scaleface

I have a few Mudbugs and still carry one or two in my crankbait box . I caught some hawgs with them back in the late 70's and early 80's .

42 degrees water temp here yesterday . I went 4 hours without a fish then switched to a suspending jerkbait and caught 10 shallow around wood cover .

Fished a rip rap dam yesterday with cranks and blanked but a couple of times I felt fish swirl on the lure . Now I'm searching for a suspending jerk bait to fish 8 to 10 foot deep . I use 12 lb mono .

Suspending jerk-baits around wood .I used the Rick Clunn model that WalMart sells .

I went today . Fished for four hours without a hit . There was only one other person on the lake and I saw him catch two . I know this fellow and we were heading toward each other , We talked for a minute and he told me how he was catching them . I thanked him then boated ten bass in the final three hours .

You know what a ridge is above water . Now picture it under water .

I dont mind them copying me but I'm not to fond of the folks who move in on me .

The first couple of names I tried were already taken . Scarface was playing on tv so I tried Scaleface .

Up here in Northern Mo. bass can be caught when the water is not flooded . Rip rap banks , wing dams and backwater areas are what I target . Ive been told but not had any luck personally that bass can be caught on the sand bars on the downstream side of islands .

I use to fish the big river quite a bit . Launching a boat was always a pain . The city boat ramp was always silted in and I just gave up and went elsewhere . They completely redid the riverfront with new ramps and parking . I plan on being out there next year . Its so nice it I wouldnt surprise me to see some large tournaments held here . In pool 22 Hannibal Mo .

The pros repeatedly say "You cant win it on the first day but you can lose it" . That is more true when they visit lakes during peak periods but the tournament held this fall , the fishing was a lot tougher . Those are the tourneys I like to watch. Its boring to some but to me it is more intriguing . I speculate there are some anglers who benefit from the shootouts while other anglers would find the grind outs more to their liking . I'm all for seeing some tougher tournaments scheduled .

Yep , one cant tell how big they are when they hit . I cant anyway and culverts just might be the best places I have ever fished for big bass , so sock it to them .

The ones I target love any soft plastic with appendages like craws , hula grbs ,creature baits ... I have visually seen them turn their noses up at a plain old worm before and devour a Craw .

I think Scott Martin qualifies . He finished 5th in the easterns. Patrick Walters leads but he's already in the Elites so I imagine Scott gets in .

I would do like the boys and girls do and throw a 1/4 ounce Beetle Spin .

I Texas rig craws a lot . Guido Bugs , Larews , Renegade , MisterTwister ... I liked them all . I still have a supply of Riverside Big Claws that are excellent for keeper bass . If I throw a jig , I just bite them down to fit .

Theres a skim of ice on the ponds this morning .

Thats another lure I have and never used .

I remember his first couple of years in BASS . He cashed a check almost every event . There was little doubt he was going to be one of the great ones .

It has purple in it and I use purple a ton in all conditions .

12 lb Big Game .

A lot depends on where one is fishing . In some of the culverts I like , spring and fall is best . A week or two past post spawn , bass position out on points and deep brush piles . Be prepared to fish them before the fishing pressure destroys that bite . In the good old summertime on lakes with grass a shallow bite can be the best for big ones . In the fall when the thermocline starts to drop bass are caught deep again , then a week or two later they are back shallow . Like I said on my first post , I dont have a particular month to catch big ones I just explore all my options .

My biggest bags have come post spawn .

Texas rig the worms and fish them in cover like brush , laydowns... Lift the worm with the rod tip then let it fall . If you feel the slightest tic as it is falling , thats a fish . Reel the slack out of the line and set the hook forcefully . If you feel a tic when you are lifting it , that is more likely a stick . Most of the time you will not feel a bite . If it feels funny you may have a fish on . Sometimes the line will move a little , sometimes there may be a strange vibration . Sometimes it may sink faster than normal , thats a fish running with it away from you , sometimes it may not find the bottom and seems to keep sinking , thats a fish swimming with it toward you . Go slow and concentrate , watch the line where it enters the water and feel . I hold the rod in front of the reel with the line pinched between my index finger and thumb . This allows me to feel strikes better .

A lot of the anglers I followed are going away . I liked In-fisherman magazine and TV show .