Gatorbassman

I burn mostly Bomber model A's and 2A's. The best thing for you to do is take out you crankbaits and try each of them out. Some will run straight at high speeds but others will start to go in go in circles and all the tuning in the world won't help them. The lure companies are starting to come out with crankbaits specifically designed for burning but I, for the life of me, can't remember the names of them. I own about six of them but I am just drawing a blank.

You have got to be kidding. 5000 bucks. That's just to much. Save your money and get a guide at a local lake for a full day. Ask alot of questions.

Perhaps the best answer to this question I have ever read is in a book called Advanced Bass Fishing by John Weiss. It is the best book for learning how to locate fish. I have used what I learned from it in the three tournaments I have fished this month and finished 5th, 2nd, and just this Wednesday I finish 3rd. Only 5 boats weighed fish out of 20 boats. I beat two FLW pros and two Everstart pros. The book just brings everything together. But let me warn you. It is not for the begining angler. You can find the book used on Amazon.com for just a few bucks. It is a little old but the first 250+ pages are more than worth the cash.

Color usually doesn't make a difference. I say usually because I changed color in a tourney the other day and started catching fish. But that was because of water clearity not fish activity. In your case I will usually change size first. This changes one or two things things (depending on lure), action, and speed of fall. If that doesn't work then I change baits.

I have found that a crankbait that is disigned for ripping in great for suspended bass. Crank that sucker as fast as you can go and if it gets down to the depth the fish are at the look out.

First of all welcome. You will find some great people here. It sounds like you could throw an old shoe with a hook on it and bring back a bass. I fished a pond like that when I lived in Grants Pass back in 95. The best thing for you to do is what Pond-pro said. Get a medium heavy rod and good reel and put some heavier line on it. That should give you some muscle to be able to get them out of the pads. For fun get some type of frog lure and hook it weedless skim it over the lily pads.

Ike. I have talked with him a few times in the last few years and he is always will to stop what he is doing. He ends up asking more questions than I do and I have learned allot from him. Now I usually don't dog someone's opinion but when I started reading this post I was expecting there to be names like Fritts, KVD, Brauer and so on but Hank Parker made me stop for a second. See, I have tried to talk to him a few times. He just seemed to be an arrogant person and very difficult to talk to. It seemed like he had somewhere else to be but as long as he was talking about himself he would stay.

I throw painted blades all the time. I have found that when fishing ultra clear water (8' visibility or more) the bass get spooky when a flashy spinnerbait is ripped by them, the key word being ripped. In clear water I don't want the fish to get a good look at my bait. I rip it as fast as I can just under the surface. I also use hand hammered bronze blades when doing this. This works well for Largemouth but it works even better for the more aggressive Spotted Bass. Now, when I am fishing slow in heavy brush or in colored water I will go with something with some flash. The fish needs to be able to pick up the bait better and the flash will cut through the water better than any color. I adjust the retrieve speed according to the water clarity.

My fishing partner has a Z20 with a 225 yamaha. It tops out at around 73mph. I gets out of the hole quick. Faster than any other brand I have been in. The livewell system is great and the padded front deck sure saves your back. I could go on for ever.

I use Mini Me spinnerbaits by S.O.B lures. They are compact but still heavy. The majority of their weight is hidden under the skirt. They are durable and come in some great colors. You can design a custom one online for no additional cost.

You sure made it tough to help out with that question, but let me give it a try. I have three lures that I feel I have "mastered". The Fluke (fished several different ways), the jigs made for soft plastics, and the Carolina Rig. These are my confidence baits. I fish them about 85% of the time. I try to have a good working knowledge of and some confidence in several other styles of baits i.e., spinnerbaits, Jig & Pig, top water baits, swimbaits and so on. I am still trying to get some type of confidence in crankbaits. If you are looking for anything specific like a magic formula for colors, size, type, and rig under every condition. My suggestion would be to click on the Fishing Articles at the top of the page and start reading. That is the best thing you can do. You will soon find out why we can't answer your question.

