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McClelland and VanDam Feel at Home on Lake Travis
Tuesday morning marked the start of the second very long hot practice day on Lake Travis for the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Two of pro fishing’s most likeable, accomplished, and even-keeled veteran anglers, Mike McClelland and Kevin VanDam, launched next to one another in the humid predawn air, and say this gorgeous reservoir in the Texas Hill Country is very new to them, but also one they’re liking a lot, and feeling right at home on.
“Yesterday was the first time I’ve ever fished here, and I like it a lot. It reminds me a lot of Table Rock in terms of the rocky terrain and all the rocky shoreline transitions,” says VanDam.
“Yep, Kevin’s exactly right. It reminds me a ton of Table Rock too, as well as places like Bull Shoals and other Ozark reservoirs,” agrees McClelland. “Before I saw this place I envisioned it looking like Choke Canyon, maybe with vegetation like a lot of the great Texas fisheries we’ve been to, but it’s really more like Table Rock, or even a miniature Amistad.”
“Fans can expect to see us use just about every lure imaginable this week – from soft plastics of every shape and kind, to crankbaits, spinnerbaits, swimbaits — you name it – this event is one in which you’ll see ‘em all used,” says McClelland.
While both pros were their typically gracious selves, both were also jittery to start casting, knowing the early morning shad spawn was taking place as the sun began to rise over Travis’ clean waters that are currently about 78-degrees on the surface.
“It’s that time of year, shad are spawning all over the southern half of the country right now, including here. So it’s time to get out there. I only practiced 13 hours yesterday,” winked VanDam, as he idled out for another long day of doing a job he’s loved for 28 remarkable seasons as a pro.
Swindle Says Lake Travis is Full of Fish
Gerald Swindle has no history with Lake Travis. He’d never seen the gorgeous 18,000 acre reservoir along the Colorado River in the Texas Hill Country until arriving for practice on Mother’s Day.
But after another long 12-hour day of practice, he likes what he sees.
“Well, I just saw a woman swim across the cove with her Larbradoodle, that was interesting. And they dang sure like to party on this lake, even on a Monday,” says the hilarious Team Toyota pro.
“It’s also full of fish. I think it’s gonna surprise people what we catch here this week. There’s a ton of bass swimming here. The challenge will be getting that big bite or two to separate yourself from the pack,” he explains.
Water temps are ranging 77 to 80. It’s full post-spawn mode, and how you choose to catch them is up to you. Swindle says most of the baitfish he saw on Lake Travis were super tiny shoreline minnows.
“You name it – we’ll be throwing it this week,” says Swindle. “Drop shot, Ned Rig, a casting jig, Shaky head, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, deep cranking — it’s all in play this week.”
Swindle piloted his Tundra roughly 14 hours to get to Austin after saying a brutally tough, heartbreaking goodbye to his dog Myrick, but Lake Travis has been reason to smile again for the highly accomplished Quantum pro.
“Grand Lake and Kentucky Lake, where we just came from, were places I’d been many times before, but bites were tough to come by,” says Swindle.
“We weighed-in big bags, but bites were real tough to get. Coming here to Travis was a long drive, but kind of cool like getting a Christmas present. You’re excited to unwrap it, and see what you got, and so far, I like what we’ve got here.”
“I think one of the reasons Lake Travis is good is because there’s not a lot of fishing pressure. Now look, there’s party pressure – if the bass bit Bud Light cans here they’d be in trouble, because these locals know how to party – especially with the weather being so hot this week – like hotter than Miranda Lambert in yoga pants,” he concluded.
Christie Cashes in with Contingencies
Jason Christie is one of the best bass anglers alive right now. While the Garmin pro from eastern Oklahoma has made an impressive pile of money with a rod and reel throughout his career, don’t think that means he disregards opportunities for bonus cash through contingency programs. As a matter of fact, it’s quite the opposite.
“I don’t care if a contingency program is offering a $50 payout or a $5,000 payout – I want in,” Christie said. I make my living in the fishing industry, so every extra dime I can earn back through a contingency program is money well spent in my opinion. If two companies make a quality product that I need to compete, and one offers an incentive program, I’m going to go with who offers the contingency every time.”
Christie’s logic recently earned him another $3,500 of reward money for his 3rd place finish in the Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell. Earning $1000 from Leer “Cover Cash”, and an additional $2,500 for being the second highest Toyota Bonus Bucks participant.
“No matter what I need a reliable truck to get my boat to the lake and a truck cap to give me a place to store all my equipment during long stints on the road,” Christie explained. “Toyota and Leer both make quality products that I believe in, both of these companies support the fishing industry, and they offer contingency programs that help me pay off my investments. Why wouldn’t I run a Tundra and a Leer camper shell? It’s honestly a no-brainer for me.”
Being a participant in programs like Ranger Cup, Toyota Bonus Bucks, and Leer “Cover Cash” has earned Christie somewhere around $100,000 of bonus money throughout his career by his own best estimate. Christie is living proof that contingency programs can pay off in a big way.
The $1000 of “Cover Cash” Christie earned from the 2018 Classic was used to fund another one of his passions, deer hunting.
“I just bought my Kansas tags for deer hunting,” Christie grinned. “The way I look at it, Leer just paid for my hunting this fall. While we are still a little too far out from archery season for me to be thinking about it too much, it’s nice knowing it’s all squared away.”
