Member How-To

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Member How-To

Predicting the unpredictable smallmouth

Smallmouth bass are rarely predictable — except during the prespawn. Their yearly spawning ritual is the culmination of rising water temperatures, a full moon arriving, and positioning in key areas...

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Elite tips for fishing roadbeds

If Robert Frost had been a serious bass angler, “The Road Not Taken” would have focused less on that yellow wood divergence and more on this simple principle: Don’t overlook...

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How to maximize angles while fishing offshore

Sometimes bass care just as much about where their dinner’s coming from as what’s actually in it. That’s the lesson that Mark Menendez has learned over a lifetime of fishing...

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Leveraging the crappie connection

Tyler Rivet literally owes his first career Elite title to a fish that was not eligible for tournament competition. The Louisiana pro was looking for what he calls “sac-a-lait” for...

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Junk fishing with a purpose

Nonmusical types may dismiss the notion of a “jam session” as the undisciplined indulgence of creative whim. Jazz greats like Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane would have disagreed....

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Ignoring the “normal”

In 1955, James Dean worked that Rebel Without a Cause vibe like a boss, but Bassmaster Elite Series competition doesn’t leave as much room for such aimless defiance. That said,...

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Topwater smallmouth fishing mistakes

Keith Combs may be a Texan with a penchant for offshore cranking for big largemouth, but the broad-shouldered Bassmaster Elite Series pro also knows how to catch Northern smallmouth on...

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The ins and outs of throwing a mop jig

When Davy Hite hunts, he scouts for the biggest deer in the woods before he takes a shot. His approach to tournament bass fishing isn’t much different, picking apart each...

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Breaking down laydowns

Life abounds amid death and destruction; a little macabre for a fishing story, perhaps, but that’s an accurate description of a laydown. A tree dies, suffers a lightning strike or...

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How to maximize the sunrise bite

Daybreak teases with gilded tendrils, as radiance and hope grow equally brilliant. No doubt, that first hour brings tremendous opportunity; it’s often the day’s most impressive. Severe weather can influence...