EDITOR ’ S NOTE
EXPERTO CREDE
The Latin motto “ experto crede ” has been translated several ways , but it basically means to trust in the one who is experienced . That ’ s kind of how I manage this magazine – by trusting the legion of bass fishing experts who fish the FLW Tour , Costa FLW Series , T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League and other tournament circuits to contribute great information for us to publish . They ’ re the ones who continue to develop new tactics for catching fish . I also trust the staff and freelance contributors who produce the magazine to keep observing the pros and sharing what they ’ ve learned .
Sometimes getting information is easy . On the final day of the Grand Lake Costa FLW Series event in late March , for instance , I watched Texan Jeff Sprague go to work with a spinnerbait in the shallow backwaters far up a major creek arm . Fishing a spinnerbait in spring is nothing new , but the way he fished it and the spinnerbait details got my attention .
Sprague chose a spinnerbait with a chartreuse skirt and double Colorado blades , with one blade painted fluorescent orange . Talk about making an impression . His “ loud ” spinnerbait was noticeable to me watching nearby , and to the bass living in those muddy waters . Sprague caught a couple of giants that were living in no more than a foot of water by rolling that spinnerbait over their heads multiple times .
After watching Sprague work , I phoned him and quizzed him on the subject of painted spinnerbait blades , about which he shared the details that I eventually published in an article . I ’ ll soon be writing another article on the situations where making multiple casts to a spot can be the key to getting more bites . Sprague , the expert , is thankfully forthcoming with the details .
Sometimes it ’ s not so easy . Bryan Thrift , bless his world-class-bass-angler heart , isn ’ t always the easiest person to glean information from . Thrift is probably the most versatile bass fisherman on Tour . He ’ s always experimenting with new tackle and techniques and expanding his skillset , then putting the skills to work kicking his competitors ’ butts . I want to publish everything he knows , but , understandably , he ’ s guarded with the details .
At Lake Cumberland , when Thrift earned his sixth Tour win , I interviewed him after each night ’ s weigh-in . I might as well have been asking for his credit card number . Thrift wouldn ’ t spill on the juice .
But don ’ t worry . This is where you can trust in the expertise of FLW ’ s media team . We stuck an FLW Live camera in his boat for the weekend , birddogged him with photographers for four days and joined him back on the water to film the Day 5 video series ( see it on YouTube ) the day after the tournament to learn all we could about his winning ways . We eventually convinced Thrift to share some interesting details on subtle swimbait selection and light-line baitcasting tackle that we can all put to use on the water . You can read about it in the On Tour department on page 98 .
Experto crede … You can trust experts like Thrift and Sprague to keep innovating , and I promise we ’ ll never stop digging for more information to share with you , even if it means being a bit of a pest to make it happen .
Trust me on that . I ’ m an expert .
Curtis Niedermier , Editor-in-Chief
Publisher Irwin L . Jacobs
Editor-in-Chief Curtis Niedermier
Production Manager / Graphic Designer Michelle Dowling
Editor Emeritus Colin Moore
Field Editors Rob Newell & Matt Williams
Contributors Joe Balog , David A . Brown , Dan Johnson , TJ Maglio , Sean Ostruszka , Paul Strege
Graphic Designer D . W . Reed II
Graphic Designer / Illustrator Matt Pace
Director of Advertising Al Chapman | 270.252.1628
FLWFishing . com Senior Web Content Manager Jesse Schultz
Senior Editor Kyle Wood
Associate Editor Jody White
Letters to the Editor FLW Bass Fishing 30 Gamble Lane , Benton , KY 42025 flwfishing @ flwfishing . com
Chairman & CEO Irwin L . Jacobs
President of FLW Marketing Division Trish Blake
President of FLW Operations Division Kathy Fennel
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FLWFISHING . COM I JULY 2018