Needemp

I currently use Suffix 17# for most of my crankbaiting and I love it. But I am wondering if fluoro would help me feel my cb better. Has anybody switched from mono to fluoro and can you tell the difference? Thanks for your help.

Last Sunday in the midwest I had an east wind most of my fishing day and I had the best day I ever had on that lake. I knew the weather was bad, so I made adjustments accordingly. This time it worked, other times it didn't. The east wind curse is not an absolute, but if you let it shake your confidence, then you could have a hard time.

I tried this a while ago, but it didn't work for me. I have learned that lure selection can be key to getting bit. Not so much color, but definitely size, action, fall rate. Last time out, only small lures matched the small shad and I couldn't even get bit on anything that wasn't small. I also ran into fairly clear water and very dirty water in the same trip. And to to it off, I could only get bit on a smaller, slow falling jig. And that was just a two day trip and one example. I have found that I need crankbaits from very small to DD22s. Never know when you need to go deep or go small. Wide wobble vs tight wobble. Lip shape, running depth, both can be important. Spinnerbaits I need different profiles, different sink rates, different blade combos in just a couple of colors. This weekend I needed a tungsten 1/2 oz because it was smaller and got down a little deeper on a steady retrieve. Sometimes I need football jigs up to an ounce. Sometimes I just need bullet jigs to come through wood. Nevermind the different trailers used for profile, fall rate and action. Although I haven't noticed a preference to color, I have noticed it to fall rate. Jerkbaits- Different colors, depths, action and sizes. I have experienced bass's preference to certain jerkbaits over another. Topwater- to be honest, I don't throw topwater a lot, but I have heard too much about certain baits being a lot more productive in given situations. Plastics, forget about it. Small worms, large worms. lizards, tubes, beasts, creature baits, finesse, hook sizes, weights, pegs, etc. There are times when each one will produce better than others. Fall rate, action, color, several things that can make a difference. Then you got Chatterbaits, spoons, etc. All have their place. I know that there are plenty of times that precision is not demanded by the fish. There are times that they will eat almost any plastic. Also, a reaction strike usually doesn't require much variation. But there are times when it is required. And I have had several times where I didn't have what I needed or enough of what I needed. I hate waisting those days. This is just my experience. And it comes from the drive to succeed everytime out. If I fished for fun, I would keep it more simple, but like I said at the beginning, I tried to be simple and I didn't make it. Besides, I like it a lot more when it is like chess, as opposed to being like checkers. Happy hookin'!

X2 X4 I also agree with BassinFishinMagician.

No problem Vulture1. When I get a chance I will PM you.

Cart, you should have gone. Saturday sucked. I couldn't figure them out for nothing. I knew they were there because they would chase shad right by my boat. But Sunday, I made a few adjustments and I nailed them. It was one of those days were I thought I could catch a 5# plus, but that didn't happen. But I had plenty 3 to 4 pounders. By far, it was my best trip to Twain ever. I found a very simple pattern and ran it for several miles. The funny thing about it was that no one was fishing the areas where I was at. Not one boat fishing the right areas from Indian, Little Indian down to Lick and Dry Fork. There were plenty of fisherman, but they were fishing from the main lake into some coves, but not very deep into the coves. And the ones I asked weren't catching much.

Has anyone used one of these? I bought one last week and used it this weekend. I loved it. 1/2oz with almost a 1/4oz profile. I put on a custom skirt and custom blades. The quick change was awesome and the profile was exactly what I needed this weekend. The profile was small to match the shad and the extra weight helped it get down several feet to where the bass were. But then there was a problem. I caught several fish in a pattern. So when I moved from spot to spot, I checked to see that the blade was screwed on tight. It was. Then I got back in a cove and caught 5 pretty quickly and I didn't think to check the blades. On the fifth fish, the quick release came off, and all the blades. Is this common? I hope not because other than that, this was the best spinnerbait I have ever used. Thanks for your replies.

Hey man, it's a lot easier to say don't worry about than it is to do it. I hope getting it off your chest helps. The guy in the fishing store has no idea how to fish, so he criticizes. Even on this forum, people will say things are dumb and wrong. But if you know it's not dumb, then you can make a category for people who you know not to listen to. If you see that guy again, be nice, but don't engage in any fishing conversations. As for the father, he should have told his son not to show you his spots in private. He could have told his boy not to share those spots and you would have never known the conversation had taken place. Usually when someone acts better than someone else, it is because of their own insecurities.

