senko_77

Both responses above are spot on. Most of my night fishing is done with either a frog or crankbait. I've played with the whole dark/light color deal and honestly, I have never noticed a difference. As Jrob78 said, the forage the bass are eating at night do not change color or size or action. That being said, I throw red exclusively at night because that is something I have found confidence in. I also throw red crankbaits just as much during the day. The biggest thing I do when cranking at night is.... - Look for rock or clay banks or a mix of the two, just as WRB said - Make sure your fishing a bait that is hitting bottom on a good portion of the retrieve. If your fishing 6-8ft, throw a DT-10, if fishing 10-14ft, fish a DD-22. You get the picture. - Use a crankbait with a wider wobble. This I believe is THE most important thing about night cranking. I like something I can really feel and I do believe it helps the fish find it a bit easier. But yeah, don't get too worked up over changing tactics from daylight to dark fishing. I fish mostly the same way as the daytime. It's real easy to get overwhelmed but if you go out there and fish more at night, you'll become a whole lot more in tune with your baits and what there doing underwater. Good luck!

You can most definitely dropshot in dingy water. A lot of people upsize their line size, hook size, bait size, weight, etc. but I fish it pretty much the same as I do in clear water. I get why people upsize the rig. In murky water you are usually targeting cover which is best suited for heavier tackle, but I know I get more bites on lighter line, even in less than perfect water conditions. I worry about getting bit first, THEN getting the fish out of the nasty cover. Since you said you have heavy cover, try 12lb line, and rather than nose hooking your bait, make it a texas rigged worm on the DS rig by using a 1/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook. Good luck man! Don't ever think a certain technique can't work because of water conditions. I've caught fish in gin clear water on super bright, chartreuse crankbaits and I've caught fish on clear, completely translucent soft plastics in super muddy water. There is no set of rules....and if there is, the fish never follow them.

I use pork year round. I'm all about trying to give the fish a different look than what all the other anglers are throwing and people flat out don't fish pork trailers anymore, especially in warmer water. I fish the bigger pork trailers in winter to help slow the fall, and as the water warms, I usually downsize to help speed up the drop speed of the jig or move up to a heavier weight. This helps with getting more reaction strikes. Then as the water cools again, begin upsizing to slow the fall according to water temp. Pork trailers are awesome, man. The fish never see em.

PBilzzle, I strongly suggest you order some JJ's Magic online from their website. I have zero affiliation with this company but my god, I have gotten so many more bites than if I didn't have it on. Spike-It leaves a real strong alcohol type scent and only coats the outside of the bait and doesn't permeate through it like JJ's does. As for scent effecting get more/less bites, I've never seen scent hurt a bite. I've had times where I got bit on unscented baits as much as scented BUT 9 times out of 10, I get more on scent. I'm a strong believer that the oils from your hands can cause you to get less bites when the fish are in a more negative feeding mood and scent is the cure for that.

Combining a Gamakatsu Skip Gap hook with either a screw in weight or those clear screw in grass guards really help make them last longer. I used to t-rig my senkos all the time, but now I do a lot more wacky rigging. The way I make them last is to take a strip of electrical tape, tape it around the center, then impale with a hook of your choice. They sell electrical tape in tons of different colors and doing this has made my stick baits last a LOT longer.

Nice jigs, Drew. I would think twice about trimming up those skirts. I do real well in the warmer months with a longer skirt and bigger trailer. Once the water gets colder, thats when I like a more compact jig,

If this is the only reason why you aren't using the 10lb. braid, then I urge you to reconsider. The 10lb. braid WILL get that bait to where you want it. Who cares if you need to pull out the line and get it re-set after each fish. The fact that your catching them should make it worth it.

I'm surprised no one on here has suggested the Rapala original floating minnow. Once the water warms up a bit, that thing will get eaten when nothing else will. Cast out, let the ripples settle, then one twitch. Let the ripples settle again, then two twitches. Repeat. I've caught a ton of fish doing this.

