MassBass

I am mounting an expedition to go to South Lake Tahoe first week of April. My father who lives in Carson City will be coming along for the adventure. I plan on primarily fishing air injected crawlers off the bottom, from the bank. I thought this presentation will work for the salmonids of the deep. On the Nevada side, it seems like Cave Rock would be a good spot for this. Are there any other bank spots/parks that drop off fast on the Nevada side? We could also try presenting blade baits and cast masters, but I think the nightcrawler presentation seems like a sure thing. I also have some floating powerbait trout worms and eggs. Our lodging will be near the borderline in South Lake Tahoe. I am not sure if I venture around the bank down there if there will be good water. Maybe bass? On the California side it looks like Emerald Bay and the dl bliss state park to the North of it may be worth exploring. Is there access to the water around there? Back in Carson City I want to give the Carson River a try with lures. If you have any knowledge of spots or tactics here, or comments on bait/presentations, it would be welcome. Not planning on getting a guide.

Can confirm.?

I looked at the weather pattern and I thought today looked like a golden opportunity before the weather sets back the spawn. I smoked em. 7 bass, all solid, biggest 19''. Glide bait is pictured but most were on a home made spinner bait.

Nice fish. I have to say I wouldn't handle a piranha (or any fish) by the lure like that, you don't get stuck?

When I was a kid growing up fishing I had different inspirations and dreams than I do now. I used to like KVD when he was just starting to win with B.A.S.S. He would power fish first but knew how to slow down and finesse if need be. These days I am inspired by the explorer/traveling fishermen, specifically Jeremy Wade and Jakob Vagner. This is how I want to model my fishing career going forward. Targeting different species in new water in strange lands. I used to have a goal of owning a bass boat. Now, I would rather be setting off in a canoe from a remote village in a tributary of the Amazon than launching a top dollar bass boat in a busy US lake.

Got tired of looking at this big dressed treble on my table so I put this thing together:

Pretty obvious the pros can't live without it.

hey, I fish the dirty water to. mostly Charles. Last year I explored the Malden creek, a tributary of the Mystic, I will try to go back there. If you put in the time and effort to find spots, sometimes its not a good idea to post it on a public board. Who knows what kind of poachers and salesman troll this thread looking for intel.

I have heard that bass are aggressive and biting as soon as ice is out in Maine. Think about it, by the time ice is out, the daylight cycle has already progressed to a point where the bass are in full pre-spawn feed mode.

Certainly could have been snagged carp that popped off. I snagged a carp last year that was ripping drag, had no idea what I had till I brought it in and landed it, and that was on a blade bait as well. There were no scales on the hooks, no bends.

I try to use wire in places where there are big pickerel. You might not get bit off on an average size fish, but when those teeth have weight behind, like a quality or trophy size fish, they can bite off. Also if you are setting the hook, like with a weedless worm, if a big pic has it, likely a bite off there.

Walked a lot of shoreline from Boston to Cambridge River Charles. I was banking on an easy perch bite but that was not materializing. I was hopping a silver blade bait off the bottom in a small channel off the main basin. Had something on very big, started moving over towards the bank and snags, I could not move the fish, I think I gave it too much pressure and she came unbuttoned. Holy smokes. I moved on briefly then came back with a glide bait, no second chance. Lost a couple more blade baits in snags, snow started coming down, still couldn't find any perch, that was that.

I wouldn't totally dismiss something like this, pheromones and olfactory cues play a big role in how animals and fish behave, a lot of things still probably unknown. I believe personally, that the smallmouth and crayfish are kind of co-evolved, so basically the smallmouth is born to be a crayfish specialist. Have seen fat sm with crayfish feces all over the place, but some of those same fish would have been caught on a topwater minnow imitation, so they may be evolved as crayfish specialists but they are of course still opportunistic.

It is a prey specie to both LM and SM. Maybe consider that when choosing a bass bait. Looks like a cool spot.

So if I had an abundant source of dead mice, do you think this would make a good catfish bait? Presentation I had in mind would be drifted under a float mid- water coulumn at night. Target specie is big white catfish, but channels are possible.

I was going to mention that kayaking a river in water that is almost ice is very dangerous, chance you will die if you flip.

Are you planning for the spring? A spinnerbait is a great lure for both smallies and pike. Good for covering water and finding spots. I would save the live bait fishing for when you get familiar with spots you find, so you don't waste time soaking bait in an unproven area.

I kept the arm full length on the 1/2 oz with Colorado blade, maybe that will really bring out the vibration.

I don't think it is really that black and white to what specie fights harder. I always respect the battle with a largemouth, because of their tendency to run for cover, and the headshake, it is not usually a full jump, but they just stick that bucket mouth out and shake, and sometimes that is enough to escape. I think waterbody is important to, big lakes, strong rivers, the fish will be stronger than in a still mudhole or farm pond, (where there are mostly just largemouth). I have not fished Erie, but I am sure an Erie largemouth will be strong and fight hard, just differently than a smallmouth.

If you have ever seen a spot that only you and your fishin buddies knew of, over 2-3 years become like the county fair, with people coming from out of state and the nearest metropolis, you learn to be vague or quiet about things. It only takes one guy with a 'the more the merrier' attitude to find out about the spot, and then forget it.

I saw a whole family of ducklings go down, on a tidal river, during striper season. The mother fled to the bank and started squawking.

I sure havent forgot about them, have been using them for river smallies since my early days. However, from a boat, the crankbait has its place over the spinner. If you run a spinner fast through a drift, either by design or necessity, that lure will want to come up high in the water column. On the other hand, if you crank, that lure will get down deeper into the strike zone. From a boat I like crankbaits, from the bank I prefer spinners. I like a dt4 baby bass, a bandit 200(?) baby bass, and a fat rap in shad. I updated my crankbait box some years ago, I had alot of big deep diving crankbaits for lakes; in a river those are often useless and you need to run shallower.

This is a successful spinner bait pattern that I rebuilt onto a new frame with new hook and trailer hook. It's single willow.

I agree with this point. It makes you a more well rounded and adaptable angler.

Not much for bass fishing in Maine ?