Needemp

I have to take the other side on this one. I do agree what you are saying if you just fish for fun. I disagree if you truly want to be the best. Can't tell me that Rick Clunn, KVD, Bill Dance, etc. are just really lucky. There is a lot more to it than just being interesting.

All Powerbaits baby

Personally. I think if you fish slow all the time, or you gun and run all the time, then you will be successful only part of the time. How big of a part of that time is debatable. There are times that you have to fish fast to catch good numbers of quality bass. There are times you have to slow down. Determining when those times are is what separates good fisherman from great fisherman. The guy that ONLY fishes slow has more bad days than the guy that realizes, "Hey, slow isn't gonna cut it today, so I better speed up my retrieve." The fisherman that can do that is who I admire because to me, he is versatile and has the intelligence to put everything together consistently. Just my opinion!

Welcome JamesMc, unfortunately you moved to one of the worst cities when it comes to good fishing. The closest lake that has big bass and numbers of small ones is in Waterloo. It's about a half an hour from St. Louis depending where you live. But if you are going to drive to BW, then you might as well drive a little extra to Waterloo. Other than that, you have to drive more than an hour to get to a descent lake.

It depends what kind of lake. If there is a map, then I will plan all my areas at home and go to those sites to check them out. If it is a smaller lake without a map, then you kinda have to map it out with a depth finder. There areas I choose are based on the seasonal phase bass should be in. Then I factor in cold fronts, rising water, current, etc. and adjust accordingly.

Mendota, a lot has been said about lure choice and that is important, but it doesn't matter what you use if you are not in the area of big fish. You need to find out how to locate bigger bass. There are sweet spots that hold bigger fish in all lakes. A standard answer of finding points, creek channels, under water stump-flats, vegitation, etc. are the only basic answer you can be given by those of us that don't know your lake. You need to find out what these terms mean, as to how they relate to your lake. For instance, does your lake have points? Is there vegitation? Is that vegitation close to deep water? Better yet, is there a channel by that vegitation? If yes, then there is a perfect spot to start working. Location Location Location!

I use a Gammy jig, and make my own skirt. Colors are PBJ, watermelon/green, black/blue and white.

Honestly, it depends on what you want. If you catch big bass quite often and don't like loosing them when you have them hooked, then I would not use cheap hooks, or even light wire hooks all the time. Think about it, what if you hook the biggest bass of your life and it comes off because the hook wasn't sharp enough or it straitened out? That would suck. If you are prepared for success, then you have a chance to be successful. But if you prepare to fail, well then...

Thanks Five, I usually don't go back. If this is beat to death then that's fine. I was wondering though why this was read so many times and not responded to?

I agree with you Ozarkie, I don't fish beds for two reasons. One is the ethics of it. But another reason is they are males. I would rather target big ole spawned out females. Just my preference. Another issue is the fishing for males while they are protecting their fry. Sure you can release them and they might be able to return to them, but what if they don't? Don't get me wrong, I do believe mother nature takes care of her own. In good strong lakes, catching the bedding and guarding bass won't hurt it that much, but why mess with natures plan when there are other options? I guess tournaments are the only exception only out of necessity.

You just show up. We have a tourny at Mark Twain next weekend. I think there is a meeting in 2 1/2 weeks from now on a Wednesday. So for it has been fun.

Unfortunately, BW is a very pressured area. I have been out there a couple of times this year, but not to catch fish, just play with some lures and techniques. I would say that if you are gonna catch any nice bass that you have to work pretty hard. First off I would try to find a lake that doesn't look like it gets fished all that much in a boat. Second, I would fish the shorelines where there is no access to bank fisherman. Third, I would use a depth finder to find structure and cover(some lakes are full of cover and structure) that is away from the shore. Fourth, remember that if a spot looks good to you from above the water, then it looks good to everyone else as well and gets hit hard. Finally, I would pick a lake or two and get to know them real well, as opposed to jumpin around. Hope this helps.

Therapy? No. Fun? Yes. To me it is a passion. Something that I work real hard at. The same as a baseball player I would imagine. After a day on the water I am beat. I am tired physical and mentally. That level of concentration and physical work wears me out. I strive to become better and better. To me, I don't consider it relaxing. HOWEVER I do find thinking about fishing very therapeutic. At work or at home I can use it to ease my mind and stress. I love thinking and talking about it when I am not doing it. That does relax me. That's one of the reasons I like this forum.

I have fished storm swims quite a bit last year. You said you throw the bluegill, if it is their heavy sinking one, then your best bet is to jig it, yo-yo it or burn it. It just sinks too fast for a slow presentation. If you are talking about their bluegill that has a small crankbait lip, then throw it away If you buy the storm swims, the one I recommend the most is the suspending, rattling, jerk swimbaits. I have had quite a bit of success with those. The best retrieve most of the time is a slow, steady one that just barely gets the tail moving. Watch out though, I have had some monster hits on them ;D. But with retrieves, the best advise I have ever heard is to find out what mood the baitfish are in and make your lure do that. For instance, the falling and rising of the barometer can cause baitfish and even bass to become jittery or real calm. A little homework and you will have a better idea what the forage should be doing and maybe what they are doing. Then match the action of your lure according to how the baitfish are acting.

Yeah, that would be true if you fish that much. What about concentration level? Have you noticed a difference between your on days and off days? I notice that when I can't focus like I need to, accuracy is off. But when I am focused, it's a lot better.

I would imagine the problem is that when you practice at home, there is nothing in your way, you are flat footed and stable and weather probably doesn't play much of a role. Out on the boat you have the wind, the boat moving with the waves, and if you control the boat yourself, that takes effort and steals some concentration. At home all you do is concentrate and flip repetitive casts without interruption. That's usually not the case on the water. You also have the seat, trolling motor and possibly another fisherman to deal with. I would suggest trying to create as many hindrances that you recognize out on the water, at home and practice that way. Just my opinion.

