Chris

I fish larger lures in stained to murky conditions or when its overcast. (I want the fish to see and feel the bait better) I fish larger lures early Fall to beginning of Winter. (baitfish are the largest this time of the year). Early spring through early summer time I scale down unless I am fishing deep. (new hatch small baitfish) or I fish big (if I want to tick off a larger spawning fish) Winter and super clear water I scale down also. (bass are finicky) also post spawn conditions for the same reason. I also fish small if I am fishing a pressured lake or go the opposite direction which ever works.

Ray Scott, the "father" of competitive bass fishing. First held in 1969 This is not a true statement. Illini in Illinois was Established in 1968 And I know Glenns club in Wa is older The Bomber Spin Stick was used by Stan Sloan to win Ray Scott's very first national bass tournament the All-American Invitational at Beaver Lake Arkansas in 1967. It was an event that changed the sport of bass fishing forever and led to the creation of B.A.S.S. in 1968. http://www.rayscott.net/keepers/bg/17.php

I use them if the lake has a bunch of pumpkin seed sunfish. I don't know which sex it is but I am thinking the male has a red underbelly. Sometimes long ear's have them also. Red lures also under different color water can appear to be a orange hue. Many sunfish tend to have some orange on their underside. Many fishermen point to crawfish as to why it works but it might be a little more expanded then that.

here is an interesting article: http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/hot-summer-ponds.html To change the pH for the pond he suggested using an air pump. The lower pH was caused by the hot temps and lowered water volume and to much fish by product. In the article above it talks about a layer that has poor oxygen levels down deep because of the fish by product. (the fish by product would act the same as weed decay on the pH) I would agree that temperature would not be a factor in changing pH other than the fact that the change in season effects what the plants are doing in their life cycle. Like fall turn over and colder temps that kill underwater vegetation. I also don't feel that there would be a set buffer between good pH and poor pH areas. Like a change in water temp because of depth. I do feel that the farther away from the acid producing substance the better the pH. I believe fish will migrate to the more favorable pH. Why would this be important? Well areas that where clear that become muddy because of rain or run off will have poor pH and fish will move to clearer water. So if you where fishing a cove and catching fish on the deep side or channel side of the cove and the mud rolls in fish that where on one side of the cove might migrate to the other side because of clearer water and better pH. If you where fishing an weed flat that the state comes through and sprays it. The fish will migrate to areas that have more favorable pH which could be a depression area or the edge of the weeds. If the fish was sitting in pH that was 7.5 and it drops to 5.0 the fish will migrate to an area that is close and has the same 7.5 pH. The same would also be true that if that 7.5 pH was in 7ft of water the fish would more than likely be sitting in the same depth in the new area. Even if it meant that they suspended in 7 ft water in a tree top for instance. If air changes the pH of the water then areas that have more air like living weed growth or windy banks will have higher oxygen content. Because of this the fish would not need to move as far to find better pH. I would think oxygen producing areas would have a buffer effect to the acidic areas more so then normal areas that the acidic water slowly mixes or gets diluted. In the spring time areas that have good pH would be the first areas that fish will move up to stage and spawn. As the lake pH gets more favorable farther up the lake the rest of the lake fish begin to move up. Any thoughts? :-?

This is a quote from the article section. This is why I ask. " On the other hand, photosynthesis by algae, aquatic plants, and phytoplankton will drive the local pH up. Chemical pollutants can raise or lower pH depending on the specific nature of the pollutant. Some soils are acidic. Others are basic. Soil run-offs, therefore, can significantly alter the pH of feeder creeks and those areas where they empty into the main lake or stream. Agricultural fertilizers and nutrients are typically basic. Run-offs from farmlands will often raise the pH of recipient waters."

I think it is a great way to catch fish. I don't feel that it is cheating because you still need to find the right area to fish. There is some skill involved so it isn't really a sure thing. Live bait fishing can be as exciting as flinging lures and at times more exciting. If you ever seen a bass grab a shiner in mid air that's a sight to see. There are times when that live bait will swim in areas that would be hard to reach with a lure. It does up your odds in some applications but I still don't feel like it is cheating. It is just another technique to learn and use.

Does the temperature of the water effect the pH of the water or can the temperature effect the pH? Does poor pH areas have less dissolved oxygen or could the poor pH effect the dissolved oxygen?

