bigbill

Rule #1 I notice when the smaller bite is on sooner or later it will slow down when the bigger fish come in to see what the smaller fish frenzy is all about. This is a time when the bite will slow down like a light switch has turned them off. The bigger fish scare the smaller fish away. At this time i grab the larger sized bait than i was using and target the bigger bass. Just match the color and go bigger. I have switched from a number #2 or a #3 mepps to a #4 or #5 mepps and go after the bigger fish. Don't beafraid to use the next larger crankbait or spinnerbait too. Remember the bigger fish are near the smaller fish and they will come in close to see whats on the menu. Rule #2 When the bite is on in the daylite but towards the evening it slows down do to low light switch to a brighter color in the same lure. In the low light to daylite its the opposite we go from a chartruese to a natural color. Knowing this you can land a few more fish. Don't let the change in light stop you from catching a few more fish, change your color. Its more important than you think. I'm no pro but my tactics work or at least what i have learned. Its not luck in fishing, its skill!!!!!

Ok here we go; First cast first fish?? To me it means the fish are biting so try to remember what you did for the presentation on the first cast. Some get ansy and start to slam the lure in the water by casting faster and farther this is when failure kicks in. Stay calm and don't gun and run stay and fish it slow and quietly. I also find myself exceited and rushing too after the first cast fish so stay calm. 8-)

I'm still throwing the orginal 6" black creme worms on split shot rig??? The bass still like it. I flashed the flashlite at the edge of the water one night when it got dark and seen freshwater eels at the waters edge. This is why the old black creme worm still works today. Don't give up on the old stuff yet. ;D

Eat enough garlic so it sweats out of your pores!!! My grandfather actually wore garlic around his neck to keep the little buggers away. My wife uses the chopped garlic in the big jars and i told her not to throw away the juice when the jar is empty. I also told her to save the juice from the hot pickles/japeno's too. I figure the garlic and sweet/hot pepper juice is for bug spray and scent. One of my buddy's uses the cloth you put with your clothes in the dryer, i think its the anti static cloth it drives the bugs away too.

I have one more experience with missing fish and losing lures. Right at first dawn when the sky is starting to light up at one spot i have lost many lures because the strike is so violent. It just ripps the lure off my line everytime. I'm using a 07 blue rapala or one of my redcraw cranks. I never get to even see the fish. I actually avoid that spot now. My buddy's have lost lures there too at different times. I'm not sure if its a freshwater otter, big pickerel or a big smallie but the strike is so fast and voilent. I need to go back there with heavier tackle and a wire leader next. Bill

Mister Twister/Mepps 4" split double tail grub. Just try it and i'm sure you'll like it. The 4 tailed grub actually looks like its swimming on a spinnerbait or jig. There cheap too. This trailer comes on the mepps timber doodle and mister twister top props (weedless) so i figured i'd try it on my spinnerbaits. They come in all colors. These two lures are two of my hottest weedless baits too. In the summertime if your not in the weeds your not fishing, thats were the big ones are hiding.

Tackle boxes do we ever have enough room? Are they ever big enough to hold everything? The plano 9600 will fit tackle bags in the bottom. I just purchased the biggest plano box that they manufacture. The 9600 barn style box. I just fit all my topwater lures in one box. Now i have an 8606 box for my cranks but i need another 9600 box to fit some of my cranks so i can carry cranks and minnowbaits in one box. I'm trying to scale down how many tackle boxes i have to carry. The 9600 box emptied two smaller tackle boxes so far. I carry now; crankbait box(crankbaits/minnowbaits(rapala's) topwater box(spooks/ poppers/frogs/prop baits/spinnerbaits) weedless box(top props/ weedless spoons) plastics box (plastic baits/carolina rigs/weights/hooks) Scent (a carry open box that i made) Plus 4 or 5 fishing rods just to fish from shore. I use everything most of the time. But i also have; livebait box (hooks/ bobbers/ weights) night fishing box panfish/crappie box(smaller plastics) Large bait box(northern Pike) Large boat bag filled with everything from above,most of it. Before i had around 17 tackle boxes full of stuff and no way to haul it all. If i had a boat i'd need another boat to haul my tackle my son said. I have no clue how to haul it all with me, i do use most of it. I have fun fishing. I don't think i'm a fishing hoarder yet??? I do rotate my lures time to time to give them all a swim too. Kidding but i like throwing different lures. I started buying up stuff before i got sick because i knew it was comming that i was going to be disabled and i could just fish for the rest of my life. I actually fish out of the back of my car now where i can. My point is if i can get 3 or 4 of the 9600 plano boxes and haul most of my tackle i'm a happy camper.

