Hellbenderman

Tell us more about the lake, water clarity, standing timber, weeds, etc.

How does the bloom effect the dissolved oxygen in the lake, if at all?

Took the wife out yesterday afternoon at BH. Caught five all between 2.5 and 3.5. All were caught fishing drop offs that began at the edge of a flat and broke at about ten feet and dropped down to 20+ at a 45 degree angle or better. All were caught on a big worms or a hellbender, 3/2, fished tediously slowly along and down the face of these drop offs. Hits were barely perceptible. Lost one good one because I never felt the pick up and she ran right at me. I never got a real hook set and she broke free. Dead calm. Water back to 84. Saw a lot of small bass fry about 4 inches in schools up to 20. On our way back to the dock, we were attacked by a band of Somalian pirates, who took some Oreos, a grape Ne-Hi, and a can of Cheese Wiz. They said if we talked they would come back and take our fruit. I thought about just keeping my mouth shut, but if any of you went to BH and suffered a similar attack, and, God forbid, actually suffered a fruit loss. I would feel terrible. So, be fore warned! The only safe thing to do is stop fishing BH. Yep. That's what I'm going to do.

....flying lure....

Don't know exactly where the tubes are...hahaha. I stayed away from the the thick matted areas the other day, stayed deep. Went under the bridge, but didn't go way back to the rocks. Below 4lb. came right next to the bridge piling on the N. side. Going to take the wife out tomorrow afternoon/evening and will try some mats. Water temp was down to 80. One of these days I'll figure out how to get the whole fish in a picture.

Look at this...$40.00..... www.swimoutlet.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=20052&Click=205964

Hey Sean! Did okay. Had four nice ones, largest right at 4. All on a big worm or...hellbender. Lost a bigger one next to the bridge. All were caught before it got dark...before 7:00...it got dead calm, and the fish went nada. Left about ten.

About a year and half ago I bought an XML spinning rod from Cabellas, not cheap, not expensive, but a good solid rod. I bought it because I could add weights to the handle and balance the rod. Well, and I don't know how, one day the weight part snapped off the end of the rod and fell in the water, leaving me with a short handled rod that was really not usable. I considered sending it back to Cabellas, but what a pain in the carcass. So, it just stood in the corner until I got around to doing something with it. After thinking about it for a minute or thirty, I went to Lowes and bought a dowel slightly larger than the inside diameter of the exposed blank, mine was 7/16". Using a little hand sander, I sanded down the dowel until I could slide it well up into the rod, almost to the reel seat. I then epoxied the dowel into the rod. After it dried, I cut the dowel, leaving about six inches sticking out the bottom of the rod. I tried to drill a hole in a piece of larger oak dowel to slide over the rod dowel and be the butt of the rod. Thought it would look nice, but I don't have a drill press, and because I drink a lot I shouldn't be allowed to use power tools, anyway, I ordered some cork rings from Cabellas, took two days! I have never done anything like this before, but it was easy. I used a round file about 3/8 diameter, and reamed out the cork rings to fit over the dowel. Then one by one I epoxied the rings to each other and the dowel. The Rings were much larger than the cork on the rod, so they had to be sanded down and the seams smoothed out. I used a palm sander and finished by hand sanding. I left mine knobby on the end, but you can sand it anyway you want. This is so easy. If you have a rod in need of a new handle, don't hesitate to do it your self.

Sean! Can you make it Wed night at BH?

More than likely, turtles, maybe carp, were making the bubbles as they scooted across the bottom, and the small bass have learned that turtles scare up a lot of little stuff like crayfish and the plant detritus that bluegills and shad feed on, which attracts them as well. It's a nice little arrangement for schools of small bass. It's like ringing the super bell! Follow the food!

GREAT!

I was going to take the wife out on BH today, but she is not feeling well, so we will try again tomorrow! Been trying a lot of rubber stuff lately with mixed results. Tomorrow is going to be a crank bait day!

