Fishermen ... chime in!

[purbeast0]

EDIT 04-22-2012

this is now just a general fishing discussion thread!

EDIT 11-28-2011

so another question...

i lost a lot of line last weekend and need more line.

i'm looking to get some good quality line this time and not go cheap. the line i had prior was like $7 for a spool, some type of spider web brand with a purple box.

i'm going to be going after small and large mouth bass primarily, so i'm thinking like 8-12lb test maybe. but as far as brand stuff goes, what do you recommend?

also, i simply tie my hook to the line. i've been having pretty successful results with that but is using a leader line preferred?

thanks.

ORIGINAL POST

So over this summer I've tried to get back into fishing with my brother. We're talking like lake fishing here, and not huge lakes either. And then a bit of river fishing (Potomac River in MD).

I purchased a new shimano fishing rod last weekend from sports authority when they had the $50 off $60 purchase. I went out and used it last Sunday evening and went out with lures. Previously, I really only fished with bait, pretty much always night crawlers. So I was getting sick and tired of the smaller sun fish and what not hitting the hook, and the occassional bass or something bigger hitting it.

So this past weekend my friend and I went for a few hours w/out any bait, just some lures we had. After trying some fake worms, and some other setups my buddy had, I tried the smaller spinners that I had. Instantly I was getting hits.

With like 30 minutes left, my buddy and I each caught 2 fish, all were small mouth bass, and I think one of his was a crappy. But the thing I enjoyed, was none of the tiny sun fish. Granted, my bass weren't huge, but they were bigger than sun fish.

So now I've decided that I only really want to try using lures. I ordered quite a few off of ebay last weekend and they arrived today. I may try them out this weekend, as well as some more spinners, since I know those work. Here is a picture of the lures I got today in the mail.

http://imgur.com/Uj1HE

Just wondering if anyone has any opinions on those types of lures and the techniques needed to use them efficiently. Like I said I'm a total noob to lures. A friend said that lures like those could catch some nice sized bass, but I gotta find the bass before I can catch them.

Also, anybody have any lures that they swear by to catch some nice lake fish?

 

[SnipeMasterJ13]

I'm by no means a pro fisherman, but I typically go for bass. If you are somewhat serious about going, it's easiest to have a couple rods set up with different baits so you can quickly switch between them to see what works best for that specific day/time. Crank baits aren't too bad, but can be a pain if the lake is full of weeds.

What I usually throw is the Gulp! or PowerBait worms/crawfish/minnows/whatever. I use offset hooks and do the Texas Rig with it. It's a weedless setup, so you can throw it at lily pads/reeds/pretty much anything without having to worry TOO much about getting hung up on something. Those are nice, too, cause you can switch between what style of bait you're using quickly. You'll still feel those little bastard sunfish hitting the lures, but they can't actually get the hook into their mouths, haha.

One thing to beware of while fishing for bass, depending on the lake, you'll get Northerns to hit. Annoying if you don't have at least a small leader cause their teeth will cut your line no problem and you'll lose your $3-10 setup. Pisses a guy right off!

 

[purbeast0]

Haha cool thanks for the tips. Yea my buddy had a texas rig setup. I didn't even know what those were. So do those Powerbait setups really work though? I've NEVER had luck with those ever, but then again, it's been years since I tried.

I typically have those clamp things (the damn name right now is not on my tongue lol) that I tie onto my line, then I just can clamp any lure or hook onto it without having to retie anything. I've enjoyed using those for the reason you stated, I can switch between different setups fairly easily.

The lakes I've been going to recently aren't really full of weeds where we've been going, but they are fairly shallow. But I have a lot of places I haven't explored yet as well.

 

[Six]

The only way to know what works is to try it. Fish change their preferences all the time...depending on the conditions.

My favorites are the green/white rapala that sinks to the middle, blue/white pinky-sized spoon, and green lizards for weeds and slow action.

 

[purbeast0]

The only way to know what works is to try it. Fish change their preferences all the time...depending on the conditions.