Nice job..... I had Terry at Tclark custom lures make me some larger bluegill/sunfsih lures, one biiger one like yours that runs vertical and another one with a disc on the front that runs sideways like a popper. Both lures look great and the popper works awesome too.

Smallies like chartruese bucktails. I like mepps or joes flies inline spinners.

I stopped trout fishing and started bass fishing. I would read and watch every TV show and video i could get my hands on to learn about bass fishing. I also spent a lot of time here too. We fished for bass very little we were mostly trout guys. Ok about crankbaits, i was watching a Hank Parker show with him in New Hampshire using a manns baby 1 in crawdad brown. Since it was wintertime and snowing here i went down to the local walmart and found that exact lure after watching his show. I purchased a few of them because you know i'm going to lose a few in the process. This brown craw crankbait with the red/orange bottom is one hot bait too. It catches bass and i even caught a large salmon with it too. Crankbaits do work awesome and are a hot bait too. ;D I think thats awesome you mastered crankbaits. 8-) My problem is since the cranks are hot i found myself using cranks all the time and not learning anything about all the other baits. Then i tried to learn a few new baits every spring, i promised myself i would switch to other baits and stay with them and learn them too with different presentations. Trust me learning all the other baits and there presitations will help us down the road when the fishing gets tougher with cranks, like when the cranks ain't working we can switch to other baits and continue to catch fish. The more knowledge we have in our arsenal of baits the better fisherman we will be. BigBill

I like senko's and try them time to time but there not on the top of my list as a favorite bait. It does take talent to use a senko because there are different ways to present it and use it. I like to use a 1/8oz carolina rig and twitch it as it falls. You can just let it fall, let it fall with no weight or paly ot along the bottom. Its all about the presentations and what works at that moment. Sometimes i let it fall and keep the line tight waiting for a nibble. I also like worms and creature baits too not just senko type baits. Fishing freak yes, senko freak no way.

I have a favorite spot fishing off a small low bridge. I was using a rapala blue and yellow split countdown minnow about 4 1/2" long. I dropped it one day straight down when my line tangled. I came up with a bass right away. In my mind i recorded the exact spot were it fell so i could try it on another day. I get jiggy with it as it falls straight down and i have pulled out so many decent bass in this one honey hole from time to time. Its exactly 12" away from the bridge on the X railing post. Its a hole because its deeper than the rest of the bottom. Tip; I later found out there was a 2"x12"x10' long plank under there nearby with crawfish under it thats why this spot was so good with many bass there looking for an easy meal. The rocky bottom held the plank up in the water so the craws would go under it. I figured the bass were like cats hunkering down in the hole waiting for the craws to move out. This shows me that man made structure can be really productive too. I guess the plank was from them doing construction on the bridge a while back. You guys with boats can mark the honey holes on your GPS. I'm no pro and probably never will be one but its awesome to figure out why the bass are there all the time. There like the tides and there in the low light and disappear in the daylite. In the evenings it starts all over again(cycle) like the tides in the ocean. The sports authority had these lures on sale once and i would of never thought this color would work but at the discounted price i purchased it. Has anyone fished honey holes and have gone back to them?

