fretfishman

i've caught cruisers in the 5-8 lb. range, but the key for me was that I spotted them and came back a half hour later when it was starting to get dark. I cast ahead of their cruise pattern and run a black jig straight across their path. I'm sure there are a million other methods, but that has worked for me. why did I choose to come back when it was getting dark? just made logical sense to me, because there is inherent truth to the original poster's concern of ever catching cruising bass. when there is less for them to worry about (ie: they tend to feel safer at night) they're much more open-minded. I caught an 8 pounder last week doing this.

so, I'm looking at getting a new MH fast to extra fast 7' casting rod and seem to be coming up short of info. particularly in the 1 or 2 piece rod area...is the carrot stix 1 or 2 piece? also, if you know anything about the rod - have tried it, etc., please let me know. it seems like a very good deal at 150'ish$ except for the line guides look weak. also, other ones I was looking at are the Bass Pro Johnny Morris Signature @ 129$, Shimano Crucial, Bass Pro Nitro and St. Croix Avid or Premier. The St. Croix seems to only come in 1 piece for the avid series unless I'm mistaken...which sucks, because they've been my fave for years. So, are any of these rods - or even others I haven't mentioned - a 2 piece rod? This is going to be a shore rod for me; not a boat rod...so I really need a 2piece. I don't want junk, but I'm limiting the budget. $75 to 175$ max. any advice or insight is much appreciated - thanks!

have you used a carolina rig? if you're fishing deep that and a nice p-line or similar flouro will get you deep quickly.

rapala shallow shad rap, x rap, sub-walk, spro prime crankbait (dunno if they're still made or not), excalibur swimmin' image in speckled trout color.

I'm digging the stanley ribbit frog - makes so much noise and looks a lot better in the water than a buzzbait. looks like there are plenty on the market now with the same approach, though. always been fond of the old excalibur spook jr., as well. (albino color) Rapala's Skitter walk and skitter pop usually produce fish. surprisingly, my luck lately has come from a chrome Cordell prop - 3.5 inch. I've even been catching some mid day here, which usually doesn't happen with this super clear water. for some reason they're loving the chrome, though. I hear the rage tail is good so I'll have to try that out.

good call on the videos and the trailer hook. the pros show us a lot and it's inspiring to watch them work. if you don't feel like spending money on videos you could also try youtube.com since it's a great resource nowadays. I like the hands-on instruction you can get there for free and sometimes it can be better than reading about it. as for the trailer hook - thanks for the reminder! I rarely use one on a spinnerbait, but I've seen enough short strikes to wish I had one on. I'll have to ditch the trailer on a couple of my spinnerbaits and go to a stinger. I'll do that now while you've reminded me. oh, and one more thing I've found that works well - if they're following the bait but not committing don't be afraid to throw on a medium to large sized beetle spin or roadrunner. I know they're kind of a boring lure since they've been around for like 50 years and haven't changed a whole lot, but they produce fish that may not bite otherwise!

i'd probably start with creek channels, but if the spawn was really recent you'll naturally pick up some nice females. you can get some nice territorial bites from the males protecting the fry also. check those bedded spawn areas. (most likely gravel bars or humps depending on your lake) smallies are so much more aggressive than largemouths, especially post-spawn. try running some baitfish lures through there, perch pattern cranks, spinnerbaits and larger grubs - you may even be able to get a nice topwater bite happening from the females since they should be very aggressive. if you find an area with flooded bushes or shrubs tied to a big flat I'd scour that area also. g'luck on your trip - should be good times!

cool, well it looks like verde river has both major types of bass, 2-3 types of catfish and stocked rainbows. nice assortment! make sure you take those gold and silver panther martins, some tubes, maybe a couple rebel wee craws, a float and fly rig (either match the hatch or use a couple pistol petes) and maybe some fluke type baits. hope you do well, man, let us know how the trip goes and what the conditions are like.

