This bait fisherman's dreams hard to catch

As I started falling asleep the other night, I slowly drifted off into dreamland.

My brain kept replaying the YouTube video of 32-year-old Manabu Kurita battling his jumbo bass. The video showed Kurita fighting the fish for three minutes.

His catch in July 2009 from Japan's Lake Biwa tipped the scale at 22 pounds, 4 ounces, matching a 77-year-old International Game Fish Association record established by George Perry.

And then my wife woke me, asking why I was laughing in my sleep.

I sat up and explained my dream, adding that the young Japanese angler won't have the luxury of lure companies knocking his door off its hinges.

And then I told her that Ron Lindner had it pegged when he told me on my outdoors radio talk show that we would never see a live bait concern sponsoring a professional bass tournament or any kind of fishing venture. He added that a live bait company could never afford to toss dollars (or yen) at the feet of a hotshot angler because it's not in the cards.

And that's because there just isn't a large live bait company in the same ranks as the lure giants.

Anyway, when an angler, professional or amateur, catches a big fish, let alone a record, on a particular artificial lure, the tackle company enlists the aid of that fisherman to be a spokesperson in ads and commercials.

Dan Basore shares my sentiments when it comes to using live bait for bass fishing. Even though I am constantly tossing Little Action Mac pre-rigged plastic worms to weed pockets for largemouth and smallmouth bass, I strongly believe live bait is the hot ticket.

And the real people in the know are the ones who use freshly caught bluegills and sunfish on the end of a circle hook to nail big bass.

Manabu Kurita is one of those sharp cookies who apparently knew how devastating a live bluegill could be for enticing a big bass to strike.

He told IGFA officials that he had previously spotted the jumbo fish near a bridge piling. A twitch or two was all that was needed to interest the bass. End of story.

Anglers all across North America had been trying to better the old Perry record of 22 pounds, 4 ounces, and for a couple weeks last year it appeared a California fisherman would wind up wearing the crown - until he admitted to foul-hooking a fish that weighed over the current record. IGFA officials dashed that fisherman's hopes after learning the real story.

The angling sages claimed the new world record would come from the ultra-deep reservoirs in California, where rainbow trout were the No. 1 forage for hungry bass. And because the trout were loaded with fat and protein, many Florida-strain largemouth in the "Golden State" grew quickly and happily swam around the depths with big bellies and aggressive attitudes, always on the prowl for a trout dinner.

Anyway, my wife continued to ask me why I was laughing in my sleep? "What's so funny about this whole thing," she inquired?

"All this world record stuff can easily be fodder for some writer to turn into a movie script," I answered.

She looked puzzled, so I continued:

"I was dreaming that I would buy some land with a lake. I would stock it with Florida-strain bass, tilapia and bluegills. Anglers would pay a modest fee to fish the lake but they would have to catch their own bait as well."

In my dream state, I figured that in about five years we could retire to an island somewhere and eat fresh pineapples and mangos.

All it takes is imagination and a nice pillow.

Outdoor notesI am buoyed by the fact the days are a tad longer and the harsh winter deep freeze has been put on hold for a bit. We are going into another phase, usually referred to as the "January Thaw", and its arrival is being greeted with open arms. Of course just because the temperature climbs above the 30-degree mark, it doesn't mean the ice mongers have hung it up, as I'll explain later in this column. Regardless of the cold and subsequent "thaw" the month is filled with outdoor sports shows. The All-Canada Show opens it doors today and runs through Sunday at the Pheasant Run complex. Also, The big boat show opens today at McCormick Place and runs through Sunday. Fishing update: Ice conditions are excellent and the fishing is good at various locations.Fox Chain: Walleye fishing has taken an upturn with fair to good conditions on Pistakee Lake, Lake Marie, and Channel Lake. Bluegill action picked up on Channel Lake while white and yellow bass are being taken on Petite and Fox lakes.Lake Michigan: If you can find an open spot (surface location) or have the gear to break some ice, the perch angling can be rewarding at Navy Pier. Some big perch taken from Montrose Harbor as well.Racine, Wis: A few steelhead and brown trout caught very close to shorelines in the harbor. Mike Jackson can be reached via e-mail at angler88@att.net