gatrboy53

i think i know what your saying,but jigs and senkos arent reaction baits they are finess baits,slow actions so the bass get a good look at them. reaction baits such as spinner baits or fast moving baits that bass hit out of a reaction instead of conveience.if a bass is positioned in cover you want to present him a bait that doesnt alarm him in any way.to make it as easy for him to take your presntation w/o any effort on his part.they are lazy,opportunistic creatures and suckers for a easy meal.practice and time fishing is the only way to master presentation.skipping is a advantaced technique,ive been fishing for many yrs. and havent mastered it yet.i only try and skip w/ a spinning reel as ive ruined many spool of line w/ a baitcaster.tight lines, mike

i have flipped senkos but not often, i feel there are better flippin baits than a senko,have never flipped a s.b.,but do often pitch one in standing cover,laydons, and overhangs.i stand ALWAYS,i do have a leaning post but only break it out if its rough and cant maintain balance.i pitch just about all my baits if im fishing cover,only cast if i have too.i believe pitchin and flippin are the most effective way to catch bass in cover

dont know what kinda tackle you were using,but i use 6# test,sometimes 10# flouro in the grass.you wont get many of the ones you see to bite but that tells you you are in a fishy area.finess worms,1/4 and 3/8 oz. jigs.we usually fish at nite ,so they dont spook as easily.we go up river and use a drag to control speed of drift.usually if we fish during the day we'll fish the grass and the mine areas off the main river.its all about being stealth, they spook real easy.my buddy went down just before full moon at nite and they did real good,but he has fished it for yrs. and knows how.even if you dont catch anything its a pretty ride.we also like to go at nite because the pleasure people stir the fish up and they get lockjaw.thnx for the report,better luck next time, mike

basslovr,bass heaven in dunnellon,you have the rainbow river,one of gods wonderful creations,which flows into the withlachoosi river,as of this spring it still has rebounded from the last two yrs. of hurricanes.which makes up lake rousseau ,flooded impoundment, the western part of the cross fl. barge canal.

i think i would concentrate on the main channel and where it intersected any other tributaries.any points that fall off into deeper water.any ledges.the old 150 bridge has alot of different points and structure,and the area s.,looks like maybe a old railroad that intersects w/ other tributaries.work the break line or flat before it falls into deeper water early w/ topwater,and then the drops and points w/ cranks,c-rigs,if you find any fish at all work that area w/ plastics or jigs.i know from experience that a map is harder to find specific locations out on the water. if you have a gps w/ maps it will be alot easier.good luck!

i've had many days when they just wouldnt take it,we call it biting short.todays plastics you dont have to hit em as soon as they bite.unless you had something on they didnt like the taste of they were just biting short. this time of yr. the spring hatch(yearlings) are big enough to nibble a bait as well as the bream.thats happening alot right now.machine gun bites set the hook ....nada

the dog days of summer are the hardest times of the whole yr. to catch BIG bass.its like hunting a needle in a haystack.they are there they just dont want to bite.here in fl. stick marsh is noted as yr. round big bass waters,and even Geoge and the other guides are having difficult days.only suggestion is keep trying and hope for the best.

n. fla., there are about a dozen small natural lakes from 100 ac. to around 1000 ac. w/in 30 min. and the st. johns river.suwannee river, rodmans resevoir,and orange/lochloosa w/in 1hr. i can be in c. fl. and fish the harris and kissimmee chains as well as many others w/ in 2 hrs.so many choices so little time.lately i stay close to home ...gas ,heat and NO water!!!

replica,pets are not wild animals ,they have over a long period of time been conditioned to human interaction.but even ther joy or hurt are not what we as humans percieve.

