nepabassfishing

I've had luck wacky rigging Zoom Trick Worms and Zoom Swap Crawlers with a 1/16 oz jig head. I've also whacky rigged Slug-Gos and Zoom Flukes and caught fish. Nothing wrong with experimentation. On the flip side I've fished Senkos texas rigged and Carolina rigged (both wacky hooked and texas rigged) and caught fish as well.

Al Lindner is the best freshwater angler out there. As far as bass goes, Clunn is the Michael Jordan of bass fishing while KVD is the Lebron James. Clunn is the greatest ever, KVD is the best currently.

Thanks for the scoop guys! Wish I could fish open water in the winter like you guys do in CA Gulf Captain. I hate ice fishing!!!!

Any luck RoadWarrior? Are they good in both clear and stained water?

Jig fishing is highly underrated. I never started using them until last year. I always use a trailer and I go with 10lb test fluorocarbon with a rod with a decent amount of backbone for quality hook sets. I just saw on Lindner's Angling Edge that you should try and use heavier jigs than usual during the dog days of summer so that the bait will penetrate weeds better, leading to more bites in lakes with submerged vegetation. I always use a trailer, most recently the Pit Boss. Don't be afraid to load up that trailer with scent either!

The Pit Boss works great as a soft plastic trailer on a jig. I saw it on In-Fisherman a few weeks ago and tried it on my lake with solid success. The Pit Boss looks obnoxiously big on the jig but it produces fish. They're also durable. You can catch a decent number without the soft plastic getting torn up.

Guys was wondering if anyone has had an success with umbrella rigs using swim baits or the Booyah Boo Rig using a lipless crankbait or some other kind of hardbodied lure? I know in my state the umbrella rigs are illegal if you exceed more than 3 swim baits with hooks. I'm actually more eager to try the Boo Rig with a Rattle Trap. I assume you need pretty heavy line and a heavy action rod for these baits? Any input would be great!

Thanks for the input and kind words everyone! I guess I should invest in one of those Rapala or Berkley scales. I only had one of those BPS gold rulers so I couldn't even measure the girth. My main priority was getting her back in the water ASAP. I went to my neighbor's dock as soon as I caught her so she could snap a quick pic or two. I kept the fish in the net in the water until I got to the dock and only had her out of the water for a few seconds at a time for the pics. Funny thing is she didn't strike my soft plastic all that hard. It felt like a little resistance like weeds perhaps and then I set the hook and knew it was a fish. I didn't think it was all that big until she broke water and then I quickly tweaked my drag. This fish didn't have a mark on her, a true beauty!!!

Guys, was just wondering what you think the weight of this fish might be? I caught it yesterday, but did not have a scale handy. It was 21" in length. Being that my boat didn't have a livewell I wanted to release the fish ASAP after a photo was taken so that it would have a great chance to survive. Any ideas by the length and based on this photo? As always, thank you for the input.

Wow, 50-65? Glad I asked. I thought 20lb braided would be more than enough. Thanks for the scoop!

Great fish and congrats! I can't believe people have the audacity to ask other people if they can keep their fish. Some people have zero filters.

I've never been a guy to throw a bait into heavy cover, but I've decided I want to try and fish a thick patch of lilly pads on my local lake. I've had success fishing the perimeter around the pads with soft plastics and top water baits. However, I feel like in order to have a shot at the monsters I need to throw deep into the cover. If I throw a plastic frog with a 7'6" heavy action rod, a 7 gear reel, and 20lb test braided line will I have a chance to pull a big fish from the cover or will I be fighting a losing battle? Just curious. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Scott, great and very valid points. The lake is incredibly small. Only a handful of property owners fish it and out of those handful myself and my neighbor fish it religiously. Most of the people here care very little about the fishing. They don't care if the lake gets fished out as long as there is no algae or excessive weed growth in the lake.

