Chris

I use them when the cover lets me otherwise I use a spinnerbait that the hook extends back and trim the skirt. I have seen some guys use almost a daisy chain of hooks on the back of their spinnerbaits.

Welcome to the forum! ;D

If the creeks or streams are close enough to salt water they will have a tide. When the ocean tide rises so does the creeks and streams. Sometimes creeks and river will flow backwards under tidal conditions. A tide is the rise and fall of water caused by the moon's gravitational pull on the earth. Tide causes current and the rise of the tide in the ocean pushes against the creek flow and causes a back flow. Tides will fluctuate from day to day and sometimes by wind. The St. Johns river in Florida on a rising tide can effect the River 100 miles up river from the mouth. If you can catch the rising tide right you can hammer fish. Then when the fishing slacks off you can run up the river and catch the rising tide again. This will help you duplicate your pattern all the way up the river or stream.

You could add a rattle to your worm or a bead between your hook and weight. You can peg your sinker thats about it for me. anyone else? ;D

Most of the time it just feels heavy or you will feel pressure.

Finesse just means smaller bait smaller line. I dig out finesse stuff when I am fishing cold water, pressured water, clear water, and spawning fish. You don't fish finesse stuff any different from your other stuff just remember your using light line and try not to put to much pressure on the fish when you fighting them and make sure you have a good drag. It would be a good idea to learn how to drop shot. This is a great finesse worm tactic.

Lets put this in human terms your out fishing all day in 90 degree or 100 degree heat. Mid afternoon is the first thing on your mind eating a big steak? Or is it hanging out in the shade drinking some cold water? During hot days eating is the last thing on my mind. In terms of a bass's side of things high temps mean low oxygen levels. Hot water low oxygen means bass become inactive. Its true that a bass needs to eat to live but it takes 12 hours to digest food less with higher water temps. Activity levels drop off when the water temp climbs. Bass become neutral or inactive in really hot water. Peak activity level is around 73 degrees. Metabolism was the wrong word I was looking for. I think activity level would be a better choice. Sorry I don't catch all my boo boo's ;D

A weightless lure will hang in the water column longer and fall horizontal position. It falls super slow and for that day anything fished any faster would not get bites. They didn't want it on the bottom and they didn't want it on top. They also wouldn't hit something running through the water column. They where not in a chasing mood. On that day several other fishermen came up empty fishing jerkbaits, jigs, soft jerkbaits, rattletraps, and topwater scum frogs. I talked to another local who fished the same lake the day before and he said the bass would just sit there and look at his crankbaits without moving. He also said that one small bass hit his crankbait as it floated up. I would say that the fish where feeding on the spring hatch and the baitfish and bass where not active because of the water temp. I saw a school of 6 bass running around the bank that would just stop and look at the bait on the bottom and would swim off. I guess they didn't want something fast.

This is something I use a lot in the summer in areas that is full of vegetation. I know most people like flukes and floating worms which both work great. Here is the situation. I was fishing a lake that had weeds that where not topped out and when I pitched a weighted lizard the fish would stop and look at it then swim off. I tried spinnerbaits and noticed the fish could hear the bait but where slow to react or swim towards it. I even tried to stop the spinnerbait and let it fall to the bottom and the fish would just sit there looking at it. I would shake it and hop it and they would swim off. Scratching my head it accured to me that the water might be hot enough to shut them down much like a cold front. I then tied on a weightless lizard and tried again. My first bass was a 3lb fish. I thought wow now I am on to something. I switched around baits and colors and ended up catching 7 bass. Two bass fell victim to the fat ika. Sometimes when you watch how fish react to your bait you can learn how to change what your doing to make it work. When water temps get up there the bass's metabolism slows down and they feed less often during the day and opt to feed more at night. Try to keep that in mind when you fish sluggish bass. They want something slow moving and easy to catch and weightless plastics fit that bill.

I have used spooks, buzzbaits, jitterbugs, spinnerbaits, tubes, jigs, crankbaits, prop baits, plastic worms, lizards, all have worked for me at night. I like to make alot of racket with my baits. I bounce baits off of stuff or use rattles. I feel that it helps the fish track and locate my baits better. I use dark colors or white to either reflect off of the full moon light or to give a silhouette.

I fish until the water freezes. The only reason I wouldn't go fishing is because of lightning and frozen water.

Try fishing them during a cold front or afternoon. I find that bass are either in a mood for a vertical presentation or horizontal. Don't stop fishing this bait because it didn't work on a few trips. Sometimes I catch fish with it fished like a slug-go much like your fluke. Other times weightless as a drop bait or on a dropshot wacky. This bait has enough weight to skip under docks and under over hanging trees. You can fish it on weed edges wacky style or on weed flats. Texas rigged the bait does run backwards to a degree on slack line. This is a slow bait to fish but at times thats what they want. I will also say this it is not a bait for all situations. When it works it works in a big way. I use it a lot as a back up bait to my main lures or when I am fishing used water. I use it when nothing else works. I like it in the spring, summer mainly. I would say that is the time of year I use them the most but they work all year.

