hatrix

It can be tuff fishing from shore and even worse if your on big water. My advice is look for targets to hit that look "fishy" and keep moving if you can. Just keep walking the bank making a dozen or so casts to spots you like then move some more and do it again. Somewhere right now a fish wants to bite the lure you have tied on but you need to find him. Keep moving and find the fish that want to bite.

Depending how thick it is and how much area it covers you might be sorta screwed. I have fished many places like you describe and you are very limited on what you can actually use. You might be limited to using only weedless top waters and weightless streamline plastics. You can maybe use some of the other stuff described but it's probably more headache then it's worth and less effective if it fouls up and you can't clear it before you even hardly cover any water. Usually burning stuff like a fluke over the mats and killing it in any pocket you see is the deal.

The one guy reccomends Mend-It and I agree its good for certin repairs but for the most part its a joke at fixing any thing major. I have become somewhat of a swimbait aficionado this year and Mend-It is only good for fixing the back so you can skin hook it again and it takes time to set up. As for actually fixing a bait you can't beat a hot knife. You can use a cigarette lighter to get the knife hot and stick it in there and melt the plastic back together. That way works but its not always great as you might not get the knife hot enough to do a good job and it takes a little time to heat the knife. Now if you want to get right to it I use a propane torch and it only takes a couple seconds and works like a dream. Some baits I will melt the nose shut before I even throw it namely (shadalicious) they work good but the nose is a joke with screw locks and it pulls right out (it's totally hollow ). If you read this Big-O make the first 1" solid please so that doesn't happen. It also helps to buy hooks with wider screws. Gamakatsu has a wide screw but the way it's hooked on the eye is stupid and can sometimes unhook it's self but I still like them cause they hold good.

x2 On the big hammers thats my #1. I also like ripple shads with the head cut off and those I don't have to order. I also don't like any of the flat swim jigs I have tried personally. I perfer regular jigs and really like grass masters or the hack attack (I think) and ill throw any where from 1/4-1/2oz depending on depth and speed.

Square bills and swimbaits. The swimbaits I can never have enough of since I go through so many so fast but the squarebills... My old ones work fine and are proven fish catchers but I keep getting new ones. Some times I make a few casts with a new one dont get a bite and put on a old one I been using and just use that even though they are the same exact bait. I went through some tackle today I had all thrown together and it blew my mind what was there after it was sorted all neatly in its own place.

x2 As do I but they just keep catching fish non stop. I am not complaining though and will fish swimbaits 24/7 365. It seems as if there is never a wrong time to use swimbaits. It doesn't matter if it's morning, afternoon, night, hot, cold, sun, rain, cloudy, clear.

Those are all solid colors and I don't know if the colors are why you didn't get bit but... If those are terminators or even interchangeable skirts I mix and match them to whatever size spinner or blade style I want regardless of the head color. For me the spinner bite is super slow since the spawn and I don't really even try any more. For me IMO I think it's to much noise and flash right now to catch them consistently. They just are not interested in spinners where I fish any more.

I have been wrecking fish on them using it as a swim jig. I don't know what it is about jigs marketed as "Swim Jigs" but I just don't like them. The grass masters come with rattles and have the horizontal line tie that's like recessed inside the head. They come through stuff great for me seem to have a pretty thick skirt and overall feel like a solid jig. I'm not sure the color but black and green/chart whatever it is and then match it with a swimbait trailer in like colors and its game on for me.

For a good cheap rod you can get a Shimano Convergence for easily under $100. I don't know what they really cost but I bought one on sale for $40 and it's a lifetime warranty I think. I have the same rod but in the Crucial line and really I would just buy more Convergence. I can flip flop between them both and I still catch the same amount of fish no matter what rod I use. They also have a up locking reel seat so you don't rub your finger on the threads. It also will look nice on a black reel like a PQ or Lew's.

