Boardman Birds

By Ben Hanes, Writer

Northwest Bass Pro Staff

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“If we’d follow the birds, we would find the bait, and then find the bass,” observed Larry Hutchens.  “It was the strangest thing I’d ever seen.  If we would see a bird swoop down for baitfish, we’d cast there, and then catch a good fish.  It got so out of hand, that at one point, I was using a chartreuse Super Spook, and the birds weren’t attacking it.  So, I decided to switch to a white Super Spook, and then I started getting hits from the birds, and then the bass!”

            During practice, the team of Hutchens and Rezentes located an offshore hump that broke into the main channel.  “It was about 300 yards away from the bank, and it was common to see smallmouth busting the baitfish over 60 feet of water,” explained Hutchens.  “We saw balls of bait stacked up near the steep side (ledge) of the hump, and then we also saw, on the Lowrance, the smallmouth stacked up below the baitfish.  It was incredible.”

            Upon arriving at the spot, the pair put a solid limit into their Triton in about a half-hour.  After that, it was all fun and games.  “At one point during the day, we caught two good smallmouth on the same cast with one Lucky Craft LV500 in the ghost shad color.  Let me tell you, catching a couple two-plus pound smallies on one lure at once, we really thought we had a good fish on!”

            In addition to the Lucky Craft, the pair of anglers used Rattletraps and white, ¾-ounce Kevin Van Dam spinnerbaits to aggravate their fish.  “The fish were extremely active.  We burned our baits to get strikes,” noted Hutchens.  “The reason I chose such a heavy spinnerbait is so that I could cast long distances, in order to reach diving birds and busting smallmouth.  Also, you can crank a heavy spinnerbait extremely fast without it breaking the surface, and it matched the size of the baitfish.”

            Hutchens and Rezentes ultimately finished in sixth place, bringing home a check of $660.00 in addition to their $1000.00 in Triton Gold winnings.  “Northwest Bass is without a doubt the most organized (and best) circuit ever in the Northwest,” added Larry Hutchens.  “I can’t thank Jeff Priester from Nixon’s Marine enough for sponsoring such a great circuit, and helping with my new Triton TR-20 X2.  This boat is great,” finished Larry.

            Northwest Bass, the largest circuit in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho is sponsored locally by Nixon’s Marine.  In each and every qualifying tournament, the top finishing Triton Boat owner receives $1,000.00 in cash ($2500.00 for winning Triton Boat owners). 

~Ben Hanes, the author, resides in the Tri-Cities area.  He is currently sponsored by McCurley Integrity Dealerships, Columbia River Bank, Cascade Sign and Design, and writes articles for Nixon’s Marine and Northwest Bass.