nwgabassmaster

My absolute favorite is BASSMASTER. I am biased, though, in the fact that it is currently the only magazine that I am getting. However, I have heard several great things about the FLW Tour magazine and the magazine that GYCB publishes, Inside Line. The people that I have spoke with say that Inside Line, although there are only 6 magazines/year, has more information than most other magazines twice the size and published twice as often. If you are into the mult-species side of fishing, I recommed In-Fisherman, if they are still being published. Since Al Linder and In-Fisherman have parted ways, I have not heard much about it. One magazine that I can honestly look you in the eye and say not to waste your money on is NAFC's rag of a publication. The articles are shotty, at best, the club sends you "free gifts" that aren't worth getting for free (yes, that's how BAD they are), and although they say that they have a huge fan base, I have heard more complaints about this magazine and organization than I have heard good things.

Are you referring to an inline spinner, or a spinnerbait? When you say spinner, I have pictures of a Panter Martin coming to mind. However, if you mean a spinnerbait, then, as it is defined in the article that I quoted, the "normal" retrieve is just making a cast, and steadily retrieving it in. Even when I first started fishing spinnerbaits, I never did a normal retrieve. I have always made it jump, dance, killed it, etc. I have even fished deep water, from 15-20 ft., and let the bait fall to bottom, and then, hop it up and down. This is especially effective if you are finding baitfish located on a deep point, or on the edges of the channel.

Just FYI.......from the BASSMASTER magazine, September of 2004, on page 54, and I quote,: ".....in fact many (pros) consider a 'normal' cast-and-wind retrieve with a spinnerbait to be a wasted cast most of the time." This is from an article that discusses different spinnerbait retrieves. It is also an article that features Edwin Evers as the main angler in that article.

Actually, Raul, I was thinking about the whole respective circle that happens. I know that the water temperature has not changed that much, but I also know that in mid-September, I find a lot more fish that go shallower on Lake Weiss. Of course, fishing the morning and the evenings still produce a lot of fish, but you will also be able to catch more fish during the day time hours at that time of year.

There will be times where the conventional presentation will work, but most anglers will do something to their presentation to make the spinnerbait act erratic. I bet that there are times where you think that you are just casting and retrieving, but you make moves that you do not realize. Such as, you look to see where a fish just surfaced, after hearing the noise, you look over to talk to your fishing buddy, etc. Even when you do those, your body will move with you, and when that happens, the bait will make a different move.

Most professional anglers will tell you that retrieving any lure "normally" is a wasted cast. They will make their spinnerbait look like a baitfish, so that means making hop, jump, etc.

Believe it or not, a cool front has actually pushed through the Tennessee Valley, and is sitting on top of the NW GA area's head. ;D Where two days ago, the temps were close to 95* or higher, the coming days will have temps in the high 80's to low 90's. May not seem like a lot, but I know that you will be able to feel it! I know I do!

There has been a lot of input on several sides concerning this very topic, in magazines, etc. A lot of people say that the pressure does not effect the fish, other say that it does. I believe that it does. Perhaps not on a large scale as some believe, but, there is an effect there. Take for example when you are going up a mountain, in your vehicle. The change in elevation increases the amount of pressure, thus, your ears become stopped up, and you have a hard time getting them to clear. That's because of the pressure change. The bass undergo the same thing. I believe that some of their senses become useless for a while, until the weather stabilizes. If that's the case, then, if you lost some of your senses for a short period of time, then you would be uncomfortable, right? As for the rain part of the question, there are more times where it is a good thing and not a bad thing. The only time that I can recollect it being a bad thing is when the bass are attempting to spawn, and it muddies up the water in which they are trying to spawn, or perhaps the water is just warm enough to encourage spawning, and a cold rain comes down, and knocks the temps down for a while. However, in the summer, the rain helps to cool the top 1-2 ft. of the water column, and puts O2 back into that area. In the winter, the rains tend to warm that area, so, the fish will move to the warmer water. If you are fishing a pond, if you have a heavy rain, I have read, and actually witnessed this...........the rain puts so much 02 back into the water, that the bass will become inactive. It could also raise the pH level, but that's another topic for another day. I believe that it was Mr. Randy Howell, that mentioned this, and gave the advice to leave it along for a couple of days, until the water had time to stabilize. Then, the fishing should turn back on. Hope that this helps.

