Chris

I fished a pond last year that half of the pond still had ice on it and still caught fish shallow. I have noticed that when you start seeing baitfish in the shallows its a good bet that the bass has started to move up. This could happen overnight if you had a few warm days and a mild night temp.

Lets see if I can do this lol. Drop your lure so that its even with your reel. Now with your freehand pull out some line out of you reel while still holding onto the spool and still having your lure even with your reel. Now slowly swing it like its a cane pole to a target then when the bait hits the water slowly let the line you pulled with your freehand so that the bait has a free fall to the bottom.

Here is what I do maybe it might help. I try to figure out where they spawned last year then find places that they might stage on the way to spawn. If you find a pocket or cove that looks good then use that as a starting point and start looking. Sometimes they will stage in the mouth of the pocket or on the first breaks. Points, breaks, and weedlines can be at times highways to the spawnning areas. Sometimes if there is wood, rocks, docks, weed patches or stumps that are out next to the spawning areas fish key in on these places to stage. If the water temp is in the mid 50's start looking in 10 ft or less water for the staging fish. If you have enough cover and bait in the shallows they might even be on the bank so don't rule that out. Early season I try to use search baits like crankbaits,traps, spinnerbaits,or suspending jerkbaits. The idea is to locate and identify staging areas then slow down when needed. The water is still cold so make sure you slow down. After I locate an area I might dig out my carolina rig or jig. A good technique I used a few years ago was fishing a countdown shad rap. I would cast it out then countdown to the depth I saw them suspending at on my depth finder then slowly reel it in making sure I stopped it and let it count back to the right depth.

If you have a technique that you have mastered post a clinic so others can learn from your knowledge. This should be interesting.

I tend to fish some of the same stuff I fish the rest of the year I might just scale down some and work them slower.

Hit the high percentage places often. Analyze cover or structure to determine the high percentage key features. Try to figure out what makes it tick.

I was very fortunate back in the late 80's to meet and talk to Tom Mann at a sports show in Florida. Back then he had his own show Tom Mann's Outdoors. If I remember right he was at the show pitching a kangaroo worm. That worm for many years caught me a ton of fish. He was a heck of a guy and will be missed.

After ice out the day that I see sunfish in the shallows is the day I start slow rolling a 1/4 oz diamond shad. Sometimes like last year I hit fish shallow even when half the pond still had ice.

Stained water Bandit, Clear water Bandit, Rapala DT.

Thermocline is a transitional layer of rapid temperature change between surface and the bottom. If you take your boat out into 15 ft of water and lets say your surface temp is 78 degrees. As you measure the temperature the deeper you go the temp gets cooler by a few degrees. Lets say at 5ft the temp is now 73 degrees. The temp gets about a degree cooler each foot. Then lets say at 8 ft to 10 ft you have the same temp. That's the thermocline and you will notice on your depth finder that most of the fish and bait fish are hanging at that depth. The upper level 1 ft to 7ft would be the epilimnion or warm layer and 11 ft to 15 would be the hypolimnion or cold layer.

I am a prime example of a guy who was not a jig fan at one time. I had to force myself to learn how to fish it to be competitive in tournaments. I have had many high finishes because I took the time to learn this lure and I am glad I did. You have got to just spend time and use it and kinda make yourself look like a fool until you get the hang of it. You will be setting the hook on limbs and stumps until you figure out what a bite feels like. I did the same thing until I had it down pat.

Use an 5/0 kahle hook and take your pliers and bend the hook out so that the hook point is not inline with the hook eye. Then hook the shinner under its bottom lip and out the nostril and make sure the hook point that you bent is pointing to the outside of the shinner. If you bend the hook this way the hook catch ratio will go up and if you hook the shinner so that the hook point is in the other direction then the hook will roll into the shinner and you will never hook a fish. Also you can hook the shinner in the back if you want to keep it from swimming down into the weeds or hook it in the bootie freelined if you want it to swim under mats.