Hey Jeff, not sure I understand your request to send a message to you...at your AOL account or on bass resource? So, I will do both? Unfortunately, fishing for bass has become equipment selective. Your equipment, 6'6" MH and a Pflegure President is fine for fishing the thick weeds and grass using a tactic called "punching". You will need a heavy weight, 1/2 -1 1/2 ounce, and some kind of craw bug or creature bait, and 3/0 or 4/0 EWG hook, Texas rigged weedless. I use a 4.5 inch Yum Craw Papi, but there are many other baits that will fill the bill. You need to "pin" the weight close to the hook so it doesn't flop around and get tangled in weeds. You can do this with a toothpick by pushing it into the weight hole and bind the line, or you can buy these little rubber things that will do the same thing. You want to drop your rig pretty much vertically down into and through the grass to the bottom, and jig vertically in the same spot. You may only move the rig a foot or so toward you before you need to lift it up and drop it somewhere else. What you don't want to do is try to work or swim the rig "through" the grass. Drop it down, make a couple jigs up and down, let it rest, jig again, no fish, move on. You can make a couple drops per minute drops a minute. Your rig is good for doing this kind of heavy jigging. You can also try something like a Strike King Rage Tail Frog and buzz it on top of the weeds. Be warned, strikes will be sudden and scary...hahahaha. Something like a senko may be too light to use on your set up, but maybe not. Try a heavy six inch senko, weightless and Texas rigged, and see if you can't get a decent cast out of it. You may want to drop back to say 20lb line. Are you using braid or mono? I'm gonna suggest mono until you get the hang of some of this. The choice is working stuff on top of the weeds or punching through the weeds to fish that are holding down in the muck. That said, by this time of the year, many, but not all bass, have pulled back from shore and gone to deeper water where the temp and oxygen levels are more comfortable, so shore punching may have limited success. Try and fish the mats closest to deeper water. If the weeds go out from shore, say 30 feet, try and cast your senko out beyond the edge of the weeds, let it sink, and work it back to you slowly. You should be able to pull it up the face of the weeds and onto the mat, again, work it ever so slowly across the mat. As far as feeling the strike. Sometimes it is massive, dragging a frog over a grass mat will evoke a massive response! Sometimes the hit is almost imperceptible. A bass doesn't mostly actually "bite" the bait, but rather flexes its gills and literally sucks the bait into its mouth. You need to really watch your line. A lot of the time when fishing a senko, your line is slack, so you need to watch it. If you see it jump a little or move a few inches, or moves off steadily, set the hook. If you do feel the strike, it is likely to feel like a little peck or tick...set the hook. Again, many times the hit will occur as the lure falls through the water on the initial cast, so be prepared as soon as the lure hits the water. These are tried and true techniques used by everyone on this board, so be confident you are not wasting your time. If there are fish there, eventually you will put it together. Confidence counts. Don't get discouraged. The dead heat of August is tough all over. While reading everything you can lay your hands on is important, you need to get out there and use a few basic techniques and catch a couple fish. Once that happens your confidence will rise and off you go. I would read about the life cycle of the bass, and just as important, the life cycle of the forage it eats. Where the food goes, so goes the bass. One more thing, I have always found it more important to know "where" the fish are rather than "what" I am using to go after them. There are many lures that will catch bass once you find them.

Besides all the reading, which is a must, we can get you started if you can tell us a little about where you are and where you are going to fish. Do you have a boat or will you atart by shore fishing? Do you have a "home"lake you will fish most of the time? Can you tell us a little about the lake. Is it weedy, clear, murky, rocky, standing timber? Give us a little more info and we can get you started in a jiffy. What the h*** is a jiffy anyway?

The rod I'm looking for will be used to throw 1/8-1/4 ounce keel weighted hooks on 12 inch Culprits or 13 inch Gambler worms, and up to heavy 7 inch senkos, the heavy end of finesse fishing, I guess. I have a Mossy Back BSR852, and I use it for the above, and jigs, and love it. I was thinking about my wife buying me a really nice anniversary rod, and wondered about using a Bronze Back SMR913S-SP. It is another six inches longer than the BSR852, looks like it would fill the bill nicely. I really don't think the "small mouth" designation means much? She will be getting off cheap compared to what I put out for her!

