gatrboy53

Re: Zoom Speed Worms Reply #1 - Today at 2:31pm ive caught more fish over 5 lbs. this yr. than on any other bait in this one lake i fish. this pattern has held up since the spawn.i also fish it regularly in rodmans resevoir w/ a 12'' leader and swivel buzzed just on top of submerged hydrilla.the swivel keeps the line twist down.i use it more than a toad ,the hook ups are 99.9%,if they hit it they dont miss. in some instances i'll switch to a producto buzz tail shad,just a little bulkier bait but same results. i fish the speedworm three cast first i'll buzz it on top.2nd cast i'll swim it just under the surface,3 rd cast i'll fish it like a worm and let it fall.all three work. great bait ,i always have a speedworm and a trick worm tied on.

ive caught more fish over 5 lbs. this yr. than on any other bait in this one lake i fish. this pattern has held up since the spawn.i also fish it regularly in rodmans resevoir w/ a 12'' leader and swivel buzzed just on top of submerged hydrilla.the swivel keeps the line twist down.i use it more than a toad ,the hook ups are 99.9%,if they hit it they dont miss. in some instances i'll switch to a producto buzz tail shad,just a little bulkier bait but same results. i fish the speedworm three cast first i'll buzz it on top.2nd cast i'll swim it just under the surface,3 rd cast i'll fish it like a worm and let it fall.all three work. great bait ,i always have a speedworm and a trick worm tied on.

there are over a dozen clubs in the jax. area.if you dont have a boat you will have to find one that allows non-boaters.depends if you want to fish the river or area lakes.also depends on the type of crowd you want to be around.whiteys on thur. nite would be a good place to meet some guys from different clubs. i fished w/ middleburg bass club over the weekend.small club but some good guys.i dont think they allow non-boaters you have to have a partner,good luck,mike

your options are limitless.early and late i would run a topwater over it.just after the sun gets up i would run a reaction bait, spinner bait,rattle trap, crankbait,chatterbait,down to where it ticks the grass.during the day i would soak plastics,especially flukes,senkos, trick worms,weightless,deadsticked.let em sit 30 sec. hop it up ,let it settle and let it sit again.

when a bass sees a bait it doesnt THINK crawfish,it does assimilate food .same w/ color or to a bass hue.it doesnt THINK oh i dont remember a black and blue crawfish,it assimiltes food that has the hues of food.and for that matter if it moves and is remotely similar to food ,they THINK eat it before it gets away.fish are conditioned to likes and dislikes but not thought process like we are.

i liken structure fishin to settin up a deer stand.you dont just go out into the woods and put up a stand .you look for their migration routes.something that is different in the surroundings.fish are the same they travel by the contour of the bottom structure.i always try and find their bedding areas first,then their staging or transition areas next which will always lead to their deep water sanctuaries.and deep is relative to conditions.bass are going to relate to 3 things mostly.food,cover and comfort.you dont have to find all 3 w/ food being the LEAST of these necessities.bass only feed 4 times in 24 hrs. 2 major feeds 12 hrs. apart and 2 minor feeds 12 hrs. apart the rest of the time they are neutral or inactive-not feeding.that leaves cover ,which is dictated by the elements and comfort which is the primary objective of all bass.find his comfort zone and you'll find bass.this is where structure comes in.depth of a bass is where the temp and oxygen is the most comfortable to the bass.bass move up and down on structure to find that zone.for most of us myself included this is trial and error but if you find 1 fish at a particular spot you can bet that where ever you go on that body of water there will be other bass in that same zone. where im at in structure fishin is how to approach that structure.the angle in which you fish it will determine if you get bit at all or how many you'll be able to catch off of it w/o messin it up.for me there are two search baits for structure hunting crankbaits cant be beat.they'll locate structure bass faster than any other bait,and a drop shot for deeper structure water(more than 20'),some like c-rigs but its to slow for me.once i find structure holding fish i'll fish a c-rig if necessary.

if your catching them one day but not the next color would be the last thing i would change.lure wise i would change size and /or shape,but the first thing i would look at is what was holding those fish in that place.bait,structure, cover.if its bait ,has the bait moved?if its structure, am i fishing the structure the same way? and the same w/ cover. sometimes ,they just aint bitin!

the lake that i fish (santa fe lake ) because of the rec. boaters and fishing pressure is known to be a structure lake in the summer,and for the most part i structure fish.but consistently catch good numbers and size from 2' or less water

there are plenty of pros that never fish deep.there are plenty of bass that dont go deep.if you want to be only a bank beater then you will be able to fish for bass in most places yr. round. the easiest way to transition to deeper water is to move out to the first drop.typically in man made lakes its about 10-15' from the shore.in some lakes its very subtle but in many lakes there is a pronounced drop off which bass will hold to especially in the summer.you fish it w/ the same lures and techniques as you would the bank. w/ the increased fishing pressure especially in the shallows,bass are becoming more wary of presence,lures,noise,and are becoming haerder to fool.the fish in deeper water feel safer and are less affected of those very things and to me are much easier to get to bite.and once you get the hang of it ,structure fishing is alot of fun.

yes, i have some that run sideways that i use to run under docks and the likes.most cranks im targeting depth and either structure or cover and want it to be precise.

great baits and i dont have any problem w/ the hooks!!!

