Newspaper Page Text
Page 2B, The Lee County Ledger, Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Bass Strategies With Sheet Reese
Super-sized Summer Dropshot
Special to the Ledger
From the time the weather
began to warm early this
year until now, every lake
in the country has seen the
local angling population
hammer the resident bass
with every bait and presenta
tion under the sun. And now,
with the return of summer’s
heat, long days and rising
water temperatures, the bass
in most places are retreating
to their offshore confines,
looking for cover and an
easy meal.
With the experience
gained from being heavily
pressured (and sometimes
caught) all year coupled with
the surplus on forage, bass
can be pretty picky eaters
this time of year. To catch
them, you are going to want
to show them something
they don’t see all of the
time. In this day and age, a
drop shot rig isn’t uncom
mon, but using a drop shot
with heavier line and bigger
baits in and around heavy
summertime cover can be
an effective way of coaxing
even the most pressured bass
into biting.
Most people think of that
a drop shot is done with
6- and 8-pound line on a
spinning reel in clear, open
water. Sure, there is plenty
of this kind of drop shot
ting going on everywhere,
but a casting reel and 12- to
15-pound Berkley Trilene
100% fluorocarbon line and
some new Berkley Gulp!
Alive can be just as effective
in stained water and around
heavy cover. This drop shot
technique isn’t the same
vertical presentation that
most of us already know;
instead, I like to cast this rig
to places where fish should
be (near structure) in both
deep and shallow water. In
summertime, getting on top
of a finicky bass in 10 feet
of water to fish vertically
can be difficult, so casting
becomes our best option.
Once I cast the rig to the
target, I let the drop shot
sinker hold the bait in place
as I shake the line. By shak
ing the line, the bait hovers
in the same place and looks
alive. After a few shakes, I
pick up the rig and move it a
foot or two - but I don’t drag
it. This allows you to cover
a fair amount of water, but it
still allows you to work slow
enough to allow the Gulp! to
work effectively.
Using 12- to 15-pound
fluorocarbon line is a must in
these situations. If you want
to be able to land a fish you
catch in the bushes or around
a boat dock or in some tree
tops, you need some bigger
line. If it was 10-pound or
smaller line, I would use a
spinning reel, but I throw
this rig on an Abu Garcia
REVO STX with a 7-foot
Fenwick Techna AV me
dium-heavy rod. I like the
Techna AV for this tech
nique because it has a little
faster tip and that’s really
important to help shake the
line. And since I am using
bigger line, I can also use
bigger baits like a Green
Pumpkin 5-inch Gulp! Sink
ing Minnow. The newest
Gulp! bait, Gulp! Alive, is
going to be on the market by
the time the tournament trail
heads north this year and I
can guarantee that I will be
using plenty of that.
The Gulp! Alive is an even
more potent form of Gulp!
bait. Plus, instead of coming
in a plastic package, these
baits come in a plastic pail
and are completely suspend
ed in Gulp! juice. What this
means for anglers is that the
baits will maintain their in
tended shape better and have
a better action in the water.
Also, it means that when one
Gulp! Alive bait has been
used for a while, it can be
dropped back into the pail to
be recharged and used again
later. For this time of the
year, I will be Texas rigging
the new Gulp! Alive baits on
wide-gap hooks about 12-14
inches above a 1/4-ounce
tungsten sinker.
A drop shot is a highly ef
fective way of catching fish
any time of year. But this
summer, when the big bass
retreat to heavier cover and
deeper water, don’t be afraid
to go after them with bigger
tackle. By slowing down
and allowing the new Gulp!
Alive baits to flood the area
with a scent trail, these pres
sured bass will believe they
are seeing and smelling real
food, which will make them
want to eat and get more fish
to your boat.
Sheet Reese is the 2007
BASS Elite Series Angler
of the Year and an 8-time
Bassmaster Classic quali
fier. Reese lives in Auburn,
Calif
CHANCES’R
Bait & Tackle Shop @ Lake Chehaw
200 Philema Road, Albany
(229)438-6131
Mobile (229(669-1844
Fax (229)438-1039
Owned & Operated
by Ginger Howard
GEORGE (SMITTY) JOHNSON
Home Repairs & Remodeling
“PROBLEMS SOLVED”
(No Jobs Too Small)
Most Anything Needs Done at Home
If it needs to be done right - Call
Support your local animal shelter
c , ■ n , , n Office: 229-759-0126
Solving Problems For: 229-759-0202
Surrounding Areas Cell:'(229) 894-5113
Seminole
ATA hosts Tennis
We're
Smoking!
delicious Ribs, Chicken
And m dust For You!
