“You might get argument from others, but that is what I believe. Spotted bass (top) and largemouth bass can often be easy to identify if both are in hand at the same time. Water color in the river was clear by most bass standards, with a milky cast. Spotted bass lying in ambush under the logs would streak out to hit the lures.Ī friendly neighbor launched Lavigne in the river at a bridge, with the agreement to pick him up at the end of the float. I’m not hardly ever going to throw the bait ahead of me and retrieve it upstream.”Ī specialty seemed to be to cast so that the retrieve was made parallel and as close as possible to logs lying angled downstream. “Fish want the bait coming downstream or at a right angle to the current. “The angle of the cast is important, too,” he added. Sometimes a foot makes all the difference.”Įvery cast of his seemed to be within an inch of the bank or a nook in the logs. “How to handle the boat in the swift current and around all the logs by simply using a sculling paddle. “It’s a challenge to fish the river,” he went on. I had to admit the view was breathtaking. “No camps no people lots of wildlife and that right there,” he grunted, as he set the hook on another fish. “Look at this,” he smiled, as he waved his hand over the scenery. Notice he’s on alert and looking for a good casting opportunity.Īnd he was reverential about the river. The guy I was with ate it.” Lavigne controlled the boat by using a short sculling paddle with one arm.

“I didn’t register it in the record book. Joe Lavigne speaks with a mixture of awe and regret about his biggest spotted bass, a 4-pound, 6-ounce giant, equivalent to a 10-pound largemouth. He also throws back everything 10 inches and under explaining, “I’m not pressed to keep them if I am confident of getting my limit.” “If I’m eatin’ fish, I prefer a 12-incher.

He tossed a 2-pound spotted bass (locally most often called Kentucky bass) back into the water with a crooked grin.

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