senile1

I agree with both inline spinners and jigging spoons.

Well-stated, Brad. Some lures are only good under certain conditions and during certain seasons. Using those lures outside of those conditions results in a much lower success rate. This is why the plastic worm and jigs are always considered great baits. They work in just about every season and under just about any conditions. (Including Senkos and Senko type worms. )

Shallow water hazards are not hazards when you've shut down the outboard and you're running your trolling motor. They are fish attractors. I fish one lake that is covered with trees and stumps over 60 percent of its 7200 acres. If I'm not scratching up the gelcoat on the bottom of my boat, I'm not fishing where the fish are. My boat is a tool just like everything else and I use it like one.

Welcome to the forum, koko36265. You have hit on the most important concept in fishing. You know what structures the bass should be holding on. Now you have to find them. Regarding maps, I think of them as just a general starting point. Why? I don't think most map vendors update their maps very often. I have Hot Spots maps of all the lakes I fish in Missouri. I find that where these maps show 25 foot depths, the water is only about 15 feet, and so on. These lakes have received large amounts of siltation since the last map was created and they have yet to be updated. Still, I look for areas where the topographical lines run close together near points and other structure, indicating a quick drop off to deeper water. Siltation may smooth these drops out a bit, but you have to start somewhere. Then your ability to read your depth/fish finder comes into play. If anyone is aware of a map maker who updates their maps often, lay it on me. I'd like to find a better map.

Nice fish! Welcome to the forum.

This sounds like a situation where you need a heavier sinker. When the wind reaches a certain level it will do this if you don't have enough weight at the end of your line. What type of bait are you fishing and what is its weight or the weight of the sinker you are using? A little slack can be good but too much is a big problem.

Congrats on your new PB! I'm sure that number will be going up.

Super!!!! Crack_man . . uh . . Muddy_Man breaks the ice.

"One man's trash is another man's treasure."

You mention a few factors that you've considered which could affect bass size. Another factor is the possibility that a body of water contains too many bass, thus limiting their size. If there is no selective harvest going on, and there are very few people who fish these ponds this could be a possibility.

No offense. Your friend may be a great guy. But if he is catching 10 to your zip why isn't he giving you some pointers? Also, are you asking for his help? If my buddy was catching 10 to my 0 I'd ask him so many questions that he wouldn't want to fish with me again.

Give us a few more details and maybe we can help you. How do you approach fishing deeper structure? Do you use lures that you can drag through cover on the structure, lures such as deep cranks that are fished near the cover or bumping the cover, lures that suspend over the cover, etc. BTW, you do look for cover or something different that will hold bass on a piece of structure? Do you cover the whole area as you would if you were fishing shallow with numerous techniques? Is your fish finder a newer model or is it an old one? Some older models aren't very detailed and require more work from you to locate the fish. If your fish finder is decent, do you use marker buoys to mark the edges of the structure and to mark cover locations? Do you do three Hail Mary's and pray the big bass prayer before fishing deep?

Welcome.

I haven't had any problems with Citicas. They are great reels for the price. That's not to say there aren't other great reels in this price range.

Russ, Muddy looks like my plumber. Great work!

Good work, Glenn. Everything is working smooth as silk.

Stradic and Symetre.

For me, it would be the venerable worm, with the tube not far behind in second. Bass109 stated: The best lure for catching multiple species of fish is another way of looking at versatility, as Bass109's post demonstrates. I fish mainly for bass so when I speak of a versatile lure I'm talking about what works for bass. I'm curious what others think is the most versatile lure for catching multiple species.

Cold and muddy can make for some unproductive hours. Almost all of the water where I live has 1 - 3 feet of visibility generally, except of course when it rains. I do like fishing clear water, but the only times I get to fish it is when I travel to Table Rock Lake or visit my Dad who is 6 hours away. Any water with bass in it is good water.

Glenn stated Glenn, may I breathe out now? Thanks for the notice.

Gary Dobyns designed the Powell rods and, IMO, they are excellent rods and worth more than the price Powell asks for them (www.powellco.com). I suspect that the new Gary Dobyn's rods will be an improvement over the ones he designed for Powell. Triton_Mike just purchased some of these and can tell you much more about them. I'm buying a couple of his Powells that he was using.

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum.

Good parenting? Isn't that a big fat, dube hanging out of Alpster's mouth? Oh, that's a microphone, sorry. Enjoy the scenery, Alp. That is so cool that you get to ride with your daughter. I don't know what route you're taking but you know Colorado is one of the most beautiful states in the Union. Have a safe trip.

Hey, Blackrose, I grew up in Southeast Missouri. Welcome. You should be able to try every option you can think of in a day or two on a 2 acre pond; however, if your deepest water is 7 feet and there isn't much of it, your pond needs some kind of moving flow to feed it such as a creek or a spring, and/or it needs some vegetation. Otherwise, I think you're going to have an oxygen problem in that pond during the hottest months of summer. If there is no flow I wouldn't expect to find many bass there. Having said that, if, indeed the pond does sustain a population of fish, in these hot months I'd be fishing the deepest part first, even if it is muddy. Though bass tend to be shallower and tighter to cover in muddy water, you don't have much cover and seven feet isn't very deep. Generally speaking, the 3 - 4 foot depths that cover most of the pond are going to be very hot, and the bass may only be there when feeding. As for lures and colors, try chartreuse or darker-colored spinnerbaits with at least one copper or darker colored colorado blade, rattlin lures like Rat-l-traps, dark jig and craw trailers with rattles, t-rigged dark worms, plastic craw lures, or drag a carolina rig through the boulders. Fish the boulders in the deep water thoroughly. Sound and a good silhouette in muddy water are generally what works. I say generally because bass don't read books or forums. Sometimes the least likely lure can be the ticket.