RHuff

I went out today for the first time in Southern WV and caught 8 bass on a rapala shadow rap, all were very soft hits that came along the bottom in about 12-15 feet of water. They were laying down holding at the mouths of inlets or small coves. I positioned my boat directly in the mouth and fished jerkbaits and crankbaits parallel to the shoreline in the sides of the coves and inlets. Water was around 50 degrees and stained from a lot of rain the past few days.

Thanks for the additional info. Caught 9 bass and a monster crappie at Plum Orchard today. Fish are biting

First time out, fishing a small 292 acre small lake in southern WV. Water level was up quite a bit and water color was a bit stained due to a lot of recent rain. Got there around noon and fished until about 5:30. Caught 8 Largemouth on a Rapala Shadow Rap in Smelt color. Three of those came on three casts. Also hooked a monster crappie that weighed over two lbs. Also caught a nice bass in deep on a chrome/orange/black wiggle wart. All of the bass were between a pound and 3lbs but I couldn't be happier my first time out for the year. Today showed me that the Rapala Shadow Rap is as advertised.

Rapala Shadow Rap

Gotta think the rain has warmed up the water some in most of WV

I looked up several sites but swear for the life of me I couldn't locate any temperature readings

I looked up several sites but swear for the live of me I couldn't locate any temperature readings

I'm suprised it is in the low 50s already. We haven't really had any warm, warm weather yet. I think everyday is supposed to be between 75 and 60 next week so hopefully that will help. Does anybody know any local lake temperatues yet? Fish should be biting at 52 degrees.

That is a really pretty photograph. Nice catch too by the way.

I have this exact boat. I just purchased a 4x8 sheet of treated 3/4" plywood, as well as a 5 foot roll of 6' grey outdoor carpet from Lowe's. I also bought a pedestal seat mount from Walmart. I'm going to build two small platforms for casting decks as well as removing the fold down plasic seats from the brackets they are attached to and mounting them on the pedestals so one has room to rotate 360 degrees if need be. I think this would make the boat night and day better to fish out of.

Bumping this thread up since I added an additional image.

Timber and grass without a doubt

Do you let the chatter fall and hop, hop, hop it along the bottom or do you throw it and do a steady retrieve such as a spinnerbait? First year fishing them was last year and didn't have much luck. Wanted to see if there was anything I could change.

I'll be heading out to fish April 6, 7, and 8 hard.. Hopefully the bass will be biting in southern WV!

This is Doctor Dan Hale Lake in Princeton, WV. The actual Dam is where the oval is. Here is an image I extracted from Google Earth.

Below is a topo map of a reservoir I am going to hit hard next week as the temps will be in the high 60s to lower 70s. I expect sunny conditions. The water temp is still hovering around 42-46 degrees. Can any of the experienced folks on here help me with breaking down this map and giving some advice on where to fish and maybe what to throw. Thanks in advance.

I always wondered where BD fishes at. It seems he's always the only one around and everything seems private all the time. I wondered many times if he has his own private pond he's fishing for different episodes. I love the show and will always watch. I like The Bass Dr with Todd Hallowell I think he does a great job.

Do you fish Yatesville Lake often? What do you catch there and what type of lures do you like to use there? I know the area well but have never fished Yatesville.

Pretty Boat you have. I'm jealous. I want to get a bass boat so bad I cannot stand it but just don't have the money right now with three small kids at home.

As far as strategy or learning is concerned about bass fishing?

I found this rather funny. You went outside and found an artificial lizard in your driveway last year and would like to try it out? When I saw this thread title I so thought you were asking someone to identify a small natural lizard you caught and wanted to use as live bait.

You have no idea how Jealous I am. Nice boat congrats bro!

I don't have any extra money upfront to put down on a boat and my wife and I have three kids, and a lot of student loans and other everyday debt so I don't wanna go finance a boat for big monthly payments. I'd give anything to come across a good deal on a Tracker Pro 160 with 20 HP....... Sure I'd love to go drop $25G on a new boat but it's not fair to my family to do so. I fish out of a Pelican Bass Raider 8 that i picked up out of the trader mag for $300. I caught several nice fish out of it last year but the only downside is I am stuck to small ponds and reservoirs because it's impossible to cover water with a trolling motor....

Mature smallmouth are so smart. You gotta use absolute stealth when fishing for them. If you can see a fish it can see you. Look for areas of current around rocks that create a "swirl" of water. If it is in a shadow that is a plus. Big smallies will crush a lure usually within the first few seconds of it hitting the water.

I eat some small mouth that are river caught locally. They taste good because their primary food source is crawfish. The largemouth bass from lakes around here have a high mercury content so the WV DNR advises you to limit the amount you eat per month. For some reason I can't get the urge to eat largemouth. Don't know if it's because I spend so much effort catching one to kill it or if I just don't trust how clean they are around here.