12 inch Culprit or 13 inch Gambler worm + 1/8 ounce keel weighted 5/0 EWG hook = monsters Regardless what you are told, do not run the weight through the worm. using an un-tied hook, run the point through the head as normal, back it out, put the eye through the just made holes from the bottom, put the hook through the worm and lay flat on the top of the worm. Tie the hook to your line and go catch a monster. Cost, about $10.

If anyone knows where I can find any Flying Fisherman ELITE Sunglasses, please let me know! They are great and cheap, but they stopped making them...go figure!

YES...and I wish I could find more. Flying Fisherman ELITE sunglasses are glass, polarized and cheap. They have large lenses that provide great coverage. I insist on glass lenses because they don't scratch the first time out and I am hard on sunglasses. They don't make them any more....sigh....but occasionally you can find some....$20-$30. Great deal. If anyone knows where I can find some...PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

I'm sorry I poked fun at Swindle, but I was mesmerized by his chin on the repeat AOY broadcast. I don't know whether it was the TV lighting or what, but it was such an odd shape, and it was so black, it kinda looked like a plastic cap glued to his chin. I have never seen a cut like that. As a former "Zona" style chin/lip myself, it just took me off guard it was so striking. No offense to Gerald was intended. I know he's a great angler. Unfortunately, my wife finally put a price on conjugal visits...no more chin feathers. It was hard decision...chin feathers for bass...or chin feathers for...well, just leave off the "b"...hehehe.

Is there a relationship I am not aware of between really stupid looking chin hair, and catching bass? For instance, Gerald Swindle has about the silliest looking chin feathers I have ever seen, looks like he fell chin first into a pile of cow poop. That said, if it helps catch bass, I'll adapt, but I want to be really sure before I let myself look that silly.

SHEEEESH...."LOT'S"...WHO KEEPS PUTTING THESE d**n APOSTROPHES IN MY POSTS!

Hello Sully, Black Hills is your best bet, and minnows for sure. RT121 bridge goes across the lake and there are ample places to fish from shore on and near the bridge. Also inside the park, there are lot's of places to fish from shore. Fish deep. I'll be there myself with my man Brian. What kind of cheese will you be bringing?

I just quit fishing with other people in my boat...hahaha.

go to your User CP and find under "your posts".

I know there are a lot of folks who ascribe to the small and slow in the summer tactic. Slow, absolutely, but...small? I have been using a 12" Culprit and a slug of a seven inch senko for the past month and doing very nicely, thank you. In general, forage is small in the spring and gains size as the summer progresses...logical, perhaps. To be sure there are lot's of small fry all over the place; three inch bass, and tiny little shad, and bluegill fry, all from this year, but why would a large bass expend the same energy, or more, for a snack, when it can expend the same energy and have a meal? Me, neither?! Hahahaha. I'm sure, if Ole Lady Fivepounds is hiding under a log, and a one inch Bluegill fry swam right under her nose, she would open her mouth and suck! The question is, if that little fry is six feet away, how willing would she be to chase it down, versus a 12 inch Culprit six feet away? That said, I have had a lot of fun fishing shad pods and catching one to two pound schoolies on a tiny Killer B-1, but I don't think larger bass are out and about the lake most of the day chasing shad schools around. I think they stay at home on carefully staked out structure that offers security and easy pickings, or not...hahaha. If I seem to contradict myself, it's because I know that if there was ever a living thing that made exceptions to the rule, the rule, it's the bass. As soon as you think you know something...well, you know...hahaha. This is all just a war of wits between you and a fish. I"m pretty sure who is winning...very sad...hahaha. Try big and slow for a day. What have you got to lose you haven't already lost? LOL.