Whopper-Stopper

I keep a journal when I'm fishing new places. This site has a great fishing log that I use. The only time I record anything on lakes that I'm familar with is when I catch anything 3+ lbs.

Alandis: I hope I didn't sound rude when I said that I wasn't being vague. A bowfin looks like this. It is a junk fish that has teeth, breathes air, puts up a good fight and ruins perfectly good spinnerbaits.

Thanks for your ideas guys. I wasn't having trouble getting fish this morning but I know that when it starts to get really hot that the fishing will get tough. I'm just trying to get a head start on them. One more thing I learned is that you should make sure that the fish on the end of your line is a bass. I almost lip-landed a bowfin this morning that would have cut my thumb up pretty bad.

I wasn't being vague, thats all there is. The only thing I left out is that the water is stained and clear in areas that has grass on bottom.

I just started fishing a huge lake today. Actually, it is more of a marsh or a swamp than it is a lake. It is no more than 3 1/2 foot deep and bout 2/3 is covered in lily pads and other plants. In some places grass extends from the bottom all the way up to the surface. We went there this morning and caught a few bass and a bowfin on spinnerbaits and jigs. We lost one 3+ bass. There were decent bass hitting on top everywhere but we didn't use topwater because we were doing good on a spinnerbait. I would imagine that this lake would be tough when the water temps warm up. How would you guys fish this?

Last year I was fishing a spinnerbait. I made a pitch that was low and close to the water and had a 3.5 lb bass jump clear out of the water and grab the bait in the air. I guess he thought it was a dragonfly.

I frequently have bass bite the tails off of my storm swimbaits. I hate it when this happens because it ruins the lures action. I have 3 bags worth of tail-less swimbaits in my tackle box because I'm too big of a packrat to throw anything away. I also have had bass bite the tails off worms. It is bass that do this because I have actually seen them with the lure in there mouth when this happened. You can't blame everything on the turtles even though I hate the things and wish they'd move to a different lake. >

Glad I am not the only one haha! I always talk to myself when fishing or doing anything else for that matter. I'm glad to know that I'm not alone. Is it taking it to far when you tell the slicks to come back for a visit when there ten pounds?

I tried the sparkplug before but when I get snagged too far out it doesn't get them loose as well.

If tonight means that you'll be fishing at dark, I would use topwaters or spinner baits. These are about the easiest to fish in the dark. Dark colored baits help in muddy water but it helps even more if you use bigger baits in my opinion. Remember that in muddy water the fish will usually be right up against structure such as bushes, logs, rock, and maybe a low hanging tree limb. Now that you are hooked on bass fishing you'll never be able to get enough of it. You'll spend $500 a year on fishing gear and still think you don't have enough stuff. Good luck.

I would think you would be able to put it on the same way as you would put keys on it but maybe a snap swivel would be better.

I was talking with someone the other day and the conversation went to fishing. I mentioned something about losing a lure and he suggested that I get a key ring and tie it onto a separate rod. Then put the key ring on the snagged line. Begin walking around the lake until you are facing the direction you were pulling the lure. When you pull on the rod it should pull the lure loose. Obviously, this would be a great help for bank fisherman that are snagged to far out to use a lure retriever or send their rod in after it. Has this already been thought of or is it a new idea? I haven't heard of anyone doing this but I don't want to take credit for someone else's idea.

I hate fishing with a jig. It just doesn't feel natural to me. I hate it when nothing else is working and I have to switch to a jig to catch fish. It always works for me but I think they are the most annoying things to fish with. Maybe I'm just picky. :-? You need to use more dynamite at one time.

I think that they get bigger than 6 inches I found a claw in my lake today that was 3 1/2 in long. I wish I had found the whole craw so I could have measured him. Ours are kind of a brownish green color.

Soft plastics worked slow in midday; Spinnerbaits and topwater early mornings, late evenings and at night.

Just picture yourself playing golf as much as possible. Pretty soon you'll want to go fishing so bad that you can't stand it. ;D But seriously you might try using a fly rod. A bass on a fly rod is alot of fun. Bluegill are pretty fun too.

