russ0101

you'll hear people swear by the 3 days before and 3 days after a Full/New moon... the only difference i have had in those 3 days is that the fish didnt bite until 10am and quit biting at 3pm... i fished all day monday from 6am to 9pm without any stopping, ok so maybe once or twice because of all the Mountain Dew either way, i think its more of a confidence thing than anything. I pay more attention to the weather - barometric pressure, rain, cloud cover, etc... just my .02

i try to fish almost everyday, weather permitting and family obligations... i'll usually fish 1 day for play - just to catch something and trying for size 2nd day - new baits and presentations 3rd day - playing again 4-6 day - serious fishing, but more roving over the lake looking for all types of depth changes and structure... i'll also use different lure and make myself fish those - they will be the only lures i'll take with me - plastics, jigs & spinnerbaits, crankbaits, topwaters (this one gets old for an all day extravaganza, but i have found new knowledge) ill fish all the same places, different days, with different lures at the same times (i keep a log of where i was at what time and the lure being used).. i have finally became confident in deep fishing, well maybe 15 yards off the shoreline - i'm still growing that confidence 2 feet at a time 7th day... i dont fish, i might go out on the boat after church, but its just to use the fish finder and look at all the contours on the bottom.. i finally broke down and drew the lake to scale, i couldnt find one anywhere - but it paid off. i know what to use where and at what time, with the weather conditions listed.

i fish it t-rigged 90% of the time... and i dont fish it weightless. I'll put a 1/8oz bullet weight and work it's speed by what the bass bite. First I'll start off swimming it, then i'll slow it down to just a few twitches (I'm not talkin about senkos here) as for senkos, i TR them too, and i dont use a weight. I just let it drop and then twitch it after the 1st min, usually while i throw this one out, i'll grab my weighted worm and cast right out beside my weightless senko and swim it back. i use the twitchin bar on the dawia viento to pick up any slack line in between casts, and to also check for resistance. I can't make myself sit there and just wait for something to bite. as far as wacky rigging - i cant tell you too much here about it simply because i havent given it time. i do use a #3 circle hook. I'll find the seam of the worm, go in and go about 3/4 of the way through. Then i just throw it out, wait a min or so and if no bites, twitch it a bit and pick up my other rod while keeping an eye on that line. I use Hi Vis so i can keep a constant eye on it incase they pick it up and run.... i keep the rod between my legs (not the best wording) but with my Kistler Helium rod i can detect just about any bites when coupled with fluorocarbon line

this is a fairly old lake, and its is out in the country... they do allow boats with gas on and there are some boats that come by me sometimes and they bout knock me over with the fumes. i know they aren't leeches, but im not sure what lamprey are. im going to try to catch another one and then take a pic to post... the other thing im going to do is get in touch with DNR and see if they know anything about it. i like to catch the 5# out of here to eat occasionally, 1 of them will feed me and my parents. Everything else i catch gets tossed back.

depending on the time of day i would do as follows: 6 - 8: fishing the shore, anywhere there were weeds or some type of cover to throw into 8-10: i'd fish parallel to the bank about 5 yards out with plastic worm SLOW, just twitchin then speeding it up to where its like your watching your finger spin your reel handle (got 3 good size fish off this yesterday) 11-3: move out another 15 yards and try to find that spot where it changes depths, doesnt matter if its only 2-3 feet for that size lake; still working the bait slow if i caught one fish, i'd try to catch another, then move on and come back and let the fish settle back down. You mentioned a few islands near an inlet - this should be a good holder of fish, if you can follow the stream watch where it hits the deeper water and throw them wacky senkos out to it - they wont be able to stand it yesterday i had all my success on a 7.5" Yum ribbontail worm in Junebug. I had it T-rigged with a red 1/8oz bullet weight.

that would make sense because its only on the bass that are 2+ in lbs

i havent seen any dead fish floating around, except for one small catfish... i caught 2 smaller bass from the same spot i got this one, and they didnt have any sores on them. going back to the sores, the red stuff looked like clotted blood in a lump, when i brushed it away is when i saw the small 1/4" diameter sore... i thought maybe the lump i brushed off might have been some type of organism, but it didnt move at all

I was fishing some new hidden underwater structure... anyways, thought i was hung up in a tree, and did the thumb on the spool and pulled. I thought i had a limb until it started running straight at me... on to the point - it turned out to be a strong 2.5#'r.... i got it out of the water and it had these red looking sores, most were on its tail fin, and then one right on what i call their tounge. I couldnt see well due to how bright the sun was, but when i got it home, they looked awful. I thought maybe some distorted looking leech, but when i rubbed one off with my filet knife, blood started oozing. This is the 2nd fish i have caught out of this lake like that I wish i had takena picture, but i came in to get the camera and a good thunderstorm came up... by the time i got back outside to look it over my dog had already eaten it. Amazing how a dog can get in a cooler livewell. I didnt eat it because it kind of scared me... any ideas on what it could be? He was holding close to stumps or the trunk of an old tree in about 5' of water.. the water is about 80deg and 4-6" visibility. It's creek fed and is a DNR managed watershed. There is also a guy who lives on the lake who flys the water planes, and where i caught the fish is the area where he takes off and lands at

