Captain America

When in doubt get the senko out.... Seriously, weightless senkos (or more generally, soft plastic stick baits) are easy to fish, and a great way to get started building up bass fishing confidence. I suggest branching out from there. Texas rigged plastics are simple and effective too, and you can fish them a little faster than a senko.

So, last spring I was catching mostly largemouth in my local river when the water temps were in the mid to high 40s. All in small (at most 15'x15' 5 fow max) slack water pockets. In warm weather I probably catch 15 smallies for every largemouth, but in cold water the smallies dont usually show up until the water temps get into the low 50s. I figure the smallies find a deep hole with current washing overhead in the winter and they come shallow to feed once temps are right. The largemouth bite is always the first to heat up. Do you guys think the largemouth could be staying in the slack-water pockets all winter? I wouldnt think these spots are great wintering areas since a strong rain would bring stiff current through those areas...but maybe it is the best they got. There is not a whole lot of slack water in that stretch of river. I am curious bc I will be back in town for a few weeks, and temps have been pretty high...

Thats what I was thinking, but I saw 1000s of shad busting the surface! I thought there would be a hungry bass near by...

I recently moved to Kansas, and I have not been getting into the fish. This fall has been tough. Mostly skunks. I caught a few fish on a chatterbait a few weeks ago, but that is it. I have read that this time of year is great for moving baits, so I have been doing a lot of searching (Chatterbait, jerkbait, spinnerbait), but all the fish seem to be telling me is that whatever I am doing is not working. I am a bank angler, so I have been focusing on ponds (mostly small gravel pits). Havent fount too many that have a lot of cover (1 or 2 lay downs per pond), and the cover I do find and pick apart with slower baits do not produce any fish. The DNR website says that the ponds I have been hitting are decent for bass, so that makes me think they are in there... Water temps today were around 56. It snowed on monday, but It has been warm for about four days now, and next week is going to be in the 70s. Seems fishy to me... I would like to start catching some fish! Any advice that would help me catch em between now and prespawn?

my issue with the iboats is that the maps are different than navionics. On the navionics web app i find good looking structure, but it looks way different on the iboats app. I don't know which one is more accurate.

I am looking for a mobile app that has contour line maps and gps. I don't want to pay $15/month for the navionics app, I am on a college student budget. I found the iboats app that is a one time payment of $20 for the US maps. That is an option. The maps are not as detailed as Navionics, but I can study up online to find the more subtle structure. Do any of you guys have experience using apps other than navionics for your on the water contour maps? Any recommendations for good apps? Thanks.

I fished some bass beds deep into a patch of lillies last week and I saw so many carp near by. The carp and the bass seemed to be separated a little, but they were not far away. I found bass beds in clearer water (maybe becasue I could see better), and carp in dirtier water. I did see some carp near the bass beds, and a few bass beds in the "carpy" water. I would often see carp swimming by while targeting a bed or reeling one in. I did leave some the water where I saw the most carp alone. I couldn't locate beds there, and I was less confident. My theory is that I was fishing some early spawners. I have heard that the bigger fish spawn first, and the shallow, stained lily pads on the north west side of the lake were warmer than the rest of the lake. These bigger males that I was on (3-5lbs) might not get spooked by a carp like a 1-2 lber might. This area holds big bass all year and I believe the carp hang around all year as well. I think it totally depends on the situation at hand. I caught a big bowfin on its bed in 12 feet of clear water once during a tournament.....

It probably wont come up very often. Instances where a fish is going to die are pretty rare. I mean if letting your bait sit on the bottom and coming back an hour later to see if you got one is your method, then it would happen a lot, but if your rod is in your hand, you should be ok for a nice, clean release 99.99% of the time.

I don't think most people pinch barbs. In some places, however, it is the law. I just do it because I have seen it prevent damage, and I am putting them back anyway. Ethically, I'd keep the fish. Legally, the game warden does not care why you kept the fish. It is up to your discretion.

I prefer to eat catfish, walleye, pike, or panfish. They all taste better IMO, and I like the idea of letting the bass go. I still put most of the species i mentioned above back. I only like to keep 1 or 2 walleye, pike, cats every once in a while IF they are perfect eaters and I'm in a mood. Panfish is another story ?. If everyone kept all of the fish they could legally keep, there would be a lot less fish to go around. That being said, if you gut hook a fish bad (bleeding, entire hook in stomach, is not reviving on the release), and it is a legal keeper, it might be in the fish's best interest to be fried up. I like to pinch the barbs on my hooks. It really helps when you get a swallowed hook, or when the hook is tangled in the skin in the corner of the mouth. Much less damage in those cases.

A guided bass trip on a new lake would be awesome. A guided bass trip on a familiar lake might give him some insight to fishing his home lake that he will use in the future. A new species trip would be sweet too -- big TN river flathead catfish, blue catfish, or stripers are examples. I am personally picky about my gear, so a gift card would be sweet; it would NOT feel less special than a regular gift. A $500 gift card to tackle warehouse would make me feel like a kid in a candy shop! Of the options I listed, I would pick either a big flathead catfish trip (I envy your state's flathead catfish population), or the tackle warehouse gift card, but I would still be overly excited about the other two. That is ME, though. It might take some detective work to see what would be good. I am thinking i might have to leave my computer open to this thread in a very visible location.... ?