A) Points- this is a highway to deep water channel banks- Shad move into the creeks and the bass load up on the deep side of the creek. If there is flooded timber fish will use it. They will suspend in the trees at different depths depending on the shad or water temp. C) Lower end of the lake in the coves- You want to find coves that look like a draw or old creek beds. You want the ones that have a good depth change. D) edge of the flats- you want to target the edge where the drop off is. E) areas where the deep water is close to shore. F) Docks- some docks sit in a good depth or are close to a break or channel. G) Dam- most dams have rip rap and a depth change H) roadbed- fish use it like a highway to deep water. These are some of the places they hang out what you use is up to you.

http://www.yakimabait.com/products/weedless-crankbait TimberTiger DC-1(same company) http://meatandpotatoes.net/bass_striper.htm Rebel had one also and there was another one I think O.T. Fears designed that looked like a cut plug on the front with a paddle tail and a single weedless hook.

Bass like to relate to edges and vertical edges. The seawall is no different to the bass as a weed line, creek channel, side of a sharp point, timber line, bluff etc. Bass just use it as an object to relate to when they need to change depths if conditions change. If the wall has other objects that are in front of it like a brush pile the bass will follow the wall and relate to the isolated cover that is different that the wall. The brush pile turns into the sweet spot on the wall like Matt said. Any irregular feature on the wall will group fish. The wall itself will be a crap shoot as to where they might be holding at unless there is a depth change. Most of the time you just need to figure out where the thermocline is or the bait. Sometimes when they use it as a current break they might group up a short distance away to tag any baitfish caught up in the tail current.

It is a good bait and that's a good color.

For me I like the size but the wide action don't fit my style of fishing. I like smaller baits for a wake bait. I like larger size baits because it will displace enough water on its own. If it had more of a tighter wiggle would be high on my list to buy. I feel the combination of the size and the action is a bit much for me. Peacock bass will love it or stripers. I am sure it works just not sure it would work for my style of fishing.

Here are some notes I am making on a lake in Oklahoma Fish will be biting until the front gets real bad fall fronts are not as bad as fronts in the spring. Smaller fall fronts can turn on the fish. When the front hits the fish that where on the flats will push into the creek channels. Bass like to be near that deep water mainly it pushes them into the heavy cover where ever they can find it. Bass like to get into a blaket of cover and wait for conditions to change. This was said by Denny Brauer at the time he was fishing a feeder creek on Skiatook Lake with a jig

I will also add that bass positioned on flats will be held up in small pods and the pods will be scattered. In topped out vegetation the fish will be held in groups on a specific key areas within the weed growth. In deep water you will find them staging on the edge of the drop or on some form of structure or if it is a brush pile they will be in it not around it. For the most part the river fish will be suspended around logs on the edge of the channel or in vegetation or tree tops if available.

In general I have found that when a cold front hits it takes about 3 days for the fish to adjust and become somewhat active. Deep water fish and fish that hold up in creeks or running water are less effected than shallow lake fish. The key is the shad. If you find the shad you will find the fish. You might need to reaction fish to get them to bite depending on how bad the front is but as the water gets colder and the temp become more flat line the fish will turn on. River fish tend to adjust the fastest. Northern fish tend to be less effected and Florida strain bass tends to be the most effected by cold fronts.

Don't get hung up on a specific technique or style lure remain flexible and fish the fish not what you like to throw. When what rules your world technique wise don't work, change the rules. To many people get hung up on strengths and forget to try other things, or don't seek out other areas because it is out of their comfort zone. If you need to brush up on other techniques to feel more comfort in using them in the tournament do it. Find other patterns that you wouldn't normally use. Most fishermen tend to be spot fishermen and not pattern fishermen. Meaning if they are flippers they find flipping areas (spots)where the technique works well. Other people are pattern fishermen and find areas that fish move to(pattern) for that time of year. Some find everything they need then come tournament time they find that great minds think alike and you got company. If this is the case then take the time to find the key area that will draw fish within that pattern. Take note of what options will work on that key area for active and inactive or pressured fish if it is a two or more day event. Figure out where they might re position if conditions turn south or find other areas that would be less effected. Areas that a fish can move a short distance when conditions change is better than a area that the fish need to move a great distance to be happy. Sometimes the key to the whole thing is to look at where they are at and analyze where they will go. Conditions change and relocate bait and fish move with them. Always have a deep and shallow strategy. If need be mark off small areas that would be a snap shot to what the rest of the water might be doing. For example find a feeder creek that might be a smaller version of what the river is doing or a cove to figure out what the lake is doing. Fish it to find what the fish are relating to then expand the idea for the rest of the water or modify it. Don't beat yourself as mentioned above and don't get mad and fish sloppy or fast. Be methodical in every aspect from what to use, where to go, how to fish it, and how to win. I hope this helps you.

