In the pursuit of chasing big bass, I often see where many fishin' enthusiasts are poorly prepared. They do not have the proper equipment that it takes to land a BIG fish. One reason for this is they are not sure of their equipment choices. Or, their belief is that they will never bang a BIG fish.

If BIG fish are on your mind, you must think about BIG equipment. A five to seven foot rod will handle small fish yet if you tackle a big one, the advantage is to the fish, not you. This was exemplified one day when I saw a young boy on a local pond hook up with what appeared to be about an eight pound bass. The advantage was totally with the bass as this young boy was using a very small rod that was bending in a way I'm sure was not intended for that particular "bluegill" rod. After a few moments and the large bass pushing up through the water, the rod snapped in half, the line broke and the bass swam away. The young boy plopped himself down on the ground and proceeded to look pretty dejected, almost to the point of crying. After consoling him, I spoke to him about using bigger rods with power behind them, even if it meant salt water rods. When I said that, he gave me this puzzled look like . . . salt water rods for a small pond?? It was like he had to be given permission to think out-of-the-box. The VERY next day he was back at the pond, in the same spot, with a salt water rod. He, now being very determined, placed the advantage back to him!

Think out-of-the-box, do things that are unconventional. Like using a flippin' stick as your main rod, or even a salt water rod seven foot long or bigger. Go ahead . .. try it out. Put a buzzbait on your flippin' stick and see how much farther your cast is. If you get a hookup, the advantage is to you. My main pole is a G.Loomis SALMON ROD! That's correct, a SALMON ROD! It's eight and a half foot long, it has one of the highest power ratings of any rod on the market, plus it gives me the advantage when I hook-up a big fish! Check this out, I can even tune it to throw a gitzit on light line! With a rod that has a higher power rating, you can then afford to lighten up on your line, another stealth technique in catching big bass.

Now, when you say "G.Loomis," most people shy away because their preconceived notion is that the G.Loomis rod is too expensive for them. My G.Loomis HSR1025C is about Two-Hundred bucks. How long would it take you to save that to make an investment into a rod that will last a lifetime and can handle just about any size fish? It even gets better, G.Loomis has a repair/replacement policy. At anytime you can turn in your old rod, even it is broken, and with a $50 investment, G.Loomis will send you another brand new pole. Now, you cannot get that type of service from most manufactures!

Last but not least, watch out again for those preconceived notions. After reading this tip, many of you might say that I must be on pro staff for G.Loomis. NOT! I endorse and use the G.Loomis rods because Paul Duclos (http://www.worldrecordbass.com/duclos.asp) uses ‘em, I use them for 90% of my fishin', I know they work extremely well and whether it is a forty-nine pound catfish or a ten pound bass, the advantage is always with Chuck!

You're The Best!
Chuck Bauer