It is a day like no other day. You finally caught a big bass. You celebrate, jumping up and down. You quickly call fishing buddies to let them in on the news. Describing every explosive leap, your fishing rod bending, his head swing side to side while trying to throw the lure, and then subsiding into the net. For you, catching one massive largemouth proves to be a thrill of your lifetime. On the other hand, for Bill Siemantel, a Los Angles California Firefighter, catching giant bass is his passion.

You see, Bill Siemantel happens to be renowned lure designer, successful tournament pro, author, and giant bass catcher; however, unlike other anglers who keep their big bass knowledge secret. Siemantel openly shares his knowledge with other anglers and puts it all in his book Big Bass Zone.

Recently, I talked with Siemantel about his book Big Bass Zone by himself and Michael Jones. The first thing Siemantel did was to correct my mind set on catching big bass. “There are no secrets to catching big bass,” Siemantel explained. He described in detail techniques and tactics it takes to catch monster bass. By listening to him, I found the undertaking of finding and catching giant bass requires and open mind, along with the willingness to adjust to conditions you are experiencing on the water.

Siemantel continued to outline his strategies with the three key water columns: top middle, and bottom. Then add in locations such as points, ridges, creek channels, humps, and flats to the formula, and it equals-The Big Bass Zone.

As I listened to Siemantel explain in detail, it is overwhelming the knowledge he has fishing for big bass and catching them. I felt like a kid in a candy store and Bill was passing out free candy. In his book, Siemantel goes into detail on the process for catching big bass. I have read the book and Siemantel tells everything. The book also has numerous photographs of swimbaits, big tube baits, and wooden plugs, as well as plenty of photos with Siemantel holding countless giant bass he had caught.

Some anglers assume only big California-style swimbaits catch big bass. Wrong. While the majority of big bass do get caught by California style swimbaits, by reading the book you will learn other methods of catching them. Sometimes, Siemantel explained, “To catch a large bass you have to break out of the mold.” An example of this is while Siemantel designed his number one go to bait, the Spro 8-inch BBZ-1 that comes in three colors: Rainbow Trout, Flat Trout, and Silver Fish in floating, slow sinking, and fast falling models, Siemantel also designed Spro’s Phat for float-and-fly fishing. It’s a proven lethal technique in ultra clear water reservoirs such as Beaver Lake or Bull Shoals.  The float-and-fly technique consists of a tear-shaped bobber and small jig. The jig, normally 1/16-ounce or 1/8-ounce in size, which maybe made out of synthetic hair, suspends under the float, moving only by wave action or movements carried out by the angler. The leader length depends on the season, water clarity, water temperature, and depth of water.  See www.spro.com for more information on Spro lures.

So are you ready to catch a big bass? Spring happens to be just around the corner and this could be the year you catch a big one.  However, if you apply Bill Siemantel fishing tactics and techniques, you will have a lifetime of catching big bass. Are you in the zone…The Big Bass Zone.