each brand has different characteristics and are needed in different situations.the shape,size and action(wobble) makes the difference in catching fish on any particular day.color is important at times but the least of the factors in using a particular bait.im fishing scattered brushpiles now and lose a couple baits a day,and no matter what i pay for it it kills me to lose a favorite bait.i buy alot of my cranks off ebay.i dont use hi dollar baits,cant stand the thought of losing it.right now my go to crank is the strike king pro model series baits,normans,bandits,.you gotta have some fat free shads,berkly frenzys,shad raps.personally i use very little dt's,i just dont have the confidence to throw them much.shallow water i use bandits and bagleys mostly. to me the most important thing you gotta do if your serious about crankin is tune your baits.very few run true outta rhe box.this is where the foreign models excell .alot of the higher baits are pretuned and have good hooks on them.if it aint tuned right the fish aint gonna bite it and if dont have good hooks you aint gonna put many in the boat.hope this helps,mike

dont make depth your major concern.focus on what bass are relating too.if you have deep water then it also has structure,i.e. points, drops,humps,ledges,any type of break line,and /or also cover,rocks,wood,brushpiles,submerged grass. i look for visible points and look for structure or cover off of that. ive never fished in minn.but not all bass go deep.if deep water fishin aint your thing stay w/ what you know,shallow water cover,grass,wood,docks,etc. if i was going to concentrate on deep water ,i would start w/ a dropshot.you can probe any depth and pinpoint where you want to fish easily and is a proven fish catchin technique.once i found fish i would fish w/ a bait that reaches that depth effectively.c-rig,jigs,cranks,will cover any depth and structure you find fish.

here in N. fla. weve been in and are in an extended drought .the lake im fishing which still holds water is close to 4' below normal.most edges ,not all, are 1-2'.this whole yr. ever since the early spring ,big fish are holding in the real skinny water.all day long.not every day, but more days than not.for awhile it seemed only a few of us knew but now everyone has figured it out and fishin water you cant even get your t.m. into.dont know why,but i learned long ago to let the bass tell you where there at and dont rule out anything.

zoom speed craw

yep,san diego jam knot.really good knot for flouro.the palomar is not a good knot for flouro and if you ask the pros many are going to this knot when tying flouro.

I would always want the bait above suspended fish. the side to side wobble gives of the color(hue) of the bait.matching the hatch is only one aspect of attracting bass to a bait and for me one of the least concerns.unless your fishing really clear water the bass hone in on sound vibrations mostly,the size and shape determine that w/ color being secondary.

depends if your satisfied just fishing the little waters.i fished from a 14' jon boat for yrs.and enjoyed every minute of it.but the best investment,and the most improvement to my bass fishin was when i got my bass boat.if your content fishin from a little boat then dont make the mistake of getting something you'll be sorry for.but if your ready for the committment of a bass boat and what it can afford you ,you wont be sorry.i still have my jon boat and when i want to fish the elec. only lakes i use it ,but i love fishin from my Gambler and i wouldnt ever go back to just a little boat again.

fishin grass is like any other technique.once you learn it ,it wont be a hinderance.you'll get adepth to not pullin weeds on every cast(or pitch). you are describing a perfect scenario.10' depth w/ grass up to within 3' of the top.you can fish that w/ any baits you want,but be sure to get down in the thick stuff .you gotta go into its bedroom to get em out sometimes,not just knock at the door.

the original ? was w/ weightless plastics.if its real windy weightless plastics get too much bow in the line so watching it wouldnt do any good.in most situations myself anyway fish weightless plastics on a slack line so the bait will fall naturally.the only way to detect a strike is watching your line

fishing plastics weightless line watching is a must.more times than not you wont feel the bite.if you are having a hard time seeing the line get some hi-vis line.

lots of variables there.like fbl said if the fish were there yesterday they arent very far away today.unless something drastic has changed .if its just fishin,then i dont predicate time on the water to fish caught.if its a tx. then all sorts of variables come into play.in most situations i'll move deeper.if they were in the shallows the day before i'll move out to the first drop. i always try to find out what they were relating to the day i caught them. bait, cover, depth,water temp,something was holding those fish and something was causing them to bite at that certain place and time. if im in a tx. and i have caught fish the day before and they aint there tx. day which happens alot and i dont have a better place to go i'll stay there and exhaust every variable,cause those fish are there.many times its just timing.one day they'll feed at noon and the next day its 2:45 ,15 min. before weigh in. if you werent on fish to begin w/ then its one thing but if you had caught fish the day before then thats another.dont lose confidence, thats the game of bass fishing,you against the bass.lose confidence and the bass has won.do what you know and more times than not you'll come out on top. i fished a known good bass lake for yrs. w/o much success.others would tell me of the bass they were catchin but i couldnt ever get on a bite.a good friend who has had consistent success took me one day and we caught fish all day.he wasnt doin much different than i had been doin ,just doin it believeing we were going to catch fish.since then i have been very few times when i couldnt find fish.matter of fact it is now one of my best producers

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both and either.generally when one is speaking of secondary points they are visual.a secondary point is any point between the main lake points and land.specifically to a bass it is points between deeper water and shallow water .staging areas that bass use in seasonal movement.i.e. structure. when fishing large expanse of mats look for something different.above water or below.milfoil especially opens up under the mat so fishing the edges can be effective.fish the seams, holes pockets.

the kistler mag ts composte cb rod is great for shallow cranks.