Gatorbassman

I think I would like to fish with Mattlures because of his knowledge of swimbaits and deep water fishing. My second pick would be LBH because we would have a blast and get in a bunch o' trouble.

Here's the log that is free on this site. http://bassresource.com/fish/fishinglog3.gif

How would you get the ring on without damaging the line.

"The Other Woman"

I own 3 Epixors and 2 Inspiras and I love all of them.

I've been doing this for a long time now. But I just cut and paste it on a Word Document and save it in a folder by subject.

You mean like this. I used 1/2 inch plywood. If you brace it properly it isn't a problem. Before you decide to do it. Get out on the water and stand up on the bench seats and walk back and forth to see how stable it is. If you feel safe doing it then go ahead at have fun.

The problem is that bass don't know the rules.

With muddy, or as you say "dirty" water the fish need to be able to locate your lure. A quiet worm is not going to cut it. The first thing you need has already been said. You need dark or bright colors. The second thing is vibration or noise. You accomplish vibration by using a lure that displaces water. The more water it displaces the more vibration. I love a C-rig with a paddle-tail worm. I caught about 8 yesterday in very muddy water on one. A wide lipped crankbait and a spinnerbait with a Colorado Blade is a good choice to. The bigger the lip or blade the more vibration. The noise factor can be accomplished by use of rattles inserted into a worm or a crankbait with rattles or a buzzbiat ect. I personally don't like to use a rattle trap in very muddy water because it has to be worked to fast and by the time the fish locates it the lure is gone.

This is very common. You will also notice that the bass in a school are nearly the same size. So if you are looking for a big bass and you catch a couple of small ones. You probably won't find one larger in that spot.

waraw, Welcome to the site. I don't know if you have had the chance to read the many articles we have on this site. Let me give you a place to begin that might answer many of your questions better than some of us can. Here is the link. http://bassresource.com/beginner/beginner.html

That fish that is breaking the serface may not be a bass. It could be a carp or a gar. They break the serface much more than a bass does. As time goes by you will be able to tell the difference by what it sounds like. I go by a simple rule. "If it is just one splash I ignore it. If it is two or more right in a row I take notice and make a cast."

From what I see your problem is not what you are useing. Your issue is finding the fish without a depth finder. That is not as big of a deal as you would think. You can learn alot about what's under you by looking at the shore. Look at the bank, is it a steep bank or a flat bank. If it is steeper than the one directly accross from it then the channel or the creek runs closer to the steep side. Look closer, is there a bend in the bank if so the creek channel probably bends that direction under the water. Find a point. Is it a steep point or does it gradually get deeper. Is there a pile of rocks entering the water. Chances are that if this is a natural outcropping of rocks there will be another one deeper. Now take out a C-Rig and put on a 3/8oz sinker. Get your boat into shallow water and put your rod down in the water and find a 6 foot depth. Drop your C-rig in and see how long it takes to reach the bottom. Now that you know your rate of fall. Go fish deep water. Pull up to the shallow part of a point and cast to deep water. Slowly work it in. Fan-cast the entire point and both sides before moving your boat. Once you have done that move your boat farther out on that point and fish the deeper part of it. All this time counting the amount of time it takes for your rig to reach the bottom. When you start to get bites you will know how deep the fish are holding and you will be able to quickly locate other fish in the area. And adjust your presentation accordingly. You may find them as deep as 30 or 40 ft if it is a deep lake. Do the same thing with the creek channel and banks along the creek. You will be suprised how many brush piles and structure you find with that C-Rig. Just for a side not. I don't fish out of a big bass boat. I have a 14ft jon boat. I fished from the bank and a 10ft jon boat for 15+ years so I have been there and I know you can catch fish without all that fancy stuff.

I'm right there with ya man. Don't give your money away but always remember you get what you pay for unless it's on clearance.

What's worse is when you stop to do the pre-launch stuff and they pull in front of you and back down the ramp and start preping their boat. I can't hold my toung when this happens.

I beat the bank for 15yrs and the best way to search for structure is dragging a 1/2oz Carolina Rig. You stand in one spot and fan cast. Then drag it back to you. If you use a quality rod you should be able to feel the difference between the types of structure and cover you a going over. When you feel a good brushpile just look accross the lake and line it up with something and remember it. Then you will always be able to stand in that spot and cast directly to it.

Tags are a great idea, and keeping some of the gills won't hurt the lake at all. It is good to have small bass in the lake to. They are the next generation, but make sure there is not to many. They can keep the big ones from getting bigger by eating most of the food. I am not sure what the formula. I am sure that ouachitabassangler knows more about it than I do. He used to do that stuff for a living so he will be a great help for ya.

Mud, We have beat that horse to death a few times. The cool thing about this site is that we usually get the news before anyone else does. I think we found out about this fish just a few hours after it happened.

I will have to agree with Mattlures. It is the same thing down here in GA. 99% of the time the bigger ones are the females. The big one I caught on bed last week was bedding with a 11or 12 inch male. I know he was the male because I saw them activly spawning and with several years of doing this, and with super clear water I could tell by the way they were acting witch was witch. Now as for the origonal question. I will give you the short answer. For the first several minutes of fishing on the bed. Do not catch the male. Let him pick it up and carry it off many times without setting the hook. As this happens time and time again you may notice the female taking more interest in what the male is doing. Before long she will move in and try to get to you lure. The male might try to sheild her from it but if you stay at it she might pick it up. If after several minutes of try this she loses intrest. Catch the male.

Dave, There are several UL fans on this site. I am sure they will chime in if you have any questions.

If they were spawning here's a few good reads. http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/bass_spawn.html http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/spawn_bass.html http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/spawning_bass_bed.html http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/dropshot_beds.html

DD, There was no offence taken. That question was expected and it's sad that it's true. IMO If it's men or women doing the commercial wrong is still wrong. I don't use Gulp but this commercial made it more difficult for them to persuade me to ever use it. I just think it's tastless junk. There are better ways to advertise than to cover some guys crotch with a big bass in hopes that it will get a bunch of other guys to by a product. It just doesn't match the demographic. Russ, I think if feel lunch comming up.

Always, always, always, have a large, white Roostertail tied onto something. You can cast it a long ways to get it to those schooling bass before they go down. A white fluke would work if you are close in. Just cast out and let it sink down and watch you line.

DD, Clipper is my Father-in-Law and I can guarantee that his response would be the same or even more disgust. He is the most humble, honest man I know. I personally can't stand when those commercials come on TV when my boys are watching fishing with me. I usually turn the channel so they don't see it. If they were women I would do the same thing without hesitation.

I like the ones that float and don't leak. Them are the best.