Weekend X-Ray tech at a major hospital. I work from 10p Fri to 8am Sat, 5pm Sat to 8am Sun, 5pm Sun to 8am Mon. That's it. Between Mon morning and Friday night I spend time with my family and fish three days a week. It's a tough schedule if you want to fish weekend tournaments. I make just enough cash to be comfortable and my wife doesn't have to work.

Atmospheric pressure does have an effect on fish. But only when it is changing. Bass, like any other fish like consistency. The rule of thumb is if you have two days of consistent weather than the fishing is good, three days is better, four days it's great, and so on. But if the weather changes the fishing changes. It puts a shock in their system and the pattern will change. How much can only be determined by going fishing. The whole country has been under two very large High Pressure systems for over two weeks now and that has stayed fairly consistent. Therefore if you are only going with the pressure change as a factor then the fishing should be great. But if anything else has changed in the weather it could throw the whole thing off. But fishing is fishing and their are so many variables that can effect a fishes behavior. So just go out and get you line wet.

The thermo cline is where most of the bass will spend most of their time during the hot days of the year. They will seldom go much deeper because the very deep water has very little dissolved oxygen. The depths of a lake are where things settle and start to decay. The decomposition of plant and animal matter requires oxygen; therefore it uses up what oxygen is available down there. Many fish finders can locate the thermo cline it appears as a very light gray line and stays at a fairly consistent depth. If your fish finder can't pick it up then you will notice there is a particular depth that schools of baitfish are staying at. Find this depth and then concentrate on fishing structure and cover at that depth.

Not big enough yet.

hope you had fun fishing. How did it go?

Yea, You kinda got to start reeling them in before they hit the water.

I have found that the darker colors work best. I have tried the white and the natural frog color and they didn't produce nearly as well as the darker green ones. The bass seem to pick up on the dark one better.

You use the tube to cut a cavity for the rattle to fit into. Sorry I should have been more spacific. You're rite about lure sales. More lures catch fishermen than catch fish. I fish them in brush piles. Deep or shallow. I hit a branch and twitch my rod tip up and down to make it rattle.

First of all, thanks to all of you for the help that you have given me the last few months. Chris is rite. It is our willingness to freely give information to the next generation of anglers that insures the future of the sport we love. I don't know alot but what I do know is never going to be a secret. (Untill tournament day.) ;D

I use glass rattles like this. To put them in the the worm and get them to stay better I use a small brass tube that has one end sharpened. I push into the worm about an inch or so and then twist a little. BPS sell them but I can't find one on there site.

BD, You can use worms. Just put a rattle in them. And use one with a ribbon tail for added vibration.

Just last week I was fishing a tourney. I almost always throw a green pumpkin worm. After the first half hour of not getting a bite I noticed that the green pumpkin worm was almost the exact color as the stained water and was very difficult for me to see any deeper than 6 inches. I didn't switch to any specific color. I just grabbed the first dark color I saw (june bug) and on the second cast I landed a fish. I ended up placing 5th. I stayed with a natural looking color but made sure it could be seen well. I have about 60 pounds of plastics in a duffle bag in my office and you can put most of them into 3 color groups. Something with black, something with blue, and some type of green. Exception; as my general rule these colors are great if you are fishing on or near the bottom. If I am fishing near the surface. Say, with a trick worm I try something in a lighter or brighter color first. (White, pink, methiolade, yellow) My Motto: KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)

I almost caught a beaver on topwater while night fishing last night.

Playmaker, If you are having trouble with cash. Let me tell you what I did when I was 15. I got a loan from my dad for a lawn mower and a weed eater and started going door to door in my neighborhood asking if I could cut their lawn each week. I started slow with a few lawns. The number of lawns grew and eventually I had to hire one of my friends. Before I knew it I was making some serious cash. By the time I was 17 I owned my own company with three employees and was makeing about 30K each summer.