rmcguirk

I was visitng a buddy in the Orlando area a number of years ago and we were messing around with a light flyrod in the retention pond near his house, catching tiny sunnies and letting them go. As I'm bringing one of the little guys in, a nice bass smashed it right near the shore. Amazingly, the tiny fly hook caught in the mouth of the bass and I was able the grab him. He was only about 3 lbs, but it happened right in front of me. Very, very cool.

Here's the post Clayton86 is referring to: "Honeoye: Another option, though probably another 15 minutes past Hemlock/Canadice. If you simply want to catch fish, and lots of them, go here. Of all the lakes in that area, I've always had the best luck there, at least for numbers. There is an easy launch at the north west corner of the lake. The LM bass are not large but they are aggressive and eager. The best I've ever gotten there was under 3 lbs and I've fished it out of my yak probably 100 times over the years. However, I've had evenings there where I caught 30 fish between 6 and 8 and days there that I had to stop fishing because I flat ran out of soft plastics, even after I went to using halfs of worms, etc." To expand a bit, the launch for car-top boats is on Sandy Bottom Rd., right next to Sandy Bottom Park. Sandy Bottom Rd. is off West Lake Rd. It is pretty easy to find. It is technically closed to launching boats until Labor Day, but I've been launching there for years, along with plenty of other folks. No one seems to mind, including the police, who I've chatted with while getting ready to launch there. Just unload your gear quickly and park you car in the Sandy Bottom Park parking lot. Honestly, though I've fished it plenty, I don't think I've paddled more than a mile from the launch. There's rarely been a need to do so. If you get there early or late, paddle along the west shore to see if you can find them shallow. I've had some pretty good success with top water presentations. (As I said above, the bass there are generally pretty eager and will repeatedly strike top water.) If that doesn't work, move out to the weedline. Oddly, the weedline along the west shore is usually pretty dead for me, and I move to the weedline along the north shore. It is usually around 10-12 feet. Even if you don't have a depth finder, it should be pretty easy to spot. If the weedline itself does not produce, try inside and outside it. If you end up fishing inside the weedline, your going to need a very, very weedless technique. Though it is not something I've tried from my kayak, a punching-type of set up might be successful. I haven't been there yet this month, but I've had good luck with smaller soft plastics, both weighted and weightless. Moving baits in those weeds are pretty tough, so unless I'm going a bit deeper, I don't generally bother. The last time I was there, the jika rig was the way to go, along with small creature-type baits. I'm not sure how the recent cooler weather will have impacted the lake. If you have any specific questions, feel free to pm me. Rick

Really looking forward to these!

For most of my life, I've been a spinning guy. Last year I started with bait casting gear and jumped in with both feet this year. As others have pointed out, they are different tools. If you have never used a bait caster, you should be prepared for a lot of practice to get good at it. Bassresource has a video with some good tips on setting up and casting that you should watch. Also, if you're going to get a "cheap" bait casting reel, my experience is that you shouldn't bother. There are bargains out there, both new (e.g., BPS Pro Qualifiers) and used (Flea Market Forum), but cheap is going to cause you nothing but headaches and you should get a spinning set up. As some have mentioned, you can be more accurate with a baitcaster. But, to get to that point (unless you've got pretty incredible hand-eye coordination) is going to take a while. I'd say that I've been 75-25 baitcasting this season and I'm now to the point where I can throw baitcasting gear farther and generally with more accuracy than with spinning gear, when both are within recommend lure weight for the set up.

I tried the Yum fork tailed dinger too. Had absolutely no luck with them. I could throw one of those for 30 minutes without a single nibble. Switch out for a regular Yum dinger or a senko, in a similar color, and would immediately start getting hits. I always found it very, very odd. I am going to try the new Rage Tail CutR Worm. I've a few packages of the cut tail senkos, and they have very little action (and have not done much yet this year). Hoping that the new Rage Tail will have more action in the retrieve.