You don’t have to be a professional angler to reap the rewards of “Cover Cash”. You just need to own a Leer product and compete in one of the over 300 sponsored events. Whether you own a fiberglass Leer truck cap like Christie or you own a folding, rolling, or retractable tonneau cover, you are eligible to register for this FREE contingency program.
For a full list of sanctioned events, or to register for the Leer “Cover Cash” program head to https://leercovercash.com . If you’d rather call than click, give Kendell at (918) 742-6424 a ring, and she will help get you signed up.
Fishing the Boom Boom Swimbait Fred’s Way
Fred Roumbanis is known for his prowess with a swimbait. It began during his days in California and continued throughout his professional career. He has always loved throwing swimbaits. He designed the Boom Boom family of swimbaits for Optimum Baits and has been having great success on the Bassmaster Elite Series with the baits that bear his nickname. He shares how he fishes them and offers some tips on retrieves and how to fish them correctly.
Roumbanis shown here with the 6″ weedless version.
“For a lot of people, throwing a swimbait is intimidating,” begins Roumbanis who also feels that many anglers group all swimbaits in with the jumbo trout imitators. “The 6” Boom Boom swimbait is really about the same size as a big walking topwater bait. It’s also not much longer than a ChatterBait or spinnerbait when you add a trailer to them.” Getting over the initial apprehension to swimbaits quickly stops when you catch your first bass on the Boom Boom.
Roumbanis advises anglers to fish them until you catch a few and gain confidence in swimbaits as they are a great way to catch above-average sized bass. “You have to commit to it and throw it and be patient with how you retrieve and fish the bait. You won’t miss many of the fish that bite it, they will eat it, but it just takes a willingness to fish it until you start getting bit.
The Retrieves
One of the most important pieces of the puzzle when fishing the Boom Boom swimbait is to have the right retrieve. Roumbanis uses two main retrieves, one with calm conditions and one for windy conditions.
When he is fishing the 6” rigged version and the water is calm, he most often retrieves the rigged version with a bow in his line. He has slack in his line with his rod in the 10 o’clock position and will give the bait a quick pop at the beginning of the cast to get the tail kicking properly. Roumbanis is careful to keep the line bowed and not completely tight and he does this for two reasons.
“First, it is a great strike indicator and you can see when one grabs it, but it also ensures you are not fishing it too fast. If the bait is rolling at all, you are fishing it too fast and having that slack in your line makes sure it stays at the perfect speed,” he shares. “I cast it out and let it fall for a second or two and then start the retrieve. I also give the bait a little twitch every once in a while to give it a spurt and make it look like an injured baitfish”
When fishing in windy conditions with the rigged Boom Boom or anytime he is fishing weedless version, he will keep his rod tip low and reel slowly on a tight line. “I really like to let the wind take me and not use the trolling motor if I can help it. I just keep steady tension and reel slowly,” he adds. “The biggest thing is to stay steady and be patient and not reel it too fast.”
If you want to fish it a little faster, you can add tungsten nail weights. “If you hold one of the translucent rigged Boom Boom to the light you can see the harness and the bends in the wires. You can add 1/16 oz. tungsten nail weights in between the bends,” he says. This allows the bait to stay deeper and you can increase your retrieve speed if desired.
Fred utilizes different colors to match the water clarity.
Where, When and Detecting Bites
There are many scenarios where a swimbait will work, and Roumbanis will use the Boom Boom anytime there is some visibility in the water. “If there is one foot or more of visibility, it is swimbait time,” he says.
There are also many places where they work. “A long cast is one of the most important things when fishing swimbaits and I like to make casts with the Boom Boom over flats, breaks, over submerged vegetation and around rocks and standing timber,” he says and added that just about any cover and structure that holds bass is a good place to throw a swimbait.
Roumbanis has learned that when a bass grabs it you will feel two bumps. “The first one is usually them hitting it and the second one is them getting it inside their mouth. This is when you want to swing, on the second bump,” he adds.
Boom Boom Gear
Roumbanis likes to fish the 6” rigged version on a large crankbait rod. His rod of choice is an iRid Genesis II Cast Rod 7’11” Fred’s Crank Launcher. “It has a long handle and I like to cast with two hands to really get long distances in my cast. It has a nice parabolic bend so you don’t pull the bait from the fish,” he says.
7’11” Fred’s Crank Launcher from iRod. Depending upon water clarity and the baitfish bass are feeding on, he likes to add a chartreuse line down all his Boom Boom Swimbaits.
Another important part of the equation is the speed of the reel you are using as a fast retrieve makes it more difficult to slow the bait down to the right speed. “I sometimes use a faster reel, but I always advise people to start off with a 6.2:1 or any gear ratio in the 6’s. Once you learn the right speed you can experiment with different reels,” says Roumbanis. He prefers the Cabela’s Arachnid which has a wide spool capable of holding plenty of the 15 to 20-pound fluorocarbon he prefers for these lures.
Swimbaits like the Optimum Boom Boom are big enough to tempt giant bass but their size allows them to be fished in all regions of the country with success. Roumbanis says the biggest key to success with his swimbaits is a slow retrieve and sticking with it. Once you catch your first Boom Boom fish, it will be hard for you to put it down.
David Walker’s Kentucky Lake Rewind
GEIC0 Pro David Walker checks in after his his 38th place finish at Kentucky Lake.