This thread is obviously not about locating active fish....it's about what each poster likes to throw to catch fish. Ya know, like a confidence bait. BTW, since when do you have to find active fish to catch them? Have you ever fished a day where there are no "active fish?" I sure have. Then it's all about finding areas on a topo map that should hold bass during that season and then making those inactive fish, react. Leviathan - Fishing soft plastics weightless is definately a killer way to catch fish, especially when they are relatively shallow. I haven't got a chance to throw the magnum trick worm, but I've cashed quite a few checks with the regular trick worm. Since you obviously know how to fish slow, I would give a soft plastic jerkbait a chance. I really like the yamamoto d-shad. It's loaded with salt like a senko so you can cast it a mile, it jumps as well as any other jerkbait, and it has an awesome shimmy on the fall that a lot of other soft plastic jerkbaits don't have

I was actually sponsored by them up until 2 years ago. I got way too busy with school and guiding, so because I stopped tournament fishing, I felt it wasn't fair for me to be getting product when I wasn't holding my end of the bargain. I only have sponsorships with companies I have fished exclusively before our partnership began and now, I have zero affiliation with Spro but I am in love with each and every one of their products. Everyone has their own beliefs, most of the time based on personal experiences out on the water but sometimes from what they have read in articles, online posts, etc. I for one have found just as many plastic crankbaits that "hunt" as I have wooden cranks. I think the term "hunt" is really misunderstood. Most anglers think it is a specific action that a bait must possess to be classified as a "hunting" bait. I think it's any crank that has some unique trait to it outside of the basic, side to side wobble during the retrieve while still maintaining the direction you have tuned it to go. Did that reply make sense? Haha. For some reason I had a little trouble getting my thoughts down in a way that sounded right

The most affordable, decent flat sided crankbait that I've found is a Bandit Flat Maxx, but my favorite flat sided crank is the Spro Little John shallow and medium runners and I consider it to be pretty affordable, but it is higher than the Bandit. Also, definitely take into account what WRB said on specific actions that make certain crankbaits more effective than others that are the same make and model. When you find a crankbait that seems to catch more fish than any other in its same diving class, then you have a bait that WRB is talking about. It can happen with a .99 crank or a $30 Megabass, but I've found a higher number of "great" crankbaits in the better quality baits, like the Spro. Good luck, my friend.

Skeletor, the I've never thrown a swimjig heavier than 1/2oz. The Cali swim jig is 3/4oz, correct? As for the Swing Impact, I think all 3 sizes of the Impact would work but the the 4" and 3.5" size would be my first choices. The thing I think you would like about the Impact is that the body of the bait is skinnier than most of the other paddletails on the market. My favorite jig to swim is the Jewel Swim-It. I like the hook keeper a lot and I also like the head design. I'm planning on trying those SK Bitsy Bugs like Greed suggested.

Hey Skeletor, I think the Keitech Swing Impact might be something you would like. It's got a real slender profile but it really puts out a thump.

The Spot Remover come in 3 models. 1. without a skirt. 2. The Pro Model which has a screw in type keeper and no skirt. and 3. Finesse Jig, which is the Spot Remover head with a short, wire tied skirt. I'm a big fan of the Spot Remover for anytime I need a stand up shaky head. A stand up head is useless unless you have a relatively bouyant worm. If you have a real high floating worm, any shaky head becomes a stand up head.

I don't know off the top of my head if there is a qaulity jerkbait made with your specifications. I'm sure there are numerous bait builders that have messed around with modifying the internal chambers of the bait. If it were a project that I dove into, my initial theory on how to accomplish this would be to get access to each individual chamber in the bait, and pull out any kind of metal ball(s) it may have in it. DO NOT throw away those metal balls. If you can, weigh the balls on a small scale. This will tell us the weight that each chamber needs to make sure when you put it back together, it will still be weighted right. My next step would be to SLOWLY put 2-part epoxy into the chambers. The goal of this is just to get the metal balls to stop rolling around and making noise. I say slowly on the epoxy pour because your looking to put just enough in to lock down the metal balls, not to fill the entire extra space with the exoxy. I would be worried that even the addition of the epoxy could throw off the baits balance. If you start to see this, maybe try taking on ball out at a time until you see that the bait's action has returned to normal

Well, it really just depends on the grass your fishing. If it has a real stiff, stalk like stem, then you can use your rod to rip the bait off the grass as soon as a hook snags a piece. This can generate some strong reaction strikes. If it is the real slimy, clingy grass that gets all over the hook points and line tie, then it might be better to throw a hollow bodied swimbait or spinnerbait and reel it in over the top of it.