all living creatures feel pain but its not the same as a human feels pain. god made only man w/ reasoning skills to assemalate what pain is.i have castrated many hogs and calfs.no anasthesia or pain reliever and they scream bloody murder.take a razor knife and slit his sack and reach in and pull out his testies.pack it w/ SALT and let him go.w/in min. hes up and moving about and eating and doing the things pigs do.you do that to a human and he could die.animals fish included do not reason that what they feel is pain.the sensation they know they feel has a reaction but they dont think hurt,or pain or anything else.thats why its alright to kill a animal,fish, deer, cow, bird,they dont REASON senses. senses are instinct to an animal .they also dont feel glad, happy,or joy either

thermoclines can sometimes move them into coves this time of yr. as well as the shad are getting bigger.doesnt have to be bass chasing them any big fish feed on shad.a shad rap if will dig into the bottom can trigger a strike i also like to fish flukes as a jerk bait and on a c-rig.this time of yr. use green colors(watermelon,pumpkin).typically bass are not chasing shad but will be close by waiting for a easy meal.this is time for schooling activity( this past yrs. hatch) but not in the coves usually on main lake points and cuts.and if there is schooling activity you'll notice it,the fish will be busting them not just chasing.i would continue w/ the deeper water pattern unless i saw some good activity in the shad

i cut 6-8'' dia. scrub oaks 4' long trim the limbs off on one side and tie tire rims w/ coaxial cable to each end.these are quite heavy but stay in place good. cost zero

just turned 54 last week and have been fishing as long as i can remember.my earliest bass fishing memories was going jigger fishing w/ my dad and uncles at nite,swatting skeeters and watching out for gators.my first bass were caught on shiners in the late 50's.in 64' we moved to n.c. and lived on 3 small lakes in a valley( large ponds today)full of bass.my arsenal consisted of a hula popper, a jitterbug,mepps spinners, and rigged and un rigged plastic worms.grape was the big color then.i can remember many days catching a 100+ bass.i would of been 12 then.i got my first bass boat in 73' a 15' terry bass boat w/ a 55 chrsyler i think,might of been a 35 h.p. a t.m but no depth finder.in 76' i opened clems bait and tackle,only problem is when someone came in and told me of a bite id close up and go fishin.the youth today have so many advantages but i wouldnt trade my fishing experiences for any of the modern ways to learn bass fishing.

the reason they closed these lakes they are in the middle of a military bombing range on camp blanding.as a matter of fact they used to be the target area for bombing runs.also there were alot of manuevers going on so for privacy of training all of blanding has been off limits to non military personel. there are some monster bass in all of the blanding lakes but catching them is very difficult,especially in the dog days of summer

we fished to the r. of the ramp about a 1/4 way around the lake.schoolies were everyehere.we just started fishin the edge of the grass and after we saw the guy pull a hawg out of the grass we started pitchin trick worms,flukes and i caught 1 on a jig in the grass. noticed 2 boats about 100 yds. off shore constantly catchin fish on a c-rig so we moved out and started c-riggin and picked up a few more.my buddy caught the keeper in the grass on a fluke.it was healthy.most of the dinks were thin.the 2 big fish i seen looked alright,but i was atleast 50yds. away when he held em up.they kept them. we were boat 45.when we left we asked warden about results he said 50 keepers taken out so far and most reports were about like ours around 15 fish caught most being dinks... had a friend come in the store just a few min. ago and told him about today,said they went to hampton and caught 6 3 over 2# so i'll probably go there in a.m. since it alot closer.also said his boss went to santa fe tues, morn and caught 3 in melrose bay on flukes early in the grass.

yea keith, fished lowrey today myself,and was somewhat disappointed.we managed 14 bass w/ only 1 keeper about 2 1/2 lbs.could have caught dozens of the little schoolies.saw 3 nice ones caught 2 in the 5-6 lb. range and 1 maybe 7 thr guy said it was 7+. all before 8 a.m. i fished w/ a friend in a gheenoe w/o a d.f. so we set up a pattern in the grass early and then 50-100 yds. offshore.caught bass on everything we threw.it fished alot like kingsley.i may take my boat tomorrow and try and find some holes in deeper water....which lake did you fish? lowrey by your post.fishin in the heat of the summer is tough just have to find where them hawgs is a layin

i think why there is a difference in responses is alot of bass fisherman are'nt structure fishermen. as i stated in orig. post i dont have many oportunities to structure fish.most of the lakes i fish structure would be a 1' slope at best in 6' of water.most bass fishermen concentrate there efforts facing toward the bank,which i do also, but alot of BIG fish are in deeper water on structure especially in the summer.to find them requires looking under the water which is difficult to learn.fishing in eagle which is teaching me how to look for structure and how to fish it when i find it.in fla. some bass will always be in the shallows, but because of the extremely low water conditions the shallows in many n.fl. lakes is just about unfishable.thats why i have turned around and am trying to find fish in deeper water and was hoping to pick up some ideas and techniques from the true structure fishermen

a laydown is typically wood( tree tops ,branches, etc. that has blown down or fallen or placed in the water that is usually visible so you can cast to it.

