Chris

Red Rattletrap, wacky rig stick bait

When the water drops or when the oxygen levels fall bass will drop back to deeper areas. Your larger bass would be the first to leave because they require more oxygen and food that smaller fish. When the area fills back up the larger fish will move back as they follow the influx of bait in the shallows. You should find them on points or right next to a drop or bluff banks. That way they can have just a short distance to deep water.

If the Bass wants the bait you can not reel fast enough to keep it away for it.

I would seine a portion of the lake.(not the whole lake just like 10 ft of shore line)

Also home of the oldest bass club in the state of Illinois (my bass club) established in 1968. Gene Hackman, Bobby Short, Joe Tanner, and a guy that plays for the Blue Jays (can't remember his name) is also from this town. http://www.allarounddanville.com/home/entertainers.htm

Well, the dirtier the water is the less distance the fish can see my bait so I either turn to lures that have more bulk or throw off more vibration. Also in lakes that are muddy the fish are going to be tight to cover unwilling to chase and will be shallow so this weeds out most of the lake. I tend to fish more ambush points in muddy water than in clear water. In clear water the fish are feeding mostly by sight so I tend to use faster presentations and I also move out deeper. Fish will chase a lure more so you don't need to put the bait on their nose. If your sight fishing you need to lead the fish and use natural colors. For me how clear the water is makes a big difference on how I attack the fish. Lure speed and vertical or horizontal presentations fall into the mood of the fish. Location falls into season or where the bait is available. In clear water you are either fishing feeding areas or places bass hang to chill out. In muddy water options are limited to heavy cover or feeding flats. The fish are either positioning on ambush points (places they can ambush prey) or deep in thick cover. They do the same thing in clear water but the difference is the bass have more options in clear water over dirty.

Right after I dump my boat in I check the water clarity. My next move is to run around the lake and figure what the lake has to offer. I then pick out a few areas that look promising for the time of year I am fishing. How dirty the water is helps tell me were to start deep or shallow. I then break out lures that cover vertical and horizontal presentations. I figure out which the bass want and what areas I tend to get more strikes. This could be wood, rock, weeds, deep drops, points isolated forms of cover I then expand to other areas that have the same cover. What I am trying to do figure out the mood of the fish then determine what pattern I am going to stick with it for awhile before jumping to something else. When it is early season or late season water temp makes a difference but there are days that location over rides temp so I check everything out first before committing. Areas that have a lot of bait that are active or just places that look fishy are areas that I spend time on. Some guys get into a rut and fish areas that look familiar which is a good start but sometimes you get wrapped up in things that you know that you neglect areas that might be more productive.

For me if I am using a worm that is super soft then I don't skin hook it if the worm is not so soft then I skin hook it or if the worm has a lot of bulk like a creature bait or a soft jerkbait I skin hook it.

Yeah that lake I wouldn't do it. I was wading in one lake and with a guy fishing and we had to swim to a island so I stuck my fishing rod in my teeth and got to the marshy island and climbed up on it and made one step and fell through right on the back of a gator that was under the floating island and I about ___ a brick as it took off thrashing. As long as I know where they are at I don't have a problem it's the ones you don't see that can make things interesting. I do own a small craft that I use for tight places. It is kinda like a belly boat with style. It is a blow up paddle boat that is small enough dump in the truck and go. I get to hit all the great little ponds that I can't get my big boat into and it is a dry ride. I also have a few rivers that I walk and wade in all summer long for smallmouth.

I grew up in Oviedo Florida next to Lake Jessup rated the lake with the highest population of gators in the state.

Chicken ;D you have not lived until you step on a gator or two keeps you young and your pants full ;D

I just walk out and fish jeans and all.

I would suggest that you take the time to build your own brush pile in the right places

We have over 3,000 members that already do that daily.

I would say crankbait or spinnerbait because you can stay in contact with your bait better and feel the bite.

Not as long as you might think. From a bass jumping on a bed and doing the mumbo then boot scooting out the door to re-coupe in the general area 3 days. From lay to hatch around a week. From the love dance to lets make a nest to doing the dirty and jetting don't know I am not a bass.

"What are we gonna do tonight, Brain?" "The same thing we do everynight, Pinky, try to take over the world" LMAO (Sorry, sometimes I get overtaken by cartoons in my mind) I watch it too lol

In Georgia I would tough it out on the points then fall back on the the other areas if that didn't produce.

yep

Think about it if that area is the first place that you see crawfish and it is loaded then it is safe to say that it is the first area to warm up. If the area has adequate spawning areas the bass will not leave until they stage after the spawn.

