Gatorbassman

I'm going to go the same way CJBasswacker did and talk about post spawn. The conditions and topography of Clarks Hill lake during the post spawn period are unique. If you can duplicate it on any other lake I want to hear about it. Rigs- 7' MH with a pearl Fluke on a Red Gami EWG G-Loc hook. 6'6" MH with a small Green Pumpkin Jig or Jigged Finesse Worm 6'6" M or MH with a clear Super Spook Jr. Clarks Hill has dozens of islands that are fairly close to shore with 3 to 10 foot deep water between. When the wind blows across this shallow area it creates what we call a "Blow Through". In order to catch fish with this patter several things must happen. You need wind of course. There needs to be baitfish present. You need to be there in the morning or it needs to be cloudy. And last but not least there needs to be bass there. What happens is the wind blows the plankton across this shallow area followed by the bait fish. This shallow area concentrates and disorients the baitfish. Making them easy pickings for the bass. This is mainly a top water bite. When you are sitting on a blow through you will have moments of quiet but all of a sudden the water will erupt with baitfish flying out of the water with huge bass right behind them. If you have never seen a 8lb bass jump clean out of the water this might scare you a bit. Toss the Fluke or the Spook at them and hang on. When they go back down work the area thoroughly with the jig or even a C-Rig will do. Find whatever cover or structure they are holding on and you could be catching fish for a while. I got into them good last year. In two hours I caught about 15 fish with my best five going 25lb 8oz. I couldn't believe it.

alandis, Man I was wondering the other day what happened to you. Welcome back. Just contact your Fish and Game dept. They should be able to help you out or point you in the right direction.

For some reason my confidence drops drasticly when I am not on the lake with a rod in my had. I just can't seem to catch a dang fish.

Get a GPS and download Fishing Hotspots Maps onto it.

It's funny you say that because I just heard KVD say that water clarity is the first thing he looks at when he gets to a new lake.

The first thing I look at it the water clearity. This helps me determine what lures I am going to use. The next thing I look at is the water temp. Depending on the time of year it may help me to pin point what depth to fish. Next I look for some type of structure or cover that is like other lakes I have had success on in the past with the same conditions.

Man I have some X-Rays of a few Traps. Give me a few days and I will see if I can some how post them.

That's great Chris. I guess I will cary a few more rods in the boat this spring. Thanks for the great info.

What is "ice out"?

I will school you on the lead headed fluke during our next trip.

Welcome to this awsome site. You have come to the right place to begin sorting out you problems. I have been catching fish since before I could walk. I plan on continuing to learn more about bass fishing untill I die.

What a great opportunity to create your own detailed map, take video and pictures, and lay your own structure. Take full advantage of it and it will pay off big time.

I do this all the time. I teach Boy Scouts the Fishing and Motorboating Merit Badges. Chris is correct in saying be careful. The best thing to do is get several of your friends and the teens parents envolved. Never be alone with anyone. Always have someone else with you. There is safety in numbers. In scouts we practice the two leader to one boy approach. I would also suggest looking online at the Boy Scouts of America web page. Do a search for the Fishing Merit badge book and read it. It is full of great ideas.

I always keep a tripod and camera in my boat. I have five frames on my wall that I keep a running record of the five largest bass that I have boated. I enjoy keeping my record this way. The fish lives and I still get it on my wall.

I just talked to a friend that used to be on one of Jimmy's video crews. He said that Jimmy used to always keep a couple of big bass in his live well just incase he didn't catch anything on a filming trip. He raised these bass in his private pond. He would take one out, put a hook in it and put it in the water then start rolling film. That's just sad. I wonder if anyone else does this?

I don't know much about fishing those natural Florida lakes but I can tell you what works for me any time of the year. As KU said, go big. Bass pro sell some monster worms. http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=15663&hvarDept=100&hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=7&hvarSubCode=1&hvarTarget=browse I texas rig this worm and I fish it painfully slow. This time of year I locate a prespawn holding area and fan cast. It may take me 10 minutes or more to bring each cast in. If you think you are going too slow then you need to slow down some more. With the wind you will probable need a couple of anchors. When the fish picks it up I count to eight and set the hook hard. You will catch less fish, but the quality of the fish will go up.

That's just too cool man.

I am trying to say this nice but that is the most ignorant statement I have heard in a long time.

Pre-Spawn starts when the water temps get into the mid 50's. The fish could be in this pattern for a long time. They are in that pattern right now here in Georgia only because the water temps have risen back up to the mid 50's. The Spawn won't happen till April though unless this warmup keeps on going. Now if and when a good cold front comes in and cools the water back down into the 40's they will go back to there winter haunts. Start looking for bedding bass when the water reaches 55 degrees and continue to look until it is in the mid to high 60s. I caught bedding bass last year in water temps of 68-70 degrees, but I think this was the exception to the rule. At 53-55 degrees you should start to see buck bass in the shallows searching for a place to make a bed or in the process of making a bed. Back out of the shallows and find a ditch of some sort that leads toward those shallows. This should be where the big females are hanging out. Fish this ditch all the way out do the creek channel with anything that can stay in contact with or close to the bottom. I like spinnerbaits or C-Rig lizards or crawfish. At 56-57 degrees you should be seeing bedding or courting activity. At the very beginning of the bedding process you might see females cruising the shallows looking for a good bed. If you see this they will still bite so toss something in front of them like a Jig or suspending jerk bait. You might also see buck bass trying to push females towards the beds they have prepared. If this is happening you can still catch them, but they will be locked on to the bed in less than 24hours. This will be the peak of their spawn. The spawn can last for as little as a week to over a month. When one bass is finished spawning there will be others to come in and take it's place. Start looking at the Northwestern parts of the lake or coves first. They will be the first to warm up. Then as the days go by work your way down the lake. The last place on the lake or cove the bass usually will spawn will be the most southeastern parts of it. As with any thing to do with bass fishing, they don't always follow the rules. So be ready for anything.

Have you not been reading my post for the last year!!!!! The Spot Remover, and Fluke is just about it. As a buddy of mine once said. "I would rather watch paint dry than fish with a senko."

Senkos- I have been fighting it long enough. I will have one on everytime I go out. Jigs- I have spent all this money on a great flipping rod and I have jigs comming out my rear. It's time to use them. Crankbaits in cover- I wan't to get rid of the fear of loosing one in the thick stuff.

Sweeeeeet.

You can also look for little cuts and coves that are out of the main current. They can also be a little clearer.

Triton Mike Bucca 8-)

The first thing is whatever I have in my hand. Then a grab a white Fluke or an X-Rap #8 or a clear Sinko.