RHuff

I lose quite a few in heavy Lilly Pad fields... They strike and I set the hook, they pull back.....and its game over.... all I get is my hook with a huge as clump of big of fat lilly pads

I did honestly cut the gain back while scanning I just turned it up to show a defined thermocline for the picture I wanted to post...

Bass, Bluegills, Crappie, and Carp Tom I value your opinion a lot on here.. In this situation are bass catchable around those bait balls in the 8ft range? I am just happy that I am starting to see things correctly!

Well I did catch one small bass on a DT16 but the lake was acting weird today.. I took a photo off my sonar in some of the deepest water… The thermocline was set up around 10ft and most fish were suspended in the 8-10ft zone in open water..

Man made lakes in WV and surrounding areas..

I have sucked for years at fishing offshore.. It’s always been bank or bust for me.. If I can catch fish shallow I usually fill a bag in tournaments but rarely earn a check.. Almost always middle of the pack.. If fish aren’t biting shallow then I zero.. It sucks and I want to get better.. I feel like learning to fish offshore will help me take the next step.. Starting tomorrow I am dedicating myself to catching offshore fish.. I have developed my own plan.. Tell me what you think.. Identify the life zone or thermocline Scan the contour line of the proper depth of the life zone Mark the “irregularities” at that depth (hard bottom, brush pile, rock pile) as many as I can find Fish the Waypoints in a revolving order until you find active fish Hopefully by the end of the day I can catch 5 quality fish that can complete with some of the guys in local tournaments around here.. Anything else I need to be aware of?

Lemme rephrase… I did throw other baits and caught fish on other baits.. the only bait I flipped was the Palmetto Bug

I have always gone with the assumption that colder water = less action and warmer water = more action until I saw a quick video by one Mr. Greg Hackney yesterday explaining how he chooses his flipping baits.. He said in super clear water; non-active bass; little or no wind; etc he always chooses the rodent (beaver style) because it’s less action and faster fall rate (less water resistance) is more appealing in those conditions and he throws the rage bug (flapper style) in dirtier water for more action; windy conditions; active bass etc… He didn’t even mention water temperature at all… I have always flipped a beaver style in early spring and a flapper style in summer.. so yesterday I dedicated all day to flipping a Z-man Palmotto Bug (Beaver style) in 82 degree water and bass were absolutely killing it.. I can’t believe I was that far off… You can never stop learning…

I flip around heavy lilly pads and thick bank cover and the Z-Man Palmetto Bug in Bama Bug has been lights out for me this year..

Check the WV Fishing Tournaments Facebook Page, Trail of Dreams Series Opens , or WV Bass Nation Opens or local clubs.... A good starting point would be to research the WV Fishing Tournament Schedule on the wvdnr website... https://wvdnr.gov/fishing/fishing-tournament-dates/

Man if it were me I’d go smaller bait, bigger presence… For example.. a smaller profiled flatside crank is sick at night. Maybe a Frittside 5 or 7.. Smaller wiggle wart.. to start off.. Give the fish something to track but the smaller profile makes it easier to inhale it in the dark… The bite will come violently… If fish are being extra aggressive then a chatterbait/craw would be my next go too

7'2 Medium Spinning Rod with 8lb Berkley Fireline and 8lb Trilene XL leader with a Berkley Fusion Finesse Wide Gap #2.. Always Berkley the General MaxScent wacky rigged directly through the top 1/3 of the worm.... I may or may not have learned this setup from a certain shallow water stick on Bass U... and it absolutely works

This thread is appropriate...… I had a huge blowup on a frog over a thick lily pad field yesterday evening..... It violently engulfed the frog and by the time I got the hook set I was locked up in the pad stems and bass was long gone....

Please share what settings you used!

