Ozark_Basser

All I know is that when the water is stained or muddy I target bass shallow and tight to cover, and it works. It works well. This is not to say that the same isn't true in clear water, but I always expect bass to be a little farther off the bank when the water is clear as opposed to muddy on the same body of water.

Definitely interesting. I wonder if he noticed bass becoming more pelagic as they grow larger, especially once they get around the double digit size.

If you're on a budget, go to tackle warehouse and check out Living Image skirts that you can put on Boss jigheads. This is a cheaper way to buy jigs and the living image skirts are awesome. As far as my favorite silicone skirts, I'd have to go with Dirty JIgs. For Living Rubber Jigs, I'd have to go with Skinny Bear Another brand I've been wanting to try but have yet to get to is jigs from Greenfish Tackle.

Only thing that ever seems to work for me on pressured waters is to try new techniques the bass have never seen. Just try and think different than everyone else and get creative

I don't have a lot of confidence in topwater baits in that water temp. You can get bit on topwater in that temp range, but I always feel there's better ways to approach the fish than topwater when the water gets cooler.

First, you'd have to know if there is any fish over 3 lbs in lake you're fishing to begin with. During the spawn, I'd walk around the lake and see if I saw any big ones on beds. Also, in lakes where everything is the same, you have to find something different. Bass just seem to relate to anything different. Look for breaks such as where thicker grass breaks to sparse grass etc.

If you're getting bit then who cares. If you're not getting bites then it's a good idea to downsize everything or try a different technique. A lot of times in fall the baitfish are at their absolute biggest so depending on what you're surrounded by is where you should start. If you're fishing Millwood, I'd say just look for baitfish and you'll do well. Last year I went out in early December on Bull Shoals with three people on a boat. I was throwing a big mop jig and the other guys where throwing finesse jigs. We all did about equally well with a couple of better than average fish apiece. Get my drift? Sometimes it doesn't matter the size and sometimes you couldn't buy a bite if you had the money if you're not using a particular color or size of bait it seems. Best plan of action in my opinion is start off by trying to match the hatch then go from there.

It really doesn't matter. Just because it's November doesn't mean what you were throwing in July won't work. Just start with trying to fish with something you have confidence in that could mimic the baitfish where you're fishing. It's not so much about certain baits as much as it is about locating the fish then throwing a particular bait that would be best for the area you're fishing.

The question's in the title. My favorite is a 4 1/2" Upton's Reaper drug slowly on the bottom on a shakeyhead with as light of line as I can get away with. What's yours?

I got mine right down the road at Bass Pro, but you can get one online at their website. Tackle Warehouse doesn't carry the signature series anymore for some reason. This rod has a softer tip than any other 7' medium heavy fast action rod I've ever seen. It absolutely launches the Luck E strike RC STX. It's graphite which I find a bit more accurate and of course lighter than composite rods, and the extra length makes long casts and hooksets with a lot of line out way easier. I've thrown traps and squarebills with it too along with soft plastics like the I shad with belly weighted hooks weighted as low as 3/16. It handles all of these techniques really well. It casts the 3/16 oz quite far for a rod rated 3/8 - 1oz, but that's for belly weighted swimbaits and baits rigged in the same manner. I don't think it would cast a 3/16 oz shakeyhead nearly as well. If you're gonna use it for jerkbaits, I wouldn't throw it on braided line unless you use a good long mono leader (6ft-7ft). I thought the tip would be soft enough, but it transitions into a stout enough backbone that caused me to bend some hooks on 2 lb bass. I was using a long fluoro leader and it still bent some hooks. So yes. It does have some pretty good backbone to it, but not enough to be fishing deep footballheads or pulling fish out of heavy cover I wouldn't think. I also think this rod will be perfect for throwing my 3/8 oz War Eagle Spinnerbaits and DT 10's. To sum it up, It's a good all around reaction bait rod with a lifetime warranty.

Lightweight, feels good in my hands, magnetic brakes (easier to change than centrifugal on the water), and gear ratio depends on what I'm gonna use it for

Temple Fork Outfitters by Gary Loomis 7' MH Signature Series. It's what I'm throwing right now, and it's only $100. It's rated as fast but it's got a lot more bend than most fast rated rods.

This sideways pitching technique is also the easiest way to skip while pitching.

I can see how it's fairly possible to miss a good portion of jig bites when you're fishing deep but not shallow.

Ah! this is what I was wanting to hear.

I'm not too sure that they are of a different species. As far as lakes around my neck of the woods, I think there are only gizzard shad and threadfin shad.

BIG baits and lots of time on the water. Big swimbaits, glide baits, wakebaits, and other big topwater baits seem to be the ticket for people who consistently catch 10 lb + bass.

About 95 percent of the time they just suck it in anyway (unless your bed fishing), so I set the hook as soon as I feel the hit. For trebles I don't set the hook near as harshly as I would for anything without treble hooks.

I feel long casts will make or break a successful day of fishing in certain situations, especially when fishing shallow water with good visibility.

Probably here too. I'm not really sure. To be honest, they weren't really ducklings, more like juvenile ducks I guess you could say. They had some feathers i think, but it was near dusk so it was hard to tell.

Why is it that sometimes shad have a green or purple coloration and sometimes they don't? Does it have anything to do with water clarity?

What would you rate the taper on this rod? I know it says fast, but that doesn't mean a whole lot to me seeing that I have plenty of fast rods that share almost no resemblance in taper. I'm a big St. Croix fan, and I love how a lot of their rods have that "bend" to them. It's almost as if their rating should be somewhere between mod-fast and fast. However, I'm thinking about upgrading and every St. Croix rod is split grip, and they are quite tip heavy in that price range. I'm pretty much saying that when I set the hook on a fish in pretty heavy cover I want a rod that has a softer upper section to let the fish fight its way out of the cover and not get launched toward my boat when I set the hook. This sort of action also in my opinion is perfect for frogging and and working jigs in a little deeper water. Sorry for being a bit meticulous. I usually won't buy a rod without first handling it, but I can't get one in my hands to test the action for myself.

Really thinking about getting this rod for Pitching/Frogging/Jigging. Anybody own this rod? What is the action like? I want to believe it's not super stiff because of the lure weight rating being so broad, but it is rated as XH so who knows.

I don't fish either very deep so I usually throw a 3/8 oz for both. Also, I can control the splash better with 3/8 oz when hucking it around shallow cover.

I just moved to Little Rock about three months ago and was wondering if there are any bass clubs around this area. I have a boat but I probably won't get it down here till spring.