BassMaster

i wasn't trying to disagree with what he said... i said whatever works for him... but at this time of year you don't really want to use those big spinnerbaits... definately in the summer when it's a lot warmer, but not during the spring/ spawning season.

sounds like a time me and dad went fishing... not a cloud in the sky... we were fishing in a little cove, so there were trees everywhere. we decided to change spots, and as soon as we got out into the main part of the lake, we saw a huge storm cloud right where we were heading to (which also happened to be where our campsite was for that weekend). we drove for maybe 2 minutes, looked like we might make it... we could actually see our camper from where we were, then all of a sudden, we couldn't see it anymore b/c of the rain... needless to say, we got nailed by that storm and it stormed for the next 2 days... weren't even able to go out fishing again that weekend... made me so mad... but yeah, that kinda thing has happened to me a couple times

i never have had too much luck with spinnerbaits in really deep water like that... i'll have some luck no deeper than 15 feet usually... but whatever works for you... i just think it's kinda hard to get a spinnerbait that far down and keep it rolling on the bottom. and remember, he is talking about cold water, so the bass will be around shallower water in any kind of vegetation when it's sunny outside.

man i never did have much luck at Michie... me and my dad always went up to falls... we would either go up to barton creek or ledge rock. excellent places to fish, and around rollingview marina at that island... there's that point that faces the bridge that runs straight down into the channel... love fishing there with a crankbait.

about an hour south of gaston, about 10 minutes away from Duke's main campus... well let me just put it this way... the bass in the ponds i've been fishing in have already gone through the first phase of spawning... second phase should probably be on or around the 25th of next week... full moon again... and after this week of being nothing but 80 degree weather, i'm sure they'll be biting too. and just remember this... NC just experience a 40 degree drop from monday of last week to wednesday... so i'm sure the water hasn't warmed back up yet in the lakes... but i've heard they've already spawned in some parts of Falls Lake, around Rollingview and Ledge Rock.

did you try again today? if so, any luck? me and bassin4life went out for about an hour and a half today... not a single thing... not even a bite. i think the fish are getting smart... about 5 weeks with a spinnerbait, catching something every time we go out... hmmm... sounds like they're getting smart to me

that won't help out too much when the water is about 10-40 feet deep... but it sure will help when looking for structure when bass are hitting topwater in the shallower creeks

any kind of rocks, tree stumps, or steep drop offs into the channel. fish these kind of points with a carolina rig, texas rig, crank bait, rat-l-trap, or drop shot. and if it is a point where there is a channel on both sides running into the main channel, make sure you fish those points good and hard. throw crankbaits and worms on every side and you'll be sure to get some big bass

ok, well i'll tell you a little about myself too (since i haven't yet). i'm 19 years old, been fishing for basically 19 years. always learning new things, but one thing that i'm still trying to figure out is this topic. now i understand that bass bed during spawning season... but the largestbass i caught was 8 1/2 pounds in the middle of July in about 2 feet of water. there are also many other big bass in that pond (the one i go fishing at a lot) that will do the exact same thing. now whenever a small fish, i.e. bream or crappie, get close to the bass, the bass will chase them off, not trying to eat it or anything. but the way i caught that 8 1/2 pound bass was actually by a crappie. i caught a crappie about 6 inches long and threw it in front of the bass. the bass CHASED it around for about 5 minutes and finally got ticked to the point that it went after the crappie and ate it, thus allowing me to catch it. that kinda confused me a little bit about the word "bedding" b/c the bass wasn't trying to ambush anything, it was sitting there on a small cleared out area on the lake floor... that's what i thought bass did during spawning season to protect it's nest... then i came to the conclusion that bass "bed" all during the spring, summer and early fall. i would just like to know still what it's really called then when they sit like that after spawn.

