Jigfishn10

Congrats on your PB...

AWESOME! Keep with it, they get BIGGER!

Welcome from Eastern MA. Hopefully sunnier skies and tight lines are ahead for you and your family. PM if you want to get out and make some casts sometime.

No trailer hook, but I tie my skirts with the rear part of the skirt long like a mullet cut. I believe that if I'm getting short strikes then something is wrong with my presentation and I'll switch either blades or color or both.

I find myself fishing more of my older baits, Zara Spooks being one of them, but how could you not want to purchase some of the newer ones on the market and not trying them out? You'll be fishing those newer baits again in 10 years asking the same question...LOL

Looks like it would have spooled ya... ;D

If your comfortable and feel you are more accurate with spinning reels then stick with them. IMHO. I use BC's 90% (the other 10% is when I cast very light lures) of the time because that's what I like and I'm used to. There are some spinning reels out there that have the capability of catching some very large saltwater fish, so don't sell them short.

Sounds like you were fishing near the banks? What was the day like? Sunny/Overcast? Temps/water and air? Time of day? The bass you caught, where were they, shallow, near deep water (I know from a weedbed, but where were the beds near)? Just trying to help piece it together as well.

It is what it is RW. You go to a gun fight with a knife and sometimes you lose. Get up the next morning and bite the dog that bit ya.

g52...I find up here in New England ponds, the bass will be on the edge of the thick weeds during a stable condition. If a front is in, then they will tuck under. Despite being "book taught" that the bass will tuck in the weeds during a "blue bird" day, I'm finding that bass are still out on the weed edge at this time of year on a pond here and will be active. The bigger boys will be out further from the bank adjacent to deeper water and the little guys are around the bank. You will find some bigger bass at times shallow, but they are very finicky. I'm mostly a bank fisherman during the week. I try and get out about 3 times a week after work and my advice I just gave you is based on what I've been seeing thus far. This is clearly MHO. I've been making long cast to the outer weed edge with a 1/4 oz jig and chunk trailer or a 3" or 4" grub. The average 2 hours I fish for will yield 4-6 nice bass from the bank. I also find that on a natural pond an arky jig works really well. In man made ponds/reservoirs I tend to lean towards a flipping or casting jig like a Strike King Bitsy jig or Bitsy Flip. If you really think that the bass are holed up in the thick weeds and you can't cast past the edge, then a 1/2oz is what I use, especially during those days when the front is in. If you can cast past the thick stuff and work your 1/4oz into it and thru it (don't be afraid to lose some jigs), then I find that's the way to go. Please, take this with a grain of salt, but here in MA, that's what's been working for me. Good luck.

GREAT JOB! That jig weight is my choice as well for that application.

I usually have green or black...I personally think that the trailer is the triggering component...again, mho

Awesome! Do you mind pushing a few North?

Fishing has been awesome since I last posted in here. I've been catching some nice quality bass on trick sticks, spinnerbaits and jigs. The bite has been agressive with the exception of a couple of slow days after a front has moved in. The bigger fish have moved out to weedlines adjacent to deeper water and long casts are needed to reach them from shore. They seem to be along the edges with some over the tops. The smaller fish are still shallow and relating to cover and structure. You'll see cruisers along the spawning flats where the remaining gills and seeds are still spawning. I know that panfish spawn multiple times, but it seems like this year has been an extended period. I'm also finding that the bass are a little bigger this year which is a good change from the past 2 years. Good luck to you all...tight lines

My son (he's 5 yrs old) learned a baitcaster on a hookless crankbait this year.

I think I'm going to try that. I like how the snelled knot wraps around the shank eliminating a pivot point like an improved clinch knot would and to some degree a palomar knot. It does seem like you would get a much more solid hookset with that setup. Good post Crestliner.

I managed to get out for the first time last weekend in K-Port ME, with no luck. My neighbor had caught a couple of schoolies during the week, but he said it's been slow. I'll be giving it a try again this weekend. Anyone having any luck?

Welcome...Loved TN when I went down there

Welcome to BR

Welcome to BR

Welcome

Welcome...enjoy your stay

That's AWESOME CJ! I just got my 5 yr old son Dillon into fishing this year. We haven't been able to get out a lot, but I'm hoping he catches his first bass so I can post a thread like this. Congrats on the nice fish and I'm glad you have a great partner.

IMHO: I'm sure I'll get resistance with this statement, but what helped me when I first started fishing jigs and detecting strikes, I used a cranking rod. The tip is soft with enough backbone for landing fish. I've found that the soft tip helped me to detect strikes, rock, brush, grass etc. You will sacrifice hook-sets with this rod (you go cross-eyed on the hook-set), but, in my experience, you'll will feel a lot coming from the rod tip with this set-up. The other thing I did was to really have a taught line in the water. After the cast I would feed line out and watch when the line stopped moving forward. This provided me the most vertical presentation. I would reel up the slack with my rod tip @ 10 o'clock and the only line that would touch the surface of the water would be at the point of entry. From there you learn to watch your line as well as fish the weight of the lure as described by Catt and K_Mac. I used these techniques until "I got it". Good luck and hope this helps