First retie often, new knots, they do wear from stress. I lost a new state record(probably) in the thick weeds from shore. I fought her trying to get her up for 15 minutes. My adrenaline was pumping so high my only upsetness (new word) was that i lost another bps topnocker. The sight of her top side out of the water as she made a pass at my topnocker was awesome!!! Then she was on my line and i set the hook really hard. I was probably still in shock of seeing her so i may have been in slow motion when she nailed it. That gave her a chanceto go down in the weeds. I alreday landed a 10lber personal best in the same spot. I know there are bigger bass out there because i see them swim nearby. All i can remember is she looking like a nuke sub out of the water after my topnocker. If that lure was alive and knew she was'a comming for it??? Its not landing the big bass its the whole action from start to finish. I just hate losing lures when there stuck in the fish. I really don't want to hurt the fish the heck with the lures i can buy more lures. Landing the 10lber scared me to death in the dusk/low light conditions in the early morning. I never seen a bass this big but its bucket sized mouth could swallow anything from small ducks to panfish very easily. The only time i have ever seen fish this big was when saltwater fishing. (blues/blackfish/small stripers) My older brother always said to keep on going. He fished for stripers everyday, one day he came home with two 50" stripers, fishing from shore, he had a honey hole for stripers/blues.

I was going thru my weedless tacklebox lastnight and i forgot to mention; weedless spoons weedless spoons with props scum frogs moss boss I like weed fishing its more of a challange. I probably lost a new state record in the weeds using a BPS topnocker. I seen her turn and hit it on top then she went down into the thick weeds with my lure. This is the second time we lost this fish to the weeds. My buddy wouldn't let her have any slack and his rod broke and he lost her. This proves to me the big ones do hide in the weeds so make sure your rod is heavy enough, your size line is right lb wise, your drag is set right too and hang on!!!! Be ready.

Snapswivels for cranks/topwater stuff its hard to tie in the dark. Organize your tackle boxes. Organize your scents if you use them. I use a light that goes on the top of my hat so i'm hands free. I also have multiple flashlites too. Watch for snakes were the motor is in the well and in the trees if there close overhead. If your out at dawn(dusk) look out for freshwater otters.

Go with weedless baits!!!!!! Go slow over weeds. Mister Twister Top Prop in Tri Alive Fire Perch Use any presentation like reel/pause, slow reel or a long pause. I've seen this lure stand up straight in the water stopped when the bass kill it. Use a trailer hook that it comes with. Mepps Timber Doodle in silver blade white plastics( 4" split double tail grub) Let it sink into the weed pockets. Floating plastic worm "no weight" w/Worm Rattle? If the weeds are low under the waters surface(submerged weeds) try a spook or popper? You can also use a spinnerbait by keeping the rod tip up so the blade slaps the top of the water too. You can also use any shallow crankbait that floats too. I've used the bomber FAT A in red apple craw with awesome success over submerged weeds. Or a carolina rig weighted enough to crash thru the weeds to the bottom or a jig n pig? I see so many fisherman let the weeds stop them. When i ran into the weeds for the first time i went home and searched for weedless lures. I have a tacklebox of weedless lures thats the one i grab for weed fishing.

I use snap swivels, mainly ball bearing snap swivels. I have a hard enough time trying to tie line in the daylite but i fish at night all the time so tying line in the dark is out of the question. I'm a diabetic and my eyes are going bad so using snap swivels keeps me fishing. Plus i think the ball bearing snap swivels give my cranks more side to side movement they act like a hinge.

I gave my future daughter in law a 5'6" rod with 6lb test and a small topedo in lepord frog and she used a rip/pause and was catching bass near the cattails. She picked up on how to use it quickly. All my daughter in laws are fisherwoman's. All these young girls fish, one girls dad has a lobster boat in Maine too that she goes out on when she is up there. I always told my sons if the girl can bait there own hooks and remove the fish you better marry them, there keepers.

For almost 60 years i thought a bass was a bass and Dinks were panfish? Boy have i been out of touch. On any day any size bass on my line is a good day just give me a day of the 1.5lb dinks.(many) Heck i had a blast one day in a pond of smaller bass with the smallest panthermartin spinfly. They were lined up like my lure was an amusement ride i must have caught thirty little bass. I seen a guy fishing the other day who wouldn't say a word to me. He was very serious about catching sunfish for some reason. I'm a man of very few words when fishing but not even a hi?