My favorites are the green/white rapala that sinks to the middle, blue/white pinky-sized spoon, and green lizards for weeds and slow action.

you talking about the spoon that is the size of the finger tip of your pinky? that is about the size of the one i was using this past weekend.

 

[Iron Woode]

I miss fishing at my Uncle's cottage in Eastern Ontario (Smith Falls area).

I would catch me about 10 or so good sized bass (8 to 10" long or so) casting not too far off the dock using worms for bait. Made a very nice supper.

 

[SnipeMasterJ13]

Yeah, I usually do pretty well with the Powerbaits. There are so many different kinds/colors it can sometimes be tough to find one that works well. And of course that style/color might not work the very next day.

Yeah, those swivel clasp things are pretty handy for switching lures. Some of my friends have like 7 rods they switch between on the fly. Me...I'm just fine manually switching them, haha. Definitely cheaper that way!

 

[DrPizza]

My favorite species to target is bass. I've more or less acted as a fishing guide to small groups of people who have gone camping with us (at my favorite lake.) Some had never caught anything in their life other than little sunfish. Within half an hour, I had figured out the right color and presentation. 5 people fishing, at one point, 3 were simultaneously reeling in decent sized bass (15+ inches), at many points, 2 had fish on at the same time. Within an hour, many, many, many bass were caught.

My go-to bait: Yamamoto senkos (in a variety of colors; some days black works, some days purple, some days black/purple, some days watermelon - and of these, some days it works better with flecks, and other days it works better without flecks. Put them on a 2/0 hook, texas rigged (weedless) without weight. Gamakatsu hooks.

The rubber worms cost a few bucks more - like $6 for a 10 pack. The hooks cost twice as much as the cheap ones. But, if at the dock you add up the cost of all your equipment - boat, gas, travel costs to get there, etc., and someone said, "hey, instead of using that $4 worth of rubber nightcrawlers, how about using these $10 worth - I guarantee you'll catch 3 times as many fish (at least)" - what would your answer be?

Does color matter? On that recent outing - we went 15 minutes with three people using pumpkin with flecks, while 2 (including myself) were using a black/purple combo without flecks. 3 caught at least 5 each, 2 caught zero. Seems pretty obvious that color often matters. 3 days later, the situation could be completely reversed. Or, you might be doing pretty good with one color, your wife says "I need another senko" and you look and say "sorry honey, we're all out of those. Try this color instead" - hiding and reserving the last one for yourself - only to be out caught 2 to 1 over the next half hour.


edit: in my experience, yamamoto senkos out catch powerbait by about 3 to 1 or even 4 to 1. One big key is that a lot of the larger bass don't grab and run. They just inhale and gulp it in. (Not to be confused by Gulp which occasionally does as good as yamamotos) - the result is a very very slight tug, if that; but sudden resistance on the line. If you pull gently, it'll spit it, so you have to try to determine "did I hit a weed? Or does a fish have it in its mouth?" - this is the reason for a decent quality pole; you can feel the difference. On something like a zebco 404, you might have 20 bass inhale your rubber nightcrawler, and you never feel a thing. Also, a key is to let the worm gently settle to the bottom. Sometimes they'll grab it on the way down (especially when wacky rigged); sometimes they'll hit it 5 or 10 seconds after it's sat on the bottom - the important thing being let it sit for 5 or 10 second before starting an agonizingly slow reel. Look at it this way - fish eat. They don't starve to death. If you were swimming under water and could see 5 or 10 feet, so can the fish. They see it. Reel it slow enough and they might come over to investigate it, even if they're not that hungry. i.e. 3 in the afternoon on a very hot summer day.

 

[spidey07]

Yeah, I usually do pretty well with the Powerbaits. There are so many different kinds/colors it can sometimes be tough to find one that works well. And of course that style/color might not work the very next day.

Yeah, those swivel clasp things are pretty handy for switching lures. Some of my friends have like 7 rods they switch between on the fly. Me...I'm just fine manually switching them, haha. Definitely cheaper that way!

Really shouldn't use those on lures, messes with the action and feel.

OP - it really depends on where you're going. Texas rigged worm is a must, colors depend on what's biting. Spinners - always a favorite for searching for fish/bites. Crankbaits - simply a must have, color/action/depth, I love Bandit crankbaits, can make them do whatever you want. Jigs - another must have.

