Renesis07

Nice catch!

For me personally, I use my caster for heavier tackle such as craw jigs, spinners, buzzbaits, crank baits, etc. I use my spinning real for my texas rigs, plastics, drop shot, etc. This has worked for me personally. Few of my fishing buddies look at me like I'm crazy when I'm fishing with a spinning reel getting into cover with a powerworm, but I personally prefer and have more accuracy with anything 'lighter' on a spinning reel. However, when it comes to the heavier lures, I won't use anything but my caster. My humble .02.

Last night while fishing I got a snag and the lure came flying at me and hit the side of my leg. I was wearing cargo shorts so nothing happened and I really didn't give it a second thought. Now I'm reading these stories and it makes you think twice....

Depends on what you're casting.

Smallmouth fight like hell! It always feels like you're reeling in a monster and out comes a 12" smallmouth .... lol Largemouth are fun, but smallies definitely put up the better fight.

I'm not necessarily a beginner, but wanted a medium action pole to use for light plastics and drop shot and didn't feel like dropping money on a st Croix or other brands. I went to Dicks Sporting Goods and actually found a really nice Diawa rod and reel combo for like, $60 or something around that. Honestly, probably my favorite fishing pole I have ever owned. I beat the hell out of this pole and it holds up like a champ, I feel every strike, accuracy is spot on. Wish I had more info but I'm at work, if you want any more info, just shoot me a PM and I'll take a look when I get home. Just picked it up a few weeks back so I'm sure it's still out in stores. Or, as suggested above, lightning rods are good for a beginner rod. I've owned 2 of them, never had an issue. I currently have one I use mainly for spinner baits/buzzbaits. It's a casting reel however, so I was having a hard time with lighter tackle, hence the spinning rod setup I just bought.

Thanks for the welcomes guys, glad to be hear. Learned a lot already, and caught a few fish already off some stuff I read on here.

Went to Lake Geneva with my brother and old man on Weds on his boat. Murdered them, literally caught over a dozen largemouth, 6 smallmouth, and over a dozen rock bass. My brothers kids also caught a few perch/ sun fish on crawlers off the back of the boat. Probably the best fishing day I've ever had. Drop shot killed them. Went last night locally off the shore and caught 2, it's hard to be happy now after a day like Weds haha.

Gave it a shot yesterday. Granted it wasn't the best time to give it a try. It was around 3PM with a 'real feel' of 105, so it was hot and the fish weren't biting on anything. Was able to pull one out on a jig n craw by the waterfall. Not discouraged yet, I have a hunch fishing closer to dusk time will bring better results. Thanks for all the help.

I got very lucky with my girl. I'm heavily into cars and just got back into fishing this year. She has gotten herself involved in both and loves it now. My first time fishing this year, she caught a largemouth on a nightcrawler/bobber setup lol. She was hooked from there. Now I've been showing her how to use buzzbaits and plastics. Definitely makes life so much easier and better when your partner enjoys doing the same things you do.

Thanks guys! I was BS'n with my brother and he said to try the jig n craw setup too. I plan to head to bass pro tomorrow and stock up on some more tackle. This is what you guys are talking about right? (Google image, not mine, just confirming I'm thinking the same thing)

Haha! I agree, what do you think I should start with? Like I said, I usually work shorelines so I'm kind of clueless where to even start.

