BASS FISHINGBass Fishing Sports Blog

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Bassmaster Magazine, arguably the premier authority on bass fishing in the country, for the first time this week compiled a list of its 100 best bass fishing lakes in the United States.

Three Oklahoma lakes made the list: Grand Lake at No. 17, Lake Konawa at No. 29 and Arbuckle Lake at No. 56.

James Hall, editor of Bassmaster Magazine, said the magazine spent more than three months researching its top 100 lakes, getting survey data and angler catch rates from state wildlife departments or natural resources divisions and tournament data from B.A.S.S. Federation tournament organizers, who also offered recommendations.

A panel of outdoor writers and editors, pro anglers, and fishing industry veterans place together the list based on current fishability of each lake, its history, huge fish and overall quality potential and aesthetic surroundings.

“Instead of just having opinions, we wanted to place science behind the opinion to rate the 100 best bass lakes,” he said. “The method was as scientific as we could make it.”

I questioned Hall on Wednesday what made Grand, Konawa and Arbuckle worthy of being one of the 100 best bass lakes in the country.

Hall said Grand Lake, which has hosted Bassmaster Elite Series tournaments and will be the site of the 2013 Bassmaster Classic, made the list for a variety of reasons, including the population of bass in the lake, according to the state Wildlife Department surveys, and the tournament data provided by local B.A.S.S. Federation members.

“It takes quite a lot of weight to win on Grand, according to those guys,” Hall said. “Coupled with how gorgeous it is, it becomes a jewel for bass fishermen to come to.”

Hall said Bassmaster Classic organizers also rave about Grand Lake. The 2013 Bassmaster Classic “is going to be phenomenal event because of the health of that fishery,: he said.

Konawa Lake may surprise some for being in the magazine’s top 30. The power plant lake produces lots of bass but not that many wall-hangers.

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With the federal income tax deadline looming just nine days away (April 17 this year), Merrill and Ann gross have just wrapped up a busy time of year for them.

The volunteer tax preparers have worked on more than 120 tax returns — at no cost — for senior citizens.

They’ve been doing this every year for the past 16 years through the AARP Tax Aide program. both are well qualified “numbers people.” Merrill, now 85, holds his accounting degree from Elizabethtown College and is the retired treasurer of York Container Co. Ann, 83, was a mathematics major at Albright College and taught math in various schools, as well as doing tax work for an accounting firm.

Married for 58 years, the couple is quick to point out that there are a number of volunteer tax preparers across York County and that they are only two of them. they do most of their work at the Northeastern Senior Center in Mount Wolf, not too far from their home.

“Most hear about (the free tax preparation program) through hearsay,” Merrill says. “One person tells another person. When it’s free, the word spreads.” The York County Area Agency on Aging newsletter also carries information about the program.

“A lot of the people are the same each year,” Ann notes.

Merrill says he got involved a number of years ago when “Mel Rife gave a speech at Sertoma” about the program.

This couple has other interests as well as helping out their fellow senior citizens.

The tennis court in their backyard attests to their physical condition. although Ann has stopped playing, Merrill still plays several times a week — at an indoor facility in the colder weather and on his home court at other times.

Merrill also describes himself as “just a fisherman.”

Make that a fisherman who likes numbers.

For many years, he kept records of the number and size of all the bass he caught in the Susquehanna River. “It turns out we probably had the greatest bass fishing in the country,” he says, with the emphasis on the past tense “had.”

Around 1990, he caught and released “900 bass in one year.”

His records saw the bass population “go downhill” over a period of four to five years. he contacted the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, but obtained small results. it was as if the commission “was ignoring the greatest river in the state,” he recalls.

Today, when Merrill pushes his row boat into the Susquehanna River and uses his oars (”the motor is too noisy”) to propel himself to his favorite fishing spot, he catches mainly flathead catfish. That’s a far weep from the bass that were once so numerous in the river. he says the catfish migrated to this area from Western Pennsylvania.