Let me first say that bed fishing can be fun rewarding and a pain in the % . There are days that you can sit on a bass bed all day looking eye to eye with your would be trophy and she just looks back and gives you the one fin salute. Maybe some of the things that have worked for me over the years might add to what works for you then we can be the ones with the one fin salute. Early season when the bass first get on beds I have great success running a buzzbait or a walking topwater bait over the bed. When fish are spawning in stained to dirty water is when this technique really shines and after they get off the bed there is a window that it works also. The main thing to keep in mind is to work these baits slow right when it gets over the bed. With a buzzbait this can be achieved by bending the blades out a little and adding a full skirt with a pork trailer. With a stick bait make long pauses in between jerks. Try to use a stick bait that has a single rattle in it to draw attention to it. Sometimes I will take a boy howdy or a jerk'n Sam and weight the tail of it by using a larger hook. When you jerk the bait real hard the nose will slap the surface and at a pause it will sit vertically and bounce. You can mess with a devils horse the same way. Another lure that you don't hear about a lot that still is a killer bed bait is a Bagley Bang-o-lure. Years ago in Florida it was a top producer for me especially the style that has the spinner on the end around grass. There are times when a rattletrap style bait when ran through the bed area will produce in stained to muddy water. There is a bait I used for years called a sugar shad that when it sits on the bottom it will sit in a natural position. What I would do is use it much like a flipping bait and pitch it to the bed. I would then shake it gently to get the bass's attention then rip it to get a reaction. Spinnerbaits catch them also what I like to do is use a spinnerbait that is tandem and shake and jerk it violently so that I make the blades smack together while I reel it in. Jerkbait's like the smithwick rogue that suspend can be killer at times. What I do is jerk it like I would normally and stop it dead still in the middle of the bed and wait. If you have it weighted right the bait will just stay in one spot looking stupid while it makes the bass's temper go hog wild. I have also taken a bomber long A and just used it like a crankbait and caught them also. I would cast and reel the bait and pause it just outside of the bed then snap it two or three times the reel it normal. It is like this one hard jerk and two quick jerks it looks like a bluegill that just figured out it isn't wanted and looks like it is trying to get away. Doing a little probing. Let me first say that every bed has a sweet spot. There is one section of the bed that gets the attention of the bass every time you just got to find it and exploit it. Top on the list is tubes, crawfish, lizards, soft jerkbait's, creature baits, jig, senko, worm. Some days when the bass get picky I make my pitch and move far away so that there is no way for the bass to see me. I had times when I was fishing from shore and I would sneak up and make my pitch and the crouch down out of eye sight. If you want to be creative and if there is a tree close by act like a tree blowing in the wind. Think about it this way if everything on shore is moving and your not how hard would it be to pick you out from the surroundings. Sounds crazy but it works trust me. Make sure that you wear colors that blend in also can't hurt. Now for the die hard snuff dipping backwoods guys like me wear face paint. (Tiger stripes) The main thing about bed fishing as far as pitching and bottom baits is that you need to cast past the bed and bring it to it. (normally we will go into exceptions in a minute) When your bait gets to the bed stop it. If your bait doesn't have a rattle your success will go to pot it is extremely important. After you get the bait to the bed shake it just enough to quiver it and make the bait rattle. You want to shake it and pause for a second then shake it some more. Don't over exaggerate it because you will move the bait out of the bed. Sometimes color can be important so use a color that is visible against the bottom. Make several presentations until you narrow what part of the bed the fish is willing to protect. Dropshot and a senko on a slip cork work great on bedding fish also. With the slip cork add a splitshot so that when you lift the senko it will click against the bobber to get their attention. With a dropshot just lift the bait off the bottom and quiver it for a few seconds then drop it. A soft jerkbait is another option that works great. You want to cast beyond the bed and work it to the bed then drop it. If you rig the bait so that the nose is angled up you can shake the bait and wait until the bass goes nose down on the bait then make one quick jerk and the bait will shoot up into their face and it forces them to react to it. Sometimes when your pitching a jig you can sit there and pitch over and over and finally tick them off into nailing it. You can also use a Carolina rig with a short leader with a floating lizard or a tube with some foam in it. What you do is bring it to the bed and just jerk the bait making the bead and swivel smack together and the bait twitches. Wacky rig works great and don't overlook a 4" slider.

They should stay unless something drove them out like a front.

