Team9nine

Landed this beauty last night. I was slowly swimming my bait along the bottom, when it came to a complete stop. I set the hook and nothing happened, so I thought I might be snagged. I applied a little more steady pressure to be safe, and then it happened - she slowly started to move. I'm not sure it realized it was hooked, as it just steadily swam along the bottom, coming toward me. Finally, about 10 feet from where I was standing, she came up and tried to jump, but she was too long and really just kind of wallowed. At that point I told myself to not get too excited and just play it calmly - I sure didn't want to lose her. Surprisingly, she came in without much more fight. I quickly landed her and removed the hook, then got a good measurement (5' 6"), but forgot to check what pound test she was spooled with. Oh well, I'm still pretty certain it's my new PB...and yes, I released her to be caught again some day after a couple quick pics. Who says Ned rigs catch only dinks

I agree with this ^^ If you can't catch fish consistently with the 65 baits you already have, how is buying 20 or 30 more going to improve your game? Figure out which baits/styles/colors/brands of what you already own work best over a period of time, then build off that down the road. If you already are catching plenty on what you have, just buy a few more of the proven baits as you lose them or they wear out. Don't buy just to buy.

My first "other tip" would be to not try and force a particular bait or presentation into a situation it really wasn't designed for. Lots of better options in this case. That said, if you look toward something like a Spot Stalker or Omega Savior head or similar design, you can probably get by.

Not 100%, but it was becoming more likely when I left. They are replacing the spillway, so permitting and everything needs to be done well in advance. Lake would get pulled down immediate after Labor Day and held that way until the project was complete, or the first of the year. I'm guessing the lake won't be closed, per se, but the boat ramp and most docks would be unusable. Could still drag no a car topper or canoe and be fine though, I'm guessing. That's what's been done in he past. Any idea when Marina is closing this year?

Depends on the severity of the cold front and the strength of winds. There is a natural cycle of heating and cooling of surface waters every day commonly, this being night and day. If the cold front wasn't severe, surface temps might not drop much from this normal variation. Under a severe front, surface water temps could cool considerably..I've seen 5-8 degree differences over a period of a couple days. But it's not as straightforward as warming waters, because cooling water tends to sink and mix in with waters below it, whereas warming waters tend to float on the surface, making them more easily "pushed around" and more likely to eventually stack o on the downwind side of things. Also, prevailing winds after a front tend to be out of the NW/N/NE, so different pockets or areas would be affected when compared to the more southerly flows of warm air. More commonly what you'll see under a severe cold front is the shallow bays and back ends of coves cool the most, and are the most affected regardless of winds, whereas the main lake shallows that are located closer to the deeper water, and subsequently the larger mass of thermal heat, don't cool as much or as quick, and also rebound faster. Of course, there can be great variation in all of this depending on specific waterbody (ponds vs lakes vs reservoirs vs rivers vs Great Lakes, etc.). And to complicate things even more, current, either natural or man-made can totally mask or negate much of this effect.

I should probably buy a couple just so I won't have to pay so much years from now when they become collectors items like their predecessor 50 years before them. Maybe they'll beat the odds, or even be the next Plopper or Sprinker, but I doubt it. I could see the square bill version gain a following though. And hey, they'll probably be around longer than the "Genie worm" - lol.

That's what caught my attention first, and just the overall color pattern (or lack thereof)...or maybe I just have too much experience catching baby bluegill Missing HL already...not the same not having that place right down the street. Once things cool down a little I might try and swing out your way "for old times' sake." Not looking like I'll have a new lot anytime soon, plus they're going to pull the lake down 10' next year really early.

Not to start any trouble - lol - but I'm thinking juvenile bluegill in the pic...

If you're swimming/drifting small jigs or fishing shallow, no issues with mono. However, I prefer using 3# and 5# braid when fishing tiny crappie jigs deep, down to 30' at times. The difference in feel is quite noticeable.

Yes, the Prorok articles were the best ones in my opinion, but the 3 part series in Bassmaster is also a good alternative. I listed the specific issues in my post above. THe I-F stuff you listed is good. About everything you bought and read from them in the early days had parts of "The System" included in each story.

Those are a little harder to find. In-Fisherman and Paul Prorok did the best article which would need to be tracked down via eBay as a back issue. Bassmaster also did a 3 part series on his seasonal breakdown, which you'd have to grab the same way. I'll see if I can find the specific issues of each and list them for those looking. EDIT: The 3-part Bassmaster series appeared in several 1988 issues (Sep/Oct, Nov, Dec). The In-Fisherman articles were in Book #72 (Apr/May 1987) and Book #84 (Mar 1989).

