Needemp

These are mostly the answers I expected. As it has been noted, spots on a big lake are very rarely secret. Sharing them with the average fisherman will have no effect on the spot because the average fisherman won't know how to fish it. However, smaller, local, public ponds and lakes, like the one I am refering to, most of you have admitted you would guard it. It wouldn't take many people to clean it out. Keep the comments coming! Thank you

I started a poll so it would be anonymous. No one can see what you voted for so be honest. Do you feel a responsibility to share with others your good spots? Or do you believe they will become community holes and therefore, you keep them secret? You can vote more than once if more than one applies and you have 5 minutes to change your vote. I am asking this because I live in a city with no real good public fishing lakes or rivers. I found one this year that has been killer. Last time out I had 5 keepers over 17" (and a 15" Crappie on a crankbait). I had others in the 15 to 17" and shorter range as well. All summer, this place has produced like this. It is public, but only accessible by boat. It is also a place you really have to know what your doing. But it could be cleaned out very easily if everyone learned about it. But I do feel an obligation to share it with others in my area. At the same time, I worked hard to figure this place out. So what do you think?

"Only by pride cometh contentionProverbs 13:10"

Well Tin, I do disagree with this statement you just made. I went back and re-read your original post (in which I agreed with) and I do not see how your statement applies to smallies and not largies! Largies, although not usually as aggressive as smallies, are aggressive. Maybe I missed something you said, but you through me for a loop!

I agree with you Tin! This is not a black and white issue. Location is everything and lure selection is everything. You can be in the right location using the wrong lures catching very little or you can be using the right baits in the wrong location and catching nothing.

I will try and help you. First off, it sounds like you want to eat the bass you catch. Although I am not into preaching to people about keeping bass, I do however want to protect my personal areas from getting cleaned out. It doesn't take much to clean out an area of its quality bass, so I probably won't share my hotspots. I only have 2 really good places in the Stl area anyway, and one you need a boat to get to. I hope you understand. Question 1- Bank fishing this time of year is useless. Any place you can catch a good bass from, so can anyone else. They move deep and move around a lot. That doesn't mean you won't catch them in the summer from shore at times, but you need a different mindset. You need to realize that maybe 3 out of 4 trips, maybe more, will result in a skunk fishing in a public area. But if your only option is from shore, then that is what you do. And yes, moving around is very important. The only time I wouldn't move around is if I was fishing a structure that fish would eventually move up on. Question 2- Spinnerbaits have a very distinct sound and vibrating signiture that bass can recognize. Most public bass on shore have seen a ton of them this time of year and can recognize them. I have tested this out myself and I know it is true. That doesn't mean you won't luck into a bass every now and then, but you are hurting your chances. Put them away. Be different, be creative. If you really want to use one, reel it in fast and get a reaction bite. A plastic worm is a good bait, as well as other lures. Question 3- I do not know of any place to rent a boat besides BW. I might be able to take you fishing sometime, but it would be tough. I have several people that want me to take them. The problem is I usually don't know I am going till that night on week nights. Weekends I head to one of the reservoirs to prepare for tournaments next year. But I am sure something can be worked out. Question 4- If you learn bass fishing, then you will also learn fishing from shore. But with your ankles, it will be tough. You might need to fall in love with fishing and no so much the catching. Question 5- It sounds like you are using a crappie rig to fish for bass, therefore eliminating 2 key techniques fishing in grass from shore. The 1st is topwater, which would require an offset, single hook, which also requires a heavy hookset, which your rig will not endure. The 2nd technique would be a 1/2 to 1oz sinker punching through the grass. That requires 20# line minimum and a heavy rod for heavy hooksets. It sounds like you need a new rod and reel. I hope this helps. Feel free to discuss with me anything you would like.

