bonzai22

I live in central illinois but i have never fished lake decatur. For this time of year though i would look for some points that have good dropoffs into deep water. I like to fish jigs in a lake I'm unfamiliar with so i can find spots with good structure. Try the same thing at Clinton and also I have seen lake decatur and it looks like it has a lot of boat docks so if u could find some deeper docks I'm sure those would hold some fish as well. As everybody else said research and time on the water will help tremendously.

that is the exact same thing ive been throwing

I had alot of luck this past weekend on a shakyhead. Maybe try it on the major points and steep dropoffs. Also definitely on any rocks if the lake has them.

3/4 ounce jig

Yeah i live in Illinois and the weather is crazy so especially for tournament fishing where u need to adapt on the spot it is good to learn how the weather affects them but its definitely not always easy.

One of the biggest bass ive caught on a jig swam towards the boat and i had to catch up to it so like everyone else is saying make sure to reel up to the fish before you set it. Also i would use a high speed reel i use a 7 to 1 gear ratio so i can reel up to them and keep pressure on them.

Iaconelli is definitely in my top 10 for versatility he says his main style is power fishing but he can finesse really well and do everything in between.

I feel your pain i fished my first tournament a few days ago and didnt even get a bite. There were very few fish brought to the scales but most of them were caught on jerkbaits.

Jigs are always a good choice for big bass

As long as there is a jig bite i live and die by the jig shallow or deep. I fish alot of different baits but the jig is my favorite.

I started when i was about 3 years old fishing for bluegills while my dad fished for bass at a small pond and ive been hooked ever since. I never wanted to leave so he pretty much had to drag me to the car.

Swim jigs are the way to go I caught my personal best last year on one which is the fish in my profile picture.

Drop shot

One of the main lakes i fish is a smaller one and i found some great structure running along a wall next to the dam. Certain times of the year i can go down it and catch a lot of nice fish so i would say its worth a try for sure.

bluegill are probably what the bass mainly feed on so i would try to match them as closely as possible and try some bluegill colored cranks. The bass is probably guarding its fry. Also maybe some jigs and i would target that brushpile by making repeated casts to it. Also the bass might be able to see you so if stay at a distance you will probably have better luck.

yep probably 4 to 4.5 lbs good fish

That is the walmart girl of all walmart girls!

I would go with a swim jig they go through weeds very easily and that should be perfect for this situation.

Make sure you make casts aways past the fish then bring it in their bed and i have found a tube to be a really good bait for bedding bass. Something about the tube drives them crazy.

I'm in.

I like to throw a strike king tour grade football jig with a chigger craw or a rage craw as the trailer. Green pumpkin is the main color i throw. For a rod i would go with a 6 foot 6 to a 7 foot medium heavy action. If its 10 or 12 feet or shallower i will go with a half ounce jig any deeper i switch to three quarter ounce. I mainly target largemouth so for smallmouth you might have to downsize a little bit. Technique varies depending on the how aggressive the fish are but usually a hop let it fall back down and sit for a few seconds.

newton is a great bass lake i havent been out there yet but a few weeks ago my buddy cught 10 keepers out there and he said he ran into a guy that caught an 8 lb 14 oz bass

I would try a white and chartreuse spinnerbait with one gold and silver willowleaf blade.

Thanks guys ill give these a try

Nice fish! Frogs can produce some hawgs had a possible personal best swirl at one last year but didnt take it still caught a few 4 lbers on it though.