you're already off to a great start with the spinnerbaits you've chosen. terminator makes some great ones and I've had good success with the strike kings, as well. luckily, for all of us, it's one of the easier baits to learn to use. if you're not producing fish it's most likely not anything you're doing wrong, but simply location or mood. the exception I would say is that you mentioned you start your retrieve as soon as I hits the water. while this is sometimes great - more often than not you want it deeper. the other possible exception is that you're crashing the water with the spinnerbait and spooking the fish. that's hard to say, though, without seeing where you're fishing, how far you're casting from, etc. one remedy to that, though, is pitching, skipping, roll-casting or flipping the spinnerbait instead of a normal cast. these methods provide a softer and more subtle presentation for things like jigs, spinnerbaits and other lures. there is plenty of info available on the net about these techniques...start with youtube and do a search for pitching, flipping or skipping technique. several videos should come up about them and you'll want to practice in the yard or pool before trying on the lakes to save frustration. they can look easier than they are or be easier than they look depending on the gear you're using. having said that, there are 4 presentations I make with a spinnerbait. a very fast "burning" retrieve where I crank as fast as possible until it reaches the surface and then let if fall a little, rinse repeat. a slow roll, which would be crawling it, in a nutshell. a normal retrieve - think of it like the standard retrieve for an inline spinner. (just make sure you can feel the pulsing of the lure. (if you can't then the blades may not be turning due to either speed or they've gotten hung up on other parts of the bait or twisted. in that case, just snap the bait and it should get the blades turning) the last retrieve I'll usually try before giving up is a standard retrieve with a small downward sweeping or soft popping motion - think of it like a super spook retrieve, or any topwater bait that you "walk the dog" with. the only difference would be that there's a quicker retrieve involved. that retrieve adds a nice pulsating action to the skirt - where it flares and closes in a fluid and quick motion while it's moving through the water. it will do some of that naturally depending on your retrieve speed, but this just amplifies it. I occasionally throw in a twitch or pop to one of the retrieves if I can see fish following but not committing or if it just seems like the fish are lethargic even though I know they're there. as much as retrieve can help - choosing blade color or blade type can help also. do some quick google searches on the difference in colorado, indiana and willowleaf blades. that will get you started on understanding the difference in flash versus vibration and such, as well as silver versus gold for water clarity. sometimes painted blades are even better. I do that a lot with my perch imitating spinnerbaits - paint the blades. oh, and one more thing that I do around the right structure that has caught me plenty of nice bass...around submerged trees I often cast my spinnerbait quite a ways past a low hanging branch on the tree - just make sure that a) the branch is hanging 6 inches or less above the water, and your line goes over the tree branch for the remainder of the retrieve. once your bait is near the branch slow it down and start giving it soft and small twitches. it will appear to be trying to hop up on the branch and escape...I've gotten some explosive strikes this way that resulted in some nice fish I couldn't catch otherwise. just goes to show you that bass don't always think your spinnerbait is a small school of fish or whatever, which a lot of people think. bass seem to be just as much in favor of the "fight" as we are when you see them jump a foot out of the water just to catch the spinnerbait you're hopping out of the water! hope this helps - g'luck!

there's a wealth of info about fishing rivers here in the forums, but I'd say do a lot of sight fishing from as far away as you can. if you locate a fish or even see a nice structure you think they'll be holding in - make your presentation from as far away as possible and try to cast past them in run your lure through that pocket. upstream and across usually works best in rivers or streams. flagstaff climate and variables are much like colorado's, so I'll venture to say it's possible that the river's running high and extremely fast right now from all the run-off and such. hopefully, that's not the case - 'cause it's making some of my typical river spots a pain in the arse right now! I assume you're taking a spinning rig since you're used to fishing the lakes - or are you fly fishing? g'luck!

took me about a month to gain confidence in using a jig/pig or jig/craw. or any jig, for that matter. however, as for catching bass that came instantly. it's always been a top producer. i'd say of most any lure a jig has the least learning curve to it. once you figure out a standard and swimming retrieve there's not much to it. the rest is locating the fish...the most important part.

