TARGET SPECIES Northern Spotted Bass
Location: Cape Fear River, North Carolina Date: August 28, 2012 Weather: Clear skies, sunny, breezy Water Conditions: Slight stain, lower than normal B.A.S.S. Length Requirement: 12 inches Don’t Miss: Renowned bass hot spot Shearon Harris Reservoir
We caught a ton of small fish before finally landing qualifiers late in the day. Talk about drama. I thought I had northern spotted bass figured out. Ha! A few years back, I had found this great spot on the river where the fish were thick. Luckily, we returned to find things were unchanged. The northern spots attacked white SOB buzzbaits, River Special spinnerbaits and Lucky Craft Gunfish. We found them in eddies and along current seams and also hanging near wood cover and isolated boulders. By day’s end, we’d caught a pile of fish including spots up to 14 inches.
TARGET SPECIES Largemouth Bass
Location: Neuse River Basin, North Carolina Date: September 8, 2012 Weather: Overcast, breezy Water Conditions: Stained, slow, lots of wood cover B.A.S.S. Length Requirement: 14 inches Don’t Miss: Durham Bulls baseball game
Even though the Neuse River is close to home, I had only fished it once. From satellite maps, I could see logjams, rocks and small rapids that promised great fishing. The river is typical of the region, with slow water littered with wood cover. Even though largemouth bass can be found almost everywhere, we chose to fish the Neuse because it is famous for holding big bucketmouths. We fished a different section of the river each day. The bite was on SOB buzzbaits early and transitioned to Lucky Craft crankbaits and Deep Creek Lures plastics. We caught about a dozen fish up to five pounds and lost an absolute river giant. He’s the one I’ll be telling my grandkids about. With fall closing in, I had my eye set on just one more fish.
TARGET SPECIES Guadalupe Bass
Location: Llano River and Guadalupe River, Texas Date: October 12–13, 2012 Weather: Mix of sun and clouds, breezy Water Conditions: Clear, mixed cover B.A.S.S. Length Requirement: 10 inches Don’t Miss: Texas BBQ at Black’s or Smitty’s in Lockhart
Unfamiliar water and a slow bite made this the toughest stop. On top of that, we were 1,200 miles from home and this was the last species in the slam. Guadalupe bass are only found in a few rivers running through Texas hill country; we chose to fish the Guadalupe and Llano. The Llano River is narrow and clear featuring long pools and small rapids. The Guadalupe River is murkier, full of cypress stumps, and alternates between rocky rapids and slow flows. To get the scoop on Guads, we met up with Pat Kellner, another veteran of the River Bassin’ tournament. He told us these fish are famous for being aggressive, but we found them passive—biting lightly and spooking easily. We would often catch them in small packs. Even though the bite was tough, we ended up with 20 to 30 fish both days. What relief we felt when we each landed a qualifying Guadalupe bass. Soft plastic crayfish imitations like the Deep Creek Floating Flip Craw, four-inch Yamamoto senkos and small crankbaits were the ticket. With clear, blue pools, bluffs and cypress trees, these rivers were unlike any I had ever fished. An osprey swooped down and snatched a Guad right in front of us. To celebrate our slam, we kicked up our heels at Gruene’s Dance Hall. I can’t wait to return to central Texas.
After we spent five months traveling thousands of miles and catching hundreds of bass, Bill and I were absolutely stoked that we pulled off the B.A.S.S Slam in our kayaks. We learned so much, saw so much, and had so much fun that we’d do it again in a heartbeat. Maybe we’ll see you out there, too.
Drew Haerer is a part-time fishing guide and member of Malibu Kayak’s pro staff. When he isn’t chasing bass around the country, he works as a research scientist for Duke University. Currently, Drew is paying off a kitchen pass from his girlfriend, Mary May Pratt.
72 PADDLING THIS MONTH || March 2013 This feature article first appeared in the Spring 2013 issue of Kayak Angler.
NORTHERN SPOTTED BASS, CAPE FEAR RIVER, NC PHOTO BILL KOHLS
LARGEMOUTH, NEUSE RIVER, NC
GUADALUPE BASS, LLANO RIVER, TX
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