If they are dumb enough to hit a stick with hooks they should be dumb enough to hit a hotdog. Liver works too.

I rig them texas with a worm weight and a rattle in it. Sometimes I fish them weightless or with a belly weight. I don't fish them slow really. I just pitch them to a spot let it hit the bottom then shake it or hop it and let it set then pick it up and pitch it to another spot or the same spot. To me fishing a senko is slow and I fish this bait way faster than a senko. I don't dead stick it at all. I also fish a jig slower than a tube. Thats just me.

I had something like that a few weeks ago. Early morning caught them on a topwater spook style bait. In the afternoon caught them on laydowns on a crankbait cranked slow, and skipped a senko under some docks. Anywhere I could pitch a tube I did. Big tournament got 10th place lost and broke off to many fish to win. Oh well ;D

In heavy grass/weeds I like to flip a tube because it hangs less but for your questions, 1) Yes pork frogs have a shelf life and old pork that looks yellowed or looks like the chunk is almost furry means that the pork is starting to break down. The pork chunk side will look like it has lost color and will not be smooth and appear bumpy. 2) I fish them with the fatty side down I also take a knife trim off some of the fat off of the end that has the hole punched. The front look like a wedge and increases your hook up ratio and puts more action in the pork. Sometimes I will slice the fatty side some to make it bend easier also. When the hole of the pork wears out take a butter lid and punch a hole in it with a hole punch and use the small plastic circle as a keeper for your pork or you can peg it with a toothpick. 3)move in closer to the cover so that you are fishing more vertical. There are grass jigs out there that are cone head shaped that punch weeds better than a bitsy jig. Use braid and don't trim the weedguard any just fan it out some. 4) always use a trailer of some kind

I think it depends on the mood of the fish and where the baitfish are. If I see a lot of bait near the surface or breaking the surface I stick with topwater. If that isn't working I fish something that runs a little deeper. Sometimes they want a slow moving prop or pop r bait sometimes a moving spooking bait. If they are real active they will chase a moving bait but when they are lazy they might hit a slow moving bait better. If the fish are sitting in the middle of cover they might not run out to grab someting moving fast and a slow moving bait might work better to get the fish out of the cover to grab your bait.

This time of the year I target shade or shady side of objects, laydowns, the ends of laydowns, under docks, thick cover, wind blown areas or points, deeper banks, old creek channels, pad fields(inside and outside edge), floating moss, bridges, outside edge of flats, outside edge of wood lines, deep standing timber, and channel bends.

The weight I was talking about is on page 270 of BPS anglers 2005 catalog under bullet weights. Its a cork screw weight shaped like a worm weight. Here is another place that has them. http://www.bassbuckandduck.com/new_page_8.htm

I use a hair jig in cold water and in current.

Just remember to fish vertical. You will hang up less. When I use a jigging spoon in deep wood I like to use a light wire hook because if it snags I can straighten my hook and get it back. Jigs, tubes, plastic worms, and jighead worms work great but like I said vertical presentation is the way to go. Your going to get snagged and loose stuff thats just part of the deal.

I would use my depth finder to figure out what depth the fish are using then figure out what would work at that depth. If the fish are relating to the bottom then bottom bouncing lures would be the direction I would go. If they are relating to structure I would figure out where on the structure they are hanging at. If they where in it, around it, or above it suspending. Sometimes even in 25 ft of water the fish might just be hanging in 5 ft of water. Figure out the depth they are using is key then figure out which lures will work under that situation.

When the water comes up the fish move shallow and at times real shallow. Fish closer to the bank and flip the shore cover or use a topwater frog. Beef up your weight to punch the weeds.

In clear water I like to use a straight tail worm. In stained and clear water I like to use a ribbon tail worm. In stained to muddy water I like to use a hook tail or gator tail worm or a paddletail worm. When I am fishing a straight tail worm I usually shake it alot after I pitch it into a spot. When I fish a ribbon tail worm I shake it, hop it, drag it, swim it. I want the tail to give off some vibration. The hook tails and paddletails I feel give off the most vibration and will get through cover better. Make sure you spray your worms with fish attractant because it will help lube the bait and falls through cover better.

The first thing you need to do is learn to pitch and flip really well. Practice to the point that you can place a bait exactly where you want it softly. Learn to be quiet in your boat because shallow fish can be spooky. Try not to bump the cover or turn on your trolling motor to much try to be stealthy. Boat positioning is very important. You want to position your boat so you can make a perfect pitch to a spot the first time. You don't want to force extra distance on your pitch. Read your cover and try to identify where the bass should be positioned in the cover. Pay attention the entire time that the lure is in the water. Set the hook on anything and I mean anything different. You will come up empty alot but this will help you get the feel of what a strike feels like. Be a line watcher. When your jig enters the water strip off some extra line to let the jig hit the bottom where it was pitched and don't let it swim away from that spot because of line tention. Fish the jig in places that most people wouldn't throw into. Use gear that can handle a big fish and the heavy cover.