Topwaterspook

I've fished El Salto the past three years. It took me twenty years to go the first time, after half a day there, I asked myself.............."what have I been waiting for ?" Good luck to you.

My oldest by far is one that belonged to my Father-in-law. It's a "Tempter Frog"....made from rubber. I have no idea of the manufacturer. I was told it's from the late 30s or early 40s. Guess it's supposed to be worth money to a collector.

Pitchin' and flippin' are two of my deficiencies. With this in mind and after having read some articles here, I would appreciate rod suggestions. I've recently had wrist surgery that's left it partially fused. The rods I own don't work too well for me now. From what I've learned , I should be looking for a rod with backbone but a fleible tip. I've tried flipping and pitching with some of the lighter rods I have. They do appear to cast easier but I'm a bit concerned about having to horse a fish from heavy cover. Any advice and related opinions on specific rods will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, everyone.

Winter's closing in around here. That brings with it the onset of "cabin fever". My question is: .......how far south do I have to travel for some good bass fishing this winter? What I have in mind is,3-4 day trips. I don't want to tow my boat, just take my tackle. Now that I have the time, this idea seems more attractive. Does anyone have suggestions from personal experience?.........Thanks for the help.

Hi there,Joe..................I normally keep three rods a backpack and pair of knee high boots in the bed of my truck. It's covered with a fiberglass tonneau cover....I've not had any trouble with my gear, other than the rods sliding around if a deer bolts across the road.............I corrected that by installing a ratchet strap across the bed with velcro strips attatched, to anchor my rods. I can't imagine that you'd have any negative consequences from leaving your gear in the trunk.

It's been unusually cold for this time of year in western PA. The last few days the wind has been in the 15 to 20 mph zone. Fishing from shore , using Pop-Rs and Zell Pops, has been successful as long as I cast parallel to and within 4 feet of the bank. Seems as if the bass are cruising and trapping bait close to the windblown bank. Yesterday, they wanted the poppers worked violenty, possibly because the wind was a bit stiffer than the previous days. Have any of you experienced the same?

I know there's a Mexico up there but it's the wrong one.

Welcome to BR. Lots of good information available here. Lots of good folks too. I truly hope you enjoy your new hobby.

I can speak for our experience with a lure retriever. We wouldn't be without one in the boat. Some of the lures can be awfully pricey these days, and let's face ity, I'm cheap....lol........the one we use has 6 short pieces of sash chain dangling from a painted lead body.........it's tied to a 25ft long retractable dog leash..(the kind with a cord, NOT A RIBBON)..........rarely do we lose a lure, generally by season's end, we have retrieved more than we started with....the small investment is well worth the original cost. Though I don't think it will do much for you from the bank.

Mark, I agree with MrPeanut. I'll take ONE bait I'm not comfortable with and fish just it. This eliminates the urge for me to change up. Surprising how this makes me concentrate.

Daniel, welcome aboard.............lots of info and good folks here. I'll just pass on my fishing today. Did a couple hours of pond fishing, 2 acre pond maybe 9-10 feet at the deepest part, lots of dying weeds. Cloudy, little wind at all, cold (topped out at 46 degrees). First I tried a small spinnerbait with a white trailer, Nothin' happening with that. Tried a seizmic toad in watermelon with green & black flecks. Cast it out, worked it extermely slowly, letting it sink between twitches. That seemed to be the key. Caught 4 bass, largest just under 2 lbs. & an exceptionally large black crappie. Maybe trying some plastics would work for you.....Good luck.

This is in one lake,Glenn..............Tom, these bass are having to compete wtih stripers, muskies and pike...............On top of that, there have been as many as 2 tournaments a week on this lake through the summer.................Injured bass are a possibility.................I just don't ever remember seeing this situation before.

Though we're catching some larger fish on deeep crankbaits as fall approaches,there are a lot of thin ones. Typical charecteristics are a long body and relatively large head. I would have thought they'd have been fattened up by this time of the year. The question is: are any of you experiencing the same thing?

3 hours is about my day limit. Erie is 2 and I've done that a lot.

Grandson and I are starting to run into some better fish. Gotta love the increasing topwater bite as well. I hope all of you are experiencing the same results.

I have to admit to being an addict. It got so bad my wife made me open an account strictly for fishing.

The "spook" is a sweet bite. I'm sure there must be videos here on working that bait. A little tip passed on by Zell Rowland, feathered rear hook. I tie my own and incorporate silver and gold strands of Flasaboo. It may help a bit to get strikes as the lure pauses between strokes.

It,s a real shame you fellas cancelled your El Salto trip. We go every year and haven't had a single problem. Should the interest arise once more, get in touch. We're planning a trip the 3rd week in June 2013.

Congradulations, Joe. Cranking is one of my favorite techniques. If you haven't tried one yet, throw a squarebilled. Much continued successs to you.

" d**n !! , I shoulda retied. "

I thought I'd share a trip with all of you. As my grandchildren get older ,it's harder to find time to get them into the boat. Yesterday there were no games to work around. Within 10 minutes Nicholas had caught a 3-5 largemouth. It's been a while since I've seen him that excited. We only caught one more bass but shared the time, laughed and reconnected again on the water. It's times like this that bring a smile to my heart. Take a child fishing, create a memory.

I too use a backpack. Most times I also wear a pair of carpenter pants with a hammer loop. That loop and a velcro strip sewn to the side of my backpack allow me to carry an extra rod hands free.

I'm a Shimano guy through and through. For the money, I really don't think you can beat a Curado. On the other hand, last week I bought the discontinued Abu Garcia Revo Winch for $144.99. That price even included the shipping. I put it on a 7'-6" crankbait rod. Even though this is my first Abu Garcia I really like it. If you can pony up a few more bucks and can find this reel. I think you'll be quite pleased. Good luck and tight lines.

Thanks for the welcome, Dwight. You're absolutely correct. Erie is smallie Mecca. I'm still looking for my first 5 lb. smallmouth.

Hi, Mike. It's nice to find some folks relatively close. Butler is my home area. Good fishing & tight lines........By the way are you familiar with the Moraine area?