scaleface

200 miles to the west, with very similar weather patterns have moved the shad shallow and the bass are feeding heavily . This was on a cloudy , drizzly day . A sunny day might make it tougher and position the shad deeper and the bass deeper in cover .

I went a couple of days ago after a month of sweltering hot weather . It was cloudy all day , light rain and mild temperatures . Even though the thermocline was around 18 foot the shad were 8 foot and less . Shad are very fragile and seek out the best combination of dissolved oxygen and temperatures to aid in their survival . Tom refers to it as the lifezone.I actually learned this from him . It was constant shallow action all day . Junk fishing with buzzbzaits , spinnerbaits , toads and hitting brush piles with Texas rigs . I tried deep on a point and not one bite . So , just keep making decisions , thats all anyone can do . Sometimes we get them right .

All that fancy casting you see the pros doing . Its easier with a half ounce lure than a quarter ounce . Thats the reason I'm using heavier buzzbaits and spinnerbaits .

My forecast was the same and I went Friday . Overcast all day , mild temps , a few sprinkles and the bass were biting . Best day of the year so far . Caught 73 bass with perhaps a dozen over the 15 inch min .

Edited . posted in the wrong thread .Dont know how that happened .?

I'm guessing close to two lbs two and a half .

I have used them on jig heads , Beetle spins , texas rigged , Carolina rigged and weightless as a top water .

I just havent been able to break the 5 lb mark this year . I came close today . Caught on a blue Jelly Worm .

You are going to have to learn to detect bites sooner .I use mono and gut hooking a bass is extremely rare . When I lift the lure I'm also weighing my line . This is hard to describe but if my line feels heavy I set the hook . I also use clear blue fluorescent 17 lb trilene xl . That line visibility is very important for me . When the lure is falling and you feel the slightest tic , thats a fish. Reel up the slack and sock it to him . Might be a dink might be a five lber . When you are lifting the lure and feel a tic , that could be a stick or some other object .

Palaniuk Zaldain Jocumsem Schmitt Livesay

I wish I could find the brown /orange crawfish beetles . I know where there are some fat smallmouths that love crawfish .

I can catch bass in the summer . I just cant take the heat anymore . If the water has enough points to hit , I may make a milk run and usually have a decent day . Also fish emergent standing timber that is in deep water . Grass beds , deep flats , creek channels ...

Over the decades well over 90 percent of the fish I have caught have been on Texas rigs/ jigs , crankbaits , spinnerbaits , buzzbaits . I have other lures that I use a lot when the conditions call for it .

Out of town this morning and stopped at a tackle store . Found the old large sized Beetles . These are bigger than the 1/4 ounce size available now . I bought all of them .

Color is a complicated subject . I like to watch physics videos on Youtube . Even though I'm not smart enough to understand them , I still find them fascinating .One of the things I learned from viewing them is color doesnt exist except for in our brains . Thats hard to comprehend but supposedly true .

Just for the heck of it I searched Wetumpka, AL and this area popped up . These chutes and roads are there not culverts and bridges here ? Seems like there would be . edited Oh , I see , you are stationed somewhere .

Oh , I thought it was a Teckle frog that cost 13 dollars . I'll have to get a couple of those . I have a use for them .

I retie but my eyesight is failing me . Twice this year I cast a bait off because I tied a lousy knot . Maybe I'll have to go to a clip some day but for now I need to take my time and make sure the knot gets tied correctly .

Ive got to get one of those but that price . How durable is it ?

I like to fish the outside first then work my way in . Texas rigs , spinnerbaits and buzzbaits are my top three lures . If there are not to many small branches I'll use squarebills to . Fresh brush , I'll just hang a squarebill in it .Old wood and old standing timber Squarebills work extremely well . I use 17 lb Triene XL on Texas rigs . Usually 12 lb Big Game on the others .

I've been catching bass in very similar spots all month .

I have a phone . I would love to try it in a private pond just once . Growing up, I knew people who used them illegally.

Its not real ?

I'm usually heading in and then it occurs to me that I havent hit the dam yet . I usually pick up a few more fish at the dam .

I knew a lot of people who liked that red shad color .