Playing in an NFL Super Bowl, MLB World Series, or NBA Final is the dream of American boys. But in 1983, youngster Ed Loughran III dreamt of casting for cash and taking the BASSMASTER Classic stage.
Ed’s mother gave him a Bass Anglers Sportsman Society membership, which included BASSMASTER Magazine. Reading cover to cover, ignited his fishing flame. Seeing legendary angler Rick Clunn hoisting the Classic trophy in front an energized crowd, Ed focused for the next decade to make it there.
At 14 Ed fished with small clubs, eventually buying a used bass boat, taking his dream to the water. Older anglers mentored him during his Classic journey. Ed had a plan and was sure he’d make it.
Spending hundreds of days guiding and fishing tournaments, Ed worked after school at an outdoors store, painted houses and did other jobs. Reinvesting some of his income and tournament winnings into his fishing lure company, Hook Industries, he sold over 11,000 in a year.
From 18-25, Ed made a living from fishing. Ed credits years on the road, learning diverse fishing waters, for his local and regional tournament successes.
Attending his third BASSMASTER Classic in 1990, Loughran saw Rick Clunn again take the stage and the trophy. Seeing the man who fueled his fishing fire and hearing the roar of the crowd, further stoked Ed’s passion.
In 1992 he attended George Mason University but dropped out. Ed was all-in to make the Classic. Grinding through qualifying trails, at 24 he was ready without sponsors to take on the fishing world.
Never doubting his abilities or focus, he started strong but missed the cut by a few spots.
“The guy who was full of confidence and thought he had it all figured out was sent home broke with his tail between his legs.”
Ed was burned out in his mid 20s. Simultaneously, life was happening, and his dream slowly drifted out of reach. He disappeared from the bass fishing world for nearly two decades.
Graduating from college in 1999 Ed worked as a Wall Street trader and eventually a civil litigator. In his mid 40s, life was complete with a terrific wife, wonderful kids, house, and job he enjoyed. Never losing sight of his dream, making another run at the Classic “someday”. Ed understood “someday” may never come. “Life just gets in the way.”
With a few extra years and pounds and no bass boat, Ed contemplated a comeback to resurrect the young hot shot fisherman from the 90s. Hitting qualifying trails in 2019 without sponsors, but with support of his wife and his company, after six years, he became a BASSMASTER Elite Series rookie.
Finally in 2021, 50-year-old Ed Loughran, III realized his teenage dream to the Classic stage. He thought about friends and mentors who didn’t make it. “They’ve got the skills and talent to compete on the Elites and make it to the Bassmaster Classic, but life had another plan.”
In August, Ed earned an Elite Series trophy by winning at Champlain and took home $100,000.
OCTOBER 2024
Cooler temperatures are on the way. We should see a water temperature drop by month’s end to around 60! This opens the tacklebox for most moving baits and topwaters for sure. Buzzbaits, poppers, walkers, and wakers! Note, water warms in midday toward the evening providing a good topwater bite! Speed is key…Slower presentations in cooler mornings. Speed up as water warms to 70. Fish are crowding available hard cover like docks and laydowns in shallow water as what’s left of scattered grass. The Wilson Bridge barges and pilings are great. Target structure like drops and edges around the Spoils, and Smoots (National Harbor). Try the fish habitat planted by MD DNR in Smoots.
Topwater action is great early under low light or in the evening. Start with a continuous pop, pop, pop and throw in pauses, and smaller twitches. During colder conditions, wait 10 seconds between pops. Watch baits carefully to note bass movement under your bait. A pull is better than a pop! Feathered hooks give you a “second chance” if fish blow up and miss. Just reel to make feathers move slightly! Fish sometimes strike several times before they take the bait. For rods, use a medium 7-foot rod to gain distance and leverage. Cooler water, try walking lures. Wake baits are great fished at any speed. Use a med/heavy rod with 30-pound test GAMMA Torque braid for best results in clear water over grass.
Mud Puppy Boogie Buzz buzzbaits, with 2/0 Mustad Ultra Point stinger hooks, draw strikes from quality bass in cover over grass clumps as the tide falls, and after water warms through the day. Swim Toads on a weighted 5/0 swimbait hook is great over and around cover.
Cover depths with Carolina rigs with lizards on points or grass edges near deep water. Use a 3/4-ounce weight, 2/0-3/0 hooks, and an 18-inch leader…sometimes shorter. Move baits with rod, dragging slowly, stopping to let baits cover drops. Bump cover, stop and let sit a few seconds. When you get a bite, sweep set. For the tough bite, try splitshotting and drop shotting with smaller Mud Puppy Custom Lures DS (drop shot) worms, 3/16-ounce Water Gremlin Bullshot weights and 10-pound test Gamma Copoly line. Make short dropshot pitches to pilings along sides and leave on slightly slack line. Shake as needed. Feel pressure; set the hook with a reel and pull. Purple worms on shaky heads are also working.
Target grass remnants with lipless crankbaits in shad patterns and red craw in stained water. Because lipless crankbaits are notorious for big bass to throw, upgrade to wide gap short shank trebles…go up a size. Cover water on long casts with a 7-foot medium action composite rods with 12-pound test GAMMA EDGE Fluorocarbon line to rip baits free from grass.
Burning spinnerbaits, willow/Colorado combination and a white skirt, near cover produces hard strikes. When water warms, try double willow, faster retrieves. For clear water, use silver blades, gold for stained and a combo for in between. Bump cover and rip free from grass. At higher tides, it’s easier to work a 3/8-ounce and larger bait down to the grass. Use 12 pound rest Gamma Edge fluorocarbon for longer casts and better hook sets.
As tides fall, work edges, clumps or isolated pieces of cover including docks with green pumpkin candy MIZMO tubes rigged on 3/0 hooks with 3/16 weights or with Mud Puppy Baits tube heads around bridge pilings and docks deeper than 5 feet on 10 pound test GAMMA Copoly, on spinning gear. The Mud Puppy head is weedless, easy to skip and glides on the drop. With cooler temperatures following cold fronts, hop smaller profile baits like Mud Puppy Custom Lures avocado stingray style grubs on 8-10 pound test GAMMA Copoly rigged on a 1/4-ounce ball head in ditches and in front of pads.
Get to the bottom fast with heavier 1/2 or 3/4 ounce Black/Blue jigs with chunks in bright blue. Pitch to cover, occasionally shaking to attract a bass. Watch line for bites! Higher tides and sun are better for dock fishing. As tides fall, move to deeper pilings. At lower tides, fish are moving to scattered grass in deeper water. Search baits, squarebill crankbaits and spinnerbaits are working in these spots. Remember, slow presentations in stained water! More speed in clearer water. Swim jigs around grass, wood cover and docks!
Crank South Point, Smoots, Spoils, Fox Ferry, Hogg Island, Fort Washington, barges in Broad, around barges near the Wilson Bridge, pilings, and all hard cover. Cover different depths on 12-pound test GAMMA EDGE Fluorocarbon. Sharp treble hooks are a must! Treble hooks are big in numbers, not big in bite, not holding in much of the fish. Line stretch and rod flexibility make it easier for fish to take baits and provide “give” needed to land fish hooked on trebles.
