Posted 9/9/01

The Lunker
By Danny Surfcast

Few things remain so clearly etched in the mind of a fisherman, as their "bass of a lifetime". The season I landed two 7-lb. largemouths is surely etched in mine. I clearly remember the conditions, the lure, the lure color, the time of day, the time of year. Almost anyone with a few bass fishing years under his belt can attest to the joy of landing a quality fish.

Let's be honest. What brings us back to our favorite fishing hole time after time, is not the thought of landing numerous "average" largemouths, it's the idea that on any cast, at any moment, your next memory-making lunker might be caught!

Now, we have to be realistic here. We have to realize that the majority of our largemouths will not reach the 5 to 10-lb. range. Why do our bass not achieve the fat-bellied form that we so often see caught on TV? If we think of a fish growing a half an inch a month during the warm-weather growing season, then it becomes obvious why our bass will seldom match the heftiness of their southern brothers.

In the south, the warm season is virtually all year. Therefore, the fish do not stop growing. While our New England fish are lethargic and dormant, living off their stored fat for the 5-month cold season, the down-south fish are greedily feasting on crawdads and baitfish in their constantly warm waters. With a growing season of nearly twice as long, is it any surprise that the average fish is twice as big?

Don't be discouraged. With a Connecticut record largemouth of nearly 13 lbs., it has been proven that Connecticut has what it takes to occasionally produce a monster bass. It has been 40 years since that particular record bass was taken, but a large number of double-digit fish have been caught since then.

Do you believe there exists a bass in our waters that is bigger than that 12-lb., 14-oz. lunker? Has pollution and over-harvesting eliminated the possibility of a new Connecticut record bass? If it's out there, where will it be caught? Will it be from the big commercial lakes such as Candlewood or East Twin Lake, or will the big hog be taken from the smaller ponds that receive far less pressure? Will Danny Surfcast be the one to set the hook into the tough upper lip of Señor Bass dé Récordo?

I believe that lunker is out there. His years of experience have enabled him to avoid the sloppily thrown jigs and the hastily retrieved spinners. He doesn't have to chase his food, he sits back and waits for it to come to him. He is the king of his territory and it's gonna take more that a pretty plastic or a crafty crankbait to get his attention. Until the day someone is in the right spot, at the right time, the record will remain. So get out there and cast away, knowing that every cast has the potential to bring in the lunker.

Article and logo courtesy of Danny Surfcast.

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Danny Surfcast is an avid largemouth bass fisherman who has been fishing Connecticut waters his whole life. His primary stomping ground has been Fairfield County, but he has landed lunkers in a variety of Connecticut locations. Danny is known as the resident Goodwill Ambassador of the Fishing World. A veritable vanguard of the sport, he is quick to enlighten you with his tips, thoughts, and theories relating to the elusive largemouth bass.