Ramlins Block Party
By Jack Wingate
Wingate’s Fishing Lodge
The Big Rental Co.
Tournament out of the boat
basin in Bainbridge had a
big turn-out" 68 boats and
3 huge catches of fish. A 20
lbs., another 20 lbs., but the
winning catch was a whop
ping big 25lbs. and the Big
Fish was in the last catch
"8.6 lbs. If my info was
right, all those fish was from
upriver. We have the results
from the Big Bend Club at
White City, which according
to Eddie Ditto, a poor show
ing of Bass was weighed in
and that shows me that the
extreme low water on the
Do You Need A Mortgage?
Ready To Refinance
, .,, n No Money Down
1st Time Home Buyers. LowRate y s L
Refinance With No
Money Out Of Pocket.
Investors: 30 Year -7% 15 Year - 6.5%
Nicole & Frankie
Know Just The Man
You Need To Call!
, _k
With Zero Down...
NO INCOME LIMIT
Purchase
or
Refinance
Only
5% Down
INTEREST
r 0 rate
NO Mortgage Insurance
Our Goal At
America’s First Home Mortgage
Is To Help Everyone Make
The American Dream Of Home Ownership
A Reality Not Just A Dream
Get Pre-Approved!FREE
• i
Frank
Hines
420-0021
Wanda
Bowles
347-2013
Sheryl
Barnes
869-4195
Tiffany
McCall
343-1575
America’s First Mortgage
Lending Company, Inc
1209 Dawson Road
229.420.0021
afhmc@aol.com
Appalacheecola River has
damaged that fine fishery. I
ain,t smart, in fact, I failed
recess 2 years in a row, but
last year many catches of
Bass in the 6 lbs. class was
taken. I remember when 67
Bass over 3 lbs. was taken in
that area in a Ft day, all were
released to be caught again.
All those on Crank Baits.
We, at this riten have not
heard from the big tourne-
ment out of Sneads Landing.
There should have been 30
boats in that set too.
Bass has been hot as a 2
dollar pistal on Saterday nite.
Small Prop baits has been
very good, in the past 3 days,
Mike Prindle and Paul Tyre
has boated limits to 8 lbs.
each day.
I would like to thank Eddie
Ditto for fixen ole Red for
me. It,s in the water and
my Grandson, Jackson and
me fished 2 hours Saterday
morning. Didn,t catch much
but the going was great.
Mike Prindle took another
8 lbs. Bass Sunday morning
using Trick Worms.
The Bream and Shell-
cracker have been coming in
most of the week off beds as
the egg sacks are still heavy
with eggs. At least 25 boats
limited out on those 2 fish.
The Perch is a lost cause
most of the Perch seem to
remain hidden. That will
probley right itself this week.
No one reported Talapia this
week except they are still un
der the docks in most places.
Special to the Ledger
On June 7, 2008 the Al
bany Tennis Association, in
conjunction with the United
States Tennis Association,
hosted the second Tennis
Block Party for families
in Lee County, Dougherty
County and the surrounding
areas. A great time was had
by all participants and vol
unteers. The goal is to have
children start learning and
playing tennis at a young age
and have them proceed into
Junior Team Tennis and on
to school teams and through
adulthood.
Tennis is a sport without
any age boundary. The old
est players in the Albany
area are now in their 70’s
(some closer to 80) and they
play two, sometimes three,
times a week. Tennis players
will always find someone to
play with no matter where
they reside.
Anyone requesting infor
mation regarding the Junior
Team Tennis Programs or
adult programs can email
albanytennis@aol.com and
someone will respond.
THf n
JLHHMHJHJ
im county
mmmmtmm mmm mmm
• THE SEASON WILL
CONSIST OF 16 GAMES
AND A DOUBLE ELIMINA
TION TOURNAMENT.
• TEAMS WILL BE
DIVIDED INTO VARIOUS
LEAGUES DEPENDING
ON NUMBER OF TEAMS
REGISTRATION FEE
$525.00
V
2008
MEN’S SUMMER
LEAGUE SOFTBALL
**REGISTER NOW**
TODAY THROUGH JULY 2ND
LEE COUNTY
RECREATION OFFICE
HO Starksville Ave.
Leesburg, GA 31763
CONTACT PERSON:
JEREMY MOREY
(229) 759-6047 OFFICE
(229) 344-8024 CELL
JMOREY@LEE.GA.US