Dalton Tam

"Lip Rippers"

Humdinger or H&H spinnerbait(White and chart.), Pearl with black back BANDIT crankbait, Zoom watermelon purple babybrush hog, Black and blue buzzbait in the mornings and evenings, Tiny torpedo topwater bait, Bulldog Head Jig (black and blue on cloudy days and pumpkin on sunny days or in grass), and a Red Shad 8" culprit worm. You will catch more fish than you can deal with.

Me and my buddy are going up to Ada Oklahoma for vacation and were thinking about fishin a trophy lake called Lake R.C. Longmire. The problem is we don't think it would be a good idea to take my boat because the trailer isn't in the right condition for long haul trips. Wondering if anyone knows where we can rent a boat around Ada, Oklahoma anywhere within reasonable mileage. Any info would be appreciated.

I've got another highschool tournament this saturday so I went out this afternoon (after school) prefishing and the results were in my favor. I was catching a few knots on a super fluke when I decided to try a ribbit and caught one around 2 pounds and thought if I was catching a few small fish maybe I could pick up a larger fish on a few cypress trees in a flat a little further out. First cast I caught one 4 1/2 pounds on a mann's paddle tail worm. So I left the fish their for tournament day. I went to another spot and caught another about 2 1/2 lbs on a fluke and kept fishing around and ended the afternoon with one right under 3 lbs. Did pretty good for an hour and a half fishing trip. I feel like I have a good chance at winning this one!

I've caught fish on a 10" trick worm rigged wacky style before. Descent fish too so no it's not too big.

Id say if it is a very deep river that drops off quickly from on the bank then crankbaits gonna be very effective around old logs or rocks. I usually fish a small finesse worm or crawworm with a lighter weight like a 1/16 oz or 1/8 oz weight. Throw the bait upstream to your structure and let it flow underneath logs and rocks. Esp when fishing a worm or crawworm.

I use my ff for many things then just seeing structure and fish. Mainly I use it to get on some kind of patter as to catching fish. If you catch a fish in 56 degree water and the depth is 6 and half feet then the next time I'm trolling along and the conditions are the same I'm going to slow down and fish harder in that area. This helps me the most.

necessary

I live in Louisiana and we got some big a** gar here man and plenty of them. I've cought them on bass baits before up to about 10 pounds and lost more baits to even bigger ones. I've eaten them before and they are great when cooked right. Now you may think this is stupid but (I'm told) the best way to catch gar down here is to get some heavy duty PANTY HOSE (lol yea) tie them into tight nots and cut them at the end with scissors so that they are very frayed. Somehow the gars teach get caught in the panty hose and you just real them in.

Hi I'm 16 too and we have a Highschool bass team wich we fish many tournaments and I wanna give you a few pointers because my tournament turned out bad. First thing do not get in to big of a hurry. Just fish at you steady normal pace and don't let anything get to you such as another tournament fisherman or if the fish are not biting. Someone else made a good point by saying that you should always keep your bait in the water. And another important rule is to NEVER leave fish to go find fish that you think may be biting better in another part of the lake. Remember 90% of the fish are in 10% of the lake. And whatever you do, do not get frustrated because everyone knows a frustrated fisherman can't catch fish. Stay calm keep your cool and have fun. That's all I got. GOOD LUCK!

I'd suggest sticking with the jerkbaits in the morning if youve been catching them on it. Maybe try a pop r. If they do not break the surface and hit top water try something like a crawfish and if the water is clear and the grass is dark use a watermelon seed color with maybe a hint of chartreuse if the trees are budding green leaves.

here is a picture of the hook so you can kind of get an idea of what I'm talking about

The spawn is almost over down here in Louisiana and I had similar problems this year. I have to go with matt on sayin that you should set the hook as quickly as possible because I've found that the females were not hitting my bait to consume it. The females would simply grab it and carry it off their beds as quickly as they could. The bait that I recomend would be a 6 inch lizard that matches the grass or color of the water with a very light weight 1/16 or no weight at all. This is very difficult to fish in the wind but it has brought me great luck in the spring on spawnig bass. One more important thing is to try a new hook maybe. I personally prefer a Mister Twister 3 or 4 ought keeper hook. It gives a great hookset and I very rarely miss a fish on them. Stick the stem directly into the head of the lure you plan on fishing and hook the hook part into the underside just like a normal hook. The reason the hook gives a good hookset is beacause the stem pops off causing the hook to go through the bait more efficiently. Try this setup. I believe it will bring you good luck.

I have to go with the other guys on saying use the same bait with a different technique. Me and my buddy were fishing in january this year and the fish were doing the same thing. Until he showed that texas rigging a brushhog is not always the best way to fish them. We tried split shotting on a lake that is not known for this technique and ended up with 12 quality bass.

I like zoom baits. I haven't tried big bite very much but maybe I'll give it a try and see how it works out for me. And zoom does make an 8 inch lizard.

You're right dude. my mistake I'm looking at a pack of them right now. Well that still doesn't change the fact that they work like magic.

Lol If I'm not mistaken, ZOOM baits are made in Louisiana and yes the babybrush hog or the larger regular brush hog are used around here by just about everyone that owns a fishing rod. They are really great baits especially in a watermelon color. I beleive in them. But to say they are magic idk. But the two fish I'm holding up in the picture came off of one. One's 6lbs the other 3lbs. You can say what you want but they have revolutionized fishing around the house.

Hi im from central part of Louisiana. Idk if you know where the Saline/Larto complex is close to deville Louisiana but it also gets high at times and it is much like the atchafalaya basin from what I hear. I know we had a High BACKWATER this past year and I was catching the fish up around people's clean yards around camps and houses. But if the water is just up and flowing out quickly then I sugest finding some kind of point coming out of a bayou or creek. (I know there are no creeks around here either)lol the current flowing across the point should have a few bass ganged up waiting for baitfish like crawfish or shad. That's all I know to help you with. Don't be afraid to send me a message if you need can think of anything else to ask about Louisiana fishin' I'm sure you could teach me a thing or two as well. Good Luck

I always try to match my bait color to something of the surrounding area. If it is spring and the trees are becoming green then I'll try chart. If tere is a pinkish colored grass I will try to find a bait closer to that color. I beleive this techniqe works but as you said you can't see the bottom. What I would do is just try matching the things that you CAN see. If the lake is 30 feet deep then I doubt there is much grass on the bottom because of the lack of sunlight. Just try focusing on the surrounding grasses and rocks trees and banks.

My dad says it is better to use darker baits at night because the fish want to bite off of surprise more than seeing the bait but idk I've night fished and day fished and I caught the fish on the same bait so I have to go with the other two guys. Probably confidence and what he is more comfortable doing. Everyone knows that when you try something new or try anything out of the ordinary it may take some time getting used to. That's all I got!

Welcome to BR ive been here about a month and I LOVE IT. I'm also from Louisiana. more towards the Pineville Alexandria area or (central Louisiana.) I'd be glad to help you with anything you need to know about Louisiana bassfishing.

never leave fish to find fish. thats a very important rule.

Thnx that is very helpful I appreciate the posts. I will be sure to try that.

Aight I'm from Louisiana and I'm used to fishing the merkey swamp waters but I also have a camp in Northern Arkansas along the buffalo river and was just wondering all the different things I'm doing wrong when going up there because I just can't catch them beautiful smallmouth. I use 15 to 20 lb line around here. Are they seeing my line in the clear water? And last, what is the best lure to use in these fast flowing rivers to catch smallmouth?

I have cought a few bass like that but never actually knew what the deal was. Thnx for the info it was interesting.