Chris

http://bassresource.com/cgi-bin/bass_fish/YaBB.pl?board=gen_bass;action=display;num=1103228700;start=

How someone can take a post and think its aimed at anyone strikes me as odd. I don't think the post was aimed at anyone. Sometimes fish get gut hooked it is just part of the game. It is not a fault of anyone or anything but what you choose to do with the fish is in our control.

sorry

Something else to consider is that sometimes with larger bass they will clamp down on the head of the bait and hold it so tight that a sweep hook set will not punch the hook. Also if you are using a wimpy rod and smaller pound test line that also will causes you hook to have less power to penetrate.

If you found an area that bottle necks the shad then the bass might stay there but is the bass are just following the bait and schooling your taking your chances with sticking around. You can have a area chuck full of shad and never catch a bass until something rings the dinner bell. This time of the year if bass are still busting shad make sure you have a rod handy rigged with something that casts far and will work on schoolers. That way if the window opens it's just a matter of grabbing a rod and casting. After a school busts the shad take some time throwing something that works the bottom. Sometimes fish will hang out under the area that they where busting the bait and a bottom bait will get you a few more fish. Catch them when they are in a frenzy with your topwater or traps then when the action slows pick up a jig or tube and work on the inactive bass under them.

I kinda snickered when I saw this thread because I was battling leaves and 30mph winds today ;D My fish I caught on a jig and a zoom super hog. I was fishing creek channels and laydowns ended up sticking a nice 4lb bass and one a hair over 6 lbs. Boat control was interesting. I was even getting leaves on spinnerbaits >

*High water bass move shallow *Low water bass move deep *Sunny skies bass move into cover *Cloudy skies bass roam or move to the outside of cover *No wind bass hang in cover and time to slow down and flip or worm fish *windy days time to move moving baits *low light or cloudy days topwater works ~know the limitations of your baits this will tell you what lure will work where. ~weedless lures work well in places other lures may get hung up. ~limited vis bass feed my hearing so lures with vibration work better ~clear water fish can see your bait the best and bass feed mainly by sight so shapes and natural baits work better This will get you started

You should grab up one of these kids as a partner from the forum that live close and Have Charlie do the same.

When you fish new water that is unfamiliar to you what are some things you look for to help you break down the water? Is it temp, water color, wind, something that you fished before, do you look for weedlines or drop offs? Do seasonal changes help you narrow it down?<~(examples not extra questions) What is the first thing you look for on new water?

Dinner

Even when I am fishing tournaments it is for recreation I just get paid when I win. I don't get stressed out in tournaments and part of the reason is because I still call it recreation. It's a tournament even if it is just you and me in the boat with no money on the line because I want to still win the most or biggest fish of the day. I guess I still make it a competition because I hate to loose even if its just bluegill fishing. Even against the fish "Oh you just think I am not going to catch you but I will," ..."I see you down there looking at my bait and I know your down there licking your lips." 50/50

I wrote a thread somewhere explaining a Carolina rigged crankbait. I couldn't tell you which one to be honest but in a nutshell it was a way to counter balance a floating crankbait so that you could fish it deeper. I have found that a suspending jerkbait works the best because at a pause it will be positioned naturally in the water instead of nose down. This when fishing on the bottom. For just casting and reeling it is easier to adjust the depth with a floating bait. Adding a free sliding bullet weight infront of a crankbait will make it dive deeper without messing up the action same as a carolina rig.

The bass your catching on plastics may not be hitting big baits so you might want to trim your jig skirt down to offer the bass a smaller profile. Take a zoom super chunk or one of those 3x chunks and thread it on the hook instead of just hooking it like a pork chunk. This will make the bait appear smaller without sacrificing the weight you need to feel the bottom. Try a 3/8 oz and braid if you feel like your digging in to much.

Carolina rig Will

Thats a bank that bass will suspend on. Other spots topo 101: North end where you have depth numbers. east side where the contour lines are close to each other. North west area left side of the mouth of the small cove west bank south west of the 30ft marker Midway down the lake east bank where the island is. west front of the island straight south of the island to what looks like a patch of weeds? south east of that where the solid line starts and shows where the first main break is close to the shore Straight acrossed west of that spot on the other bank side in the pocket of that point that sticks out.

