bassman417

Thanks for the post bassbilly. I was about to ask the same exact question for my tourney this weekend. No warm water discharge for me though. Looks like a high of 50 and cloudy as of right now for Sunday.

Yea, 11-9 total weight of both fish combined. My best weight during a tourney was 2lb something. I dont handle pressure well, I guess.

I went out today to ready myself for next weeks tourney. I fished primarily to get used to the feel of some new rods/reels. Well I only landed two fish today, but they were both nice. The first came on a dropshot next to some fallen trees 4lb 6 oz. That was at 9:30 a.m. Then I went to my dads and got my brother to come fishing with me. Went back to the same trees and flipped a jig/pig. A slight change in the fall of the bait and I set the hook into a 7lb 3oz hoss. That was at around 11:30. 2 fish, one brush pile, 11lb 9 oz. I either just burned up my luck for the season or I'm getting ready to have an awesome year of tourney fishing. Sorry no pics on the thread, but we did get a few and if I can have em emailed they will be posted.

I fished DS today in approx. 3 fow. Had the hook a whopping 4 1/2 to 5 inches above the sinker, just to keep the bait off the bottom. Landed a 4lb 6 oz bass on it too. Not bad for an Iowa bass.

Hey rellison. I had another post in the "my tourney" board about last weekend. On sat. I caught 2 bass one around 4.5 and the other 7.5ish. Caught them out of a pond on a golf course in IL. Then on sunday a went again and my buddy got about a 4.5 and I got one right after that officially weighed, 4lb 6oz (took the scale on sun. so I wouldnt have to give rough guesses) What kind of potential does Pollmiller have? Ive been wanting to give it a try since you mentioned it. I finally got a new truck so I can do some serious fishin now. I'm currently waiting on Roses to get my rods in. I ordered 9 of them last monday and havent heard from them yet.

went today and got only one fish, 4lb 6oz. fell for a senko fished on dropshot rig.

Today the weather here was cold and kinda windy. I hadnt caught anything during my last 2 trips to the river. I went to a pond located on a golf course. My first bass of 08 was approximately 4.5 lbs, followed by a solid 7.5 lber. Sorry no pix for validation, I will take the camera next time. I catch several 6-7 lbers a year at this place but never when its this cold. I guess I owe the thanks to BR.coms members and all the info Ive gotten the past couple weeks on ice out bassin.

I went to the river again tonight and fished around the docks. Still nothing. I tried Jig/Pig, Chatterbait, Spinnerbait. There were pretty much GLACIERS!! floating around in the harbor. I thought I had one pick it up, but not sure. The water cant be but 35 degrees or so with all that ice. Next Friday my brother and I are hitting the 2nd Pumping station north of B-town off highway 99.

Yea, I live in Burlington. I wrote earlier on this thread about possibly fishing with you this spring to prep. for non-boater tourney. I just have to get a new truck so I can fish most days after work. Going looking this weekend so hopefully I'll be fishing for more than 30 mins by mid-week next week.

What lake was that you fished, only thing I can think of in that neck of the woods is Pollmiller Pond that one lake out by Donnelson. Did you do any good? I went today on the river with no luck. Lot of ice still floating around in the harbor. Only a small area where theres some rocks was open, I thought there'd be at least one in there though. Those rocks should have absorbed enough sunlight to warm the water just a little and bring em in. Maybe a little more warm weather and I can start to catch em.

I always use beads. Im sure it makes no difference, but I like to protect the knot a little.

I dont see how fishing muddy water is difficult. Even when cold I have great success. Thats just what Im used to I guess. For me its the clear water thats impossible, I only catch a few dinks, like less than a dozen a year when I fish slightly stained to clear water. I like it muddy, not chocolate milk but pretty dirty.

I showed my girlfriend a pull behind trailer I want to buy (when I get a new truck since I totalled ours/hers) I told her I wanted to buy the trailer because Im getting more equip. and I dont want to be fishing and wish I had that lure I left at home, or a different rod, or whatever else seems to happen.