If you look around on Del-mart lure mold site in the forum section you will see a post I did about modified paca craw. I suggested that he made a mold with the ends of the claws raised and why it would be a better bait. I believe I also gave options on how to shape the design of the claws. Some time after, Bobs tackle shack came out with a similar mold to the one I suggested to Del. About a year later Yum bought the rights to the mold from Bobs. Now Yum calls it the money craw go figure. I own a mold for that bait that I bought from Bob's and it was about a year or two before Yum bought the rights to it the lure. The lure was smoking a bunch of local tournaments with the few guys that where pouring it. If you like to use a salt craw this style lure is better. This is partly why I wanted a lure with the raised paddle claws. When you drag it on the bottom the claws move and kick up the bottom and gives the lure a natural crawl. The guys I fished with at the time where big salt craw fishermen and why I wanted to build a better bait. I also didn't like the size of the paca craw when pitching and wanted a more downsized bait. This way it didn't shy away just keepers from being to big. Del had a craw worm mold that I didn't like because the body was to thin and didn't offer the bulk that the paca craw does have. I wanted a bulkier body so that I could add rattles to the bait or a screw lock weight. Also I wanted a lure that started moving as soon as it hit the water which the larger raised claws would offer. At the time I was fishing a paddle tail worm and felt that this lure could be used at slower speeds in deeper water. It can also be flipped and has enough resistance on the fall to slow it down when fishing behind others that might be flipping a paddletail worm. I also wanted to trim down my tackle by having a bait that serves more than one function was another reason for the suggestion. The lure can also be used as a trailer for a jig or spinnerbait. At the time I was swimming a jig a lot and this lure craw worked well for that. I felt that the raised craws would give the swimming jig more thump or a flipped jig more water displacement. I also thought it would give a difference in bait signature when fishing the weekend rush. I am glad someone took my suggestions and built it. It was a heck of an idea and the name fits because it has won a bunch of people money regardless of who owns the rights to it now. :

With a crankbait that has a bill the lip is the weed guard and helps to deflect objects. A lipless crankbait has a flat area that acts like a narrow lip to cause the bait to vibrate. Lipless crankbaits are not designed to be weedless or snagless. They can be slung around hard cover but because of the lures posture when running the head can strike objects but sometimes because of the narrow body tends to stick these objects. When fishing lipless crankbaits in weeds your going to be picking weeds from time to time. There is not a sure fire way to make this bait completely weedless even if you put weedless hooks on it. If your hooks are fouling up and interlocking then you need to shorten the gap between the two hooks either by a small adjustment like changing the size of the split rings or more drastic change the size of the hook or style of hook. You could use a short shank hook or a triple grip hook that has a hook angle that helps with snags for example. Rattletrap has a slogan a school of baitfish in every lure. Well where do you find schools of baitfish on flats, ledges, open water areas, edge of cover, or creek channels to name a few. I mention this because sometimes people use a lure in the wrong areas that the bait was not designed to be used in where another tool would be better. This lure is a heck of an option for weeds because you can fish it with braid and rip the rod to clean it from most weeds that get hung on it. Around stick ups your going to snag it occasionally but that is just part of the deal. Most snags can be prevented by paying attention to depth control. Vibrating baits (not including floating styles) sink when it hits the water and can be counted down to a specific depth when needed. Floating traps tend to act like a regular crankbait in the respect that it can be pauses to get out of snags but it is not a sure thing. The running depth for the 1/4 oz model runs about 3ft on 10 lb line. Meaning when you make a cast and start you retrieve the lure at a moderate cranking speed will dive down to that depth. 1/2 oz lures tend to run at 4-5 ft range. In both cases the rate that you reel the lure and the drag you have on the size line effects the running depth of this lure greatly. Rod position also effects the depth of this bait. Where the line tie ring on the lure is placed when it was manufactured effects the posture of the lure and the resistance it has moving through the water which also effects the depth and vibration pattern. With a lip crankbait the lip causes the bait to gain depth with a vibrating bait the resistance of the vibration, the weight of the lure, speed of retrieve, and how far you count it down effects the depth. How wide the surface area is on the head of the bait effects how far the lure vibrates from side to side. Each lure is different and give different pressure waves when ran through the water. Some work better than others in clear, stained, and muddy water. Depending upon which style vibration you use can make a difference in maximizing the fish potential of the lure.

Years ago a old fishermen told he took a bike inner tube growing up and cut it into a lizard shape and placed it on the hook. Using it on a long cane pole and a short line he would jig it around the weeds to catch trophy fish in Florida. From my understanding it was before they made plastic worms and the method was called jigger fishing. I have just never thought to apply it to other lures. I felt it was creative.

I thought it was creative.

