ClackerBuzz

the lakes in my area aren't deep enough to have a thermocline so I start by looking for the deepest water in the area...preferable the original creek channel. then i start working my way uphill from the deep to shallow. i usually catch fish very close to the creek channel (vs shoreline). this season i've tied together 2 different things Catt has spoken about in posts: the first 'step' or ledge out of the creek channel; and the depth at which weeds stop growing in a lake. i've always fished weeds but traditionally the beds that break surface or you can still see with polarized glasses (or even deeper ones that i discovered b/c weeds came back on my jig). but i never focused on the deepest weeds in the lake (the area at which they stop growing b/c lack of light penetration; Catt was saying this is the magic weed depth that you want to identify on ur lake and fish for lunkers). tying it all together is sediment. i usually hate muck/sediment and keep moving till i find rocks or weeds. but now i've been locating the deep flat water with sonar and casting into the sediment deep abyss. then dragging/hopping my shaky head or jig very fast uphill till i feel the first rocky ledge out of the creek channel....or hit the first deep weed patch. that's when i slow down and work the area. it's been working amazing for catching quality and quantity. if it's a deep weed bed i'll cast back with a big weightless worm and slow stitch the weeds for big girls. i like slowly working the deep weed beds much better than trying to 'punch' them. if the area is all rocky i stick with a shaky or jig. it's been a great summer tactic and I owe Catt a cold beer

lotta good advice. i'd guess ur not reeling up enough slack before setting the hook. reel an extra 5-10 handle revolutions before setting the hook. alot of times fish will hold onto a lure longer than you think. heck they'll chew, swallow and/or play tug-o-war with a senko. instead of giving a bad knee jerk reaction hook set error on the other end of the spectrum and take ur time reeling up more line and getting ur rod into proper position (parallel to water and pointed directly at fish). losing 1 in 10 fish b/c he spit the lure to fast is better than losing 9 of 10 fish to bad hook sets.

x2. constantly casting on fresh water gets me far better results than playing with retrieves. i'm constantly relocating with a buzzbait..and constantly catching fish. the only reason i like to re-burn an area is if it has good cover ie a log or lily pad point. in that case i'll buzz by several times to instigate a strike. next most important is as mentioned a slow roll just fast enough to keep it on surface. and lock into gear and start reeling before it touches water so it's buzzing on touchdown. letting it sink 12" underwater and buzzing up to surface will lose you plenty of fish. lastly i do like adding the rod tip twitch Bobby talked about. it's just the thing to put a stalking bass over the edge

I accumulated 6 of the blue PQ tourny's over the years and I'm slowly getting rid of them for standard PQ. yes they are much lighter but it comes at a cost. the main crank shaft is aluminium which is easily compromised. ie you can over tighten the drag star and strip out the thread on the crank shaft. i've also had problems getting the end nut to thread back onto the crankshaft after each cleaning. i ordered replacement shafts and nuts from BPS and very few of them would work together b/c they weren't originally matched. i break down my reels once or twice a year and the problems were far greater then the lightness gained.

cigarette butts? i'm sorry but forget about it and....choose ur battles wisely. honestly i'd keep it on the back burner and wait for a real issue to arise. and then add the cigarette butts to the bottom of a real complaint list

vote for best of^ there are many different kinds of grass bites. above them, below them, in the middle, outer edges, topwater, bounced off the tips, stokes, rips etc. but for me the technique that get the most bass..and the biggest bass...day in day out..is slow stitching a weightless soft plastic

there is a b-i-g difference between fishing open water or weeds with 30lb vs punching/pitching heavy cover with 60-80lb. listen to some of bobby's thoughts at 3:15

sounds like an expensive trailer. any 4-5" paddle or curly tail grub/swimbait will work. berkley has a grass pig. zoom has a paddle tail. everyone has larger grubs. if the swimjig, chatterbait, spinnerbait bite is dead the trailer is pointless