this is solid advice. a lot of people think that fish like bass (being so aggressive and such) aren't easily spooked, but they're wrong. using caution to avoid them seeing you is common practice for trout, but so many people don't use the same strategy for other fish.

no offense, but your method was uncalled for. not only that, but even if you approach it correctly - there's nothing wrong with keeping some fish. granted, I don't keep anything except 2-3 lb. walleyes and 1-2 lb. crappie because I love the taste of them and they're very prolific...but still. if you really want to drive a point home - use tact. also, not practicing catch and release doesn't disqualify them from being a "real fisherman". get off your high horse, bud! ;D

I spend a ridiculous 200$/mo. or so. give or take on a given month, but I spend a lot given the fact that I do no professional fishing or even tournaments. I'm sure a lot of others out there feel the same. I guess it's like any other hobby or passion - and buying the wonderful gear brings a lot of joy to it, as well. not as much as actually fishing, but it's still fun! there are a lot of variables like buying an expensive bait and being disappointed - but then you fish it other ways to quickly try and make it work - and you find an unconventional method that brings in fish! just an example, but man...gotta love this sport.

that is awesome, Bobby! we all *** the fact that you had this great opportunity and it's even better to hear what a polite and fun guy he is. sometimes when we meet celebrities it's very disappointing how rude and "caught up in the lifestyle" they are - so it's nice to hear about the "real people". Long live Roland Martin!

that is awesome! it was cool listening to the kids about their big catches and how hard they reeled to get them in. I know fishing made a big difference in my life when I was a kid and I'd like to make that happen for others. my nephew's moving back to colorado at the moment so I plan to do that with him. I'd really like to get involved on a larger scale and do something for kids around here, though. not sure I know how to go about that, though...any tips? thanks for posting this - it is great!

if you're talking about wiper (striper/white bass) then yeah...they hit hard! they hit and fight like a striper, but aren't quite as finicky on lure choice - they take all the same baits I use for LM/SM bass. I've caught them even on 1 oz jigs and heavy spinnerbaits. it may be different in your neck of the woods - I don't know. in colorado, though, you can pretty much treat them like another bass. whenever I fish striper in lake powell (utah) it reminds me of how different the hybrids really are. striper are much more selective. g'luck!

I always bring a float and fly for when the bass aren't biting. most of the time I'll catch the bass with this anyway or at least catch some nice crappie. just bring a couple different dry and wet flies that match the hatch as best possible and a couple pistol petes. start with the petes and, if they aren't being hit, you can go to standard flies. it's pretty hard for fish to resist so it's a good backup plan. I just fill the float completely so it creates little or no wake and retrieve it slowly.

Ok, so I have plenty of luck with shad rap style crankbaits, (thinner and longer - shad rap, spro prime crank, etc.) but even then it's most with a slower stop and go or erratic retrieve. The fish in colorado just don't seem to want to hit fatter and wobblier style crankbaits. You might think "OK, just ditch those and use your shad raps!". good point, but I have to wonder whether it's presentation, size or do the bass in colorado just hate fat crankbaits?! I have never caught fish in colorado with the normal fat cranks. I've tried every retrieve I can think of and no dice. I've even tried to crank it down as quickly as I can to the bottom and then use patterns of retrieve I think would imitate crayfish. seems these cranks only serve me when I go out of state. any suggestions or am I limited to thin cranks with perch and firetiger patterns? 'cause those are the only type cranks I've caught with in colorado. I've even tried fat-free shad and fat-free guppies in natural colors, which are usually great cranks for me, with no luck. those aren't that fat, either, but are a bit fatter and rounder in profile than a shad rap or spro prime crank. just wondering if there's something I don't know about colorado bass and other fish that make normal crankbaits not so conducive to bites here.