8lb flourocarbon, 3/0 Gamaktasu EWG, Zoom Super Fluke in smokin shad, 8"-10" leader, and a Spro swivel. Jerk, pause 3 seconds, jerk jerk, pause 3 seconds. Violently effective in semi-clear to clear water. My god I catch so many bass on this setup it's unreal.

Hey Mlbassin, that's a pretty tough question to provide an answer to. A lot of real good replies on this thread so far. The main thing that keeps coming up is to go out there and fish and figure it out, and really, that is the best way to learn but I understand your frustration as we all were in your spot at one time or another. Let me try to break down some common weather/water conditions we frequently run into to help you get your feet wet.... First, you need to look at the 4 seasons...well 6, because there are 3 phases to the spawn : ) Late Winter (Jan. - Mar.) - The fish are located on the sharpest drops on the lake and are very lethargic for most of the day. Baits I throw - Jig/trailer, Suspending jerkbait, Spoon Prespawn (Feb. - Apr.) - The fish are moving from the sharp drops to the areas they will make their nests. Look for long points extending from shallow water to deeper water and also for flats with some sort of dropoff to deeper water nearby. Baits I throw - Square billed crankbait, soft plastic jerkbait, suspending jerkbait Spawn (Feb. - June) - The fish are on flat areas of the lake with protection from the elements. The backs of coves provide this protection, so it's a great place to start your search. After you find a nice, protected cove, look for a section with a hard bottom or other types of cover the bass will spawn against....grass, stumps, rocks, dock pilings, etc. Baits I throw - Soft plastic lizard or craw, paddle tail swimbait, floating frog Post spawn (Mar. - July) - There are 2 groups of bass you can target. The first are the males that will stay behind to guard the newly hatched bass fry. To locate these guys, fish the same areas you caught spawning fish from, and keep your eyes peeled for surface disturbance. The male bass chase off sunfish and other creatures. Baits I throw to fry guarding bass - Wakebaits, soft plastic jerkbait, soft plastic lizards - The other group of bass you can target are the post spawn females that have finished laying their eggs. Due to the stress the egg production puts on their system, they put on the FEED BAG, my friend. Target secondary points, dropoffs, and grass lines that are relatively close to the spawning areas you targeted during the spawn. The females in my experience don't travel too far after their spawn, and will be glued to any piece of cover or structure that they can recover on while feeding heavily. Baits I throw - Frogs, wacky rigged senkos, spinnerbaits, square billed crankbaits, jigs Summer (Apr. - Aug.) - The fish are going to be in deeper water, cooler water. If your targeting shallow fish, then shade lines are your target. Whether the shade is created from a stump, dock, grass mat, etc., make multiple casts at it from multiple angles. When looking for deeper fish, look at the same sharp drops you caught your winter fish on. Also fish the ends of points, humps, and channel bends during this time. Baits I throw - Soft plastic worms, Football jigs, Deeper diving crankbaits, spinnerbaits, topwater frogs and poppers Fall (Aug. - Nov.) - The fish are relating 100% to baitfish and will follow them wherever they go. Locate the bait, locate the bass. Keep a close eye out for schooling activity. Also look for shallow wood and whatever green grass is left in the lake. Fall bass tend to key in on the shallow cover in the fall time. Baits I throw - Lipless crankbaits, poppers, floating jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, swimjigs, jigs Early Winter (Oct. - Dec.) - A lot of bass will still be shallow. Just like fall, target wood and grass. Even as the temperature drops, bass still will be agressive and will happily eat a moving bait. After your lake settles at it's coldest temperature, then it's time to transition to the late winter spots. Baits I throw - square billed crankbait, suspending jerkbait, jig I hope this helps you simplify things. Obviously this isn't exact, but I gave you a peek inside the process of lure selection during each season. The information I listed can change depending on weather conditions, water clarity, etc. but it's a good, basic list to work off of. Keep posting questions as you run across new conditions you aren't familiar with and we can get you up to speed on making those key adjustments. Good luck Mlbasser!!!

Congrats on making it to the regionals, my man! Seminole... : ) I won a BFL on Seminole as a co and had a 10lb-4oz kicker. It was awesome! My advice for Seminole is to not be overwhelmed by the thousands of acres of lilypads and shallow water. That lake is one big freaking flat covered in pads. You will also see a TON of gators. My advice for your regional would be to tie on a soft jerkbait, a texas rigged Zoom Mag II worm, and some sort of topwater like a popper or frog. Keep an eye out for irregularites on the bottom...dark spots, ditches, small points. Those things are key on Seminole and will hold groups of fish. Make repeated casts to those spots with those baits and you should be fun. Good luck man and please feel free to PM me if you have any more questions!