Watch this. http://www.metacafe.com/watch/yt-3G8XGFTxFDE/bass_fishing_sweeping_method/">Bass Fishing Sweeping Method</a>

Right here on this site has a long list of club links that will help you figure out which is close to you. Most clubs have a draw tournament style format where where you draw partners. Some have a team tournament format and others are single boater events. It just depends on what guidelines they follow. As a non-boater in a draw format you get a good front seat to learn new techniques and can build great friendships. Depending on where they fish you might not need a big boat with a large outboard. Some tournaments because of the area is trolling motor only. A small boat does have its advantages in slipping into areas others can not even on big water. If you find yourself in a position that your not near any clubs start your own. I grew up with a guy that started a weekly tournament in Florida that grew into a big deal tournament about two years later. Many guys kinda get tired of the politics of a club format and start their own weekly or monthly tournament. Many find that they grow into a club of fishermen that fish without the club headache. There is a guy I know that started one in Illinois and called it a weekly qualifier tournament. It drew more of a crowd then some regular clubs. Whichever direction you go is up to you but the education you gain from tournaments is priceless.

Don't overlook swimming the jig to make it look like a baitfish.

When Bass are schooled up I sometimes fish them with a double fluke arrangement where I tie a fluke to a barrel swivel and thread it up the line then tie another fluke to another short piece of line tied to a different barrel swivel. When both barrel swivels are together hanging down I want the lead fluke to hang about an inch above the second fluke. When you work this arrangement on the fall they look like two fish swimming tandem. When you spook it, the baits go in different directions. Some guys use a jig up front for the weight and a trailing soft bait for the back bait. With the rig with the three way if you rig two baits on the three way swivel with the weight ahead of it You shouldn't have much of a problem. If you rig it with one bait and your weight on a drop line on the three way and a lure on a tag line tied to a barrel weight threaded ahead of the three way will also work and it will help keep the bait off the bottom. The double fluke rig I mentioned I have used for years with no weight and I know it works same with the jig rig. Both do at times get fouled up but not enough to be a pain.

It took me awhile to figure out a way to explain this. If you have ever fished in a river with a crankbait and because of the river current the bait's vibration changes. The current changes the lures natural route that it would normally run. The current might push the bait up or down or side to side depending on which way the current blasts the bait. You still feel vibration but for a split second the vibration changes because the bait has moved up or down a foot or even inches. Many times when fish swat at your bait it moves your bait with a rush of water. Many times they come back and hit it. If the fish doesn't come back to hit the lure then on the next cast you can judge where the first strike was and change the action of the bait (like stopping the bait in the area or twitching it, changing rod position, jerking it like a walk the dog, stop and go retrieve in the area)or direction like repositioning the boat to get a different angle to make the fish hit it. Other times when your line lays across an object you can feel when the lure is about to strike the object. You anticipate the contact and deflection and the strike. Now if you change directions by changing your rod position after the contact many times it is enough to draw a strike. Sometimes it just takes a pause with a twitch before you continue your retrieve. It just depends on the mood of the fish. The ability to feel this change in vibration is a combination between your equipment rod, reel, line, bait, and your ability to be in tune with your bait. I want a rod that lets me feel the vibration in the guides and transfers it all the way down to the handle. With the reel I use reels that have slop in them. It is the slop in the reel's line guide that moves and transfers the vibration to the reel into your hand. The spool of your reel makes a difference also. Reels that the spool knocks up against the side plate from the vibration of a crankbait helps transfer the vibration into your hand. When you fish a crankbait on a long cast your bait has the most movement on 10lb line and because of this you feel the bait more at a longer distance. I don't go above 14lb test on long casts because I loose feel. Short distance casts is a different story. Different lures because of lip placement or shape or material give you different vibrations in your hands. If you are using a lure that you can only feel the vibration when the lure gets close to the boat then it might be a better choice for your short game. Many lure companies promote lures for this and that depth but the shortfall with this idea is that if you can't feel the bait vibration until it reaches the boat how are you going to know when it got hit by a fish at the first ten feet of your cast or in between. How the lure moves in the water and action determines how well the vibration will be transferred up the line not that is plastic or a wood bait. I will say that wood baits do have their advantages when it comes to how it reacts to cover and it tends to be more responsive than plastic. Your drag is another thing to consider on long casting lures. Your drag is designed to help you fight fish by giving out line when pulled. It does the same thing with a crankbait pulling on your line. It also effects your depth that the lure will dive because it is not putting accurate pressure on the lure to force it to dive if not set right. It also effects your feel for the vibration because it will pay out line on the retrieve. As the drag slips the line contact is not as tight as it should be. The result is that you loose feel.