To start off with, nothing. Humans feel the effects of the coming fall before the effects can be felt by the fish. So, while we might have a week or two of cooler weather, that is, in the mid 80's to low 90's, the bass will still be in their summertime pattern. It will take one good, strong cold front to cool the water down enough to where the bass will start moving shallow. The only thing that might cause this to happen any quicker is if the days that come before that first cold front remain cloudy. Then, the waters will slowly start to cool down, but still not enough to activate the bass. Give it til the middle of September, and the fall bite should be going strong.

Wow, you learn something new everyday. I did not know that bass were stocked in France. I knew of them being in Japan, Cuba, and Mexico, places of that such, but it's great to see that bass have made their way to France. Just ask any question you want to know about, and you will get a plethora of information about it.

Although I can understand the importance of a trailer hook on a spinnerbait, I have NEVER once came across a situation where I needed one. Everytime that I was fishing a spinnerbait, the bass that I had hit the bait literally INHALED the bait. No need for the trailer. Oh yeah, and a spinnerbait is not a bait that I have just thrown a few times. A spinnerbait was the one bait that I cut my teeth on when I first came into the sport of bass fishing. 11 years down the road, and I still have yet needed to have a trailer hook. The reason that a spinnerbait needs a trailer hook, though, is because bass will not exactly want to eat the spinnerbait, and will short-strike the bait. That is, they will come up and hit at it, but won't take it 100% percent. The trailer hook allows you to have a hooke that extends 3 inches, or so, past the main hook, thus, increasing the percentage of hookups.

Welcome to the boards! I hope that you find what you are looking for, and if you don't, ask away! Several of the fellows will answer.

Actually, I think that "Pitching to Heavy Hitters" is a great DVD to watch. The first couple of times you watch it, I would do that, just watch it. Don't pay attention to what KVD is saying. It's hard to do, but, that's what you have to do. Put it on mute, if you have to. Then, go back and listen to what he has to say. I actually have the notes from the DVD, that I wrote down, somewhere around here. LOL After that, my advice is to just practice. I am so used to flipping and pitching with a 6'6" rod, that it's hard for me to do it with a 7'6" flipping stick. Just practice, and more practice.

There are two ways that I prefer to fish finesse style worms. First, is on just a 2/0 EWG Gamakatsu hook. No weight. I will start off twitching in fast. If there are no takers, then, I start to slow down the presentation. Secondly, I like to fish it on a jighead. I like 1/8 oz. jigheads. After casting it out, I will watch the line as it falls, cause some bass will hit it on the fall. After that, I will swim it along, and let it sink back to the bottom. However, today, I was fishing a Icicle Zoom Finesse Worm on a 1/8 oz. jighead. The only fish that I caught came on quite a strange retrieve. I had to twitch the lure in place for 5-6 seconds and then, jumping it 5-6 inches off the bottom, in a quick jerk. The second time I did this in sequence, my line started swimming up the lake. I had a nice 2 lbs. bass on the other end.

Could it be that you are using the wrong lures? Are the memories of past successes clouding your mind, and you aren't stepping back to fully realize what is going on? I know that I do that more times than I care to admit, but, when I start to realize that something isn't right, I will literally take a step back, and start taking in what has been going on. More times than not, I will realize that I should be doing something different, I will change, and then, the fish will start biting for me.

I would be willing to say that a big spinnerbait, in black, with a decent sized Colorado blade would produce. Also, if you were catching them from brush, get a jig and add a trailer.

There are times where a Senko fished as a soft jerkbait is deadly. If the fish are hitting a fluke, then, they will probably hit a Senko fished like a fluke. Don't let it get to ya!