used to be that i could go weeks without dippin the worm in the water... then my girlfriend started watching all these reality tv shows and TIVO"D them (deleting my fishing shows)... well now i try to stay out there as long as i can. i get burnt out when im not catching anything, so thats when i start improvising... i posted a few weeks ago that i caught a bass on a cigarette butt.. they wouldnt bite anything else, but they were tearing that up with my fly rod. have you thought about fly fishing?? that was what i picked up, and it only cost me $30 becuase i wasnt sure if i was going to like it or not. Now, since it's in pieces, i can put it in the car, stop on the side of the road, and fly into a creek off the bridge - just got to be careful of the rigs, they have some massive wind gusts sometimes and blow the horn right on top of you

just the other night i took all my baitcasting reels out and put a 1/8oz bullet weight, with a 7.5" plastic worm on a 2/0 EWG hook 12# fluorocarbon - 40yds 30# braid - 60 yds 15# fluorocarbon - 40yds 20# BigGame - 30 yds Most of the time i fish murky water, and i cast around 20-30 yds. I only make the 40-60 yard casts when im out in open water and fishing in depths of 20'... that allows me to get out far and then sink to a good depth without the lure falling right back under my boat on the sink as far as spinning... about 30yds on 14#braid with the same lure... i just bout a few spinning reels, but i still haven't got used to it yet. it drives me crazy that i cant pick up the slack very fast so i dont really use them (even though i should for more finesse, but i have just about got that mastered with the baitcaster)

i feel your pain. I just got permission to fish a water shed (i have to pay $3 every time i go).. anyways, i had been 6 times with not even a nibble. I finally started watching other guys, and made sure it was bass fishers. I watched their pattern, and then talked to people who were putting in boats, just asking where the bass were. I finally hit them, and without the help of the fishers there. I found where the inlets/outlets were, and started fishing the points or anything that looked like an ambush spot for bass. The best baits i have found to be productive so far is the floating rattle trap, and a 1/8oz Texas rigged Junebug worm in 7.5" another guy there was using 4" green pumkin ringers, but that was while the bass were still on the bed.

just last thursday i was able to do my "New Every 2" with Verizon. Well I took off early that day from work, went got the phone, and decided since it was 3:00pm I would go put the boat in the water. Well I got in the water, with my BRAND new cell phone, and got to my honey hole. 4 casts later, i notice people hurrying like hell to get out of the water. I turn around (i was wearing head phones and sunglasses) and see the blackest skies coming up behind me. Now i'm about 600 yards away from the landing, in a 12' Jon Boat with 34# Thrust Trolling motor. I turn and go as fast as i can - against the wind. I finally make it back to the shore about 30min later, not thinking about the phone, i jumped out into the water to pull my jon boat up on the edge to go get the truck. Got the truck pulled down, put the back of the boat in the bed, and went down to about waist deep to pick up the front and slide it into the truck. Then the rain came. As soon as i put the straps on, i went to call my girl friend and remembered: YOU DUMMY, your phone is in your cargo pocket. Well i took it out, took out the battery, and put the heat on full blast. The temp outside was around 80, and i had stripped down to my boxers since my shorts were soaked. Well, i got about a mile from the house, and got pulled over by a state trooper. I saw him, and i was frantically trying to get my shorts back on (female trooper), i was swerving all over the road (I was driving my dads small straight drive truck). Anyways, she freakin stopped me because she thought i was my dad who she served with in the military. Needless to say, as far as i got with the shorts was around my ankles. She didnt say much, but i got the weirdest look from her, i looked down, and the horse was coming out of the barn. She let me go on my way, but i don't even carry my phone with me anymore. i can replace the phones, but the wet weiner would be too much for me to handle again.

if you fish ponds like i do, and being on the bank - there are only 2 lures that i use 95% of the time 1 - 6-7.5" plastic worms with a ribbontail in 2 colors: junebug (lots of action for me right now) and green pumpkin; fish them parallel to the bank, and make sure to cast ahead of you, most bass are sitting on the edge and can see/hear you when you walk up 2 - spinnerbaits: mostly in the 1/8oz size for bank fishing; colors that are working for me right now, well its Strike King 1/8oz colorado blade with Chartreuse head with blue/chart/clear strands; the other color is completely chartreuse, and white just my .02 but there are 2 bodies of water that i only bank fish and these are the presentations that work best for me

it may just be the lake i fish in, but the replenshing factor exists, but its more like 5-6 3#to 10# bass staying together in the same spot on top of each other. the area im talking of is at the end of a creek channel which is a 2' flat on the shoreline... about 30 yards out it hits the creek channel which dips down to 5' to 6'. shad are abundant on this end of the lake as well, and the last 4# i caught had 3 - 2-3' shad in his belly - i check out most bass i clean just to see what they are eating on. Most of them though seem to have a ton of quarter sized bark or deadwood in them, is that something they generally eat or are they eating worms/crawfish like that off them?