I would start by searching for "discounted lures" or "discounted fishing tackle" and start looking. I just spent over $1,000 this month alone on discontinued worms, cranks and new topwater stuff. (my s/s check) stock up on everything thats been successful in the past few years, like you i have seen awesome working baits come and go and i'm really upset when something works the manufacturers will discontinue it. Mann's had that plastic dragun fly. I used the small redshad ones on a split shot rig and i would mimic the hatch by lowering it and raising it up slow and the bass would rip it off my line to get at it. "discontinued" Mann's also had the Hank Parker Classic spinnerbaits too. After talking with Glenn here and setting them up right they have always caught fish for me. "discontinued" Culprit worms 4 1/2", 6", 7 1/2", 10" and 12" "discontinued" BassProShops Topnocker the most awesome topwater lure of all time at least for us here anyway in the northeast. You can pop it so slight it stays in the same spot and rattles away. You can walk the dog with it and i pop it three times and pause it. Or you can swim it under the water by reeling and holding your rod tip down and actually see the fish go after it. Of course its "discontinued" too. Bomber FAT A's I have worked this shallow crank over submerged weeds with awesome success. It has a finer sounding rattle that i think is why its so successful over the noisier rattles. You can practice a twitch topwater, slow reel, slow reel n pause or just crank it faster. Another "discontinued lure" Bomber FAT A size 05 The green craw, firecraw, brown craw and apple redcraw plus the baby bass with the orange bottom. Sorry but i can go on and on. I'm fishing mainly from shore and all this stuff works for me. Here are some of my honey holes for discounted baits on land; bassproshops "clearance" Cabela's "bargain cave" http://www.fishingtackleoutlet.net-Default.asp Checkout the prices like 50 senko's for $6.99, heddon sonic $3.75 its $9 on sleezebay and its discontinued. It was the very first lure i caught a bass on in the 60's. www.fishingworld.com/brannansbass/ These southern boys know there baits. My point is if you have a hot lure or plastics buy lots of it and bag and seal the plastics better in zip lock bags. I even save my used plastics in zip loc bags so i can reuse them and not contanimate the new ones in the orginal bag. I even started using stronger test line so i can get back my hung up lures too.

Ok i use mainly nickle or brass plain blades. What is the main reason for switching from the two blade colors. Is the silver for clear water and the brass for stained water? Am i missing something by not using the hammered blades? Whats the advantage of all the different blades? Colorado Indiana Willow I'm thinking the willow blades look like bait fish and the other two blades thump more on the lateral line. Sorry for the dumb question but i'd like to get into the blade baits more and figuring out a killer setup on the larger spinnerbaits.

We have very big snapping turtles here some are 4' in the shell diameter. I'm rather face down my 140lb female rottie than a snapper. So those float tubes really scare me.

I was determined today to at least catch something there. I started out late at 9am with a mister twister top prop in tri alive fire perch. I had a decent topwater strike and miss on my very first cast near the cattails. I have no clue as to why the trailer hook didn't pick it up. After a few more casts with no results I switched to my old faithful topnocker. I tried every presentation and even making it dive and swim and to my surprise right at the shoreline a 3lb smallie tried to rip it off my line. Not the bigger fish i'm seeing and trying to get but its a start that i'm going in the right direction. It feels good at a new place were i never caught anything yet. That mister twister top prop is another good topwater bait too. I have had ballastic strikes on the top prop when i let it pause and it stands straight up. Or a slow reel, or a slow reel and pause they just seem to try to kill it. I say new place but i been trying there for 5 years like 1 or 2 trips per year there with no results. I need to settle down and fish instead of gunning and running from small place to small place. I need to spend more time there. BB I'm going back with the worm box next. I also have an assortment of the mister twister super top props repainted by Terry Clark Custom lures in all the bass colors. They look too good to fish with but i'll try them too. I'm figuring if the bigger bass eat sunfish maybe the larger lures will attract the bigger gals. Big Bait Big Fish??? I been hunting for a new state record but enjoying the fishing as i go too. I'm up to 10lbs LMB so far but i've seen bigger fish. I won't report it because it will draw too much attention to the body of water were i caught it. I also don't like to tell anyone were i fish too. They tell there friends and it goes on till the place is ruined. But overall in the few places were i fish i've seen bigger bass way over 10lbs. So i'm thinking there are bigger bass in every body of water and there not being caught. These aren't 9am to 5pm tornie feeders. We need to fish from the evenings till the early am for the big gals and be very stealthy(quiet).

