hookset on 3

I have taken the deep to shallow approach to points this fall with my lure retrieval, which has dramatically increased my catch rate. I fish a 30 acre private lake that is a typical highland type, with clear water and hard or rocky bottom areas. I now try to sneak up on these points from the shore side and cast my offering out deep, then retrieve it uphill. I remember that Tom said, a school of bass is less likely to follow a hooked bass up onto the shallow part of a point. edit on 10/29.

In addition to heating up the screw-lock, run your sharpening file across the very tip of the spring. The sharper the spring the easier it penetrates elaztech. Zman just introduced a new jig head with a barbed spike for holding their soft plastics. Next year I'm going all out with Zman plastics for shakey and texas rigging. The high floatation tail is just too much for the bass to take!

Try the ZMan line of soft plastics. they are indestructable.Zman makes the Strike King Elaztec products, which are the same thing. Anyway, they make the 3" swimbait called the MinnowZ. comes in about 25 different colors.

dch03, trust me, it's not just you. This cold front is brutal. I fish every day and the last few have been tough to get much going. I suggest you really speed up the retrieve or use a heavier jig to increase the rate of fall. I'm just getting reaction bites right now doing that. Caught a couple of decent fish tonight with a KVD 1.5 using a medium fast, stop and go retrieve. The air temps were in the upper 40's. I was psyched just getting a few 2 poundlers, believe me.

I agree. This is the set up I use with a Powell Endurance Med H Ex Fast 7'2. I throw them with a three year old Curado 200DHSV. 7.0 to 1 ratio It's a sweet rig for swim jigs 1/4 or 3/8.

X2 For hard bottom areas, with limited grass, I find them very effective. Like Bassassassin726 said, I also get mostly roof of the mouth hook-ups on the bass.

Way to go, Alan. Crankbaits and Autumn are so reliable, that's got to be exciting for you and your brother. Six bass in 20 minutes, have Mercy!

Bo, that Owner 5383 is a XX strong weapon! I use a similar Owner with a vertical eye and CPS spring. It really sticks 'em, too.

X2. Texas rig with weight to match rate of fall I get the best response from. This early fall, with the water temp still up there, the bass wanted that thing dropping fast for the reaction bite. The past week or so, I've gone to a 3/16 Spot Remover Pro model with the same worm- Power Worm. They're eatin' it pretty good.

Chokin' on a BBZ-1. That's telling you that the lure you picked, was spot on! Even the right color.

Used the Spot Remover Pro model today in an irrigation pond near my house, with good results. Put on a Berkley 7 in. Power worm in green pumpkin and caught 6 bass in about two hours of shakey heading. Tom's advice was right on point and that's exactly the technique I used. It was post frontal conditions with sunny skies and a rising barometer. The bass would not chase any lure, but shakin' it near brush piles would get a soft pick-up and I'd hit them as soon as I saw the line move.

Z, nice bass and an even nicer Bass Tracker! Are you lovin' that boat or what?

That's some good'uns. Productive fishing day. Way to go.

X2. The deal was too good to pass up. It's my topwater and crankin line on three dif rods right now. Very pleased so far.

I love the Owner CPS, like Hooligan said. I also use these by Paycheck. It's a plastic screw-lock bullet w/o any weight. The bass can't throw these off the hook, it just says in place or slides up the line with it still attached to the plastic screw-lock.

Papa with a Pig! Gotta love the fall, like you said. They def. fight harder because it's some of the warmest water of the entire year. I think one of the reasons that a lot of big females are actually landed in the early spring is because their bodies are so cold, they can't jump and throw the hook.

Hillbilly, you literally took the words out of my typing fingers. ZMan also makes the elaz-tech products for Strike King, which of coarse, float. Float on baby!

Great Job. Kayak bassin' on small waters= big ol' lunkers. Looks like you might have had the place mostly to yourself.

Strike King Denny Brauer- Premier Pro Model Jig. The rattle chamber has a small spike built into the bottom inside area to help hold trailers in place. These are definitely professional grade, as the name implies.

Good answer, Arv. That's generally how I roll in off-color bodies of water. In clear water, it has to be low light with a pretty good chop on the water for me to throw a SB any more. The lakes and ponds I fish, have bass that have seen a few too many spinnerbaits.

Maybe Shimano is on a buy-out mode right now, because I heard that they might have purchased Lunker City ( Slug-go ).

Big Slammers love the jig. You gotta dig the hookset that doesn't budge! Awesome job, Sarge.

Papa, that's some excellent advice about having a hunter's mentality. Big bass exploit the best structure and cover. You hear a lot of pros talk about the spot on a spot, which of course means that if there is a point with a stump on it in 12 ft. of water, it's a safe bet that the alpha bass in that area will claim it.

I like to believe the big girls are more active in the 5 or 6 days around the full moon. I've been keeping pretty good records for 30 something years and I've had my best lunker days during this timeframe. If a front is moving in, then the quality of the fishing goes up exponentially.

Same here in New England. Bet it has to do with the really warm winter and early spring. They have been putting on weight all year. On New Year's Day I caught three bass in completely open water, no ice what so ever. That's almost unheard of around these parts.