jschult184

Yes, I noticed that the worm gets torn up a bit after a while. Have read about guys using O-rings, but never would have thought of shrink wrap. Good tip!

Nitpick away, bro! Nothing wrong with that.

So I am at Standley Lake where the bass fishing has been downright humdrum this year. Today is one of those days you dream about: cool, overcast, calm water. The top water fishing is surprisingly awful considering the conditions; it's like there are no bass in the lake today. Gotta go deeper, right? So I rig up a Senko (on advice from another BR member) and... on a whim... decide to rig it wacky style. I am looking at this worm slumped over the hook and thinking "this looks silly... what fish is gonna look twice at this thing?" But I throw it... twitch it a bit... nuthin. I throw it again. Nuthin. Now I am thinking that I must look silly to all the pleasure boaters anchored offshore. But I have read enough about this rigging in the BR forums that I just cannot give up on it yet. The third cast starts out like the first two... twitch, twitch... reel a bit... twitch, twitch... reel a bit... twitch... the line doesn't come in. I give it a little harder tug... the line pulls back! There is a bass on that worm! I absolutely did not feel the bite... but he's on there! I land him.... 11 inches... hardly two pounds (it has been that kind of season)... no worm... but I got the fish. Hook set in the corner of the mouth like you read about. Now, I am not yet completely sold on this rigging. It still looks silly to me. But I have to admit... the thing works! I caught a second smaller bass later, but he slipped the hook (I always crush the barbs). Again... I did not feel the bite but I did feel the fish pulling the line. Moral of the story? It may look ridiculous... but it catches bass!

I always have three or four granola bars in my tackle bag. I also keep licorice bits I buy at BPS and lots of water (especially in the summer).

Last Saturday when I was bank fishing at Standley Lake. Some idiot pleasure boater was relieving himself off the back of his boat. Schmuck.

"By the way, does anyone really think colors on a frog matter? In slop, all bass see is an object or silhouette above." I only started throwing frogs this year, so take what follows for what it is worth to you. All of the frogs I have in my tackle have white undersides and I have not seen any other colors in the stores I frequent. I have caught bass on all of them... in the same lake. My experience so far says it does not matter and that you are right... the bass are attracted to the outline and the motion. Now I have a question: do any of you who throw frogs alter them in any way? Do you shorten up the "legs" or paint the undersides? The only mod I make is to seal the point where the hooks exit the body so the lure does not take on water.

Okay, 2015 fishing report for Standley Lake in Westminster, Colorado. I know there are a couple of Bass Resource members in the area. I am boat-challenged and thusly handicapped... but wow. The bass fishing this year has been awful. I do not know if it was the unusually rainy spring (and the very late spawn that came with that), but it seems to me that the lake is not up to par. The southwest end of the lake where the bass were plentiful in 2014 is... for lack of a better word... dead. The lily pads still have not appeared and the weeds I can see from the shore are brown, not that healthy green color. The canal inlet from Clear Creek has not been opened, so the bass are not moving into that part of the lake as often as they did last year. I would guess the oxygen content has got to be on the poor side. Westminster stocked the lake with 6500 catchable trout in April... but no bass as in past years. As always, the pleasure boaters churn up the water against the eroded shoreline... turning the water from very clear to chocolate milk in less than a couple of hours. I get two good hours of top-water fishing in the morning before that happens and that is when I have caught the two bass... the only two bass... so far this year. Fishing shallow (one to four feet) has produced nothing regardless of the lures I use (crank bait, jerk bait, spinner bait, etc... thinking about chatter bait for this weekend, though). It is hard to efficiently fish any deeper than that from the shore. Anything I might drag across the bottom gets too much attention from the carp. My guess is that the bass are staying deep this year and, if you want to catch bass in Standley Lake... bring a boat.

I throw everything I have in my tackle box for no more than 30-45 minutes each. I also move along the shore (yes, I am boat-challenged). If I still haven't caught anything, I take my ball and go home. The bass are not going anywhere... I'll be back.

There is no single answer to not getting bit. I read everything I can get my hands on. There are plenty of forums here packed full of tips and tricks, instructions from pros and experienced bass anglers. I have satellite TV and I watch the fishing shows. Then I go out to my bass spot and practice, practice, practice. Believe me... the thrill of that first catch is worth the effort!