Interview with Florida Trophy Bass Guide George Welcome
Story by Russ Bassdozer
Question #1: How long have you been fishing for trophy bass? How did you get started?
George: I started fishing for bass in the mid to late 1960’s as a continuing progression of my passion for fly rod fishing. At the time I lived in south Florida and had availability of both saltwater and freshwater so it was a natural transition for me. Although not totally exclusive, bass pursuit became a priority passion after my first venture into the Everglades areas of south Florida.
Question #2: Please tell us a brief "fishing bio" about yourself (200 words or less) such as: how many days do you fish, if you are pro tournament angler, if you are in the fishing tackle business, if you are sponsored by companies in the fishing tackle business, if you are a fishing guide, if you have written or been written about in trophy bass articles/books, on fishing TV shows or videos - none of those things are necessary, but just establishes who you are with the unfamiliar reader. Basically, please share 200 words or less "fishing bio" about yourself.
George: As a bass fishing guide I spend an extensive amount of time on the water, not only taking clients out, but also fishing on those down time days in order to keep up with the bass’s locations and activity. I have fished as much as 300+ days per year over the last 13 years. I started my professional fishing career guiding in the Florida Everglades working as a guide and proprietor of a small bait and tackle store. Although I participated in local tournaments, I have not fished in what today are national level tournaments. I have had the good fortune to work with some of the finest companies in the industry. I have a good relationship with Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits. I am sponsored by G-Blank rods and Guest Marine chargers. I have written several articles both about the waters I fish and about techniques that I favor. I have been involved with film-making with Outdoors Life Network, now Versus, and individual shows as Fishing with Bob Dillow.
Question #3: How many trophy bass have you caught (definition/size of a "trophy" is whatever you prefer)? What is the size of your biggest trophy bass?
George: I am often asked how many bass over 10 pounds that I have either caught or put clients on. I truly can’t say with certainty as I never kept count. However I can say with integrity that it is more than 850 over 10 pounds. The waters where I am guiding now for 13 years, my clients and I have boated 50-100 depending on the year, for 13 years, Then, when I start counting back to the 1960's, there are too many ten-pounders throughout my entire time on the water to come up with a realistic count. The largest bass I have put in the boat came out of an area west of Deerfield Beach, Florida know as the Loxahatchee preserve, back in 1972. She weighed in at just short of 20 pounds. I had seen a flash which was a monster bullfrog springing away from her, which proved to no avail as I watched her gulp it down. I immediately cast over there with a small lure I had on my line, and in a matter of seconds after wolfing down that huge bullfrog, she engulfed my lure in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, fishing from a canoe, I had little to document the catch as I released her back to the water from which she came.
14.25 lbs. on 5" Yamamoto Senko
Question #4: What rod and reel combos do you use most often for trophy bass hunting? What line and pound test do you use most often (mono, fluoro, braid) for trophy bass hunting? We are not asking so much about brands and models, but about general features of the rods, reels, lines you most often use for trophy bass hunting. Also, we are not asking about every rod, reel, line you use - that can be many different outfits. We wish to give the reader (who may be unfamiliar with trophy bass fishing in Florida) a general feel for what you most often would prefer to use in terms of rod, reel, line - understanding it is not the only outfit you use - but the one you would prefer to use, or tend to use most often.
George: I don’t use any special equipment for trophy bass. The equipment I use every day is more than adequate to do the job. I use a 6:1 reel mounted on a 7.0 MH rod, carrying a quality 20 pound mono. The hook for most soft plastic baits is 4/0 EWG and I use only the minimal terminal tackle that is required as I believe the simpler the rig the more reliable it is.
Question #5: What are your top three techniques for catching giant bass?
George: Many techniques are successful in catching big bass, however I would rank the Texas Rig (with or without a bullet sinker depending on the depth and cover), topwater baits, and Carolina rig as the three most productive in my area. One is not "better" than the other except in particular situations. I mean you can't work a Carolina rig effectively where a Texas rig works "best" and vice versa. Sometimes topwater works best, plastics at other times - and often both.
Question #6: What are your top three lures for attracting trophies?
George: My biggest "official" gal from Florida weighed 15 lbs 13 oz and was caught with a 1/2 oz willow-bladed spinnerbait. However, my three most productive baits are soft plastics (Texas-rigged with or without a sinker or Carolina-rigged), topwater poppers and lipless crankbaits. With the lipless, depending on water depth, you want one you can retrieve at the lowest running depth you can go without being constantly hung up. If it hangs in grass, it's annoying, but you can rip it off. If it hangs on hard wood or stumps, it's running too deep.