So — you could say — be it taxes or Susquehanna River fish, you can count on the Grosses.

The Grosses have three children, all of whom live in York County, and seven grandchildren. Gordon Freireich is a former editor of the York Sunday News. Read his blog at yorkblog.com/lawn. Email: gordon@newtongroup.com.

By BILL CHESTNUTLocal columnist Published: Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 7:29 a.m. last Modified: Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 7:29 a.m.

These past few weeks, fishing has been very good, especially bass fishing as we have many reports of good catches throughout Polk County.

Anglers fishing Lake Summit on the chain with large shiners are catching huge bass.

Ron Williams caught a 9- pound bass out of this lake on Saturday morning right after sun-up. Tim Richards of Haines City was fishing Lake Blue on Friday afternoon and caught his limit of bass up to 5 pounds on Junebug colored 8-inch plastic worms. Tim was working the shoreline early in the morning.

Bill Thomas of Lake Wales caught his limit of bass out of Lake Walk-In-Water late Monday evening while using a BangOlure, working it right off the grass line. Rodney Smoaks of Bartow was fishing the Winter Haven Chain on Friday with eight-inch moccasin colored plastic worms and caught his limit out of Lake Winterset.

Anglers fishing Lake Hamilton are catching huge bass while using large wild shiners. Ray Sinclair boated five bass up to 8 pounds on Saturday morning. Ray said he also caught a huge catfish. Bluegills are beginning to hit good in this lake. Speckled perch being caught at night on minnows while drifting

Four License-Free Fishing Days start April 7

Grab your fishing rods and tackle box. It’s nearly time – April 7 – to take advantage of the first of four license-free fishing days scheduled for this summer in Florida, according to Gov. Rick Scott.

“Fishing is a fantastic way to delight in Florida’s beautiful outdoors, fantastic weather and a wonderful day with family and friends,” Scott said. “License-free fishing days are the perfect opportunity to learn the fun and excitement of fishing and Florida’s fantastic outdoors.”

The days are perfect chances for parents, who don’t yet have a license, to take youth fishing, or for avid anglers to introduce a friend to the recreational pursuit without having to buy a license.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) spread out the opportunities this year so more people will be able to head for their favorite lakes and rivers or saltwater destinations on designated days. Instead of providing one weekend for freshwater fishing and one weekend for saltwater fishing, the Commissioners chose at their meeting in February to break up the days. you won’t need a recreational fishing license on the special days listed below.

Florida residents and nonresidents, mark these Saturdays on your calendar for 2012:

The warming trend should continue this week on the Forgotten Coast. Bass are being caught just about everywhere in the creeks an in the huge waters around the county. Most anglers are using spinners, crankbaits and worms, but shiner’s are still a great way to land a trophy. Shellcraker and huge bream are being caught in Depot and on Lake Wimico along with a few crappie.

Bream and the bass are biting well in the Carter Trac near Vernon. Bream and shellcracker in Deer Point Lake.

Five cobia were sighted at the M.B. Miller Pier on Tuesday, but none were caught. in St. Andrews, a 27-pound cobia was reeled in. there have been some catches of sheepshead as well.

The water temperature is finally over the 68 degree mark in St. Joe Bay. This should start up the spring feeding patterns and bring the bait back to the top. many good reports are coming in daily of small trout catches along the sea wall and under the bridges.

Red fish are in the surf again this week and a few good sized fish have been reported by the spring breakers. Sheepshead are along the pilings at the Mexico beach and under the George Tapper Bridge and around the buoys as well. a few pompano are being reported from the Cape, but still no word on a cobia yet.

Fishing off the beach have produced good catches of redfish, whiting and pompano. Several boats have cast to cobia, but they weren’t biting. Redfish are biting well as are sheepshead.

Name: bill Robinson.

Family: Wife, Katie; sons, Matt and Curtis.

City of residence: Orland.

