little_stephen

So, over the past few months, Ive been trying to use jigs more often after reading some interesting articles in a BASS Times about some of the ways guys used jigs to get fish on the Red River. after my first jig fish also proved to be my biggest yet right before the spawn on a stalled cold front, blue bird skies cold.... cold.... Ohio spring day. I decided to keep up the jig fishing. Sunday, Monday, & Tuesday I got skunked on my camping trip to Atwood Lake with my Fiance. I came back and decided I needed to redeem myself, so Wed, I go fishing at my new favorite spot (a spillway wall at the lower end of my home lake, a shallow 92acre mud bottomed lilly pad choked public lake) and I made about 3 casts without a bite then this nice little guy blew up on that jig like it was the the only source of food hed ever seen. So here I am, bragging because Im one of about 12 people to pull more than one legal fish outta this lake the entire year so far. Got this one on a Jig I built from left overs. Booyah Jig, Custom PB& J Skirt. and a Net Bait Baby Paca Craw In Crawfish that I tinted with a few other baits to make more of a light copper color. (Sorry I cut off the tips of the fish, i was in a hurry to take the picture)

thats the kind of water I get anytime it rains up here. especially now that I fish the d**n/ spillway at the shallow silt filled end of the lake. Right choice with the buzz bait. I love fishing big jigs with extra rattles and a huge beaver bait in muddy water too. that, horny toads, and oddly enough, straight tail worms on light tackle flipped in EXTREMELY accurately and close to the holes in pad beds do it for me. nice catch tho. r u fishing that chocolate milk water lake from the shore? cause thats when it gets interesting.....

ok, heres the pictures. again, sorry about the lighting differences, I caught these things at completely different times of the day.

So I just landed another fish Im really proud of this week. and I was looking back at my picture on my cell phone of it. then I compared it to a few I had caught in the same lake...... the coloration is tottally different on each of these fish..... its nuts. pictures to follow of all three fish so you can see what Im reffering to. Sorry about the light conditions and how theyre diff in each picture. -The First Bass was from last year. dark all over, couldnt really pick out the boundries of the black line going down the fish from the dark green of its scales. -The Second Bass was from before the spawn this year. she was fat & full of eggs, but was a lighter more olive green all over, barely had the stripe. -the Third Bass was from this weds. it has what i call a normal coloring but the black stripe was kinda broken up into little chunks. What Im asking here is if there's anything that we know of that plays into the coloration of a bass? especially the black band, thats my favorite part.....? :-?

My Point of view exactly!

Frog Fishing Is My Cardio Work Out! lol Id kinda like to chime in a different idea...... I fish frogs of course. but my favorite off branch on the frog family tree is the toad..... I love it. fast paced. nonstop retrieves. covers tons of water! and on my home lake the water clarity blows! SO as if a horny toad didnt kick up enough of a disturbance. I found something smart to do. two step process.... step one, chartruse or red spike it dye pen to the "legs" step two. slip a swivel with a plastic tube on the hook shank with a tiny cloroado blade on it under the toad! awesome profile in the water! ;D

I second that...... i think too often people get too caught up in the name brand, type of, or cost of the gear they use than if theyre having fun. I didnt catch a thing today...... enjoyed myself tremendously but missed every bite. On my way out to the parking lot, a guy kinda poked fun at me for having what he called, "Walmart Gear" which is halarious because everything i take with me when i shore fish (which i had been today) is gander mountain brand. Generic Classic Edition 7' IM7 graphite rods. one ML one Heavy action. A light weight spinning reel and a 7 bearing medium fast baitcaster....... and when i shore fish i take 2 planos pack FULL of stuff in a nice hiking backpack of mine to make it easier to hike to my spots..... He showed me his shiny quantum baitcaster. Berkley lightning rod...... shimano spinning real. and St. Croix Rod....... his "pro level Plano Tackle Management Organizational and Utility System" (EXACT AND DIRECT QUOTE I KID YOU NOT!) and made fun of me because I use "Cheap Fishing Equipment" This is the same guy who last week when I landed my lunker, hung his expensive $25 crankbait up in a tree branch because he didnt know what he was doing...... Moron..... > sorry for getting off topic, but i said that to say this...... If you have more fun with the spinning reel...... then youre doing the right thing! and more points to you if ur catching fish too! ;D

ok. uve got me..... everything ive seen just skipped that step. plus im gunna be camping. so were talking picnic table, water bottles to clean with and no expierence gutting a fish!?