Scott, love the idea on boat stickers! My only question is, are they enforceable? Catt, I'm not even sure if our laws and bi-laws are even documented…lol. It's a lake of about 30-40 properties, half of which aren't even lakefront which gives you an idea of how small the lake is. We do have a catch and release policy which was put in place about four years ago because the place gets hammered every year with ice anglers (most of which don't own property at all…these are "friends of friends" or "my third cousin on my wife's side knows someone who used to live here"). At the end of the day though, I'm not even sure if the catch and release policy is enforceable. Our president, to his credit really has nipped the ice fishing issue in the bud the last two winters. He's suggested guys don't come back and they haven't. So I am 99.9% sure our president's guests do the whole catch and release thing. Again, this matter could be a lot worse as Tony said. It's just the point. I know I probably come across as sounding like a huge jerk by posting this.

Was looking for anglers' input regarding the lake I live on. It's private, but lately a somewhat new (purchased a home here 3 years ago) property owner has been letting a good number of people launch boats from his land. I've seen as many as 5 new boats fishing here in the last three weeks. The good news is everyone seems to be practicing catch and release. The bad news is I've seen cigarette butts being thrown from one particular boat. Do I just bite my bottom lip and assume it could be worse being that no one seems to be keeping fish or do I say something and possibly open the door for people keeping fish out of spite? Part of me wants to complain because letting multiple boats on the water each weekend pretty much defeats the purpose of living on a private lake in my opinion. I failed to mention the guy, who is allowing these anglers to come in and fish, is also the recently appointed lake association president, which would seem to indicate he definitely told his guests to practice catch and release being that we have a policy in effect for that at the lake. Hopefully, I don't sound like a complete whiner with this post. I've literarily been contemplating what to do over the past weekend.

I net most fish, especially those with size. I usually always try to do so when there are treble hooks involved. I have a rubber net which is nice because the treble hooks very rarely get tangled up in it. They cost more, but save you lots of time from trying to free a crankbait or top water plug from the mesh.

Depends on the scenario. I live on a private lake. If it's one of my neighbors, I'll gladly give input when asked. If it is someone I don't know fishing here, that chances are don't have permission or will not practice catch and release, I keep my mouth shut.

Thanks for the input! I agree the longer the battle the greater the stress. I have heard if you are power fishing and miss a fish, to go right back in the same spot with a finesse tactic.

Looking for anglers' input here: Will a bass which came off while being reeled in, strike again in the same day? I heard opinions that once a bass is hooked, whether it gets off or is caught and released, it goes through stress and trauma. Is there any truth to a bass being spooked after it was hooked.

I fish a lake where the water clarity is super high (you can see as far down as 8' - 10') and FC makes a huge difference. I've been fishing it for a few years now and have seen an improvement right after I made the switch. The only thing I don't use FC is for my topwater set-ups and for fishing in heavy structure. I agree with the posts that if you are fishing murky or stained waters, FC probably is not that big of a factor

Would be highly appreciative of some input regarding bait casting reels. I've been using them now for about a year for spinnerbait and crankbaiting action. Right now I'm looking for a new rod and reel combo to use for jig and pig fishing. Which is the best gear ratio for jig and pig 6:3:1 or 7:2:1? Also would you go with a long medium-heavy rod. Thanks for the advice and happy fishing!

Thanks for the input guys! I think it's safe to say that the chances are pretty good this hawg will be just fine!

Thanks Kevin! Was wondering if that dissolve thing was just a myth. Evidentially it is not. Happy fishing to you!

Lost what appeared to be a personal best bass today (at least it appeared that way when he broke water). Long story short, he ended up wrapping around a dock post and breaking the line. I'm obviously disappointed he got away. Just wondering will the fish survive with a 3/0 worm hook still in it's mouth and my soft plastic? I'm a catch and release guy through and through and always try to do my best to release the fish alive and well.

I love fishing right before the front hits, which is about right now where I'm at. When the wind kicks up it's like a feeding frenzy on the choppy side of the lake.