Author: Frank Ross

Larry Nixon takes a busman's holiday.

The first thing that struck me, flying into Little Rock, Arkansas, was that everything was green and there was water everywhere I looked. This is quite a contrast to western Nebraska, which is currently in a state of severe drought. Fishing has been tough, but it's tough everywhere in the summer, and that was the mission I had accepted - fly to Arkansas and fish with Larry Nixon to learn the ins and outs of catching bass under the worst possible conditions.

After talking with this icon of the bass world, he warned me that it was going to be tough but that's what I wanted - tough conditions, matched up with one of the top anglers to have ever wet a line. I wasn't disappointed. As I made my way from the airport exit onto the Interstate, I noted an electronic time and temperature sign on the local bank. In bright gold letters it announced 98 degrees at 4:27. The stage was set.

It's a curious thing to me, but Larry fishes everyday, even when he's home. One would think that fishing would become work, and he would eventually have his fill, but that's not what I found. Prior to my arrival, and on the heals of a riggorous Classic, he had spent the previous two evenings fishing with his 18-year-old daughter, Lindsey.

Fishing for Larry is as much a way of life as it is a profession, and he is as dedicated to hunting as he is to the water.

When his younger brother, Leland, heard that I was in town, he rushed right over to share a story that pretty well sums up Larry's obsession with the outdoors. "He won't tell you this, so I will," he began. "Back when Larry was a kid, there were these old men setting on a bench in front of the general store. Old Luke Blizzard was one of them. He was the constable of Bee Branch at the time, and knew Larry pretty well. Well, Larry came walking down the street with a .22 rifle in one hand and a couple of squirrels in the other. One of the old boys elbowed Luke and said, look at that Nixon boy, he ain't never going to amount to anything. All he wants to do is fish and hunt!"

"I enter a tournament to win. If I get to the point that I don't think I can win, I'll retire," he said.

Nixon, at home in his trophy room.

We all had a good laugh, but it seems to me that those "old boys" could have learned a thing or two from Larry. He's turned fishing into a very comfortable living with all-time winnings of $1,410,633. Surrounding his impressive array of fishing trophies in his den is a world-class collection of monster whitetails taken in Texas and Mexico. Amount to something? In the vernacular, well I reckon so!

"There are so many things that an angler can mess up while fishing tournaments that you can't count. You can be taken out of the competition on the first day so fast, too many boats, other fishermen, spectator boats.... the Classic this year was like that," he said. Despite those challenges, Larry was able to put in a strong run on the last day and finished 5th against a field that is getting better every year.

In his stellar career, Larry has amassed 73 top 10 finishes, 14 career wins with B.A.S.S, won four Megabucks tournaments and has been to the big dance 23 times, fishing the Bassmaster's Classic in all but three of his professional seasons. Nixon has been inducted into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame and the Pro Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. It all began back in 1977 when he finished second to Rick King by one pound, one ounce. What would have been the winning fish, a four pounder, hit on a purple worm but became entangled and broke off. When the line broke, Nixon spotted the loose end lying on the surface, like a taunting bully saying, "it's here, come and get it if you think you can."

Not one to accept defeat without a tussle, Nixon made his move. "I was going to bring him in by hand, but when I tried to grab the line the fish spooked and it was gone." Along with its departure went Nixon's chances to win the first tournament he had mustered the courage and cash to enter. While he was proud to relate his second place finish on that auspicious occasion, it didn't take long to realize that Nixon isn't an angler that likes to accept second or any other position short of number one.

It's that drive to catch more and bigger fish that garnered him title of B.A.S.S Angler of the Year in 1980 and 1982. All three of his missed Classics occurred in the past six years. His hot streak was 19 in a row. He won in 1983, was 3rd in 1999, 5th in 2002. What I'm pointing out here is that Larry Nixon has proven that he can catch bass on any lake, under any conditions, day in and day out! He has proven it every day for 26 years, and that's one of the reasons Cabela's sponsors him.

I called Larry to set up an interview and due to circumstances the only time we could get together was during the worst possible time of the year - August, the hot tub month. Well, I reasoned, a lot of anglers fish year round, no matter what the conditions, and they, as well as I, would appreciate learning how to coax bass to bite under the worst possible conditions, so we set the date. I met Larry at his home in Bee Branch south of Clinton, Arkansas, and north of Toad Suck Park. I'll get to the toad thing later, but Clinton is another story altogether, so we better stick to fishing and leave the litany of Clinton stories for another time.

Larry said that if we wanted to catch a big bass, a farm pond at night was our best bet, so I dropped my bags at the local motel and we were on the water in a matter of minutes. It was late afternoon, and the sun was sinking low in the sky creating a mirror out of a pond that was as still as road kill with just about as many bugs. As we made our way to the far edge of the pond, where shadows covered the water under an overhanging tree line, I had visions of big bass gobbling up our baits. Visions are good, but not always realized, which is probably why fishermen keep coming back. It's the next time or the next cast that holds the fish of our dreams!

Nixon shows off another pond bass.

As we skimmed along the pond, pushed by the hum of his trolling motor, the subject at hand surfaced. So, I asked, what are we going to do?

"Here, why don't you try this topwater popper, and I'll throw a spook," he said, handing me a weapon from his spread of prepared rods.

