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Dave Willhide, USMC, retired
 Home: Yuma, Arizona
Occupation: Professional Bass Guide, Colorado River & region
Boat: ProCraft 210 Super Pro with Mercury Optimas 225
Website:www.goinfishin.4t.com
Sponsors: Secret Weapon Lures, St. Croix, Driftwood Lures (soft plastics), Trolling Motor Doctor, Sufix Fishing Lines, MegaStrike, Kicker Fish Bait Co., Fish Hedz, BassStalker Jigs
Tournaments: American Bass Association
Favorite Fishing Style: Flipping jigs and soft plastics in the tules, spinnerbait in the grass.
Tips & Techniques:
- Spinnerbait Selection — The first time I used SWL spinnerbaits I got onto a great spinnerbait bite. Because I could change my bait to match conditions quickly I was able to take full advantage of the bait and placed in the top five in the tournament. I also caught two fish over 6# that day. My non-boater was throwing the same color combination as I was, but I was able to fish mine slower and still get the vibration and action that triggered strikes where his bait didn’t.
My personal favorite spinnerbait pattern is a 9/16-oz. with either a white or baby bass skirt. Blades, of course — you can pick the right ones for the task at hand.
- Spinnerbaits work great for stripers. Stay with shad patterns, and match the size of the bait to the size of the fish you will be fishing for.
- I have found I do better with bass schooling on baitfish if I give them something slightly different to look at. I try to match the hatch in size but I will change color or action. A bass will be drawn to something not quit right in a school of baitfish.
- Buzzbait Rods — The best rod for a buzzbait will depend on what is comfortable to each person, but I like a 7-foot med/heavy with a fast tip — a tip that is soft and limber for casting small or light baits with good distance. Right now I am using a 7-ft Quarrow. It has a fast tip and plenty of backbone to set the hook. I tried a fiberglass rod and liked it but I haven’t found just the right one.
- Buzzbait Selection — The weight of buzzbait I use really depends on the type of equipment I am using: the heavier the bait, the heavier gear you need. I personally like at least a 1/2-oz. buzzbait and I throw it on a 7-ft. rod with a fast tip but lots of backbone. That’s a medium-heavy in most rods. I keep my buzzbait colors fairly simple: white for clear water and chartreuse for stained, black for muddy water and nighttime. You will also want to use heavy line. Since the bait stays on the surface and has a history of getting very big fish, you want to use heavy line. I use 30# braid. It has 12# diameter and no stretch so you can set the hook even on a long cast.
- Buzzbait Casting — I have ruined many a reel by engaging the spool and even starting my retrieve just before a buzzbait touches down in order to ensure it remains on surface. Now what I do is all timing. As the bait is in the air, I change the rod to my left hand and grip the reel handle. As soon as the bait touches the water, the left thumb clamps down on the spool and the right hand turns the reel handle. It may not be the best way, but it is easy to get used to and it works for me.
- Casting Techniques — I have only three basic casts: I use the old standard half-overhead/half-sidearm cast when I want to throw the bait as far as I can over open water or deep structure. For shorter casts, 30 feet or so, I use the short sidearm roll cast. If you have ever watched Jimmy Houston, he uses this cast a lot. For very close in work I pitch or flip.
- Docks — Bass will get under docks and boats for cover. Any time is ok but I like to fish them when the fish are not very active. Any bait you can get under the docks is good, but I use Senkos and jigs the most. I also use crankbaits that have been “fixed.” A friend of mine some years back told me about this trick. He would buy three of each crankbait that he used and would tune one to run to the right and one to run to the left. He marked them so that he could tell them apart. When fishing docks he would rig up three rods with the same crankbaits and when he came to a dock he would use them to fish under the docks where no one else could get to and show the fish something they hadn't seen that far under the docks.
- Fall Bassin’ — For fall fishing [September, in Arizona], try to see the main thing bass are feeding on. Then try to match it in size and color as close as you can. Also, try something fast like a jerkbait or swimming a jig quickly.
 If that fails, go to the other extreme. Throw a Senko and just let it sink slowly and sit on the bottom for as long as you can stand it. If you have weeds or grass on the bottom, run a lipless crank bait down to the tops of the grass. Let it touch the grass and rip it free with a quick jerk. This will give you reaction strikes if the fish are in the grass.