Rolo is right on! I use Powerbait Critter Craws because I like the fact that bass hold on longer to the jig than any other plastic I have used. They are more expensive, but I need the little extra they give me.

I don't think you looked at every angle when you posted your comment FlyPhisher. What if he used it for prefishing and got a good look at the cover he would target, and then tourny day came and he didn't feel it necessary to stick it down there and spook fish. I am not saying that is what he did, but if you don't know, maybe you shouldn't accuse someone of being decietful. I know your not ripping the guy, but what you said does cast a negative shadow, all be it a little one, over his integrity. Just my opinion.

All the areas I knew at LOZ were basically summer and fall places. So I tried mainly all new areas. I marked all the places on my maps that had current and semi-steep to steep rocky banks. I then went to all the areas I had marked and checked to see what the rock was like. By Friday I knew that the slab rock would not produce and that chunk rock and swiss cheese rock was producing. I figured out that the spawned out females would be up on the shallow flats in the morning or any real low light condition, and then with increased light, they would move to the steep drop offs in about 8 to 15 feet of water. They only preferred 3/8 oz jigs, compared to 1/2 or 1/4 oz. I tried all 3, even when I got a strike, I would throw that 1/4 oz up there and they wouldn't touch it. I know there had to be other patterns that worked, but this one produced good size fish all week. The neat thing about it was I caught more keepers than I did non-keepers.

I have been putting a lot of time the last 2 years in becoming a consistent angler and it seems to be coming together for me. I just hope it lasts. Two weeks ago I had the best day I have ever had at the MO Bass-resources members tourny at Little Dixie. I caught a 5lbs 4oz, 6lbs 8oz and an 8lbs 3oz. This week, I was pretty successful again while at Lake of the Ozarks, at least by my standards. I got to the lake on Wednesday night and left Sunday morning. I caught at least a 5+ pound bass all five days. I only had 20 minutes of daylight Wednesday to fish. But Thur, Fri, Sat and Sun I started at 6 to 6:30am and had a limit by 10am. Wed night was a 5+ in about 45 minutes of fishing. Thur was 5 keepers at 16 1/2 pounds with a 5+lber and 4 1/2lber. Fri was 6 keepers with the best 5 at 17 1/2 pounds with a 5+ and four 3+lbers. Sat was 8 keepers with the best 5 at 20 pounds with a 5+, three 4lbers and a 3. (I lost a 5+ due to not checking the sharpness of the hook) Sunday was the day I had to leave and only had 3 hours to fish, but still had 5 keepers for 14 pounds with the very first cast producing a 5+ and third cast another keeper, oh and by the way, the very last cast I made another keeper. Amazingly enough, it only took an hour the first day to figure out the pattern and I was able to make enough adjustments to catch bass the rest of the trip. I did not target bedding bass or males, I decided to go after the post spawn females. Some of them were skinny and I would have liked to seen what they weighed a few weeks ago. A couple of the 5 pounders were 22 inches long. I was disappointed I didn't get one in or over 6lbs, but I am satisfied that I had success. Some pics down below but I didn't post all off them because some are too dark to see anything. PS DanielMyBrother, you said you like these posts so here you go.

Hookset sounds like one of your problems. Also, quality of hooks is important. Not only that, but when you snag on timber or rocks or catch a fish or two, you need to check the point of the hook. I use UltraPoints and Gammies and although they still seem pretty sharp, there is a little difference in sharpness after you hook them deep in the top of thier mouths. I lost a 5 or 6 pounder this week at Lake Ozark due to dull hook. It was the only real big bass I lost after I hooked them on a jig. I caught 5 bass over 5lbs and plenty more than that over 3 and 4lbs. Also, I use quality floro in 20lb test and get them in fast.

Yes, the good electronics are important when needed. GPS speaks for itself. But depending on what type of fisherman you are determines how good of a depth finder you need. If you beat the bank all year long hoping today is the day they are feeding in the shallows, then don't waste a lot of money. But if you want to be a good fisherman no matter what it takes, then there are times when you need to be fishing off the shore. Listen to some of the experts that are good enough to make money at this sport. They talk about how important it is to find hidden structure and cover that is overlooked by most fishermen. They find subtle things on the bottom that produces quality fish. Most people like to shrug off the pros, but I happen to think they know a little something!!! But you have to educate yourself how to use them. Just my opinion

What the heck is a mook? I have an idea, but I asked some people at the tournament Sat. and they didn't know either. What is a mook????

Cart7, I was telling Dan (DanielMyBrother) at the tournament that I eliminated the coves and anything that had a mud bottom because how old the lake was. That is a lot of silt for those bass to bed in. Not that they won't bed there, but it was going to be harder to determine where they were going to be. I knew the rocks would be a lot easier to concentrate on. I just positioned my boat against the wind and methodically and thoroughly worked those 5 piers to death. There was one stump that I got a barely keeper off of and another short, and it was in the mud. But they didn't look like spawning fish.

Here are my three pigs for the day. I caught this 6 1/2 pounder at about 9:45. I had just caught my second keeper of the day, took a picture and let it go. The very next cast, I caught this girl in about a foot of water right in a small group of branches. She ate a 3/8 oz homemade jig with a rootbeer Barbed-wire skirt and 4" Powerbait Chigger Craw in pumkinseed/grn flk This was my 4th keeper and 2nd pig. She went 5 pounds and 4 oz. I caught her in 2 feet of water with the same lure. I was already having one of the best days I have ever had, then I stuck this baby. 8 pounds and 3 oz, my new PB. Same lure and she was also in about 2 feet of water. I'll never forget what it was like to look down and see her at the side of the boat. By far my best day ever ;D