Lil'skeeter

I've been out-fished by the guy in the back of the boat a few times and I've beaten the guy in the front. When you're both throwing the same thing and only one seems to be catching all the fish I think it's because the fish have become inactive and if you don't put the bait within a foot of them they're not going to hit it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Mike, as you can see by the previous posts, everyone fishes a little differently. Everyone has thier own strengths and weaknesses. I'm in Texas and it really gets hot in the summer. I still target shallow fish. I started club tournament fishing in 2001. I have a 15' Skeeter with a 85 hp motor. We fish a lot of big lakes and there are some big boats in the club but I have been the club champion every year when I fish all or most of the tournaments (which is all but 4). Not bragging, just letting you know you don't need a big boat or the best eletronics. Your best tool will be a depth finder though. Until you get one, a crank bait or carolina rig can tell you what structure or cover is there. Structure is the lake terrain. Most of the time the terrain above the water carries down into the water, so be aware of your surroundings. Main structure elements are points, ridges (drop-offs), humps, creeks, flats and such. Any change in the terrain can be structure. Not all structure holds fish. One point may have fish on it year round and another may never hold fish. The difference is cover. Find structure with cover and you'll find fish. Granted some structure will not have cover but still have fish because fish use structure like we use roads. They may follow a ridge or point in 12' of water until they get to a creek, roadbed or fence line and then follow it up to shallow water to feed or to deeper water for safety.. You may find a few fish along a ridge or drop but if you find a brush pile or stump on that ridge you will almost allways find fish there. Cover is typically weeds, stumps, laydowns (trees that have fallen over) docks, etc.. Bass are predators and they like to hide in or around cover in order to ambush prey. Where you live probably most, if not all, of the lakes are natural lakes. Here in Texas every lake is man-made (except one, Caddo). They are rivers or creeks that have been damned. Most of the time nothing was changed in the surrounding area so we have tons of cover in our lakes. Not only all of the trees but also houses, bridges, roads, corrals and such. Lake Fork has several farms and a multitude of houses. Most of the farms had ponds and all had fences (sometimes tree lines were fenced). Sorry to keep rambling on.... I'm not the best fisherman aroud here (far from it) but I think I am consistant. Do I get skunked? (no fish) Yep! But like they say "Thats why they call it "fishin'" and not "catchin'". Just keep chunkin' and windin'. Ron

Nice fish for sure! I have a club tournament this coming Sat. and since the hydrilla is growing good I'm planning on swimming a jig along the outside edges of it. I'll post the results....hopefully!

I have 5 Largemouths over 9, the largest is 9.75. No DD yet....my profile pic is of a 7.3 and a 3.5 that I caught at the same time on a large crank bait....does that count for a 10? LOL

These are the lake nearest to me. Lake records, Lake Whitney 7.72, Bridgeport 7.41, Texoma 7.06, Possum Kingdom Lake 6.80, Eagle Mountain 5.41, Grapevine 4.75. Nothing like you guys up north have but I'd settle for a 4 - 5 lb. smallie any day. I think Whitney, Texoma, Possum Kingdom and Bridgeport have the largest populations and all four are about a hr. and a half away. Grapevine is only 40 min away and on a Texas forum I have seen several pictures of some nice ones. I guess I need to go out and try to find a gravel-rocky point and chunk a jig or tube.

I see this is a big smallie forum (due to geographic locaions) and could use some help finding the elusive (for me)Texas smallie. I do know hey like gravel bottoms, (rocks?) jigs and tubes. I've been fishing in North Texas for twenty years and haven't hooked one yet. Granted I haven't gone after them exclusively but you would think I would've come across some by now. I really want to target them this year. I've been unemployed for a year so I really can't afford a guide. Do they migrate seasonly similar to largemouth? For some reason I'm thinking they tend to stay a little deeper.......I'm not sure why but that's the mindset I have. I know most of you could probably find them with out any problems but me, I'm clueless! HELP !!!! Thanks in advance....Ron

Thanks everyone!

Hey everyone. I stumbled across this site a week ago and really like it so.....here I am. I've been bass fishing for a while but always looking to improve and this looks like the place to help me. I joined a bass club in '01 and really enjoy competitive fishing, although there's nothing like getting out and relaxing and just having fun trying to out-wit the big'uns.