By Allen Hamrick
Hey folks, its Zeb coming at ya with pen in hand, so sit back and let’s talk a minute. Spring basin’ is just around the corner and me an’ Lew get a passel of letters asking us advice on catching those big ol’ bucket mouth basses that hang out in the rivers and lakes. One such letter from a person callin’ themselves Bass Lipper asked, “Fellers, its Bass Lipper an’ I was needing advice on river lunkerein’ when spring hits. Now, what’s the rule of thumb fer you fellers when you pack a tackle box for ‘em?
Well I’ll tell ya Bass Lipper, a lotta what we do depends on the day, the weather, and the moon; we don’t do a thing but what the moon tells us to do and when to do it. We learned that a long time ago from Paw Paw Pawper at his Blood Moon fishing affair and tall tale event. Also, those bucket mouths come out of their winter habits when the sun shines over head to warm their winterized hides. They are also preparin’ for bringin’ more basses to the water during the spawn, so get set to run them speedy crank baits an’ spinny baits along shallow to deep parts of the water like flat points that drop into deep water. Them basses like to gather in and around trees, rocks an’ grass on their way to the shallows, so fill yer tackle box with baits that resemble an all you can eat buffet of crawdad an’ minnow colored spinners and jerkers. Bright and flashy works good during this time. Just keep in mind they need to warm up and where there is food and an attack point, that’s where they will be.
As I said before, the moon does a lot of our talkin’ when it comes to bassin’. If ya get the chance to attend Paw Paw’s event, you will learn a lot about the moon. He has what he calls his fishing bible that he seeks his advice from, a diary that has been handed down since 1837 penned by a feller named Hosiah B. McPaxrick who was a mountain man durin’ the time of the “blood moon of 1837.” Paw Paw reads pages from the diary as we all sit around with our ears peeled to the sage advice.
“Aye, me name is Irish Hosiah B. McPaxrick. I’ve travelled these long miles from the old country to see fer meself the fishin’ waters of the Americas. I heard tell of bass that control the waters of swift rivers and deep haunts of mountaintop lakes. Bass that will bite a hook with nothin’ but a worm an’ a hope an’ fight like a rooster gone mad. I, Hosiah B. McPaxrick, will see fer meself these wayward monsters tied at the end of me stringer”. Paw Paw continued with his best Irish tongue …”For anyone who reads this, I’ll tell ye ‘bout a day that will make yer stringer so heavy ye couldn’t lift it by mere mortal standards.
Meself had been fishin’ a long stretch of river they call the Snake fer bout a week where monster bass big as yer leg dwelled with no hits. I made me camp an’ settled down to some venison I had smoked earlier but me heart and stomach was hopin’ fer fish.
It was all quiet on the mountaintop save the rushing ramparts of the Snake and the occasional song of the coyote whose belly was probably empty as me own, I mused. The moon was full over head an’ I lay on my pine bough bedding, the wind was pickin’ up as I wondered about me camp choice. As I lay there, an’ as the good Lord as me witness, the moon started to turn to blood as if it would start drippin’ on the good earth at any time. I could only imagine what was going on an’ me imagination got the best of me as I started to panic as if the very world was about to end.
The moon’s warm gaze seemed to stare right into me soul as me nerves gripped me bones, pullin’ them apart. After some bone chillin’ tense moments, the moon began to become an even brighter white; the red began to sweep away from the moon’s surface as if being swept away by a good stiff broom. It was as if the moon suffered a knife wound and then healed itself. I tried to find me sleep, but it left me an’ me eyes were wide open.
The next day, I gathered meself in the mornin’ and set by the river, once again pondering the previous night’s near death of the moon. Just I was about to pick up an’ move, my pole bent toward the water an’ a fish was on. By the time I landed the big bass, it was an hour later yet seemed that time had stood still. The rest of the day was spent fillin’ my stringer with bass. I understand what the moon was tellin’ me. It said, “ Hosiah, if ye want to catch some big bass do it when ye wear the full moon as a hat or when ye stomp on it, which I didn’t learn ‘till later.
That was all Paw Paw read of the diary much to the taunting of the fishin’ folk who wanted more. So, when you are preparin’ for spring bassin’ keep in mind all I have said. Great fishin’ times are when the moon is full over yer head or when yer stompin’ on it when its new. This is a sure bet. There is no substitute for just getting’ out there and getting’ yer line wet and trying different things. As Hosiah B. McPaxrick said “Aye, says aye, old moon, new moon, worms or wishin, nothin’ like standin’ in the river fishin”. Keep a tight line an’ gas in the motor, the bass are waitin’.
Until next time,
Zeb
