bigbill

This subject has me ready to throw in my lure towel and go back to using livebait. One of my greatest fish catching topwater baits has been the BPS topnocker and they discontinued it. The nerve of them? Culprit has discontinued some of the worms and i been buying what i can find. No one makes these colors anymore. Why change what works???? Bomber is discontinuing some of there crankbait colors in the fat A 05 size. These cranks have been a very hot bait for me too. I think its the smaller size of the rattle balls that has that unique sound. The fire craw color has been a real awesome producer for me too. Mister Twister is discontinuing the timber doodle in size "00". This is another hot bait to drop into the weed pockets. Its a weedless bait too. It uses the 2" split double tail trailer which i also use on my smaller 1/8 oz spinnerbaits as a trailer. But we had a competition one day with the 00 timber doodle against live minnows and i won with the timber doodle. This is an awesome weedless lure and overlooked by many i'm sure. Mann's Hank Parker Classic spinnerbait size 1/8 oz. this has been an awesome spinnerbait. I just change the skirt color to the blue hue and add a mister twister trailer and the bass inhale it anywhere i use it. I feel like i'm being left out in the cold, i been buying and using these lures for many years now. BigBill

I have a few lures i have never caught anything with. Maybe its me with not working it right or were i'm fishing. Most of my lures do work one time or another but these two just don't work. One is a Berkley Frenzy crank i have no faith in these. The second one everyone else catches fish but i don't. Its the jitter bug???? I cast it out and reel it slow and nothing happens. The third is the rapala DT series lures. I know its not the lures but maybe its the presentation or time i'm using it. Any thoughts??? BigBill BTW; It could be me too because i'm throwing what i know works most of the time.

First the bass are deeper when the pickerel are around. If the pickerel bite slows down go to a larger size bait. I switched from a mepps #3 to a mepps #5 and nailed a 29" pickerel it came in to see what the little guys were eating. Never be afraid to up size or change color when the bite falls off. For bass you need to get into the weeds with a carolina rigged worm. I like to use a wacky rigged senko and just let it fall. The bass are in the cover.

I got into bass fishing really heavy almost 10 years ago now. I would read everything i could grasp about bass fishing. I got into the color thing with the hues of the water and choosing the right color for that time. Then i got my hands on the maori charts. I followed them and on a day when it said "good early" i nailed a 10lb bass just at first light. I kept a record too and everytime it said good fishing with the moon phases i did great. I looked as good as a pro bass guy from shore. Of course field & stream stopped publishing the maori charts. The guys at InFisherman also say to fish for record breaking fish during the moon phases too. If you can time the moon phases with a weather front comming in the fishing is unbelieveable. Its a feeding frenzy at this time if you stay going during this time it will happen when they just turn on. At one of my palces i stood in one spot and caught 19 bass during the moon phases and in the light rain when the heavy down pour let up. You have to stay going during this time and it will happen sooner or later. Its happened to me many times now but i can't predict when its going to happen. Everything has to be in order for it to just turn on. Like the moon phase, the weather front comming in and the PH of the water. I caught it one time 2 hours before the rain hit. Another time it was during the light rain and again it was during a lull in the storm when the rain stopped for a few hours. Heck i caught 30 to 40lbs of bass that time. A guy standing near us said to me your having a good night. He caught nothing so that tells me we need to use the right bait too. I use a Rebel BIG Claw crawfish crankbait in green with a black back. Another time it was a Joesfly super striker in firetiger apache. There maybe something about the chartruese color in low light conditions too. BigBill Don't forget i'm fishing the same small bodies of water in the same spots from shore so any change is very noticable. At night i was averaging 5 to 8 good size bass a night up to 5lbs. Then i started fishing in the early mornings when everybody is still sleeping and the bass were in less numbers but bigger. I had to get away from the crowds at night.

