RochesterBasser

Awesome post!!! Definetely a keeper to refer to. And I second Catt's post!

I just got a pack of artificial gobies from Bass Pro that look really good. I'm curious though, as to which method is best to use them with. What methods do you all find effective with these baits?

This link may be of some use to you. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1179334367/3#3

Yeah, I'm also hibernating until the ice melts, haha. My favorite shows are Linder's Angling Edge on VS, North American Fisherman on VS, and Bass Pros. The first two aren't always focused on largemouth/smallmouth bass, often walleye, musky, crappie, ice fishing, etc..., but they are probably a couple of the most informative shows airing at the moment. I also really like Linder's because most of the shows are taped in Minnesota which has really good info that pertains to us here in MI.

Spinnerbaits are at their best at this time of the year (prespawn, when the fish are as aggressive as they'll ever be during the year) and during the fall when the bass key on minnows. They are also productive during the summer when, like I said before, it's windy and cloudy. Buzzbaits are also good at this time of year when there is some chop in the water or at dusk or dawn. I totally agree with BassSnatcher. The KVD DVD series about spinnerbaits is probably the best source of info on these baits that I've seen.

Like Catt and Lunatic said, you need to bump your spinnerbait off any cover that's present. Also, water clarity is a major part of it. If you fish a clear lake, you are going to want to burn it through the water with some twitches every now and then. Also, willow leaf blades work best for this. If your waters are quite dirty, a slower, more erratic retrieve is best. Colorado or indiana blades are best for this method. As far as buzzbaits go, it's similar to spinnerbaits, just hit stuff with them, whether lily pads, some tree limbs that are sticking out of the water, or other things of that sort. The most effective speed of retrieve is slow. The slower you can reel it in while keeping it plopping on the surface, the better. Also, when the fish blows up on it, wait a second and make sure it's in his mouth, then set the hook. Hopefully this helps! and good luck and make sure you stick with them!

All the previous information is great stuff! Definetely use it. One thing I'd like to add about the weather, if the weather is windy, cloudy, and basically bad, I like to use really fast baits like spinnerbaits and traps. When it's sunny and calm, I don't even bother with these baits and go straight to flipping plastics into the pads at a pretty quick pace. This method works well for me, but I guess it depends on your lake also. Hopefully this helps a bit

Is a fast or slow retrieve best for getting the max depth out of a crankbait? The winter made my fishing IQ drop like a rock... Colin

Wow, NJ, when I read your desciption of your lake, I thought you were talking about the lake I always fish at, lol. Exactly the same. Pads, 30ft max, small fish but rumors of big ones, all of it. I've had the best success pitching a senko into the pads and pulling a horny toad over them just like nboucher said. I'll pay close attention to this thread as it moves on for any more info, I'm also clueless on how to get the big 'uns. Colin

Very interesting and informative Chris! I had no idea that fish build up lactic acid like we do... Learnin something everyday Thanks! Now I don't have to worry about my C-R'd fish too much Colin

I'm the same way. I also agree with Senko77 with the only-lip part. Most pros just lip, take out the hook, and either throw em in the livewell or back into the lake. Or, they could just be too lazy or in too much of a hurry to wet their hands if they're going to handle the fish. :-? Colin

Hey everybody - I was watching a local (MI) fishing show a couple days ago and they were catching musky in Lake St Clair. The charter guy who was taking them out said that a lot of the musky that people release after catching them(he said about half of them) die because they fight real hard and lose all of their energy. Then it made me think, are bass the same way? If you play with the fish before you get him out of the water, could he be too tired out to survive after you let him go? Is it better to horse him in the boat and release him? I just hope that the couple of bass that I've caught aren't on the bank being eatten by flies. :'( Colin

Welcome to the forum! This site has a lot more info than any fishing book that I've ever read! But... I do have a good book recommendation. The B.A.S.S. Ultimate Bass Fishing Library line-up of books are really interesting and informative. The two I have are called "Top Techniques of the Bass Pros" and "Advanced Bass Fishing Skills: Best Lures, Techniques, and Presentations." My dad and I found both of these at a Bargain Books store for about $3 each. Also, Bassmaster Magazine is a great bassin magazine with a lot of great stuff. These are just some of my suggestions. I'd also check out your local library for some fishing books, you never know what they may have... Good luck and have fun! Colin