You will get out of it, bud. I am going through the same thing, but I know the main reason for my slump. Fishing from the bank. Two of the ponds that I fish, that I mentioned in the "Cemetary Ponds" thread under fishing locations, I can almost cast across them, using most any bait. I fish them slowly, but, I am not catching much of anything. I know that there are fish in there, but since I know that there are others fishing the two ponds, it is possible that they are keeping the fish from there. I don't. I CPR. Maybe you are thinking too MUCH about it. Instead of enjoying the time out there, and trying to relax, maybe you are trying too hard. I know it sounds crazy, but, I honestly believe that it is something that will cause an angler to go into a slump.

Do not think that just because the water temperatures have climbed, that the bass's metabolism has slowed down. That is simply not true. With warm water, even the act of swimming around will burn out the food that they have ate. It is, in fact, true that as the water temperature climbs, the metabolism of the bass rises, and they have to eat more in order to function and stay alive. However, in the higher water temperatures, they are not going to chase something to eat it, thus, saving what food they have, and stabilizing their metabolism. I would honestly like to know how the jerkbaits were fishing, and if they were suspending versions. During this time of the year, when the bass are in a non-aggressive mood, as you described, I can usually get a lot of fish when I fish a suspending jerkbait. You have to let the bait sit in place longer than during other times of the year. However, you analysis is great, and it seems that you are understanding what is going on. Keep your insights coming.

Good looking information. Keep it up, and make sure to add to it! Talk to you soon, John P.

Yes. I fish two cemetary ponds, where I have family buried. Most of the time, I go, and pay my respects to my family, and then, I go fishing. One pond yielded my largest bass to date, a 8 lbs. 6 oz. hawg. The same pond has also yielded a nice 5 lbs. bass, along with several that range from 1-3 lbs. The other pond is bigger, and a lot clearer. I hooked into a bass there, and a visitor of the cemetary saw the bass when she jumped, and swore that she was every bit of 12 lbs. I think that it might be the 8-6, cause, I put her in that pond for bluegill and crappie control. During the winter and spring is when I get the best action, and it fades off during the summer. I have not caught a lot out of the two ponds lately.

Hey Glenn...why don't you post more often on here? ??? I would love to see you chime in on some of the things that are posted. Or, are you sitting back and having a good laugh, cause us "fishermen" ain't got a clue? ;D

I would tend to disagree with you about the effect that it has on wildlife, especially whitetail deer. I know that over the last 16 years that I have been fishing and hunting, that I have, for a fact, seen more deer moving at night, when a full moon was out. I know, cause I have had to change my brakes, and my shorts, when they would run out in front of me. I do believe that whitetails will move when a full moon is out, and will even move when the moon is visible, as compared to a cloudy night. As for bass, I do not believe that they feed any more or any less around a full or new moon. A bass is going to eat when they want to eat, and it doesn't matter what the moon is doing. The only difference that it would make are on the tidal rivers of the NE. On the Potomac, for example, I have had friends say that they could only catch bass on an out-going tide. Now, for what reason, I don't know, but I speculate that it's the same for when a body of water begins to drain, or lose water. Bass will congregate when the water levels fall, so, it's my thought that the bait fish were gathered together on the out-going tide, and it would cause the bass to turn on, thus, allowing the anglers to catch more bass. The same can be said for the opposite..........the bass will seperate and scatter when the water levels rise. Most anglers will fish the newly flooded areas, and will fish the most substantial pieces of cover. Thus, my thinking is that on an incoming tide, the bait scatters, cause there are more hiding places, thus, this causes the bass to shut down, or to become less active. This causes the anglers to have a tougher time finding the bass, and having them chase something down. Just my thoughts on this.

Honestly, the time of the year depends on what I will use. Although the big lizards, from 8-10 inches are the old standby, newer lures are taking their place. I use lizards, creature baits, flukes, and finesse worms. When the bite is tough, I will gear down toward the finesse worms and the creature baits. If I know that the bite is on, I want something that is going to look natural, so, I will go up to a fluke, or the lizard. If it's in between, I will let the bass tell me what they want.

I fish a C-rig from mid-summer through mid-winter. Fall time, I might slack off. I fish main lake points, secondary points, the river channels, etc. If you can find brush on those locations, or some other type of cover, all the better. Just remember to slow down, even when you think that you are fishing slow enough.