Shakes

Those little taps you feel are fish eating your bait! Tap one, first bite. Tap 2, its in their mouth... SET THE HOOK! Tap 3, they spit it out. A bite can range from the biggest force you've ever felt on your rod to the lightest tap. Size of the fish makes no difference. I've had light twitches in my line and ended up reeling in a 5 pounder. Thats why great equitment and instincts are critical. I think fish can feel any line when its tight. Slack line, no way. I don't think braid has any difference when it comes to the fish "feeling" the line. - Aaron

WoW. It appears I'm the only angler on this board from the Capitol of the MO. I hail from Jefferson City.

Yea, I second that. I've used em before and didn't notice any difference. I've heard that counter rotating blades give off a different flash and vibration than standard spinners. Doesn't seem that way. I've got a few other spinners I prefer more.

Ok... yea. I use braid for everything. Cranks, spinners, topwater. I find it just overall more valuable then fluro. I have to admit though, I have a problem which braid seems to solve. Over the years, I've lost so many lures to backlashes. Not so many to hang ups, b/c with 50# test braid, you can practically pull the tree that you're hung up on straight outta the water. I've had days with braid you wouldn't believe. One in particular, I remember distinctly. I caught 29 fish in 3 hours. Now granted, the water I was fishing was a 1 of 5 small ponds surrounding another lake, and probably had very little fishing pressure if any. Water was crystal clear (about 5 feet of visibility.) As for the backlashes, even with the braid the lure sometimes goes sailing away from my line. All I can do is swear up and down. As far as no stretch goes, I like it that way. I've fished the Vanish before. As I remember, it wasn't half bad... but with this braid, I never have to worry about losing a fish. It just doesn't happen anymore. No line breaks anymore (cept for the backlashes), its getting them to bite thats the problem.

I started using braided line last fall when the fishing started to die down. I love it for a few different reasons. 1) It has zero line memory. 2) Casts like a dream 3) Same diameter as fluro 4) Strong as hell After a few days of fishing, about 5 feet of the leading line tied to the lure is discolored. It looks worn but still holds up fine. I use the moss green color, and when it fades it starts to appear almost white. Its Power Pro #50 test, but Power Pro also makes the same line in a hi-vis yellow. Can they see it? In the past MONTH, I've caught 2 bass. 2! I've thrown spinnerbaits of all shapes and colors, jigs, soft plastics, cranks, traps, buzzbaits, even jerkbaits. I've gone out to the local lake at least 4 times a week for about 3 hours per trip. What's goin on? I don't want to sound cocky but I can catch the hell out of some fish... and now I can't get a bite! Any tips would be so appreciated. Needin' some help here.

My spinnerbait color theory is: Use white for clear water, white/chartruese for lightly stained water, chartruese for heavily stained water, and perch (orange, green & chartruese) for dirty water. I wouldn't fish it any other way.

I have used Power Pro 50# test braid for the past year or so. Don't know any others anymore. What do you prefer?

I'd say the pond may be fished out. Don't know how big it is, or how much fishing pressure it receives... but I've seen it before. A small lake a few miles from my house used to be amazing a few years back. Now its become pretty popular and has been make a city park. Fishing isn't the same. Too many people keep the fish the catch. Which is why you should always catch and release. Na, my best be for you, is to maybe cut some branches from trees and throw them in the lake strategically. Fishing pressure takes away the catch.

I know we've done this numerous times, but opinions change as days go by. Based on the past month of fishing, post your top 5 baits. 1. Shakey Head w/ worm - dark colors 2. White Spinnerbait - 3/8 oz. Stainless Steel Terminator Tandem Willow 3. Xcalibur Rattle-Trap - Tennessee Shad Pattern 4. Chartruese Spinnerbait - 3/8 oz. KVD Spinnerbait - Double Gold Colorado/Indiana Combination 5. Zoom Trick Worm - Bubble Gum Pattern T-rigged on a 3/0 hook with a 1/8 oz. bullet weight.

Yea I second the Bass Pros. The show features some of the best bass fishermen in the world. Kevin VanDamn, Rick Clunn, Edwin Ewers... theres a few more. I also like the highlights from Bass Master Elite Series Tournaments.

You need to hit up BassPro and check out the Kevin VanDam DVD's. You'll learn so much about spinnerbaits it'll blow your mind.

