Event Details

Friday February 8th - Saturday February 9th The Bass University is coming to Columbus Ohio with several current or former bass fishing top-level tournament anglers, who will present many seminars over 2 days. Each seminar is 45+ minutes and covers cutting-edge bass fishing tactics, techniques, and tackle.

All students receive a loaded gift bag full of tackle and special offers from our sponsors. All tickets also receive access to the Columbus Fishing Expo.

* This is a 2-day event, but individual days can be purchased when selecting ticket options. Discounts are available for anglers 17 and under & full-time students (valid student ID required at registration).

Location

Quest Conference Center
8405 Pulsar Place
Columbus, OH 43240

Instructors

Friday

Jordan Lee

FIRST TOPIC: Jordan Lee’s Finesse Playbook

Jordan Lee loves to power fish, but he truly shines when he has a spinning rod with light line in his hands – and he has the hardware to prove it. Whether it’s a shakey head on deep points, a dropshot in the Great Lakes or a wacky worm under docks, nothing about finesse gear limits him to only small fish. He’ll help anglers overcome their hesitation to chase big fish with little baits and teach them the right tools for a given situation.

SECOND TOPIC: Topwater Hard Baits

Is there anything more fun than watching a big bass blow up on a chugging popper or a cigar-shaped walk-the-dog plug? What makes it even better is that not only do these lures produce numbers, but they’re also exceptional for big fish. Nevertheless, as frogs and buzzbaits have grown in popularity, topwater hard baits are sometimes relegated to second string. Jordan Lee will tell you why that’s a mistake, and help you know how to make the most of a surface bite.

Ish Monroe

FIRST TOPIC: Fishing Docks Ish’s Way

Most savvy anglers know that docks hold bass year-round, from coast to coast, but all too many of them approach every dock the same way. They are not one-size-fits-all targets and it takes different tools to get the job done depending on the conditions. If you’re only using jigs and soft plastics on these overhanging structures, Ish will open your eyes.

SECOND TOPIC: Fishing a New Body of Water

On your home waters it might not take much effort to find fish, because patterns repeat themselves year after year after year. But what about when you’re going someplace you’ve only seen on TV? Or read about in a magazine? Then it can become a challenge to break things down and experience success. Ish goes to new fisheries all the time and has a knack for figuring things out quickly. Today he’ll share his road map to expedited success.

Jared Lintner

FIRST TOPIC: Power Shotting

True to his California roots, Jared Lintner has no fear of light line and finesse techniques, but those same techniques can be adjusted for larger and more aggressive fish in heavy cover. There’s no reason to put down the dropshot when brawn is required, but it requires an adjustment of attitude, tackle and approach. Lintner has taken this technique from coast to coast and cashed checks with it just about everywhere.

SECOND TOPIC: Lipless Cranking West Coast Style

A lipless crankbait is dynamite anywhere bass swim, especially in the pre-spawn, but savvy anglers keep them in the rod locker just about year-round. The days of just “chunking and winding” are over, though. Now there are specialized techniques for specific situations, and while many of them were developed with western fisheries in mind, that doesn’t mean they won’t work on your home waters, too.

Saturday

JT Kenney

FIRST TOPIC: Fishing Large Expanses of Water

The name of the game in tournament angling is narrowing down the field of play and then narrowing down your lure presentations, but that’s not always easy, especially on large bodies of water. Whether it’s Lake Erie or Lake Okeechobee, the old adage that “90 percent of the fish live in 10 percent of the water” often holds true. JT Kenney cut his teeth on big waters and has tried-and-true techniques for eliminating the unproductive areas quickly.

SECOND TOPIC: The Umbrella Rig

Love it or hate it, the Umbrella Rig, known colloquially as the “Alabama Rig” can produce fish in tough situations, including some true monsters. In fact, there are times when it’s the only thing that will get any bites at all. You typically don’t just tie it on and load the boat – there are definitely little tweaks and secrets that’ll improve your catch rate substantially, and JT Kenney is going to help you understand how and why the Umbrella Rig produces so well.

Pete Gluszek

FIRST TOPIC: Fishing on the Edges

The Dean’s business partner, Mike Iaconelli, famously wrote a book called “Fishing on the Edge,” and its significance lies in more than just Mike’s lifestyle. Pete has seen again and again throughout his fishing career that bass are ambush feeders, relating to changes in cover or depth. Whether you’re looking at points, flats, grass beds or any other cover or structure, understanding how to find and utilize edges will increase your success substantially.

SECOND TOPIC: Tail-Weighted Stickbaits

There’s more than one way to rig a soft stickbait, and depending on how you weight it (if you weight it at all) it can glide into or away from cover, and fall at a more or less desirable weight. Increasingly the pros have found that a small bit of weight in the tail can be deadly when other rigs fail, and Pete Gluszek has refined his tail-weighted strategies to fit a wide range of conditions.

Mike McClelland

FIRST TOPIC: Finesse Power Fishing

Aggressive power fishing is many anglers’ first choice of attack plans, but when it doesn’t work out, they assume that it’s the “power” part that is at fault. On the contrary, it may just be that their baits are too big and bulky. Sometimes it’s possible to maintain a similar approach, and a simple downsizing will lead to increased and better catches.

SECOND TOPIC: How to Approach River Bass Fishing

For anglers used to fishing impoundments or natural lakes, rivers can be a foreign and confusing environment. It doesn’t need to be that way. In some respects, they can be easier to dissect than other fisheries, and by learning to interpret current and use it to your advantage you can cut down on the necessary scouting time significantly.

Hotel Information

Courtyard by Marriott - Columbus Airport
2109 Airport Drive Columbus, OH 43219

Call (614) 475-8530 and ask for the columbus fishing expo discount when booking