Customer Reviews

Big Bass Zone

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book is an attempt to communicate the accumulated knowledge of a fisherman, who apparently has been extremely successful at catching very big largemouth bass in California. The guidelines for specifically targeting these fish probably will help others trying to capture just a fraction of Bill Siemantel's success.

Probably the most enjoyable feature of the book is the pictures of the author with numerous enormous fish. These pictures really get the imagination going, which is certainly something a book like this should do. The book outlines the techniques and tactics he uses. The technique that comes most easily to mind is the use of big baits (of which there are 3 categories). The most prominent tactic is his one-cast presentation. I did find some of his discussion of thinking in terms of ambush opportunities instead of highways to deep water to be helpful.

Unfortunately, the book has many troubling issues. This is really a book that would benefit from a heavy-handed editing. The most prominent issue is in essence a lack of structure which leads to a lack of substance. This comes to fruition in having 2 pages that admonish you to think outside of the box for every 1 page that tells you how to catch big fish. The book does not seem to me to follow a logical development, it seemed more like randomly changing from one topic to another, which I really did not like. Even worse, the book's advice is semi-contradictory telling you not to "backslide" into old fishing patterns then at other times telling you to do exactly that.

For example the following is on page 43, "The purpose of this book is to expand your knowledge, open your mind to new ideas, and progressively turn this learning curve into bigger bass." This introductory sentence should be on page 1, but forty three pages into the book, one is still having to deal with vague generalities.

A second issue is that despite his reassurances otherwise, he offers no proof (not even anecdotal) that these techniques will work in locations other than California. To make this issue more concrete, one only need notice that most of the big baits (other than the tube) look like rainbow trout, which are not on the menu for bass in many places.

In many cases, I found his descriptions of how to actually proceed too vague. I think his descriptions of designing a "milk run" is a case in point. On page 73, he tells the reader to create a point system by "simply assigning a number value to each location." Unforunately, I find this direction to be tautological since the definition of a point system is giving a number value so essentially he is saying create a point system by creating a point system. This is not a lot of help. In addition, this does not seem so simple an act. Unfortunately, he refers to this point system you've created for the rest of the book. Yes, life would be easier if I could just list all the areas that hold large bass as a starting point.

When this book came out I eagerly bought it. I owned Michael Jones' book on finesse fishing and anticipated this would be an excellent book too. That was not the case. I am sure Bill Siemantel is an excellent bass fisherman but he divulges nothing in this book. It is 280+ pages of rephrasing the same phrase - keep your mind open do different things. But he never describes in detail his methods of fishing a swim bait or what to look for in a good swim bait or how he modifies his swim baits or even what manufacturers make good swim baits. There is very little useful information in this book. Save your money.

This book is great. I now know why my old techniques were only catching average sized bass. The theories and techniques are right on the money. The ideas and fishing techniques in this book made an immediate improvement. I would recommend this book for anybody who is tired of catching small average size bass and really wants to step up to catching lunker size fish.

I am a guide and tournament fisherman on the California Delta and spend over 200 days a year fishing this great body of water. Occasionally I will find myself in a rut and need to have my mind expanded. This is when I pick up this book and glance through it. Bill and Mike discuss concepts and theories that have thousands of hours of productive R&D work behind them. This gives me the confidence to achieve some of the awesome results that are shown in this book. Every angler is looking for an edge, it doesn't have to always be the latest and greatest "hot bait". Sometimes thinking "outside the box" is the key to success on a particular day. This book will help you see your favorite lake through a different more productive set of eyes.

After reading Big Bass Zone the second time I purchased my first swim bait. Immediatly I began catching bigger Bass than ever before. The number of fish I caught went down but on almost every trip using the swim bait and the techniques outlined in Big Bass Zone I have caught a really big fish. Read the book - get a swimbait and catch a big fish. Simple advise but it worked for me.

Tim

After reading two other books on the subject (John Hope and Bill Murphy) I was really pumped to read this one. Then I got into it and found it 'vague at best'... what did I learn? Big bass can be anywhere and basically 'do what they want, when they want'. It's up to the angler to be open-minded and try to fit the approach to the situation...

Again, this book was very difficult for me to read. I constantly found my self fighting off frustration as I'd re-read sections looking for 'real information'...

Not to be found.

Big Bass Zone opened my eyes to the possibilities and new techniques of how to get a really big bass on the line. This book is full of new ideas and how-to instruction to help you understand how you can get big bass to bite. I've been fishing for bass all my life and always dreamed of catching the really big ones, now I know how. The book itself is full of color photos and illustrations and is clear and concise in its explanations. Big Bass Zone will change the way you think and fish for big bass.

Along with other critics of this book, I found it lacking detail and the mantra to open your mind to new techniques tiresome. Go psycho! Yeah, whatever.

Read Murphy's In Pursuit of Giant Bass instead. It is tremendously inspiring and offers endless details on seasonal patterns, rigging, colors, bait size, boat positioning, anchoring, weather patterns, etc.

However, if you want to see lots of pictures of a coiffed Bill Siemantel holding big California bass, this is your book. (Does he bring a change of clothes in the boat for pictures?!)

Bill is an amazing hawg hunter and has put in the time and work. This book is a testament to his hawg hunting career and we should all feel lucky to be able to enter the BBZ. A must read and a way to start thinking outside the box and start catching true monsters.

fishnislife

I enjoyed this book,there are better books on the subject of
trophy bass(bill murphy for one)but this book stands alone
for one reason, it lets you know that there are other ways to target and catch big bass,that you can aggresivly target these
fish(key word agressive) you dont have to spend all day on one
spot for that one fish, plus you can apply this book to other
trophy fish(big browns,muskie,ect.) good book overall