Really there are some go to things like what I listed, how you fish them where and when depends on where you're at. But a texas rigged worm and/or a superfluke (no weight) dipped in chartruse garlic dye is guranteed to get fish if you fish them right and put it in a spot where a fish would be. Fishing worms can take a bit of practice and the bite can be difficult to detect, it's a lot of finesse fishing and just working the lure where you think a fish is.

For example, I'm going to a huge lake next weekend. I know that a white/chartruse spinner or horsehair jig will produce smallmouth and stripe, no matter what.

A note about color - hell yeah it matters. If a buddy catches two fish before we even get a bite, on that second fish "what color?"

 

[SnipeMasterJ13]

Really shouldn't use those on lures, messes with the action and feel.

Eh, I seem to do OK with it. After losing lure after lure to stupid Northerns, I'm going to stick with a micro leader that has the clasp thing. I'm not out to win any competitions so I'm not too concerned.

 

[spidey07]

Eh, I seem to do OK with it. After losing lure after lure to stupid Northerns, I'm going to stick with a micro leader that has the clasp thing. I'm not out to win any competitions so I'm not too concerned.

Oh. Hell, yeah, if you need a steel leader then by all means use it.

But brings up the point "what should I use?"

"what are you fishing for?"

 

[purbeast0]

wow DrPizza and spidey07, thanks a lot for those tips. I never really knew that color could mean such a difference with the take worms. And I didnt' even know what Texas Rigging was until this past weekend hah. But I'll definitely keep both of those in mind when using some fake worms. I'm going to sports authority tomorrow to pick up a tackle box probably, and I may check out some of those fake worms and good hooks you are were talking about.

EDIT:

also could you guys post links to the types of jigs you've had success with? as I said I'm a noob to this, and I'm not quite down with all the terminology of the different fishing lures.

 

[sao123]

The last few years, I have been tearing up lake trout with a $3 golden spoon from Thomas Buoyant.

 

[spidey07]

wow DrPizza and spidey07, thanks a lot for those tips. I never really knew that color could mean such a difference with the take worms. And I didnt' even know what Texas Rigging was until this past weekend hah. But I'll definitely keep both of those in mind when using some fake worms. I'm going to sports authority tomorrow to pick up a tackle box probably, and I may check out some of those fake worms and good hooks you are were talking about.

I have a simple rule, 15-20 minutes and no bites where you KNOW fish should be you change color/lure or move. No bite = no fish or wrong lure/presentation.

DrPizza is more experienced than I but really the best advice you'll normally get is the bait shop where ever you're fishing. And you can never have too much tackle but if I had to take only a few things it would cover the basics - worms (and worm/jig heads), superflukes, crankbaits, jigs, spinners.

Worm fishing takes some practice to feel and notice you've got a fish with the worm in it's mouth. I remember catching my first fish on a worm and my joy was overwhelming "FINALLY I know how to fish a worm!!!!" Was a nice 4 pound small mouth.

I go a little overboard on my tackle box because I want to be able to fish for anything, you really do target certain fish. I also keep 5 poles rigged on the boat so I can find out what's working based on conditions.

Then again, I'm ate up on fishin' and have been for a long time. We took a guy fishing with us, never fished in his life, he ties on a deep diving crankbait (that floats if you don't crank it) and puts a splitshot sinker 1 inch up from the crankbait. He just sits there playing with the lure (a crankbait, with a split-shot, floating on the surface, doing nothing, 10 feet from the boat).

Fucker hooks up a 6 pound bass and yells "What do I do know!!!!"?

He landed the fish with our help.

 

[purbeast0]

I have a simple rule, 15-20 minutes and no bites where you KNOW fish should be you change color/lure or move. No bite = no fish or wrong lure/presentation.

DrPizza is more experienced than I but really the best advice you'll normally get is the bait shop where ever you're fishing. And you can never have too much tackle but if I had to take only a few things it would cover the basics - worms (and worm/jig heads), superflukes, crankbaits, jigs, spinners.