"The key to taking bass in the summer is based on the body of water you fish. A good summer lake needs lots of cover, wood, vegetation or stained water can offset a lack of cover. To me, that's the most important thing, to have good summer fishing. The thing you've got to remember is that summer fishing is always going to be spotty and sporadic. Times will be good and bad and sometimes you'll just be spinning your wheels. You can fish for hours and then come up on one spot and catch 20 bass, and then go for hours to find the next hole," he explained.

"The peak times are the first two hours of the day and the last two hours before dark. Sometimes, on lakes with lots of cover, there can be a good period in the middle of the day. Right now, all of the tournaments in this area are held at night, and it's not taking a lot of weight to win them. You've got hot water and its been fished hard for 4, 5, 6 months and that's the factor that makes it tougher than anything else," he said.

"For fishing reservoirs with large areas that have been flooded, I look for timber, and always start with the edge of that submerged timber and points with timber. Old creek channels are ideal, as well as submerged roadbeds or old stock ponds. Lots of farmland was flooded to make reservoirs and every one of those farms had a pond of some kind for livestock. That old pond bed makes an ideal place for bass to find a cool spot in the summer if the depth is right. Look for the dam that created the pond and work that edge. Lots of roads get covered up, as well as trails and firebreaks in the woods. Those breaks in the cover are an ideal setup for summertime bass. When I want to fish a lake, and learn it completely, I get old aerial photos and maps to see what was flooded, but the best thing to do is find an old guy that remembers what used to be. If you find an old guy that knows about the area you want to fish, he can show you where the high spots were that were never put on paper, and that's information that could win a tournament," he said.

Baits "In the summer you need to have a selection of baits. I try not to get hung up on a #1 good topwater bait. The most consistent producers are Texas rigged plastic worms and jigs because you can target with them better. They sink through cover and can be worked at all depths where fish may be holding. As long as I've been fishing the number one lure is the plastic worm," he said, flipping a dark red offering under the tree line. As if to validate Nixon's admiration of the plastic, a scrappy little bass attacked his offering and represented himself well against this master of bass fishing.

"I like big worms. They produce good quality fish, so don't be afraid to throw an 8 or 9 inch worm in cloudy water. It's just the opposite in clear water. I drop back to a 5 or 6 inch worm especially in daylight, then go back to big worms at night."

"Crankbaits are good situation baits, especially if there's good current flow."

"Big spinnerbaits in some eastern lakes are excellent. They get down and stay down, while you've got to throw a crankbait a mile to get enough distance to get it down to the same depth. I like the Strike King spinnerbaits with a single willow leaf. The more blades you use, the higher it tends to ride. If you want it to go down, use a single willow leaf."

As we moved along the tree line, a narrow gap in the trees extended far back into shallow water and had all the appearances of a bass haven. Nixon worked the edges and spaces between trees pulling three bass from the cover, and two from the exact same spot next to an inclined limb that protruded beneath the surface.

Greer's Ferry produces lots of scrappy Kentucky bass.

While we were working the pond edges, I noticed the pace that Nixon was setting. Sure, he was in casual clothes and leaning back in his seat but he was hitting it hard with his lures and his mind. Watching him hammer the weedline I thought, "we're not in a tournament, then again maybe we are." I stopped talking so much and started to work my lure harder, but all I could do was play keep up. Getting ahead was out of the question.

Finally, the sun faded and we began to hear the steady drone of mosquitoes. Soon they rivaled the volume of the croaking frogs. We both caught numerous bass, and some of them might have even made the weigh-in scales on a bad tournament day, but the big pond bass we were looking for kept their mouths shut. Since we were scheduled to be on Greer's Ferry at sunrise, we opted to pull the boat and save ourselves for the big lake.

We hit the water on Greer's Ferry just as the sun was struggling against a heavy blanket of fog that refused to pass either light or warmth. It was a refreshing relief from the previous day's heat and humidity. While it was a cool morning for us, the water didn't cool down much overnight and the only surface action we were seeing was the occasional carp that leapt into the air for reasons know only to itself.

After an hour of fruitless efforts, Nixon's assessment of this lake was proving to be on target. "Locals call it the Dead Sea," he told me. We worked surface baits, drop shots, jigs, spinnerbaits and worms against bridge pilings. "The lake's making a comeback, but we got hit hard by the virus. This time of year, more than anything bass tend to congregate, and it's usually structure related, bottom related or break related. When you find out where they are gathering, you'll catch fish with the right presentation. "Let's try another spot," he said. "There's a bridge I used to fish as a kid, and I know we can catch some there." In less than a minute we were being hurled across the surface at 70 miles per hour, looking for the big fish. Nixon never gives up.

His advice sounded simple, and really it is. No matter what the time of year, all you have to do is find 'em, fish 'em and catch 'em. Do it well and you can make it to the Classic. But before you get too excited about fishing in the Classic, remember that when you get there, chances are that you'll have to beat Nixon. For sure he'll be trying to beat you.

Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about the explaination of Toad Suck. Unlike the current peculiar practice of licking toads to get high, this one has a slightly more traditional history. It seems that in the early days of life on the river, crews working on the barges were called toads. These robust rivermen had a propensity to stop at a particular sandy beach in the afternoon heat, to pull on their favorite beverage - beer. Hence, the name Toad Suck Park. It's located between Little Rock and Bee Branch, but isn't worth a road trip unless you're going to be in the area.

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