j-bass

I've heard alot of people talking about night fishing for bass. I have never tried it myself, and I was wondering if you guys could give me some pointers on what I would use for lures (colors as well) and what to look for. Thanks.

The problem is that it seems that many of these magazines and companies are trying to reinvent the wheel. As fishing fanatics (as I'm sure everyone here is), we all have our favorite techniques and lure choices (most of which, I'm sure weren't found in magazines). Now don't get me wrong, I've got a stack of mags within arms reach of the crapper; however, I wouldn't say that they necessarily influence my fishing choices (besides, I have never seen an article that talks about my area, or anywhere near it). My advice, keep it simple and you'll probably enjoy yourself more and catch more fish. That's what its all about isn't it?

It depends on what your after. Are you looking at one particular boby of water? Will you fish saltwater as well? Your target has a lot to do with what you need...I went simple with http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1140501855

Finally got to take it out (hell, I just got home). Runs good. That little Minn Kota has some huevos. As for the decking and all that, I'm not sure. I like it as light as possible, because where I fish, there are no boat ramps. Today, I pulled the boat off the trailer and launched it by myself. I'm not sure that would have been as easy if I had an extra 150 lbs of decking and carpeting to lug around. This is the fish that popped my boat's cherry. Sorry the pic is all crappy, but I was in hurry to get back to fishin'. He's a little guy, but he was the first. I'll go back and catch him again when he grows up.

As a working student, extra funds are pretty hard to come by. Thanks to Uncle Sam's generous refund, I could finally get a boat. Aint she a beut? Not much to look at, but if I can get to the fish, I don't care. Let me know if you think it's ok, or if I got screwed, or whatever? Got it on saturday (right when a nasty wet cold front moved in) and I finally get to take it out tommorow after work. 1 14' Alumacraft 3 Person Jon Boat.......586 1 Minn Kota 50 lb thrust trolling motor (saving up fora gas powered)...180 1 16' boat trailer...............430 1 12 v. deep cycle marine battery........ 51 1 low/high charge battery charger/car starter........ 30 2 4' wooden oars.......... 17 1 anchor............ 15 3 life vests........ 15 1 bundle anchor rope....... 8 ___________________________________________________________________________ total (after tax) 1337 from tax return +/- 1500 remainder (for lures, various goodies, and things to make my chick angry) +/- 160 the intended target: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1139622932

Good job on the form. What thickness of plywood are you using. If it's 3/4 it's gonna weigh a ton. And waterproof the hell out of it. If the wood gets wet and swells, bugs will move in. I wish I had the time to do someting like that....sounds fun. Post a pic when you have it in the water (with some bass of course).

The best lures I've ever used cost less than four bucks. And if you like keeping your lures, get a boat and take a small rake so you can get your lures out of the tree you accidentaly cast right into.

The best thing I can say is: for a 10' jon, take as little stuff as possible. I own a 14' and with two people, tackle boxes, rods, anchor, net, motor, & battery there isn't much room for anything else. Also, if your going to take a net beware. You bring a fish in the boat, and while you're trying to get the hooks out you wind up catching the net as well. A big pain in the *ss if you ask me, but its for a good cause.

I'm not 100% sure on bass, but a study done by In-Fisherman noted that a taged blue catfish traveled 498 miles in 5 months.

I'm not sure that it is that a bass' sense of smell is better than a dogs...I think it has more to do with how scents travel through water. In the air scents and odors are easily dispersed trough the air, and a dog's only means of tracking a scent are though scents left on physical objects. In the water, it is a different story because you aren't exactly talking about scents rather than oils, blood, and pheromones traveling in the water. In a body of water that is relatively calm (i.e. not a fast moving creek or stream) these stimuli can linger for some time. While I might not know the limits of a bass' sense of smell, I do know that a shark can sense a small quantity of blood for over two miles (that's impressive).

hmmm.....let's see. Lie to the girlfriend, call in sick from work, miss school........not much really.

Sounds awesome. I used to work on an offshore fishing boat at South Padre Island, and eventhough I consider myself more of a bass fisherman, there isn't anything quite like catching some offshore monsters. Good luck and catchabiggun.