Question #7. What is the best time of the year for trophies in Florida?
George: It’s a tough call as to what time of the year produces the most big bass since I have seen great opportunities for big bass develop in almost every month, depending on the year. There are years when unique weather or water conditions may turn any months into true big bass bonanzas, but there's no way to predict when or if those bountiful times will occur each year. In hindsight, you can look back and say June/July was very good that particular year because of the water level, the weed growth, the rainfall or whatever reason, but it may not happen another year - or something different may happen next year. It's just opportunistic whenever those big bass periods open up any year. You just have to be there or receive a call and hopefully you can get down there while it is still happening. However, if I had to pick a most reliable time that occurs every year for trophies, it would be mid-March to late April which is the spawn.
12.75 lbs. on 5" Yamamoto Senko
Question #8. What role do electronics play for you when hunting for trophy bass?
George: Working on the lakes or waters in Florida, many of which are very shallow, average 7 feet or less, I find little use for electronics except during the summer months. As it gets hot the bass move to deeper water structures that we have here and electronics become critical to staying in the zone for catching these gals. We have some submerged old irrigation ditches and following them is critical during the summer months.
Question #9. Once you are on the water, how do you divide your fishing day trying to locate trophy bass?
George: It's not like that for us, meaning we do not divide the day trying to locate trophy bass. Our quest for trophy bass begins once we're on the water and continues until we put the boat back on the trailer. From first cast to last cast, we're pretty consistent with our approach.
Question #10. What is the main trophy bass forage in Florida waters?
George: Florida has an abundance of wild golden shiners and they provide an excellent opportunity for an encounter with trophy sized bass. There are many other baitfish for sure, but if you want to catch trophy bass on live bait, the golden shiner is in a class by itself.
Question #11. Do you do any night fishing for trophy bass?
George: Night fishing on a number of Florida waters which are out in the middle of nowhere might not be the safest environment to be in, between the bugs, reptiles and other wildlife present, so we avoid this practice.
12.33 lbs. on 5" Yamamoto Senko
Question #12: Do you feel there is a particular time of day or night when it is best to catch trophy bass?
George: I've always heard of and maybe you've heard also of some research or record studies that indicate that a 12 noon to 2 o'clock window has provided more big fish on record, but that does not hold consistent in our area. I'm usually fishing during those two hours, and they're nothing extra special. I don’t find any particular time to be the best, as I've caught trophy bass on my first cast to my last cast of the day. So the best time to catch a trophy is - your next cast.
Question #13: What do you feel that trophy bass do different, that ordinary size bass do not do?
George: I find that although trophy bass are present with other bass of varying size, they tend for most of the year to stay deeper and more associated with some form of unique cover or structure. I also find that there are those trophy bass that live their life as loners, and I will always take the time for fishing some concentrated spot of uniqueness when I see one. A single small hump, a single stump or lay down can yield surprising results.
Question #14: What do you do different when hunting trophy bass, that you do not do when fishing for ordinary size bass?
George: I don’t do anything different. I find little evidence of bait size making a difference. So bait size or using a big bait is not a concern of mine. I do best with ordinary, every day size plastics, topwaters, lipless, etc. Honestly, many of the big baits used in other parts of the country, would probably plow bottom or foul mercilessly in the prolific vegetation here. But even when it comes to soft plastics, I don't find big bass to be selective. Big bass get big not by being selective, but by being adept at eating more, better than other bass can. If they were selective or hesitated, they'd lose meals to other bass. So, in a sense, they get big by being the least selective, by being first to eat and eat the most. As I previously stated however, I do find them to be a bit more selective on location. For instance, when a school of bass sets up in an area where there's bait, the school may stay around the general area for days or even weeks. Although big bass are within the school they will have selected the prime spots of cover or structure within that school's area. The unique spots selected by big bass in the school provide them with better security and better feeding opportunities. I'll get a good range for where the school is present, by casting out in different directions. Then once I plot the points where the main body of the school is, I will look for something unique in the area of the school. Also, I will spend more time working the outer area of a school, looking for that unique piece of structure or cover, as I find many times the big gal holding just on the edge of the school's range which often (but not always) coincides with being a little bit deeper.
George's guide clients catch and release 50-100 trophy bass each season:
12.5 lbs. on 5" Yamamoto Senko
12.5 lbs. on 5" Yamamoto Senko
12 lbs. on Yamamoto Cut Tail