I've tried a lot of different buzzbaits. I've had one consistantly for a little over a year. Its such an effective bait, I nick-named it "Killer." Its a black 3/8 oz. Booyah Buzz. Its got a small metal piece that the blade slaps and makes a "clank" sound on each rotation. Its amazing how bass react to the sound. 4 bucks.

A cloudy day? Stumps? Spinnerbait. Water should be dirty after that much rain. Throw a double gold bladed perch colored spinnerbait. It'll get killed.

Never met a member before, but if anybody lives in Mid-Missouri (around Jefferson City), hit me up. I'd love to fish to with ya. Gotta boat?

trap or spinnerbait. the clearer the water, the faster you crank.

Anybody tried 'em yet? They look pretty good to me. How do they compare to other lipless cranks? What patterns have you used?https://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&partNumber=90485&cmCat=WISHLIST

In really clear water, its always best to throw the most natural colors. For spinnerbaits or cranks, white,silver, or something translucent. Soft plastics, I'd say something dark green.. or brown or purple.

Spinnerbait or a worm.

Just baught some jigs. Never thrown a jig in my life. Help me out here fellas. The jigs I have are the 3/16 oz. eakins jig in black. What trailer/color should I put on it? What technique has produced the most for you? Please be detailed. Thanks for any responses.

I'm a shore fisherman too. The spot you describe sounds like it would be great during the spawn. Sounds like a sand flat. Flats are great. Baitfish will move in to the shallow, clear and calm water and bass will treat that sand flat just like a feeding ground, b/c thats what it is. What little vegetation and cover there is, i'd start there. Match the baitfish as best you can. If it be a spinnerbait, crank or trap... just try to get it in the size of the baitfish. If you have to trim some spinnerbait skirts, trim 'em. I'd cast down the bank, about 15 feet out.. and run the bait parallel to the bank. Keep an eye out for sand on banks, some of the best fishing I've ever had has been on sandy banks.

Bought a LC Sammy last fall... heard a few different ways to fish it then. One that I distinctly remember is the Sammy is best on slick as glass water.. true? How fast do you guys fish yours? When is a Sammy the lure to turn to? The pattern on my Sammy is Aurora Black (actually looks blue with a little black on the back.) The point is, I've never even had a fish try and bite the Sammy. I fished it for about 2 weeks straight, and I'm thinkin of bringin it back out. Whats the word?

In my opinion and experiences, the best search and follow up combination is a Spinnerbait and a Worm. Colors all depend on water clarity. If its clear water, a White or Transparent Double Willow Spinnerbait and a Watermelon Red Flake Zoom Trick Worm. If its stained water, a white/chartruese tandem willow spinnerbait (sillver col. and gold willow) and a Bubble Gum Zoom Trick Worm. If its dirty water, a perch colored (green, chartruese, and orange) with double gold colorado/indiana spinnerbait and a black Zoom Trick Worm. In these conditions, these have been the combinations for me. Good luck out there!

For really clear water, you want to use white, or something a little more transparent. Maybe a white with little red in the skirt, maybe even a red hook. My best advice for using spinnerbaits is to always have a 1/0 RED stinger trailer hook on at ALL TIMES. I catch at least 20% of my fish on the trailer hook. Strike-King is by far my favorite spinnerbait company. Try the bleeding bait series 1/2 ounce double willow (both silver blades) with a white skirt. Best rule of thumb... is blades. To determine water clarity... drop you lure down. If you can still see it after 2 feet or more, its clear. About 18 inches, its stained. A foot or less, its dirty. In clear water, I'll throw a white or translucient skirt, and ONLY silver blades (double willow) b/c I want the bait to go a lot faster in the water b/c the bass can see it from a lot further away. In stained water, I'll throw a white/chart skirt, and a silver/gold blade combination to attract a little more flash. The I'll switch from double willow to a colorado/willow combo to slow the bait down and keep it in the strike zone a little bit longer and add to the vibration (fish can't see it from too far away.) In dirty water, I'll throw all chart. or a perch pattern (green, chart, orange) which are the most visible colors to bass in dirty water, with double gold blades for max. flash. I'll probably put on a colorado/indiana combo for max vibration also, allowing the bass to find the bait alot easier. Hope this helps. Good luck and God Bless.

Have any of you used this reel? It's advertised that backlashes are nearly impossible with this reel b/c of the braking system that adjusts to each cast. Any comments?

Yo-Zuri Rattlin Vibe