I wear light jogging gym pants and a hoodie for that half hour before/after sunset when the platoon of mosquitoes arrives. they leave as quick as they came but it's nice to be able to tuck the pants into ur sock to protect ur ankles and pull the hoodie over ur ears/neck/forehead during the assault. also stay clear of shore and the tree line if ur rods are vertical in holders. nothing worse than floating 6 rods into a tree branch while tying on a lure with ur headlamp. the new moon is sunday night and should be good (sat too). if they are chasing topwater i love a buzzbait. if they aren't chasing i like a stall-able topwater like jitterbug or popper. if weeds are breaking thru the surface i like a stanley ribbit.

I wouldn't worry b/c you downloaded it directly from Navionics site. Norton over reacts sometimes. i use Avast b/c it's great and free but even it makes an occasional mistake. downloading from a credible site is whats important. if you want to be ultra safe you can also call Navionics and ask them the name of the .exe file for the update. look in ur download folder to make sure it matches before running/installing it. i don't usually go as far as calling but i do make sure the file isn't named 'stealur$$$.exe' before installing it.

this^ a jig is the wrong tool for the job

don't waste ur money on a DI unit. it's like looking at the bottom of the lake thru a pin hole. you have to criss-cross an area many times just to understand what the stucture looks like. with side imaging you only need one pass. just spend the extra 20% and buy SI....and have 180* panoramic vision

slow drag a soft plastic of ur choice is hard to beat. put a bead on the line and it will slide thru weeds much easier. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/13845-guaranteed-to-catch-bass/ Re: Method: Start with the Senko. Cast parallel to the bank, 10-15 yards off the shoreline. Let the bait sink to the bottom, count to 30 (as in 30 seconds) then move the Senko 6-12" with a slow horizontal sweep, allowing the bait to fall on slack line. Count to 10, then repeat. Continue all the way back, move ten steps forward and repeat. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/126667-bank-fishing-forum/page-9#entry

great answers. if you're stuck fishing from shore and catching only dinks i'd advice up sizing right away..and move to an area with deep water access. after thinking about my experience over the last few years i realized i like smaller lures better when searching for larger/structure bass. in tough situations tubes and jigs are more likely to get bitten than a 12" worm. those fish that bite reveal bass holding locations. you can then make educated decisions on what/where/how ur next move will be (i usually move deeper immediately if dinks). like everyone has said location trumps everything. after that my biggest bass have come by slow dragging on the bottom. doesn't matter if it's a 3" tube, 5" jig, 6" shakyhead, 10" worm, c-rig, t-rig, etc etc etc. bubba can't seem to stand something dragged slowly across his dinner plate.

Snakehead's post is what made me finally go out and buy a nice life jacket over the winter. 'nice' meaning one that feels comfortable so i wear it. it took a little figuring out but i realized i needed a vest that I could fit a hoodie underneath. i might look silly but i'm safe in the worst conditions...cold water

i have a hound dog now but used a 2oz egg sinker w/ small chain link attached for 2 seasons. i don't have a space issue so i attach it to a construction chalk line. ive seen guys use a 30 ft retractable dog lease. it's much faster to take up but it def takes more room.

i have this same problem but seems there is 'one rod' for each technique. wait until you start expanding ur techniques

that's some fine insight there. i've used a drop on top and shaky head on bottom. i didn't realized it at the time but the rig was more in tune with hooks sets via crestliner's thoughts. i did catch fish on both top and bottom although they were dinks so i moved onto a different location and presentation. i'm going to experiment with it more, esp on new lakes. some make the drop shot a 7" worm looking down/stalking a smaller 3" craw bait. i have 2" crappie flukes that the fish tearing up (panic kit stuff) so i'm going to put them on the drop shot and a 7" shaky on the bottom. one of the two should get hit. i'll up size the top baits and move deeper when looking for a bigger bite. i'm sure two standard flukes would produce also. or a fluke on top and exposed hook tube on bottom. lotta directions you can go so i'd have fun an experiment. (might not be as fun from shore b/c if you snag you can lose 2 baits/hooks instead of 1)

welcome to the site! i've never fished PW but from what i've heard it's pure heaven. the $750 annual due keeps all the riff-raff out. plus it's stocked with bass, pike, pickerel, walleye and stripers. i'm sure you guys are going to have a blast.

