Nitrofreak

For what you are describing , yes, 3/8 gives a good fall rate that really gets the fish's attention. For me it really depends on what I am doing with the jig...skipping it under docks...heavy grass...rocks...they all have a purpose, the jig is one of the most versitile baits you will ever fish and can be used in all areas of fishing. If I am in open water 15 feet or deeper nothing less than a 1/2 oz for me. jigfishn10 really has some great advise in his post you may want to copy that down. Congrats and keep working at it they are very productive baits. Good luck and be safe!!!

I didn't think they allowed that on the private side?

Don, If you are reading this then brother I commend you !!! Not only will you be giving yourself a new out look on life, which I promise you is worth every once shed, but you have chosen to share your success with others. Your loss, so to speak, is their gain not only in success but in life. Good luck and God bless!!!

LOL, I hear ya, and I agree, I finally placed in a tourny not long ago after 2 years of effort, and the fact of the matter is I thought I went from zero to hero but after weigh in I was back to zero or well third anyway...lol, I guess in short it is most likely one of the most frustrating things at times when they develop lock jaw but when you do get it right...man it's like the gates of heaven have opened and the light is shinning down on you...(enter voices singing) AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!...lol, well maybe not that joyus but you get the picture.

LMAO !! that is a great analogy, but it's during those times i enjoy fishing the most...I forget to put the right kind of iceing on the cake from time to time.

When do you feel they are truly active? like when in spring and they are actively feeding for the upcomming spawn?

lol, I guess there is some truth to that, I enjoyed your discussion about the topic though.

I WILL STOP RESTOCKING WHEN MY BAIT MONKEY TELLS ME TO STOP !!...he is 40 years old now how long do bait monkeys live?

That's a pretty interesting point you guys made about the warmer water temps and how the bass react during that period. If I can find the waters that contain the right amount of oxygen I can find fish, thermoclines, what part of them plays a roll in the right amount of 02 levels? upper level? don't think that would be it, middle layer maybe? I have seen and caught bass in that range before, under a thermocline? that to me makes the most sence, not sure though as to why, is it because the water is cooler under the thermocline and carries more o2?

I don't know for sure but as far as being opportunistic, I would have to disagree, I have caught fish on different baits before as I am sure you may have as well, for example, I lost a fish throwing a worm and turned right around and tossed a jig and caught the same fish, now granted their primary food source where I fish is shad, so on some days you are correct it does not seem to matter, but if a bass can not find a primary food source, such as shad, then does that fish after a period of time become tuned in on other food sources as well? does that not make it opportunistic? If an opportunity presents it self as a possible food source I think a bass will take it, weather they are cruising around under a bait ball or cruising a flat they will take whatever opportunity they have to ensure their survival.

All of the answers here are great and this is why I love this site, you all have great knowlage of what we love to do and you help us grow as human beings and as fishermen, I for one can not thank all of you enough for sharing your time and knowlage with us.

Nice job !!!!

LISTEN...DO YOU HEAR THAT?...MY POINT EXACTLY!!! I don't mind it so much when my family is out fishing with me because I know the chances of me catching anything are slim to none, it never fails they are laughing it up or slamming the compartment doors. The laughing it up is great but the slamming of the compartment doors... I really have to grit my teeth!!!

I don't think your wrong here and I would have to agree with you... somewhat, I have been suprised by schools of shad just showing up from out of nowhere, and one particular instance I had a red craw lipless on and gave it a toss and let it fall through the bait ball and it got nailed. But if they don't eat based on color patterns then we should have no need for color in our baits... correct or not?

Thanx RW !!!

I do ok with my home work it seems, but I find that this term has crossed over to bass fishing more and more when all along I thought it originated from either fly or trout fishing and I wondered if it ment doing all of the same things or if it even applies to bass fishing.

How nasty can a cold front be in Florida? Heaven forbid if you have to go out in a sweat shirt... lol. Just kidding... I enjoy reading how the fishing is down there since there is not much going on up north here.

It's interesting to see this term come up more and more. Where did it originate from? I think it may have came from trout fishing or it was created from or for fly fishing the first time I remember hearing about it. What does it mean? To me it means so many different things, but it seems it all depends on who your talking to about it. When is it most commonly used? I think about it 100% of the time when I am on the water, is it simply matching the right bait to the right structure or cover or water color? but am I right or wrong? without knowing for sure what this "match the hatch" phrase is relating to. I have heard so many different versions of what this means, and I was wondering if some of you could shed some light on this subject for us.

X3 And the video of Glenn that SFBA posted is also really good. Just make sure you practice, the more you work at it the better you are going to get.

What makes you think you could be wrong?

X2

Exellent advice!!!! As for your comment jeremyt, you mentioned, bass were not interested in what you had to offer, the reason for that is they look for the easy meal, and an injured bait fish was the ticket on that particular day, the spinner proved that, but if the spinner was working I would have continued to use it if that was the only other option you had that day and " yo yo'd " it through there. The reason the bass screamed away is because they saw you as a potintial threat, they have instincts built in and they know enough that when there are bait fish, there are preditors just like them that are looking for the same easy meal and these other preditors have teeth too. Often times I have seen bass on the shallows corralling a small school that has broken away from the bait ball, or they are there waiting for the school of fish and they ambush them as they go by. In that case I would have stayed away as far as I could and casted the bait past where they were located and brought it to where the bass were staged, most likely with the fluke rigged as Imoore stated. Oh well at least you got a couple, but that is how we learn, good job on changing things up and getting the bites you did though.

There is a couple ways you can do this, one is J's suggestion, 2 is soak the planks overnite in water and a table spoon of white or apple cider vinigar, I prefer apple cider, more flavor or 3 you could add liquid smoke to the water and soak your fish and get the same result...not really but close. If you do decide to plank cook a fish make sure you keep the wood just moist enough not to burn if you use an open grill.

One key word for that... Acid, potatoes contain acid, they are like a little car battery and if you can get enough of them put together you could power a am/fm radio... of course you would need a rather large room. My great grandmother tought me to cook on a pot belly wood fired stove and that was one of the lessons I had learned as well. The am/fm radio came from science class.

J, Do you like have a picture or a video for everything? lol. Man those trout look AWESOME, but I am on the way with some blackened Alaskan Salmon filet's...just let me find that darn picture, I know I have one here somewhere.