better late than never..... welcome aboard...... *federal regulations have designated this a non-bragging message board.... but feel free to show off ur latest catch once the moderator has turned off the no bragging light in the cabin. in case of an emergency.....the fisherman next to u can be used as a floatation device. and as always, the sea sickness bag is located in the tacklebox in the other guys boat.... good fishin! ;D

question...... how do I avoid dicing into the gut bag if im going straight down the ribs? or r u saying that when i fillet down the backbone that the blade will go right over the top of the ribs??? thats what Im most worried about is spoiling the meat....... :-/

ok..... i figured i should get this done and over with...... in my own defense....... let us not forget that in the good ole' days a nice old bucketmouth meant dinner. if anyone of you eats a trout. Im sure trout unlimited would hunt u down and burn u at the stake.... heres the bottom line...... I posted this mostly refering to small fish (cough cough...... panfish) but in order to get a response I figured I should apply it to bass...... CATCH AND RELEASE RULE NUMBER ONE........... YOU DO NOT THROW BACK AN INJURED BASS! its not exactly humane.... read up. any time u see articles on it. they always tell u to put the fish out of its missery by tossing it on ice...... now i personally have never been tossed on ice. but Im just saying...... its the natural order of things..... I landed my personal best earlier this month on a small lake where TONS of kids fish. that monster female got sent home to make her babies and be caught by some kid to make their dreams come true..... however. If im going to be trying to catch my dinner. and an injured bass is all i catch, its going to be consumed by my end of the food chain.... Id rather make sure it doesnt go to waste by me screwing it up...... if the bashing must commence then so be it. but at least have something constructive to say.....

No jokes...... Im embarrassed enough that Im asking this..... but since Ive only been fishing for a matter of a year or two...... and since no1 has been teaching me these things.... i have no choice but to turn to my adopted fishing family..... you guys. so help..... ok, i know this is breaking most of our personal fishing rule number one about catch and release..... but lets just say im on a camping trip and I happen to catch a bass. and it happens to end up being dinner.... maybe along with a few perch, bluegill, whatever i can catch...... does anyone have any tips for me on this whole fillet process.....? Ive never filleted a fish myself...... ive been doing my research, it seems simple enough..... but I really dont want to trash my first dinner of my camping trip........ I know theres the obvious size difference if im filleting a bass than if im filleting a panfish..... but the techniques the same right? Fillet knife, cut behind the fin. cut thru to the backbone..... then slide it down along the side of the fish using the back bone as a guide and out the tail..... but im also trying to figure out the technique for smaller fish..... cut from behind the ear back to the top of the head. then the tip of the knife down the spine & out the tail. then role the blade up along the rib cage and down thru the bottom...... do i have the right idea here? help..... please......

Ive had a little success using my spinning gear for frogging..... the only thing is it depends on what kind of frogging were talking about. floating/hollow bodies.....sure. solid bodies(rage toads, horny toads, ect.) is a no go from my point of view..... Im going to be a little on the brutally honest side here. but if mr weekend angler here.... (ME) can fish a baitcaster anyone can! You just need to find the right amount of resistance on ur reel and make sure uve got a bait hefty enough to toss a good ways...... just get some practice time in and figure it out... yes ull get backlashes sometimes.... but that just forces you to learn My opinion, dont give up....

my issue is that I always hit the water with at least one new technique or tactic or kind of bait I want to throw..... I make a half dozen casts with it then swap it out for my comfort zone lure...... horny toads..... even though I can go all over the lake and not get a bite on a toad.... i keep one tied on. or at the ready........ so i guess my biggest problem is over relying on my crutch...... thank you zoom bait company for making me weak..... lol

mostly how i fish...... i target pad beds and any holes i can find in them. also. i aim for where ever i can find multiple kinds of "structure" to fish at the same time. Surface pads meeting pads that grew out above the surface. theres an underwater pipe that has stakes on both sides running the whole length of one side of the lake that has pad beds growing all around it. thats a great spot. i mostly pitch. fliping isnt really an option. where i fish if im on the shore its in a tight confined space. all that extra line tends to get in my way...... but ive landed my personal best from the shore. pitched a 1/4 ounce Booyah Jig with a beaver style trailer out and just hopped it back in..... I use my heavy duty gear for this..... 7 foot gander mtn IM7 heavy action rod. 10-14lbs Fireline in either smoke or crystal. and a generic Gander Mtn Baitcaster. Its targeting the transitions between multiple kinds of cover that makes the diff for me. other wise im just blindly tossing a jig into random holes in the pads and praying......