I have been losing a lot of fish on jigs lately. I usually lose them on the hookset. I began using scent and they began holding on a little longer. But I am still losing more fish than I should be. I tried sweeping the rod to the side and a hard upward stroke. I just now trimmed my weed guard, I don't know whether that will help or not. Can anyone help me figure this out? It cost me a 7+ lb bass this morning. >

I have been fishing at night and it's starting to pay off. I caught a 3.5 pounder last night and a 3 pounder the night before. Both were caught on a half-ounce black and blue jig.

The bait monkey is what made me blow this weeks paycheck on fishing gear. I came home with a couple of sacks of gear and realized I had bought mostly stuff that I already had and no matter how much I thought I badly needed extras while standing in the fishing section of walmart, I really didn't need them. The only useful thing I did get was a can of mosquito dope. Now I know why they staple your receipts to your sack when you check out at the sporting goods section. But I can't take the stuff back because I'll only wind up exchanging it for more stuff that I don't need. :-/

Phlourocarbon line and shorter casts. You want to let the jig fall on a semi slack line. This way it falls straight down. The Phourocarbon line is more sensitive than mono.

Leave the Phones at home guys. We go fishing to get away from all that crap. Besides who wants to get to the lake at daylight in hopes of excellant topwater bite and peace and quit only to have it ruined by some guys funky sounding cell phone ring. Not me. Even if I did bring one with me though; I could be 10 yds from the water and it would still find its way in the lake. ;D

The lake that I am concentrating on is more of a very large pond than it is a lake. I am not sure how many acres. Its maximum depth is about 15 to 20 ft. The water is clear with about 4 to 5 ft visibility. Yes, they are northerns. No, there are no trout. Their primary forage is bluegill. The biggest fish that I know of being caught from there is the 7.5 lb that I caught. I think that I hooked into one that was bigger in march. I am not sure about structure and have yet to encounter a snag on the bottom. There are large trees in places around the sides; and one side of the lake is lined with busted up concrete. It has alot of shallow flats. There is only one dock. This is a man-made lake from the 60's. I have already caught a few quality fish from it. (4, 5 and 7 lbers.) If it has been there for 46 years, who's to say there isn't a 10 lb bass in there? Sinking some brushpiles is something that I have been considering; but I'm unsure of how large, how deep, what location, and how many. I think that the fewer I sink the better. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Hinkle: Yes I know that big fish can be shallow or with smaller fish. But I think that there are places with concentrations of big fish. What I am trying to find out is where these concentrations are. I have made catches like yours before but it seems that they were almost by accident. Earlier this year I was seeing plenty of big fish shallow whether spawning or otherwise. But when the spawn was over the bigger fish disapeared and the smaller fish remain. So I think it would be logical to say that the bigger fish moved to deeper water; How far and how deep I don't know. So I am now trying to develop a pattern to catch them.

The lake that I am concentrating on is more of a very large pond than it is a lake. I am not sure how many acres. Its maximum depth is about 15 to 20 ft. The water is clear with about 4 to 5 ft visibility. Yes, they are northerns. No, there are no trout. Their primary forage is bluegill. The biggest fish that I know of being caught from there is the 7.5 lb that I caught. I think that I hooked into one that was bigger in march. I am not sure about structure and have yet to encounter a snag on the bottom. There are large trees in places around the sides; and one side of the lake is lined with busted up concrete. It has alot of shallow flats. There is only one dock. This is a man-made lake from the 60's. I have already caught a few quality fish from it. (4, 5 and 7 lbers.) If it has been there for 46 years, who's to say there isn't a 10 lb bass in there? Sinking some brushpiles is something that I have been considering; but I'm unsure of how large, how deep, what location, and how many. I think that the fewer I sink the better. Please correct me if I am wrong.

The other day me and a buddy of mine were in a boat pretty far from the truck. He hooked a bass and hooked himself in the back of the hand down past the barb right up against a big vein with the fish still attached. Thankfully we got it out without any problems. I now keep a Pair of side cuts and bandages with me at all times while fishing. We were at least 45 min. from a hospital. What is the proper thing to do in this situation?