scaleface

All lure categories catch fish . Dont make your selections baed on what you think the fish want to eat . Make your selections based on what will effectively fish the cover and structure you are facing . Describe some situations you encounter and have trouble with . then you will receive some precise suggestions .

If its a flooded stream then yes , it would have a channel . A ridge is a long high spot under water just like a ridge above water . I have never found a ridge like that to fish .

Did that really happen ?

The first thing I look for when I see cheap spinnerbaits is the swivel . Ball bearing swivels are a must to keep the blades spinning when the bait is stalled . I have found spinnerbaits on clearance as cheap as .25 with ball bearing swivels .

I have some old lures but only one in a box , a Shakespeare mouse . I have a spinner with a baseball emblem on it from Spalding .

Cousin and I fished in a circuit championship one year at Table Rock Lake . We have never fished TR and only had few hours to practice . We caught a couple of keeper on a steep chunk rock bank and that was our plan. We had no back-up plan . On the first day of the tourney there was a weather change and wind shift . Our area did not give up any fish . We started running different spots not knowing where we were going , ended up getting skunked and not qualifying for day 2 . In hind-sight we should have done some map work , locate an area to go to as a back-up and just go fishing .

You can cast behind the boat . First there are fish everywhere and you cant cast at every fish blip you see . Now if I see fish that I suspect are bass and I just passed over them , I fire a quick cast "Usually a crankbait "past the fish and bring it through . Most of the time I come up empty but every so often I hit a school and catch a bunch . If I see some sort of cover for instance a stump with fish around it , then I will fish it too . Get some marker buoys . If you see something that looks promising , toss one out but dont toss it on top of the fish . Toss it several yards away .

Several lures would fish that effectively . You mentioned several . A weightless worm fished on top of that duck-weed is my favorite way to fish that stuff. I use a big heavy offset flipping hook to add casting weight .

I think Glen has a video where he ask pro anglers what changes they make when they are struggling . About half said slow down and fish more thoroughly . The others said speed up and cover more water . LOL

Remember the Rebel Buzzing frog that had the blade on the rear . They still make those I see .

A color that has fallen out of favor but use to be extremely popular is blue . I like to use blue worms in clear and stained water .

I started and finished the year throwing spinnerbaits . This Excalibur finished the year strong by fishing over vegetation . If it made it over without a bite I would just let it fade , that back blade would hesitate then flash and the bass would often bash it . I had two new ones and wore one out . These counter rotating blades keep the bait stable . I dont know if any other manufacturers are offering counter rotating blades .

Count five lines and follow it around .That will be 10 foot . Pretty easy to distinguish drop-offs from flats . Look for point , channels , humps...

I use them a lot . Spinnerbaits and buzzbaits dominated my catches this past year . I guess close to 75 percent of my bass were caught on one or the other .

I carry one rod that used for Texas rigs and jigs . Then I'll carry three to five others and they are not delegated to one type of fishing . They have to cover everything else . My favorite buzzbait rod also doubles as a crankbait , spinnerbait... The same with the rest of them .

I punch out keeper disc from a piece of inner tube .

I wasnt very good at tourney fishing if my plan A didnt work . My back-up plans usually didnt either . Now that I just fish for fun I usually plan on trying at least two techniques ,areas... and usually end up catching some numbers .

I have a pretty high hookup rate with buzzbaits plus I can fish them through snags . So I dont feel the need to get a whopper plopper . Ignorance is bliss .

Is it ready to sign up ?

I took my cousins son fishing once this year and was out-fishing him pretty badly . He called me a lucky-dog . We were using the same lure , he just wasnt keeping it in a "lucky" strike-zone as long as I .

Lures go hot and cold for me . Last year spinnerbaits were hot spring through fall .

I use to over-think the heck out of bass fishing . Still do at times .

I only have one of these left but early in the year I like to use weedless short-arm bait with a pork trailer . Now that pork trailers are no longer available I'll probably go with a twin tail grub . I like to slow-roll it next to cover then kill it .

Somewhere I have some brand new Blue Fox In-Lines . I never use that style of bait .

I like to catfish on a small river and those beavers do that a lot . Also sitting on a rock bar with a lantern and fire going , not being able to see past the lit up area , and then hearing foot steps on the rocks but not be able to see anything .