RHuff

A guideline I go by is its possible to catch fish on top when the water warms from iceout to 60 degrees. Bass will continue to bite on top all through summer until the water drops to about 55 in the late fall.. A lot of things make that variable such as water clarity, baro pressure, cold fronts, etc.. If I see evidence of baitfish scattering on top or see fish hitting the top I will throw a topwater..

I like 3/8 oz tungsten for 90% of my pitching and flipping. You would think that a weight that heavy may not be ideal when flipping a stump or laydown but the fast fall will intice an aggressive bite more so than a light or weightless bait would

I use the space monkey in watermelon red flake and its deadly at my home lake flipping lilly pad fields. The structure bug in california craw, black, and watermelon red flake is sick used as a jig and chatterbait trailer.. Rage is my favorite brand on soft plastics..

I agree man don’t over analyze it. Just follow the bass and catch them. Six 2-3lbers is a heck of a day in my neck of the woods...

I’ve noticed this too here in WV. Some bass will have a dent and some not so much. Most are about the size of a thumb print. I’ve always just chalked it up as just a unique quality of a bass and never really thought much about it..

Give me your go to bait during each of these water temp categories.. 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s I know there are other factors involved like water clairity, depth, etc.. i’m just curious as to what everyone starts with when the water is in each of these ranges..

I use Pennzoil Marine Lower Unit Lube 80W-90. Used it since I got my boat works great. I also use Pennzoil 2-Stroke Oil in my Mercury 2-Stroke 50HP and it runs great.

A 5lb bass is huge for WV.. our bass just don’t grow like they do in other parts of the country..

Bluegill.. not to ***** but thats like one of the most common fish in the US LOL There should be millions of ways to ID this fish.. just sayin’

Worst hook I've seen was a guy had a treble hook buried right in the heel of his foot. Right in the meat. He said that pushing it thru little by little was the worst pain he's felt, but the second he cut the barb and backed it out it was like nothing had never happened..... Weird.

That's about the worst possible thing that could happen, so you better just go ahead and marry her now. Young hot shot dude pulled up to the ramp in a big fancy Nitro that looked brand spankin' new. His little trophy blonde hopped out beside him and you could tell they were already annoyed at each other (Not good). He was kinda talking to her like she was an idiot which made me feel bad for her. He backed the boat in and told her don't touch anything, just stand there and hold the rope and don't move until he gets back. She's like ok whatever with an eye roll. I noticed the boat didn't look right. The transom started going deeper and deeper. After a few minutes when the dude got back he started yelling at her WHAT DID YOU DO....... She said NOTHING YOU HORSES ASS I HELD THE ROPE. Homeboy for got to put the plug in. She walked right to the truck and got in. He loaded up and off they went. I guess that was the end of their fishing trips. I laughed about that for weeks.

Thanks guys. I use seafoam too. Have used Star-tron in the past with good results too. I always run an additive regardless.

Thanks guys. I guess I should be proactive and just check the tank physically before each trip.

I've noticed lately that my fuel Gauge is still showing like 1/2 a tank or more when I'm really on empty. Is there any way to check/clean/repair this so that it reads somewhat accurate again? My boat is a 2007 Triton VT-17 with 50HP Mercury. Thanks.

Boyd Duckett Topwater while Walking the Dog. I've caught dozens of bass in the 2-3lb range which is big for around here. Also nearly caught my biggest bass of the year (a solid 6-8lbs) that broke my line off right at the boat.

I've caught a lot of bass on multiple bodies of water with the Shadow Rap and Shadow Rap Shad since they were released. This year though, The Rapala BX Minnow in silver/black has produced the biggest fish for me.

Took the boat out for a couple of hours before dark yesterday and found some fish located in about 10 feet of water holding in submerged grass. Started throwing a walk the dog bait. Began working it aggressive with no luck so started slowing it down with softer twitches, no bite. On the next cast, I was working it about halfway down and got a text message so I paused my retrieve to glance at my phone and boom. A nice one blew it up as it was sitting still. The light bulb went off. Next cast I started twitching it to walk it three or four times and paused. 3 or 4 times and paused. Boom. Another blow up. Caught three more on the next three casts. Ended up catching 8 or 9 in a short span by working the bait and letting it pause. All of the hits came when the bait was paused. Fun evening to be out on the water.

I always referred to it as a grub spinner. Deadly for river and crappie/panfish.

Jerkbait City. Mimic one of those bluegills injured. Bass will pounce like a cat on a mouse. Match the hatch with size and color. Get it as close as you can to the bluegills in the area.

In the spring when the lillies are growing in but not mature yet, try working a willow leaf spinnerbait or a chatterbait through the stems. Cause it to get snagged and rip it on through the pads. This especially works in shallow water 10 feet or less, preferably on flats. In the summer and early fall when the lilly pads are in fully thick. Rig up a 3/8 oz archie head style jig with a creature bait as a trailer. A rounded football head will get hung up in thick vegetation. A jig with a pointed head will come through easier. My rule is clear water - green or brown with matching trailer and muddy real murky water - black or black/blue jig with matching trailer. My favorite trailer to use is the Strike King Structure Bug.

Do they run differently??

Replacing a skirt with a creature bait sounds interesting on a buzzbait.. What do you recommend? Or did you mean add it as a trailer??

Was organizing my tackle last night and decided to add a little flair to a couple of my baits. I have been getting some good bass on both jerkbaits and topwater baits (all seem to be with red feathered rear treble hooks) so I decided to put the two together. I added a little tail to one of my shadow rap shads and one of my bx waking minnow topwater baits. I also added one to my storm waking crank topwater bait. Anyone else customize their baits?

I take the hooks on the side and use bungee chords to tighten them down to the trailer frame if I'm traveling.

I like to take my aluminum boat sometimes up the backs of creeks and coves. I always till my motor up so I don't drag. I've started it up to run up the lake and forgot to lower it a time or two. That wakes you up. I forgot my boat keys once after driving an hour to the lake. Luckily my dad had his set. Luckily there hasn't been many major issues yet. I'm sure there will be... Once I saw a man prep his Bass Tracker to launch. He put his plug in and took his straps off and got his rods ready. He jumped in the boat (in the staging lane) and started his motor up dry then jumped in and backed the boat down. I don't know if he doesn't know better or if he thinks he is saving time letting it warm up. He's the only person I've ever seen do that. I started to tell him but didn't wanna step on his toes. I watched a young married couple pull up with a brand new Nitro bass boat once. The guy was kinda being hateful with his young wife talking to her like a child he said "Now you hold this rope and don't touch anything or do anything until I get back. He launched the boat and drove to park his truck. The boat started to fill up with water. He noticed it and eventually came running down the dock. He yelled at the girl and said "WHAT DID YOU DO." She said "Nothing you jerk I held the rope like you told me to." He forgot to put his plug in. He loaded it up and they left. Bet she never went fishing with him again LOL