Editors Note: Larry has been very kind to share with us some of his tips and tricks for catching calico bass. Please use these tips to catch and RELEASE more calicos. NOT to catch and kill them.

A. Five things about gear and plastic:

1) The rods

I prefer a 7-9ft rod, moderate to extra fast action rod, graphite is best, composites are ok, But don't let lack of proper gear keep you from trying!

2) The reels

A revolving spool bait casting type reel is best, Shimano, Abu, Daiwa, etc. Line wise go with 12-15lb and use some thing with low stretch, P-line, Izorline, Berkley big game, Stren high impact.

3) The plastics

Go with 4-5in baits shad style bodies, I use swim baits made by Big Hammer Lures, but there are lots of other manufactures that make good products, colors wise, browns, greens, reds, sparkles, darks. Fish the darker stuff early and late. Fish the greens and browns in off colored water and deeper waters as well, but throw in the reds deep too. Fish the flashy stuff in clear water and around the kelp, also been playing with skirted twin tails, work pretty good when there's no current.

4) The lead heads

I fish anywhere from 1/2oz-11/2oz depending on time of year, depth of water, current, and size of plastic but ¾-1oz is what I use mostly. I like eyeballs, and fish non-painted heads on baitfish patterns and redheads on brown bait and reef forage patterns (octopus, shrimp, small rockfish, etc). If you want to color match your heads to you baits go for it! As far as the hooks are concerned whether they are cheaper galvanized hooks or a premium hook, make sure they are Sharp! Fishco makes an array of different sizes of heads in lots of different colors with the premium hooks.

5) Scents

I use scents made by Procure, my favorites are calico cocktail, saltwater formula, predator, shrimp, and believe it or not crawdad.

You have nothing to loose by using some type of scent, at the very least it covers up non-fishy odors such as sun block, gasoline, etc. Scent also seems to really help during the cold water months and in the dirtier water.