Lakes large and small I fished a lake yesterday that my biggest fish came off of a nothing bank 4 pounds. The lake was wide enough that you could cast from one side almost to the other. My boat was sitting in 20 ft of water like 10 ft off of the shore and there was a shelf that that fish was sitting on. From above water it looked like a bare bank but under was the shelf and a bush that the fish came off of. Ponds you fish everything which might be what your talking about.

As bass fishermen we know that bass need cover or structure so we as fishermen tend to draw our efforts to places that are obvious to hold bass. We tend to pass up places that seem to be void of cover. So as we boat around the lake we fish the spots that worked before or places that should look like a bass condo. As more and more fishermen become educated on the how to catch fish something strange happens to the bass they move or change where they hang out. Bass shift from heavily pressured areas to these nothing banks. I am not going to say that all nothing banks work out but sometimes you stumble onto a group of fish that receive less pressure. Sometimes fish use nothing banks and when you catch it right you can cash in. Wind is one of the things that change nothing banks into fish factories. Most nothing banks don't offer much cover or structure so the bass are predictable. With less options to the bass they hang on isolated stuff right on the nothing bank. Sometimes these banks have more to offer the bass than meets they eye. In older lakes you might have tons of old tree's and stumps just a few feet off the bank. Maybe there is a rock pile or small point that jets out or a ledge. Your odds of catching the big fish of the nothing bank is good because he has less places to hide. Give it a shot

River Fall/Winter Fall: If there was ever a time to fish a river fall would be prime. Here is why rivers have current and current positions fish. Most of the time the bass will position on current breaks. Rivers are easier to fish because the current narrows down where the fish will hang out. In a lake bass can be anywhere but the rules change in a river. Fall also brings high water in some places that will position fish in backwater areas. Rivers usually are the first to cool down so early fall the fish are more active than the lake. Some rivers are stained and for this reason also promotes plankton growth. (stained lakes do the same and also position fish shallow a river is no different) Its the plankton growth and high oxygen and cooling temps that push the shad into the rivers. River fish are more aggressive than lake fish. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, jigs are what I throw. Winter: When winter kicks off most of the backwater fish move out to the channel. Fish turn sluggish but still can be caught. Most of the shad have moved to the main river channels. Steep banks, bends, and deep drops and "wintering holes" are places to look for fish. Most of the time the water turns clear this time of the year in some rivers. In smaller rivers I just hop around from deep hole to deep hole. In larger rivers I find places that the channel swings close to the bank or channel bends. Jigs or crankbaits (slow on the bottom) are what I use mainly in rivers this time of the year.

You can dropshot almost anything You might want to have a hook in the twister tail. You can also have more than one bait on the rig the possibilities are endless.

http://bassresource.com/fishing/dropshot_fish.html on the bottom of this page is a full list of other articles on drop shotting. Welcome to the forum ;D

Pre spawn: Water temps in the mid 50's to 60 degrees signal pre spawn. Watch your temp gage because there will be areas that are warmer than the rest of the main lake. Its places like this that can be almost like a magnet to bass. Spawn: 60 degree water temp is the bench mark that signals the big move to spawning areas. The water temp, full moon, and stable weather are key factors. Each lake is different and you will have waves of fish that will move in after the first batch is done spawning. Usually the biggest fish spawn first and can spawn anywhere from real shallow to as deep as 15 ft. Post spawn: Around 70 degrees bass start to move out of spawn to staging areas.

I made money this year

Following my own advice I went out today for about 4 hours throwing a jerkbait caught 14 bass on points. On steep banks I caught 1 on a jig. Water temp was 57 degrees in some places and 55 degrees in others. I hope this stuff works for you also ;D

Here is some more stuff about stitch stuff that can be added to what already has been said in the other thread

Thank you Glenn for a great place for people to meet and to grow in fishing knowledge.;D