Occupation: Retired chemistry teacher who substitutes on occasion.

Leisure activities and interests: Fishing, hunting, the outdoors and community service.

What are your goals for the upcoming year? to harvest my cucumber crop before the bugs get it.

What was the best thing that happened to you in 2011? I went Peacock bass fishing in Brazil.

What was the worst thing that happened to you in 2011? on the flight back from Brazil, between Chicago and San Francisco, a person on the plane went into a diabetic coma and passed out. we were re-routed to Salt Lake City. Thankfully there were a few doctors on board the plane.

Whom do you most admire and why? Teddy Roosevelt. “River of Doubt” is a book describing how after losing the presidency, Teddy went down a perilous, uncharted river in Brazil and helped to chart it, at one point telling his crew to go on without him. I also admire him for his policies with the national parks.

What’s something about yourself that your friends might not know? I still have a 250cc Greeves motorcycle sitting in my garage. I wish I were riding it. if it weren’t for the insurance and registration, I would be.

What is your dream job? Retirement. I hadn’t thought teaching would be my dream job, but after 34 years of teaching, 26 of those at Orland High School, it worked out better to be a teacher. Once you got the kids working, it was really rewarding to teach.

What qualities in people do you most admire? Truthfulness and persistence.

What is guaranteed to make you smile? a 10-pound rainbow trout wouldn’t hurt, or a four-point buck. oh, of course, my wife.

What are you thankful for? the time period in which I’ve lived my life. if I had been born before antibiotics were invented, I never would have survived as I was susceptible to colds as a child. I’m glad I will not live my life in the era of cell phones and iPads.

What is your fondest memory? Not graduating from U.C. Davis. my wife and I received our credentials but we got married that Friday night instead of attending the ceremony.

Most embarrassing moment? Aside from some demos and labs that didn’t work while teaching, about a year before my wife and I got married, we went on a motorcycle ride in Mendocino County. about six to eight miles in we ran out of gas. Thankfully my cousin was there to get more fuel.

Largest accomplishment? a successful marriage with two kids.

What do you hope to see happen this upcoming year? Gas prices drop to $2 per gallon. that would be nice.

Contact Jenn Anderson at 934-6800 or .

Special for The Willits News

The Oregon State University team of Zach MacDonald of Willits and William Sparks, of Corvallis, Oregon, won the National Guard FLW College Fishing West Conference event on Lake Shasta last Saturday with five bass weighing 9 pounds, 4 ounces.

The victory earned the team $5,000. The win also helped them advance to the West Conference Regional Championship.

“We battled the wind all day today,” said Sparks, a marine biology major. “We shot all over the place, every little nook we could find. The fishing was slow, and very tough. we were fishing really shallow today. we were marking a whole bunch of fish, but we just couldn’t get them to bite. The fish that we did get were up in about 15 feet.

“We caught two fish straight away,” Sparks continued. “One with a drop-shot rig and one on a pumpkin football jig. Then it really slowed down for us. Our boat broke down and we had to use the trolling motor to come in a few minutes earlier than we would have liked to. But I guess it worked out for us.”

“This morning we were able to find a little spot where it was cooler and we caught our first two, but after 30 minutes it just died,” said MacDonald, a fisheries and wildlife major and 2011 Willits High School graduate. “The wind was really a factor for most of the day and it threw us off some spots that we wanted to fish.

“Our motor broke down too,” MacDonald went on to say. “We had to fish off of our trolling motor, so we found a spot close to the marina. we were able to catch our last two fish back-to-back on our last casts of the day using green-pumpkin jigs.

“We’re certainly looking forward to regionals,” he added.

MacDonald is the son Mary and Randy MacDonald of Willits. “He has fished since he was 3 years old,” his mother says, adding Zack is “putting his portion of the winnings into the school’s fishing club.”