You're right about the 0.5. Hey, what is the least amount of clarity you have had success with the Ghost? 3 feet, 4 feet?

Does anyone have success with the Lucky Craft RC Ghost color? I have from the 1.5 to the 3.5s in DD and square-billed. But I can't seem to get a bite on them. I tell myself it is just bad circumstance so I don't lose any confidence. The color looks great. It has the perfect color on top. I am wondering if it is only for very clear water. But I have used it mostly in 3- 5 foot clarity water.

Yeah, I had read that too. That pattern and standing timber pattern in fall are used a lot there. You find trees in 50 to 70 feet of water and they top out at 10 to 20 feet below the surface. Usually, with the clearer water, the shad hold at that depth and the bass wait in the tops of those trees in ambush. I tried some of this Saturday, but I thought I had found them in the standing timber in shallower water. But Sunday, the wind was blowing very hard, which rendered my areas unfishable. Besides, I did not find any baitfish very deep at all.

I know it's a tough lake, but that is one of the reasons I am intrigued by it. Also, I will be fishing several tournaments up there next year, so the playing field will be even for everyone on tourney day. One of the main reasons the bass population fluctuates is because the water levels fluctuate in the spring. That hurts the spawn. But there are some nice bass in there. And I have had some phenomenal days there.

Yes sir! Going again in two weeks. I have an invite over in the Central Region forum if you're interested.

The thermocline was at 30' deep. I caught my bass at 5' deep and less. I tried deeper, but I could not find schools of shad deeper than 10 or 15 feet and I didn't catch a thing. The shad were mostly from 5 feet deep to the surface. I agree with you. But the shad were way above the thermo. So since most shad were close to the surface, that is were I concentrated. Do you think I should have concentrated on the areas that were 20 to 30 feet of water even with the stained water color and most bait fish near the surface?

Bassin, BASSMasters and FLW. Also be sure to watch every tournament you can on television. Watch the Pros very carefully. The more you focus on what they say, sometimes verses what they actually do, coupled with your experience, you begin to put the pieces of the puzzle together. This site is a good site and the articles can teach you a lot. But so can magazines. Also, keep this in mind. Not all Pros tell you everything. Not all articles are right and most of them are vague. And not everyone on this sight gives sound advice. In other words, don't believe everything you read or hear. In fact, a lot of it, whether Pros or ams, isn't helpful. But you are looking for a little piece here and a little piece there. Before you know it you are putting the puzzle together.

Went to a lake that, at times, can be fairly tough. A few weeks ago they had a 200 boat tourney and the weights were very low. It is mostly a rocky lake, standing timber, usually very deep (can go from the bank to 45' deep very quick) and has a clarity of about 2' and a water temp in the low 70s. The spring-hatched shad were all over the surface. They were in the middle of the main lake, on the shore of the main lake. They were in the creeks and the secondary coves from the main lake all the way to the backs of the coves. I figured they would be staging on standing timber waiting in ambush, but they weren't. I didn't find them on wind blown banks, main lake or secondary points or ledges or standing timber. I didn't find them in creeks. They weren't on top or bottom. They weren't directly under any shad either. My theory is that the bass were entirely spread out because their food source was spread out. I did catch a few, but I saw several signs that told me they were resident bass, and not roamers. So that was my situation. Have any of you experienced this before? If so, what can be done to catch them?

That lake kicked my a**! Fall pattern, schools of shad all over the top of the water column from the backs of coves to the main lake. But the bass hadn't started following them just yet, or even staging. I know the Bud Light was pretty tough, but I thought for sure they would have been staging on the trees waiting in ambush, but they weren't. I managed a few, but not much and not very big. Anyway, I am planning a trip up there in two weeks hopefully and wanted to put the invite out there if anyone is interested in going. I have got to figure this lake out. 2 minds are better than one. This will be a Saturday and Sunday trip. PM if you are interested. Thanks

I have a chance to get up to MT this weekend. Has anyone fished there lately?

