Preytorien

Lately that's been a common type of water for me, muddy and high. This is why my black/blue chatterbait has been killing it. I've never had more consistent luck with one single lure as that one this year. Try the chatterbait or maybe a black senko by storm drains and culverts.

Great video. I especially use the bow and arrow method in the river wading when my jigs or soft plastics get hung in rocks. Thanks for the great video!

Ha, I hear ya. I can't think of anyplaces near me either. I got mine off eBay. It's so inexpensive, even after you add in shipping it's darn cheap and works great. The YoZuri is some of the best casting line I've ever used, its incredible. I like McCoy for it's manageability. It hangs off my Stradic like my braid does, just limp as overcooked spaghetti.

I use either YoZuri Hybrid Ultra Soft or McCoy Mean Green for river smallmouth fishing, and it seems to be very sensitive, well handling, and low memory. Overall, both lines are great.

I try flouro from time to time, but I always find myself going back to braid or braid + leader.

It does, thank you sir, I appreciate it!

It's been pretty breezy here in Central IN for the past few days.....enough that my line (usually braid), easily gets wrapped around the tip of my rod. I'd pay good money right about now for the fellow who designs a rod that keeps this from happening. I know, most of it is inherent from the line type + wind, but hey, it's still a wish huh? Hasn't kept me from catching though. I seem to be doing really well this season using a black/blue chatterbait with RageTail trailer. Chocolate milk water from rain runoff causes the chatterbait to be about the only thing that has consistent success

Probably, those little fish are ambitious. I had a 5-inch bass eat my 5-inch senko earlier this year. I didn't post a picture of it....you'd all get jealous of it's massive size!

Excellent advice, thanks T9. Looks like I'll start out learning/using the 1/16oz

If you're using such a finesse presentation, and soft plastics, it might be worth thinking about maybe an 8lb/10lb braid....something eqiv to a 2or 4lb copolymer or flouro. Something that light scares me. I'd rather have a little heavier than needed line than to lose a possible season-best or worse yet, personal best because I chose too light of a line.

I see that you're using the 1/10oz version Shroomz head....is that the size you'd recommend for a nice slow fall?

Man, if that happened to my Stradic I'd probably cry all the way home

I've used them, I just found myself wanting a bit more line pickup than they offered. I haven't used one in a while, maybe they've increased the ratios

The last time I used 20lb flouro it was very springy and caused a lot of headaches. I'm sure it was because it was Red Label. Now I use 65lb braid with a 20lb flouro leader, alberto knot, lightly dip the knot in some superglue, and I've broken/straightened hooks without breaking the leader.

I think my wife is better because she's more patient. She really doesn't care if she catches a fish, she just wants to get some sun. Then before you know it she's pulled in 10-15. Sheesh....

I fish a few small ponds near me. This time of year and all the way through the end of summer the bass will be sitting shallow, or just cruising shallow. Any time I cast towards them, which usually ends up being parallel to the bank, they swirl and they're gone. I would consider myself a "seasoned bank walker" as I have a small Sea Eagle boat, but that usually only gets taken out on weekends, so my weeknight fishing trips, which make up for 90% of my fishing outings, are all from the bank. I've read all the "stealth tactic" pieces and most of them are spot on. I walk as quiet as I can, even taking off my shoes sometimes. I wear sky-matching shirts. I even cast from about 30 feet back off the banks, and try to present my lure as subtly as possible. But darned if these fish still swirl away. Are there any tricks I'm missing? I even downsize my baits to prevent the raptor effect from scaring them off, but still they scatter away even when something as small as a 4-inch fluke quietly plops in the water. These dudes are paranoid. Any advice?

