If you
are one of the many bass anglers who would rather catch one big bass than
a boatload of keepers, this exclusive BASSIN' quiz put together
by America's premier lunker hunter is for you! "Bass professor"
Doug Hannon has devoted his life to studying big bass. He has caught and
released...
1. George Perry's 22 pound 4 ounce world record largemouth
bass...
a. was caught from a deep hole in Montgomery Lake,
Ga.
b. earned the poor Georgia farm boy $2500 in cash and prizes.
c. was hooked on a Wiggle-Fish, a jointed wooden plug manufactured by
Heddon.
d. was poorly documented by today's record-keeping standards.
e. broke his brand-new Pflueger baitcasting rod while he was fighting
the fish.
2. If you're serious about catching a giant bass--one
over 15 pounds--you'd be wise to:
a. head for Cuba.
b. head for Mexico.
c. read everything you can on the tactics of pro bass fishermen.
d. get out your biggest deep-diving plug and start crankin'.
e. learn everything you can about the habits of the largemouth bass.
6. Which of the following will most help you put that
10-pound bass in the boat?
a. High flipping decks on your bass boat.
b. A thorough mastery of tournament tactics and techniques.
c. Some knowledge of aquatic plants.
d. A good supply of fish attractant.
e. A powerful sonar unit.
7. If you could have only one of the following going
for you in yout quest for a giant largemouth bass, which factor would
be best?
a. Access to private water.
b. The ability to effectively fish water over 30 feet deep.
c. A competitive personality.
d. A large assortment of treble-hooked lures.
e. A topo map of Lake Okeechobee, Fla.
10. In which spot on a heavily fished reservoir would
you be most likely to catch a big smallmouth bass?
a. A weedbed in a quiet tributary.
b. A small submerged hump that's 15 feet deep on top with much deeper
water on all sides.
c. A bluff littered with big boulders.
d. A long gravel point that runs out into the main river channel with
scattered stumps.
e. A stump field in 2 to 6 feet of water.
11. Some of my biggest largemouth bass, including a
17-pounder, were caught from rivers. Which of the following statements
about rivers is most accurate?
a. They have plenty of forage species that appeal
greatly to lunker bass, including perch and bluegill.
b. Big largemouth love current.
c. If you're after a lunker bass, spend more time fishing a short river
than a long one.
d. You have to fish a river before or after midsummer if you're after
a big bass, otherwise the bass will stratify and suffer oxygen depletion
in deeper water.
e. Bass living in rivers don't live as long as bass living in still
water, but they usually eat significantly more.
12. You're in pursuit of a new world record bass. Considering
all variables, which artificial lure should you be using?
a. A floater/diver minnow.
b. A soft-plastic jerkbait.
c. A jig-and-pig.
d. A shallow-running crankbait.
e. A deep-running crankbait.
15. To catch a lunker largemouth, you'd be wise to
locate an area with...
a. ample brush, stumps and fallen trees in the 20-foot
zone.
b. stained versus clear water.
c. abundant weed growth to shade the bass's eyes from sunlight.
d. cover so thick, most fishermen refuse to fish it.
e. quick access to a deep creek or river channel.
16. Hooking a potential world record largemouth is
one thing: landing it is quite another. Which of the following would you
be most likely to use in handling a largemouth weighing over 23 pounds?
a. A jig-and-pig.
b. A plastic worm.
c. A spinnerbait.
d. A soft plastic jerkbait.
e. A large live bait such as a wild shiner or live eel.
23. California's reservoirs have produced some enormous
large-mouths in recent years. Many factors are responsible for this; which
of the following is not one of these?
a. Florida bass mating with Northern-strain largemouths
often produce large first-generation hybrids.
b. Trout forage leads to tremendous body weight.
c. Anglers there are highly skilled in finesse tactics such as splitshotting
and doodling.
d. Strict regulations on many California big-bass lakes limit fishing
pressure.
e. Bass learn not to bite when pressure is high.
25. If you're serious about catching a 10-pound or
larger bass from your home state, you'd be wise to...
a. obtain the results of major bass tournaments held
there in the past five years and fish the lakes yielding the biggest
catches.
b. determine which counties have the lowest population, then concentrate
your search there.
c. pay strict attention to newspaper outdoor columns from around the
state where big bass catches are publicized.
d. call resorts on the various lakes and ask them about recent big-bass
catches.
e. plan your most serious fishing in the early spring, when the bass
are at their biggest.
__
ANSWERS: 1—D. 2—E.
6—C. 7—A. 10—B. 11—C. 12—C. 15—D.
16—E. 23—C. 25—B. |