Yep, we have a 30lb minn kota transom mount. Only 30 lb, but it's gets us where we need to be nonetheless. We also use paddles quite a bit to get around in really weedy or shallow areas. As far as transducers go, I'm assuming that you mean a transducer for a fish finder, we don't have a mounted fish finder. We have one of those Humminbird Smartcast things with the watch. Not too sure how reliable it is when finding fish, but is shows depth. Colin

If you're talking about sitting in your canoe and not standing, I think pitching is the way to go. I fish in one of these and I can pitch up to 20-25 feet no problem. I know that this is a bit different than a canoe, but I'm pretty bad at pitching, and if you're decent at it, you could definetely do it from a canoe. I see a lot of guys who fish from canoes pitching into pads and such better than I can. Just takes practice. As far as splash noise goes, if the fish are more aggressive, a little splash doesn't matter too much. A couple days ago, I was pitchin a senko type worm into pads with a little splash because the wind was hard to work with. This didn't bother them at all, I had 3 good bites right when it entered the water. Only got a good hookset on one though... If the bass are really finicky, lure splash is quite important. Hopefully this helps a bit. Good luck! Colin

Well, I'm not sure that I'm that guys but from the article... a.k.a. experiment (by the way, I know this was in the lure section, but it's the same idea for retrieves too.) Thanks for the article! Really interesting and informative. Colin

E) All of the above. Seriously, this is the best site ever. Lots of great info, great people, and to top it all off, a great group of guys keeping this site going. (they aren't people like us, they're gods) I'm with you 100% on that one 5. Thanks to everyone for all the advice that I've gotten, confidence that I've gained, and fun times that I've had. Colin

For those who use flukes in the fall, on average, how deep do you usually work these things? I know that you have to "follow the baitfish" and such, but if I don't have a decent fishfinder to find the baitfish, how deep should I be working them? I haven't really used these very much but I want to this fall because from what I hear, they work really well during that season. Thanks. Colin

So fall is just a cast away, but how does one figure out when it's actually here? I know the water has to be a certain temperature for the fish to know it's fall and that they gotta bulk up for winter. Do the temps range from the region that you're in? I'm in SE Michigan but I don't know what temp means fall. Also, the only way that I have to find out the water temp is with a little pool thermometer. My question about this is, does the surface temperature (right on the surface) differ a lot from the water temperature about a foot or two down? I'm asking this because this thermometer float in the water, but I could add a little weight to it to get it down a bit. I know that most fish finders have their transducers mounted on the trolling motor or other stuff like that. Is it crucial for me to get it down deeper than just the surface or will the surface give me a good enough temperature to know when fall water temps have arrived? Thanks in advance for the help! Colin

Ain't Texan - How did you find out all of this info on the crawfish in your area? You said that you haven't seen all of them personally. Did you ask people if they know or did you find out some other way?

Hey guys! This is some GREAT information. Ain't Texan - I see that you've spent a lot of time checkin out those crawfish. That post sounds like my teacher from biology, but don't get me wrong, I love science Really interesting stuff. Thanks everyone! Colin

Wow, I had no idea that craws could be all different colors in the same lake. That's really interesting. Brown, black, very dark green, gotcha Tom Bass. Thanks! Colin

don walkup - I've never tried fishing at night, and even if I did, I never would've thought about using these sweet beavers. Always thought that topwaters such as buzzbaits and such were the best at night. I'll have to give that a try when I get out at night. BassSmacker - Well, I am a kid, so I don't think I have to worry about that, hahaha Maltese Falcon - I live right by paint creek and I see a lot of guys fly fishin, never see any fish being pulled out though. Ain't Texan - That's some awesome information. You made some very good points that I never thought about. Just a question, I know the color of crawfish in a different lake that's about 10 miles away from this one. Would the crawfish colors be the same because it's in the same general area or do the colors range from lake to lake? Thanks a lot for all the advice! It really cleared a lot of things up for me. Colin

Hey everyone! This is just a general question about crawfish. I fish in a small, 30 acre lake in SE MI. Am I right to assume that it has a crawfish population? Can crawfish live in pretty much any body of water from 1 acre to thousands of acres? I'm just wondering this because I dunno if using lures such as a sweet beaver or other crawfish immitations would produce if there aren't any crawfish in the lake. Thanks for any help with clearing this up. Colin

I've fished with 4 new people this year. 2 of them were my aunt and uncle who've never caught a bass before even tho they have their cottage on a big lake... We went out on lake st clair and my uncle hooked about a 3-4 lb smallie on a crankbait. He's crazy about fishin now Hopefully I can get out with some guys from the forum who live in MI. I'd love to get out with some really experienced guys and learn a bunch of new stuff. Colin