BigmouthForever23

Funny I just came across this post coming back from a morning fishing trip where I caught my first bass on a 'swim jig,' which I never heard of before. I reconnected with my old real estate agent who reps for Lew's. The way he talks, he seems like a 'semi' pro. I was telling him how I struggle catching bass once fall arrives. This one lake I fish I had a lot of luck frog fishing all summer but all the sudden I couldn't catch any bass. He told me you have to try a 'swim jig.' I didn't know what he was talking about. So I took him out on the very lake where I couldn't catch any bass for the past few trips, and he caught several within 10 minutes....all on the swim jig. I was using a frog and got nothing up to that point. Finally he gave me one to try, an all white one with a white trailer. I ended up catching 3 bass, he caught over a dozen I think.

Thanks WRB. Haven't posted here in a while but I was hoping you'd see this. You were helpful years ago when I posted about a different lake in my neighborhood (stunted bass, very shallow flat bottom, no vegetation/lack of structure etc.) I will try what you mentioned. Never really use crankbaits but I think it's worth a shot here. Also, forgot to mention this lake's water quality is very good. Much clearer than I'm used to fishing. Maybe I should downsize my line? I typically use 14 lb mono for topwater and 17 lb flouro for worm/senkos. LOL, possibly but not in this case. The background is definitely this lake.

Hey fellas, I signed up to fish a new lake this year. It's a former gravel pit and I've never really fished a lake quite like it. I was intrigued last year when I found a picture online someone posted of a giant bass he caught out of the lake. Check out the pic, I wasn't aware bass get that big near me (northern burbs of Chicago). Anyway, although I've caught plenty of bass, I haven't caught one even over 2 pounds. If anyone is interested, here's a summary report on the lake: https://www.lakecountyil.gov/DocumentCenter/View/14164/2015-Lake-Minear-Report-PDF Could this be an instance where a lake has very few big bass and mainly small stunted bass? I wouldn't consider myself an expert bass fisherman by any means, but I've caught my fair share of 3-5 pound bass. A lake I grew up fishing near this one, I've caught plenty that size. But I've gotten frustrated over the years due to the crazy ski boats that dominate the lake. This new lake however has very low traffic and 10 hp max. Unfortuently, I just haven't been able to find any decent size bass. Any tips on where I could try? I also attached a map of the lake. Unfortunately, the west side shore of the lake is not open to fishing as it's private to the homeowners but everywhere else is fair game. One thing I noticed about the lake is the massive amount of structure. 5 feet out from shore and it drops like a rock. There's practically no surface vegetation. No docks but decent amount of fallen wood. There's a few raised islands throughout the lake. Any help would be much appreciated.

One time I was fishing topwater with a zara spook. I had a hit and as I landed the fish, to my amazement it wasn't a bass, or even a pike...it was a catfish.

Spam & Ramen (chicken flavor).

Thanks for those who recommended Major League Fishing. I watching one clip on youtube. Very exciting indeed!

I like to fish alone. I've gone with a friend before but don't enjoy it as much. Now, I am more of a "loner" so to speak. But I just enjoy being out on the lake listening to the birds and watching a beautiful sunset. It's so peaceful. It's a great way to deal with stress and just clear your mind. Can't really do that with other people with you, I can't at least.

I wouldn't be surpised if there is a lack of interest in fishing with the younger generation. Now a day's you have little kids glued to their cell phones, IPads, video games, etc. So much is out there that wasn't available back in the day.

^I agree man. I find it funny how their boats are covered in sponsors along with their attire. It's like the show is one long commercial.

It's too bad if all the fishing programs are on a special sports channel. I already pay almost $100 for the Comcast package I have now... But is it just me or were the fishing shows back in the day much better? My dad has a lot that he recorded on VHS and watching them, they actually taught you something. The ones you see on TV now are all marketing. You got guys reeling in monster bass and then they go on for five minutes trying to persuade you to buy the lure they are using and that will catch you bass. Example, it HAS to be a Zoom purple worm or a Kevin Van Dam spinnerbait. What happened with actually teaching the viewer something important, you know, like how to find bass.

I remember growing up as a kid my dad would show me some really good fishing shows. My favorite was the B.A.S.S Masters Classic on the ESPN network. Along with some others like Bill Dance, Field & Streams had a show too. What happened to those good shows? Do I just have a crappy cable package that doesn't air them anymore? Or did they just not get very good ratings? Perhaps Youtube/Internet is to blame? I have a decent cable package, but I never see any fishing programs. Any common channels I can look for that might air some?

Nice thread, I've always wondered about this as I live in the northern suburbs of Chicago. 0-.5 LB - FML 1-2 LB - Average 2-3 LB - Above Average 4-5 LB - One of the best days of the year 6-7 LB - My year is made 7+ LB - Who's your daddy?

Yeah I have a problem. I like to keep and fillet a lot of fish that I catch. One of the lakes I fish is loaded with small bass and they're very tasty! Problem is I don't know what to do with them after filleting. I tried throwing them in multiple bags but it stinks of the trash like there's no tomorrow. I just moved to this neighborhood last year so I don't want to tick off my neighbors (so soon anyway haha). I never had this problem before because growing up with my parents we lived right across from railroad tracks. So after my dad would fillet our fish we caught for the day, he'd just walk across the street and throw them as far as he could over the tracks. The sun would take care of any smell that was produced. Can't do that any more. What do you guys do with fish carcasses after filleting? Someone on another forum said he burns them. Sorry, not doing that. Another one mentioned to freeze them until garbage pick-up. Again, no thanks. What are some other options?

