A-Jay

Hello ~ Welcome to BR ! A-Jay

Hello ~ Welcome to BR ! A-Jay

Hello ~ Welcome to BR ! A-Jay

Hello ~ Welcome to BR ! A-Jay

Hello ~ Welcome to BR ! A-Jay

Hello ~ Welcome to BR ! A-Jay

Hello ~ Welcome to BR ! A-Jay

Sawubona ! Welcome to BR ~ A-Jay

Nice Fish - way to be versatile ! I've always wanted to do that. A-Jay

Nice post Eric. I kept reading about how good the jig was but couldn't make it happen. The past 3 seasons I have been throwing jigs a whole lot more. Until I actually logged the hours with a jig and saw for myself what it took to get bit, I was never going to reap the benefits of this simple and so effective bait. What has happened is not earth shattering or anything that's new. The more and different situations I fish them, the more I catch with them and the more confidence I gain in their ability to take fish. Basic shirt colors in greens, browns and black have been effective in the clear waters here. Sizes have been 1/4 and 3/8 in 10 fow or less and 1/2 & 3/4 for deeper. Rate of fall has played a part in success and on some days a heavier jig that falls faster will be better even in shallower water. The size and type trailer used works to determine rof as well. My flipping/pitching is limited to mostly docks and some wood. I'm usually casting these jigs so they route around in deeper structure in 10-25+ fow around wood, grass and assorted weeds. If and when I can get a jig/trailer in front of fish enough, sooner or later I can poke a few and they are usually better fish. As a result, I have changed my approach a bit when it comes to initially fishing a promising spot. Traditionally I would use "search" type baits to find biters and then slow down with a jig to find a bigger bite. But recently I have reversed the order and fished the jig first. Instead of initially beating the water to a froth by machine gunning a spinner bait through it for 30 minutes I spend some time sneaking a jig around the best spots. It's been a good deal for me and sometimes I end up never putting the jig rod down all day. Often a search bait will come out after a jig bite slows or if one never materializes and I get bite that way. See , I told you this wasn't anything new. My jig collection has gone from 5 baits to 3 boxes but I use the same 4-5 most of the time. btw - fall is a very good Jig season. A-Jay

I'm with you there Dwight, but if he was motivated by sex, wouldn't he be hooked some place else ? A-Jay

J - Do you do mod to these baits, where the original single hook is removed and replaced with wire and a treble ? A-Jay I messed with a stinger treble off the bottom hook loop with braid and buried in the adipose area, but it just wrecked the action and tore the bait. I fish them straight out of the package. Thanks ~ A-Jay

J - Do you do mod to these baits, where the original single hook is removed and replaced with wire and a treble ? A-Jay

Sounds like u just read that off bass pros website or something. I disagree, I been fishing a 3,000 acre clear private heated lake with 80 degree water and that place gets no pressure whatsoever. Some days you wont even see another bassboat on the lake anywhere. So these are not just for pressured fish. Altho the fish can get spooky on Lake Anna. Really ~ ?? Sounds like you just tapped into my own little dream world right there ! The very sad part of it is - This is your reality - WOW ! A Private Heated Lake - Please excuse me while I clean up all this drool . . . . A-Jay

Thanks man. It's been a fun and exciting season. 2010 has been a better year for LMB for me but I believe it is because I have been fishing in lakes that have better fish. Been doing allot of "Field Research" this season. Results indicate that some of the "trout designated lakes" have a very healthy population of bass (and pike) that don't get a whole lot of pressure. Most are very deep and very clear. It's certainly not cast and catch every day but it helps if there are actually bigger fish in the lake. As for making a better plan, I'm open to suggestions but I think you'd really like the dogs ~ just messing with ya . . . . . A-Jay

Net? Forget the net ~ get a Gaff ! Great Pike. A-Jay

Thanks - The first fish was 5-8. I only weighed her because I thought she might be over 6 ! I have a couple of 5's this season and one 7. I was hoping she would fill in that 6 slot. I'm still looking. A-Jay Looks like an AWESOME day. I really like how you take your pictures too. Congrats sir. I appreciate that you mentioned the photos. I often wonder how they are being received by the BS crowd. When fishing solo,(from a canoe) it's just difficult to take a shot that does the fish justice, and my arms are just not long enough. I spend so much effort and time to catch the fish, I had to come up with a way to display them when by myself. I converted the middle seat into a "fish board". I'm playing around with a video set up but I still have a few kinks to work out before they will be suitable for posting. A-Jay

I fish nothing but very clear water. This is what has worked for me. Generally I have to fish Deeper. I try to fish the same type of cover in clear lakes as I do in lakes with less visibility. The difference is I can not see the structure I'm fishing in the clear lakes as it's often in 20-25 fow. Clearly fishing deep clear water is challenging. Most of the visible cover is fished heavily and may only hold fish during brief periods during early and late season cool water periods and at night in warm water periods. So I say, Go Deeper. Deep Crankbaits, Heavy Spinnerbaits, Swimbaits on a Jighead, Carolina rigged plastics and various heavier jigs are good tools for me. Finding deeper structure is also a challenge but it's part of the game for me. Most of my better spots are not charted and ones I "found" either with electronics or by investigating new water with a deep running bait. I guard these spots and never fish them when in site of other anglers. But up here I usually have the lake to myself. Last season I wore out a drop shot rig and had limited success on small to medium fish. This season I have fished the techniques mentioned above and have increased my average size fish considerably. Good Luck. A-Jay

Thanks - The first fish was 5-8. I only weighed her because I thought she might be over 6 ! I have a couple of 5's this season and one 7. I was hoping she would fill in that 6 slot. I'm still looking. A-Jay

Hang in there - something that you did not mention is what plastic you were using vs what size hook. If the hook is too small, a bulky bait can actually interfere with a solid hook set. Like you, I was losing fish. I was bending regular EWG hooks out on big small mouth last fall. I needed a different hook. I have settled on an Owners also, but it's the # 5139 Wide Gap Plus Extra Strong. Occasionally going down a size from the standard hook is required so the baits fit the hook. There in NO Bending this beast of a hook. Good Luck http://www.***.com/Owner_Wide_Gap_Plus_Black_Chrome_Hooks/descpage-O5139.html A-Jay

Congrats, nice fish. I have been hunting these toothy missiles myself. And as the water temps drop - I brake out the B I G net. A-Jay

With air temps in the high 40's, a stiff NW breeze and a raw north woods rain, the water was hanging tough at 60 degrees today. Fished from noon till 5 pm without a hit but I did get to bail out the canoe a couple of times. Then the fish moved up onto wood and turned on. For about 2 hours or so, the jig and craw (Rage Tail) bite was on. Here's a few of them ~ A-Jay

Fantastic Fish - I wish they grew bass like that up here ! A-Jay

He went sight seeing - here . . . . (It's from another thread - I couldn't help it)

Good job ! ~ You had me going as well. A-Jay