If I loose a eye I take the other one off so the weight is equal on both sides. I have not noticed any change in catch rates eye's vs no eye's. I usually loose a eye after a couple fish and rip the other one out. On a side note about fixing your baits a propane torch and a pocket knife is the bees knees. I perform serious surgery all the time on baits. Mend-It works but only for minor repairs like rips to the outer layer. In a matter of seconds you can make a bait brand new again. Melt the nose back together and the slit in the back and bam you back in action with a brand new bait again. It's amazing how many times you can refuse a bait back together and keep fishing it. If your not doing that or only using Mend-It your missing out. It literally takes seconds and works instantly unlike Mend-It and the amount of $ you save is huge.

I have done pretty good with them this year. I bought a bunch of packs last year for $.99. I don't know what size there supposed to be but they look like maybe 5" and 8". I had to play with them to figure out a way to get it to swim straight and its really important that the hook is straight. I used a keel weighted swimbait hook with a bullet sinker. I have caught a bunch on the smaller ones and only ever got a couple bites on the bigger ones and caught only half of them since I think smaller fish are missing the hook.

I think for the most part all reel companies use basically the same parts. Well at least on comparable reels of the same level. IIRC it's been a while but I think there is plastic stuff inside all reel (I'm sure DVT knows). As for parts I am sure they are available and if any thing happened they will probably fix it for free. I sent in a Speed Spool (never filled out a warranty) and wasn't fully happy when I got it back. I talked to the guy in charge or service personally and he sent me a tournament speed spool and wrote me a little letter of apology. I was kinda put off originally when I got the reel back but I understand you can't win them all and oversights or mistakes are made sometimes. When I first called he wasn't in and the lady said she would have him call me. He called me back later that day on my cell and we worked everything out. I didn't have to chase him around and leave messages or wait forever to hear back so that was great in my opinion.

I think it was last year but I also caught a fish on a snap swivel. I forget what bait I was using but somehow the swivel opened up on the strike or something. I got it to the boat and went to unhook it but it was not hooked. The swivel never punctured it and it was just the pressure I kept on the line that got it in.

I have owned both brands and honestly it could go either way. If you give a guy long enough with 1 brand/type of reel he is going to lean towards that then another. I was a big Shimano fan but someone stole all my rods and tackle (I almost cried) so I was in a bind and bought a speed spool cause it was cheap and came highly recommended. At first it was weird cause its just not what your hand is accustom to but you adapt and it becomes 2nd nature just like Shimano was. I have since purchased more Lew's reels because they are all the same profile and wait for it... I am accustom to holding them now and it is not because I think they blow Shimano away. Fish don't care what reel you catch them on and I think you should make you decision on if it is something you can see your self getting comfortable using all the time. All major companies have a version of reel that is on par with there competitors so if you are happy with 1 brand why change. You won't magically become a pro and win AOY because you bought a Lew's or Shimano. As for the brake thing I agree that mag brakes are pretty much a joke. I guess they have there place and time but even in gail force winds with a spinner bait I don't turn it past 2 or 3. If you made it this far using a casting reel you can most likely feather the spool on your own. In the end I guess it's whatever brand you choose to become a fan of. Untill the day comes where fish only bite lures that are attached to Shimano, Lew's, Abu, Quantum, ect or it lets me down in a big way I will stick with what I have become accustom to using and holding.

It's kinda hard to find unless you order it. I called every store around and only 1 place out of what seems like a million carry it.

Early this year I got really into spinners and was having a great time throwing them in super tight spots and nasty cover but.... Swimbaits have consumed me and that's all I really want to fish any more. Now I would rather throw a swim jig or a weedless swimbait in the same spots. I did have a few days pre-spawn that I really cleaned up like 30+ fish days on spinners.

If I am walking around the bank I bring just 1 rod and its a Lew's TP Speed Spool and a 6'8" MH/XF Crucial and a empty plastics bag full of baits in my back pocket. It's a hassle to carry more then 1 unless I go out on the boat then I bring 3 or 4 combos with me usually.

