Nitrofreak

I have a spinner bait my friend calls "Bullwinkle"...I always pull a big fish out of my a** with that one he says. Not really but whenever we fish against each other or for fun, it just seems to always work out that way.

X2 I like a lizard on mine, I will also use a spinner just off the bottom, or bounce it off the bottom. Good luck and be safe !!! Let us know how it turns out !!

X10, very nice post !!!

Fish the oldest docks there, the ones that have been around for a while usually have growth on the posts, this allows bait fish to venture in and have a snack while the bass hide and ambush them. As far as color goes, you can use any color you want...as long as it's white, lol. I prefer white, dipped with chartruse tails for my spinners, especially in stained waters, or if it is really stained, then I go with darker colors, for the most part, I use 3 bladded willow leaf spinners, the action they give during the fall is fantastic and works well around my area. I thought so too !! BrianinMd, very nice post, nice tips you gave !!

Good luck and be safe !!! It was funny !!! at least I thought it was... I thought !!

LMAO !!! No, what I am saying is you have most likely already learned what not to do. Take the time you need to find fish by going out and familiarising yourself with the bodies of water you fish. Bait fish travel from shallow to deep or open waters in the am, throughout the day as they reach open waters a lot of times they will disperse from there and travel to areas in search of plankton and other food sources, if it is a windy day the plankton and other food sources get blown toward the shore lines and the bait fish follow, so if there is a wind blown bank, chances are it will school the bait fish near the wind blown bank, but that is not always the case at each and every bank, pay attention to detail as to which ones do produce and when. Along this path are places where bass love to hide and ambush the bait fish as they commute along their daily travels from shallow to open and from open back to the shallows, bass will follow and hold to structure and cover that is good for ambushing their pray such as humps for example, bass will often stage and wait for pray as it passes over or around the hump. Docks, especially older ones will have algae, bait fish will stop along their travels for a snack, bass stage around cover such as these because they know the food source is good. Junk fishing is a good thing from time to time when patterns can not be established, I would never rule that out, but learning from patterns will make you a better junk fisherman when the right occassion arises.

Junk fishing is and can be, key at times, it's most likely you have already learned a ton from it and just have not put those lessons to good use yet. How many times have we gone to our favorite spots and caught fish on what we think should work and it does, you leave and go to another spot and it stops working, then your left with throwing everything you have only to finish the day empty handed and discouraged. It was those times that needed to be logged into your memory disc's for future use, that rocky bank that held that nice bass that I caught on a crank bait, what time of day was it, how much was the wind blowing, what size were the rocks, was there a grass line close by, what was the water temp, the list just goes on and on. Learn your waters you fish by understanding the structure your waters have first, spend time on the boat just looking back in the coves and locating cover, constantly look at your sonar for old creek beds, and conture changes on the bottom, take a good look at the docks around where you are, are they new or old, the older the dock the more likely it will hold fish, why? because, chances are, the dock will have algae growing on it, what does that have to do with anything? algae is a source of food for the food source of bass. Take a day and get aquainted with your lake, you will find more than you think you know about the waters you fish. By all means go out and establish a pattern, that is the first thing we all try to do, but don't forget, the fish are there for a reason, they have traveled there to feed, the path they chose to arrive at any given point, hump, dock, rock wall, all comes from following structure to get there. Good luck and be safe !!!

Very nice !!! I like a C-rig lizard, spinners, and spoons this time of year, if they are fresh off the beds. The good thing is, if you can find the males the females really are not too far away, usually in the flats that have a good bait fish point of travel. If the flats are relitively shallow, less than 15 feet, I like the C-rig and the spinner, any deeper I like the spoon.

It is always good to fish points, points lead to a lot of different doors that open up new and especially uncharted waters for one's self. For me though I would have to take into consideration the pattern the fish are in right now, as my home lake would be with the wacky winter we have had, they are already in summer patterns in spots and post spawn in others and spawning in others, so that being said, I like the spots you have circled, but there are some other large flat's that look good too !! I can hardly believe you live so close to this lake and have never fished it, it looks like a lot of fun !! Me personally I especially like the island areas that have the long runs of sharp ledges leading to deeper pockets, what you have marked would be a good starting point, the first ones I would attempt would be the flooded timber areas, and the long flats. Let us know how it turns out !! Good luck and be safe !!!

Even after 40+ years, I still get this way as well, especially after a long dry spell of not being able to get out there on the water. it's been over a year now since I have visited my favorite lake to go fishing, or fish anywhere at all actually, I have made plans to take my youngest daughter to a Friday night tournament on June 1st, 3 weeks ago, I am up hours before I need to be looking at maps, making sure all of our gear is ready. I guess the best thing about bass fishing is the anticipation of what the day will hold, it's reaching down, turning the key to fire the engine, it's looking in your childrens eyes and seeing they feel the same way you do just before you throttle up and head for your first spot. Nothing in my mind comes as close to being more stressed and yet more relaxing than bass fishing.

