scrutch

Got yer eye on a beauty there Vinny?

Usually parallel to any edges works best. You want to keep the bait in the strike zone as long as possible.

That rod has plenty of backbone. I had that rod and before I broke the tip I used it for dropshotting. You can't do a reel down and sweep hookset with it. The tip is too quick. All it takes is a quick flip of the wrist and maintain tension from there. You have to be patient with the fish using that rod. If you try to horse the fish, you'll lose it, or break the rod.

Now wait a stinkin minute! Didn't we have a conversation about iPad users and a few things that I was having troubles with? I thought you said that you were working on a mobile version but it wasn't out yet. Hmmmm...I know I'm a little slow but, I don't hallucinate sir! lol.

Find the structure to find the pattern.

Scorcher214 has spoken for a seat in my truck. Still have room for one or two more. One more makes the gas bill split four ways! It looks like he will need a bed for Friday night the 27th if anyone has a single for that night.

It looks very man made so there's a good chance the bottom is just a boring old bowl shape. If that's the case, then drag a jig or Carolina rig like ctf58 said. You're looking for any structure on the bottom. ANY structure might be a magnet if the bottom is featureless. Id start where there might be some laydowns up at the NE end. I'd also ask around and see if I could find an old timer that might remember when the lake was formed. He might be able to tell you something about the bottom contours. Also look for submerged weed beds. Find those. Find fish.

It's confusing to say the least. No staging pre-spawn fish. It's like everything just bypassed the typical pre spawn haunts and went straight to the hot water! The question remains... Where's the big girls?

Meh, throw her back and call her a ten! Those big girls don't mind if you call them fat!

Great info. Thanks for this post. If fishing doesn't work out, you could always write! You definitely have a "Barone" style! . Funny stuff!

Walmart sells a pistol case for under ten bucks. It has egg crate foam inside that you can cut the outline of your head unit into. Works great for me. I'll try to post some pics but I gotta figure out this new mobile version first.

Great catch! Now go get her sister!

I can only imagine what my wife might say if I pulled that thing up the driveway!

I just noticed a wee lil link at the bottom of the page that said "use mobile version". One click and here I am! Woo hoo! How long have I been languishing in the other version? Is this a beta version or a full blown mobile version?

I see some striking similiarities here...I wonder what this could mean for this year's fish hatch.

I just saw one in the wild around here for the first time last Friday. I was working about 20 minutes from my house (NOT at Potato Creek) near the Bass lake area and a Bald Eagle flew right over our heads! I got a good look at it just soaring around for about 5 minutes before it disappeared behind some trees. This is a third bird in a different area! After the sighting I spoke to some locals nearby and they stated that there are three that are sighted in that area on a dialy basis. That takes the Bald Eagle total to FIVE!

Anyone need a ride?? I'll be coming from northern Indiana leaving on Saturday the 21st. Going to take route 31 to Indianapolis then hit route 65 south almost the entire rest of the way. Planning on returning on Saturday the 28th. So far I can comfortably fit two more people in my Yukon. I will be pulling my boat. If anyone wants to drive to my house and ride with us or meet up with us somewhere along the way, send me a pm. I think it will take around 100 gallons for the trip. The gas bill might actually be bearable split among four guys!

Is it possible to have such odd weather that spawn gets missed? Usually it is a slow warmup. This year it happened in a week!

If you are pretty confident there are fish near a good piece of structure and you have dragged it in front of them and still haven't had a bite, dont give it more than fifteen minutes before you tie on something else. If you are searching for fish, tie on a spinnerbait or a suspending crankbait and vary your retrieve speeds and depths to find fish. Be more patient here. Still nothing, find new structure. Try reading this too... http://www.bassresource.com/fish/faq.html#news_6 Click on the link titled "How do I catch bass from the bank?".

Really?

This weird early spring has caught me with my pants down! I recently went to one of my favorite haunts and noticed the main lake temps at 55 degrees. I am usually on these waters at around 40 degrees water temps. I wasn't surprised by the temps considering the warm stretch we've had lately (75-80 degrees every day!) UNTIL I went into the shallow water channels. There I found the temps to be 71 degrees!! Really? In MARCH! I immediately began casting and located a few juveniles, but no bigger fish. I went to look for signs of spawning and saw none. I flipped a few docks and caught a couple 3 pounders. What's going on here? I marked almost no fish in the typical staging areas in nearby deeper waters. I'm at a bit of a loss here as to what stage these fish are in. The fish I caught showed no signs of spawning. The only thing I can think of is the fish have followed the warm water to feed up pre-spawn. I've never seen this lake heat up like this before. Usually the main lake is 3-5 degrees cooler than the channels. The channels typically heat up first (dirtier water, no wind). But never has it been 16 degrees cooler! Weird!

Hey Mike, Has the attendees list changed much? How about an updated list?

Yep. IMO a big spotlight like a QBeam is a must at night. You're asking for trouble if you aren't watching where you're going.

What percent of the time do you fish with a plastic worm Catt?

The difference is time. In the same amount of time his math is correct. Up like a rocket, down like a feather.