Don’t know what bait to use? Try these suggestions
If you have yet to grab a pole and get in on the fishing fun at Yuma area waters, now is a good time to get to it while our weather is still great, especially early mornings and evenings for most species of fish with a good share of heavy weights out there, hungry and ready for your favorite bait. You don’t know what bait to use? How about a share of suggestions for you to try.
If it’s largemouth bass you’re after, how about trying a swimbait? Hank Parker, a guy who really knows his stuff when fishing for bass, suggests a package of Berkley Hollow Bellies. He rigged one with the weighted hook packaged with the lures and was amazed at how realistic the bait looked in the water. He got 14 bites that day. But he had problems with getting the hook into them. He was so frustrated that he began to think that maybe it wasn’t a good system. But after he talked with bass pro Larry Nixon about his troubles, Nixon gave good suggestions to work with.
• Split the belly — Nixon recommended that he slice the body with a razor blade where the hook goes in so that the plastic doesn’t wad up around the bend of the hook.
• Nose-hook it — This is Jimmy Houston’s favorite method. He runs the weighted hook through the nose of the bait, casts it out and swims it back to the boat. It works very well. When Parker fishes around boat docks, riprap points or in open water, he nose-hooks it. He simply doesn’t miss fish that way.
• Experiment with weight — Parker has taken unweighted hooks and wrapped electrical solder around the shank to add just a little weight, and it works well. If he needs more weight on a weighted hook, he wraps the solder around the hook and can fish the bait deeper or in heavy wind.
• Add a treble hook — Take a swivel, attach a treble hook to one end with a split ring and slide the other end of the swivel over the weighted hook point before you put the single hook into the body of the swimbait.
Find more of Parker’s articles, quick tips and much more at HankParker.com.
Fishing clubs
• Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club: A busy time of year for all fishermen, ladies and families belonging to this great hunting and fishing club with the Big Bass Dinner June 15 Big Bass Derby launching out of Fisher’s Landing June 16 for all the anglers who qualified. The following fishermen and ladies all qualified to fish the Big Bass Derby on June 16.
Coming up June 23 is the Military Appreciation Fishing Derby at Mittry Lake hosted by YVRGC beginning at safe light with the last fish weighed on scales at noon, open to active military, veterans, retired military all welcome. $20 Entry fee per person includes biggest fish buy in — cash only — two person team per watercraft. Sign up until noon June 22 at Sportsmen’s Hideaway (behind Baron gas station on Highway 95) or call Jared at (928) 276-5243 or Kelly at (928) 276-5243. Cash prize for heaviest 5 fish and biggest fish. General fishing regulations apply — bass only! Too much fun to miss.
• American Bass (ABA) — Yuma Division: Hope to have results in my next column from the June 2 ABA Yuma Fish-Off championship tournament out of Fisher’s Landing. A big thank you to all our sponsors, especially FTS Franklin Tire & Service Center! Also a huge thank you to director, Jeff Woods, now retired as of this event, for making it all possible
• Desert Bass Anglers “The Fun Way to Fish”: The club accommodated American Bass Saturday by getting up early for their next competition with sign up 4:15 to 4:45 a.m. this coming Saturday, June 9 for the launch out of Fisher’s rather then the usual first Saturday. Weigh-in will be 1 p.m. Early sign up from 5-6 p.m. Friday, June 8 at Sportsmen’s Hideaway (Edgar is getting all kinds of baits in, probably has what you need). Call Mac or Bobbi McDermott at 726-1984 with questions.
Update on Top 10: Tim Price 189 pts, Lynn Domby 189, Jacob Lute 184, Robet Murray 181, Jeremy Lovejoy 173, Ed Reeder 169, J. Borghoff 163, J & K Gerber 157, Billy Clothier 142. Good fish’n!
Time to make those livewell checks and repairs. We had a couple of dead fish come to the scales in May so check your livewell now. During the tournaments, check your fish regularly to make sure they are healthy. We need to be able to catch them again! It’s also time to watch sand bars when you’re on the water — bars around Monkey Island and Yuma Wash are not where they used to be. Make sure you have lots of water and sports beverages, towels, hats, sunscreen, long sleeve shirts
make sure you have plenty of water in your black bag(s) and get the fish back to the water as soon as possible. Drop them off the end of the dock in deep water so they have a chance to recover. Always weigh a big fish in case of ties for position and points.
• Desert Draw Series Pro/Am Bass Fishing Club: The June 16th tournament will launch out of Fisher’s Landing. Call Michael Obney at (928) 750-7081 for sign up information.
