5bass

I'd like to fish with anybody that has a stocked pond with good numbers of BIG bass in it.....and I'd like to fish with Matt of mattlures out in Cali,I think you know why.

Wow,I didnt know largemouth could live in the ocean.....check out the view behind him. ;D Nice fish by the way.

Good topic RW. During mid-day when the sun gets up is actually a great time to fish,providing you have plenty of cover that will create shade.The sun positions the fish in a way that they are easy to locate.Be sure that you cast to the shade that an object makes,not the actual object.Say you have a log sticking out of the water,the fish will be in the shade that the log creates,not necessarily right beside it like you would think.Depending on the suns angle,that log sticking up could create a length of shade twice as long as the log.The fish get in that shade and wait there,they think they are hidden in the shade.....a perfect ambush point for them.

Fishing a senko the past few years has helped my game as far as fishing slower and getting back to the basics (plastic worm,creature,jig etc....) I fish them more now than I ever have but it's still hard putting the crankbait down.I just have to remind myself that they will not hit a crankbait ALL THE TIME. ;D

Are you fishing a senko alot?That will slow you down for sure AND get you bit.LOL!

During the week my trips are 3-4 hours at the most and I'm basically just going to keep up with what the fish are doing.

You took the words right out of my mouth.....

14"

That's an interesting question Will.Something weird has been going on because just late last week I witnessed several male bass still guarding fry (and the fry looked to be only a few days old,very very small) and our water is hitting 80 in the day.This was in one particular section of the lake,everywhere else I went,I saw no bass shallow.The mild weather temps will prolong the spawn but 85 seems a bit high.Who really knows??

When you nail down "the pattern of the day",it's not uncommon to be able to call your shots.It gets easier once you have caught 9 or 10 fairly quick,then you can call them regularly the rest of the day. I fished Lake Moomaw in April and was having a BAD day up until 1pm.......that was when I made a move to a totally different area and picked the right bait.I had a sense of when the fish would pick it up and on which casts.My partner that day couldnt believe it.And to tell you the truth,I was having a hard time believing it myself,after the first 6 hours of the tournament yielded one keeper bite.We estimated that I boated 20+ keepers (14"+) between 1pm and 3pm,then caught the kicker and all was well.After bumming some of the worms I was using,I let him have the front and he proceeded to fill out his limit and culled a few in the process. You can definitely feel when you are in the zone.....I bet if most of you guys would pay more attention to yourselves while fishing,you'll find that you're in the zone too on certain days.......everything just goes right and the fish cooperate well.It happens to everybody but most just think it's all luck.

As you feel the bite or notice your line moving off,start lowering your rod, aiming the tip at the fish,reel up ALL slack,let the rod load up slightly and lay it on 'em.....HARD AND FAST.

Gambler is my vote and should definitely be on the list.A big percentage of Gamblers are custom made to order,all fiberglass (no wood to rot) and are awesome all the way around.Speed,fishability,smooth ride etc......go check one out,their craftsmanship is second to NONE!

If you have abundant shad in your lake,the best time to fish at night is when the shad come up shallow to the banks to feed.You'll have to figure out what time they come up and be there ready for 'em.The bass will not be far behind. Before and after the shad come up,I usually fish a series of points and brushpiles and I keep moving until I catch something from one of those places.I will often go back and check places that I have previously fished thru the night because I personally believe that bass move alot in the dark. Once the shad move out again,the bass will most likely do the same.This is when it pays to have deep brushpiles or structure to go to.Then you'll want to get out a big worm (Power Bait 10" is my choice) and put it in the brush.Once you feel the brush,slow down,sometimes you really have to soak your worm to get a bite and this is where the Power Bait scented worms pay off.Another thing I do on a brushpile is to throw a carolina rig and work it into the brush until it gets hung or temporarily snagged.......then I will just yo-yo it enough to shake the brush around a little but not so hard to come unsnagged,I want to be able to move it,but have it stay in the same place.The noise and movement will get the attention of the fish in the area and they will at least swim over to see whats going on. Or if the fish are too sluggish and not real active,try a deep diving crank that will run deep enough to smash into the brush and get you the reaction strike. If you can locate a mass of shad that has moved up on a flat or a point,you're in business......the bass will most likely be feeding heavily in those areas.On points or flats,I will throw a buzzbait,spinnerbait,crankbait,carolina rig or jig.One of those should get you a bite or two. Let us know how you do.

The best summer pattern where I'm at is deep brushpiles hands down.If you know where some are you're in business,if not,you're beating the bank catching mostly dinks.We are lucky to have 4,367,853 docks on my home lake also.You can catch decent fish around the deeper ones in the summer......deep docks save the day sometimes.