Rounding out the top five teams and also advancing to the West Regional Championship are:

2nd: University of California Santa Cruz, Chris Rhoden and Sam Sayad, both of Santa Cruz. five bass, 9-00, $1,500.

3rd: Humboldt State University, Hideaki Kubo of Arcata and Ben Smith of Samoa. five bass, 8-7, $1,000.

4th: Eastern Washington University, Jarred Walker of Cheney, Washington, and Robert Trukositz of Spokane. five bass, 8-5, $1,000.

5th: California State University Long Beach, Alex Cox and Justin Gangel, both of Long Beach. five bass, 8-1, $1,000.

The top five teams from each tournament qualify for the regional championship where the first-place team will win a Ranger 177TR bass boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard wrapped in school colors for their fishing club. The top five teams from each regional tournament advance to the national championship.

College Fishing is free to enter and FLW provides boats and drivers for each competing team, along with travel allowances. all participants must be registered, full-time undergraduate students at a four-year college or university and members of a fishing club recognized by their college or university.

The next National Guard FLW College West Conference tournament is scheduled for February 25 at Lake Havasu in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and is hosted by the Lake Havasu City Convention & Visitors Bureau.

FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing unparalleled fishing resources and entertainment to our sponsors, fans and host communities. FLW offers anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2012 over the course of 191 tournaments across five tournament circuits, each providing an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy: the Forrest Wood Cup.

For more information about FLW and FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FLWOutdoors.com or FantasyFishing.com.

By BILL CHESTNUTLocal columnist Published: Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 7:14 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 7:14 a.m.

As I start my first column for 2012, I want to thank all of my readers for sticking with this ole boy for the past 58 years. it doesn’t seem that long but time flies when you are having fun and I always have fun writing about something I love, Florida’s fantastic outdoors, especially Polk County.

This past week was a good week for fishing as we had a few warm days that gave many anglers the chance to test the waters of the Winter Haven Chain. Speckled perch were active, especially at night. better lakes were Cannon, Howard and Winterset while using live minnows.

Bob Thigpin caught his limit of specks while fishing early Saturday morning in Eagle Lake. Bob said he saw a few anglers boating some bass while working the edges close to the grass.

“I talked to a few other anglers on the lake and all were catching some nice speckled perch.” Bob said.

Bass fishing picked up last week but another cold front is suppose to go in and that just might turn them off for awhile. John Robertson caught five bass up to 6 pounds while fishing in Lake Summit with Junebug colored plastic worms on Friday.

John said he talked to a couple of anglers who had been fishing the canal leading into Summit and picked up three bass which weighed about 2 pounds each.

Ralph Jones caught several nice bass on 7-inch Junebug and Black worms around grass areas and lilypads early in morning.

The bite was slow and fish were small but a few keepers over 13 inches in the 1 1/2- to 3 1/2-pound range.

Ralph also tried spinnerbait in yellow and crawfish with limited success around boat docks and walls. Some hits but no bragging tales.

Jimmy Allen of Haines City visited the Winter Haven area over the weekend, launched his boat at the Lake Howard ramp and began casting Junebug colored plastic worms along the grassline in Howard. on his third cast he caught a 4-pound bass and thought to himself this was going to be a fantastic day. it turned out this was the only bass Jimmy caught, but he said he would be back next weekend.

Fishing in Tenoroc

Largemouth bass action has improved with the cooler water temperatures. Bass are in deeper water around points and humps. Try fishing these areas with plastic worms in red shad and Junebug colors, or with deep diving crankbaits in shad imitating colors. Spawning will start in February, and will be the best time of the year to find bass.

Another lake to try is Tern Lake on the Bridgewater Tract; it was stocked with only female bass and catfish, and this area should produce some heavyweight bass. Fish with chicken liver, commercial stink baits, and night crawlers around the deeper holes for the best action for catfish.

Speckled perch are biting well right now. Drift live Missouri minnows in 6 to 8 feet of water or troll small jigs and spinners in the same areas.

