It’s simple math really: Zero eggs equals zero fish for future stocking programs.
So, the spring walleye and steelhead egg collections by the Michigan DNR are critical components of the strategy for maintaining world-class fishing opportunities in the Great Lakes State.
Nearly fifty years have now passed since the first paddletail swimbaits splashed down in U.S. waters, the earliest designs having likely originated in France. Today, paddletails have almost singlehandedly rewritten the rules of soft plastics engagement. Fans of catching bass, crappie, walleye and inshore slams nearly always cast these ingenious tail-driven baits, each version capable of different retrieve speeds, actions and the almighty thump.
Lew’s introduced the Custom Lite SS at the 2024 Bassmaster Classic in Tulsa, Ok.
The 200 size Custom Lite SS Spinning Reel fits in perfectly with the lightweight design and smooth drag offered in the rest of the series, but specifically excels in situations where one would normally use backing tied to a braided main line.
By Louie Stout
Todd Vydick’s primary hope was to improve his personal best when he hired Cody Johnson to guide him for big smallmouth in the Traverse City, Mich. area.
“My biggest bass up to that point was 6.1 pounds,” said Vydick of Hartland, Mich. “I try to improve my personal best every time I fish with Todd.”
Well, mission accomplished – and in spades. Vydick not only bettered his biggest when he landed a 9.3-pound smallmouth, but also came up about a half pound shy of tying the Michigan record.
They fished into the evening last Monday when they encountered a school of smallmouth holding on a small grass patch in about 20 feet of water.
The Brighton, Mich. guide said he spotted the school along a drop-off on his Humminbird Side Imaging unit. He doesn’t have forward-facing sonar.
That’s where the behemoth bass ate Todd’s ¼-ounce, green pumpkin Strike King coffee tube. He knew it was big, but had no idea it was that big.
BASS Report
Jeff Gustafson of Kenora, Canada, has won the 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota with a three-day total of 42 pounds, 7 ounces, becoming the first Canadian to be crowned the Classic champion. - Photo by James Overstreet/B.A.S.S.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Canadian pro Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson’s bass refused to play fair on the final day of the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota on the Tennessee River.
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