COLUMN : BALOG ON BASS FISHING
PHOTO BY KYLE WOOD
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
For more than 20 years , Joe Balog has made his living in the fishing industry on and off the water . A successful tournament angler from the Great Lakes region , Balog now lives in Florida , where he continues to work in product design , marketing and outdoor media when he ' s not chasing trophy largemouth .
taking the great lakes to florida
The more things change , the more they stay the same
A bass is a bass , right ? Well , maybe . Growing up and learning to fish around the Great Lakes , moving to Florida rated with the most drastic change of surroundings I could make . But a lifelong passion for giant largemouth became overwhelming , forcing me to leave the smallies behind .
I took a few things with me . There would be methods from the mega-lakes of the North that could be applied to the placid waters of the Sunshine State .
Early in my angling history , bass fishing underwent a transformation from a shoreline-based pursuit to one focused offshore . Tournaments were being won deeper , and larger bodies of water were opening up with the advent of better boats and equipment . For over 20 years , I made a living fishing so far from shore that land was often a fleeting glimpse .
Those years spent offshore taught me valuable lessons that still apply today — everywhere I fish .
The Universal Influencer : Current
First , it ’ s important to consider the factor that current plays in bass behavior , specifically in their feeding habits . The more fishing experience I compile , the more I ’ m convinced that almost nothing trumps current .
The big brown bass of the Great Lakes realize this , but , in their case , the flow comes as a result of wind . It took little time on the Great Lakes to realize that the windiest days were often the best for fishing , given the ability to still be able to make it to productive waters . I ( and my peers ) adapted my methods to meet the demanding conditions of big , rough waters , utilizing long-shaft trolling motors and heavy drop-shot rigs to put lures in front of feeding bass .
That same circumstance — wind-induced current — is a factor nearly every day in Florida . Here , bass both offshore and around the bank take advantage of the afternoon breezes that make sub-tropical Florida so balmy . In fact , late-day periods are frequently the best times to fish , blazing sun or not .
Here again , current is the driving factor . It ’ s important to take a step back while fishing and get the big picture . How is the wind affecting the area ? First and foremost , watch as the wind funnels through shoreline vegetation ; Florida is famous for this . Cattails , bullrushes and maiden
24 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | JUNE-JULY 2021