If you have clear access to the post itself, it's always much better to charge it with the clamps on the larger posts endless, it is ok to charge it either way as long as the clamps make good contact with the screws. However I would recomend charging by the posts for obvious reasons, the clamp makes a much more secure contact with the post allowing the clamp to easily allow the current to flow. If you charge it the way it shows in the pic chances are you are not getting a potential full charge, I do not see where the seat of the battery terminal has been cleaned at the bottom of the screw area, so the wing nut is just screwed down onto a dirty lead base, that will eventually damage your charger. By the way you have the negitive and positive leads on the wrong terminals, don't turn the charger on !!!

A jig is the most friendliest bait on the planet imo, but the hardest one to detect bites, that is unless you have the proper tools, even with the right tools it can be difficult, patience is key and time spent fishing the jig is key. A jig rod is a good place to start, if you don't already have one, I like mine to be around 8' and MH and with a fast tip, I love spiderwire braid there is no give when setting the hook while fishing a jig, quick penetration matters a lot, and to me, mono, floro, wont cut the mustard, especially when trying to horse one out of heavy cover.

Just having some fun with ya, hope you know that right? Have you ever tried a wrist pitch? it's a low silent approach.

Not quite sure what your asking Endless, but I assume you are referring to a battery that has both side posts and top posts, if so it does not matter either way.

LMAO !!! Sorry...my mistake !!

Why are you fishing in the tree?... the fish are in the water LOL. Just thought I would point that out...might save you a few bucks !!

I lost my father some years back without having the chance to spend time on the boat with him, I still feel his presance though from time to time. So yes it would be my dad. If I had to choose someone from the forum there are so many to name, for the shear knowlage of structure it would be catt. For a chance at big double digit bass, Big-O For what I would call the best time ever, 2 names come to mind, long mike and ghoti, those guys crack me up, I can only imagine how much fun it would be. For the chance to get to know someone that has to be RW, just a great all around kind of guy with a boat load of...tackle For the love of it, anyone on this forum, I wish we all had the chance to fish with one another.

I don't think there will be an answer better than Big-O's, one thing I will add however is patience, and lots of it !! There are so many times a jig will work and others won't, cold fronts come to mind when the fishing is slow, and the presentation needs to be slow as well, the jig is an all year round bait for all depths of water, and works in almost any condition. I would suggest starting with the bitsy strike king jig around older boat docks and other types of cover, these are great lures that can be skipped under and around various areas and can really be very effective while learning to fish a jig. Don't forget to add some JJ's to the trailer, even though the jig itself is very effective, that little extra will go a long way while trying to build confidence with the jig. Good luck and be safe !!!

Don't waist your time, make it a point to do so !! Good luck, I know how stubborn fathers can be lol ! A trip with the boys I think will help him say yes, let us know how it works out, sounds as if it would be a great day wether you catch fish or not.

A lot of what is wrong are things you have posted, by not using the T-rig, C-rig, especially the T-rig. Everyone want's to be confident when learning how to use their tools for any given trade. I would concentrate your efforts on points, use a T-rig worm or lizard, 3/8 oz bullet weight to start with, as far as colors I would try green pumpkin, watermelon red, pumpkinseed with chartruse tail, and cotton candy, all in 6" lengths. You say this is an underdeveloped lake, just because it has no docks does not make it underdeveloped, how old is the lake? Find a point that has one or two other points in close proximity if at all possible, or a point where the waterway narrows just before or after it, you mentioned a bridge, fish the piling, cast your worm out past one and let it fall to the bottom, pick it up and let it fall again, rest for about 3 to 5 seconds and keep repeating untill your bait has been retrieved, if no bites then try a different approach with the T-rig, slowly drag it across the bottom with a twitch pause, twitch twitch pause technique, if you are not getting bites switch colors and try again, pay close attention to where the fish strike the bait, on the bottom, in the middle of your retrieve, or at the top, close to the surface, this will help you to understand how deep the fish are and where you need to concentrate your efforts. The T-rig is something you should get very familure and comfortable with, it is the SUV of our sport, well that and the jig imo, and one that will open a lot of doors to learning how to fish plastic baits like the worm. Fish the points first, where you can, and cover as much ground as you can by fan casting the whole point especially in the morning and evening hours, during the heat of the day deeper water out in front of the point will be your best option, or the bridge will be a great place to fish especially when it's sunny. Good luck and be safe !!!

You have already made a huge improvement with the girl you put in the boat, LOL !!! I wish you all the best of luck, a complete restore is difficult but worth the investment, take your time and I promise, you will enjoy the end result. As far as a wrap goes the bottom of your boat takes a lot of abuse, it may not be a wise choice, the top part (above the water line) however works well. When you recarpet, use tack glue instead of carpet glue, carpet glue can ease up through the fiber and leave stains if you are not carefull. I for one can not wait to see your progress, good luck !!!

lol !! Good enough for me !!

Might wanna take a look at the map, it's Kerr lake that spans both Va. and NC. there is a reason it's called Buggs.

Thats awesome !!! Just don't get too excited and forget the important stuff !!! Good luck and be safe !!!

I would fish everyday of the week but I have a job and it keeps getting in the way of my personal life.