iceintheveins

Power pro hands down.

Slow rolling a spinnerbait with water in the low 50s will work, especially if you add a lift/drop retrieve in there at times. I find spinnerbaits work best once the water is warmer and weedgrowth has set it, but sometimes it's a good presentation to cover water early in the year. I would use smaller models this time of year though. And spinnerbaits work in both choppy and glass like water. I admit I catch the bulk of my bass in the low 50s on senkos, jig/pigs, tubes, and various other finesse plastics. A suspending jerkbait or even a shallow diving crank, fished with a stop and go retrieve, works as well.

If your fishing thicker weeds, I would go with braid of about 20 pound test. Power Pro is by far the best braid IMO.

Thanks guys. I will be froggin' the slop lots this year. Should I go with heavy mono or a braid/fluoro setup?

The lure is deadly on big bass (big smallies too) and all pike. Fantastic bait. Worth every penny.

How many frog fans do we have here? I have a couple of the original snagg proof frogs and tournie series ones. I know they are effective around pads and matted weeds. Are they worth throwing and do they work as good or better than say, poppers or buzzbaits?

Bomber Fat A, Bandit footloose, worden's timber tiger.

I don't know if they really effect the action, but sometimes I think they do and that's why I don't use them. Might be a mental thing though.

Right now I would fish the reservoir areas of the river, near rocky rip rap, with either float n flys, or finesse grubs fished deep and slow. Jigging spoons and tailspinners might work as well.

Hi I live in Western Colorado and there is some decent bass fishing here, which could be much better if the DOW would actually protect them and augment fisheries by stocking to help enhance them. I am a largemouth and smallmouth fool. There are some big bass in Colorado, it is warmer with a longer growing season than many Northern states, but overharvest devastates some fisheries. I have caught several largemouth in the 6 - 7 pound range, and numerous 5 pound smallies. If you guys want the straight beef on Colorado Bass Fishing, come join us at WesternSlopeAnglers.com. The Colorado bass association is on our site, and we give tips and tactics, along with promoting catch and release and protection/enhancement of current bass fisheries.

If the water is clear I will use a weightless rigged senko for any tough bite. It it's murky, a black jig with a black or purple pork frog.

Usually a tick tick or added weight.

The telescopic lure retriever from bass pro shops works great if your lure is caught in less than 18' of water. Basically never fails. The bill dance, hound dog type retiever works well for deeper baits but it has a much lower sucess rate. Both should be in your boat, especially if you like to throw 10 dollar plus jerkbaits like I do.

They will work just about any way but I love to hop them around rocky and brushy rip rap on a football jig with a weedguard. Both largies and smallies love em.

Boats are not the primary means of transporting these species, waterfowl are. Closures are wrong. If California has a ballot measure process in these municipalities, people need to gather signatures and put it up for a public vote. No matter what the outcome, the water goons can do nothing. I am sick and tired of these baloney closures that don't protect anything.

I think very much the opposite. A great line,best Mono made IMHO, maybe you got a bad batch, or need to learn better knot tying. I tie good knots and never have a problem with other lines of similar test. I tried several spools and it was the same thing, just terrible knot strength.

I have found braid takes away from the blooping and blipping actions of a popper, and it just makes a weird splash instead of the plop that usually triggers strikes. Go with mono all the way.

The Columbia is an awesome smallie fishery, but it's so huge and the current so strong (except in the reservoir sections) that it can intimidate you. I think a better bet would be the Yakima River in the Yakima/Prosser area. Great smallie fishing and a small boat is all you need. Plus it's wadeable.

Avoid Berkley Sensation like the plague. It has terrible knot strength, no matter what knot you use. IT SUCKS!

I used to live in Western Washington. If you have a good sized boat, Lake Washington near Seattle is great for smallies. Also, the middle and lower Yakima river are GREAT for smallies as well.

I fish senkos the same way I fish flukes, weightless and on an EWG hook. Senkos sink faster and thus are better for deeper water or sluggish bass. I give them a more gentle lift/twitch than I do a fluke, and I fish them a little slower. The flukes work better for shallow water presentations or when you need a slow fall. Both types of lures are must haves in your tackle box and they produce probably half of my bass in clearer water conditions.

The no scent no salt restriction has been repealed on the Western Colorado warmwater lakes, but I'm not sure about Quincy. We will work on that too.

They are worth every penny. Great on bass and LETHAL on pike.

I don't feel scent attracts bass from long distances like advertisements claim. I think it just helps them hold on a bit longer, or PERHAPS commit more often when they are near a lure.

Oh and if the water isn't murky, use a 20 pound fluoro leader.