Fishing Saddle Creek Park

Bank fishing opportunities here are excellent.

Largemouth bass fishing is slow. use live wild shiners for the best action, and try plastic worms in Junebug, red shad, and Christmas colors fished slowly along the edges and near drop-offs. Spawning will start around the full moon in February and continue through April. Be ready for some big bass action during these times.

Many anglers are targeting speckled perch during these winter months. Live Missouri minnows and small jigs trolled or drifted are the best bets for good speck action. John Ashton caught 12 nice specks this past Friday while fishing with minnows.

Keep those lines tight and be sure to take a youth with you on your next outdoor adventure. Teach them how to fish and you will have a friend for life. we will see you on the pond this week.

Contact bill Chestnut at outdoorramblings@gmail.com or via phone at 863-299-1331. Check out his web site at http:/wix.com/outdoor1/outdoor-ramblings.

Inside a packed Memorial Hospital room, Jaleel John-Baptiste’s family and friends celebrated his 17th birthday  Wednesday with cake and fellowship.

A day later, the teenager was taken off life support.

John-Baptiste, a junior at Mesa Ridge High School, died Thursday, nearly two weeks after being thrown from his SUV during a rollover crash in Widefield.

“I’ll really miss him,” his grandfather, Harry Williams, said. “Because we were the best of friends.”

John-Baptiste was driving his black 1998 Chevy Blazer about 11 p.m. on Dec. 2 when he lost control of the SUV on Fontaine Boulevard just west of Fountain Mesa Road.

He wasn’t wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle.

A little more than a week after the crash, doctors were optimistic they would be able to bring him out of a medically induced coma, said Cynthia Morris, a longtime friend.  But he developed an infection early this week and his condition worsened.

Although he never woke from the coma, John-Baptiste’s family held a birthday party for  him to honor his life, Morris said.

“I didn’t want them to be sad about it,” Morris said. “it is an amazing day that the lord brought him to us that day. he wasn’t awake for any of this but we all had a excellent time for him.”

John-Baptiste played football for Mesa Ridge High School and was an avid hunter, recently getting an antelope. But he was best known for fishing.

The teenager often competed in bass fishing tournaments in Pueblo, but traveled to lakes across Colorado — often besting his grandfather with fishing tricks.

“he knew a lot of techniques — more than I know,” Williams said.

On Friday night, his family gathered for another celebration of life — this time, eating the many, many fish he left behind in the freezer.

“he was a pleased kid,” Williams said. “he was more pleased fishing than he was any other thing.”

What could be the catch of the year – Ben ‘The Bass’ Kelly’s blubber-lipped bream is more than a small mouthfull on several levels. I got a call from Ben ‘The Bass’ Kelly, a Pottsville local, last week. He was telling me I needed to come down to his workplace and check out a video.  After watching the footage, I considered Ben’s catch pretty extraordinary. ‘Catch of the Year’ maybe in the Tweed River?  Here’s what happened.  Ben, Jimmy Walle and Tony Pope were chasing live bait in Jack Evans Boat Harbour. Ben got a small bored, picked up his light 1–4kg rod, spooled with 6lb main line braid topped with 8lb fluoro carbo leader and cast a 3-inch minnow out into the shallow sand. something huge grabbed it and ran, almost spooling the rod. Ben held the rod tip up high.  somehow he managed to turn its head then slowly bring the huge fella in. Ben had attracted quite a crowd at this stage: there were people on the shore line, on paddle boards all yelling and clapping.  The most amusing bit was it took 12 guesses before anyone got the species right – cobia for sure! No, snapper; der, it’s a dirty stingray … and on it went. Finally when Ben picked up the monster a guy came over to tell him it was a blubber-lipped bream.  That’s pretty good stuff, buddy, and to top it off it was Benny’s birthday.   Here’s the good news: you can actually see him catching the fish as Jimmy Walle filmed it; you can find it at this address: youtube.com/fishhuntmedia. It’s a great watch, well worth a look. Now to something a bit more normal, as I’m still trying to get my head around Benny’s catch! Wow! Saturday was pretty windy. How to fish? I ducked into the canals for a cast. Bingo!  The bream were everywhere. I had a young lad yelling at me from a highrise above me, ‘pull now mate, there’s millions of ’em’ – ‘cool down young fella you don’t jag them, let them take the lure’.  Oh, Okay.  it was amusing stuff alright. sometimes things go very very well. almost every cast I either lost, caught, had a lot of attention paid to the lure. This particular canal was the spot on Saturday, alright. having a good pair of sunnies when you’re fishing from a yak is important. I recommend a good set of polarised sunnies.  I lost my last good set down at Iluka chasing jew, over the side in 60ft of water.  Finally I got the money together for another pair of Spotters; down to Anglers. I grabbed Aaron and together we went through all the models and would you guess it – I chose the most expensive ones. I wasn’t even looking at the tags either.

