el_jewapo

that's really cool. i've never had that happen before. i've heard about it though.

i deer hunt alot, and in deer hunting your best chance to see deer is the first time you hunt an area. after that the deer seem to sense that you're there. does this happen with bass? i'm talking about pounding a productive area alot? do all those lures coming by them let them know something is up? i know there is debate on how much bass become conditioned to lures. i'm talking short term here. is it best to back off good spots for a while? or hit them day in day out? i'm not talking about spooking where you change lures. i mean shutting down completely?

i'm getting more and more ready for the big bite. i fish with lower percentage baits where i fish now, because i expect big fish. i can tie on a worm and catch little ones all day, but i settle for quality fish over quantity. you ask if i am learning anything? not really, other than confidence. the same question to myself is why i started this thread. i was sitting here thinking about fishing that lake for a learning experience. the other lake has more long term benefits to my fishing the rest of my life. but the lake i fish now is an instant gratification fix.

i've got pretty much the same problem. fishing farm ponds you dwell on areas because you know they're there, you just have to make them bite. on bigger lakes it's more finding them than anything.

to elaborate on not having a depth finder. i feel like i would need one to be successful at the other lake. the one i've been doing well on is small enough that you don't really need one.

i fish a lake where alot of 6-8+ pound bass are caught. pretty regularly. the best i've done is 2 around 6. i've talked about this lake in previous posts. it's a small lake of limited resource, i believe. there's another lake that is pretty big. it is loaded with bass in the teens. but no one ever catches them. they're there though, they have been caught. and shocked up. but it is highly pressured and i never see anyone catch alot of bass and every time i go, i say i'm done with this lake. last time i was there i missed one bass. one time last year i had a really big fish hit and almost jerked the rod out of my hand when i set the hook. it started stripping drag and got hung up in some logs and broke my line. i never saw the fish, i like to think it was a huge bass, but it could have been a catfish. i was using a berkley gulp worm, those things stink like catfish bait. so, do i fish a lake where i have an excelent chance of catching a trophy bass (in my book). the lake is starting to get pressured. and i don't think it can handle it. or force myself to learn to fish the other lake and maybe catch a bass big enough to get my picture in a magazine? i don't have a depth finder.

spots also have a patch of teeth on their tongue. and all i've ever caught have red eyes.

there's a lake where my dad used to take me fishing when i was younger. it had alot of big bass. but something happened to it and now it's really muddy. near zero visibility under the water. my dad won't fish it now. no one else does to my knowledge. would you guys bother with it? i went last year and caught a good size bluegill, i take that as a good sign. if it's not overstocked with bluegill, there's a good chance it has a healthy bass population. there aren't any spots where it clears up in the least bit. i looked last year. i don't know what happened to it, but it's been this way for years now.

it took me a while to warm up to the linder boys when i first started seeing them. what do those yankees know about bass fishing? but i couldn't deny their ability to catch all fish. if i could fish with one pro, i think it would be al linder. or kevin van dam.

yep, that's the feeling i got the other day. i threw a spinnerbait beside a piece of standing timber and let it fall and as soon as i started reeling it hit hard. i was so excited, thinking i had a huge bass! it was a big let down when i saw the fish.

with alot of fishing shows i get the feeling i'm just watching an infomercial about whatever they are using. roland martin has always been the worst. the older i get i see it alot in bill dance too. they're trying to sell their product, rather than teaching you new things. i don't get that feeling from the in fisherman guys. to me, they have the most informative show.

i hooked one like that the other day, it didn't puncture the eye ball. i don't even think it will lose the eye, let alone die. it was a small fish on a senko. i have hooked them through the eyeball before.

anybody ever caught a bowfin? we call them grinnel around here, but like most things we call around here i doubt anyone else knows it by that name. i caught my first last year, about 4 1/2 lbs. today i hooked a huge one, pushing 10 lbs. i got it to the boat and was fumbling for the net and he broke my line. they fight like crazy and are hard on your lures. they're fun to catch though.

the lake is more popular this year. i am afraid it won't last long. around here people don't generaly throw a good fish back. i kept the one last year. it was my first big bass. before that it was a 4 and 3/4 or 5. this fish just seemed so much bigger. it was 22-1/2 inches long and i could fit my fist in its mouth. it was pretty skinny though. i just had to find out how big it really was. i plan on having it mounted. it's still in the freezer. the one i caught today. i released and it felt pretty good. i didn't mind not having a picture of it. it wasn't as long and i couldn't fit my fist in its mouth, but it seemed a couple ounces heavier. the one last year rode in the back of my truck for 20 miles and lost alot of weight. she weighed 5 lbs 8 ounces when i finaly weighed her. i just estimated around 6 lbs. more or less. i weighed the one today on the water. i doubt the lake will stay good long though. 3 boats in there is enough to consider it crowded. two is pretty bad. i could be wrong though. it might stay full of big bass.

i just got back from fishing there. caught a 6 lb 2 oz bass! my biggest yet. i let it go. i gotta get a camera to take with me. i caught it on the same buzz bait in roughly the same spot as the one last year.

i don't keep many bass, not as a matter of ethics, more a matter of too lazy to clean them. alot of people keep all they catch. i don't understand people with a freezer full of fish that still keep all the fish they catch. i like eating bass. to me, it's just as good as crappie and catfish. the other day i kept 2 bass to eat the next day. they're the only fish of any kind i've kept this year.

thanks for the replies, i'll try it out. i caught the big one on a buzz bait, during the last hour of daylight. hottest part of the summer. the same buzzbait in the same spot last time i went caught the only "keeper" of the day. i threw it back. i haven't really been using larger lures. a fairly big crank bait. i've had pretty good success with that. jigs,worms,senkos. they bite most everything. i've never thought it was a good idea to fish a spook through all that timber. but i'm going to try it. how well can you use a super spook in heavy timber?

it's really small. most of you would probably call it a pond. i fish it in a 14 foot aluminum boat with a trolling motor. i could spend a day fishing out in the middle even though i don't have a depth finder. i could cover it pretty thuroughly in a few hours. i've been thinking about using a live bream or something. but that would be a pain in the standing timber wouldn't it? for now i like my chances of a buzz bait in low light conditions.

i've found a lake that alot of big bass come out of. the first time i was there i caught a 6 lb bass, my biggest to date. i know of 7's and 8's pretty regularly. i heard of an 8 and a half pounder sunday. i've been fishing it alot and about 3 1/2 lbs is my biggest after that. it's super stumpy over half of it. you can't get a boat in the last 150 yards or so. the other half is pretty deep with not much visible structure. i catch most of my bass around the weedy bank and in the first bit of standing timber before it gets really stumpy. i've had success with buzz baits and crank baits in the timber. not too many on jigs and worms in the timber, but you can catch them around the banks all day with a worm or jig. to date, i have only fished it in the afternoon when i get off work. 4:30-dark:30. would my chances of catching a bigger bass be in the morning? how would some of you guys fish this? for big bass. sorry i can't really give accurate detail about the size in acres because i don't know a 10 acre lake from a 40 acre lake.

i have a 50# minn kota. i beat the hell out of it and it works great. plenty of power, it's all i use as i don't have an outboard. great motor. i don't know about the new motor guides, but i used one years ago on a rental boat and you set the speed with a dial and you had to hold a button down to go. they might not be like that now. i like the twist, i often turn it on low while i fish just like a foot control, you just reach up and push it in the right direction every once in a while.