Smallmouth relate to bluffs a lot mainly because of the changing weather make the smallmouth move vertically. They do the same thing with standing timber. #1 bait is a Bomber crawfish pattern this time of the year if your jigging the trees make sure the jig falls slow and straight close to the tree.. if your using a jigging spoon or tube on a jighead make sure that you suspend it above their head. Rocks hit the rocks that get a lot of sun even if the air temp is cold or docks.

44-48 Degrees the bass will move to the first break line and start to stage but not in big numbers like one or two suspending near cover shallow but most still hanging out on the break. 48-55 Degrees the bass get a little more serious about staging this is when you start looking for staging areas or shallower drops close to the staging areas. Do not be surprized to see a fish or two usually big fish jump the gun and start to mock spawn around this time. 55-60 Degrees is when you get the big push to move up to spawn. This is when if your on the right place at the right time you can hammer fish. You might get on a staging area and catch a few off of one spot. 60-70 Degrees is when staging areas really come into play. Bass spawn in waves so you might be intercepting fish moving up out of the deep and fish moving in to spawn. After the spawn fish move back to the same areas to stage before they move out deep. 70-80 Degrees is when you hit the late spawners.

The Spring approach Early spring after ice out the first thing I look for is the warmest part of the lake. This time of the year a few degree's can make a huge difference. You need to find shallow areas that are warmer than the rest of the shallow areas in the lake. When you find the right area all things must come together algae starts the life cycle then the shad move up and the bass follow soon after. This is the last feed before the bass turn their attention to spawning areas. Bass tend to move up in waves the first bass to move up are usually the larger fish. The first thing to look for is staging areas that lead to shallow spawning flats. A staging area can be a point or any dock in the mouth of a cove. If you are fishing a creek channel you want to try to find where the channel swings close to the flat. Any sharp drop that sits next to a spawning can be a place where bass will load up. Deep water is relative to the surrounding water in a given area. This means if the surrounding area is 3 ft deep and you find a small depression right next to it that is 3 1/2 or 4 ft deeper that could be a staging area. This time of the year you will get a lot of cold fronts that will blow in and a bass will escape to deeper water. Areas that the deeper water is close to the flat means less of an area you need to fish to locate them even when conditions change. This time of the year (early spring) the bass tend to gravitate to hard structure and cover. Points that are sharp tend to hold more fish than long tapering points but this changes the closer you get to the spawn. My number one places I look for and fish if available is beaver huts, docks that are in the mouth of coves that are close to a drop, rock banks that have a lot of sun all day, Docks that get a lot of sun that are wood, points that have stumps, places that are protected by wind because they heat up faster. If I am fishing a small pond or from shore the first tip off that tells you that the bass have moved up is life close to the shore. You may not see any bass at all so don't get discouraged. The clue is bluegills of any size and minnows. You will go to the lake one weekend and see nothing no life at all then come Monday all at once the temp just clicks and you see life minnows, bluegills they just appear. You might not load the boat but you will catch a bass within the time frame of the first sign of life and within the next few days. If I am shore fishing I start with a red rattle trap every year 1/4 oz. I try to fish from a foot out away from shore to about 5 ft out on small ponds. I beef up my line to 17 lb mono because it will allow me to slow down that trap and slow roll it without hanging up. I want to use lures that look like bluegills. If I am fishing larger water I throw a 1/4 oz jig with a large trailer like a 3 x by strike king and I thread it on to change the profile of the jig. The 3 x trailer floats and will slow it down a bunch along with heavy mono or braid pork trailer will do the same thing but have more fluid action in the water. The rate of fall is everything at first spring. Spinnerbaits work great this time of the year just make sure that you use a double blade combination with Colorado blades with a trailer to slow it way down. I sometimes use a short arm spinnerbait with a #4 Colorado blade with a #11 white pork trailer. I just try to slow roll the bait down any trees or hit the edges of flats. If you trim the nose of the pork so that it is tapered the pork will flop around more to give it more action also if needed you can double skirt the bait to add bulk and it also helps slow it down. Crankbait selection changes for me this time of the year. I tend to go with flat thin baits in cold early spring especially in clear water. I am trying to mimic the shad that might not have eaten their wheaties and might still be moving kinda slow. When the water temp gets a little warmer in late spring I change gears again. In spring when the water reaches the 60 degree mark bass move up shallow. This is when you dig out the fat body wood crankbaits that are more buoyant and tackle the heavy cover. This style crankbait is my number one choice because I find that it is able to get through the cover the best without hanging up. By this time you should have already gotten the spring rains and a big jump in water temp which will drive the bass to those staging areas I mentioned earlier.