RICK GROVER

Getting back quizzing some of the state’s Top 40 bass anglers from 2010, I caught up with Rick Grover of Anglers Marine, a fixture in the Inland Empire, though an Orange County resident.

Rick, and his son Kyle, of course, have been one of the dominant pairs on Diamond Valley, but like most of the best anglers, there is no magic formula here, just attention to detail.

According to Rick, the three things he won’t forget are as follows: (more…)

Got my monthly report (with pages of global data from the Climate Prediction Center) but the gist of it is, the La Nina condition has peaked, but will continue into the summer by most forecasts. Specifically, the report said: “La Niña persisted during January 2011 as reflected by well below-average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) across much of the equatorial Pacific Ocean….” Additionally, the report stated, “…atmospheric anomalies reflect an ongoing, mature La Niña that has begun to weaken.” (more…)

Just this past week, an angler you probably never heard of from Belle Glade, Florida set an FLW Tour record with a four-day catch of 106 pounds, 10 ounces. Funny, back in 1968, another angler you may have never heard of (Rip Nunnery of Cerritos) weighed in a catch weighing 98 pounds, 15 ounces–only he did it in just one day–on a bait you probably never heard of.

You can find an account of the record in the B.A.S.S. archives, and it’s pretty amazing. (more…)

In Sept. of 1988, a field of 122 boats hit the water at Clear Lake for a revival of western-based tournament angling. The occasion was the season-opener of the “new” WON Bass tour. At the time, the 244 anglers present were the biggest field ever assembled for a western-based tour event and everyone paid the pro entry fee; there was no amateur discount. (more…)

Warning: This blog contains scenes that some viewers may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised. (And I’m not talking about any Super Bowl predictions).

Seaching through the archives of popular lures, the “banana” shaped bait has appeared in several eras, mostly for the salmonids as in the Hot Shot, Kwikfish or Flatfish, but also warmwater species as with the original Lazy Ike. But there was one Eddie Pope & Co. model (following the company’s sale to Luhr Jensen) that actually targeted the bass market: the Fishback. (more…)

I was complaining to Gary Klein yesterday about my sense of the Louisiana Delta, home of this year’s Bassmasters Classic, (that it’s junk, flat and requires hours of running for very little fishing time). But to his credit, he didn’t agree. “I like the space so I can go and do my thing,” he replied, noting he would be fishing mainly “backwaters.”

When he practiced in December, he talked about going through (more…)

SOMETHING TO EAT...

First we face irregular trout plants and suddenly the shad disappear from your sonar screen. Throw in basic issues of bass metabolism–cold water meaning lower metabolism and activity levels, and what’s happening?

There is still foraging going on–we know that. Even when shad are so thickly packed and form a “false bottom” sonar reading where your spoons and ice jigs actually land on their backs (more…)