stk44

Welp...it looks like they are a little late on releasing this one...

I don't use any light powered for LM. You could use the MLF for dropshotting, tubes, grubs, etc. Would definitely be a great smallmouth rod. The only time I use light powered rod is when I fish for smallmouth, and then again that's just because I have a light action laying around the house. I use that setup for small shad raps, grubs, etc.

I just now realized how old this thread is LOL

I wish they would take out the Cabelas and put in a BPS. I've never been in one...

I went out on Saturday, and caught a nice LMB on a 1/2 oz lipless crank with rattles. The next two outings ( Sunday & Yesterday) I couldn't buy a bite on a lipless or a spinnerbait ( although I did miss a nice one as stated in my above post.) Yesterday, I forgot they stocked the lake with trout several hours prior, so my spot, my back up spot, and my back up-backup spot were occupied by bobbers and people on their cellphones in lounge chairs... I didn't have many lanes opened for fishing cranks or spinnerbaits so I stuck with the jigs and worms.

Quite a bit of it has. As I said before, they treated the lake with some sort of herbicide to treat the lily pads so the trout fishermen don't whine. There are still some green weeds that I've been casting too as well.

I went out yesterday for a few hours. I tried 3/8 oz jigs, 1/2oz jigs, I tried each in black and blue and GP and switched between chunk trailers and ones with a slight bit more action like a beaver style. I even tried 6-8 inch worms. Still no luck. Could it be possible that this is just not a good lake at this particular time of the year for this type of presentation? I go to a large lake most weekends and fish from my kayak, and have no problems catching fish on a jig n pig, t-rig, worm etc. but for some reason, I just can't seem to get bit on a slower moving bait ( with the exception of a weightless stickbait.) Either way I will keep at it, I just don't get why I not getting bit, I know it's not my presentation.

I've been doing some experimenting ripping lipless cranks through grass at my local pond. It is usually covered with lily pads, but they have used some herbicide which is greatly reducing the weed growth. I can now fish some cranks again with some success. On Saturday I fished for a couple of hours with my 6'8 MF with 12 lb flouro. I used a 1/2 oz lipless crank. I caught a few dinks plus a nice 3-3.5 lb LMB Things that I've noticed: I was fatigued a lot quicker Harder to snap the grass Seemed to get more bites On Sunday I fished the entire Morning- Afternoon with my 6'10 MHF with 30 lb braid. I hooked into 1 really nice LM right at shore, then tried to flip it onto shore like an idiot and lost it . No action the rest of day Things that I've noticed: Felt very comfortable Ripped through grass with ease Drag settings would play more of a role using a stout rod+ braid using treble hooks. I also tried a 7'4" MM with 12lb copoly- DONT EVEN BOTHER TRYING THIS AROUND GRASS I don't think either of the first two setups had much to do with my performance on Saturday, and the lack of performance on Sunday. I think that had to do with the mood of the fish. It seems like the MH rod with the fast action was the ticket, but I would try out a few different setups to find out what you like best. I'd also like to point out that my MHF is rated to 3/4 oz and my MF LTB is rated to 5/8 oz so maybe the best option would be MF with braid or a MHF with flouro. Maybe someone else could chime in on this.

The pausing would be for a floating bait like a squarebill or similiar. The immediate jerk would be for lipless cranks. Since lipless cranks sink, there would be no benefit to pause once you are on top of the grass since pausing would just bury it further, making it difficult to snap out.

So now that the lake has cooled (66-67 degree surface temp) the bass are getting more active. I went out for 2 hours on saturday afternoon. I caught a nice 3-3.5 lb LM + a few dinks on a lipless crank with a loud rattle. I was anticipating great action the next day. I fished from sun up til about 2pm, and only hooked into one really nice fish, but it grabbed my soft bodied lipless crank right as I was reeling in and I tried to flip him before he was played out....I was sick to my stomach. It's amazing how quickly things can change on a small lake/pond. They didn't want anything that rattled, and I tried a jig and a t-rig, but I don't have tons of confidence pitching 25-30 ft from shore. I'm definitely hitting the holes between the pads/mattes where I need to be, but I'm not confident that pitching that distance and at that angle is going to be the right presentation to be effective. What do you think?

