Cliff Keeler

Joe pitched a sluggo at a spawning bed. A large shadow cautiously swam out to investigate, then slowly retreated. Joe, virtually imperceptibly, twitched his lure while verbally coaxing the lunker to take another look at it as well. Suddenly, it darted out and engulfed it. After Joe’s patented jarring hookset, the battle almost used up the remaining rays of a story book sunset.

My guide was Joe Garrett, former owner of Garrett’s Grocery in Sunrise Beach, Missouri at Lake of the Ozarks. At the time, he was also a member of Bass Cat Boat’s Regional Fishing Team. In addition, he was sponsored by Abu Garcia, among others, on the professional bass tournament trail. He guided various lakes throughout the Ozarks operating from his home base on Lake of the Ozarks until severe kidney damage from jouncing his boat over too many fishing-tournament trails forced him to retire.

Since I reviewed a fishing report for Lake of the Ozarks every week at that time, Garrett and I had constant contact about fishing conditions on that lake. He strongly recommended a fishing trip there during one spring‘s spawning season.

One of his techniques then involved soft jerk baits (commonly called sluggos then) accompanied by sight fishing for beds and fish. (No, we are not talking snook on Florida Keys tidal flats. We are sight fishing large mouth bass on LOZ’s ever clearing waters.)

After several false starts, we finally managed a free afternoon together. And what a day it was it soon proved to be.

For starters, the weather was perfect - few or no clouds, winds calm and the air crystal clear - the kind of bluebird day that impounds sulking fish deep in clear water or under any available cover offering protection from the sun’s probing rays. Lockjaw usually prevails during these conditions.

However, during spawning season normal rules do not usually apply according to Garrett. We offered presentations over visible pea gravel beds fanned free of silt in 3 to 5 feet of water at backs of coves. An occasional spawning bass swam by in full view.

Joe had a two hour guide trip at Tan-Tara’s Lodge & Convention Center at midafternoon. We planned to fish select spots on the way while patterning fish for his clients.

It started slow. Multiple casts produced no action for either of us. The technique we used involved casting slightly beyond a targeted area and inching it back.

You avoid weights with this process. The lures have a slot on the back for the hook point to ride in making the lure virtually weedless. You wait for it to sink slooowly into position before retrieving it.

Twitch the worm back so it rises and falls seductively unencumbered by weight excepting the hook. Moving the lure an inch at the reel may cause three or four times that movement at point of presentation. Garrett’s pet name for this lure comes from this portion of the technique. He calls it a “do-nuthin’” worm.

I found impatience hurrying a presentation only brought the worm to surface. You might as well tie on a crankbait or spinnerbait if you insist on hurrying the presentation. After considerable time adjusting emotionally to the required retrieval speed, I finally had a strike - and missed it!

Garrett instructed, bass initially deliver a killing blow resulting in a tapping sensation sensed through the rod. They then turn and retrieve the stick bait. As they move off, vigorously set the hook. If delaying the hookset too long, they might swallow it making a safe release difficult.

He stated plastic stick baits differ from plastic worms in that many guides advocate hookset with the latter at first tap. “With the stick bait, fish intend to feed on it - not just hit it out of aggression. The first strike is a killing one to immobilize it resulting in the tap-tap first sensed. Give a little slack, wait for line to start moving off and set the hook as soon as that motion happens. If not done quickly, they usually swallow the bait and you kill them getting it out,” Garrett stated.

I missed three strikes instinctively setting the hook at the first taps. I finally got “self“ to realize we did not have to sit on the edge of our seat for this show. “Self“ and I had an intense private discussion before “self“ threw another cast and embarrassed me further!

A cast into sunken brush piles off the corner of a dock near visible spawning beds produced a tap-tap. Just then, Joe started trolling to another location unaware of the action. Surprisingly, “self‘ gave slack and I hollered at Garrett. As the line started to move out of the brush pile, “self“ set the hook and redeemed us.

It was the first keeper of the day - and it got better. Garrett maneuvered the boat towards the next dock after releasing my fish. His first cast produced a hit. (He always preaches setting the hook with plenty of back muscle to assure penetration into the bony mouth of a potential lunker.) There was a sharp report as if from a .22 caliber rifle when he set the hook.

The bass leaped from the water. The broken graphite rod blank slid down the line as if to spear the fish. Garrett calmly reeled in both with the remainder of his rig. He stated he goes through about a dozen rods a year that way. The number of large fish caught during tournaments, combined with his hookset technique, eventually stresses out his rods.

Surprisingly, the fish was small and did not qualify as a keeper. It was testimony to his hookset authority. It almost made my jaw ache.

We made our way to Tan-Tara for the guide trip after catching several more fish. It was miles away and boats had roughened the surface significantly by then. LOZ is notorious for that. Many fishermen I know avoid fishing it during peak boating activities for that reason. A fast ride in a bass boat over rough chop mixed with 3 foot swells is anything but a fun afternoon.

The stunning result of this ride was the smoothness of it. At speeds exceeding 60 mph, Garrett skillfully piloted the Bass Cat over the chop and swells with ease and relative comfort. A ten mile boat ride I sincerely dreaded turned out to be a pleasant trip and a dramatic demonstration of a well engineered hull.

I am very careful about ALL commercials. The smoothness of that boat ride was electrifying.

The guide trip was a pleasant interlude with two mortals of the feminine gender. Jill Holt, St. Louis, MO., was on the first fishing trip of her life with friend Gena Dewaele.

Afterward, we fished our way home.

Garrett caught keepers out of pet honey holes. I found myself busy working a camera shutter recording action generated by his sight fishing technique. He caught and released several keeper bass. The last generated the action at the beginning of this story.

Against a setting sun, he eased a mother of thousands back into the water. As she disappeared straight down, we nodded at each other. Time we headed home too.