Lots of good information on this thread about the Spot Remover. 2 things that have made this jighead one of my favorites and will GREATLY increase your liking of this jighead..... 1. When you set the hook on this thing, point the rod directly at the fish, reel in the slack almost to the point where it is tight (think hollow bodied frog hookset), and then snap the rod straight up and over your head. This will almost always stick the fish in the roof of the mouth where it will have a much smaller chance of coming unbuttoned. Before I was setting the hook like this, I was hooking them in the side of the mouth where the skin is paper thin. 2. When you get the Spot Remover hung up, again, point your rod directly at the snag, reel the slack up, and pull straight back towards you. 9 times out of 10, this will free it from the snag. This causes the jighead to shoot off whatever it was hung on. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten bit right after it frees itself from a snag. I think that fast darting action off the cover triggers fish that are nosing on it to bite. I always throw the 1/4oz. with a Zoom Finesse worm in green pumpkin with the tail dipped in chartreuse JJ's Magic. I also always throw it on a baitcasting setup. I never could get a solid hookset with a spinning setup but I throw all other jighead/worm combos on spinning gear. Good luck. Your gonna freaking love the Spot Remover. Fish catching machine.

Texfisherman, you got all the advice you need in the above posts. Another thing I will add about the braid slippage is to wrap a strip of of packing tape around the mono. I do this for two reasons. One, it keeps the knot thats connecting the mono to braid from sticking out and snagging the line coming off your reel on the cast, and two, it has helped the slippage for me even more than just using the monofilament backing. Good luck man. Like everyone said, pulling fish out of lily pads with 10lb mono is next to impossible. Braid seems like your only option.

Thanks for catching the mistake. You could say the bait is another form of structure or a form of cover on that structure. I will try to be more specific in what I post next time. Lol. What is your suggestion for the OP, Red Earth??

Hey dude. Welcome to BR. I'm from Kennesaw, Ga and about to move to Roswell Rd. in Marietta, next Monday. Shoot me a PM if your ever going to be in the area and want to go try some new water. Always happy to fish with someone since I mostly go by myself. Tight lines, dude!!

There are plenty of times when the bass will position themselves on bare bottom structure. In my experience, this happens when there is bait in the area. The bait acts in a way like structure, drawing the bass in and getting them to position nearby, kind of like how bass will congregate near a stump, tree, or grass. They may also be on those bare, shallow points due to the current, since you said you were fishing a river. I would suggest trying the techniques you mentioned along with trying a super slow retrieve. Between burning your bait, using a silent version and a loud rattling version, and trying a crawling retrieve, you should be able to dial into what the fish on those shallow points want from your crankbait. Another thing I would suggest is to make sure your bait is digging the bottom, like you said in your original post. Most of the time this is real important, especially since you mentioned there was little to no cover present. The bait grinding on the bottom will cause it to bounce erratically, similar to if your crankbait were to hit a piece of wood or other cover. As far as color goes, I would start with some sort of craw color. Maybe something with a red or orange or yellow in it. If that doesn't work, try your normal shad colors and bright colors like chartreuse/blue back. If there is current present, I would mainly concentrate on positioning your boat on the down current side of the point and retrieve it with the current. This should be the direction the bass are facing, since current brings food their way. if they won't eat the crank, don't hesitate to throw some sort of spinnerbait or chatterbait, then follow that up with a jig or soft plastic. Good luck, my man!

If you have confidence in the specific jerkbait your throwing, dont change it!!! Just insert the rattle, take it back out, then drop a dab of superglue on it and re-insert it. You should be good to go! Good luck, man! Soft plastic jerkbaits are one of my confidence baits and like ww2farmer said, the Yamamoto d-shad KILLS the fish. I also really love the Zoom superfluke in smokin shad. I rig all mine with a 3/0 Gamakatsu ewg, 8lb fluoro, and a Spro barrel swivel about 10" up the line. Twitch, twitch, pause, twitch, pause, repeat,,,,that is, if a fish hasn't already engulfed it!!!