other waterway considerations include those
restored by habitat work, drawdowns or draining, espe-
cially five to seven years after they’ve been stocked with
Florida-strain bass. the initial growth of those first fish in
the nutrient-rich, restored waters – sometimes referred
to as the “new lake effect” – is key. Frequently, as hall
reports, “it’s a one-shot deal for those super monsters.”
hall then evaluates fishing pressure and determines
how he can get away from it. Early on in his trophy-hunt-
ing quest, hall’s method was easy: he went where others
wouldn’t or couldn’t. Fishing primarily from very small
crafts capable of accessing remote ponds, hall would
often drag his boat across dry ground to reach virgin
water. that was the case when his guide party boated
hall’s biggest Florida bass, a 16.3-pound monster he
caught following a blustery winter front.
times have changed, however, and hall’s new frontier
looks a little different.
a new approach to pressure
unfished waters are harder to find. In order to adapt,
hall goes against the grain, fishing in places and with
methods most others won’t.
For example, hall long ago got away from the stan-
dard practice of fishing shoreline weed edges in Florida,
which is so common with others who target lunkers.
“It’s like waiting in line to catch a big fish,” he says.
Instead, research and fieldwork led him offshore,
where he believes giant bass spend most of their time.
scientific research might prove him right.
For several years, hall has been part of a study con-
ducted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission (FWC), where a number of double-digit bass
have been planted with acoustic transmitters and tracked
in a deep, natural lake. so far, the findings have surprised
even veteran scientists. the majority of the fish spend a
great deal of time suspended over open water, later tak-
ing off on migrations across much of the lake. the migra-
tions are believed to be feeding binges.
Much of hall’s fishing solidifies the theory. During his
stint in California, for example, it was common for hall to
spend hours anchored on a deep, subtle structure with
no action, waiting to be interrupted by the single strike of
a giant. Deep-water trolling with jointed plugs (hall is
credited with being the second person to ever troll the
famed AC plug, behind only the lure’s creator, Allen Cole)
produced similar results.
“We’d troll 15 miles a day and get one or two strikes,
total,” hall says.
My review of his logbooks confirms: often, hall and his
party would score a marginal catch one day, followed by
several monsters the next, using the same baits on the
same spots.
“one of the key strategies,” hall adds, “is being patient
and waiting for the fish to come to you.”
It goes against the grain of today’s tournament-driven
tactics, where speed dominates the sport and anglers
race from spot to spot. however, on numerous occasions
when fishing with hall, I have marveled at his persist-
ence in deep-water sanctuaries, as we again and again
presented our baits until, finally, a giant would strike. It’s
as if hall can sense when he’s in the presence of extraor-
dinary bass.
summer 2019 I FlWFIshInG.com
dialing in out deep
Determining the best place to concentrate fishing
effort begins with a basic understanding of the body of
water, obtained through both map and depth-finder
study. Water clarity is the first variable. Most lakes hall
targets are fairly clear, allowing bass to thrive in depths
exceeding 20 feet. structural elements such as deep
points, humps, ridges and pinch points between islands
are strong places to begin the search. the presence of
brush is a no-brainer, and even very subtle, deep moss
and weedbeds offer something different that a big fish
can relate to.
From here, hall wants to see activity of any type on his
graph. With modern electronics, it’s very possible to spot
individual large targets, though the presence of baitfish
and schools of small panfish are just as important. My
Aqua-Vu underwater camera observations of many of
hall’s offshore hot spots nearly always confirm the pres-
ence of small bluegills and crappie.
the bulk of hall’s efforts today center on various
methods of fishing live bait in deep water, but the princi-
ple remains solid regardless of what’s tied on the end of
the line. Long periods without action will be interrupted
when an activity zone is established, and catching bass of
any size can clue an offshore angler into the potential.
More often than not, the presence of small bass confirms
hall is on the right path, and it’s just a matter of timing,
or fine-tuning the area, before a big fish will come along.
Again, my personal experience fishing both live and
artificial bait confirms this trait. often, a lure change or
adjusted casting angle is all that’s necessary to trigger the
strike of an exceptional fish. the knowledge to do so is
obtained only through experimentation and patience.
trophy bass require everything to line up perfectly, and
feeding activity and timing can be the biggest variables.
I’ve concluded that, as anglers driven by speed, we fre-
quently fish right past the fish of a lifetime.
In the end, it’s hall’s willingness to experiment and
adapt that keeps his record books growing.
“I’m always looking to get away from educated fish,” he
explains. “I’d rather try a bad idea and fail than do what
everybody else is doing.”
Porter
Hall
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