• Yuma High School Bass Fishing Club: A great way for any high schooler to learn all about fishing for bass. Members of both the Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club and Desert Bass Anglers assist the kids in providing them with boats and equipment as well as guiding the youngsters, both guys and gals, in gaining a good share of fishing know-hows. Call Terry Hurt, school sponsor, at 580-6567 or visit StudentAnglerFoundation.com interested high school student will be a part of a exciting year for our next generation of anglers at Fisher’s Landing/Martinez Lake.
• This bunch of super young people also help others with their fishing along the way by assisting at local youth events — always ready to assist and that is so great! They will travel to Lake Pleasant for the Arizona State High School Bass Fishing Championships shortly. Some great results from the championships at Lake Pleasant leading these great youngsters to nationals will be reported in next week’s column.
• Check next week’s column for an update on the Alamo Dam Water Control Manual.
Hunt happenings
• Update from ‘Conserve and Protect’ Arizona: A letter sent to the Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club from the Arizona Game and Fish Commission wants to update all those who have supported Game and Fish in their effort to stop the HSUS and prepare for whatever may be headed their way in the form of future threats (to hunting as I have reported on in my outdoors columns). At their recent meeting in Kingman, ‘Conserve and Protect’ were able to discuss the conceptual plan with the Commission. A committee was formed to further our agenda of funding an educational program for the voting public. All in all it went well. At their next official meeting the Commission will agenda this item and will be able to take action on it. This is but one step in a multipronged approach we are taking to secure our hunting and angling future. We want to thank all who joined our fight and invite you to continue with us in our effort to Conserve and Protect Arizona’s wildlife and outdoor heritage. We strongly encourage you to contact the Commission and let them know you support our effort. Jim Ammons Chair — jammons@azgfd.gov, Jim Zieler — jzieler@azgfd.gov, Eric Sparks — sparks@azgfd.gov, Kurt Davis — Kdavis@azgfd.gov and Bill Brake — bbrake@azgfd.gov. Letter
of Conserve and Protect Arizona.
Check next week’s column for the beginning of a report on Wildlife 20/20 — Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Strategic Plan with information on what each of us can do to protect our hunting and fish possiblilites in Arizona.
Shooting sports
• 4-H Shooting Sports: Call the Yuma 4-H office at 726-3904 or Stan Gourley at 344-0740. Keep watch for dates in September when the new year of training in their shooting sports program will begin. A great program for kids — it promises to be one worth attending.
• Renegade Archers of Yuma: Please give us a call — Kevin at 726-0953 or Jean at 247-4450 — if you’d like to shoot the trail of 3D animals with us at the Foothills Archery Range. Archery instruction for your youngsters (adults as well) is “free”! We’ll be glad to assist in their learning (call ahead so we can bring along extra bows and arrows).
The practice area at the Range is open (also free use) daylight hours all week for archers practice and enjoyment. You might be best satisfied bringing along your own target. People seem to be intent on tearing down the expensive cotton bales — do what you can to prevent vandalism while at the range so all
• Yuma Trap and Skeet Club: Anyone interested in trap and skeet? Shoot 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays and Sundays at Adair Park. Call Bob Avila at (928) 919-0622. The Yuma Young Guns with the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) is still working hard. Call Head Coach H. McNutt at (928) 580-0918 if you are interested.
• Yuma Territorial Longrifles Club: Regular “open” black powder matches are 1st and 3rd Saturday’s at the Adair Park range at 8:30 a.m. Call Roger Bickel at 726-7453 —
• Cholla Gun Club at Adair Park: Call Glenda Graves at (928) 5800915 for shooting times. Watch for their shooting schedule beginning again this fall.
• High Power Rifle and Pistol Club of Yuma: Check with joseph Murek at umpire1@q.com or Gerald Brooker at brookergerald@att.net or call (858) 349-1311 or Paul Lerma at 580-7456 to learn about shooting at the Adair Park big bore range. Club junior “Whipper Snipers” shooters still busy with their shooting activities for all ages. Check club matches as well as Whipper Snipers news listed on the club web site at hprifleyuma.
• Yuma Matchmasters: A variety of matches are offered each month at the range, all open to shooters at 7 a.m. with the steel challenge the 1st Saturday, multi-gun matches the 1st Sunday, IPSC combat matches held the 2nd Sunday with the Cowboy Fast Draw the 3rd Saturday and SASS cowboy matches the 4th
shooting? Call Irene Snyder at (209) 613-4598 or Bob Wiles at 920-2158
• Southwest Bowhunters Archery Club: Archery is offered to archers on Sundays with their practice range also open all week. Call Keith Parsels at 782-1097.
Contact Jean Wilson at jeanrenegade@ gmail.com or call 247-4450.