Midday Rally

The Chickamauga bass bite was tough. No way around that. An occasional chunky largemouths would blast a frog or take a flipped Biffle Bug, but the fishing was generally slow. So when I learned that Don Lamb, a tournament angler from nearby Ringold, Georgia, had found a mixed school of black and white bass, I was eager to get in on the action.

The white bass were small, Lamb warned, but he noted that schools of largemouth were in the same area and feeding on the same shad. Largemouths or white bass suited me, and I didn't really care if they were small. I just like catching fish, and when you're around eating fish, you never know when a good one might surprise you.

Lamb was working the schooling fish with a Little George, which he'd let sink to the bottom and work with lifts and drops. I caught a couple of white bass on one of his baits, but then I got thinking about the Gene Larew Rally Grubs I had in my bag. They have a great swimming action, and I figured they probably were about the right size to match the shad. The Bobby Garland Mo' Glo heads I had were a little light to cast with my baitcaster, a 7-2 medium heavy Lew's Custom Speed Stick, so I tied a tandem Rally Grub rig, spacing thing jigs about 15 inches apart. Beyond doubling the casting weight, a tandem rig suggests shad swimming together.

The white bass schools weren't as thick as when Lamb had been in the same area that morning, but the fish we found definitely liked the double Rally Grub rig, and I ended up catching several white bass and largemouths, plus one spotted bass in only a couple of hours of fishing.

The Rally Grub's name stemmed from the fact that it was designed to produce a rally when you need a burst of action, and it sure lived up to it's name last week.

Make a Guess; Win a Boat

 

Any guess how many lures are in the aquarium pictured above? If you're Classic bound this weekend, be sure to stop by the Gene Larew booth to study the tank and submit your guess. If you're still wavering about Tulsa travel, this is just one more argument in favor of making the trip. You see, on Sunday afternoon, some contest participant is going to become the new owner of a Legend Bass Boat.

 

The contest, sponsored by Gene Larew Lures, Legend Boats, Honda Marine and Tulsa radio station 98.5 KVOO, actually will give away as many as 98 prize packets on Sunday, with the top prize being the boat but others including weekend fishing trips with pros and guides to places like Lake Fork and Grand Lake itself. The way it works is that you submit a guess on Friday or Saturday during the Bassmaster Classic Expo at the Gene Larew, Legend or Honda booth. On Saturday night all the entries will be combined, 98 names will be randomly drawn and those 98 will be informed by phone. If you get picked, you have to be at the Larew booth at 12:30 on Sunday, when prizes will be awarded to each of the 98 in attendance. The would-be winner who is there on Sunday and whose submitted guess was closest to the actual number of baits in the tank takes home the boat, a Legend 186 bass boat matched with 150 horsepower Honda motor.

 

Making the guessing game extra interesting, lures stuffed into the 10-gallon aquarium range from small profile crappie baits like the Bobby Garland Baby Shad to Gene Larew El Salto Worms, which are a full foot long. You can bet that a lot of folks are going to spend a lot of time studying that aquarium and doing some serious thinking this weekend.

 

For more about Gene Larews Lures' special Classic activities, visit www.genelarew.com



Gene Larew Baits: See How They are Made

Have you ever wondered how a lure company makes plastic worms, crappie grubs or other kinds of lures? If you'll be at the Bassmaster Classic next weekend, you need not wonder anymore. Gene Larew, which is based in Tulsa, is opening the doors of its 22,000-square foot manufacturing facility and warehouse on the mornings of Thursday, Feb. 21 and Friday, Feb. 22 from 7-10 a.m. for an open house that will include tours every half hour. See for yourself how Larew bass baits and Bobby Garland crappie baits begin their lives in Tulsa.

The open house events, which also will include a "Bass Talk Coffee Shop," visits by bass pros and crappie pros and a live radio remote Tulsa's own  KVOO, help celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the Larew Salt Craw. Visitors will be treated to Daylight Donuts and will leave with a complementary packet of Salt Craws.

For more information, visit www.genelarew.com.