Fishermen ... chime in!

[kage69]

I usually let the location, season, and weather determine my tactics with bass.

I try to head out right before a low pressure front is moving in. Fish seem to be a little more motivated to bite things when the barometer is heading south.
Early spring, I'll use fake grubs (usually black or smoke colored) with a de-barbed leadhead riding on 6lb test. Later in the year I'll switch to Rapalas, both floating and sinking, in sizes 7 and 9. I've found the silver/black minnow variety to work the best, although using one that has the green/yellow/black markings of perch on it seem to be really hot when bass are spawning their young. Perch love to eat baby bass, and mama and daddy bass know this.

If I'm in shallow water I'll stick to fake worms, texas rigged with some stronger mono as a leader. While I prefer to hunt big smallmouth bass, in the shallows up here you can find some pretty big large mouth and pickerel (think pike) but they will usually tie you up in the weeds pretty good, hence the leader.
If I'm in deeper water (say, past 25ft) I'll use a long billed Rapala for trolling. Put two lines out and just cruise really slow. I always seem to catch big white perch with this method, with the occasional bass thrown in.

If I had to pick a live bait for bass it would be crawdads.

 

[purbeast0]

well went today w/out bait, only lures. tried a bigger spinner at first and didn't get any hits, then my buddy was trying his texas rigged power bait and was getting some hits so i tried that. then i tried his yamamoto that he bought today and holy shit, those things are MONEY!

those are going to be all i buy from now on, and just in different colors. we had white yamamotos and these red colored power bait ones. the power baits were also getting hits, but the weight of the yahamoto i liked a lot more cause i could cast it much farther. i also think they look much better in the water when moving. but, we were getting hits with both of them.

but i will definitely be buying only yamamotos after using these, just in a variety of color.

my buddy caught 4 bass and i only landed 1, but i had 2 others on my line and 1 was just about to be reeled in, and he got the line snagged on a rock or something in the water, and then the line snapped.

here is the one i got, was the biggest of the day.

http://i.imgur.com/9fNKY.jpg

EDIT:

and here is another one of my buddy with his biggest catch, and you can see how the river was that we were fishing in. pretty shallow and rocky.

http://i.imgur.com/cCE0J.jpg

 

[El Guaraguao]

Do you guys catch and release bass or do you eat it?

 

[purbeast0]

i release them.

we just reel em in and if they are bigger tan the previous, we take a picture. if not we just toss em back w/out snapping a picture.

 

[alkemyst]

Do you guys catch and release bass or do you eat it?

FishLight

 

[spidey07]

On your line, if your fishing in wood/rocks like that inspect your line for nicks and cut above them.

Nice fish. Much better than no fish. You did good to catch them on worms, that takes some practice to get better, very easy to miss bites. Remember, hook sets are free so if your line moves or you remotely think something took it - set it.

Looking at your pictures I bet there were a ton of bass in there. A nice trick is to cast beyond the cover and take the lure past the fish.

Wish I had a picture of the 6" large mouth I caught on a 3" crankbait. Damn lure was almost as big as that baby bass.

 

[DrPizza]

To inspect your line, just run the line pinched between a fingernail and a finger - you'll feel the nicks. If there's a nick, cut out that section of line and replace it. Depending on the environment you're fishing in, some types of line have better nick/abrasion resistance. Glad to hear the yamamotos worked for you. And, spidey, I have pictures of small bass that I've caught that were *smaller* than the bait. I seem to get one every year. (Now I'll have to look.)

 

[Meghan54]

Amen to checking your line.....easy way to lose a fish and never know the cause.


What reels are you using Dr. P?

I finally broke down and bought a Shimano Curado....and am sooooo glad I did. Frankly, I've been using Diawa reels for quite a while and this Shimano is just such a cut above, I'm sorry I didn't buy one sooner. Liked the first one so much I bought a second. Now have 2 Curados, an E7 (for fast retrieves like buzzbaits, etc.) and an E5 (for crank baits) with a Citica for my worm rod.

Love fishing! Just am really beginning to get tired of the boat upkeep costs sometimes.

 

[spidey07]

Curado reel? I have 3 of them. Best reel ever and my favorite apart from my Garcia reels for bigger fish whe I need that wonderful strong and smooth drag.

