the reel ess

Pitching it into cover.

If I can reach it I cast. I've caught a couple that way this summer on a Senko and a Plopper. The Plopper has a long reach, especially the larger ones.

I caught one of my two 8+ bass on a War Eagle Gold Shiner double willow. It's a great one for action because the wire is so thin. But the head will get loose on the wire. Then the wire will eventually just break. I like the Megastrike Roland Martin spinnerbait for being tough. It has a thicker wire and a loop line tie. It also has a swivel head-to-hook connection that supposedly cuts down on lost fish. I still have some old BPS Uncle Buck's spinnerbaits that sold for like $1.29 in the 90's. When I started fishing SBs I loaded up on all the standard combinations of colors, sizes and blades. They all catch bass. I stay away from the ones that just have skirt and rubber band. You'll go out and fish will start knocking the heck out of it and the band will break.

Catch a bass, cut it open and study the stomach contents. Fillet and eat it of course. Bass will eat almost anything they can. But nearly every time I've cut one's stomach open it had shad or minnows in it, or nothing at all. Of course they have to eat what's present. I have caught bass with shad and crawfish in their throats. Most ponds and streams near me don't have shad. But if they did, shad would be the blue plate special. I've caught one with an 8" bass sticking out its mouth. Bigger bass can eat more variety. They're more likely to go for a bluegill, crappie, big crawfish, or whatever.

My dad took me crappie fishing before I knew what was going on. We did that and his buddy came along. His buddy got into bass fishing and we caught the bug. I got my first baitcaster when I was about 13 for Christmas 1983-ish.

I get criticism in the opposite direction. People can't seem to understand why I throw back big bass. They don't understand fishing for, catching and not eating or getting big bass mounted. I'm not against eating bass in any way. I just want to catch the big ones again. Fishing a 30 acre lake, I'm sure it's happened by now. I think I caught the fish in my profile pic twice. I've even had someone ask me for a 5 lb. bass they saw me catch. This ain't the Great Depression. Get your own 5 lb. bass.

Tell this person your grandfather lived to the ripe age of 100. When they ask if you attribute that to fishing say "No, I attribute that to him minding his own business." Even vegans have negative impacts on the environment and wildlife. No one treads upon this earth without leaving a trace.

I prefer CC Super Spots as well. But I already had a stockpile of Traps. The later Traps have better hooks, so I swapped them to the Spots. I also like the Academy Sports brand H2OX lipless cranks. I would add to the discussion that a lipless is almost always a better bait than a crankbait around grass. Burn them across the top or the edge of the grass.

I don't usually even go to finesse unless I zero a couple of times in a row and really need to get my mojo back. I know we all have different opinions on the subject and I respect others'. But to me, that feels like fishing for small fish. I will often just go pitch a T-rig at every piece of gnarly cover or overhang I can find. If you can get a bait in the face of a big bass in heavy cover, they have two choices and sometimes will make the right one. There have been days that I only got a bite or two, but they were big. To me, it only takes one bite to make the day worthwhile. If it gets really bad, try a different body of water, if that's an option. If nothing else, you'll get a change of scenery.

Bubble gum is a good color in flukes and trick worms for dingy water like we have all over SC. Zoom makes another neon green color they call limetreuse, which is also good.

I had a bad morning with the size 90 today. Only caught 3 on it. My buddy got one over 5 lb. on it first thing this morning. I took this pic over my shoulder. I trimmed him out of it.

Berkley Lightning Rod

Man, this is one of my confidence baits! I have one tied on now. I have to ask if you've really buckled down and dedicated time to it. I was starting to think it was a very situational niche bait. Then one day I decided I would tie it on and use it all day. I caught a few, enough to know it does work. Since then, I've had some stellar days on it. This year, I've caught bass in broad daylight over deeper water on it. I caught a bass in February of this year on one. It's a great search bait. Big bass love it-or maybe hate it, not sure which. There are times that it will work better. Obviously, in lower light conditions. A rainly day with little or no wind is perfect. Prespawn is really good for it. Big cruising females will nail it. And then there's nighttime. But I do still get a few crushing bites from big bass in direct sunlight. It's a killer bait around bluegill beds. When you cast it, it's tempting to just start retrieving because it's similar to a buzzbait. Let it soak a few seconds. You'll be surprised at the fish that will bite it before it moves. Others will give chase when you start the retrieve after letting it rest. I like to use it with 30# braid with a 7' MH rod. You can cast it a very long way and it can be harder to get a hookset in a fish with that much mono out. You can also get longer casts with 30# braid than 15# mono. The more water you cover, the more bites. If you're losing fish, you can change to a slightly larger hook. I changed the hooks on my 110s to Gamakatsu EWG treble #2. I like the hooks that come on the 90 size. I don't use any other sizes. I will loosen the drag when I have a big one on unless it's in the grass and I have to drag it out. I've lost a bunch on this bait by trying to horse them. The last big one I caught on a topwater had one hook in the top of its head by the time I landed it. Carry a net. They'll thrash around at the last moment if you don't get a quick hand on them. Also, use a fast reel. Good luck.