Worm fishing takes some practice to feel and notice you've got a fish with the worm in it's mouth. I remember catching my first fish on a worm and my joy was overwhelming "FINALLY I know how to fish a worm!!!!" Was a nice 4 pound small mouth.

I go a little overboard on my tackle box because I want to be able to fish for anything, you really do target certain fish. I also keep 5 poles rigged on the boat so I can find out what's working based on conditions.

Then again, I'm ate up on fishin' and have been for a long time. We took a guy fishing with us, never fished in his life, he ties on a deep diving crankbait (that floats if you don't crank it) and puts a splitshot sinker 1 inch up from the crankbait. He just sits there playing with the lure (a crankbait, with a split-shot, floating on the surface, doing nothing, 10 feet from the boat).

Fucker hooks up a 6 pound bass and yells "What do I do know!!!!"?

He landed the fish with our help.

hah nice story about your friend.

one thing though, we're going to be shore fishing so we won't be out in a boat on any of these lakes. it will be from the shore.

the shimano rod i got is MMUUCCHH better than my older one. it's ssssoooo much lighter, the reel is sssssoooo much smoother, and due to it's smaller pole width, i can flick it much better to cast better. since it's also smaller/lighter/thinner, i can definitely feel stuff with it much easier.

heres a couple pics comparing the two.

http://i.imgur.com/Bc5Qd.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/NKOID.jpg

My older rod is like 10+ years old, definitely been around for a while heh.

 

[purbeast0]

bump for the day crew!

 

[spidey07]

bump for the day crew!

Line is important. Everybody has their preferences but after trying just about everything I stick to 10 pound mono (6 pound on my panfish/small fish rod). Clear only. One day fishing for stripers my buddies were reeling them in every 5 minute and I never got a bite for 3 hours, frustrated the hell outta me. It was because I had green line. As soon as I added a long clear leader I was catching fish.

 

[purbeast0]

Line is important. Everybody has their preferences but after trying just about everything I stick to 10 pound mono (6 pound on my panfish/small fish rod). Clear only. One day fishing for stripers my buddies were reeling them in every 5 minute and I never got a bite for 3 hours, frustrated the hell outta me. It was because I had green line. As soon as I added a long clear leader I was catching fish.

cool man, on my rod now i have some of that spider line. not sure if it's "clear" clear but it isn't green for sure. wonder if I should look into some leader lines, especially since I like to use swivels.

 

[spidey07]

cool man, on my rod now i have some of that spider line. not sure if it's "clear" clear but it isn't green for sure. wonder if I should look into some leader lines, especially since I like to use swivels.

Fish can see spiderwire, tie on a 6-10 foot mono leader. You can use those swivels if you like, but it does interfere with the lure's action and feel.

 

[alkemyst]

Mother fucker, what happens at Brokeback; stays at brokeback....

And stop forgetting your fucking tackle box, my wife is driving me crazy.

 

[purbeast0]

Fish can see spiderwire, tie on a 6-10 foot mono leader. You can use those swivels if you like, but it does interfere with the lure's action and feel.

after reading some of the comments from the experience fishermen in here, I may scrap the swivels all together. i didn't realize they can mess with the lures action like you are all are saying. since i was mainly doing bait/bobber fishing, that is why i had used htem before. just made it easy to replace hooks if necessary.

as far as those mono leaders you are talking about, do stores like sports authority sell those? that is really the only place I have near me to pick up fishing stuff, and the one near me actually has a tiny/shitty fishing department heh.

 

[spidey07]

after reading some of the comments from the experience fishermen in here, I may scrap the swivels all together. i didn't realize they can mess with the lures action like you are all are saying. since i was mainly doing bait/bobber fishing, that is why i had used htem before. just made it easy to replace hooks if necessary.

as far as those mono leaders you are talking about, do stores like sports authority sell those? that is really the only place I have near me to pick up fishing stuff, and the one near me actually has a tiny/shitty fishing department heh.

