Lax Reproductions know their bass, and if you express a desire to fish using a certain method or technique, they know where to put you. Our lures would include most of the more common ones, stick baits or jerkbaits such as Odyssey’s 5” Piglet, spinnerbaits, such as Strike King’s 3/4 oz. Pro Model, Berkley’s Power Worms (10” that is), Poe’s 400 and 400 Plus crankbaits and, of course, Rattle Traps in 3/4oz. and 1oz. sizes. Remember, we were dealing with some true potential for monsters. This was not the time to be conservative. Within the first ten minutes my surface jerkbait was consumed by a healthy 25” bass. Folks, this fish was well over eight pounds. As we continued to the back of the bay it was obvious that something had pushed the fish out, and I’ll put my money on the cold front. Although our water temps were around 60 degrees, only a few days earlier they were barely breaking 58 degrees. While fishing, if you are hit with such a cold front during a spawning period, be it January, February or March, you can expect most of your larger prespawn females to seek slightly deeper water in an attempt to avoid the negative effects of a surface water cooling trend. However, one can also expect bass to be aggressive and shallow after recovery from the cold front, usually within a day or two. We continued to fish this same pattern for about half of the day, picking up the odd stray, but not the quality of our first fish. Keep in mind, our “strays,” as I put them, were in some cases nearly 6 lbs. Fermin continued to show us new spots, spots he conceded had given up some big bass in the past, and at one point, Dale took three or four bass off one of those spots - all of them, I might add, were very nice fish. Before we knew it, it was noon and we were on our way back to the lodge, but not without stopping at what must have been one of Fermin’s hot spots. He suggested we present our deep diving crankbaits, and without hesitation we did. Our drift took us through what appeared to be an old village. That’s right, I said a village! We were literally tossing to old building foundations. On about the third foundation Dale proceeded to hook up with a nice www.laxreproductions.com El Salto bass in the seven to

eight pound class. Dale had presented his offering around the shaded side of the structure, and upon making contact was consumed by what would be his first big bass. After a brief highfive, we were off to lunch. Upon arriving it was obvious we were not the only ones catching big fish. There were many reports of bass surpassing the eight pound mark. With the daytime temps nearing their peak of about 80 degrees, everyone including our guides took time out to rest. This little siesta usually lasts about two hours and off you go again. At first one might think this ordeal of a siesta is uncalled for, however, as the afternoon lingers and the temps rise, it is very obvious why they do it. A little rest never hurt anyone. Upon returning to the water we concentrated our efforts on deep diving crankbaits. For the most part, we worked points and submerged tree lines. Our action was by no means fast, and considering the conditions, who would expect it to be? However, as with our morning bite, we were able to boat bass well into the five pound class. Not bad for high skies and almost no wind. The later part of the day would find us returning to our morning strategy, working the outside points at the mouth of the coves and continuing into the ends. The difference was, we found bass in the backs, instead of the points, and I mean some big fish. In one particular cove, we fished our way in, hitting every possible ambush point with no results until we hit a bare shoreline at the very end of the cove. There I presented my jerkbait after Dale had fished the entire area, and was greeted by an incredible swirl. I set the hook and came up empty handed. The fact is, I had some very straight hooks. All three of us quickly commented that it was a very big fish, or as the locals would say, mui grande lubina. A few minutes later and only a few feet away I was again greeted by an enormous swirl. However, this time I made contact, and was rewarded with an incredible ten pound El Salto bass. The interesting thing was the jig and craw that was still in its mouth from Kline Nissan, official dealership of Simply Fishing Television and the home of Simply Fishing Vehicles Allow me the pleasure of quoting your next vehicle. Nissan Armada LE: 317 hp, 385 lb-ft of torque and can tow up to 9,100 lbs call me or email your needs today, the gang at Kline is always here to serve your automotive needs. New vehicles arriving daily at Kline Nissan, Maplewood MN. Your world class Nissan dealer... Jeff Miller 651-379-4300