I've fished them all from my 'yak, though Silver only once. I'd suggest you contact WWIIFarmer about Silver, as he seems to routinely pull incredible fish out of that lake. Conesus: There are three launch spots for a yak. The first is on the north west shore, the second on the south west shore and the third is the state boat launch about mid way down the east shore. The first two would be free. I now have my boat in a marina on Conesus, so I'm most familiar with it. If you want some additional info, pm me. It is a good SM LM and Pike fishery, and there are some very nice fish to be had there, including absolutely trophy pike. A nice surprise is that there are no pickerel, at least not that I've caught in 6+ years of going. Supposedly, there are Walleye, but I've never caught one. Hemlock: A beautiful lake. As you may already be aware, it and Canadice (below) are or used to be part of Rochester's water supply. All the houses were removed and it was allowed to effectively go wild. It is a beautiful lake, with crystal clear water and green trees pretty much all around you. The fishing there is pretty good -- I've done better at Canadice, which is pretty much adjacent to it. SM, LM, a lot of pickerel and rockbass, and salmanoids. There are two yak launches you can use. Both Hemlock and Canadice are left pretty wild, so unlike the other Finger Lakes there are a goodly number of really outstanding laydowns, some of which extent out into pretty deep water. Canadice: If I go to heaven when I die, it is going to look a lot like Canadice Lake. In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful spot in Western NY. It is cut in a valley, so that when you're on the water (often completely alone), all you see is crystal clear water, green treed hills and blue sky. Fishing there is a treat, even if you don't catch a thing. SM and LM bass, a lot of pickerel, and salmonoids. There is not a lot of fishing pressure on it (or Hemlock) and a nice spread of large and small fish. My pb LM is from Canadice, at over 5. When you're moving around, troll a medium to deep diving crank in about 25 feet of water and you might get a nice trout surprise (same at Hemlock). For both Hemlock and Canadice, if you're not fishing the laydowns or right in the slop along parts of the shoreline, a depth finder is essential. In most places, the bottom drops off fast and steep. In some places, you're in 40 feet of water within 20 yards of shore. Honeoye: Another option, though probably another 15 minutes past Hemlock/Canadice. If you simply want to catch fish, and lots of them, go here. Of all the lakes in that area, I've always had the best luck there, at least for numbers. There is an easy launch at the north west corner of the lake. The LM bass are not large but they are aggressive and eager. The best I've ever gotten there was under 3 lbs and I've fished it out of my yak probably 100 times over the years. However, I've had evenings there where I caught 30 fish between 6 and 8 and days there that I had to stop fishing because I flat ran out of soft plastics, even after I went to using halfs of worms, etc. If you want any more specifics on those options, drop me a line.

I would strongly suggest this as well. I have two Pro Qualifier bait casters, and they are great reels for the money. I have a Carbonlite spinning rod and it is also very good for the money. I assume that their casting rods are equally nice.

Haven't tried megastrike jigs, but I really like both Northstar and Siebert jigs. Both are quality products with grat customer service. But, if I had to pick just one, it would be a Northstar Black series jig, in 3/8 oz. Pick your favorite color, slap on a matching trailer and figure out the cadence the bass want. Jigs are tough as nails and the hook up ratio is outstanding.

June was busy here, between too much work and my younger son's high school graduation. I still fished a fair amount, but it's been dink city for me, and not much volume, either. I don't know if I'm just bad or that the weather is playing havoc with the bass getting settled down after the spawn, but my "luck" has really stunk. I'm looking forward to a lot of fishing over the next several days, rain or shine, and I hope to get things turned around.

Get the shot. Man up. It hurts, but no more than a bruise. The shot lasts for five years.

