Nitrofreak

catt, Thanks for all the help !!! One thing I found to be interesting in the articals that Matt so generously posted for us on the threadfin shad is that it was mentioned that they will use "deeper haunts", threadfin, I thought, use shallow water and really did not go deep, now I am not sure exactly, so just how deep is deep for the threadfin shad? For those of you who are having trouble finding this thread, it is at the top of this forum under "best of" bassresource, then scroll down to bass forage, and so are a lot of other really great articals !!!!

Really great thing you did !!!!! I am so proud of you and fishing daddy for taking care of the people who have fought to protect our freedoms, it's beyond what simple words can express. Sorry mother nature did not cooperate, but at least you guys had a great time it sounds like, you even came away with a new nick name lol. Congrats on a job well done !!!!

Maybe you were in the wrong place too? I agree with the above post, I would have slowed way down and tried a different presentation rather than change color,

We look forward to hearing from you too, you should go to the introductions and say hello to everyone. Welcome to the forum !!!

OUCH DUDE !!!!!! That make me cringe just thinking about it !!!

lol, I know this is a hard curve to learn, HA been there done that !! Line is your most important choice, next will be your rod, I like a beefy rod with a fast tip and I love braid when fishing frogs it has zero stretch, the thing you must remember is to keep a small amount of slack in the line when it gets hit, normally what happens is the bass will hit the frog to injure it and then take it while its stunned, pause for a second and watch your line, it will start to move one way or the other, this is where the slack you gave it comes into play, as you drop the rod tip and set the hook, the slack that you had in the line becomes extra leverage for a much faster hook set almost insuring the hooks penetrate into the roof of the mouth. As you set the hook always make sure the hook set is in the opposite direction of it's swimming, if it is swimming left, sweep your rod to the right in an upward motion, if it is coming straight at you go straight up, make sure your hook sets are really quick with the wrists when you do set. Hope this helps. Good luck and be safe !!!

Like with any topwater bait you want the rod to load up first, let the fish get a good hold on it and then set your hook. Top water frogs are a lot of fun, the two basic types are floating and swimming, the floating type are the ones you want to be able to learn how to make them walk, the other you want to reel back to you just fast enough to make their legs paddle the water and create a slapping sound as it's coming to you. A lot of people just reel them straight back, I like to make them change direction if the fish are looking and not striking. Around lilly pads I like the ones that float, so I can walk them around and through the pads, around grass lines I like the swimming type.

catt, The light has never gone off lol. Although it has been a little dim for a while, I think you have just made it shine once more my friend !!! Something has been missing in my fishing journal for a long time, I have made notes of all of these different structures on my home lake but have just not been able to put 2 and 2 together, I have since gone home and broke out that ol' structure map of Lake Anna with all of the markings of what used to be there before the lake was actually a lake and also of what the lake is today I have a vacation coming in June, a whole week has been scheduled for the lake to get out there and work, or, do a little hunting as one would put it ha ha !!!! I have loaded up some new baits for the good ol' Texas rig worm, now I can't wait to get out there and use it like it's supposed to be used. A light? no, more like a big ass fire has been lit...Thanx catt !!!!!

There is more than one big guy !!!! As I have been reading all of the post's, now the pictures are starting to make a much bigger and clearer portrait. Your not just teaching catt, your moulding our minds and creating an excitement with imagery's of what the waters hold beneath for us if we just go find it and learn how to fish it at the right times!! I can't wait to get back to the lake !!!!!

Thanks a ton catt, and others !!! This will give me a newer approach to fishing areas of my home lake and a whole lot of homework to find the answers to as well. As I look forward to the new challenges, I also find that it's hard to believe that one three letter word, when asked, opens new chapters in our ever changing, always evolving, personal fishing journal's. Why? I think I have forgotten to ask myself this one word far too many times in the past, the results of my last few trips reflect that as well.

First of all, thank you for the reply catt, it means a lot !!! I was not referring to shoreline as shallow water, at least that was not my intention, my apologies for being misleading. Although site fishing would be much easier, at least you know for sure you are in the right spot lol. Fishing structure has always been my favorite thing to do, very rarely will you find me pounding the shoreline, unless the shoreline has enough structure to hold bass, however fishing structure has also been my weakness a lot of times when the things I read lead me to where there should be fish and find only that they are not anywhere close and leaves me scratching my head thinking, all of this great information can't be wrong, I must be the one at fault. The key I suppose is to be on the water a ton to understand or get a better understanding of the structure you are fishing and how it relates to why the bass travel a particular path or even stop at a particular point of interest.