i was with a bar of LAVA Soap... no need for anything other than that for me - there is no smell left when i use it... it also works for those "morning fish" ;D

in one particular lake i fish, my "honey-hole" is a flat which is about 2' deep on the lower end of the lake. The temps recently have been holding in the mid to upper 80s and I have been getting quality size bass averaging in size from 1# up to 10#... I have been using a bullet weighted worm in junebug color (7.5" Yum Ribbontail) on a 2/0 Gama EWG hook. Today I went back after a rain from last night - water temp was holding strong at 79-80 and I was still tearing them up with that junebug worm. I caught 1 - 3#, 1 - 5#, and lost one at the boat that was easily hitting 10#. A guy came up beside me in another boat and asked what I was using - he was using a rattle-trap. I told him to fish around with me and sure enough, he pulled out a 10# and a few in the 5-6# range in a matter of 30min... (i had been there for 4 hours and only caught 2 with my worm).. I tried spinnerbaits (large and small), topwaters, almost everything i had and no hits - switched back to the same rattle trap like he was using and tore them up again. I was using my Daiwa Alphas Ito and i was reeling as fast as i could and they where chasing it like it was their last meal i used that rat-l-trap... but i still dont like them so fish the worms slow, and crankbaits fast

white 4" lizards have been pretty lucky for me lately in the rivers.. come to think of it, those lizards got mixed in with some chartreuse worms and got faded.... i think i just answered my question - white/chartreuse would probably be the colors. honestly, last time i fished this river a 1/8oz strike king spinnerbait in blue/chart/clear caught all kinds of fish all day long cuz that was the only thing i could get the bass to hit.

i fish a small cove similar to the one you are talking about - water is already in the mid 80s and as the bait fish are moving to that end of the lake (right on a creek channel = plenty of oxygen) so are the big boys. yesterday we had big storms and probably the first rain in over a month. This morning was still raining but I still went out. There was a guy already in my fishing spot when i got back there and he told me he had already caught 7 bass and the largest being a 10lb'r. That water last week had only been 8" and was near 90degrees. This morning it was around 1' and the temp was in the low-mid 70s. He said he caught that fish on a 4" curly tail green worm and all the other's on a straight junebug worm.

i was talking to one of the weigh guys and he said he wore them because of the smell left on his hands... he also said he had a few "frantic" ones and he didnt get finned anymore

ok.. I just saw how big your lake was... in my 10acre pond which is 15' deep... it went from 60 to 71(checked last night) in 2 weeks.. .we've just had a spell of high days ranging from mid 70s to low 80s... so it could go up considerably, then again i have no idea on an 18000 acre lake

I havent eaten them.. but there are people where I live that eat it, coon, and possum... yes i live in the BOONEDOCKS! either way I dont have a problem with beavers anymore. i usually catch between 20 and 25 fish everytime I go and they average in size from 2 to 5lbs (it was built in 1958). no one fishes it but me and unless you like swimming with water moccasins as big as your boat, i dont think that will happen.

just to get things clear... I dont kill beavers for the fun of it, but when they block up my inlets and outlets it causes problems to my lake. I haven't had otters, but beavers on the other hand are a different story. As for wounding instead of quick killing, it's the only thing that worked. I was tired of trapping and I really don't have the time to catch every single one that was there. One wounded and dead seems better to me than killing the 7 different ones that were in there and new ones making homes every week. I'm not one to think killing is the way to solve everything, but it seemed to take care of my problem, and as inhumane as it may be, I'll do it again before I let it become a nuisance like before when I thought they were cool to watch and stopped up the waterflow to my lake.

I had this same problem a few years ago... a guy told me not to kill the otters/beavers, but to wound them and let them go back into their den where they die and run off others. It took about a year for the bass to relax somewhat. The other problem I was told by DNR was that my pond was about a foot low due to lack of rain... I dont know what your weather conditions are, but down here we are hurting for rain, well atleast my pond is. As for catching the fish, try not to even go near the pond for about a month (I know it sucks) but I was told if it's visited and fished regularly the fish get spooked (especially in a small sized pond). The other way to catch them is to fish it after sunset and before sunrise. I know the times suck, but I catch the largest bass at this time. You might even try feeding them dog food (just a little bit) each time you come down so that when they do see you they expect food. Also, have you tried using live minnows? I know its not as fun as artificial, but if you want some action minnows or crickets work pretty good, its what I did for a year.

I may be just plain dumb (which is very possible), but how are they killing only the SM and Pike without killing the other fish?

the bass in my lake were doing the same thing yesterday (feeding off their young).. anyways, i threw out a weightless Sizmic Horny Toad and twitched it across the top of the water. After they would make a run, I would throuw it out and they would be running with it within 5sec of it hitting the water