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The Elusive Record Rock Bass by Don Dziedzina
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Last year when I was in Minnesota, I caught a rock bass that was just shy of the two pound state record. I was fishing a rocky reef on Lake Mille Lacs and was amazed about the huge rockets that it produced. It was never thought for a moment that one would be a record fish, but when it was learned that one hefty one pound, fourteen ounce rockbass almost made the record book, I put a target on their backs for this year.

The story about the big rockbass came up while speaking with a friend of mine who is the owner of Cubby Lures. I’m sure you’ve seen the Mini Mites in all the tackle shops. They’re they jig in a tube that’s found at just about every check out counter. They come in assorted sizes and have a body like a screw grub and a tail that looks like a nail. One thing that’s for sure is that they really work. As is said in some of their commercials, “Cubby Mini Mites make the difference between fishing and catching.”

But this is not meant to be a commercial. I want to tell you about catching rockbass this year. I got my hands on a handful of different color Mini Mites for my recent trip up north and devoted some time to catching some rockies with hopes of getting just one that was bigger than last year.

My hopes were high and with light tackle, a good number of fish were caught. I not only tried for the rockets at Mille Lacs, but also at a number of small lakes in the immediate area.

One has to admit that rockbass are really fun to catch. Some people have identified the big ones as crappies but their dark brown and golden color really cannot be mistaken. Having a body that’s looks like a cross between and smallmouth bass and a bluegill, they’re run after they feel the sting of your hook makes for an excited battle with ultra light gear.

Areas that were fished were rock piles, dark holes within rocky reefs, weed beds and reed edges, and rocky banks. Rockbass seem to be hiding everywhere, but where was Big Moe? To say that dozens of fish were caught would be no exaggeration, but none tipped the scale to the other side of the two pound mark this year.

As was mentioned, I had an assortment of colors but even when changing from one to another really didn’t seem to matter. The fish loved all of the baits, but this time around, they seemed to average about a pound to a pound and a quarter. I just couldn’t get the big boys.

Live bait would have made any difference. The catch was consistent as the fish were aggressive. The Mini Mites worked just fine and produced fish after fish. The action continued throughout the day so morning or afternoon angling was not part of the equation.

Several times it was necessary to retie a new jig on to the end of the line. It seemed that during the retrieve the jig would tick the tops of some of the weeds and several times a northern pike would jump on the bait. Since the jigs are small, it was easy for the fish to inhale them and cut the line with their razor sharp teeth.

A couple largemouth bass also nailed my Mini Mites. They’re a lot of fun too when fishing light gear. So all in all, a lot of fish were caught, but no record rockbass this time out.

Sometimes we have to scale down on our baits and by doing so, it can make the difference between fishing and catching. In retrospect, I can honestly say that by using smaller baits like the Mini Mite did provide me with more action on the water than when fishing lures like spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and crankbaits. Granted with those baits, I was fishing for larger bass and northerns. I have to admit though that it times were slow on the water; it was fun catching the rockbass.

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