Bluebasser86

I imagine when A Jay and 00mod get back they might have something to add to this thread I like them with boot tail swimbaits or fluke style baits. Very subtle action that drives them crazy at times.

If bluegill got to 5 pounds regularly you probably couldn't get a bait to a bass, and I don't think I'd mind at all A wiper is the closest thing I can imagine to what a 5 pound bluegill would be like, and I've said it before, if I could pattern wipers better I'd probably fish for bass a lot less.

I had the misfortune of fishing Patoka in Indiana once. If I never see that lake again it wouldn't hurt my feelings. The 3 day winning weight for the coangler side was just over 10 pounds and I almost made the final day cut with a single 2.5 pound fish, which was one of the 3 fish I caught in 2 days of fishing

These are about the only squarebill I use anymore. They just came out with some new colors too that are SWEET! Lots of good colors, rattling and silent versions, good finish and durable bodies/bills. Hooks aren't bad but I switch them out with St 36s and they're ready to rock!

Welcome!

Big fan of the Yo-Zuri Killifish on an ultralight. I've caught a ton of fish on those little things, including a 21lb flathead on 4lb test. I have an old Rebel Fastrac that is one of the best cold water cranks I've ever owned. Problem is it's light so I have to fish it on spinning gear and I'm afraid to lose it since they don't make them anymore . Shad Raps with some suspend dots/strips are great in cold water too.

Welcome!

I don't weigh crappie but I caught one that was 17" on a 3/4oz spinnerbait slow rolling it on a brushy ledge in about 18' of water one winter. Caught a 15" crappie on a white Horny Toad out of a farm pond. My biggest crappie are almost always while I'm fishing for bass (mainly because I rarely crappie fish). That's a 3.5-4 inch Yo-Zuri Hardcore jerkbait in this one's mouth.

Depends on the cover and what I'm doing. I use 4lb C21 most of the time but if you're in heavy cover I'd suggest a really light braid and use straight braid so you can straighten hooks when you get snagged, which happens a lot.

A lot slower yesterday morning but we got two big ones, including Peter's new PB of 6.5 pounds. My big one was my biggest of the year at 6.75 pounds and a couple inches longer than my 22" board. Back at it after work again this morning

I just can't keep away Was much slower for Peter and I yesterday, but 2 of the 4 wipers we caught were toads, and the "little" ones weren't bad either My first was my biggest of the day/year at 6lbs 12ozs and a good bit bigger than my 22" board, Cassidee approved too. The only one nice enough to eat Peter's spoon was at least a really good one. A bit shorter than mine but super thick and his new PB wiper at 6.5 pounds. Completely covered my board though.

I have no idea what my fattest bass is, I've got some submissions though

Berkley Big Game or Stren Hi Impact.

Fish a single colorado bladed spinnerbait or bladed jig as slowly as you can reel and keep the blade moving. Probably help to put a bulky trailer on the back to help you be able to reel even slower, I like a pork frog for the added scent or put some Megastrike on a plastic trailer. A jig can be good too but a lot of ponds have too much junk on the bottom to fish them this time of year. Cold, muddy water is about as tough as it gets to get a fish to bite, good luck.

I use a Trokar, Eagle Claw, and a Mustad, but I mainly use the Eagle Claw.

Boo...always my favorite part of firearms day in training. Doing "rolling thunder" with a shotgun on steel is fun and shoulder numbing.

10lb PP Super Slick with an 8 or 10lb Sunline Super fluorocarbon leader. Mostly fishing 1/8-1/4 oz shakyheads and only on spinning gear.

Glad to hear he's doing better, hopefully the recovery process goes well and he's back in time for the spring bite!

Guys that eat them say they're much better than bass. They have red meat you have to cut out but it's pretty easy to do. If you don't cut that out though, they're pretty fishy tasting.

I dedicate a lot of my cold weather fishing to these hard fighters, as do several other KC area guys, so instead of starting a new post every time I'll just post in here. I've been on them good this last week in the two short trips I've been able to make. Yesterday I shared the boat with Cbass12 and we were able to find them right where I left them last week. He's never eaten them and wanted to try them so we brought home 2 limits of wipers and 4 fat white bass that smacked our spoons the 2 hours we were on the water. My biggest two, the biggest was 5lbs 13ozs and around 24" long. Our cleaning station is 2 2X12s screwed to a piece of plywood for a little size reference. Thinking I might have to chase them around again this morning, then gardnerjigman is going to chase them with me Thursday morning when I get off work before. Hopefully they'll keep playing right until ice up and I have to switch to just the power plant lakes. I like to share the wealth and did so by sharing the details with other KC area guys and Chris S was able to put the intell into action last weekend with a toad of his own

Keep us posted. At least it's during the winter instead of right in the middle of spring! Hopefully you'll have a speedy recovery.

Man I'm sure these fish are going to disappoint me at some point but they've been in the same place and eating for over a week now. Decided to keep some for Cbass and another guy at work. Biggest was 5lbs 13ozs and in the 24" range. Got a few fat white bass that got tossed into the mix too. Coty is coming off the DL Thursday to hopefully get in on some of this action with me. Our fillet table here is 2 2X12s screwed to a sheet of plywood for a size reference.

The lake we won with 2.74lbs on has a 13-18 inch slot limit, not a single fish in the slot was caught out of 7 boats and everyone had a limit. The lake I used to fish the Wednesday night tournaments on a lot where nobody would weigh a fish for weeks at a time during the summer is the worse. It's a 15" lake and I've seen fish that were keepers that went 1 1/4 pounds they were so skinny, and guys would win with that occasionally. Taking a $300 prize with a 1 1/4lb fish is an valuable fish per pound There's a reason no BASS or FLW tournaments come to Kansas.

Not bad at all really, similar to like a SK series 5 or Spro Little John DD.