As mentioned in my intro thread, this is my first year really getting back into fishing in years. This pond is very close to where I live and has almost been my 'trial and error' pond as I've been trying new baits, rigs, and overall just wiping the dust off the limited skills I once had. Reason I'm asking for suggestions is because I KNOW there are big bass in here, fact. I fish a lot as dusk/early evening and see these hogs jumping further out from the shore, yet all I ever hook are the small guys. Granted, being a shoreline fisherman, I've always gravitated towards parallel casting and working the shorelines with a texas rig. I am having a lot of success in catching fish, however it's gotten to the point now where I'm at a plateau with this lake. The one area I have had ZERO luck with is the deep water/middle of the lake, which is why I'm posting. I cropped a map as well as descriptions of what I'm currently doing and what is successful for me NOW. Keep in mind, this lake is a lot smaller than it looks in this map. A good point of reference is the doc (circled in blue), it is probably 15-20 feet long, just to give you an idea. Casting from that doc with a heavy bait I can get pretty close to the other side of the pond. I have not confirmed how deep it is in the middle, but taking a guess from throwing baits in and letting them hit the bottom, I'd guess 4-6 feet, maybe a couple feet deeper in other parts. Red - Small waterfall where overflow comes in. Have luck here when it's covered in shade and usually can pull out 1 or 2 small bass on a powerworm (red shad or motor oil) Yellow - My normal spots to parallel cast, usually stand on rocks that are exposed out of the water (or work plastics over the rocks when they're submerged after rain). These 3 spots have been gold on the shoreline for me. However like I mentioned, these are the little guys, I want to pull a fish out bigger than a 1-2lbs Green - My buzzbait territory. Have had tremendous success at dusk with these spots. Please note the left shoreline in green is very rocky and has a fairly steep drop off. Blue - The dock. I've casted from here into the deeper waters with no luck. Also considered even trying different rigs like Carolina rigs or drop shotting from here (more or less just to get experience using these rigs, I've honestly never tried) The lake has fairly cloudy water, you can see 1-2 feet down and that's about it, however it's not mud either, lots of rocks. A little vegetation around the shorelines but it seems to be more rocks in the middle than anything. However, I have no way of confirming this, I will say that I was able to cast rattletraps in the middle and bring it back in with no weeds on the hooks. Aside from rattletraps, spinner baits, and plastics, I haven't tried too much else. What do you guys think?

Any of you guys fish at Whalon lake in Woodridge? I know drop shotting from a boat is where it's at, but any suggestions from the shore? I always do good at this lake in the spring but seem to skunk over the summer, especially once the lake gets crowded. Thanks!

To be fair, I haven't fish much at Dawn to compare. However so far this season my favorite time to fish is right around 745. Get out to the spots and get a couple on plastics to get 'warmed up', then around 815 that sun starts dropping and the splashes start. I usually work a buzzbait on the shores until 930-10 (30-45 minutes past sundown) and will nail them the entire time. Buzzbait fishing has been my best luck this season. I just need to catch something of size already!

I'd guess 4-4.5. As stated above, if that fish had some more meat on the bones it could easily push 5-6#. My 6lb 1oz largemouth I caught (my pb I've actually weighed) was right around that size in length. If memory serves me right of course, this was many years back.

Nice! What's the number to beat? I haven't caught anything worth bragging about yet. The one decent size I caught I didn't have a scale, but the arm scale was calling for maybe 3#. Lots of fish caught, nothing of size yet.

Checking in from Lisle! Nice to see some IL guys on the forums.

Oh nice! I was looking for a IL thread... I'll check it out, thanks!

Thanks for the suggestions. Cool to see someone local on here! I grew up in northern IL (Lindenhurst area) and moved to Lisle a couple years back to get closer to work. If you know of any good spots in Dupage county let me know, still finding my spots out this way. Up north you could throw a rock and hit a lake! (Guess that's why it's called lake county)

Are there any paints to avoid? I have some spinner baits that have knicked paint from bumping rocks, I was worried to 'touch them up' since I didn't know if there was a certain paint to use/not use.... I may try the nail polish suggestion above

Thanks, happy to be here. Shouldn't be reading this forum at work, all I can think about is fishing now.... ha

That spot looks awesome! I need to find a spot like that out here

At least around here (Illinois), I was having good luck near runoffs and in the shallows by newly submerged rocks/terrain that was normally exposed. Had a hard time my first time out when everything was flooded but that was where I found them hiding.

Thanks!