PABASS

It seems colder water in general does it to Bass, another pond I fished late November had some yellow hues, nothing like the one I caught two weeks ago however. First Bass of the season, looks like it had a running with a larger predator. Notice how yellow he is, caught him in the deepest N/W part of this ultra clear pond.

Awesome read Paul, very similar to my experience here in the EAST coast two weeks ago as well. So the yellow is due to the Bass being on the bottom and or the cold that's causes changes in the blood?

Something I didn't mention was try learning jig fishing in a pond, it helped gain a ton of confidence in them.

O boy, forums, people all I am saying is that when fishing clear water this pro said he likes the LC and Megabass better than the cheaper jerkbaits, period end of story, I don't use them cant speak for them.. I use cheaper models in all types of water conditions ALL YEAR ROUND lol, they for many years where my go to bait...

Not jerkbaits in general but the LC and Megabass and as the pro called them Japaneses style jerkbaits..

You can also try GY 3.75" Shad Shape Worm, drop shot, or weightless deadly for smallmouth in my area.

Upping the size helps as well since it gives the bait a larger profile and easier for the bass to see.

These are a hard sell for me as a bank beater since I get hung allot and typically loose the bait when I do. If I owned a boat that may be another story and they do look reel nice but are they worth the money? I have read that where these baits come out on top is super clear water..

I have and always used a pair of dykes, cut through anything including steel leaders if so required..

Lol its a start that fishes offspring 5 years ago could have eaten my "starting" fish of the year, lol.. Good catch..

I know trout are not bass but they are fish and have some similar qualities, anyway I am lucky enough to have wild trout in rivers I fish, they will not hit typical baits and lures used to catch the farm raised trout, for example powerbait,mealworms and even inline spinners they are hard to catch on spinning gear and you really must match the hatch and employ fly gear to fool these fish, point is they have been conditioned, just as there farm raised relatives have been to eat certain foods and I know Bass are no different. Just keep in mind we humans condition many animals to eat things they never would in nature, fish, bass are no different.

I am a line watcher, I tend to fish a semi slack line and don't always "feel" the bite, by watching the line you will know if a fish is on, reel up the slack and set the hook.

In the animal world you need to adapt, Bass are no different. Bass can be conditioned for sure, fish a local pond and over time the fish wise up I have seen it several times with several ponds, but winter does seem to reset some things however very shortly after they are back to being harder to catch..

Well since I am a big and tall person I buy what I can fit in which inst all that much, never liked labels, I will promote a product for sure when said product meets or exceeds my needs, would I wear a free hat, you bet ya, free t-shirt I would if I could, my clothes are expensive and if I could I would wear a free tshirt to fish that be great. But I am not a pro nor am I promoting anything if you want to be a billboard for companies product and not get paid then that's wasted space, since you could use it to promote companies that could support you.

Come on now, you can profile inanimate objects, just not us humans..

Recently watch a review of one on youtube by teamripnlipz I believe, good review and he states that these reels are good with light baits. I am looking to get a sub $150 bc this year and my eye is on the lexa..

My approach in defining a bait is how do you rig a beaver and how do you fish a beaver? To me it imitates a crawfish, I drag it, flip it and work on it all on the bottom like I would with any crawfish imitation. Its just a large profile, puts off a certain vibration and it appears to be an easy meal.

Like they guy that caught a bass with a shoestring it will probably work somewhere, will it be the most productive lure you could be using in the cold, probably not. My coldest that I was whiling to put time into was late November water might have been in the low 50s high 40s. In this argument ts all about time, do you want to spend time with a lure that is known to produce in warmer water? Bass resource posted an article about using buzzbaits in spring with bedding bass, I never tried it, but will this year water temps are higher and around here wont be till late April maybe May..

KVD SB 1.5 Crankbait Hair Jigs Buzz Bait - War Eagle Rebel Pop-R Roboworm

What size senko are you using? Your in FL and they can make a great flipping bait since they can go through anything, try using them with a pegged weight. If its open water you fish them a on Carolina rig, in the shallows fish them weightless tex rigged and work it slow like a dying bait fish, I like using pearl for that. Have you watch a senko fail through the water column weightless, they have a very subtle action that fish cant resist that is what you need to take advantage of. Cpt Shane loves using wacky rig senkos in FL and nails them so its not the fish, check out some of his youtube videos as he outlines the colors he uses.

That must of been awesome!! I was watching a bass show based in CA cant recall the name but the guide would take clients to stocking point for trout were the game commission would release them to catch the DDs... Around here not many bass could take a stocked trout although our game commission at least in this part of PA only stocks streams and rivers not lakes like they do in CA..

Coldest would be 34, but with that being said I know of a guy whom goes fishing for smallies in the dead of winter and that's when he catches the big ones, I think his temps are in the low 30s high 20s. We just got about a 1" of snow this weekend and I was planning on going fishing since there has been a warming trend and then this snow hits and it’s back to the low 30s. For me I always look for the north/west side of the lake/pond. Last week all the fish in a small pond where in the northwest end of the pond in deeper water with quick access to shallow water. If this lake is spring fed they could be near that, without knowing the lake and area or at least seeing a photo it’s very hard to say were to start looking other than finding warmer/warming water.

That sux sure it wasn't the knot that gave way? I agree my drag is always on before I cast but if I got a horse like that I probably be changing it to.

I can tell you from experience the lews speed spin inst the same quality everyone talks about concerning the lew's baitcasters. I wanted to give LEWs a try and went with a speed spin, I went back and purchased a Shimano Sahara after a day of use, I know price points are different, but I didn't care for the Lews for many reason that I have mentioned on this forum a few times.

Funny you mention this, I haven't used this bait since I found it stuck in a tree 15 years ago, replaced the hooks on it last year and used it this weekend when I reeled fast it would act like a topwater bait, I recently purchased a new one and tried it with the same results. If you reel these lures too fast they will rise up, also both of my baits suspended better then a new husky jerk.. Reel down slow and jerk they will stay at depth.