Fishes in trees

When I first started to learn how to throw baitcasters, I bought a service spool - 3000 yards of 17 pound test. When I got a bad backlash, I just cut it out and put on more line. I needed nearly all of it my first year. You might want to do that. Option B would be to buy several more reels of the same model you've got now. You get a bad backlash, just swap out reels and change the line later. I sympathize with your situation, just know that everyone who fishes with bait casters has gone through the same learning curve you're experiencing now.

During one of my trips to Bass Pro I came across a crankbait tuning tool. Basically, it is a 4" metal cylinder with an + cut into one end. It works alot better than needle nose pliers or needle nose vice grips.

I almost always have one tied on. Some days it gets thrown alot - others not so much. May through September though, if you've got grass that hasn't grown to the surface, its always worth a few casts. Some days, a Minus-1 is better than a rattle bait because it floats.

Falcon K-wacky weedless hooks. 3/0 - 1/16 weighted.

I think everyone should read all of Buck Perry's stuff. He is the father of structure fishing. Some of his stuff is dated and doesn't apply to many of the situations we face now, but is amazing how much of the language we use everyday to discuss fishing started with his writing. Charlie Brewer's book on Slider Fishing should be required reading for everyone who bass fishes. I think the In-Fisherman handbooks are very good.

Last Friday - 2 to 3 ft visibility - water temp 65 + or - a degree or so depending on where in the lake I was. Main past of the lake was cooler than coves. Dogwoods fully bloomed out. According to Guido Hibdon, when the dogwoods are bloomed out, 80% of the fish in any given lake are in 8 ft of water or less. OK - for reasons too numerous to list I don't think spawn was happening yet. I was marking quite a few fish on the bottom, next to bushes and thorn trees in 5 to 7 feet of water. I threw at maybe 60 different bushes, using several different jig colors and a couple of different weights. No takers - not one. 3:30 pm or so I'm thinking - someone told me once that Japanese fisherman compare every fishing technique they come across to the drop shot. So I figure I'll drop shot some. 4.20 Beaver - 3/0 hook - 3/8 oz weight. I rig it so there is just 4" between the bait and the weight - maybe 5. 1st bush - bam - a hit. I miss it. In the next 40 or so minutes, I get bit a dozen times, land 2 16" keepers and 2 dinks. I'm stunned. No hits on a jig all day, yet a drop shot with a 4" leader gets bit first cast. Color wasn't an issue. The beaver I threw was roughly the same color as the jig I was using. Same rod - same line (14 lb fluoro) Next trip, the jigs are going to the bottom on the bin and I'm going to fool around with drop shot much more.

Timber Tigers - DC16 or DC8 mostly

So you need help organizing your tackle box? Don't we all. Start throwing stuff into it. Try to keep the stuff you think you'll need most toward the top - but that won't happen. Tackle boxes have a way of shifting whatever you need to the bottom. Back to step A - start throwing stuff into your tackle box. When it is full, then go buy another one and repeat. Try to buy them in different colors. Maybe you will remember which color bag you threw whatever you need - maybe not though. No one can solve tackle box storage issues, but it is something to do in your shop when, for whatever reason you can't go fishiing. BE mindful - everyone who says they have their tackle storage issues solved is lying - either to you or to themselves.

Once upon a time I fished from the bank alot. Then I acquired a little pond boat and a belly boat and I fished from the shore less. Then I got a better boat and I fished from the shore less. My current boat is a 2002 Lowe . I'd put up a picture, but I don't know how to post pictures. I haven't forgotten my bank fishing roots, but I'm older now and I'm glad I don't have to bank fish now.

Paul Roberts is right. The In-Fisherman formula ( Fish + Location + Presentation = Success) is a great place to start.

Square bill cranks, specifically Timber Tigers, is what I generally start with around timber or stumps. How deep? Using a DC16 and 17 lb line you can get almost 10' own and almost always get your bait back. Most of the time, it isn't necessary to go that deep. Where is the thermocline? In deep timber, that is the depth you should focus on. Your depth finder should give you an idea of there that is. What is your water color? The crank bite works in most water colors, you might have to mess with different colors to find the one that they see the best that day. Alternate presentations require different water colors. You can drift a wacky rigged senko down through the branches. This requires at least a foot of visibility and two feet is better. With less visibility, go to a big worm that moves more water, like a 10" power worm. Go as light as you can while using enough weight that the tail thumps some. Under a foot of visibility, the only colors that are necessary for me are red shad or black neon. Trees are fun to fish and that's where I spend the majority of my fishing time. Hope this helps.