Look up Bigmouth and Bigmouth Forever. These contain some amazing underwater footage that captured bass in their natural habitat. Here's a clip from the latter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znc0wCeUACc

Man what I would give to have a chance to fish one of these lakes...oh my. I hope one day when I retire I'll have the chance to settle down in an area with a well-known bass lake like one of these. My early thoughts are somewhere in Texas because of the vast number of lakes and I love horses too so it's a win/win.

Sorry to hear about that man, that really sucks. Like others have said, hopefully your insurance can cover some of the damage. But like you said, money can't replace the history you had with some of your gear. Best of luck to you and karma will catch up with the d-bags who are responsible. Also, just a thought. Maybe you might consider adding an alarm to your garage. I don't have a side door to mine so I don't have one but if you have one that's visible, I'd definitley up the security. Thieves see an easy entry way like a side door to a garage and they know they have it made as lots of folks forget about securing the garage and just focus on the house.

I'm not familar with that model, but I do have a bunch of Cabela's XML rods. They're nothing special, but pretty solid IMO and if you can get them on sale they're a steal. I use a MH 7 footer for my frog rod and it does the job nicely.

Thanks for the posts guys. It was funny when I caught this one as I thought I was caught intially. I casted right by a sunken log in the water and that's where he took it, a 10 inch worm. So after I set the hook I thought I was hooked on the dang log! haha

Master Baite'r, I'm sorry can you explain what you mean by Ned rig? And can anyone chime in on the depth of the lake and a winter kill. Is 7ft really not deep enough to avoid a kill in this area? I've talked to a lot of people in the neighborhood who've lived here for decades and as far as I know of the lake only experienced one major fish kill. But that winter was not the norm. The amount of snow we got that year was rediculous. Now, they hire someone to come out and clear the snow off the ice just to make sure it doesn't happen again.

I wanted to bump this thread to update ya'll. I caught not only the biggest bass so far out of this lake, but it's one of my biggest ever. Remember I live in the NW suburbs of Chicago so anything over 3 pounds is considered a really nice size bass. I think this one was about 3 pounds. I didn't have anyone to take a pic of me with the fish so it's somewhat of a close shot but I took one with it next to my shoe to give you an idea of the size (I wear a size 12 shoe). This bass was so chunky! Catching this bass gave me so much needed confidence in this lake. Even if there are a few big ones and ton of small ones, I still have some hope now. And the conditions were not ideal. We've had so much rain lately the water quality was worse than it normally was. It literally looked like someone dyed the water with green color. I caught this bass where a fellow poster (WRB) mentioned could be a good spot. So thank you for that. I circled the spot in yellow. Sorry for bumping both my threads but I didn't want anyone to miss out on how excited I was to land a bass over a half pound!

I wanted to bump this thread to update ya'll. I caught not only the biggest bass so far out of this lake, but it's one of my biggest ever. Remember I live in the NW suburbs of Chicago so anything over 3 pounds is considered a really nice size bass. I think this one was about 3 pounds. I didn't have anyone to take a pic of me with the fish so it's somewhat of a close shot but I took one with it next to my shoe to give you an idea of the size (I wear a size 12 shoe). This bass was so chunky! Catching this bass gave me so much needed confidence in this lake. Even if there are a few big ones and ton of small ones, I still have some hope now. And the conditions were not ideal. We've had so much rain lately the water quality was worse than it normally was. It literally looked like someone dyed the water with green color. I caught this bass where a fellow poster (WRB) mentioned could be a good spot. So thank you for that. I circled the spot in yellow.

Well I just spent a grand on a boat so there's that.

If we're talking taste in regards to fried fish, I'd honestly be hard pressed to notice much of a difference between crappie and a "young" bass. I say young bass because it makes a difference in taste between a 1-2 pound bass and a 5+ pound bass. The lake I fish is stunted with baby bass so I've just been taking them home and frying them up! They're delicious. For the posters who say they taste like crap, perhaps they're not preparing the fillets right. Or, they really don't like the taste of them. Fair enough. But I think they tastes good and I know a lot of others would agree with me.

I'd go frogs for sure. It doesn't have to be the hollow body frogs either. There's a ton of variety out there. If the surface of the water isn't completey covered in weeds, I'd throw a Zara Spook as well. Btw, if there's heavy weeds on the surface and you go w/the frog, make sure you have heavy duty braid line, at least 40# test or so and a 7 foot med-heavy rod.

Yeah, the size of the panfish had me puzzled. Especially considering I grew up in this area my whole life and fished another lake not more than 3 miles away from the lake I fish now. I remember the panfish there were so small, especially the bluegill. I asked my dad why they were so small and it's because he said the lake was stunted with crappie and bluegill. The bass however? Probably the biggest I've seen locally. My dad caught some over 6 pounds, those are lunkers from where I'm from. Yet, it's the opposite (so far) for the lake I fish now. The panfish are mutant big but the bass are all on the small side. I know the lake is stocked, but I wouldn't be able to comment on the rate of annual production being capped for the reasons you listed. Although, it does makes sense and I think you could be on to something here. I'm gonna take your advice and "go big" so to speak. I've noticed that when I've used a Zara Spook I get a lot of very light hits, obviously from all the small bass. So, I hope if I continue to use it at some point I'll get a big hit and know I have a chance to land a "bigger" bass. I'm also going to start using a much bigger worm, 12" instead of 7.5'". Maybe that will help reduce the number of small bass I come across. Another reason I suspect there could be some nice bass in here is the one that I caught on my first day, probably at least 2 pounds or more, it looked very healthy with a good proportion of weight to length. Same with that bigger one from that pic I posted. I fished another lake nearby and it is definitely stunted with bass. Every bass I would catch there would be really long but skinny. My dad also mentioned a potential positive of that fish-kill was it might help lower the already very high population of fish and the lake could benefit in the long run, similar to what you said. Thanks for the great response.