 

[KK]

anybody using swimbaits? I've caught a fair share off the 6" storm kickin minnow.

 

[DrPizza]

I'd have to look at the reels. To be honest, I don't put a lot into the reels - because I'm not dealing with huge fish and lengthy fights. I think a few of them are various shimano models; but I'd have to go out to the boat to really look and see what they are.

One thing to note - my $12.99 Spiderman pole has outcaught all the rest of my poles put together for total fish. At first it was a joke, but now the pole seems to be enchanted or something when fishing for panfish. No matter who I let use the pole, they suddenly outcatch everyone else for panfish by at least a 2 to 1 margin. And, while fishing for panfish, we catch the occasional large (4 pounds) bass, 15 pound catfish, etc. - and generally, it's spiderman. All you have to do is do the little spiderman chant at the back of the boat before casting.

 

[Texashiker]

I use a weedless Texas rig with artificial worms. Currently I am having the best luck with a tiny brush hog.

For top water I like the tiny torpedo.

 

[purbeast0]

bumping an old thread of mine...

i got a question for you all who use the fake worms. i just got a new tackle box and a bunch of tackle today and bought 4 packs of gary yamotos (which we've been having tremendous success with, specifically the white ones, 4").

is it best to keep them in the bags when not using them? or can i just put them out and put them in the slots of my tackle box? mainly just looking at it for organizational purposes, but i didn't know if keeping them in the bag is better in general to keep the slimyness/moist feeling on them.

anyone have any opinion on that?

 

[spidey07]

bumping an old thread of mine...

i got a question for you all who use the fake worms. i just got a new tackle box and a bunch of tackle today and bought 4 packs of gary yamotos (which we've been having tremendous success with, specifically the white ones, 4").

is it best to keep them in the bags when not using them? or can i just put them out and put them in the slots of my tackle box? mainly just looking at it for organizational purposes, but i didn't know if keeping them in the bag is better in general to keep the slimyness/moist feeling on them.

anyone have any opinion on that?

Keep them in the bag, they dry out. I keep my plastics in a specialty binder like tackle "binder". Imagine a 3-ring binder with plastic pouches. For what you got, keep them in the package and keep it sealed. Similar to this, you can get smaller ones.

http://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Sport...=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1318293201&sr=1-6

Another fishing story, took a newbie out with use a few weeks ago for striper. He caught a 30" keeper and we ate him that night. Now he's begging us to take him again. Yeah, he's "hooked".

 

[ShreddedWheat]

bag

 

[purbeast0]

Keep them in the bag, they dry out. I keep my plastics in a specialty binder like tackle "binder". Imagine a 3-ring binder with plastic pouches. For what you got, keep them in the package and keep it sealed. Similar to this, you can get smaller ones.

http://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Sports...8293201&sr=1-6

Another fishing story, took a newbie out with use a few weeks ago for striper. He caught a 30" keeper and we ate him that night. Now he's begging us to take him again. Yeah, he's "hooked".

ah okay cool thanks, i will keep them in the bag they pretty much fit in the slots w/the bag kinda wrapped up. i feel cool now cause i have an actual personal tackle box! lol.

my buddy caught a big bass the other day (i wasnt there but he showed me a pic) and he actually kept it and ate it I think. i didn't ask him how it was yet though.

 

[spidey07]

ah okay cool thanks, i will keep them in the bag they pretty much fit in the slots w/the bag kinda wrapped up. i feel cool now cause i have an actual personal tackle box! lol.

my buddy caught a big bass the other day (i wasnt there but he showed me a pic) and he actually kept it and ate it I think. i didn't ask him how it was yet though.

Yes, you must have your own tackle box. If you like fishing worms pick you up one of the smaller binders. That way if you're only going to fish worm you can throw some jigs and hooks in one of the pouches and you're ready to go.

I hate to admit, organizing and playing with the tackle is fun.

 

[purbeast0]

Yes, you must have your own tackle box. If you like fishing worms pick you up one of the smaller binders. That way if you're only going to fish worm you can throw some jigs and hooks in one of the pouches and you're ready to go.

I hate to admit, organizing and playing with the tackle is fun.

yea i will look into one of those to have a smaller tackle box that i can carry.

but yea i will admit too, i was having fun putting all my stuff in my tackle box, and was slightly let down when you all said its better to keep em in the bags, cause they would look better sitting in the slots just out of the bag heh.

but i am going to keep them in the bag for sure.