They go from the shallows in low light conditions to deeper water cover during the day. There going to be where the PH is right too. Your best chances are fishing in the early mornings before first light. She will be near the shoreline ambushing the baitfish and looking for an easy meal. A topwater spook is a good choice just don't be so fast with it. BB

I fish hours before the rain starts they put on the feed bag because they know the rain is comming. I also fish durning the rain too they can also feed during this time too. After the rain they seem to be tight lipped because of the bacteria is up in the water because the rain stirred it up. This makes the PH way off too. I try to check the PH often when the bite is off.

Weedless Lures!!!!! I'm fishing from shore too!!! Mepps Timber doodle; I let it fall into the small open pockets in the weeds. Mister Twister Top Prop; I run it over the weeds and pause sometimes too, it will drop the plastic trailer down and the fish will strike it. Scum Frogs Spooks Carolina rig with a 1/8oz weight 3' leader floating worms fished topwater. BPS topnocker Buzzbaits Spinnerbaits; Fished with the rod tip up so the spoon will beat / slap the water. Don't let the weeds stop you from fishing. There's more baits out there than i listed. I have most of them. In my first year of bass fishing i thought i hit a brick wall when the weeds came. I did a search for weedless stuff and fought back and won!!!!!! Trust me its a whole new ball game but its fun when we figure it out. Try different presentations too. Very slow has been the best.

Now catching bass i've had two great, awesome moments. 1. Its landing a 10lber at dawn, first light. I never seen a fish this big in freshwater. 2. My second time is watching a bass in the lilly pads working over the baitfish and landing it and still seeing the lilly pads being torn up while the bass was in my hand. That tells me there is more than one bass there. I did catch a 6lb 1oz bass there first.

When i first got addicted to bass fishing i wanted to learn and try everything related to bass fishing. I wanted to have an edge and test every lure and every scent to see if they really do work. I even test rods and reels but thats another story. I do wassh my hands with big orange before going fishing too. I purchased a few name brands of scent to test out first. I got the baitmate bass scent to test first. I would coat my topwater lure and make my very first cast a long one. Remember i'm fishing from shore and staying at the same spot for hours just waiting for the bite to turn on in the evenings. At this time i was fishing in the evenings only. Every night around dusk the bass do turn on. Now i figure my first long cast will spread the attractant thats in the scent and also cover my human scent too. So my scent is covered and the bass should be looking for a meal. My average nightly catch was 4 to 6 bass ranging from 2lbs to 4lbs+. Now i looked like a pro everynight at the same spot with a lot of people around me also fishing. One guy walked up to me and said do those lures work? Before i could answer him i landed a 3lber and he replied i guess those lures do work. Then he seen me scent my lure and he asked if the scents really work? And again before i could answer him i landed another 2 1/2lber and he replied to me i guess that scents work too. He started throwing his topwater popper with no results. I caught 5 good sized bass that night. I had people watching me every night and the next day they would show up with new lures, scents, new rods/reels and even new tackleboxes. I felt i was a field salesman for fishing equipment. As time went on i seen people who didn't use scents catch fish too. I figured they were catching fish on my scent in the water. At one time i would give the water a shot of scent too infront of me were the channel was too. I had to cut back on my use of scents because everyone was catching bass with me. The place was so crowded at night i moved to fishing in the early mornings. Mainly because i couldn't break past the 5lb bass(average). I seem to be hung up with the bass not getting any bigger no matter what i tried. Ok when the season opens up i fish every morning at around 3:30am till the sun comes up. Its very quiet with no one else there yet. I have the run of the place and i'm in my hot spot plus i'm in my zone with only fishing on my mind. This is my first year of fishing in the mornings. Right after the spawn i nailed a 10lber two feet from shore in two feet of water in the shallows using a Rebel BIG Claw crawfish crankbait with baitmate bass scent. Again i make a long cast with my topwater bait first so the water is scented. Ok one more test about using scents. I have a carolina rig with a 1/8 oz brass weight, plus a brass bead for noise and a 3' leader with a senko worm hooked in the center of the body. I will cast it out with no scent on the first cast. Now i get a hit was it falls but i miss the fish. I try a second cast with no scent and nothing happens. My third cast i hooked it with a shot of scent of course the baitmate bass scent comes thru again. Sometimes i keep my line snug as it falls or i twitch it as it falls. I like having the advantage by using a rattle, matching the right color and size plus using scent too. The fish are there when we do it right. 1. Baitmate bass scents work great. 2. YUM shad, YUM crawfish work great too. 3. Riverside Craw another good one 4. Baitmate or YUM Garlic is awesome for a change up scent This is about were i'm at testing scents mainly because if what i'm using is working why go any farther?? Do scents work? I sent my sons off deep sea fishing for blue fish with a shrimp scent and diamond jigs. The firstmate seen my son scent the jig and my son caught a blue fish right away. The firstmate questioned my son and said do they work? Well of course when he started catching fish on the jig the answer was there already. My sons went trout fishing and i got the baitmate for trout scent. My sons were the only ones in that spot surrounded by others who caught fish. This is a lake were its stocked with trout and everyone is elbow to elbow trout fishing. Now do scents work? I think they give us an edge. But chosing the right sized lure and color matching what the bass are feeding on matters too. We also fish a local river thats hot with bass too. We use the smaller rebel crawfish lure matching the crawfish casings that are on the shoreline. Were using the green with the black back with a shot of crawfish scent. Were casting into the pools and behind rocks mainly. In the shallow pools my son comes up with a 3lb bass. I'm a believer that scents work. I'm testing the cheaper scents like baitmate and yum too. I'm no pro nor will i ever be but i'm sure scents are working for me. BigBill Its not luck in fishing its skill!!!!!! To keep the bugs away eat garlic, lots of garlic!!!!!!!!!

