tatertester

The show that makes me chuckle just thinking about it was Virgil Ward....He always had this fish tank where he and his goofball kid would display various lures and their action ,etc.....The photography was nothing to brag about and there always was a scene where the fisherman were at the boat dock, float plane and all, talking about their latest venture.The wind would be howling making it difficult to hear ,but they always soldiered on.

It doesn't bother me one bit that this fellow has spent literally millions to achieve his goal of the world record bass , something most couldn't do even if they wanted, but , is it legitimate for a world record?......Not really!

WOW!!!...Now that is a one huge snake!

Heavy snow cover over ice makes a bad situation even worse....Up here in northern Minnesota lakes need to have at least 25 foot depth in a main basin in order to prevent winterkill...Springs can help out a lot as well as any moving water....The DNR here are reporting quite a few winterkill lakes this year, more than normal....Late ice out also now.

Has anyone tried the senko types that have an O ring molded in the middle of the senko? Cabelas andone other dealer sell them.

Leech Lake, Walker, Minnesota, is a very different lake than most of you likely have fished before.Most largemouth bass are caught in water 5 feet or shallower, in reeds, rushes, rice ,lily pads ,and other scattered weeds that are around many areas of the lake....Bass there normally do not venture far from cover or risk being lunch for the many Northern Pike or trophy Muskellunge that rule these waters......110,000 acres gives a fisherman many areas to fish , usually without much competition....In recent years Smallmouth have established themselves in at least one large rocky section of the lake, so well in fact , that a tournament last season was won with just smallmouth at about a 5 lb. average.........If you like fishing in the thick stuff, you would love Leech.

I am sitting here recalling various times that I've gotten a hook in different body parts.......One time I was running a gravel chunk rock bank throwing a jig and grub for smallmouth. Got hung up and gave my rod a big jerk , the jig came free and came straight back to me hooking me right between the eyes!...I can still see that jig coming right at me as tho in slow motion..About knocked me out!......Amother time I hooked up on a nice smally , had him in the boat, was holding him across the back so as not to get the Rapala hooks in my hand....This 3 lb smallmouth did one of their nasty shakes and hooked me deep in one of my fingers....OUCH!!!!!...It kept shaking while I am screaming and try to grab it again....Finally found my pliers, cut the hook from the lure...I was bleeding and in pain...Finally ran the hook threw my finger , and just sat there grateful the ordeal was over......NEVER trust a smallmouth to behave after being hooked......Just thinking about it hurts!

You say this is a new lake?.....What flow made the lake?.....Is it possible that there are a limited number of fish in the lake?

I would fish the outside weedline and deep water humps or rises with rocks ,wood or weeds. Jigs, crankbaits ,slow moving swimbaits.Nite fishing likely would do the trick.

In the same vein, around here many crappie fisherman use very small minnows as bait, and too often to mention they also catch the odd 5lb bass with these same little minnows....I think it says something for slowing down your presentation for bass.

I agree with WRB, crawfish for smallies, minnows for largemouth.

If your having no luck , DOWNSIZE your lures and fish slower. It can be the difference between a ZERO and catching fish.

When the lilacs bloom, the bass are spawning....Usually accurate, at least here in Minnesota.

It would most likely vary depending on where you are located in the country.....In Minnesota winds from the north or northwest usually produce cold fronts , but it seems that winds in other areas of the US would produce different results.

I once saw a Snatchsquatch!

Rapala Husky Jerk suspending jerk bait,shallow running Strike King square bill,and Senko .Curado and Lews Speed Spool Tournament Pro, Kistler Z-Bone and Cumara rods, 10 lb tectan copoly line.

Where did you see this wolverine?...I mean where were you located?

Checked out a few videos, and I'm going to try the practice recommended....Thanks for the ideas.

I've tried flippin and pitchin , but can't get it right . I wind up with backlashes or the lure falls about 5 feet from my feet..........

Shows that curiosity smallmouth have.....I've seen numerous times that smallmouth will come runnin , check out your lure , and either hit it or swim off after a brief inspection...I try to keep in that mindset when fishing for smallies by assuming one is checking my bait even if I don't get bit.

I found trolling spoonplugs not nearly as much fun as the so-called normal way. Youtroll at a fast clip, trying to keep the boat in a depth that allowed your plug to be at or near the bottom. Then you switched spoonplugs to the next deeper diving one , as they were designed to run at different depths , continuing to deeper depths with yet another spoonplug....Seining the water essentially.. You caught any species that got in the way of your trolling pass, northern pike, walleyes, bass , crappie, even sunfish. I'm sure most of the fish caught were reaction strikes as they sure didn't have much time to study the spoonplug as it went whizzing by.....Buck Perry's lessons to learn were his knowledge about structure and fish movements....He was well ahead of his time in that regard , thus his title ,the father of structure fishing.....He knew fish moved along a defined pathway using whatever STRUCTURE that was available to them to follow from deep to shallower water and back again.These rules of movement apply to all waters in one form or another..........RIP Buck Perry.

You will notice that Buck would troll with his spoonplugs checking various depths, and when he started catching Bass he would switch to a jig , going back to his spoonplugs again if he didn't catch fish with the jigs, more of a depth thing than speed.

Stay the hell outta my area!

Bass go down, rod tip goes up , bass come up, rod tip goes way down.....Sharp hooks, drag set right, keep line tension, reel em in ,land bass........