I like the Berkley version of a rattletrap. I think it is called a Frenzy. They go on sale every so often for less than $2 per hit. I've got some rattle traps somewhere, I don't think I've gotten one wet for the past few years.

In the Ozarks, Eakins jigs are probably the standard that other finesse jigs are compared to. They work good and look good with the paca chunks. I think they work best using the Eakins craw trailer, (also made by Jewel Baits). That has been the trailer that has worked best for me.

I like the Timber Tigers. I have some DC1's I occasionally use. Mostly I'll use the DC 4 or 5 or 8.

I like the Cabelas Guidewear, primarily because it isn't festooned with logos like the BPS stuff is.

My thoughtfully crafted tackle management system lasted 2 trips, now it is disorganized again. I'm going to a new system now. I'm going to throw all the stuff in the boat and try to remember where I threw it. So, should I need something in particular, I should probably find it. Should I go more than 3 minutes looking and not finding something, that is god telling me that I probably didn't need that and to try something else.

The Gammie weedless widegap wacky hooks are available in 3/0, 4/0,5/0 and 6/0. I got some last year from Bass Pro. They work ok but I think the Falcon K-wacky hooks are better. JMO

I keep a similar tool in my boat all the time. Almost always I use it instead of the net, especially when I'm fishing my myself. It works ok.

I just pulled out my BPS catalog to look at this boat. The welded hull is cool. At 16 feet, understand that waves over a food might become challenging. Does it have a built in gas tank or do you have to go portable? Refer back to waves being challenging and a portable gas tank bouncing around in the back compartment. How does it fasten down and is it secure forever? I think it is somewhat underpowered both in the gas motor and trolling motor. The rule for motor power is to buy the biggest you can afford that will fit. It doesn't say anything about max horsepower rating. How much money to upgrade to something close to that? Same for trolling motor. Is there an upgrade opportunity for a 24 volt system? I'd be thinking about a four stroke, both for ease of everyday operation and long term maintenance. What is the quality of the trailer? I've had pals with BPS boats that had wiring issues, nothing totally serious but a genuine pain to deal with. Where does the service get done? I've had pals who had issues with in-store boat mechanics. What is the reputation of their shop? The bottom line is just do enough research that you are cool with your decisions. Ask yourself all these questions and more. I'm assuming that you have a vehicle capable of pulling it.

I've been wearing them for a few years now and I've never had mine go off in the rain. I had mine go off in my SUV once, I think that was due to the excessive humidity and then being locked up in a hot truck for a few days. I don't know when it went off. I know it was wretchedly humid when I threw it in the back seat and then 6 days later it had went off. Last spring Bass Pro had a good sale on hydrostatic models and that is the one I use now. So far no problems.

You can use any size you want. Practically speaking, weight is a function of how windy is it & how fast do you want to drop. I generally use 1/4, yet differenty companies jigs weigh different even if they are labeled the same. I think you have to tie it on to gauge the drop.

I think you can throw a shakey head anywhere, but when I start to throw that bait I'm thinking transition areas. Edges where deep weedlines stop and hard bottom starts, or the soft bottom. Rock areas where big rocks go to chunk rock or chunk rock goes to pea gravel. Points, after you've had no luck with jerk baits. Anyway, that's where I start.

This might just be me, but I am very likely to use a finesse dropshot approach in areas similar to where I might throw a shaky head. Unless you absolutely, positively do not have the space for it, I'd carry one rod for each technique. Fishing rods have a price on them. Fishing time is priceless. Don't waste time tying knots unless you have to. JMO

I prefer a pop-r type bait over a buzz bait, perhaps a frog in padded/weedy/backwater areas.

I'm going to Stockton lake next week. Staying at Orleans Trail resort. Primarily a bass fishing trip. Advice on potential patterns, lake areas, etc would be appreciated. I haven't been to Stockton for 5 years. I know wind on Stockton can sometimes get problematic, but my boat for the most part is ok in wind and I am a decent boat driver, I'm unlikely to do anything really dumb. Right now, I'm thinking jerkbaits on points and jigs or shakey heads on chunk rock. Any other ideas will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.