Pro Bass Fishing Boat

[Reginald Hanfy]

BassPro Shops Between the Scales gives a behind the scenes look at what it takes to live the life of professional fisherman. Each episode follows a different pro angler as they prepare and practice for a specific stop along the MLF Bass Pro Tour. Join us as we learn how to live like a professional bass angler at the highest levels of the sport.

Push to start ignition system, heated steering wheel, the ALL-NEW Ranger RIDE system - on a new and refined version of the legendary "C" hull? We're talking about the latest bass boats of the Z Comanche R Series; the next chapter in Ranger innovation.

In our dedicated trailer plant in Ozark, Missouri, we custom build trailers for every NITRO boat, so you can be assured the fit will be perfect. This ensures a smooth, solid ride to and from the water, year after year.

Bass Pro Shops Between the Scales takes you behind the scenes of the life of professional fisherman. Each episode follows a different pro angler as they prepare and practice for a specific stop along the MLF Bass Pro Tour. Join as we learn how to live like a professional bass angler at the highest levels of the sport.

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It is mind-boggling to me just how many bass fishermen never use anchors. It wouldn't surprise me if more than half of bass boats don't have a single anchor in them. The truth is - most of my biggest bass were caught with at least one (but usually 2) anchor. I think one of the reasons anchoring isn't popular is because bass boats aren't designed with anchoring in mind. You look at the bow of any new bass boat and it will have one cleat on each side. There's no place for rope! You have to keep your rope in a box somewhere. So, if you want to anchor, you have to open a box and dig out the anchor and untangle all the line. What a pain!

One of the first things I do when I get a new boat is to add some cleats. I like to have 3 cleats on each side of the bow, spaced out about 2 feet apart. That way, I can use the front one to tie to and wrap 100 feet of rope around the next 2 cleats. I will do this on both sides of the bow. One is for anchoring and the other is for tying up. You might be surprised how much you tie up and/or anchor when you don't have to dig rope out of a box.

Just dropping anchors under the boat will rarely hold. You must have plenty of rope out. You will need at least 5 ft of rope for every foot of depth. The deeper the water, the more rope you need. If the water is over 15 ft deep, it is probably best to use only one anchor. Front is best, so you don't take waves over the back of the boat.

It is very difficult to anchor a boat on a downward slope with wind pushing the boat toward the deeper water. In that case, you need to have enough rope to put the anchor on a level spot (in the shallower water) before the drop and allow the boat to drift over the drop. If it is windy and you are fishing deep and you are on a downward slope with the wind pushing towards deeper water, you can expect it to be very difficult to anchor. You will need a lot of weight and a lot of rope. Then, you can expect it to be a lot of work getting it back in the boat. The windier it is, the more likely it will get hung to the point of no return. If it is more than 20mph wind, you should consider whether it is worth the risk of taking waves over the bow and possibly sinking the boat.

Fishing for bass from a pontoon boat has its challenges for sure, having to adjust some of the mechanics and keep a constant awareness of the positioning of the boat and the direction of the wind. But the large, high and stable platform gives you the ability to spend time on the water with more people sharing the sport you love, and even gives you an advantage with certain techniques. I hope these experiences inspire you to take the pontoon out on the water to try your hand at bass fishing.

This piece will focus on casting to stripers using a spinning outfit. It will be the first in a series directed at getting some gear info out to you folks who want to catch your first or your millionth striper. Expect these to come in the first weeks of the new year:

Spinning rods get a little more complicated when fishing from the boat. You will absolutely be using different rods when fishing different lures or styles. A weightless Hogy will need a different rod than a 4oz Doc.

Rod action refers to how a rod bends when under load. A fast action rod will bend in the top third, closest to the tip. A medium or moderate action will bend down to the middle. A slow, or parabolic rod, will bend almost down to the butt.