Big shocker here!!! Catt, no one ever mentioned "wondering aimlessly down a bank" and "rapid firing" casts "in all directions" and only "in the shallows" with a "7.1 reel". Who would fish a fast reaction bait "all day" if it is not working? And your spots can turn on "5 minutes after you leave it" whether you are there for 15 minutes or 4 hours. But what if there are other spots that are hot that you are missing because you are s-l-o-w-l-y dissecting your one area? The fish may not even be on that one area, so go find them elsewhere. Let's not make up extremes to try to make someone look bad. That is irresponsible on your part. We can have a discussion that doesn't result in childish behavior. I myself acknowledged in this topic that there are times to start out slow, i.e. cold water, cold fronts, etc. I also said that after fast isn't cutting it, I slow down. Besides, there are several versions of "fast". A lot of times my fast is with a 5.1 reel. Your Buck Perry quote seems to support what I am saying more than it supports what you said. That is basically how I fish an area. I very rarely throw a reaction bait in open water. It has to deflect off of something or dredge the bottom. There is not clear cut way of doing it. It is a matter of being versatile. I'm disappointed in your pigeon-hole tone. However, even though this comment you made was not well thought out, I bet you will come back with a good reply. I do look forward to it (and I am not being facetious). Sorry if this comes across hard. I know you have a lot of experience and you are well regarded, as you should be. I just don't think you showed respect. Thanks Catt and I look forward to your response. (Big meanie head) >

Thanks for your response. I like fishing slow as well. Just trying to get up some conversation about finding fish.

Hammer 4, and others that mention fishing slow: I totally understand fishing slow when you know the fish are there, but isn't that wasting a bunch of time if you don't know where they are and you are looking for them? It can take more than 10 times longer to cover an area fishing slow. Besides that, it really limits how many spots you will fish, and therefore reduce your odds of finding fish, much less several spots with fish. (With the relaxing and fun fishing aside) Sure, you can get lucky with one fish behind a tournament angler or with one fish after a birds nest when your lure sat there, but is that one fish enough to establish a fish-finding pattern? Does that tell you the most effective pattern at that time? Would that fish not hit a fast moving lure? Besides, there is a reason these stories of fish being caught after a birds nest or after a tourney angler has past through, the reason they become stories is because they don't happen as often. It happens more often that you find fish on a spot and catch several. I'm not against fishing slow or against one preference to do so, but I do think it is fair to mention that it can handcuff you (cold water and other condition excluded obviously). To me fishing slow would hurt my possibilities of finding fish, and therefore should only be a technique used after covering a lot of water has proved fruitless. If I am missing something, let me know!

I run spots trying to find a pattern. I am a strong believer in finding active fish. I fish fast and cover a lot of water. Most of the time the fish could be anywhere. Also, most of the time the fish are inactive. So my goal is, when I first get on a lake, to fish fast and find the actives. Once I do that, then I can go to other spots that are similar. If I have located bass on a spot or a few spots, and they stop biting, I assume they move so I move with them. They have to be close. Also, once I find fish, I then change up my lures and can mess with colors. Listen to what the Pro's say. They tell us to fish our strengths. Fish what we have confidence in. Otherwise we jump from lure to lure and we lose any confidence we had. This is something I only recently got over, but I am glad I did. PS I try to have a tournament mind set. I only want keepers and big ones at that. Also, this technique works better for me on bigger lakes with more spots than smaller lakes.

That's funny!!! ;D

Mark Twain is a good option. Last I heard about Coffeen was that the bass had really disappeared. Dink said that they have put some strict limits on the fish because of how bad it was.

From your experience, is there enough light around the docks at night to fish without the help of flourescent line and a blacklight? I personally have never had the need for blacklights at night but I've heard a lot of talk lately about how good that set up is at night. If it is muddy, then night fishing will be real tough. IMO, I think you really have to know how to fish at night in muddy water to be successful or you need to get lucky. But, if you are going to fish docks anyway, there is usually plenty of light around most of them. I find it better to go by feel than to depend on lights, but it is available. However, there are some docks that do not have adequate light and I would imagine the blacklights would come in handy then.

