"On this episode of(Luke Dunkin's Traveling Circus) Low Budget Live (Not So Live), Luke runs his mouth about judgemental internet comment cowboys, the upcoming Bassmaster Southern Open, and is joined by one of the legends of bass fishing, Larry Nixon to talk competing 45 years as a pro, the current state of competition in pro fishing, and more!"

Congratulations to Dobyns Rods Pro Staffer Josh Jones who caught his first Texas Legend ShareLunker of 2022 at O.H. Ivie Lake, coming in at 14.13 lbs. This is the second Legend ShareLunker for Josh in two months and he is the only person in Texas history to record 4 Legend ShareLunkers: 15.40, 15.10, 14.13, & 13.20. Follow Josh's trophy catching journey at Josh Jones Fishing.

The Texas ShareLunker program was established in 1986 to make bass fishing bigger and better than ever. Anglers can participate and be recognized by submitting their catches for 3 separate categories: Lunker Class which must be at least 8lbs. The Lunker Elite Class must be at least 10lbs. and the Lunker Legend Class must be at least 13lbs. Click Here for official rules.

DC 765FLIP and DC 733SF.

It’s been my experience that winter and early spring are great times to catch big bass. The fishing can be tough so finesse fishing is one way to catch them. We could talk about many techniques such as Shakey heads or Ned rigs. I want to focus on drop shot fishing with the quality and performance of the Champion Extreme HP DX 702SF and DX 703SF.

We all know about the huge Smallmouth in the Northern US and the legendary Dale Hollow Lake in KY & TN. Drop shot techniques work extremely well on clear water reservoirs. I always have a DX 702SF and DX 703SF ready no matter if I’m fishing at Dale Hollow or the Tennessee River lakes because they hold up to the biggest Largemouth Bass. I am talking about strength. My personal best Largemouth was caught on a DX 703SF using a drop shot with a worm on Lake Berryessa, CA and it weighed 12.64 lbs. I always use Gamma Fishing Line, usually fluorocarbon because of their quality and strength.

By Charles Townson of www.keoweefishing.com

Gary Dobyns and I recently had the chance to compare notes on the lake I fish versus some of the clear western lakes he often visits. We were both surprised at how many similarities exist between Lake Keowee, located in the upstate of South Carolina, and some of the western lakes where spotted bass are found. Not only were physical characteristics similar, but various finesse and deep-water techniques to target spotted bass seemed to be common.

Lake Keowee, and its upstream partner Lake Jocassee, were constructed in the late 1960’s and opened in the early 1970’s. The lakes were created by Duke Energy to supply cooling to nuclear reactors located on Lake Keowee. During the construction of Lake Keowee, all timber was harvested, and the ground basically clear-cut prior to flooding. As such, there is very limited structure to be found in the lake. The maximum depth of the lake is around 130’, and almost every major cove/creek is 60+ feet deep at the mouth. Coupled with the deep clear water, and the nomadic nature of spotted bass, the lake can be confounding at times.

One of my favorite times to be on the lake is in the winter as boat traffic is minimal and fishing is still good (if you like to fish deep and use your electronics!). Large numbers of spotted bass on Lake Keowee go deep when the water gets cool. Anglers are surprised by just how deep these fish get – catching them in 70+ feet of water is common and I’ve caught them out to 100 feet on some days. The challenge is finding these fish as they often position themselves directly on the bottom of the lakebed and can be extremely hard to find.

Over the years, I’ve found some high-percentage areas to search for these winter spots. Creek channels are a primary target area with longer creek channels and channels that have big swings or significant contour changes being the most productive. Positioning the boat in about 80 feet of water and working in slowly looking for bait and movement on the bottom will often result in finding a school of spots. Here’s an image of a school on the bottom in 70 feet.

Other high probability areas include points that drop off sharply into a creek channel, the mouth of major coves, and any area on the lake where baitfish are found. Watching the loons and gulls feeding on bait will often provide a good location to search – this can be out over deep, open water with no structure at all. The nomadic nature of spotted bass mean they can be anywhere on the lake. Running traditional 2d sonar, along with a live imaging system is critical to being able to search an area and identify fish hugging the bottom or feeding on schools of shad or herring.

I use two baits to target winter spots – a dropshot and a jigging spoon. For the dropshot, a Dobyns spinning rod in medium light with fast action is a good choice spooled with 15lb braid and an 8lb fluorocarbon leader. A 4” dropshot worm on a #1 hook and a 3/8 oz. tungsten teardrop weight complete this setup. For the jigging spoon, a Dobyns casting rod in medium heavy works well. A ¾ oz spoon tied to 12lb fluorocarbon on a baitcaster is my preferred configuration. Both lures are productive on these deep spots but somedays the fish seem to prefer one over the other. In either case, when a school is fired up, getting a lure down into them quickly will typically lead to a flurry of activity and multiple fish in the boat.

   In terms of catching numbers of spotted bass, winter often yields some of my best days on the water. Finding these schools and targeting them vertically can be extremely productive. However, there can be long periods of time spent searching before a school is located so patience is required. Hopefully some of these tips will be helpful if you fish similar waters to Lake Keowee!

Congratulations to Dobyns Rods Pro Staffer Pete Hernandez on taking 1st Place at the Media Bass Cowtown on Lake Bridgeport, TX. Even though conditions were tough, Pete weighed in a 5-fish total of 19.17lbs. With the water temperature at 49 degrees and water clarity being stained, Pete caught his fish near shoreline rocks/boulders in 2-3 feet of water using 3 set-ups: the Dobyns Champion XP DC 805CB paired with the Xcite Baits XB-1 crankbait, the Champion XP DC 766FLIP and the Champion XP DC 765CB paired with a Booyah Indiana-Blade spinnerbait.

Chuck Lacroix of Montgomery, Louisiana fishes his home waters; Cane River, Red River, and Black Lake.  Chuck has been a Dobyns Rods fan for over two years and dreams of hitting Lake Fork in Texas with his Dobyns rods to smash some TX Largemouth Bass! We asked Chuck which rod in his Dobyns arsenal was his favorite, he said “any Champion XP, but especially the DC 736CB GLASS".  Chuck explained that the DC 736CB GLASS is the perfect chatter-bait rod for him.   His “go-to” technique is flipping jigs, tubes, and beavers.  To date, Chuck’s largest Bass was 9.85, he has had four around 9.7.

Chuck fishes the 318 Singles Club that was started last year with an entry fee of $150 per tournament.  He also fishes multiple open tournaments.

Chuck’s best fishing tale: he was fishing a singles tournament, had a 7lb plus in a top on jig, she got hung up in limbs about 3 feet deep, so he put the net down into the water. Just as he got it in front of her, she broke the line and swam into net. She was the big bass of tournament and cashed him a check.

We love to know how our fans found Dobyns Rods for the first time.  Chuck said “I broke a Lews rod on Toledo in a tournament 2 1/2 years ago.  I bought my first my first Dobyns rod in a tackle store there and have been hooked since that day."

Dobyns Pro Staffer Thomas Kanemoto committed to the finesse game using his Dobyns Fury Series spinning rods at Lake Mohave. Thomas is currently sitting in 4th Place with the Wild West Bass Trail Apex Pro Tour, however, due to inclement weather, Day 3 was postponed to a future date.

In the meantime, check out some of Thomas' keepers from Lake Mohave.