Angry John

I prefer The LEC70MHF for most situations. I would say i fish light to moderate cover at most.

I would go with a swimbait tail and when its time to move the bait reel a little to get the bait moving toward the surface and give it a pop to cover the weeds and let it settle again. I like keitech swing impacts for this. The tail will add a lot of weight for further casts. I like the AYU color but others do work.

I use there 4 inch big bite cane worm and do excellent. Might just be a one hit wonder

I love the cost co cold weather socks. There a best value and very comfortable. I rock my LL bean boots and columbia climbing pants that are waterproof. I wear thermals under the pants and then a few layers on top with a columbia rain jacket that is thin but waterproof. My boots were the most expensive items and the rest were under a hundred each. This is low budget compared to the frabill fxe gear, and or the simms stuff. I spend all my time on the water in my Yak but i dont think that my gear would hold up to hunting and bushes very well. They would be just fine for going to and from work in the rain which i do use them for, as nothing is thick or bulky.

I watched a guy kill it one night on watermelon colored trick worms on a very small sliver of moon. I dont think it matters what color you use and you should be good to go with the same baits your using during the day. Hard baits like cranks and topwaters might do better in black, but i have done well with larger baits, vise color. I use full size spooks and 6 inch or larger wake baits to get it done. I slow down a little and use the larger profile on topwater to help me out.

Just joined the site, been reading the articles for over a year. Found my way back to fishing about 3 years ago while bored in CT. I have met a lot of great people in this sport, and look to the advice of others here to help me grow. I was bit by the tackle bug my first year and am always buying top end gear and love to modify. I fish almost every day spring threw early winter, and got into rod building late last winter. I am working at completing my first rod, as i want it to be perfect. I had no one in my family who taught me so every lesson i get is hard time spent on the water. I fish mostly from my nucanoe YAK but have spent some good days in a few friends boat. I hope to help others and be helped here so dont take the name as an indication of anything at all. Its a nickname someone gave me and i use it on all the boards.

In my area i get no play on the rattle baits. That sucks because i just moved from CT where they worked quite well in some lakes. My most productive 1.5 is the bluegill color and there like 5 bucks. I have had a day on a lake with some good stain the black back chartreuse do very well. That bait has had no luck in my new waters which are very clear. Using light line may also help if there is not a bunch of cover to get you hung up. 8lb or 6 if your in a boat. You may want to throw a weightless spider grub on spinning tackle with a 2/0 egw worm hook. Got one of my best bass here in wa on that.

I have spent about 2 grand on paddle seats pfd anchor and all the stuff required to get out on the water. Do you plan on fishing alone or bringing someone. I like nucaone, but hobbie is more popular. Having nice stuff is fun, but safety gear is just that. I buy the best in pfd's for me and the family. One of the reasons i got the nucanoe was that it floats even swamped and filled with water. Is this an important feature for you or is comfort. There are outdoor stores that will let you try different models, but go to a dedicated store that has the higher end vessels to see what you want/need. Getting a geo metro when you would be better served with a toyota camry is an expensive lesson. Paddles can be very expensive but your paddle style needs to be matched. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NHnUYhJevw

You might want to fish swim baits like a 6" hud. They will go deep and you can fish them very deep. thats a small bait for your area as most fish the 8"

The in fishermen books are good but don't buy two. I had the smallmouth and the largemouth and they were so similar i felt i wasted some money. I also bought the new mike ike finess book and that was good but very short. The website for in fishermen is good and the site for field and stream is also very large and informative. The latest info is normally in magazines like BAM if you're trying to get all the latest info. The bass college is available but costs money. Hope this gives you plenty of ideas to get you thru the winter!

I normally throw back everything and i have friends that keep everything to eat. I dont care if people stay legal and within slot limits if those are in effect. I ask that people fishing with me release bass over 2 lbs, as those are big for washington. I also recommend all fish are let go during the spawn. If i am in my boat than that is a rule, but i don't say bo to others as long as they are legal.

Wacky rig some worms or try a dropshot. The color of the water will pick your worm colors. I would also try some keitech swing impacts or shads. I do a combo and dropshot the 4" easy shiner and that works good to. Casting as far as possible to cover the water away from touchdown will help out. I would also look at some silent squarebill cranks. I like the KVD 1.5 silent. These thinks work for me and i hope the work for you.

I plan on working at getting good at dropshot. The water here in WA is very clear and i have had limited success with the regular tactics. I plan on not using the regular robo worms as i did this at first and had no success. I got some smaller tubes from TW and did a lot better with no fish before shifting to this method. I just finished my first season here so i have learned a lot. One of the big dropshot lessons is limiting action. Move the bait and dont even shake the rod let alone bounce it. Less seems to be more for me and I plan on learning a lot more about this technique.