It depends on the conditions and where you are going. I don't know how muddy the Gravois, Glaize or Osage arms will be. I only saw the Nianguas. Having said that, I would imagine they will still be dirty, but who knows how fast it will clear. More storms could make it worse. So, it appears that most fish have spawned. There has been reports of spawning fish back in April and there were plenty of spawners this trip. I would imagine your best bet would be a post spawn pattern. It will be too hard to see any beds and I don't think there will be very many pre spawners left. The majority will be spawned out. The fish should be used to the dirty water by then and be looking to move out a little deeper. I would look for areas that have a ledge and/or cover that is close to the spawning areas. But as always, I would start out shallow and if there are no takers there, then move to the deeper areas. How deep? I have no idea if the water is muddy. Other than that, that is the best I can offer. Good luck to ya.

I finally got to get away for a few days of fishing by myself. I decided to run down to LOZ. I stayed at a campground and slept in the van. ($20 a night and $10 a day for a boat slip ) The trip started out bad. I got a speeding ticket in a small town (first ticket in a long time, but I deserved it ), the next day I locked my keys in the car (idiot) $60 more dollars down the pipe. And it got worse from there. I started fishing Thursday and I decided to hit some spots I was familiar with just to see what the bass were doing. Nothing but shorts most of the day. Finally it was getting late and I decided to fish some rocks in about 8' of water with a jig in two key areas. I got a couple of hard slams and I had one on for a couple of seconds and it came off. It felt like a good one. I was frustrated because I generally don't lose very many fish once they grab my lure and hold on for a second. I also haven't broke off a fish in 3 years (I constantly replace my line). Well, I decided to leave my 20# Seagar Fluoro on from last year to see how long it would last. I went to the second key area and was fishing through those rocks. I got a big bite, set the hook and fish on. 2 seconds later I feel my line go limp. I had cut my Fluoro on a rock. 3 year streak was over Friday got worse. That was the morning I locked my keys in the car. It was also the morning that tornado reports were everywhere and we got a ton of rain. Finally the bad weather subsided and I was the first one out. But now, my feeder creeks where dingied up. Thursday had water clarity of any where from 3' to 5'. Fridays storm knocked it down to 2' and less in most areas. And I still could not find the bass. Spawning flats , ledges, bluffs, deep, shallow, I checked everywhere. Eventually I found a few bass on main lake rock banks. It was the only areas that had clear water. I caught mostly shorts on a crankbait, with one nice keeper. But I still could not find what I was looking for. Saturday started out pretty bad as well, but did get better, (sort of). I got down to the water to find that the Niangua had washed in chocolate milk colored water, and on top of that, so much debris that I had to use my trolling motor to force my way through it. Plus there were a ton of logs floating through the main channel. Usually on a LOZ Saturday morning, there are bass boats everywhere. Not this Saturday. Very few. So the muddy water meant that all the main lake areas were eliminated and also I could not travel that far because of all the floating debris. Luckily I found that the coves were surprisingly clear. So I was forced to fish docks. I have always hated docks and have found plenty of success fishing other non-dock areas. But, I really had no choice. So I start fishing the gangways. The docks were too close, the wind was aggravating and they use those stupid wire cables to secure the docks :. But eventually, every other dock I started catching male shorties. So I looked at my map and I found the best structure in the reachable areas I could fish. I settled on two areas. The first area I finally started hooking keepers. But I was losing them in the cables. I caught a few and then ran to my second area. It was there that I realized that my med/heavy rod was not stiff enough to pull the bigger fish out. Also, I bought 15# Red Label Seagar Fluoro to see how it works. It is nowhere near as good as the Carbon Pro or InvisX. I broke another one off (now that is two in 3 years) and I noticed that the med/heavy rod combined with the stretchiness of the Red Label Flouro is not lifting the bigger bass out of the cover or over the cables fast enough. Also, my normal straight-shank jig wasn't penetrating their mouths the right way. On top of that the Red Label was breaking too easy. But I was afraid to use my 7' heavy with 20# Carbon Pro Fluoro with the lighter jig because I was afraid of losing the 'feel' of my lure. But I was wrong. I switched to a jig that angles the hook upward (opposite of an EWG hook) and the game was on. My first cast with the stiffer rod, better line and the new jig was a 17' keeper. After that I was catching and landing everything that bit. I had several nice keepers. Everything was going great. And then, what would eventually ruin my trip, happened next. My confidence was riding high. I finally had them figured out. I also was mastering the docks. That was huge for me because I hated docks. But now I was falling in love with them. I pulled up on a typical dock. There was some brush in between the cable and the gangway. I work all the outer perimeters systematically, then the brush, then the gangway from the shore out. When I got about 3/4 of the way down the gangway I skipped the jig under it (which BTW, skipping with a bait caster is awesome. I got a spinning reel just for skipping a while back, and now I don't even need it). Anyway, I skip it under the gangway and I am working it back. It is in about 5-6' of water and it is getting close to the cable when all of a sudden I get a hit. I set the hook and immediately notice it is big. So I lift that bad dog out of the cover (I couldn't tell if it was boulders or brush, felt like man-made steps!?) and to the surface to get her over the cable and fight her in open water. She comes to the surface and she is the biggest bass I think I have ever seen. I have caught a few 7 and 8 pounders and she was bigger than them. Well, as soon as I set the hook and lifted her to the surface, she freaked out. I got a good look at her and she then pulled her head down and took off under the dock. I have never had a bass fight this hard. I had the drag set tight so I could pull them out and over the cables. She started stripping the line from my drag and headed for the dock. As fast as she took off, the line was up against the cable. In an instance, the line was cut. 20# flouro was frayed and cut. About 4 inches of the end of the line was completely frayed. I was mad. That fish was easily 10#. Like I said, I have caught 8's and none of them had the power of this fish. (BTW, that made 3 broken off fish in 3 years >) Needless to say, that ruined it for me. I did get back in the game, It took about 20 minutes and I was focused again and kept catching them, but she would whisper from the depths every once in a while just to let me know that she won. Then came Sunday morning, everything was muddy and that was it for me. I fished a couple of hours and split like a banana. So, my streak of not breaking off a fish in 3 years ended by thrice, not losing very many fish was not evident this weekend, oh yeah, and the fact that I have caught every big bass I have hooked since I have been seriously fishing is no longer the case. It was a bad bad weekend. But I did learn a few things. I love fishing docks now and I am addicted to skipping baits with a baitcaster. Oh well, win some lose some, ey!