I don't really ever start fishing before 8 a.m. I would say 9-10 a.m. is usually when I get out. I am not a big fan of waking up at the butt crack to fish the same places I always fish. If it is a special trip to a place I don't fish then I will gladly wake up at any time. As for big fish I can't really say what time I catch the most but I can say its never super early. Not starting till around 9 might have something to do with that I can say that for me around 6-8 p.m. has been a good time for big bass. I caught my PB this year on Sunday around noonish. Actually I will get up early if I am going out for perch or something. It can be really brutal during the summer months on Erie you can't just go move to the shady side of the lake.

I use 30-65 braid and have had no issues catching fish. Being able to rip a bait is huge for me since I am always looking for vegetation or any thing nasty to throw a lure in. It's just more fun having to really work a bait through some thick stuff, well that is till I get annoyed from getting fouled up 10x in a row and not being able to fix it but the trade off is worth it.

I agree 100%. Once you adjust to using it and know how to set the hook depending on what technique your using you can never go back completely to other lines. Using braid has changed everything for me.

Thx Dwight and Paul. It's a bummer I could not get a pic of it but I know I caught it and so does another boat with 2 guys on it. I think they were more excited about it then I was the way they were yelling about it. I totally agree with you Paul on the swimbaits. I think the key is natural looking slow moving baits. Not to say you can't slay them on other baits but if I was a bass I would choose a slow moving bait that actually mimics a fish over a trap or something that comes flying past making a ton of noise. There is a time and place for every bait but it appears lately its always the right time and place for some kind of swimbait.

Have you tried live bait? See if you can catch some little bass or blue gill and use those. Even if there is a stream/creek somewhere go and try to catch creek chubs, I have crushed ponds with a bucket of chubs in the past. Are you fishing in the same area and trying to catch the fish you see or just ones in that area? Finally I am starting to believe this year less is more. You can catch fish on loud cranks and flashy spinners or any thing else that swims crazy or makes a ton of noise but... IMO your only going to get the fish that are aggressive or you ticked off and made them strike out of reaction. A lot of times IMO you throw loud or flashy baits past a fish and it gets scared and takes off or is not interested. Try subtle baits that are innocent looking and non threatening. They seem less likely to scare a fish even if it doesn't bite it right away. For the most part any thing soft plastic is less noisy/flashy then there hard bait counterparts. Things like grubs, craws, worms, lizards, flukes, even jigs or... swimbaits! You can find all sizes of swimbaits from tiny to gigantic. They can be fished very slowly and weedless and still cover water very well and help locate fish that actually want to eat your lure. If I am not getting a bite in a spot i know has fish you can either try new baits or keep looking for the ones that actually want to eat. I like to keep looking and eventually maybe make my way back to that spot and see if any thing has changed in the time I was gone.

Huddleston grass minnow and weedless shad are fish catching machines.

I went out this morning to hit the water for a couple hours. I caught a couple decent fish really quick and then pulled up by a pine tree that over hangs the water. I made a few casts under the over hang and out in front of it. Then on maybe my 6th or 7th cast my tip got heavy like I hit a patch of weeds but I knew better and set the hook. I got it next to the boat and it made a run for it and did 3 laps completely around the boat before I could grab it. It ended up going 8.11# and being a new PB for me. I started to head back for the ramp to get my phone for a pic but then hurricane winds picked up going in the other direction and I am holding this huge fish in my hand trying to fight the wind back to the ramp. I made it half way and just had to let it go. I didn't want to keep it out of the water even though I am sure it would of been ok and I was soooo close. It was such a huge fish I just couldn't take a chance knowing it could die or something. I caught it swimming a 3/8 black and blue jig with a berkley ripple shad for a trailer. I know its not 100% a swimbait cause of the jig part but I am going to give the nod to the trailer over the actual jig. Yet again swimbaits come through for me this year. If it involves swimbaits of any kind you can count me in for sure. I have caught so many fish on swimbaits this year I feel as if I could fill up my bath tub and catch a monster out of there on a swimbait.

I usually just turn my waist to set the hook. A lot of time I will set 1 handed so I don't apply to much pressure. I also crank with braid so you don't need much force to get a good hook set.