I mainly pitch and flip,most of the lakes in n. fl. are conducive to that.frogs have been a another bait i like in these grass filled shallow lakes,but there is one lake a reclaimed phosphate mine across from Bienville plantation that is totally different from anything i've ever fished.its a underwater rollercoaster of 4' to 30' humps, holes,ledges, points,and no grass.i've been able to somewhat develop structure fishing techniques. reading breaks and contours .i find it is a very rewarding type of fishing.being able to use my depthfinder to set up on a point or hump and fish a jig or crankbait and get bit .

my home lakes here in n. fl. are sampson and rowell ,they are connected by a 1/2 mi. canal.rowell is a 100+ ac. shallow cypruss lined lake that this yr. is completely topped out in hydrilla.sampson is a 1,000 ac. lake w/ some 15' water ringed by maidencane grass but NO hydrilla,go figure.in past yrs. i have found some small patches of hydrilla in sampson but not this yr.

the first thing i look for on any lake is points,any part of the shoreline that sticks out farther than the rest.it could be the shoreline itself or some structure in the water,grass,trees,rocks...and the second thing i look for is breaks,these are underwater contour changes of the bottom. if your mainly a bank beater again i key in on points,if possible i try to fish the side the wind is blowing into,this is harder for the fisherman but better for the fish.i try to find where theres deep water close by and in fl. i always look for submerged grass.i fish alot of shallow weedy lakes and usually they are going to be buried up in the thick stuff.sometimes theyr on the edges and sometimes they r out from the shore.

improper hookset can result in broken rods and as stated above a big bass in heavy cover can break a rod. i have never broken a flippin stick but the type of fishin they are intended for , you can deffintely break one.

pinkfloyd,i think your comment was somewhat unfair as ive seen you on the floridabassforum before.b.r. is a very good forum mainly because there isnt a whole lot of controversy for such a large forum, a wealth of information to make any level of fisherman better. i spend more time on fbf site because it is local specific, but i enjoy this site immensely as well as fbhp as well as others.i have even directed those looking for fl. bass fishing info to the fbf from this site as well as to this site

i personally dont want any slip when im flippin.proper hook set is a technique of its own.usually your fishin in heavy cover and any slip of your line and a decent bass will wrap you or hang you up.you want to get that bass out of the cover before he knows whats going on,if you dont he will use you and you'll lose some.i feel the bite way more than i see it.its a developed sense that comes w/ getting bit,but i have had them almost jerk the rod out of my hand.time of day doesnt dictate when i flip the type of cover im fishin does,although im usually throwin a frog or topwater early and late. the most important aspect is use heavy enough weight to get thru the cover your fishin.tungsten weights make a hugh difference,in size and feel,ALWAYS peg your weight,i use a rubberband not a toothpick.brush hogs are good flippin baits but sometimes the appendages get in the way and sometimes the bass dont like em. if your not gettin bit tear off the appendages and make a more streamlined bait.usually a bass isnt going to chase a flipped bait you got to hit him on the nose so flip a spot repeatedly.try to make as quite a entry as possible .alot of times you'll spook a fish w/ a noisy entry.once you catch a decent size bass on a 15' line you'll be hooked,its my favorite technique

this past march on lang lake ( a reclaimed phosephate pit in white springs) JUST DOWN THE ROAD FROM BIENVILLE PLANTATION.first cast i hooked up w/ which would have been my p.b.well over ten,but she spit the hook at boatside.5 min. later a 7+ from the same spot ,w/in a hr. another 7+ from the same spot.i later found a male and female on a bed i caught the male a4+ and tried for a few min. to catch the sow but she wouldt stay locked so i left her to look for that 10+,which i never found.went back to the same point i caught the others on that morning and caught a 2+ and had another 2+that day .so somewheres around 23-24lbs.all the bass but the one i caught off the bed were prespawn moving up to spawn.the day before i caught a 9.3 just off that point in 12-15' of water.i posted the pics on fbf site.all released to be caught again .in tx. competetion around 16#s