I start off with the thermal cline I figure out where its at right before I even take off to a spot. Next is surface temp and time of the year. Ph meter is helpful too. Then how clear the water is and weather. Then its just a matter of finding cover or structure that fits the situation. Plan B go fish and find them.

The hardest fish to catch is a roaming one. Most of the time if they are positioned on cover they are there to ambush something. You can get one to bite if they react to your bait and if you can gain their attention. Most of the time fish roam to find new areas to feed, find a better water temp, ph, pressure systems, or to stake out spawnning areas. Also if the shore fish are skittish then you might have a lake that gets fished alot and the bass will not hang on the shore very long because it doesn't feel safe. If the fish thinks it can hide from you either in cover or stained water they are less likly to roam. Weather sometimes will cause them to roam too. I wouldn't fish for them and put your efferts on cover. Places where the fish come to feed because they would be in the mood to bite. Try fishing it at night, early in the morning, or on cloudy days. Durring a regular day, fish a crankbait in the deeper cover and ram as much stuff as you can. Try to target the deeper stuff that you can or can't see. Sometimes you can make them bite. Also you can pin point the structure with your crankbait then slow down with a worm.

countdown crankbait, dropshot, heavy jig, heavy spinnerbait, heavy little george, jigging spoon, Deep billed crankbait with suspend dots, heavy worm, tube, heavy roadrunner, rattletrap style baits, or a carolina rig

I know about ten years ago in Florida the fish had a high mercury levels and you couldn't eat many without glowing. Up here in Illinois on Salt Fork River the college dumped high levels of chlorine that messed up and killed fish. In Vermilion River because of high water and stupid people the sewer place dumped raw sewage into the river and for most of the year you couldn't eat fish. (I will never eat fish from it)

I was in the Army 16T/ 14T

Welcome to our forum read a lot learn a lot post a lot we are bound to learn stuff off eachother. ;D

Its a heddon topwater lure with a prop on the end they measure 1 1/2 inches to 2 1/2 inches long.

AHHH everyone used to catch them on spinnerbaits. So the fish got wise to your offering. Change to a short arm spinnerbait and add chunk of pork on it as a trailer. Slow roll it use either a white or black bait.

I guess I should word it like this no matter what condition or time of year or location I can trust that one of those lures on my list will catch fish. I can fish a lake and kill them on a bandit. Go back the next day on the same lake and never get a bump on a bandit then switch to a norman bait and knock them silly. I have a general idea what they are going to bite on before I make a cast and I have back up stuff if things change. In a tournament or even when I fish for fun I narrow down to maybe 3 lures. But the 3 lures are going to change from day to day but they will always be from that list. Cover, depth, water color, where the fish are relating determines what I am going to throw.

I take a single colo blade spinnerbait and throw it to the edge of the pads and let it fall to the bottom. Now take about six hard fast cranks and let it fall back to the bottom. It looks like a baitfish that just figured out a bass is in the area and takes off. If you can get a spinnerbait through the pads take the arm of your spinnerbait and bend it up that will make it more weedless and will deflect off the pad stems better.

As far as location anywhere that is protected by the north wind with a hard bottom. Keep an open mind because I have seen fish spawn on a hump in the south part of the lake on a stump potected by a short point. The rule of thumb is ANY shore potected by the north wind with a hard bottom.

If your catching them on crankbaits and plastic worms I am guessing that the lake is clear? Change to a smaller profile bait. Cut down the skirt and change the blades to about a 3 1/2 willow blade. I would use a 1/4 or 1/8 oz bait. I would use a skirt that looks natural or one thats clear with metal flake in it. Something else I do is take a 3/8 oz and change to a smaller blade and trim the skirt back and burn the bait or fish it with a fast jerk reel action. If you find that you need more thump slightly bend the blade.

I like to skip them sometimes they will take them right off the top, flip them, swim them, or use them like a jerkbait.<~ Whichever of these work the best for the day is my favorite.