Ha, the turd bait. Great video Glenn thanks! I've been wondering the nuances of the Ned Rig, and got it here, all in once nice video

I'm up the road from you a bit in Noblesville.....and like you a lot of my close/convenient fishing spots are retention ponds. They're everywhere! Your lure selection is pretty much right in line with what I use. A couple things I've found, hopefully they'll help you out a bit.... 1. The ponds being featureless for the most part end up seeing a lot of bass relate to the shoreline. That said, your approach to the shoreline (being quiet) is critical. I can't tell you how many times, especially right now during spawn, that I've come up to a bank only to see a biggun' swirl away that I spooked. I know the bank fishing guys say it over and over, but stealth is a huge deal, especially retention ponds. Also, wear t-shirt that match the sky. I don't know how big of a deal it is, but it seems like I do better bank fishing when I wear a light blue colored shirt, maybe I blend in a little better with the sky? 2. While most of the ponds are featureless, almost all of them have drainage culverts of some kind. Of course right after a rain these are usually good, but I've found that you can usually find a bass there just hoping for a quick meal. Culverts are good a lot of times. 3. Bigger retention ponds will have humps in them, where the excavators sat and shoveled out dirt to make the pond. You can fish these humps like any other, and often they'll produce the best on HOT summer days, it's just that usually you have to really whip the lure out there since they're far off the shoreline. My go to lures for retention ponds are - Senkos, weightless flukes (parallel the shore with these), small buzzbaits (summer evening topwater), and very small texas rigged worms. I'll use a frog if there are any areas that get our summer algae bloom. I do alright with jigs, but only early early spring (March) and fished VERY slow on the bottom. Even then it's hit or miss. One that I've just recently started really doing good with is a Duo Realis Spinbait 80. The clear water of retention ponds, mixed with tough conditions sees these lures do really well. It's a pretty finesse technique and there are a lot of good videos online about it, but I've found it catches fish on a lot of days my other lure choices come up blank. Sounds like you're on the right track though, retention ponds can hold good fish. I had a DNR officer tell me that Indiana has some kind of ordinance that retention ponds are required to be stocked to aide in mosquito/larvae control, so almost any body of water you see will have fish of some kind in it, often bass. I even catch a few in the ponds in front of local shopping centers! Just make sure you're legally allowed to fish them, so many these days have HOA No Trespassing restrictions. Check out Saxony Lake near Hamilton Town Center. Has some good fishing, plus it's pretty good sized. Maybe some time we can meet up there, my cousin and I usually go there after work while our wives walk on the jogging path around the lake.

I frequently fish with senkos and weightless flukes, both tend to slide up the hook after a violent battle with a fish. I hear of some guys gluing their soft plastics to their hooks. Is this common? Suggested? Anyone have experience with this? Seems like it'd be a good idea if it works.

I'm down just north of Indy.....I hear you on this one. Friday night was pretty nice, and I could see fish biting on topwater all evening, but I only caught a few. I think a couple things are happening, maybe some of the other guys can help out here.... 1. I think many of them are blugill/sunfish, and just simply are looking for insects. I bet if I had a fly outfit I could've killed em that night 2. If they're bass they may be pushing the baitfish to the surface and hitting them there. I only caught my fish using a weightless fluke just under the surface 3. After a high-pressure weekend they might just be wary Really it's times like that I wish I had/was effective using a fly outfit because I'm sure I could do better on a night like that with one

I've used 50lb 832 for quite some time and it's perfect for what you need. I don't get line dig and it's just an all around great braid.

I thought I saw a topic about this some time back, but my search of the forums hasn't turned anything up. I'm interested in the red colored braid from Power Pro, but I wondered what the benefits/drawbacks to red braid are? I almost exclusively use a leader, unless I'm going to just throw topwater. I currently use green, and it discolors after a while, so I presume red probably will too, like any other braid, so I know that's part of the game. But why red?

Yea, I've thought about that, but I would inevitably end up hooking a 7 or 8 pound largemouth, break off, lose it, then throw everything in the water. So, it's more of a contingency plan I'd say. But yes, it'd certainly be more fun!

I have braid on everything, but many with a leader. The only exception is my crappie/ultralight rig....but I don't get that out more than a few times a year.....it has 6lb flouro on it.

Yep, definitely eBay.