Fishing with Capt. George Tunison | It’s largemouth bass fishing time

Break out your best big bass lure or round up a live well of big wild-caught golden shiners — its largemouth bass time in Florida and February through April are the best months to bag a big one. A “bigin” to some would be their first 5-pounder, a respectable bass in any waters, but a 10 is the Holy Grail for most that live to chase bucket mouths.

My first 5 came from a misty, early morning mid-Atlantic millpond, caught on a classic yellow belly, green-frog-pattern Heddon Tiny Torpedo, an oldtime favorite surface plug sporting a rear propeller. Although that fish was caught in the 1960s, the memory is still very vivid and so far has lasted a lifetime. That fish really got to me and bass fishing was all I cared about for years. I joined my local B.A.S.S. Club and like millions of others got into tournament fishing chasing bass up and down the east coast for years catching 6s 7s even 8s, and even winning a few tournaments, but that big one, that 10-pounder never came over the side of the boat till I fished central Florida’s Lake Toho’s lily pad fields. A fat, 12-inch wild- caught, golden shiner got the interest of a nearly black 10-pound, 4-ounce “bigin,” which now sits proudly on display in a glass case next to me as I type.

Where would you go in Florida to bag your 10? Famous names like Rodman Reservoir, the Harris Chain of lakes, Lake Toho, Stick Marsh and Lake Okeechobee all get Florida big bass hunters excited, or would you hit a small body of water like Billy O’Berry did back in 1986 when he pulled out the current Florida record bass weighing 17.27 pounds from a small lake near Orlando? There was a bigger Florida bass that was caught in 1923 weighing 20.13 pounds, but wasn’t properly documented hence no record for it exists.

A 17-pounder is a big bass for sure but a small fry compared to Manabu Kurita’s 22.5-pound world record caught in Japan which is once ounce bigger than the long-standing world record Georgia caught bass of 22.4 ounces caught and eaten in 1932 by George Perry using his Creek Chub Fin Tail Shiner, his only lure. These two fish are considered to be a world record tie because it takes two ounces to break a current record.

Truth be told, serious record hunters leave Florida and spend their time plying the small reservoirs in California where bigger than current world record bass swim and have already been caught like a weighed 25.1-pounder hooked on the outside of the lip which disqualifies it from record status as it was considered to have been “snagged.” Several larger than current world record bass have been Cali caught but disqualified for various reasons but there’s little doubt that a new record will likely come from a west coast body of water that’s continually stocked with tasty rainbow trout bass snacks.

Back here at home various lures like plastic lizards and frogs, spinner and chatter baits, top-waters and jig and pig combos will take big fish, but nothing beats a wild-caught golden shiner for serious trophy hunting. Domestic or hatchery-raised shiners are cheaper to buy but don’t have the natural fear of bass like wild-caught shiners have, the fear that trips the triggers of really big fish. We’ve been taught that big fish conserve energy and go for easily caught “low hanging fruit” but it seems the lack of fear exhibited by hatchery-raised shiners when a big predator is near is often a turn off compared to the natural panic exhibited by wild-caught shiners which gets the big boys interested in eating.

Spend a day with a good guide on close-by Lake Okeechobee for serious early spring bass fun.

Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at 239-579-0461 or via email at captgeorget3@aol.com.