jb_adams

I also prefer sammies, but sometimes when my target fish are smaller than usual, I'll tie on a Zara Puppy (after replacing the hooks with Gammys - this is important) and have a blast. I too have learned replacing the hooks the hard way. After you miss several fish and one big bass on a puppy, I finally learned to replace the hooks. The barbs on the factory hooks are so small a fat brim could get loose.

Well, I've got a plan of action for tomorrow morning. We'll see if I'm right or not. I'm going to try Indian creek first because it's a large cove near deep water. I've always had good luck finding fish all summer with that approach and I feel like I'll have similar results. If that doesn't produce fish, I'll head over to the Cliffty area. If that doesn't produce by mid afternoon, I'll load up and head over to Hickory Creek. One of the main reasons I started a poll was to get some feedback and to determine where most anglers go. Where most anglers go is not where I'm going. There is a 50/50 chance that Hickory Creek is the place to be or it could be a heavily pressured area because most people are there right now. I'd rather go to a place that's not fished that often if I feel fish are there. We'll see if I'm right. By tomorrow afternoon, I will have covered a lot of water and will be ready for a fishing trip with my partner on Sat. If I can find fish, I should be able to catch a limit at least. Tomorrow is the third day of a cold front and the temps are warming up so it should be good weather. Only problem is the barom. pressure has dropped below 30 all day today. That low pressure should be good as long as it doesn't drop too low. Right now is a great afternoon to be on the water! I'll report back with a full report tomorrow evening (and hopefully some pictures to go with the fish tale).

Yep, I've become a Rapala and LC addict now. There's just something about throwing a Rapala. I like my Norman and Cotton Cordell but I'm feeling the love from Rapala right now! ;D I'll be throwing my new Sammy first thing tomorrow morning. I'll think about you guys that are working will I'm fishing. (not really)

You guys must be flipping into some nasty stuff to need braid, bursh hogs, beavers, etc. Makes me jealous! Come down to my lake where you have to search to find a laydown and the water is clear for about 80% of the lake. My buddy's favorite story is about me loosing $5 on a bet. A sunny blue bird sky summer morning, I'm hot and thinking we need to try some shade for a while after not getting any bites on a shoreline. He flips a finesse jig with grub trailer into a small brush pile on a sunny bank. I said, "I'll bet you $5 you don't pull a bass out of there". It defied logic because the bass was in direct sunlight in less than 4ft of water. I'll be darn if he didn't pull out a decent bass. He LOVES that story.... The point is, we use finesse jigs because the larger jigs just seem to intimidate the bass. I've tried football jigs with Yum Craws, jig-n-pig, brush hogs, etc. They just don't bite them that often. Some days they want a big meal, other days they want a light snack.

You crack me up Avid! Yep, I'm going to get a reel and rig it with braid just for this bait. It will take me a while to get used to using braid I'm sure.

How do you fish a jig in 40ft? If the bass are suspended at 25-30ft, how do you fish a jig?

I finally bought some baits from Brent. I can't remember if I clicked through the banner or not. DARN! Guess I'll have to place another order soon! ;D

OK, Raul.....who makes that one? I tried finding it on *** and couldn't find it. I found some here. Anyone got any others? http://www.tourneyjigs.com/shaky-head-jigs.htm The little ones have screw type bait holders.

Yep, but with a cork-screw bait holder.

Know where I can find a good shakey head style jig with an EWG hook? I love Spot Removers and the kind with cork-screw heads but I want an EWG hook for using senko style plastics.

Why isn't there a list of discounts per advertiser? I've made sure I clicked on the banner before and I didn't know if I benifited Bassresource or not. Also, how do I ensure I get a discount when ordering and who offers discounts? (besides ***....we already know he's tha man!)

Do you fish the BVA tournaments? I see "champion135" on other sites.

Well I will definately have some of these come next spring. I found the Horney Toad hook with the cork-screw. That's definately the only way to go. I did the "bend the hook" thing too. Haven't used it yet but I've got a Zoom toad in the box when the opportunity comes. I'd really like to try that new Rage Tail shad or toad on a spring morning in clear water. It will be something the bass around here haven't seen and it is much more realistic and more "finesse" style than a clacker buzzbait. It just seems less threatening and more realistic. Sometimes, that's what they want. Other times, they want "the clacker".

I'm not cranking 30-40ft. I'm just using shallow water cranks and sometimes DD14's over 30-40ft of water with tree structure. The fish suspend about 20ft down and sometimes will come up to 15ft or more to get the crankbait. Sorry, should have made that clear. Or come back with a comment like, "well I use a clear bill about 12 inches long on a DD22....made it myself!" ;D

Tried it already this weekend. Not much luck in coves or main lake points. We weren't even finding fish on the fish finder.

I've got an entire box with flippin jigs. Haven't caught a fish on one yet but the day is coming. My partner catches bass left and right on jigs. I just don't use them as often as he does. He fished a couple of tournaments with some pros and learned a lot about finesse jigs. "WE" (my partner & I) prefer Eakins jigs in 3/16 to 7/16oz. finesse jigs. We've recently switched to spider jigs because the wire brush gaurd is less visible in clear water and offers a smaller profile. As for colors, usually some type of green combo. If I can find a good green with purple flake, I'd be on it like a tic on a hound. That would be a killer color combo. They make it, just hard to find locally. You guys would either clean house on my lake or catch nothing at all using brush hogs and other bigger baits. You've got my curiosity up now though. We finesse fish all the time so I'll have to try the larger profile baits since this time of year, the bass go after large prey when they are feeding.