wait a second.... they sell gambler cranks dont they.....? what are you looking for. theres a good outdoors store bown by my house that sells gambler custom cranks too...... let me know what it is youre looking for. the place is called Kames Sporting Goods. its just up the street in north canton. problem is they dont have much listed on their website. theyve got all sorts of stuff. just let me know. least i can do is go look for u.

sorry..... its in ashland. too far for my station wagon to make it. they have online shopping...... http://www.finfeatherfuroutfitters.com/ sorry again..... for some reason I thought it was alot closer than it was. plus if i did make the trip up there id come back dead broke. most likely brake sumthing on my car and then not be able to afford to get it fixed.... sorry..... :-/ if u ever need anything else tho. or if i get a new car and make it up there ill let u know!

if its where i think it is i might be able to. let me get back to you...... email me if u dont hear back from me. sdsmith823@yahoo.com if it isnt where i think it is then the answers probably no..... ill let u know soon.

if anyone cares. I landed this one on a Booyah Jig with a custom skirt I made, Pumpkin, Brown, & Black with a Beaver Style Trailer In Brown/ Light Pumpkin. with two rattles on it. (My new Bluegill imitator for the dark muddy waters of Sippo Lake) Fished it on 14lbs Fireline Crystal on a Gander Mtn Generic Baitcaster and Gander Mtn IM7 7 Foot Rod.

So I took a chance this week, and on a cool, bluebird sky, very windy monday evening went to the lake to vent some steam from work & enjoy some much needed quiet time. I fished my favorite spot and came up empty handed......and as the sun was going down behind the trees across the lake I decided to take a chance and try a new spot I found while hiking this winter. Its a clearing in the tree line on the edge of the lake (I shore fish) and it opened up onto what is in the summer a HUGE lily pad field. Right now its just starting to fill in along the shore, but theres a series of stakes that make a retaining wall of sorts meant to keep the mud from the surface from sliding further out into the lake. There was this nice pad bed out there, so i snaped back, loaded up my 7foot IM7 Heavy cover rod and cast my flipin jig to the exact spot I wanted to land in. (Ive been practicing in my front yard with a paper plate and man did it do wonders!) I let the jig fall, pumped it twice, and started swiming/hopping it back to me. it had just got past the outcast tip of the pads and a bass loaded up on my line! I reeled her in without much of a fight & found this hefty Ohio sweetheart on my jig. I was standing on a couple of logs in the middle of a muck puddle so I didnt get to measure her properly, but she was 17.5 inches from tail to snout, laid down and measured correctly Id say she was every bit of 18 inches and she was FAT! (given my expierence with other bass in that lake, and her size, Im going to guess she was 4 pounds give or take an ounce or two.) I am now a firm believer in two things, Jig fishing (my first jig bass) and the idea that the big females come up early to eat up before spawning!

This is a desperate attempt to get someone to help me out. I am taking my fiance camping with me at Atwood lake park at the end of june. and Im wondering if anyone here is reading this....... if you have a boat on the lake and would be interested in having a fishing buddy for the day........ let me know. I dont have a boat. and the rentals at the marina are VERY over priced. I know this sounds like me begging for someone to take me fishing..... Im just wondering if theres anyone with a boat on Atwood who would like to take us out on the water and show us some good spots? Dont take this the wrong way. Just looking for someone with similar interests to help me learn about a new lake. Let me know.

in response to your tag line........ sometimes it is size that matters and not just numbers........ lol Welcome aboard btw. There's plenty of dinks here in ohio you can whisper to as well! ;D

thought id show u my quick progression...... all these fish were ethier shore caught or landed from cover that I could reach from shore but decided to hit while i was in a rented canoe on my favorite small lake.

and thus starts his life long battle with the bait monkey...... all because one faithful day, we all told this guy to go out and buy more...... of everything.... lol I dont know how much this applies to you, because i dont know about the cover you're fishing. but I got my first bass on a horny toad. REALY simple lure. toss it over lilly pads on braided line (to prevent snags in the weeds stems) and reel it in fast enough to keep it on the surface...... keep tossing it long enough & ull aggravate a fish into taking it under. Spinner baits are a good starting place too........ I also had alot of success to start with using texas rigged ribbon tail worms (7inch). Basically baits that you can just toss to likely bass hot spots and reel back in........ I shore fish most of the time. And What i can say is this.... "Weeds, Downed Trees, & Docks are your new best friends! Fish any of them your lure can reach! Good luck. and let us see when u land that first one. no matter how small or large! ;D Now Get Fishing! You've Got That First Bass To Catch!!!!!