The my river has been getting slammed. People do not seem to care how close they get to each other either ?. Luckily the lakes I like to fish havent been as bad. More room, less people, and a change of scenery.

4" curly tail on a jig head

It seems to me that I am always hearing about a technique that so and so used to win such and such lake, and it becomes the hot new thing. I am wondering if there is a place to find information about tournament winning baits. Like would bassmaster have anything like that on their site? I can imagine that a lot of that info is scattered al over the place, I just think it would be interesting to look at all that stuff.

That yum dinger rigged weightless either wacky would be a great place to start (any stickbait like a Senko, Ocho, or a Zinker etc.) I like more natural colors like green pumpkin bc they work almost anywhere, but that junebug will catch you some fish as well. I also prefer Z-man zinkers bc they dont fall apart. It will catch fish anywhere, and it is easy to fish. When i invite people largemouth fishing, I always give them a stickbait. It will be a good way to get a feel for where bass like to hangout. Plenty of youtube videos and articles about how to fish that type of bait. For locating the big girls: I agree with what WRB said. Where you are located, type of lake, pond, or river makes a difference.

You'll want to make sure your line is being managed. I see a lot of beginners keep their line too slack to detect a bite. This is not to say you want a tight line all of the time. This doesn't apply to moving baits like a crankbait, but for worms and jigs and other slower baits, I like to keep the line tight enough that if a fish bites, you can either see (your line moving without it being you, the current , or the wind) or feel the bite ("Thump" "tap tap" or sometimes your rod will gradually get heavier). I know you didn't ask, but I usually put beginners on senko or senko like baits. They are pretty easy to fish, and they catch bass anywhere. Should give you some good bite training as well. As for color, what DFWbassin said.

Sounds like a good summer spot that I fish sometimes (steady retrieve curly tails on a jig head, crankbaits if ur not too scared like me). look up the temp on usgs. It might not be available, but it is a helpful tool. I google: "Name of river temperature". If the temps are lower than 48 the bite might be tough from shore. As far as current goes, in featureless rivers, change in depth causes a change in current. The bottom of the channel will have stronger current, and the water right next to shore will have slower current. The transition might be too gradual to see, but sometimes there is a sweet spot where they will stack up. Steeper drop offs will create bigger breaks. This time of year I like to let my bait sit on the bottom for a few seconds at a time. Looks more like a crayfish. If the water you are fishing is fast enough to sweep a 1/4 oz jig away with no bottom contact, find slower water. Action will heat up the closer you get to the spawn also.

+1 looks like warm weather from here on out. Our region had a big cold front come through, but fish should be moving up and getting real aggressive real soon.

In rivers I primarily use 4" curly tails on a jig head. Partly because I am cheap, and partly because you can fish it slow, fast or anywhere in between. I would keep looking for current breaks. major ones or more gradual transitions. Fish will relate to those breaks whether they are feeding on the faster side, or the slower side. Bottom contact is important as crayfish are beginning to become active. Rocky bottom helps too. This time of year, I usually toss 45 degrees up stream and let my bait fall on a semi slack line. Once it hits the bottom i hop it back. Let the fish tell you how fast to retrieve. I have been doing well moving slower up here -- bites coming after 10+ second pauses. If they want it fast they will let you know when you by slamming your bait when you were not expecting it.

As some have said, location is key. From the shore, I like to look for current breaks. They can be obvious ones caused by a small bay, the spot right behind a boulder or log, or just a gradual transition between the main current and the shore. I have found that fish hang out NEAR the break. they wont always be right on the seam. Sometimes they are in the faster water, sometimes they are in the slower water. For bait selection, I like to use a jig and 4 inch curly tail most of the time. Easy to put in their face, cheap (rivers like to eat lures too), and effective. Also, Trout CAN co-exist with bass. Ive seen it, but that doesnt mean they will always be found on the same section of river. My impression of the Clinton is that there are trouty sections and warmer sections. Id look into that.

I am moving in a few months, and where I'm moving there are not many lakes or rivers that hold bass. There are some bodies of water an hour or so out, but I like to do my regular fishing closer to home. There are a handful of ponds that have bass in them which is cool since I just bought a kayak... Anyway do you guys have any methods for finding out what baitfish are in a pond or a small body of water?

I dont think so. I have caught some DINK smallies on 5 inch baits. Depending on the day it might help you out. Later in the year when baitfish are bigger it might be good. I have seen days where a 5 inch grub very noticeably outfishes a 4 inch, and vice versa.

I'd look for bottom composition. Rocky bottom, sand, muck, transition areas etc.

I am in the market for a fish finder, and I wondering if there is a good reason to have both down imaging and the traditional graph style in the same unit. I am for sure going to get side imaging, but I don't know yet if I want, or need both down imaging and the traditional view. What are your experiences?