Very true......here's the proof. LM Bass on a 1/2oz Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap and the bass was only 10" if that. What gets me is I can't catch a bass on a Rat-L-Trap with a steady retrieve. Every bass I've caught on a trap has hit it within seconds of it hitting the water. I think I hit this bass in the head because he hit it a second after it splashed the water. What I can't overcome is catching bass on a trap consistently. I've tried all kinds of retrieves.

10-13ft....hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaa Sorry, my lake is really deep and clear. I'm used to cranking in 30-40ft with all kinds of cranks. I'd say 10-13 is intermediate like RW said. A Norman Thin N or DD14 will work if you reel slow and suspend it with short jerks. If you feel it banging the bottom, that can be good at certain times of year in certain areas. Other times, it's begging to loose a lure and cut your line. Not to mention beat up your crank. You should really try a Rapala Shad Rap. These are great for that depth and the size is just right for suspending, cranking, bouncing, etc.

I'd say some in places, the Spook will work better because it has less action. By less I mean it doesn't jump and dart as cast and erratic as the Sammy. That subtle difference could mean a fish or several fish. Bone is an excellent color too!

I prefer clear but that's because I know it produced REALLY well this summer with a Zara Puppy. When I couldn't get a bite on anything at all, I could always count on a clear Zara Puppy. My lake has really clear water too though so that is why I chose clear. A buddy of mine asked, "have you tried a clear spook yet?" and I said no. He said, "well there's your problem!" I have several clear topwater baits and they all work. I personally think the clear will work on stained water as well. I missed a huge bass on a private pond with the Zara Puppy. The clear plastic makes it harder for the bass to see and determine if it's real or fake. They assume it's real and strike. When they strike, you know it too!

Well I guess you hear plenty of stories about how tough this lake can be. Unless you literally "live on the lake" and fish just about every day, it's hard for a weekend angler to keep up. The pros come in here every year for the FLW series and they all struggle. Last year, the top two weigh-ins were 12lbs with 5 fish. They were darn proud of that limit too! I tried some main lake points Avid. They just weren't there but, it could have been that area of the lake. I've been to the river end, mid-lake in several coves and main lake structure. I did see some on the sonar on my way home though. There was a deep drop about 30yds. away from the point and there were a couple fish suspended but I was on my way to the ramp so I didn't stop. I haven't been to the dam end of the lake yet so I'm going to try my luck Friday there. Oh Avid, I tried my Wiggle Wart this weekend! I LOOOOOVVVVE the action this thing has! Thanks Avid for praising the Wiggle Wart as an excellent shallow water crank. I'll have to try it on a pond I know in shallow water.

Yep, got the swaybacks too. You're right. I still can't believe how much further these things cast. I almost lost it on the first cast when I was making an "easy" cast. It almost landed 30ft up the bank about 40 yards away till I grabbed the line and gave the rod a jerk. The line was singing off my spinning reel. It's easily big enough for a baitcaster. I'm used to using my Spooks on spinning tackle.

That's Indian Creek I think you're talking about. Already had that in mind for a trip Friday. I'm taking two days off for fishing. Poor me! Already thought of using a c-rig too so I must be thinkin' right! Thanks Catt! If I don't find fish on the North end, I'll know where to look then. I've got a few more holes on the lake that I like and I think the middle of the larger lake areas (where everyone is driving instead of fishing) is where the fish might be.

I finally bought my first Lucky Craft bait. "For $16, it had better catch a ton of fish. That's the most I've spent on one bait so far." That's what I told my partner as we were on our way to the launch. After I tied it on and retrieved it for the first time, I was so "hooked" on the Sammy that I can't believe it took me so long. I've seen imitation Sammy baits before and I have a few. Nothing works as well as the Sammy as far as I know. In comparison to the Zara Spook, Super Spook, Zara Puppy, etc., the action is so much more realistic and much more erratic. The thing casts further too. WAY further than the Spook. The bait looks like it's trying to jump out of the water when you "walk the dog" and it seems to dart harder and more erratic. I'd say the Spook is more of a finesse "walk the dog" than the Sammy because it has less action. I think it was Raul who convenced me to buy one. He made a statement in a post somewhere here that said something to the affect of the Sammy being superior than the Spook. He's right!

Pretty close to what happened to me in AR. Except, the bass never followed the smaller baitfish into the back of coves. The algae bloom was so intense, any water less than 20ft was pointless fishing it because there were no bass there even though the shad were there by the thousands. The bass had pulled off to deeper water and either hanging near structure or at the mouth of the coves waiting for the baitfish to come out. Now, the water temp is in the low 60's and the bite has shut down really low. The bass that we have caught are definately healthier than we have seen in the past. That's a good sign. Problem is, I can't seem to find them. I haven't looked out into the main lake yet but that is my next strategy.