This time of year you should be fishing the coolest water you can find. If the water temperature is all the same, fish the heaviest cover you can find. Remember, the bass’s metabolism is slow when the water is very warm. Most times you have to fish slowly, but sometimes just the reverse is true. Keep casting and keep trying different baits and tactics until the fish let you know what and how they want their food.
- Light Lines — Light line and small baits should have a place in every tournament angler’s boat. I don’t use them often because of the type of cover here on the Colorado river, but when I go north to Havasu and Mead, they become more and more important. For example, on lake Mead in the winter when the bite is super tough, I will downsize to 6- or even 4-pound test to get that bite that I need. Small 4-inch worms and grubs with 1/8-oz weights will get you bit when nothing else will. A good rod and a reel with a very good drag is a must. I tell my clients to buy the best gear they can afford. I have personally landed a 6# bass on 4# test line. It was possible because I had very good equipment. You can have a lot of fun with light line and small baits. Give them a try.
- Light Lines — The two most-used techniques with light line are split-shotting and down-shotting. Both are very good tactics to use when the fish are pressured or deep. I have used both rigs at lake Mead as deep as 50 feet. As far as baits, I use 1/8- or 1/16-ounce weights and 3- or 4-inch worms. Also 1/8-ounce jigs are a favorites of mine.
A good light baitcaster can be used with a very good reel. The Shimano Curado Free-spool is a very good choice. Line size is most important for small baits. More than anything, it else will determine casting distance and how the bait performs. I personally use spinning gear because I can change line size by changing spools in just a few seconds and be fishing again.
Small crank baits and spinnerbaits also work well on light line and spinning gear. Try drop-shotting or split-shotting next time the bite gets tough or in clear water. Work them very slowly. If fishing from a boat, find a point and work it in reverse, from deep to shallow. Give them something they don’t see a lot.
- Wintertime Bassin’ — When the water gets cold, the bass slow down and can be very hard to catch. The best thing you can do is slow down and keep a bait in the water. What I do here in Yuma is as follows: First, remember that cold water here is around 48 to 52 degrees. I will slow-roll a spinnerbait in cover in the deepest water I can find. Again, here in this area, deep water is 6 feet or deeper; we don’t have a lot of deep water in the lower river.
Another thing I will do is use crankbaits — slow and deep. I will also throw Texas-rigged worms on points and in trees.
If it warms a little in the afternoon I will move shallower and do the same things, but I will add flipping a jig or Texas-rigged plastics in heavy cover.
In winter, not all the fish will move deep. You can still catch fish shallow as long as the water temp doesn’t get below 40 or so. Try the shallows after a 2-day warming trend or later in the afternoon on a sunny day. If the shallow water warms up a couple of degrees, it will make a big difference. Remember to fish very slowly and use small baits as the bass’s metabolism is very slow in cold water.
Winter bassin’ can be tough, but it can also be rewarding. Use a bait that you have a lot of faith in and keep it wet. Keep alert and when you catch that first bass, listen to what he is telling you. Where did he hit the bait? How deep was the fish? Was he shallow or deep? What was he using for cover? Figure out the answer to these questions and you can catch more bass in similar areas.
- Fishing Lines — I do not endorse a product unless I use it and believe in it. I have been using Sufix for over a year. When I first started using it they did not sponsor me. Fortunately for me, I am now a member of their prostaff. In my opinion, it is the best mono on the market. It is very strong, tough and has little memory. I use it for everything except flipping and pitching. You will find the Sufix to be a great performing line on both bait and spincast gear. I think you will be very happy with both the Sufix Elite and Siege. My personnel favorite is the Elite. It’s not quite as strong, but the castabilty is a little better.
For flipping I use braided line, only because I put my baits very deep into the nastiest cover I can. I will be changing to Sufix braid shortly, but right now I use Stren Super Braid in 65# and 80# test for flipping. I have tried most of the braids and this one is the best in my mind. It stays round on the spool and wears like iron. Most of the other braids I have tried tend to flatten out on the spool and ribbon, which makes for lots of knots and gets very hard to cast even a short distance.
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