bassnleo

I'm all about helping people out....... BUT I'm mainly a tournament fisherman. I have put alot of hours in to find the honey holes and I'm not much of bank beater. I have been burned by more than 1 person. I tell ya what I'm catchin em on, how deep, what kind of cover, etc...but my spots are MY spots, go out and do some searching on your own, that's the only way you will get better. Catchin em's easy, finding them is the challenge.

I was running a weigh in for a local tournament last Oct, watched a competitor grabbing his fish in the gill area as he put them into the weigh basket. With the fish flopping around he got one of his fish by the gills causing damage and the fish bleeding severly. He got dinged for a dead fish penalty as a result, there was no way the fish could survive when released. Can they be harmed if grabbed directly in the gills? Absolutely........

Chartruese w/ blue back, shad, pearl white. My color choice would depend on water clarity and sunlight. I do use a few others but the colors above are my go to color combos.

I too have the same problem. I'm tinkering with the Z-Man skirts on my spinnerbaits, won't have to worry about a collar at all. Z-man skirts are similar (if not identical) to the skirts that come on chatterbaits.

I use the DD22's and love them. I have also used the Luhr Jensen 1/2 oz Brush Baby and the Hot Lips express in 1/2 and 3/4 oz sizes. The Jensens are nice for fishing around deep stumps or rock, they deflect nice and don't get hung all that often.

I'm in...... I will have hand poured drop shot weights, internal style tube heads, and possibly spinnerbaits I make.

Be aware of falling water levels under the ice. On certian dam controlled lakes around here it is not uncommon for the water level to be drawn further down after the surface freezes. Although it has never happened to me, I have had friends who walked onto the ice to their fishing spots, drilled a hole, then discovered that the water was many feet below the ice, as much as 10 feet on one occurrence. I'd probably drop dead from shock if that happened to me.... Be safe out there!

Sweet ride. 6 months to get it delivered? I'd revolt!

Great story and huge fish! Imagine what that fish is thinking when it's hooked and caught... Awwww crud, here we go again, why did I fall for that again? ;D ;D ;D

Nice post / article. Most Spring or spawning articles speak in generalities and don't mention that Northern bass start their moves at a often much colder water temp than do their Southern kin. I yearly find this to be true. I have found that Spring Northern bass will be feeding heavily in "pre-spawn" mode at temps in the low 40's and have seen spawning fish in the mid to upper 50's. Many articles say generally that bass spawn in the 60's or 70's, that may happen here later in the spring with the late spawners, but in my observations the vast majority of Northern spawning activity is done by then. Thanks for the good read.

I also never heard of them.......

I've had success T-rigging them and with a flipping and pitching style presentation.

Norman DD22 with Rapala's discontinued Fat Rap running a close second.

1. Micro Munch flipping tube 2. ditto 3. ditto

I use them, have caught alot of bass on them. Nice change up bait from Rattletrap or other lipless crank, seems to have just a little different sound.

I have found that my honey holes are more like honey areas. The fish from year to year seem to move a but and it is my theory that they move based on weed growth and available forage (among other things). If they are not on the prime spot it seems that a quick search in the general area will ususally reveal that the fish are there, they are just positioned a little differently. I have found this to hold true to both shallow weed oriented bass and deeper structure bass. The shallow bass seem to be more affected by weather conditions like wind. The deeper bass seem to be more affected by forage. Just my observations....

Once I retire in 8 years from my current profession I'm plan on fishing larger scale events such as the Stren Series or BASS Northern/Southern Tours. Got 8 years to keep getting better

Another vote for balsa Fat Rap. I still have about 6, still use them, still catching fish. I shudder everytime I hang one, even been known to take a swim to retieve one hung up.

P-Line Floroclear, 10-12# mid depth crankin, 15# for shallow cover crankin, Gamma Edge floro 8# for deepr than 12 feet.

Try to fish them exactly like you fish a spinnerbait. Run em' into stumps, logs, pad stems, sparse weeds, once they hit, pause a little to allow them to float up a little, continue reeling. As far as colors, my best are shad colored, white, chartreuse, craw.

If you have a Gander Mountain store near you, they carry spinnerbaits called Guide Series that are made by Strike King. I have bought some of those for $2.99 and they are well made baits. I now make build my own...each bait costs me less than $2.00 plus I can build them to exactly how I want them.

Ditto........

Good in clear to lightly stained water. I like to work them erratically across the surface.......

Just renewed My FLW membership for 3 years. BASS one is up soon and I'm not sure if I'll renew or not. Club is no longer affiliated with BASS, most info in the magazine can be read online for free so I'm kinda leaning toward not renewing.

do you have to have a baitcaster to flip/pitch? No, it is possible to flip/pitch with spinning, but, casting reels are more suited to handle heavier lines which are commonly used for this technique. Flipping is pretty easy to learn, pitching is a little more difficult, but once you learn to do it with casting I think you will see that casting gear (over spinning) makes the technique a little smoother and easier.