My favorite bass moment is watching a bass striking in the lilly pads and hhoking it and it weighs 6lb 1oz and its in my hand and the lilly's are still going crazy with another bass still in them. Another time is when i was out at 4:30am first light and i seen two freshwater otters splashing two fawns as they tried to get a drink of water. It sure made leaving a warm bed worth it that day.

Don't forget i'm fishing from the exact samespots from shore at 3 or 4 different bodies of water using the same lures and i noticed it doesn't always catch fish with the same lures each year. I was already to buy a bass boat and compete when my health gave out. I became disables so i can really only fish close to the car so i'm limited to shore fishing were i don't have to walk so far. I post this so the youngsters can learn to change there baits each year too so there success can continue too. I still throw the older baits but i do use the newer ones too. And what i'm finding out is the newer baits will out perform the older baits in my situation when there used in the exact same spots. Sometimes lure color matters more too. I also tested a Combo C Lector too the older one that tells us the PH, the water temp and a combination of lure colors the fish can see at that time. Its proven correct many times on a tough bite. But thats another post.

Ok have your fun now lets get serious about using glasses. I'm not talking sight fishing. I'm talking about those short strikes behind your lures that your not seeing if your not wearing polarized glasses. Your missing fish that your not seeing. The short strikes tell me its time to adjust my presentation or change lure size or color. Don't fish without them. I say buy any pair you can afford, this also gives the youngsters a chance to get the lower priced stuff too afterall it does work too.

If is there fish there or not and that is the question? I would go there with livebait like live minnows first to see whats in it. Then i would try lures next. If you don't want to use livebait first i would throw a 2" rapala blue or black floating minnow(rapala or rebel) in it and see what hits it. My second pick would be an inline spinner like a number #3 mepps silver blade with a brown bucktail or a blackgnat 1/4oz joesfly super striker silver blade with a black fly. If its cloudy i'd use a joesfly firetiger apache 1/4 oz bass size super striker. I'm positive the rapala/rebel or an inline spinner will show you whats in the place. Fishing an untouched/unfish spot can be awesome they have turned out to be my best places to fish. Just remember to be very stealthy and quiet because the fish are sensitive to new noises. Don't step on any rocks and walk softly while approaching the place too. Put your tackle box down softly and open it very quiet. Make no noise at all. The fish eggs travel by the ducks and geese from place to place. I've seen small drainage catch basins have 3lb bass in them. Don't pass up throwing a line in the small man made places too.