ARLINGTON — Josh Hamilton got some extra hitting advice before Game 3 of the World Series. it came from one of his most vital coaches, some 500 miles from Tecomate Ranch.

“When you go up to the plate, Josh, I want you to reckon: Huge bucks and huge bass,” Dr. Gary Schwarz told him. “And just relax and play the game.”

Schwarz and nine family members made the 500-mile trip up from McAllen, Texas, near the Mexico border, where they own hunting ranches and fishing lakes. Hamilton broke away from batting practice Saturday, pushed the foul screen aside and spent several minutes hugging and posing for pictures with the clan, who have become an vital part of his life.

“We have a TV show, ‘Bucks of Tecomate,’ it’s the highest-rated hunting show on versus,” Schwarz clarified. “Somebody brought him to the ranch two years ago and we finished up hitting it off. he finished up shooting a show, and we became just really close friends. he came back last year, and he’s coming again this year. He’s a special guy.”

Hamilton, on his way to the clubhouse after BP, said the McAllen visitors “mean the world to me.” he got them a couple of seats behind home plate and then helped arrange for the rest of the tickets.

“The first time I met them, it was pretty special,” Hamilton said. “We hit it right off. he loves Christ, I like Christ; his whole family does, mine does. And just to be outdoors and be able to spend time with each other, and for my family to meet his and really connect, means a lot.

“I know [Schwarz] does a lot for kids and for people down where he lives, with all the surgeries he does, as far as being a dentist, but it’s pretty special that he can come up here and bring his family and be able to share this with us.”

As for the advice at the plate, Hamilton smiled and said he plotted to use it.

“Yep, bucks and bass,” he said. “I’ll be relaxed.”

Hamilton has revealed that he might have a sports hernia. Schwarz said of the slugger: “Of course, Josh is hurting really bad. He’s in a lot of pain. But you know, you’re not going to keep him off the field.”

is Hamilton as good a hunter as he is a hitter?

“Even though he has experience in hunting, he listens,” Schwarz said. “He’s coachable. A lot of the people come and they know everything. Josh comes, and even though he was way more experienced than I thought, he listens and he’s incredible. He’s a natural athlete with everything, including shooting a rifle.

“We get mainly huge whitetails. But I’ve got trophy bass lakes, and he loves to fish. He’ll come down and he’ll start early morning during fishing season, and he won’t stop ’till the end of the day. I mean, he attacks it.”

Schwarz attended Texas’ victory in Game 3 of the 2010 World Series. he said he has come to develop a greater appreciation for one of Major League Baseball’s largest stars.

“He is a real man. he is for real,” Schwarz said. “There’s nothing fake about him or put on. He’s got humility. He’s smart, gifted, [a] great speaker, a man of his word, Godly man. I’ve never met anyone like him — someone who’s been through the crucible that he’s been through, and then overcome it, and maintain that humility through it all, [that's] a very rare thing.”