In Praise of Hatchery Trout for Giant Bass
Much of the California giant bass gold rush was predicated on the introduction of both Florida strain bass and hatchery trout on lakes like Castaic and Casitas. The trout were initially meant as a separate sporting resource, but they ended up also serving as a fattening mechanism for the freak show largemouths.
It’s not just California, though – there are lakes in places like Missouri, Tennessee and North Carolina where the bass are keyed in on the stocking truck.
If you fish one of those places, here are five lures that come in a pattern called “hatchery trout” you might want to try.
When I bought an 18000-sized spinning reel for tuna, I couldn't imagine there might be anything bigger. After all, most of my experience over the years involved 2500- and 3000-size reels that were perfectly capable of taming just about any bass that bit. Daiwa’s Saltiga 30000P made me rethink that assumption.