scaleface

No better way to find stumps than trolling .

Today I made a milk run of irrigation ditches and river backwater . Caught 16 . This was the first and biggest . Caught on a 1/4 ounce yellow Beetle Spin up inside a culvert . I dont think there is a better lure to throw than a Beetle Spin when ditch fishing .

I dont remember those . Man , I'd like to have some .

I ignore the fishing reports too . They are rarely accurate .

yep

I view it the the same way.

Trying to beat the heat and do a little river wading .

Those are not very big bluffs . Ignore my previous reply as I was thinking deep highland reservoir bluffs . I have caught some big bass on this type of structure. The number one lures are deep diving crankbaits . Parallel cast the walls as close as you can . Also Texas rigs and jigs are good . Still keep a look out for any irregularities . Heres one I caught back in the 80's on a bluff wall like you describe using a Bomber Model A crankbait .

The Dredgers get deep fast and stay there . They have a tight action, are smaller than other lures that run the same depth and are not as hard to retrieve . The only drawbacks are they dont come in a rattleless version and they snag easily because they suspend rather than float . A Dredger 25.5 is a lot easier on the wrist than the 6XD's and out dive them ..

Strike King square bills . I have other cranks that have just outfished them .

On Twain on the main lake exposed timber is much deeper than the thermocline , so there is no underwater structure to hold them there . They hang on the larger trees at the edge of the timber .Crappie fisherman seem to have better luck catching the big ones than I from them . ?

He resorted to the Red Eye Shad after hours of deep cranking .

I still do it . Have you tried the Dredgers ? They dont fight back as hard as other lures .

95 percent casting for me . I dont finesse much , dont fish clear water much .

I dont do it anymore because the heat is murder on me . This time of year ,in the middle of a hot day , I use to fish deep timber with chuggers , making as much noise as I could with them . I have a vintage Rebel Popper , twice the size of a Pop R and a vintage Pico Pop .They both will spray water over six foot . I targeted main lake timber . Large trees and the edge of timber were best . I caught up to 70 fish a day doing this . Mostly less than 15 inches but some would be over .

Beetle spin . I was driving down a gravel road yesterday and made a stop at a culvert in an irrigation ditch . A place I use to fish long ago . Armed with a yellow 1/4 ounce Beetle Spin I caught 12 with the largest being two to three lbs .

On mark Twain there are farm fields that had rows of timber were small creek runoffs were .

I hate toads . Yesterday afternoon I managed one hookup in 10 hits but they are the only lure that I can fish the chara matts with . Fishing the edges with a buzzbait I nailed 5 of 6 .

Channels are good . I like to target the edges . Also the largest trees and any structure beneath such as points A favorite spot of mine is the timber line next to a submerged road . You get the picture , look what is beneath the timber . Square bills and top waters are my favorite in deep timber . Shallow timber I add jigs , Texas rigs , and spinnerbaits .

Popular with the kids but not serious bass anglers , the lowly Beetle spin . I use them still because they flat out produce .

I went again last night and only caught two fish after dark , no moon . Did get to see the comet . I caught 8 before dark and earlier caught 12 at a culvert in an irrigation ditch .

I havent had a lot of luck fishing bluffs but have done well in the cuts along them. If there is any cover like a fallen tree , fish that . Sometimes there are points at the end of bluffs that hold fish .

Went to a small bridge yesterday that goes over a slough on the Mississippi river . There was a dead gar and bluegill on it and just left to die . Those are native fish and part of the ecosystem . That really grinds my gears .

...and Rapala Fat Raps . Never hear anything about them . They are my favorite long billed crankbait when going down the banks covering water .

I like the Strike King Rocket Shads in current and deep water . The strike King Midnight Special at night .Been catching a few river bass on Beetle Spins lately .