BASS Member Profiles

Michael Pogwizd's best lunker catch.

Name: Michael Pogwizd
Favorite lake to fish: Clear Lake
BASS member since: 1989

Tell us the story of your Lunker Club catch: The day of my Lunker Club catch started off with me checking the weather forecast. It called for increasing clouds as a storm front would be moving through the area later in the afternoon. Right then I knew that if I timed it right, the approaching storm would really have the bass biting.

I arrived around 1 p.m. and observed the bluegill being blasted on top by some large bass. Right then I decided to use a buzzbait, that closely matched the size and color of the bluegill that were being hammered on the surface. I started working my way around the pond and at one point there was a large pocket of milfoil with open water on both sides of it.

On my third cast down its edge, my lure was blasted by a nice bass but I missed it. I walked back to my car and added a trailer hook to my lure and returned to the milfoil. This time I started working the other side of it and on the sixth cast, I received a monster strike — kind of like my lure had struck a land mine! When I set the hook my rod doubled over, and I knew that I had a huge bass on the other end. It made a strong run for the milfoil, and I knew that if she got in there I would be in trouble, but I kept good pressure on her. After one more run that included a head-shaking leap, I got my first look at her. I worked her toward the shore and lipped her and as always thanked the Lord.
What do you like most about being a BASS member?: Your — our — tireless effort to promote and educate everyone about fisheries conservation. Catch and release is something that I have always practiced, and I always try to educate others on its benefits.
Any successful tips/technique/lure you can share with us?: If you fish by yourself a lot of the time and you like to take photos of your catch, put your camera on a tripod and as you move around to different spots carry it with you.

When you catch that special fish and you want to take a good picture of it, there usually isn’t a suitable place to set your camera. With a tripod, all you have to do is turn on your camera and set the two-second delay, and you’re all set.

Remember, the longer your catch is out of the water, the more stressed it becomes. With my setup, my catch is back in the water in about 20 seconds.
Check out more Lunker photos, click here