The “Lab”
Lab
Log | Lab Photos
Back in 1998, I had the opportunity to do a lot of fishin’ in and
around Dallas. I would take a couple of rods with me and drive around
looking for ponds that had the potential of holding some bass. If
there was water, I stopped and fished it. Talk about an education! I was
able to fish many different small bodies of water, golf course
ponds, creeks,
etc., all within 5-20 minutes of where I lived. I found out some
interesting things about bass by following this educational process of
visiting different ponds.
One day I happened by a place that if I had blinked, I would
have missed seeing this small body of water that was not in plain view.
After surveying the pond which was about one acre in size, I dropped in
a 12 inch worm around some structure. I got hit and hit BIG, yet
I missed the hook set. My second "plop" of the foot long plastic
worm netted me a 5.5 pound bass that was 21 inches long. It
didn’t take a college degree to figure out that two casts, two
massive hits, one 5.5 pound bass meant that there was sumpin’ different
about this particular pond.
I investigated further, while utilizing my polarized glasses I
viewed crystal clear water, an aeration fountain, structure, deep water,
shallow water, a large grocery store (I’m not talkin’ Albertsons)
a canal . . . one that leads right up to a freshwater spring. I
interrogated people living in the area . . . the spring is reported to
have been there for over a hundred years and it keeps pumping out warm
and clear water. Everybody says there are no fish in there . . . yea
whatever!
Okay, I teach a principle that states . . . when given the choice to
work hard versus working smart, always choose to work smart. So .
. . in an effort to work smart, I moved there. That’s correct, I moved
RIGHT to the pond. Remember the saying that goes like this . . .
"Living close to water is like living closer to heaven." Well, I believe
that I live pretty close to heaven. Heck, I even get to wake up
each day and walk out on my porch to spy down into the canal to see what
my fish are doing!
Over the years I developed this "habit" about naming every
pond that I fished. Some of those names are the "Duck Pond," "Honey
Hole," "Dock Pond," "Frito Lay Pond," "Eagles Pond," "Hospital
Pond," "Airport Pond," "K-Pond," "Voss Pond," "Rock Pit Pond," "Wal-Mart
Pond," and finally "The Laboratory!" That’s correct, I call my
pond The Laboratory or, "The Lab" for short, because
that’s exactly what it is, a laboratory.
So, in an effort to provide information and education about our
chosen profishin’, I have introduced the "Lab Log ." The log will
be a place where I will provide daily documentation about The Lab
and its environment. Over time and with accurate documentation, I
believe that we will be able to ascertain different things about bass;
we’ll be able to distinguish patterns and invoke discussions, etc. So,
check back often and let me know if you have any questions or
comments.
One last thing . . . sometime in the near future John Deckard
and I will be setting up an underwater camera with a laser lens to shoot
live underwater shots of The Lab. We will be sending the video
feed up to WorldRecordBass.com so everyone worldwide will have an
opportunity to watch some MASSIVE fish in their
environment. Lots of new and progressive ideas are in the
planning stages for continued improvement for WorldRecordBass.com
so please check back often and take advantage of these wonderful
opportunities.
You’re The Best!
Chuck
Bauer
