Classic qualifier finished in the Top 10 an astounding eight times.
- Details
Z-man Report
Z-man Hella CrawZ™
While ElaZtech’s Z-man lure qualities produce livelier underwater movement and more fish per bait, they come with a learning curve, especially when rigging the baits.
Here is how some of the company’s pros rig theirs:
Light-Duty Weedless
“Because the material is so soft and flexible, it compresses easily,” explains MLF Pro David Walker. “This makes ElaZtech baits super effective when rigged on an exposed hook. Baits like the Finesse TRD™ or a MinnowZ™ on a jighead are great fish catchers—and fish-hookers. It’s because their free-flowing movements elicit strikes; and because the soft compressible material moves out of the way and allows the hook to penetrate.
“With Texas rigging, it’s a slightly different story,” he admits. “Keeping the hookpoint hidden in the soft material was the first challenge, but also a great exercise in learning how ElaZtech works.” Following countless trials with different hooks and rigging configurations, Walker, Feider and other pros landed on specific schemes that produce high-percentage hookset ratios.
For Walker, rigging routines for baits like the Hella CrawZ™, Turbo CrawZ™ or Palmetto BugZ depend on light versus heavy flipping situations. In light cover, Walker leans on the Palmetto BugZ, rigging it on a 4/0 wide gap EWG hook. “Slide the hookpoint into the bait’s head and back out about three-quarters of an inch down,” he explains. “Rotate the bait 180-degrees and pull the body slightly forward before planting the hook back into the bait’s belly, pushing the hookpoint just through the material. Then, slide just a ‘skin’ of ElaZtech back over the hookpoint for a light barrier of protection.
- Details
By Kevin VanDam
Kevin VanDam
As water temperatures drop rapidly – as they have in the north right now – bass move into winter patterns and several techniques can catch them.
For me, though, it’s tough to beat a deep diving jerkbait worked around drop-offs, edges, weedlines, bridge corners, riprap, bluff ends and places like that that cold water bass use.
I do fish the jerkbait slower than I do during other times of the year and pay close attention to boat positioning to insure my lure stays in the strike zone longer on those places I think the bass are using.
When I say I slow down, I don’t go as slow as a lot of people do. It’s still a very efficient technique for covering a good bit of water, so by fishing parallel to edges, I keep the lure in the productive zone throughout the retrieve.
Typically, our lakes are pretty clear throughout the country right now. To fish the jerkbait, I like water clarity of 3 to 4 feet or deeper. Crystal clear water is ideal.
I prefer the Strike King KVD Deep Diving Jerkbait in real bright colors – sexy shad and chartreuse sexy shad are my favorites – even in clear water. After all, it’s about getting the fish to see the bait when they are far away.