Sorry bout the dumb Q. I just havn't heard about that as a means of research. What I do know is that in many of the sporting goods stores I have been to around here, there are posters that offer rewards for people who poach using this method. Thanks for the info.

As far as cranks go, you have a couple of options. You can stay on top with either a shallow diving bait or a floating Ratt-l-Trap (those keep you out of the weeds pretty good); however, there are a few places that I fish that are similar to what you are describing (without the cold part: shallow with vegitation) and I usually had more luck zipping a small (normally Rapala) lipless crank through the weeds. Yeah, I get snagged alot, but I guess the disturbance of the bait ripping through the weeds triggers strikes because we would catch the hell out of em like that (sometimes up to 20+ a day: catch n release). Hope it works out for ya

What's the deal with electro-shocking. Do people do this as some means of cruel research or for food? I know in this state it is highly illegal to shock the water for the purposes of retaining fish. Unless I stand alone (or am a complete moron), this just sounds wrong. Fishing is fishing, and cheating is cheating. If i'm somehow wrong about this, will somebody please explain to me why.

Of all the various cr*p in my box, there are a few lures that seem to out perform the rest. 1. Rapala: Sinking Rattling Lipless Crankbaits in Firetiger and Holographic Emerald 2. Rapala: Jointed Shad Rap (Suspending) in baby bass 3. Cheep-os: A couple of brightly colored (various combos of white/chart/yellow/orange) spinners (willow & colorodo) 4. Yum: Crawbugs in watermelon/red (carolina or texas rigged, depending how i'm feelin that day) all on light line (12lb max: I know I might loose a few, but fishing on light tackle rocks) Although, based on where I live (south Rio Grande Valley, TX) i'm not sure what works for me here will do you (or anybody else) a whole bunch of good.

If you can land it, try to get an entry level position with your state's parks & wildlife (or fisheries) dept. Maybe you can get on as a game warden or possibly as an intern. I know that TPWD offers tuition help. I wish I could have gone that rout , but I screwed up when I was 18, and my record won't let me work for the gov't. It might not make you rich, but at least you will be outdoors, and you'll probably learn a thing or two.

Cool idea to think about, but I don't think bass fishing is a global enough past time. Besides, imagine the chaos....you see hundreds of anglers show up for tournaments...something as big as the olympics would be insane!

As far as I know there are no bass clubs in south Texas (below Corpus Christi not incl. the Lake Victoria area). If anyone has info, I'd appreciate it.

Right now, the water district in my area is draining one of the biggest resivoirs around here (and one of my favorite bass spots). I know that they won't drain out completely, but there are some places that have already gone down to about a foot (or in some places less). I know the water will become unsuitable if there is not enough oxygen (if that plants start dying out). How shallow can it get before my spot is completely screwed?

There are a couple of ways. 1. The not-nature-friendy approach: catch a bass and cut open its belly (not recomended;however, if you do this, you'd better eat that bass and not let it go to waste) 2. Throw a cast net out or run a dip net along the shoreline. What ever critters you pull up are likely bass forage.

Think about it this way, if a bass if quick enough to chase down a baby shad, it's quick enough to catch your lure. Also, consider your water clarity. If the water is really murky, you don't want to zoom a quick retrieve lure past it faster than it can see it. Fast isn't always the key.

Like Pond-Pro said, keep it simple. You may see guys with 1000 lures in their box, but that comes from either lots of experementation or too much money and free time. I have a bunch of lures, but usually I have a line up of about 5 or 6 lures that I use more than the rest. Also, try diffenert techniques on the same lures so that you don't spend more time changing lures than you do with your line in the water. Find out what works and stick with it.

If your friend has never fished for bass before, you might want to set them up with minimal-effort gear. I don't think you should send a newbie out for finesse fishing if they have never done it before. Work some liped and lipless crankbaits and some spinners and look for some good cover (i.e. partially submerged tree stumps, branches, cat tails, etc.) You say your from mississippi, try the bogachita river(I think that's how it's spelled).

These lil fellers are some of the bigger ones I've caught 6lbs and 7.5lbs