I've found that if you get a EWG hook that has a longer shank before the offset occurs, this will help keep the upper portion of the senko intact a bit longer. If you keep snagging and the senko starts to wear out, you can do that quarter turn thing like others have suggested, but if you catch fish, it's just not going to last. I would recommend finding a few colors you like, then buying them in bulk when they go on sale. You can always try the knock-offs which work well, but they typically don't seem to be saturated with as much salt as a senko- which isn't necessarily a bad thing either.

Last weekend, the surface temp was 72 degrees. The only pattern I had luck with was fishing rocky main lake points, especially if they had a distinct cove. Shad were breaking on the surface and I had most luck throwing a buzzbait up on shore, every other fish was getting caught on the trailer hook no matter what speed or color I switched to. I was catching SM and LM bass but nothing over 2.5 lbs. In the afternoon, I usually fish a bay that has tons of weeds and lily pads. This was the first time in a while I couldn't pull at least one 3+ lb fish out of there. It was weird because I saw tons of shad, all different sizes too. This weekend I'm going to try the main lake points, and try to fish further up the creek-arms.

I've done pretty well there this year. I feel like a lot of the anglers either don't fish for bass or they just run and gun or atleast that's what I like to believe to keep my confidence up.

Don't be afraid of it. Just do some research on the correct gear for the application. You are definitely using too light of a line for 3/8-1/2 jigs. Check out this article: http://www.another site/blog/fishing-line-guide/

They should be out soon: Buddha baits -4" baby momma. Very durable, I've been catching 4-6 fish before its torn up.

I tried a weightless trick worm, punching a 6.5" plasmatail and some beaver style baits. I'll try punching the trick worm, I may even try an exostickwhich I really want to catch a fish on.

Yeah I caught my pb on a buzzbait this summer. Its hard to explain, but there's only 1 spot I may be able to use a buzzbait from shore.

I'll check them out. When I go to big fish lakes, I'll use the Picasso spider jigs in 3/8 or 1/2 oz. I've been mostly flipping them in lily pads on a larger lake that I fish and winching them out of heavy cover. For smallmouth I've been using the bitsy bugs. I've really upped my jig game this year, it's so much fun. I've always heard great things about siebert, I'll be sure to give them a try. What is your 1/4 oz jig rod of choice? I have a MF LTB or a MHF at my disposal for this.

The only 1/4 jigs I own are bitsy bugs. They don't have a stout hook. Would this suffice on a MF rod with 12lb flouro?

I fish a large pond/small lake, take your pick. It has a max depth of 12-15 feet. 3/4 of the pond is covered with lily pads or matted vegetation. The fish are still on a summer pattern. What is the best way to catch the bonus fish(2+ lb fish for this particular pond) while fishing from shore? This pond does have big fish, although an average fish is around 12", but I haven't been able to break the 2.5 lb mark this summer. The fish haven't bit anything that isn't weightless. The main this I use is a weightless senko or fluke on the weed-edges. I've spent a few mornings and evenings throwing a frog and I've had one blow up. The fish are more likely to hit a worm or softplastic crawled on the top of mats than a topwater. I'm kind of limited on fishing other lures due to being limited to shore and tons of weeds. Any suggestions for catching the bigger bass at a place like this?

You sir, are 100% correct.

So they just sent me a new one. I'm trying to find out what was wrong with the old one. It's like pulling teeth trying to get details, but they are very friendly and prompt.

I've heard so many people say that it's boring or they don't have the patience for weightless stick worms. I think it's really fun. I never could see any fish since the water is pretty stained, but on occasion, I would see a swirl in a known bass holding spot and cast to it, and those are always pretty aggressive strikes. I can't wait to go back out and do it again.

what weight jigs or t-rigs are you using? I keep it simple. I tie the uni-knot for almost everything. It may not be the best, but I can tie it on the fly CONSISTENTLY. You are either choosing too light a line or tying it wrong. NO If you are fishing around rocks, 8lb test is a little light, depending on the weight of the jig.

I caught some pond cruisers yesterday on a weightless 4" purple senko. For the last three weeks, weightless soft plastics have been all I can get them on at this particular pond.