I figured i would go out and practice my presentations today and just sit and relax. I fish a local lake once every so often with no success whats so ever. Its got plenty of baitfish/panfish in it. Now my problem is I watch something really big going after the baitfish within my range of casting from shore. Its really long and i watch it try to turn in very big circles. We have northern pike going from lake to lake that are connected by streams and this place is one of the lastones that are connected. I'm thinking its a very big pickerel or a northern pike or maybe a monster LMB. This fish charges the weeds ambushing the baitfish all the time for the past few years now. Today i threw every large bait that i had with no success. I tossed larger spooks, topnockers and large torpedo's trying to get a rise out of it with no success. I used a ton of scent too. I even tossed the larger spro crankbaits too. I'm stumped with this fish. I know its big because its smart. I could see the baitfish jumping out of the water behind my topnocker/spooks far behind so i know its following my lure but its not striking. I tried every presentation i could think of. My presentations were so good and perfect i would strike my lure. I got it down when it comes to spooks, topnockers and torpedo's. BB I had my 7' pole with 17lb test and the magnum spook in bullfrog 8" but i was afraid to toss it. I also have a 9" trout swimbait too. Anythoughts??? I've done this before at two other places at 5am when the fish were just out of my reach from shore. I waited for months everydau watching them tear up the lilly pads until they were finally within my reach with a topnocker. One was a 30" pickerel and the other was a 6lb 1oz bass. But as i had the 6lb bass in my hand the lilly pads were still being torn up by another big bass. This place is another lake i visit every so often. Shore fishing can be a waiting game too when they don't allow boats. I'm all fired up now.

The weeds have a never ending oder its worse than the worst salad dressing/greens smell. I never seen it this bad. Talk about the deer. At my place(camp) in VT back in the mid 80's when i purchased it, it looked like I80 or I95 with deer tracks all over the place. Then partly thru the 90's the yotes were chasing or following the deer because behind every deer track there were yote tracks following them. Each set of deer tracks had its own yote assigned to it. By the time 2000 hit we now have very little deer tracks and the growing numbers of mountainlions too now. I've personally seen them a few times. One big male is pushing 180 to 200lbs. Now i'm going in this direction talking because i night fish too. We have bobcats, lynx's, mountainlions and blackbears in Ct too now. Us shore night fisherman must be on the lookout as to not become an easy meal. Use your senses at all times. Listen to the woods at night too. The blackbear gives off an awesome stick and i usually smell and hear them crashing thru the woods before they know were there. The bobcat i come across sound like a baby with a cold, with congested like crys. The lynx i have seen are like the size of a mid sized dog. Fact; The yotes are bigger lately too. I said this many years ago that they look much bigger for some reason. I'm seeing yotes as big as female german shepards if not bigger. At first i though they were wolves but not exactly. Everyonme laughed at me when i said this. I later read about the northern New York waters being frozen in the winter time and the Canadian wolves were crossing the ice into the USA and there interbreeding with our yotes making a larger wolf/yote type animal. Just one more thing to be aware of when fishing or hunting. trust me i'd been much closer to bears and mountainlions than i really want to be. When camping and cooking bacon i get visits all the time from the animals. That already cooked bacon in a can isn't a bad idea when camping in the wilds. Just a quick warm up if you want too and it tastes really good cold too. Bealert, beaware of your surroundings, stay safe, and Godbless; BigBill BTW; NASA did say the earths axis is off 3" due to the earth quake in Chile. Heck i'm going fishing anyhoo.