topwater during the day isn't the most ideal thing to do when you're trying to catch fish... me and bassin4life caught around 10 today off of slow rolling spinnerbaits... so try using a spinnerbait... they're already hitting topwater? man, i fished with a buzzbait for about an hour around 7:00 tonight and not even a nibble. maybe it's b/c your pond is smaller and heats up faster

ok, then what is it called when a bass sits on a BED to protect its territory? it is an animal, and all animals have their own territory. a bass is no different... a bedding bass is a bass that sits on its bed to protect its own territory... whether it's spawning season or not... so if there's a different word for it, please let me know, b/c i have heard that word for more than just spawning... so please, induldge me... and if i am wrong, then i'll shut up and admit it. and all i really need is one person to bring it up... having two or more people bring it up is unnecessary.

i fish them a couple of ways... pause and retrieve, and a steady retrieve mainly around brush, timber, vegetation, on beds, and around docks and piers.

they've been biting a slow rolling spinnerbait the past few weeks... i recommend a chartreuse/white with willow blades. after the past two nights, i will forever recommend chartreuse/white to anybody. next time you go fishing at that pond though, for no bigger than it is, the average bass in there is probably about 2 pounds... so i recommend a 4" watermelon seed lizard on a 3/8 oz weight... just downsize everything. maybe even try texas rigging a finnesse worm... something around the size the bass are looking for.

#4 i think is what turns most people off about fishing... most people just don't have the patience for it... i have absolutely no patience for anything else, like driving, idiots, immature people, things like that, but for some reason i have all the patience in the world for a daggum fish.

well what i do when i worm fish, is i hold the reel in my left hand while i put my index finger on the line as i drag the worm through the water... then i use my right hand to reel it in... with your finger on the line, you'll always feel the strike.

already been done... take a snap swivel, put a drop shot weight on there and then put the swivel on your line and let it fall down... the weight will hit your bait and set you free

right now, i like fallen trees... during post spawn the bass will sit right under the trees waiting to ambush baitfish... i mean they do that in vegetation and grass and stuff like that... it's just me and bassin4life have caught 2 monsters around fallen timber

i caught a 4 1/2 pound bass Friday night around 8:00 in about a foot of water... Thursday night around 8:00 bassin4life caught a dern 6 1/2 pound bass in about a foot of water... so to answer your question, they can get as shallow as they need to in order to feed.

indeed

i was just wondering what everybody's favorite place to go fishing was and what type of cover there is there. mine is falls lake in the triangle area... my favorite place on falls lake is upper barton creek... all there is up there is submerged timber at 5-25 feet deep... and there's rip-rap right as you enter the creek... it's not really a creek though... it's where the actual barton creek enters falls lake. great place to fish spinnerbaits all through the submerged timber, and crankbaits around the rip-rap and in the channel... flukes and trick worms on the shallower end... lots of hydrilla closer to the creek too

good input

ok, i was just trying to figure out what you were saying... but it's all gravy

in my opinion, carp are nastier looking than that whole maggot thing... but that maggot trick seems like it would work d**n good

i wasn't saying they bed all year in all the lakes here in NC, cuz i know that's not true... when it gets hot in the lakes they move down deep where it's cool and then come up when it's time to feast... i don't know why they bed during the day in the ponds, but it's not just one i've noticed it at. there are a couple huge ponds around my house and in both ponds they bed when it's 100 degrees outside... HOWEVER, they aren't always in the open... the ones i've seen bedding in that type of weather find some sort of shade or shelter... still haven't figured out why they bed in ponds in that type of weather

does that mean you're saying blades don't matter? b/c i've read and found that they do matter... well around here anyway, it may be different in your area... during spawn the fish are easily scared, so you don't want to necessarily fish with a titanium spinnerbait w/ a tandem blade... both give off huge ammounts of vibrations that create reaction strikes... that doesn't happen during spawn. go with a steel frame with a willow blade. as far as color of blades, when the water is murky, go with gold blades... they don't produce an unnaturally bright flash that may scare the fish... in less stained or clear water, use a silver blade... lets off more flash, which would be natural when the water is clear... again, nothing unnatural... i don't know how many times i can... another thing is look to see if there are baitfish around, and if they're are, use an indiana or colorado blade with the diamond disign... the diamond disign resembles hundreds or baitfish as opposed the willow that resembles just a few baitfish... and if looking for reaction strikes, tandem blades work so well.