the reel ess

For the guys who refuse to fish bedding bass, have you considered that the bass you catch after spawn may be guarding their fry and those fry are statistically more likely to become full grown fish than are the eggs in the bed because they've already hatched? I'm not knocking the refusal to fish bedding bass. That's a personal choice. Just raising another question.

One secret to a good bass fishery, especially one without much in the way of forage fish, is that the bluegill need to spawn as well and as often as possible so there are always smaller ones for the bass' to eat.

Catch some and the average size goes up. No biggie!

Yes. It works better for me in the evening. And the best time is the most humid part of the summer. At least that's my experience. I've also had a long day of catching them on topwaters. But it was overcast, cool and even drizzled rain.

When a bass blows up at any topwater and either misses or just slaps it, reel it in fast and toss a worm over to the spot. Often times, they'll take that offering just because it's below the surface.

The lake I fish most often (and also why I fish it) is about 20 acres and has a lot of bass over 5 lbs. It's a sign there is plenty of bait and good quality water.

There's a guy on here who will feel the need to "correct" me on this. But when i first used one, the frog bite was happening. I got a couple bites right off the bat but missed them, then the thing started filling with water on every cast. It was like dragging a sandwich bag through the water. I would squeeze it out after every cast. I mentioned it on their YouTube video and got a reply from the company that I should superglue the nose but I know that's not going to last. How often do you catch one and the frog slides up the line? Plus I hear the legs come off easily. I tied on the Pad Crasher and never looked back. I actually bought the Pocket Frog too and have never tried it.

Q wacky rigged dark color worm with a big exposed hook.

Chug'n Spook, Jr

What's the brand of that jig?

T-rigged, 3/16 oz tungsten bullet weight, black glass bead, 4/0 Gama EWG hook with a Berkley Powerbait Chigger Craw. I rarely use jigs. Been experimenting lately with this. But so far I'm not getting as many bites as I do with the traditional T-rig.

How do you rig it? I use the Super size and the Chigger Craws T rigged. But the smaller (Ultravibe) is just a little too small for even my smaller EWG hooks. I've tried it on a shakey jighead but have better luck T rigging. I like to put a black glass bead between the bullet weight and the hook. I started because someone on here suggested it would protect the line from the tungsten weight. But I'm a believer now that the clicking attracts bites. I have since heard the same thing from Scott Martin. After switching to the the Powerbait Chigger craw...Man, fish will hold on to that thing a long time! Even when they feel you, they won't drop it.

Chigger Craw. Most of my bigger fish last year came on this. All on black/blue Zoom Super Speed Craw. This used to be my favorite but I can't find them in stores anymore.

I'm sure if I had been born a native American before white expansion, I would have been one of the tribe's fisherman. And probably hunter as well.

I think most have suggested that he not shoot those instigators.

nm

“Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.” Mark Twain

Lew's LFS Tournament MB. $125, very low profile, aluminum frame, dual braking systems, 14 lb. carbon drag, compact and light, casts a mile and I can't seem to make it backlash.

My wife ordered a log book from Amazon that's really for fly fishing, but I just adapted. At first it doesn't seem like it helps much. But I have more than a year in it and it's nice to be able to go back and see what worked, what didn't and what was caught.

At this point in my life (45 years) I seek to avoid competition from anglers who'll spend endless amounts of $$$ to catch more fish than me. I got tired of going to the lake on a Friday night, testing out the boat, getting up with the chickens and going to the best spots I know only to discover 2 bass boats already there. I spend the rest of that day looking for places people are not. And heaven forbid there's a tourney that day! And that's not a recipe for success. It's like you need to fish Tuesday thru Thursday to avoid the crowd. I do want to be alone or the only boat (or kayak) on the water if I can. I have 2 large ponds and one private reservoir at my disposal as well as a couple other places I can get in occasionally by permission nowadays so that's what I do most of the time. I prefer the kayak to the big boat because it's just less of a hassle. People who think you can't catch as many or more large fish from a kayak are missing out on a lot of fun. I eityher fish from the back of my buddy's Tracker or I'm in the kayak. It's bassin' for the soul.

I'm hearing good things about the Academy reels. They have a lot of choices under $100. Compare the features to the brand names and I think you'll recognize the value. I have a Lew's LFS Tournament MB that I can't seem to make backlash. The base LFS reel has most of the same features for $99.

I have only been "skunked" once this calendar year and I started in early January-actually, I never stopped. But I've had to resort to fishing for small fish a couple times to avoid it. At this point, catching one tiny dink is not the reason I go. But after not getting a bite for 3 hours, I'll certainly target a small one. This has not been my most productive spring. It got really warm early, then we had off and on cold snaps. I think it spread out the spawn so they were never really in spawn in good numbers. Even so, I've caught a 6.4 lb and lost another monster. I resort to T rigs, specifically craw imitations. I'l' look for any cover or structure. I always have one tied on. A worm No bigger than 6" should work just as well. I just have the confidence of knowing a big fish will occasionally bite that craw. There were a few times last year when all I caught was one good fish on the craw.

Of course size matters to big fish. But the #1 way to catch big ones is to fish where there are some. Then the bait size is secondary. I just lost what would have been a PB Sunday on a T-rigged Hula Grub...not known as a monster bass bait but more of a numbers bait. All my fish over 5 lbs last year except for two came on a craw imitation. Most of them on either a Zoom Super Speed Craw or a Berkley Chigger Craw. And the other fish over 5 came on a Rat L Trap and a Chug'n Spook, Jr. I'm left with only one conclusion and that is that big bass eat craws. But they ALL came from the same body of water.

But Big Boobs are BIG BOOBS. I have both and I like the Pad Crasher so much I bought the popping and junior versions. It may just be a confidence thing because when I first tried the SPRO, I didn't have the best setup for it. It seemed all I did was get bites and never land them. I landed the first bite on the PC.

I find ponds looking on maps, but I ASK.