 

[spidey07]

yea i will look into one of those to have a smaller tackle box that i can carry.

but yea i will admit too, i was having fun putting all my stuff in my tackle box, and was slightly let down when you all said its better to keep em in the bags, cause they would look better sitting in the slots just out of the bag heh.

but i am going to keep them in the bag for sure.

I am very disorganized by nature, always have been, always will, but my tackle is organized really well. You don't want to be spending time looking for something and need to go "I want to do this". I've got a huge soft bag now and then my huge binder of plastics. It's a bit much but I know I can throw and do whatever the hell I want when on the water.

And to throw off even more this is why you have multiple rods/reels so you don't have to retie everytime you want a change. You need to find the fish and get on them.

 

[Triumph]

wish i had read this thread, or that it had been around, about 3 months ago. i picked up the rod this year after a hiatus of maybe 15 years and had a mix of luck. fished plenty as a kid and all we did was put live worm on a hook with a bobber and wait. seemed to work, i thought this is all fishing was. i never knew how little i knew about fishing!

went out about 5 times this year, only had 1 really good day with rubber worm on a texas jig. i find that fishing in rivers is just hard, i don't really know what i'm doing. but it's nice to be outside at least.

 

[weirdichi]

My top four lures, not in any order.

Heddon Super Spook and Super Spook Jr. There are different colors. It's best to use this on a slightly breezy evening/morning with no weeds. Target the spots near the weedlines and see the awesomeness of the topwater action. Toss it out there, wait till the ripples clear, then jerk it 3-4 times. It should sway back and forth.

As Dr. Pizza mentioned, these are versatile either wacky style or Texas rigged. Toss them near the weed line and jerk it so it pops up, then slowly falls back. The bass will get them while the sink.

Spro weedless frog. Toss it into weeds and pads and jerk it like a spook, pausing in between jerks. Wait for about 2 seconds after the fish take the frog before setting the hook. The topwater stuff is great in the evening and mornings in shallow waters, between 3-5 feet of water.

Sizmic toad. Rig is like a weedless Texas rig senko. Toss it into weeds, near weeds, and shallow water. Reel it in so it floats on the surface and makes noise. The bass will come up from the bottom and get it. Set the hook and reel it in.

The only problem with soft plastics is that it doesn't last as long as other lures, so you have to buy bags and bags of them. The Spook Jr. should last you a long time; just change the treble hooks if they get rusty.

Happy fishing and enjoy the fall bite. Here's a few pics of the Spook Jr. and senko in action.

 

[purbeast0]

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.

 

[Chaotic42]

I like Spiderwire Braid for line. It's tough and it doesn't stretch much, so it's easier to feel the fish hit the bait. As far as lures go, I've had the most luck with a texas-rigged 6" chartreuse plastic worm and Rooster Tails. This was in warm, murky water, but I literally fished 5 days out of 7 and I tried a lot of lures.

Rat-l-traps came in a fairly distant third in productivity for me. Now that I live along the coast, I mostly saltwater fish, but the last time I went freshwater fishing, my friend and I absolutely killed with just regular shiners. Tons of fish.

 

[purbeast0]

I like Spiderwire Braid for line. It's tough and it doesn't stretch much, so it's easier to feel the fish hit the bait. As far as lures go, I've had the most luck with a texas-rigged 6" chartreuse plastic worm and Rooster Tails. This was in warm, murky water, but I literally fished 5 days out of 7 and I tried a lot of lures.

Rat-l-traps came in a fairly distant third in productivity for me. Now that I live along the coast, I mostly saltwater fish, but the last time I went freshwater fishing, my friend and I absolutely killed with just regular shiners. Tons of fish.

yea that spiderwire is the brand i had before, i wasn't sure if it is actually good though because it's really cheap in price compared to a lot of others. and i'm willing to spend like $20+ on some line if it's worth it. i did notice the color on the spiderwire is a little blueish.

 

[Chaotic42]

yea that spiderwire is the brand i had before, i wasn't sure if it is actually good though because it's really cheap in price compared to a lot of others. and i'm willing to spend like $20+ on some line if it's worth it. i did notice the color on the spiderwire is a little blueish.

I'd get something like this - Spidewire EZ-Braid 20lb