Thanks, I meant to start pretty much this exact topic, so I hope I'm not really hijacking. This spring, I've generally have 9 rods in the boat rigged up and ready to go, though depending on the fishing, I don't use them all. So far this spring those include (1) a regular jig, (2) a swim jig, (3) cranking set up, (4) jika rig, (5) jig head for soft plastics (lately the Biffle hardhead), (6) wacky set up, (7) jerkbait, (8) split shot or weightless plastic, and (9) a shaky head. I find that, instead of changing what's on a rod, I'll just put down that rod and pick up another and go with a different presentation entirely. Sticking with regular jigs for a moment, that means that I'll tie on say a North Star Black Series jig (probably in some type of green pumpkin) with a matching trailer, and instead of switching colors or even trailers to try to get the jig bite going, I'll move entirely to a different style of fishing, other than for cranks, where I will try a variety of cranks depending on cover/depth in the area I'm working. And, except for cranks, I'll rotate through the various options until I figure out a "pattern" or at least what might be working. I'm afraid that I'm not switching often enough between types/colors of jigs or soft plastics on the jika rig, etc. One answer, of course, is to thin the line up a bit, perhaps only take three or four rigs and really focus. Thoughts? If you have confidence in a color or style of bait, do you switch up to another, different color when you're not getting bit, or do you figure that it's not, for example, a "jig day" and move to something else?

Set the hook. BTW, it has been my (somewhat limited) experience that the swim jig bite is pretty viscious -- every fish I've caught this season using a swim jig has been a no doubt about it, tried to rip the rod out of my hands thump, even from modest sized bass. Starting to be one of my favorite techniques.

I'm planning on trying it on the back of a North Star original swim jig. In rigging it either flat or vertical, do you need to clip a bit off the front? Thanks, and great products, Big O!

I went through this a couple months ago and ended up with the Premier 7' MHM. I'm very, very happy with my choice, and it is very versatile in terms of baits.

This. Plus, the waters I fish have many pike, Don't try to lip one of them.

Love the video. You really give us the highlights (the hook sets are great, and make my palms itchy). That last LM looks like a pretty nice one.

I've got 15lb test Power Pro on all my spinning combos. It casts great and the strength is top notch. I generally use an 8 or 10lb fluoro leader with it. (A whole separate discussion, I know, but I like the yellow PP.)

I really like the Rage Craw on a jika rig.

You will certainly have opportunities from the shore -- inside weed edge type of stuff. My guess is that there would be pretty good fishing the inside weed edge during low-light hours -- early morning and late afternoon/evening. But, if there's any way you can get your hands on a kayak or canoe, you will really expand your fishing options.

Yay, my order went in on the 14th. Hopefully, I'll have them by next weekend!

Yes. About half the time, I will have my music playing on my phone.

Another vote for both Siebert and North Star. Both offer quality products and great service. Personally, I just put in another order to North Star for some of their Black series jigs and some of their original swim jigs. Just as an FYI, the site says that they're running pretty far behind due to order volume (which sounds like a high-class problem, for them).

Funny, I decided to try a swim jig this past weekend and really commit to it for a good part of the day. The morning was unsuccessful -- but so was everything else. In the afternoon, I did quite well on it. I was fishing in 4-6 ft and I would cast it out, let it hit bottom, pop it up and then swim it slowly until I hit something, give it another little pop and go back to swimming it. Almost every hit was immediately after one of the pops, and there was no mistaking the hit -- the bass were pounding it when they struck. I guess I was swimming it almost exactly the way I do a lipless crankbait, which shouldn't surprise me, as that was the other presentation I was having some luck on. Better way?

I have a Carbonlite spinning rod (new this seaons) and also a Fenwick Elite Tech SM bait caster. Both are nice, quality rods, and both a very, very light. If both meet your needs, in terms of action, length, etc., I'd chose based on price.

You're right, I forgot, it is Lost Pond that is connected to Round Pond. I always enjoy going back there -- feels like you're a million miles away from civilization. I've always wondered about Devil's Hole. I've never been so curious as to drag my yak down that hill, though. My bet is that it is not more than 10 ft or so, just given its location.