rocknfish9001

Ive caught so many 3 lbers, i dont even usually take a picture. 4 lbs. is something special, and 5 lbs. is really big, i have only caught 2 5lb bass. For smallies, they have to be over 4lbs. for me to start getting excited. Near the dam where i fish, ill catch a 14 inch smallie and everybody along the shoreline thinks im some master angler, you really need to use the right presentation and everybody uses cranks, and they dont always work. When i caught my pb smallie, around 4 lbs, somebody even asked me if they could hold it, seeing that they never seen a bass that big there.

Tons of people think that small waters means small fish. They blow by a 50 acre lake to get to the crowded, popular, and heavily used 500 acre lake. They look at that little puddle and imagine why they would waste time fishing for minnows there. Well, if nobody fishes there, why wouldnt the fish have bid potential? Also, they are easier to find, and the lake is less targeted by powerboaters. DOUBLE BONUS!

I have never bought a bag of powerbait. I just dont see why i should, its not like they are unique, and i have good luck with what i use. Im looking into buying some power hawgs and beasts, however.

In a way. Its not really the lure, as much as the presentation.

LBH, just curious, how can you boat so many HUGE bass in the are you are, i have read of several of yours over 6,7 lbs. I also live in a northern climate (MI) and have yet to break the 6 lb. barrier. I mean, are they out of the same lake that has monster potential, or are you hawg hunting with gigantic baits, or are you just better than all of us?

5-11. On a buzzbait in the middle of the day, in the middle of july. It was the best day of fishing in my life so far. I caught 7 bass in about 45 min. in one spot on a buzzbait, but i called it quits after i caught this one. I have only broke 5 once since then.

i dont think stretch or hooksetting power is an issue, im using a 7' medium heavy rod with 10lb. vanish, and i even pulled a lure all the way out of the water, and almost nailed myself in the head. I just think my reaction time is too slow.

I was out on the water yesterday, and had probably around 20 solid bites, and i am plenty sure that they werent weeds, i felt that solid tapping thats gives it away. But anyways, i actually hooked 6 bass that i fought and 4 of them i actually saw, and they wouldve been keepers, but the hook came out. I have never missed that many fish. I can see how i missed the ones on a t-rig, but how did i miss so many on a tube with an open hook? Do i need to set the hook faster, i believe that is my problem, because i am using 1/8- 1/4 oz. weights with these baits. I also missed one swimming a jig, whats my problem?

just out of curiosity,why is everybody telling me about shade? I cant fish the docks very well, since the weeds nearly choke them out. Also, i was wondering about the open deep areas...

Z71- you think that 7,000 acres is small? HOLY COW!! I consider a small lake to be about 50 acres, and a big one 300 or so. My favorite lakes are around 200 acres.They are small enough to cover effectivley, yet still have plenty of secrets to unlock.

I plan on getting a replica for my next lunker bass, but i currently have a skin mount. I did this because it was in a farm pond that only i have permission to fish, and it was cheaper than a replica, and i couldnt afford any more. I WILL go with a replica next time, despite the price difference.

Well i went to this lake for the second time. I explored it a little more, and didnt get skunked this time. Actually, i caught a 3 lber. Anyways, the shoreline has a thick hydrilla type weed that goes out just past the docks. Then there are weeds that dont go up quite are thick until it gets deep. There are some steep shorelines, but the shallows are VERY weedy, and the deep end has no weeds. The only fish i found were on the least weedy docks, and in a couple of little coves in a good fishable weedbed around 6ft deep. My question is, do you think flipping/ pitching into the docks will still be effective? Should i work the weedbreak along the shoreline, and also, do you imagine that bass will be deep despite the lack of cover?

just wonering, what lake is it? i spent a full week at kabetogama, and only caught one smallie, 4 walleyes, and 2 pike.

probably an underwater spring. In my pond, wherever bubbles apear, usually a snapping turtle follows, but yours is in a specific spot, so i doubt that.

There really isnt a solid answer, but once i caught 4 bass in one day on a firetiger shad rap, and they all hit it within the first 5 cranks.

I just bought some cool 1/8 oz, finesse jigs, and was wondering really when should i use them as opposed to a normal 1/4-3/8 oz jig. I know that LBH uses these 1/8 oz jigs, should i use them in deep water, do they make good flippin lures?

In these conditions, 2-3 fish is doing great for me. I dont have any electronics, so if they arent in the docks, shallow weeds, wood, etc. Im screwd deep fishing doesnt work for me. In the spring, i caught 20 fish in a day once. Just the other week, i caught 13 in one day, but that only included 9 bass, 2 pike, 1 bluegill, and 1 perch. And i love fishing that lake because of the lilly pads. They really boost the number of fish somebody can put in the boat, because they help to give away depth, contour, and bottom type.