I try to buy all my fishing gear while its on sales or discounted when i can unless its what i really want. When i first tried baitcasting i purchased a cheap baitcasting reel and rod to try it. I even purchased a video to watch about it too. I was doing this for many years while saltwater fishing with the open reels but the fresh water reels have bells and whistles that i didn't know about. I purchased a reel on sale for about $12. It had the magnetic brake and the friction knob and i learned how to bait cast with it. Its up to you on what you want to spend for the first time too. Bill

The most important thing to me is a pair of polarized sun glasses. I buy the cheapest pair on clearance most of the time and they work great. If you can't afford a expensive pair a cheap pair will still work good. I was watching a Bill Dance fishing show one day and he was using a fly rod for bass. While Bill didn't see it probably because of the sun and its distance away from him the bass were short striking his lure(fly). After seeing this from the camera mans angle i knew i need to wear polarized sun glasses and watch for the short strikes and misses. This tells me to either slow up my presentation, add a scent or change my lure or color. Without these glasses you can't see whats going on behind your lure. Also you won't see that big hog swim right infront of you too they appear and disappear like ghosts most of the time. So the bottomline is I believe that polarized glasses are the most important thing we can take fishing with us besides are tackle. This really works from shore too.

First the trick with any spinnerbait is putting the trailer on it perfectly so it runs exactly straight up in the water. Thats the key to using a spinnerbait. Second is choosing the correct color and size on the trailer. Third read every here you can, and reread it over and over again till you understand everthing. Glenn here turned me on to spinnerbaits. I take a 1/8oz manns Hank Parker spinnerbait with a single colorado gold blade and set it up. I change the skirt to the shimmerblue one and use a mister twiser/mepps split double tail plastic in white.(4") This is my favorite setup so far with a shot of YUM shad and its good to go.

With other topwater lures i can give you some tips, it all about your presentations. With the spooks, the topedo's and poppers its the move and pause presentation. I like to twitch it three short moves and pause. The length of the pause time wise can be wether we catch fish or not. Now with the three moves the speed matters too. The timing matters too. Now if the fish are breaking on the top i like to cast either past the breaks or i like to go to the right or left side past the break too. Then i work the topwater baits slowly but close to the area were the break was. Normally i don't bring my lure into the area were the break was if i have room to cast to the right or the left of the area. I also fish the sameway with spinnerbaits too. And the biggest thing is how our lures hit the waters surface too. I like to make a side cast and as soft as i can when it hits the water. We have to be very stealthy too and quiet. I've seen fish spook with very little noise. I had a large bass two feet infront of me when i cleared my throat and i watched the Vee shape on top of the water as it exited from me. I say this because everything works together and when we do it exactly right we catch fish and one mistake and its over. On a slow day i like to practice presentations with all my lures.

I caught some strange pimk and white fish that looked like sunfish or carp during a rain storm or should i say between the hard and soft rain in kind of a lull in the storm. I was fishing one of my hot spots and using a joesfly 1/4oz bass size in firetiger apache and i caught these two between 19 bass from the same spot from shore. I know this place has salmon, perch and very big pickerel(30") too besides lots of fat bass.

Nice fish.....I have a camp near lake dumore/white river and i need to get up there and fish. I always heard the stories about the 20" browns in the white river. Bill