The action you get on a Guppy is amazing. Perfect for throwing to blitzing stripers by the Canal, or calling up feeding fish from the deep. Mimics a wounded pogy, herring, mackerel, and even squid. This plug is my go-to and consistently outfishes all of my other plugs. You absolutely need a Guppy if you want to catch a bass. Find them here

A great smallish spook plug that gets finicky fish eating. I like to crawl this thing along the surface, moving it the slowest it can while still achieving the walk the dog action. For the bigger sizes, lose the extra treble.

Not much to say about this one. Cast it out, retrieve, catch a fish. Only issue is when the fish are tuned in on peanut bunker, this one gets swallowed and guthooked because it looks and acts so similar. Crush the barb to make removal easier.

The king of jig-head softbaits. Crushes the competition. Cast and retrieve or vertical jig when the fish are deep on sand eels. An absolute blast and a killer lure in most situations, especially when the bass are on sand eels. I prefer to fish the smaller jig heads, less than 1.5oz and I always use the rat tails. Find them here.

Similar looking lure to the Hurley, but totally different action. The fish seem to like a more erratic retrieve with this one. I prefer the Al Gags in the heavier sizes, 2oz and up. You can find them here.

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A boat between 16 and 20 foot is ideal. Above this size and bass can be too easily spooked, and the displacement becomes too deep for drifting over the shallow reefs and rocks where the fish are. Below this size the boat will not be sufficiently seaworthy to seek out the turbulent water and tide rips that bass love.

Whatever method of fishing you use, it can only be effective if there are bass present, hence the first rule must be to locate the bass. Offshore bass normally favour reefs which come within a few feet of the surface at low tide, where there is a strong run of current. These areas can be seen by boils and ripples on the surface, caused by the submerged rocks restricting the flow and causing turbulence. The following are my favourite methods:

I catch most of my bass by trolling with a large Redgill or similar artificial eel, usually in black or plum/dark red, but I experiment to find the most effective colour on a given day. Smaller eels and other lures (Toby, Koster, Krill etc.)do take bass, but schoolies, pollack, coalfish and mackerel can be a nuisance with these lures.

The mainline is attached via a swivel to a trace of around 12 feet of mono, the lead being free to run on the mainline behind the swivel. A leger stop 8 foot back from the swivel acts as a stop for the lead, and it is my means of adjustment should I need a longer trace. When the boat is underway the lure is allowed to pull out about 50 yards of line, depending on the depth of water etc. The weight can be varied according to conditions, (e.g. speed, tide, depth of fish), but I usually use 2 to 6 oz, which means a 20 or 30lb boat rod with 15 to 20lb line to suit. The lure does not have to run deep for bass. Braid can be used because of its sensitivity due to very low stretch, and it is thinner and allows you to be able to use lighter leads and consequently a lighter rod, often 12lb class.

If you are single handed I would advise only one rod for trolling, since if you hook a fish of any size it is necessary to put the engine in neutral while you play the fish. Under these conditions a second set of end tackle is likely to snag. Having said this, I can never resist putting out a second rod if the fish are not very active, with a short line and perhaps a heavier weight than the main rod. If you do use two rods, remember to take a large turning circle if you change direction.

On certain hot spots you might find that bass only take when you troll in a particular direction, usually with the tide. If you catch a bass, go back and troll over the same area again, and you will often catch another, and so on. I have known days when it was possible to troll in a very large circle and the bites (on all rods simultaneously) could be predicted within yards. Very exciting, but these days very infrequent!

This is best on the drift using livebait, but a side of mackerel or mackerel head can be effective. I use the same spinning rod as for drifting, and I fish with the float about 12 feet above the bait. Bass will come up in the water for livebait, whereas other fish such as pollack, coalfish and wrasse are reluctant to do so.

Further out to sea the bass are mainly after fish prey, so I attract them using a fish-based ruby dubby, made up of mashed up mackerel mixed with fish flavoured cat food. This is put in a mesh bag which is attached to the anchor chain, about 10 feet from the anchor. The mixture normally takes about an hour to work, and after two hours it has lost its effectiveness and needs to be replaced.

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