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Basser - more than 500
Bass over 10lbs!
Surely anyone who could
accomplish such a feat
would be worthy of the
title "The
World's Best Big Bass
Fisherman". In
his lifetime, LJ
Brasher, a
Basser from Alabama, USA,
who passed away in 1997,
caught more than 500 Bass
weighing better than
10lbs each! 
More than
30 of these Bass were
mounted on his wall as
proof! Remember that this
was before the days of
"catch and
release"! Obviously LJ
Brasher was
doing something right in
his quest for big Bass
and some of us more
modern Bassers may like
to emulate his success
rate with trophy Bass -
this time practising
"catch and
release"!
Brasher
fished only two baits!
His philosophy was that
at some time during a 24
hour period, a big Bass
had to feed - to catch
that fish, you obviously
needed a bait the big
Bass really wanted to eat
- anything else would be
a waste of time and
effort!
Brasher
used only a big wooden Musky
Jitterbug,
which he cast at night,
and a live golden river
shiner (similar to our Barbus
species
which includes all minnow
and yellowfish types as
well as Natal Scaly and
Cape Witvis, but mudfish
(Labeo)
and small carp would also
fit the bill) all day
near weeds. His tackle
consisted of a fibreglass
"musky" rod and
either an ABU Ambassadeur
5000C or a Shakespeare
Presidential reel spooled
with 55lb test braid.
Brasher
never cared about the
aesthetics of fishing -
he just pursued big Bass
with the baits required
to get the big fish to
bite and fought and
landed them on tackle
powerful enough to do the
job. He also paid the
price by ignoring comfort
and convenience, often
fishing for 48 hours at a
stretch without even
getting out of his boat
according to John
E Phillips
who accompanied Brasher
on some trips describing
him "as the most
relentless trophy Bass
angler I'd ever met".
Using
the big baits needed to
tempt big Bass to bite
often means missing out
on the action and fun
smaller Bass may provide,
but then, what is your
goal - to catch lots of
2lb fish or just one or
two 8 - 10lb plus
trophies?
Brasher
also found he took the
biggest Bass in any
region in small,
overlooked waters (ponds,
swamp holes and patches
of water close to
highways) where
"serious" Bass
anglers never fished and
where tournament Bass
fishermen would never
dream of putting their
"glitter-gelcoat
speedmachines". The
reason for the big Bass
living out their lives in
such waters is because
no-one really believes
they are there and the
children usually fishing
those places don't use
tackle capable of
subduing big Bass.
Makes
one think, doesn't it?
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