I like bigger reservoirs. I fish Mark Twain, LOZ, Carlyle, Coffeen for the most part. I will get to KY Lake, Pomme, Tuman, Stockton, etc once I get to where I need to be. I also fish locally on smaller lakes, but it is real tuff to learn what I need to learn on those lakes, but it is better than staying home. I also love tournaments. I haven't fished them much since last year. I am working on specific things so I can enter bigger tournies and not just be a donater.

I've never fished the Gasconade, but I have fished the Meremac. Rivers aren't my favorite, but I'll fish them occasionally. Do you fish any bigger waters?

With the reports of Ky being high, I'm heading to LOZ. A guy that fished the Weber tourney down there last weekend said they were on the beds Thursday and Friday and then moved off into deeper water on Saturday. A lot of those fish will be locked down by this weekend, but there should be plenty still in transition.

Thanks for the info guys. With the reports of high water and having never been to KY lake, I will wait a little while to go there. I am looking forward to learning that lake, but with the higher water, everything I find on this trip would be dry the next time I go. I do appreciate the info, thank you. I'm gonna head to LOZ.

Anyone know the conditions for KY Lake? Water temps, water clarity, rising or lowering? Pre, spawn or post? Thanks for any info.

Anyone know the water clarity and temps at LOZ? I figure the are stained and in the low 60's, but that is just a guess.

I am leaving Wed night or Thur morning and fishing till Sunday? Can't decide what lake to go to. Any advice?

I bet that was fun! Isn't that a Hybrid?

BassXL PM sent

Hey Goggle eyes, was the water real muddy? I have never been to Unger, but I assume there is no boat ramp?