Before I post the following question I apologize if this isn't the correct board to ask, but I was not sure which one because it relates to techniques, baits, and electronics so I figured the general forum would be the best place... So, lets say I scan an area with my Garmin 93 UHD and I'm using my side scan/down scan and I see a good looking brush pile... I bring up my curser and mark it with a way point with my curser crosshairs to mark it's exact location as opposed to my boat position so I feel confident I have the true location of the pile marked.. I turn around and zoom in on my mapping to bring up my boat icon with the alignment mark (40 ft. to be exact) out from the bow of the boat and my rings around the boat to pull up directly in front of the waypoint so that I can begin fishing the area. I make several long casts out in front of me using texas rigs, deep cranks, jigs, etc to attempt to hit the pile.... Problem is - I can never seem to hit the pile no matter what I do..... Would anyone be willing to give maybe better advice on a way to get yourself lined up for brush or other targets that you want to fish?

Thank you all for the advice.. I think it’s honestly knot failure on my part. What Tom said about twisting in the knot makes sense. It’s probably my own dumb fault…. AT LEAST i’m throwing the right bait under the right conditions to get bit!

It has never occurred to me to Snell a wacky hook but that definitely makes sense to me..... I've heard that the San Diego Jam knot is one of the strongest rated knots you can tie with fishing line...I think I'll look into changing my knots....

Berkley Squarebull in Gilly or a Dirty Jigs Swimjig in Bluegill color for bigger bass

No pickerel or pike in this lake that I am aware of.... There are muskee, trout, and catfish... The line is maybe a month or two old at most? The knot didn't give and there were no pig tails in the line....I suppose the line could have had a frey in it from rubbing against hardwood cover? It was almost as if you had cut the line clean with a pair of scissors...

I've lost two big fish in two weeks on the wacky rig. I fish a 7ft med/heavy spinning rod with 10lb Berkley Fireline and 8lb Co-Poly with a size 1 Berkley Fusion Finesse Wide Gap hook (the john cox setup) tied with a palomar knot. and I have lost two fish in the last two weeks. Granted, I have caught a ton of fish on this setup and I have caught fish when I couldn't seem to get bit on any other presentations, but my two biggest bites (I'm guessing at least 3-4lbs or bigger) have broken me off at the hookset. The last one as the worm sank my line darted straight to the right and the line snapped clean didn't even really feel the weight of the fish. Is it me? Am I simply setting the hook too hard? Do I need to change knots? I know Cox says use the co-poly for a little stretch since the main line is braid... Do I need a different rod? I'm happy catching fish but frustrated that I am losing the bigger bites..

For stained water conditions I would throw the larger one for a bigger profile in less visibility and throw the smaller in ultra clear water... but that's just me and I usually don't catch fish so....

The launch by the Dam at Watts Bar was like a zoo in itself… if that place takes off next year like they say it will I hope there is better access that can handle the rush of people

Just got back home last night thought i’d give yall a recap of the trip… Got to Dayton Fri afternoon and checked into Econolodge and went to Dayton Ramp.. 200 tournament boats coming off the water so it was a little hectic.. Fished up river from Dayton a few miles then went down by the Hiawassee then down by the bridge.. Threw chatterbait, spinnerbait, and rattle trap.. and flipped a little no bites Friday… Drove to Chester Frost Park on Sat and put in 100 tournament boats plus pleasure boaters there (and the 200 in Dayton so over 300 tournament boats on Saturday) Went south down by the islands and finally got on some fish in 1-3 ft of water on a wacky rig berkley the general maxscent… went back up next to the mouth of chester frost and caught some on light line still wacky rigged then went back in to a pocket in the bay and caught one off a dock on the zman willow vibe swimbait.. Ended up catching 14 on Sat.. all were small biggest maybe 2-2.5lbs… Went up to Watts Bar on the way out and fished it for about 4 hours Sunday morning.. had two soft bites on a swimjig around lay downs.. that was it.. All in all a good trip.. Nice getaway with the wife.. had an enjoyable time but probably won’t go back unless i somehow end up in a tournament there.. Wayyyyyyy over fished and wayyyyyyy too much fishing pressure… it’s ruining the lake IMO but you can’t stop people from coming.. Cash Cow for the local economies I’m sure… Thanks everyone for your help

Thanks for the info!!

So go shallow? Wind blown banks? Throw shad-like baits?