welcome to the forums predator. slow dragging a weightless soft plastic lure on the bottom is v-e-r-y productive for catching bass. use any plastic you want with this technique: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/13845-guaranteed-to-catch-bass/ bass are more aggressive at dusk, dawn and at night. many lures work this time b/c they will chase them but topwater is the most fun b/c they explode on them. if the bite is good they will chase a buzzbait. but if it's slow use a lure that you can stall ie add pauses like a Pop-R. you can basically break lures down into horizontal, vertical and bottom contact. one lure can be worked many ways. be creative and experiment during each retrieve to find out what instigates the strike. often bass hold tight to cover (weeds, rocks, wood etc) and won't chase a lure. but they will still bite if you bounce the lure off the cover. my biggest bass come from slow dragging a soft plastic on the bottom or from slamming a reaction lure off a piece of cover. also rain and wind are your friend b/c the bass become more aggressive and roam. good luck and let us know how you make out

rope. there was just a thread about guys in mexico tying a milk crate to a long rope and lowering it down to scoop up their fish. obviously the size of the crate, net, wire basket will vary depending on ur forage https://www.google.com/search?q=wire+basket+to+hold+fish&espv=2&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=xEDHU5OgF4-MyASs-YDQCQ&ved=0CFoQsAQ&biw=1207&bih=521#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=FTK3W8MlmTP5fM%253A%3BvTOelgY9vySbvM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.bigfishtackle.com%252Fcgi-bin%252Fgforum%252Fgforum.cgi%253Fdo%253Dpost_attachment%253Bpostatt_id%253D9717%253B%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.bigfishtackle.com%252Fforum%252FFloat_Tube_Fishing_C66%252FPictures_F130%252FNets%252C_Baskets%252C_Stringers_and_Stuff_P199508%252Fgforum.cgi%253Fpost%253D199508%253Bforum_view%253Dforum_view_collapsed%3B400%3B306 http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Collapsible-Fish-Baskets/product/1308/

these are a few from a search here. lots of more good info around but this will def get you started.. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/140242-overgrown-pond-help/?hl=weeds http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/140720-fishing-the-weeds/?hl=weeds http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/141413-fishing-in-a-pond-so-weedy-its-a-lawn/?hl=pond also put a bead in front of ur senko. it will pull thru the weeds much better. i like stanley ribbits better than hollow body frogs b/c the paddle tails make a great sound that draw strikes

x2. this or the wacky. slow dragging plastics is a sure fire way to catch pond bass. but it's not that easy when ur trying to hurry up and catch bass before work

a slip bobber set up with thill bobber stops works well b/c ur not constantly cleaning algae off lures. you can suspend any lure he chooses at first. when bordom sets in and ur desperate for a bite use small light lures and just add split shot 10" above to get them down (basically any crappie style lure works well). and of course a small piece of hotdog or chicken will do wonders

i'm doing the same thing this evening. put a bead in front of a weightless senko and it pulls thru weeds nice. i'll also be using a 3/4oz punch rig. it falls thru the milfoil nice b/c they aren't too thick. you can also wiggle it thru thick lily mats by just giving it light shakes till it finds it's weak spot (this method produces far more bites for me vs trying to bomb/punch lily mats. i like buzzbaits and can buzz them over pretty thick weeds as long as i'm reeling before it hits the surface. it takes some practice but it's very productive at night. also i like using a stanley ribbit frog alot more than a hollow body b/c the paddle feet make a great noise at night (realistically you can wake any soft plastic, the less appendages the better--a bead helps with topwater too). and i use weedless 6" hudd's for the more open sections of the pond.