CJ, wish I could've chimed in sooner but the Power Bait scent is hands down my favorite and has been for a while.The fish rarely spit out a PowerBait plastic and I rarely throw anything BUT Power Bait plastics as far as worms and creatures go. As a matter of fact,if I do buy a different brand of worms for some reason,I will take them from their original bag and put them in a Power Bait bag with other worms of similar color so they pick up that special Power Bait scent.I wish Berkley would put out the scent in a bottle of gel or something.......I would probably soak every lure I own in it then,cranks and all. ;D Berkley does put out a gel already that claims to be the Power Bait scent but it's not the same as the scent that comes on their bagged plastics......it aint even close. I hope you and your buddy didnt have money riding on your last trip because he had a huge advantage.Power Bait ROCKS! Believe it.

What he said......I'm starting to feel the tennis elbow coming back as the worm/jig bite has kicked back in.I can get away with c-rig,spinnerbait and crankbait hooksets but the hard sets with the jigs and worms are tweaking my elbow again.The last cortisone shot (Jan.) is holding up well though.

Yes,I have seen quite a few shows with him fishing gainst a "regular Joe".

Find a point or points that are a little steeper than the rest and cast a DD22 on them.......reel it fast to get it down and when you start to feel the bottom,just crawl it along the bottom at moderate speed.Be sure to keep in contact with the bottom.And have no fear,a DD22 will float back off most underwater obstructions if you just give a little slack. Keeping in touch with the bottom will often coax a reaction strike from sluggish fish......and 8 times out of 10 if you get bit on a 22,it's a good fish.

Well,now that the spawn is pretty much done with and the water temps rising,the fish are most likely starting their migration to the most common "summer hangout"........DEEPER WATER. The senko bite is still on where I am (Va.) but I would guess in the lower south,the water is warmer and the fish could be moving deep by now.OR they could just be in post-spawn (depending on your lake) and tight lipped for a little while before going into summer (pattern).I dont know where exactly you are fishing or the current water temps there but if you know and follow water temps,they will point you in the right direction and clue you in to what the fish are doing or where they have gone. If you have trouble getting bit shallow,move out a little bit at a time until you find them and experiment with different baits that cover from surface to bottom.

1. While flippin' and pitchin' I have a bad habit of pulling a few feet of line off my reel so my bait sinks straight down.I'm sure I've missed a hit or three at some point by doing that. 2. Sticking with one particular bait too long......that bait is usually the one that I catch the first fish of the day with.Sometimes it works out,sometimes not. 3. Fishing too fast hurts my game at times.

Scenario 1: On a point,it's good to establish that there are fish on the the point before trying to catch them.If you let your spinnerbait sink for a whole minute and barely reached bottom,you were way deeper than 11-15 feet.If you are patient enough,a point is the perfect place to drag a carloina rig also providing that the fish are relating close to the bottom.If the fish are suspending,a jerkbait that would reach and stay in their strike zone would have been a good choice on tight-lipped bass. Scenario 2: Docks = 1.senko 2.jig 3.fluke 4.texas rig worm......and to answer your question,yes,bass hang on docks all day and all night as long as bait is present and water temps accomodate a comfort zone for them.Shallow water docks like you are talking about will be warmer than a deep water docks but the dark shade is the key and both have it when the sun is high. Sounds like you are hung up on spinnerbaits.Although spinnerbaits catch lots of fish,there are better lures out there depending on the situation.......especially fishing docks.

;D ;D ;D ........I caught one like that on a buzzbait last year and didnt even realize he was on it while reeling in.After I casted the buzzbait again (not knowing he was still on it) my partner says "Trying out a new trailer?" I had no clue what he was talking about.

Take the boat back to the dealer and tell him to put a hydraulic jackplate on that sucker.......that will stop the porpoise action one way or the other,plus give you a little more speed as you lift the motor straight up out of the water in addition to the regular trimming.You get it set right and you wont have enough fiberglass in the water to worry about porpoising.

Thats it man,perfect lure retriever set-up.Just put some thick braid on it and you are all set.....works like a charm.Of course you can put any type of weight or lead retriever on the end,you may find that one thing works better for you than something else.

I agree,the 'ol spark plug trick works wonders. If you have an old ZEBCO 202 or any old closed face reel,you can put some thick braided line on it and use an old broken off rod and attach a spark plug or 2-3oz weight with a swivel and you'll have some line to work with to get your lure free.Plus the reel makes it 1000 times easier with handling the line.