Cole Richards

Fished 3 days n southern Indiana , this weather really has them in a funk . Caught all my fish on jigs and Ned rigs on wood cover in about 2-8 fow . Was looking forward to some crankbait fishing but the cold fronts really shut them down . Best bass went 3 lbs , caught some monster gills on the Ned rig however , a few pushed the 2 lb range . Pics soon . It was nice to get my wife and son out for some fishing , can't beat family time on the water, even if the fishing could be better .

Heading to the southern part of the state next week for spring break with the family . Anybody in the southern part of the state get out lately , I was wondering what the water temps are like . One of my friends said upper 60s but I don't think so .

Throw a shakey head or Ned rig , slow down you presentation .

I use red on all of my crankbaits , have had great success. I always use red when fishing a fluke or wacky red , just have more confidence with them in those situations.

I would have fished a fluke or jerk bait in the schooling fish . As to identifying the bait fish you can get lots of info about lakes and forage base looking at your states department of natural resources website , they always post fisheries research for lakes and rivers on there. It is a good way to know what forage and size fish you are dealing with .

Fish the moment ! Right now you seem like you are trying to tell the fish what they are going to bite on before you get to the lake. It should be the other way around . You should tailor your presentation to the seasonal trend of the fish and then the daily conditions , then the pattern will emerge when u get on the water. My typical rod selection is based on when and where I am fishing . Spring for example , jerk bait , spinner bait , rattle trap , are good options for power fishing to find fish , once you find them then slow down with a jig , Texas rig or shaky head and refine the pattern. If you feel like you need to throw the kitchen sink then you are hoping to get lucky basically. Stick with proven producers to find fish. Once you have located where the fish are holding then you can refine what they are chewing on that day. Think covering water with a crankbait first , then once fish have been located you can refine the presentation. If I caught the fish on a crank on the rear treble then maybe I need a color change, or a slower presentation , but if it swallowed the whole thing then there is no need to change. My rod and reel set up for exploring a new lake consists of the following 95%of the time Square Bill crankbait Jig and trailer spinnerbait or buzzbait shakey head worm Fluke or senko small swimbait in clear water you can cover pretty much every situation with these lures

I make my own spinner baits and buzz baits , that way you get better hooks and can customize skirts and blade combos at will. I make my own 1/8 oz buzzbaits cause there are not any good smaller baits on the market . I love an 1/8 oz buzz bait with a berkly power wit ripple shad trailer for casting weight . It's a perfect size for smallmouth . Spinner baits with shorter arms and smaller blades are easier to burn , replace a number 4 willow leaf with a 3 and shorten the arm and u are ready to go.

Got out on Saturday water temps are still 45 to 47 here , got a few keepers on a jerk bait . The water was super clear and the fish were all caught at the mouths of chanels . Water temps were warmer in the chanels but the fish there were skitish and had lock jaw. Still late winter moving to pre spawn up here it seams like .

I would think a fluke will work great , if u need more weight then throw it on a keel weighted swimbait hook but I like just a 4/0 wide gap Texas rigged normally , smallies will crush it on a quick retrieve , a spinner bait also makes sense in this situation as they come through cover great . When that water warms up get some 1/8 oz buzzbaits and put a power bait ripple shad on as a trailer , it's a nice size bait for smallies , good profile but better hook up ratio at least in my time on the water. I custom make my spinner baits and buzz baits , if you are interested let me know , 1/8 oz buzz baits can be hard to find sometimes . Then you have the rooster tail and meps inline spinners , I use to wade fish creeks and just crush smallies on those lures all day long .

20 dollar bill in a plastic bag , used it to by some fishing line later

What dept range were the whites holding , I am about 2 hrs north of you , we are about 47 water temps now . Have never fished for whites but have a lake close by that is full of them .

What were the water temps like

Anyone north of Indy get into any fish yet, buying my new boat on Saturday and I am ready to get on some fish .

Blade baits , jigs with chunk trailers, jerk baits worked super slow , start at any structure you can find on the break and work in , if you have wind and color in the water you will be surprised how shallow you can find them . In this situation I like a black hair jig or maribu jig , fish it super slow and bass will kill it on the fall. Look at the break lines that lead to shallow bays on the north side of the lake that are protected from the north winds . Start deep and work in shallow.

I am looking forward to seeing if a lot of the lakes that are around me that are infamous for not having quality bass will hold some monsters. I have had 20 lb bags on a few of these lakes by fishing differently than most people would . I am interested to see if the big swimbait will kick up the quality.

Those are some really nice fish I some big baits . Have you had more success on glide baits or traditional swimbaits?

6 inch black worm that was stuck to the inside of the tackle box , caught a 5 lb bass on the second cast . On a bluegill hook . Everyone told me I wouldn't catch anything with that and boom , hooked on bass for life!

I have never considered fishing a punch jig in the deep weeds , I may have to try that . What size jig are you throwing in that situation . I have fished Arkie head jigs that I tie myself and had a little success but have never tried a punch jig in the deep weeds. I have a lot of small bodies of water that I love to fish that have little pressure . I have had great success with normal sized lures there . I have always wondered if there are true giants in these bodies of water . I don't know if larger size lures would be the answer of just fishing deeper and slower . I caught my best fish last year on crankbaits over the top of deep weeds in the prespawn too. I wonder if the swimbait will have the same drawing power .

I have a lot of success fishing 4 and 5 inch jaks custom baits swimbaits . They are awesome in places that you would normally fish a spinnerbait in clear water situations . I have read a ton of good articles about catching trophy bass on the site , it seems like two lures shine at this the jig and the swimbait . I have never really been a jig guy and a lot of the lakes where I fish have a lot of bottom vegitation . I guess I need to expirment a bit and see which presentation is better on certain situations

Balsa is hard to make , due to weighting issues , I make my own plugs all the time . Pine wood or bass wood makes a great plug , all you need is a belt sander and band saw and you are good to go. With balsa make the plug in two separate sections and run a wire through the bait for stability and strenght of your hardware. Then add a weight inside the two halves and seal them with epoxy . Then cut a lip and add rattles and it's ready to paint. I always seal balsa with pour on epoxy to add durability. Add hooks to the wire and you should be ready to go

Have any of the Indiana guys had any luck with larger than average swimbaits , I have killed fish on the 3 to 5 inch swimbait variety but am looking to go after some big fish in the pre spawn time frame this year . Any tips or suggestions would be fantastic !

I grew up in Floyds Knobs Indiana, now my wife and I live in warsaw indiana , what a change 4 hrs will give the fishing . I don't know how many northern Indiana guys are on the site but would love to hear about indiana bass fishing a lot more.

We are heading down to Rough River lake for the weekend , has anybody been to this lake , I am guessing the fish will be on the ledges and points . I am not looking for specific spots just a general idea of this body of water and some good ways to approach fishing it . Any pointers would be helpful , thanks .

Indiana surly has big fish swimming in its lakes and rivers, just not as many as other places in the country , if you look at BFL regional stats the Hoosier division is last . It's just a hard place to fish , not saying it is impossible but it is for sure tough. My best this year is a 5lb largemouth , great fish in indiana , not really anything to get excited about in other places in the country.

I live in warsaw now but originally from Floyds knobs indiana , right across the Ohio River from louisville , I have never fished in wabash , have always wanted to fish missy and Sally though.