In-Fisherman website has a lot of info available online, as well as letting you purchase any of their teaching material (books, dvds, etc.). Their "Largemouth Bass: handbook of strategies" and Critical Concepts series are usually pretty easy to track down, much more so than their original magazine Study Series reports and annuals. Should be able to find both the calendar and water body stuff in all of these.

The leader line will always break at the weakest point, that being either the connecting knot, the lure knot, or an abraded spot somewhere in between. To adjust for the first two, balance/match your leader and braid mainline (pound test ratio of each), as well as make certain to use and know how to tie good knots on each end. For the latter, change out your leader line if it starts getting nicked up for whatever reason.

You have to establish a good foundation (IMHO) of the basics of fish location, habits and behaviors. All the "magic bait" and tackle stuff comes secondary. Read and study, then try and put some of it into practice out on the water. I'd personally recommend the following (any/all): - Buck Perry's "Spoon-plugging - In-Fisherman's F+L+P=S formula, including their water body classification and seasonal calendar periods - Rick Clunn's seasonal patterns for bass These will give you the foundation upon which to build everything else. You can also search this website to get some threads where others have suggested "must have" reading material. As Dick Bengraff once said, "An ounce of biology is worth a pound of tackle."

Jumped a good one off today, but that's going to happen from time to time. Still managed a decent catch given the conditions - near 90 degrees with almost no wind and not enough clouds. Going to keep toying with some different setups if I get the chance.

Pretty simple for me...Almost never use braid on baitcasters, and never with a leader except for a few walking baits. Use it all the time on spinning, and always with a leader.

A "must have" for winter bass in my book. The clearer the water, the better - 55 deg. and below. Catches about everything though.

The original "Plopper" dates back to 1918, so considering the company is still around says a lot for its longevity. That said, it was the Muskie and pike market that largely kept it viable, just like the original R2S version that was created for Muskie fishing. The smaller bass versions only came out more recently - a case of right place, right time for a popular company.

Won't use braid for baitcasting outside of frogging, but for spinning, I use 3#, 5# and 8# braid almost exclusively. The reason is simple. If you believe that lighter diameter line gives your bait better action, along with the other benefits that come with decreased diameter (drag, visibility, etc.), why would you negate those benefits by using any larger size line than necessary?

Lol - Kumar is good people, and I think he hangs out here, so I have to poke him every once in a while I can usually tell when he's grabbed something I've posted. I actually wrote for his BassParade blog for a couple years, which was his venture right before the Blaster. He stays in tune with what's going on in the industry since he's part of it.

The interesting thing is that nearly every finesse presentation commonly used these days started out and was developed in a specific area, on specific waters, and with specific and subtle nuances built in. Jigworming, Doodle worming, split shotting, slider fishing, hair jigs (the Hoss fly), Neko, dropshot, Pow-RR heads, darthead fishing, Westy worming, etc. Midwest Finesse is really no different in that regard.

Yes, several production and custom pours for weedless mushroom versions are now available, most use just a single wire guard, or two at most. On your second question, probably not (based on the ballhead alone), though the definition is getting stretched more and more these days, and it has nothing to do with the tail of the grub. Mushroom head jig, frequently brightly colored, less than 3/32 oz., small exposed hook (#2 or smaller) and short piece of plastic (more and more Elaztech based) fished in less than 12 ft of water (usually less than 8') and commonly on open banks or around sparse vegetation (intentionally avoiding more traditional bass cover areas) using short casts and a variety of defined retrieves combined with an intentional lack of feeling as to the baits presence, often punctuated with shaking. It was developed on/for flatland impoundments, has frugality as a basis along with the concept/goal of catching 101 bass in 4 hrs, and usually fishing midday (11-3, 12-4, etc.), but more people using it more places now is broadening this. I think that covers most of it...lol.

Only to Kumar and his BassBlaster buddies, but he's slowly losing the war on this one I'm fine with the jokes. J Francho dogs me all the time about matching shoes, socks and Ned rig colors - lol The frustrating part is still the lack of understanding about the whole thing despite everything we've posted, which I largely place the blame at the feet of Zman.

Slider vs. Ned There are some similarities, of course, but also differences (jighead design, hook size, weedlessness, retrieve style, overall presentation, bait varieties, etc.). See if the story in the link helps some. A lot of this is regional variations based upon water types.