Submitted PhotoBass Pro Staff Team Angler Mike Giles displays a lunker bass he caught early last Saturday morning on a Bass Pro Tournament Series Lizard.

Nathan Hodgins loves to fish, but it’s difficult to find time while playing basketball, working and going to school. That sometimes makes it difficult when the only time you can go is during the hot days of summer, when the temperature is reaching up into the triple digits. But that’s just what happened last Saturday when he came back to Meridian for some rest and relaxation, and it just happened to be on National Fishing Day.

We made last-minute plans, and we were at the lake at the crack of dawn last Saturday. Before the sun had even peaked over the eastern horizon, Hodgins cast out a Bass Pro Shops Texas Rigged finesse worm and began working it back through the shallow grass. Just before it reached the grass, a lunker bass smashed it and tore out toward the open water.

“Wham!” Hodgins drove the Gamakatsu steel hook deep into the jaws of the Big Mama bass, and it came unglued. The big Hawg exploded through the surfaces and slashed from side to side as the young man fought him with every ounce of strength he had. Thankfully, he had a Bass Pro Shops Carbon Lite 2.0 spinning rod and reel combo, and it was more than up to the task. The rod was easy to cast, had just enough tip to cast but plenty of backbone. The XPS braid was just the ticket as the bass just couldn’t throw the hook or break the line.

Hodgins landed the bass, and we took a few pictures before he quickly released her to grow some more and catch another day. Seconds later, I cast a frog across the grass patch, and another lunker bass smashed it, and I reared back and set the hook and watched the explosion that followed. This time, the bass wallowed on the surface and jumped skyward time after time before wearing down and giving in. I swung him onto the bank and took a couple of picture and released him, too.

I tied on a Whopper Plopper top water lure for Hodgins, and he went to work hunting for another lunker bass.

“Ka-Wash!” Suddenly another big-mouth bass exploded on the lure, and it sounded like a stick of dynamite had gone off. Back and forth they went as the bass wallowed on the surface before disappearing and diving down to the bottom. Hodgins fought back, and it was nip-and-tuck until he wore the fish down. Alas, the lunker was no match for the strong young angler.

Hodgins took a few pictures and quickly released him as well.

We continued catching and releasing lunker bass over the next couple of hours. The topwater bite lasted only a few minutes and was gone as soon as the sun peeked over the trees.

We switched to the old tried-and-true plastic worms rigged Texas style with light weights and used a few Bass Pro Stik-Os rigged weightless.

We fished the Texas rigs in the deeper water and cast the Stik-Os in the grass. The bass loved the erratic fall of the shad-colored soft jerkbaits and really tore them up. The best thing about the Senco-style soft jerkbaits is they won’t bury up in the grass or moss, and the bass usually hit them on the fall.

Just watch your line, and if it twitches, watch closely and you’ll usually see them take the line off to the side. Set the hook and hold on. If the smaller ones are striking just skin hook the soft jerkbaits with a sharp hook point barely stuck in the worm, and you can catch most any size bass that can bite.

We quit fishing around 8:30 and filleted a mess of small bass we’d caught and culled from the lake to help prevent overpopulation. We bagged them up in Ziplock freezer bags and left them for the landowner to enjoy. If you want to feel the thrill again and again, then keep a few small bass to eat occasionally and release the larger ones. National fishing day was a great day to be on the water with a talented young angler such as Nathan Hodgins. Take a kid fishing soon. Carpe diem!

Call Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or email mikegiles18@comcast.net.