I only have one. It's frog pattern. But for all the fish can see, it's chartreuse and orange. The frog pattern is just for me. LOL

I guess there's no definitive answer for every place. When you see a video showing what a bass sees from below it's usually in a swimming pool or a tank. The visibility in my lake is 4' if it hasn't rained in a week.

My belief is that topwater is the one type of bait for which colors and patterns matter the least. With the cost of baits these days, I'm not buying several colors of them. Heck, most topwaters I only have one of. I have multiple sizes of some. I did buy an older gentleman's entire original Spook collection a while back.

I'm from the south. Here "bream" refers to bluegill and all their kith and kin. It's a catchall for panfish that aren't crappie. They do whatever that tiny brain stem tells them to at all times. If you could ask one "Why?" it wouldn't have an answer.

The redear or shellcrackers spawn in early May here and I don't see them again. They're obvious because they do it in the same gravelly spot every year. Bluegill here spawn several times a summer in sandy areas, usually around the full moon. I don't think the other bream spawn in the same manner. There are a couple of spots on the lake I fish most often that have bluegill beds all summer. There's a decent chance there's a big bass or two hanging around them at any time.

But then when one crushes that topwater later in the day, after the smaller bass bite slows down, it tends to be a bigger bass. Keeping a topwater tied on later in the day this year has really changed the way I think about topwater fishing.

Hey, it's the dog days and you caught 5 bass. Concentrate on what worked and dig deeper. Also, literally fish deeper. "Deeper" is a relative concept in ponds. Look for cover and structure that's closer to deeper water. Any moving water is good. Find the bluegill beds and fish all around them. I've probably caught half my fish this year on a Yum Dinger. It's a very boring bait. I don't even enjoy it. But looking back at my fishing log tells me I need to keep some in the boat. A few of my best fish this year have come by casting it on top of lilies and dragging it off the edge, near deeper water, like at the dam of a pond. I don't maintain contact with the lure. Let it drop on slack line, then just tighten up. Often the bass is moving with it when I reel up the slack. If none of the conventional bass lures work, you can downsize and find a bass. You'll be surprised how many bass will be where you just fished when you go to a finesse bait. Ned, tiny fluke on a jighead, splitshot rig with a 4" worm or lizard should keep the skunk off the boat.

If the place is full of frogs and tadpoles, chances are there are no bass in it. Also, the absence of minnows around the edge is a clue.

My dad had some when he passed that I sold. I wish I hadn't because they were his. But then, he really didn't like them for bass either. I still have the combos he liked and used most.

This is going to sound stupid. I own 1 bladed jig. Fish seem to love the thing. Only problem is I miss more than 50% of the bites I get on it. They'll be on and I set the hook and they just throw it. I sharpened the hook and got a bunch of bites Saturday, but landed maybe half and lost a good bass on it. I put a trailer hook on it for next time. One fish did really choke the bait. Not sure what's wrong, but I'm going to keep at it because fish want it. About 6 years ago I decided I was going to learn to use jigs. I tied one on my T rig combo and didn't take it off. I noticed I didn't feel as many bites as I saw when the line just moved the wrong direction. A lot of the time the bait didn't get to the bottom before a bass bit it. I got fairly good with them in heavy cover, but they got hung up too much. I settled on the Trashmaster jig because it was the most weedless. Then after a while I determined, at least for me, a T rig is more weedless and, therefore, more productive. Nothing sucks more than coming up to a laydown you know probably holds a bass and getting your jig hung up on the first cast. Senkos and craws do the same job, are more weedless and cost less. I might revisit a jig in the colder months. I have some in reserve if I feel like it.

Seems like the smaller the WP, the slower I have to retrieve it to keep it from spinning, and of course, the shorter my cast. I won't go below the 90 anymore. Small fish seem to like it and the 110.

The reel pictured is a Bass Pro Shops knockoff of the ABU Garcia Ambassadeur reels. Way back in the 70s these were the go-to for most freshwater gamefish. These required some heavier lures or weights. Sometime in the late 70s to early 80s, manufacturers developed baitcast reels that could cast smaller, lighter lures. They changed the line release button to the thumb bar type around the mid 80s. They also designed a levelwind that disengaged when you cast. The round reel fell out of favor for most bass fishing with most anglers. A few still use them and they can be tuned to be more forgiving. They're still used for catfish and striped bass fishing where you cast less and basically drop lines or troll heavier weighted rigs. I had one that I used for bass fishing with heavier lures like crankbaits and Carolina rigs up until the early 2000s.