If your fishing from shore it pays to know the type of structure thats under the water. I once did this when ice fishing to learn were the drop off's, the rocky points, the channels, the flats and the deep sections were at. This way i can adjust my way of fishing to the pond or small body of water. I'm mainly fishing were the manmade old dams were made for water power well over 200 years ago. I found the hummingbird portable cast out fish finder to be an awesome way to learn the bottom structure. I use it more to learn new places than find fish. Its easier to use rather than drilling holes in the ice. Fishing from shore I notice the best action i can get is in the late evenings as the light changes to dusk and the early mornings as the dusk changes to light. What makes this action happen is the baitfish eyes don't change to the difference in light as quick as the bass's eyes do making the baitfish an easy prey for the bass. I find the bigger bass near the shore at this low light time ambushing the baitfish. I hooked a 10lb bass two feet from shore in two feet of water at this time. When the daylite finally arrives the fish go to deeper water to hide in the cover. Cloudy days can be as good as fishing in the evenings/mornings too. The fish seem to be more active during the day. I like to use calling lures at this time too like the BPS topnocker or any other loud rattle bait. I also load up my first long cast with a scent too. Then its just making casts and fan casting the whole area too. I also like to cast parallel with the shore if i can too. Also varying your presentations helps too. I also like to practice my presentations too and a fish will always interupt me and let me know if i got it right. Open channels; Rebel BIG claw crawfish cranks Deeper diving crankbaits Senko/worm with a 1/8oz weight carolina rig Try to fish the channel close to the weedline. Rocky Points; Jig/Pig Shallow minnow baits Shallow cranks Grub floating worm/split shot Fan cast the whole point varying your speed Submerged weeds; Floating shallow crankbaits Topwater lures Floating worms Using a rattle, using a scent is good besides using the correct color/size lure. You need to cover sight and sound too to give you the edge. Remember to practice your presentations too. Trust me I get skunked too at times but there is more catching fish days than skunked days(bass). I just go out and have fun looking for that record breaking bass. I know its out there, i see them and its a matter of time when its going to happen. Now read everything here about bass fishing too. And take notes. I like to make a note book with bullets about bass fishing to read when i'm resting to keep the edge. We need to arm ourselves with as much knowledge as we can and refresh it all the time. Remember luck is at the casino, its skill in fishing. BigBill

Ok i been fishing the same 4 or 5 places over the last 10 years or so. I've noticed what is the hottest bait for this year isn't the next year. Its like were a baseball pitcher and we need to change up what were throwing. Changing your presentation helps too somewhat. But i believe the fish do learn our baits. I think they also learn the scent were using too. The good old scent could become a warning sign too. I say this because i have a buddy who won't spend a dime on a new lure and uses the same lure for the past 10 years and complains he doesn't catch fish. Now don't forget i'm fishing the same spots over and over plus these are heavily pressued spots too. If your not catching fish change your presentation, then change your lure, then move to another spot and don't waste your time just gun and run. You can do it from shore too. Its not luck in catching fish its SKILL!!!!! BigBill The little 1/8oz silver/white spinnerbait with a double split mister twister trailer seems to work. Again i owe this to Glenn here. But you need to hook the trailer up so the spinnerbait runs perfect there can be no error in the running of the spinnerbait and your smooth presentation. You need to practice turning the crank on your reel too so its even and smooth. The spinnerbait needs to run at the same speed "exactly" like any other moving bait. I fish a new spot and the smaller bass are killing this spinnerbait. I haven't found a lure that doesn't catch fish sooner or later. Its all about your presentation too.

When i go fishing nothing is open at 3:30am. Plus i'm tossing lures and have no time to stop and eat. I'm gunn'n and running fishing from shore. It once was a dunkin donuts coffee and a muffin....if i get up late. But;;;; My favorite sandwich is a Peanut Butter and Jelly on fresh white bread if i go out on the lake for a day. When i go hunting its 5th avenues, Butter scotch and hershey chocolates. The chipmunks like the 5th avenues too.

I use the older Combo "C" Lector from time to time on the tougher days. And i'm wondering if anyone has tried the newer color selector?? I know the first color selector really works.

Get a crankbait that matches a pickerel. I seen the small pickerel eating away at the brood of small bass fry. I put on a small rapala that matched the fry as close as i could and nailed every pickerel that i could. We do want the bass fry to live at least till 10 or 12lbs.

It happens here too time to time and it always comes back even better over time. BB