I fish the Mississippi and as everyone knows its a muddy SOB. I highly recomend a C-rig with about a 10 to 15 inch leader. Color suggestion would be watermelon/red pepper or whatever its called. Also in cold water scent never hurts, I like something with a bit of an anise scent. Thats anise, not anus!!! just to clarify. Quick fix is Wave Worm, they have the color and a nice aroma for early spring. Just drag it across the bottom as slow as you can stand without going insane, even let it sit for half a minute to a minute every once in awhile. Hope this helps.

I use primarily braid (powerpro) on everything. However Im fishing strictly the muddy mississippi, whereas I do have a couple rods in the shed that are set up with mono for ponds and the crystal clear lakes for finesse fishing. If Im not drop-shotting a clear body of water its braid all the way. Better hooksets IMO too.

Ive used rapala, bandit, norman, bomber and other "name brand" cranks with some success. But believe it or not, and I know Im gonna catch at least a little crap for this, my top producer for diving cranks is Matzuo and if you can find em Blaze by Rattlesnake lures. These bad boys set me back a whopping $1.99 ea and I fish em just like the cheap lure they are. I figure if I lose 5 or 6 in one day in the rip rap and brush it didnt hurt my wallet any. With a mindset like that though your gonna catch fish if you aint scared to lose some tackle, Id just rather lose the cheap stuff.

check janns netcraft online. on home page go to lure making, then lead heads. They look alright, only 2 sizes though. Im ordering some shortly.

southeast iowa guy here. Hey rellison, you fish any of the aba tourneys around here? Im in burlington, we should hook up sometime this spring and catch a few. I dont have a boat, but I do have gas money. just drop me a line.

Illegal- no, we have a season on spoonbill that runs from jan 1 to april 15 with very strict guidlines. state law says that if you snag it you keep it, with a limit of 2 per day. The only fish you are allowed to snag are roughfish. ex. carp, buffalo, redhorse, drum, and during the season spoonbill. Immoral- depends on the person. I, like many other snaggers do foul a catfish from time to time. which according to the regs. must be immediately released. Now when a 8/0 hook goes through the gut of a catfish theres no way that fish will live, but it does become a vital food source for the eagles that are perched along the Mississippi during the snagging season. So its not a total waste of a perfectly fine fish.

I dont know of any other way to catch them than snagging. Ive also heard that they only feed on plankton, however 2 of the fish we gutted had small white perch in em, and 1 had a huge crawdad. Most of the stuff in the stomach was a greenish/brown mud looking crap, probably the plankton or algea, but they did show signs of not feeding specifically on plankton. Unless they accidentally ate the fish and craw. I guess we'll never know.

sounds like he was trying to keep you off the fish completely. at least he gave you a real lure though. I usually just tell people Im catching em on a bubblegum flavored worm when I try keep em off the bass.

yes i plan on eating them, mainly smoked spoonbill for me. It just tastes better. as for the rig I use, it may be overkill but I have a 12' surf rod with a ginormous spinning reel equipped with #80 power pro. We use 5 oz weights and 2 8/0 trebles. Most guys go with a 7' rod with baitcast combo, but I can cover more of the water table with the much larger sweeps. I bought the 12' rod primarily for flathead fishing cuz the tip is sensative enough that they can run with it and not feel much. I discovered its a great snaggin rod as well, and I havent broke yet after around 40 to 50 #30 to #55 flatheads and lots of carp and spoonies. Even though I fart around with other fish bass is my main target year-round. Just good to catch a couple gully-whoppers once in a while.

snagging below the dams. good workout to prepare for bassin, gets all those muscles in shape quick.

Me and a buddy of mine caught these two big spoonies yesterday. We also caught 2 small ones. Nice limit though.

I was teachin my girl to fish and I blanked and she didnt. I quit taking her after that. Good job to your girl though, pretty fish.