I really need to buy a digital camera. > I can take the pic with my phone, but lack the cord to connect it to my pc. maybe I'll see if I can pick one of those up tomorrow.

in my opinion, a lot of these newer paddletail type swimbaits fail in a couple areas...at least for being a "swimbait". those areas would be: 1) most of them are too bulky from the body to tail fin area. by thinning this area it greatly improves the action with much less effort. 2) a lot of them have a big side to side wobble. so what you're left with is a huge crankbait (side wobble) that is way too long to be a crankbait (jerkbait?) with a big boot on the tail end that doesn't provide nearly enough action for this crankbootyjerklolbait. I'm sorry, but these things cost way too much money for what they do. just because they're a cheap "swimbait" compared to a real swimbait doesn't mean they shouldn't have good action. a pretty paint job and holographic eyes does not a swimbait make. they shouldn't require mega modifications straight out of the package, but they do. granted, I've caught a couple fish on them, but that was due to me working my booty off to try and wrangle some action from these lame baits. I think the fish actually felt sorry for me and chose to bite them; that's all. the only thing these baits have going for them is that they take a lot of effort to make them presentable to fish...I tend to dig having to work to get fish to bite and then feeling the reward of it. having said that, though...I still hate these p.o.s. baits. there are some nice soft swimbaits out there, but you have to do your homework to find them. edit: I forgot to mention that I tried these for like 4 hours one day and got so frustrated that I ripped the bait off my hook and chucked it halfway across the lake. that should be a testament to how far they can be cast, but still....I ended up thinking after I did that and decided to try something new with them. I shaved away part of the body on the lower side from the belly to the tail to give the paddletail more working room and better action. then I cut several slits into the bottom of the bait to make it more pliable and then rigged it up slightly off-center from a normal wacky style. what I ended up with is a dying minnow type presentation when I gave the lure soft tugs. if you've ever watched a fish die in this manner you'll know what I mean. where they're in a slight u shape and making small burst swimming motions to one side. so, yeah...shouldn't take all that to catch a fish with these, but hey...it worked...

well, topwater bites can be sketchy. I'd say if at least one of two scenarios happen with the quickswirl it's worth it. those would be: you find consistent topwater bites that last at least a half hour or if the quickswirl doesn't hinder other lure actions besides topwaters. I've seen quick connectors before that worked great for topwaters, but not for other lures...that's why I say this. anyway, looks cool and they're cheap enough to try once and see!

I tried posting the link, but it won't let me yet since I haven't posted 10 normal messages here yet...just joined like yesterday. I always just hit control+n to open up a second browser window so I can google things like this when there's no link. just google "strike king sexy" or something similar.

I tried out a lure tonight that my dad had in his tackle box. I'd ask him, but he passed away about 2 years ago. Anyway, the lure looks much like a beetle spin, but has a mister twister shad type on the jig head and the blade is sort of like a 2 piece silver Colorado blade. (they can be pushed together for a colorado blade style or moved apart further and further for a different action or vibration. they function on a rivet so that they can swing together or apart on one end) if you space the 2 blade sections at near their max range it creates a side to side swinging pendulum type thing that makes the lure have a wobble much like a crankbait. combine that with the soft bodied shad on the jighead and it's a pretty cool action. it's pretty unique even though it may or may not be old news. the reason I ask what this is - it worked very well and I'd like to purchase more since I almost lost this lure in a rock bed tonight. caught a couple largemouth and a few rock bass on it. oh, and I believe it had the mister twister name on the blades and not just the shad body. (which confuses me since I figured it was a johnson beetle spin with a minnow instead of the beetle body. either way - I did several google searches and couldn't find anything out. thanks in advance for any help!

I know you're smothered with requests on the wacky PM, but I'd like one also, if possible. I've tried some wacky rigging, but the only type I've been effective with is the dying minnow style. (soft swimbait hooked slightly in front of center body and slices in the bottom of the bait to make it more pliable on the "tugs". I'd really like to work on wacky worm presentations. thanks!