Just take some mono line and tie a blood knot to join the spiderwire/braid to the mono. And don't forget to put all your knots in your mouth to lube them up before tightening.

http://www.animatedknots.com/bloodknot/index.php

 

[DrPizza]

Nice site, Spidey. And, remember, your line is only as strong as your knot.

And, yes, I remember the first time I started catching bass - after several years of fishing at the same lake. I'd target them occasionally, but would give up after a few hours of no fish. Back in the early days, all my fishing was with cheaper zebco poles and the like - I couldn't detect the fish. And, those zebco poles are spooled with much heavier line than is needed. I "splurged" one year and got an ugly stick. Now, my favorite poles are ugly stick ultralight pros. I've had a really nice graphite pole once or twice, but with impatient kids (while loading the car) etc., they break too easily. Now that the kids are more or less gone, I can slowly upgrade to better poles. A source of decent poles sometimes is garage sales. You just have to know what you're looking at.

Also, as spidey mentioned, line is pretty important. I personally believe that lighter line is better - and adjust the drag on my pole to compensate. I usually use 6 lb line; and occasionally even go with 4 lb. Of course, the biggest fish I'm typically aiming for is a 5 to 6 pound largemouth; they don't often get much bigger than that in northern lakes. But, I've pulled in a 20 pound catfish on that line. If I had heavier line, I'd have that catfish in a lot more quickly - instead of a lengthy fight. True, my line is broken occasionally - but I believe I make up for it in quantity.

If I'm targeting panfish, I'll switch to a pole with the lightest line I have, and put on a tiny hook. Tiny hook. The tiniest hooks I can find - I think they're #14 circle hooks with a red finish. I pinch the barb closed with a pair of needle nosed pliers - it makes it soooo much easier to get the hook out. And, I've caught some big (relatively) fish on such a rig - it's amazing and thrilling to catch an 18" smallmouth bass on a hook that's smaller than my pinkie fingernail.

 

[Jeffg010]

I'm going to list some lures that I use and had good success.

Rebel Crawfish: This is my 1# lure for bass. This is good for Rocky shore lines and docks but very poor for weeds. I like smaller sizes but if you have fish like Northern Pikes it will tear it up fast.
http://www.basstackledepot.com/rebel-crawfish.aspx

Beetle Spin is a must have lure to have. Bass love this and so do all fish. I caught more species of fish on this then any other lore. Same as the Rebel Crawfish good for Rocky shore lines and docks but very poor for weeds.
http://www.landbigfish.com/showcase.cfm?PID=2466

Weedless spinners with rubber tails are a must have for weed fishing and Lilllie pads
http://www.mepps.com/information/black-fury-combo-killer/130#description
Get a bucket of tails I recommended getting this because they can be used on you beetle spins and weedless spinners and come in all kinds of shapes and colors. Get the grub bucket.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fish..._l=SBC;cat104793480;cat104772780;cat104423580

Rattle Baits I recommended getting a couple of these they are more for deeper water the noise has worked for me.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Luck...rattle+bates&WTz_l=Header;Search-All+Products

Mepps spinners are the best. You have to watch the off brands of spinners because half the time they won't spin and will surf through the water.
http://www.mepps.com/products/lures/

Spoons are no good for bass but they are my number one lure of Pikes and muskies. The flash makes the Pikes mad.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabe...sliver+spoon&WTz_l=Header;Search-All+Products

You have to have a verity of lures because you never know what will be hot that day. Even colors will of the same lure will have an effect. What I like to do is try light colors like bright yellow tails if that not working go to dark green tail mix it up and see what works.

 

[Jeffg010]

after reading some of the comments from the experience fishermen in here, I may scrap the swivels all together. i didn't realize they can mess with the lures action like you are all are saying. since i was mainly doing bait/bobber fishing, that is why i had used htem before. just made it easy to replace hooks if necessary.

as far as those mono leaders you are talking about, do stores like sports authority sell those? that is really the only place I have near me to pick up fishing stuff, and the one near me actually has a tiny/shitty fishing department heh.

There are a some good reasons to use them. If you use spinner bates all day long your line will get so tangled up because the spinner bates kept spinning the line and after a couple of days your reel may become a tangled mess but it is up to you how you want your set up to be.