Simple economics here too. Although I have not used the word quit, I am just patiently waiting, for our esteemed government to quit forcing us into bankruptcy, that way I can quit one of my 3 stinking jobs and go freaking fishing !!!!! I will keep the second one so I can afford the rising costs of the fishing licence though.

When we talk about fishing structure, how is it determined when to fish deep structure and shallow structure? Shallow being, IMO, the easier one to find fish during spawning months. If we do not have the means of expencive electronics to help us find the fish, is it the shad patterns we follow? For example: Gizzard shad and threadfin shad are common forage in my home lake, I know that gizzard shad frequent deep,fertile water usually until spring, then they head for shallower water to spawn just like bass in the spring, if I were to key in on bait schools that are deep these should be gizzard shad and the bass follow the same structure to be able to feed for their up coming spawn, is that anywhere close to being correct?

There we go, how long did he pause it in between jerks? a change in direction or a slight change in color or a really small twitch or a really slow movement after a pause most likely could have inticed a strike. That tells me they would have struck if the bait looked injured or weak. I think the hair jig would have been very productive in this case as well though. Hope you get another chance, good luck and be safe !!!

Yes also, the carp are most likely grass carp that were put there to help control the vegetation, they may have overpopulated the pond. If you know the owner of the pond you may be able to delete a few and help restore the balance.

Wow, suspending jerk bait? Hair jig?hair jigs usually work when all else fails during a cold front.

Nice post Sam, What he saw was the females, it's pretty common for the females to group together after the spawn and start to relax and regroup, the cold front had a lot to do with them having lock jaw too. At Anna they will start to cruise the flats when they are grouped as such shortly after the cold front. I most likely would have put a flipping tube on a drop shot rig right in front of them. You need a slower presentation when they are like that, at least that is what works for me.

There is never a time when I fish, regardless if I am by myself or with family or friends, that I don't go for broke. Although when fishing with family it does have a tendency to try your patience...I think those are the times when fishing becomes even more challenging, at least for me, I will put my rod down and teach my family, huh funny thing is that it's the wife that is not willing to learn, my 2 daughters love to learn...I don't get it.

Wind also, nothing makes me more GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRish than that.

Oprah

Maybe I am wrong, I have used braid for my jigs and T-Rigs, when I have to pause the bait for long periods of time, I have a hard time watching the line, I have always had my finger under the line so that if a fish does just vacume it up and not move, the slack tells me to set the hook, like you though Jeff it only took one time to learn a valuable lesson. I have learned to position my hand, palm up, under the rod, pinch the braid between my finger and thumb, if I need a quick hook set the line will pull free from between them.

Yep, you got the bug alright !! Welcome to the forum !!!

I am no preacher, but I do practice catch and release just like it is a religion, why? I want this generation and future generations of our children to be able to enjoy the same thing we do, I fail to see the issue with that. Does that make me an a**hole? to you, well I guess it does, to me, I see it as you being a dum bass. Do I harvest fish? yes I do, all species included in my state gaming laws. As for stuff being shoved down your throat while you are just trying to learn a little, look at the replies you just got and let us know what you just learned, I think this too will be too much for you to swallow.

It is after all your decision, I definatly agree with what catt is saying, you should consider all of the factors before making the decision to kill or release. I do practice C&R no matter how big or small the fish, I do take photo's of the fish and the weight and document a small story along with the photo, at least the bigger one's. Photo's are an inexpencive and most life like memory you can put on your wall in my opinion.

Two good quotes to use, there is an even better one followed by these two which ask's that you read some of the articals, they are very good and can help you a lot. Before I purchaced my first boat I fished from shore a lot myself, as Long Mike states the size of your lake is the distance of your cast, that means you must make the most of the area that you choose, I would look for an area that has a couple of lay downs with some type of grass or lilly pads. Coves, if you can get to them, often hold places such as this and offer some pretty good fishing from the bank. Other places to think about are public landings, docks, peirs etc...in some cases you may be granted permission from property owners that will allow you access to fish from their boat docks and banks, most are not too friendly to this kind of thing, but it never hurts to ask. If it is a public lake, chances are there is a map of it somewhere local, Google maps also offer good detail with pictures that will show you what coves offer the best cover. As always, safety is the most important thing to keep in mind when locating a spot to fish so be careful.