Okay, i am going to fish this lake that i have only been on a few times. There are docks, but only some are really fishable, some are very shallow and choked out. Where should i go? There are some very weedy shallows, very deep water, some good flats a couple islands, some good wood, and i have NO ELECTRONICS!! Also, there are no topo maps of the lake. If your curious, it is pipestone lake, in case you have heard of it.

Here is how i sum it up. Just start with whatever. Usually a lift drop retrieve, at a fairly slow pace. If you notice bites on the fall, try to make it fall as much as possible, or make it hop more in other words. If the bites come when you raise the worm, something like a crankbait, or try a swimming worm, may be more efficient. If they bite on the bottom, try to keep contact with the bottom, and maybe switch to a jig just to increase efficiency. On a normal day, you will get hits on all 3 phases, lift, drop, and sit. So basically, its up to you.

For the most big fish, i suggest lake fork, and maybe toledo bend

Now that i think of it, this is how I landed the biggest fish of my life= I was using a buzzbait, and saw an explosion. It never came out of the water after my hookset. I kept my rod to the side which is a habit of mine, since i always pull to the side on the hookset, and i dont like moving my rod around since i try to keep as much tension as posible. I hauled the fish in and it never got away from me. I was using 30 lb braid and my drag was as tight as possible. With a baitcaster, you can constantly be reeling in at least a little bit, since you wont get line twist. This is helpful during jumps and runs that come towards you out of nowhere. If you just hold your rod in place while the fish runs around, it could shake its head towards you and the lure comes out since your not bringing slack in.

I took my boat onto the river for the first time. Had no idea were to go or start. We came up with this, run our 5 hp motor and its little gas tank until its empty. Next drift down and use the electric motor and anchor to get into position. Where do i fish? Which laydowns are the best? How do i work lures in the current? I managed 2 smallies and missed a few more in a sweet looking spot. First i pointed it out and we headed over there, a rock pile going into the water. I pulled one out pitching into it. Then i got some nasty line twist and a tangle my next cast. We were drifting, and my lure was draging. (crawtube) I was trying to untangle my knot when i felt a tap and didnt know what to do. I set the hook and began pulling in line with my hands! I couldnt keep up with the fish and lost it, but it picked me up again and i pulled it out, this time with my reel. All of my strikes from then was when the boat was drifiting, and i was "trolling" or dragging my lure on the bottom. Is there a better way to fish a river? i know there has to be!

Id like to punch plastics through it, but as i said earlier, i need a 2 ounce weight. 1 ounce isnt heavy enough, the weeds hold it up. I mean this stuff is seriously thick. You go in there and say to yourself "wow, its only 6 inches deep here!" Then you stick your oar 3 feet into the weeds before you hit bottom. They are like some sort of hydrilla. Im still kind of skeptical about topwaters. I think that these weeds are just too much for fish to be flying in and out of.......

I always set the hook to the side, i get more power in the hookset that way. I usually keep the rod to the side then too. A peice of advice, DO NOT MOVE YOUR ROD AROUND!! Some people follow the fish with the rod, going left, right, up, down, and whatnot. You should keep your rod in a reasonable position, not too high, and try to keep it out of the water. When you get your rod moving, you can create slack. I know people who say that when you horse a fish in, it throws your lure or breaks you off. Having a fish throw your lure will happen sometimes no matter what, but they will not and can not break fresh line with a good knot and properly set drag. Keep the line tight. If they are running, you can keep tension and discourage her, if she starts to feel light, you better be burning in that line. I like have as much weight on the end of my line. I dont let them run, you may even win the battle before it begins with a good hookset. Bring it home, pull her away from her comfort zone, and get her head up, you might disorient her enough to just haul her in

In my hawg pond, there is about 50% clear and 50% choked out. The clear part ranges between 3 and 7 ft. deep, and has a grassy bottom with little patches of weeds. This place is very productive. It is generally clear, and you can see all the fish that are fairly shallow on the one side, but the water is too deep on the other. The only thing is that the weeds on the other side are very restricting. Some reach the surface, and frogs are fairly productive, sometimes. I am more concerned about the ones that dont reach surface. They are about a foot or less from it, and it is about 3-4' deep. This stuff is so thick it looks like the bottom, but its really several feet deep. The only thing that can penetrate is a 2 oz. weight. I know that there has to be some fish in there! Would topwaters work here? Im not sure if the fish would come out of this nasty very thick mat to be exposed in the clear surface waters. Ill post pics tonight when im back from fishing.