Are You A FOODIE?

Hooked UP

The THREE South Valley Connections
By Nick Anthony

When you think about Visalia, the first thing that comes to mind most likely isn’t bass fishing. Go ahead, try thinking about Visalia…think hard now. See what I mean? You probably came up with agriculture, our great downtown area or even, the Gateway to the Sequoias.

You certainly didn’t relate Visalia with the Delta, unless it’s Kaweah Delta or maybe the Times Delta. Yet, this community of ours finds itself fairly significant in the sport of bass fishing because of the efforts of three Visalia men, Scott Thompson, Dave Parker, and Larry Kerns.

You may know one or two, or possibly all three. You might even get your hair trimmed at Larry’s Hair Shop, located just off Demaree near Walnut.
What you may not know is that he holds the record for the seventeenth largest bass on record and the largest bass ever caught at Success Lake, a bass that tipped the scales at 19.03 lbs.

In the case of Scott Thompson, he’s the engine behind the Visalia Bass Club, a club that is the envy of many bass clubs across the state because of its uncanny ability to consistently bring together forty to fifty boats from all over the region for a bass tournament at Lake Kaweah. Pretty good for a bass club that has made it a point not to hold meetings. Scott attributes this success to word of mouth and as he calls it, the “lake network” where fishermen have their ears tuned to things which interest them, especially tournaments that are operating smoothly. Scott is a former trout fisherman who got his start in bass fishing as a result of a neighbor inviting him out on the lake. He’s been hooked ever since. For those new to bass fishing, his advice is, keep it simple and stick to what works. Don’t go chasing after everything new.

You might already know Dave Parker, from First Assembly. But what you may not know is that Dave is an independent sales representative for a number of fishing lure companies which include: Lazer Lure, Wave Spin Reels, Tom Cross Fishing Tackle, Poor Boy Baits, Western Plastics Dolphin Tackle and BioEdge, with a territory that covers all the western states, including Texas, Lousianna, and the Hawaiian Islands. His largest fish locally was a 7 lb bass caught on a Flying Tiger Lazer Lure on Lake Kaweah. His favorite place to fish is the Delta and Clear Lake.

As for Larry Kerns, his date with bass fishing history began at 9:30 am on January 27, 2001, at Lake Success in Porterville. An avid bass tournament fisherman, he was vertically jigging a 1/2 ounce Silver Buddy lure about a foot off the bottom at a depth of 32 feet. His partner in the boat at the time was Mark Navarette. His record breaking fish was landed after a ten minute battle which included 5 horrendous runs followed by a lot of whooping and hollering. Since that time, Larry’s largest bass has been an 11.25 lb bass at Kaweah Lake last year. Like most bass fisherman, his favorite style of fishing is top water fishing. While he isn’t crank bait fishing as much as he used to, it’s still among his favorites. “People don’t know how much it takes out of you to throw those crank baits all day,” Larry explains. His assessment of Lake Kaweah is that there are still a lot of big fish in the lake even with the pressure of those who don’t catch and release.

For boatless tournament fishermen, the Visalia Bass Club can solve that need real quick. Give Scott a call and he’ll partner you up. 739-2863

In the months to come, there will be more fish stories and the men who fish for them. For now, may your lines stay tight and ears warm.