There are a lot of factors that go into your question. There are times when long casts are beneficial and/or necessary. Cb's offshore, for instance, are necessary to get your bait down. However, in murky water, flipping with short casts in shoreline cover is the way to go. In clear water, longer casts are better so the fish don't see you, but your lure needs to land quietly and accurately, and on target. So to answer your question you need to determine what cast is required, long or short. And if a long cast is required, then don't shy from it, but rather learn how to perfect it. If you are having trouble setting the hook and landing your fish, then try these things. Use very sharp hooks and replace the hooks when they are not as sharp (and that may be less sharp after a few fish or a bad snag). Also use fluorocarbon line with less stretch. Also, if you are using single-hook lures (i.e. jigs, spinnerbaits, worms) then you definitely need a longer rod with a stiff backbone. Trust me, I learned this lesson myself. 7' medium/heavy minimum. For treble hook lures, I bet the issue is your hooks. Having a long rod will help as well, but having good, sharp hooks will fix a lot of your problems. Those sharp hooks connect in a fishes mouth a lot better and penetrate their mouths very easily and with less hook-setting effort. Trust me, give it a try if you aren't already doing so. I hope this helps

If I am interpreting this wrong, just disregard. But I am detecting a bit of negativity from you. One of the best things you can do is be confident. Rain, cold front, whatever happens, everyone will have the same conditions to battle. If you are truly confident, you will make better decisions. Negativity will lower your shoulders and make you question anything your doing. Just my input, but I can tell you in detail why being positive works and how it works for me.

They aren't as sharp as Gammies and they will dull down further, quicker and easier than Gammies. This is an experiment you can do while pleasure fishing. Use both different hooks, keep track of fish caught and snaggs and see which one is sharper and lasts as long.

The best cb I have found for coming thru wood and bumping cover is the LC RC 1.5. They have the tightest wiggle of any other square-billed crank I know of. That is great in clear to stained water. I even like them in muddy water because they deflect the best. I love the 2.5 and 3.5s as well, but they have #2 hooks, while the 1.5 has #4 hooks. Needless to say, the 2.5 and 3.5 hang up more than the 1.5. But still, the 2.5 is still better than any others I have used. But I especially love the tighter wiggle. Looks more natural to finicky bass

My favorite goal was to begin finding active bass in deep water. I have learned a lot. I also learned the shaky-head and I love it. Swimbaits haven't exactly produced for me like I wanted, but I haven't had great opportunities to fish them.

Hey Red, if your like me when you ask a question you will read most of these replies and decide which responses make the most sense and which ones don't. Experience is key! Take Flecheros advice for instance. He gave you his experience, why it worked and where he learned it. Pretty good stuff. I, too, will give you my experience. Take it for what you think it's worth. I believe opposite of the theory that losing fish on cranks is just part of it. You will lose some, but not very many if you do things right. I have believed this ever since I got serious about fishing. I heard Pros alluding to this and now from my experience, I know it to be true. I catch a few 5+lb fish on cranks and quite a few 3+lbers as well. After the initial 3 to 5 seconds of a bite, if a fish gets hooked, I have a 95% or better landing ratio. In fact, this year I only have lost one 3lber on a #6 hook on a jerkbait. And that was because I did something really stupid. But other than that, I haven't lost a fish on a treble the rest of the year. That includes 4 over 5lbs, the biggest was 7lbs 6oz. And well over 30 bass in the 3lb+ range this year alone. So here is what I do. I have long medium/moderate Avids with monofilament line and 5:1 reels. That equipment does the work for me after the initial hook-up. Of course you have to fight them properly. But the limber rods, stretchy line and slow gear reels keep the right amount of pressure on the fish for me. But the most important thing I do is to use top quality hooks and change them as soon as one of the points is even slightly damaged. I use Gammy Round bends only. I used the VMC Suresets for a while, but they are not sharp enough. The most important thing I do to hook and land most of my bites is to check the sharpness of my hooks and replace them immediately. That act alone, I believe, has helped me land those fish I use to lose. Then, of course I constantly check my line for imperfections. I cut and retie if I feel anything. I also retie after a few fish or an ugly snag. I also replace my line fairly often. The blue label Siege line has yet to fail me. I hope this helps.

What are you doing to try and catch them?