snake95

I agree. Weird. I am a weekend angler who beats the bank on my annual trips to Florida and always catch bass - often in very heavily developed areas. In fact my best luck has been in a narrow canal in front of a big grocery store and Dunkin’ Donuts with a 6 lane road on the other side of the canal. I’ve had passerby in cars yelling and cheering as my son hoists bass out of the canal. I can’t imagine someone calling bass fishing in Florida “dead!”

Found among YUM bags at Walmart. They have had a healthy selection of YUM and Gene Larew staples over the last year. I assume they make trial baits or maybe baits for others and then sell them off this way. Really basic ribbed body with Rage-like claws.

Just to report back, I fished ponds and a little bit in one of the canals - 4 mornings in a row. Caught several small bass - never skunked except last morning when I had a bass on a rage toad at about 6 am in the dark, but lost him. No bites in the canal. I mostly tried fishing close to shoreline reeds. Best success was a purple trickworm with a light (1/8 oz) bullet weight, and a fast-moving Lucky Craft lipless crank in shad pattern. Also did well tossing a Z man TRD ned rig in Drew's Craw in areas where I saw signs of small baitfish. Spinnerbait/kietch swing impact fat got hammered in a pocket in the reeds. No luck with weightless senkos or rage tail cut R worms with a bullet weight. No luck on waking baits, poppers, or buzzbaits. Nothing on hard swimbaits. I felt like the themes for this trip were fast and vibrating lures for a reaction bite, or deeper finesse. No monsters this trip, but overall success wasn't bad. Thanks for the tips, guys.

Thanks Dwight, that is much appreciated. So I guess the same prespawn baits and methods as anywhere (from the bank?). And... I assume a good time for big ones?

Same here, and often in late February when they are all over the place. Yes I am bank fishing ponds and canals - no boat this trip. Thanks for the insights.

Heading to Naples area. I am confused about what to expect the bass are doing. Fall transition? Pre spawn? Something different? Thanks guys!

No. 1 for size: Gantarel Junior - was my intro to hard swimbaits this year, and I had some excellent success. No. 1 for numbers: Been using the maxscent flatworm on ned heads for a month - loved by smallmouth in Ontario, largemouth in the south. Already the star of the year.

I have them in many colors and have caught pond bass on black, chartreuse, and colors that are way more complicated than necessary to catch fish. I have caught them on all colors and virtually all times. I would be perfectly happy to have only black with black or silver blades for any and all conditions.

@Junk Fisherman to clarify, which of these do you mean works better? I assume you mean the hit worm or flatnose. Interested in your feedback!

The flatworm has clearly earned its reputation as the king of the maxscent baits for dropshot, especially for smallies. Anyone have any comparable success with the hit worm or the flatnose minnow? I just bought some of these to try them out. The hit worm looks like it could be good on a shakey head too.

I like green pumpkin goby and Drew's craw (which is much more of a baitfish color to me). I also like Canada Craw. As stated above, all colors can produce.

Thanks that’s what I needed. I placed an order this morning and have some shoes to test it on!

I have long been a fan of Keen’s sandals: they allow air in, are resistant to water, and provide some protection and grip like shoes. They are ideal for kayaking. However, after mine get wet they stink to high heaven and I have to throw them out. anyone with a solution?

Big bite baits have a really nice anise. My buddy just gave me a pack of Googan craws. Anise with other flavors! Tastes like Chinese 5-spice. I mean smells.

Ollies stores have a new shipment of baits. The latest load includes a lot of old Havoc lures from the pre-powerbait time period (<2019?), e.g. Craw Fatty's and Pit Bosses (they are at the regular TW price for current baits, $3.99).

That looks like a clinch knot……… on steroids……… then that clinch knot on steroids mated with another clinch knot on steroids and that’s their offspring. Needless to say I don’t think it’ll break! Mechanically, this seems very similar to a SDJ to me. I am fishing the Berkley Braid on fluoro most of the time, sometimes a doubled uni (referred to by Amart as the double uni).

My sense is that Shimano and Diawa are kings of the hill in terms of popularity, but I disagree with the idea that Abu isn't innovating, and I certainly don't think Pure Fishing is letting Abu wither on the vine - if you go to the Classic or any other show it's clear that at the very least they are trying. (I am not brand-specific: I also fish Daiwa reels and have some that I love). I have bought some Abu reels this year that I am very happy with. I have a Revo Beast X that is the best reel for casting that I have ever used - I can cast a mile and its smooth and solid. The Beast X was designed for swimbaits and other heavier baits, and they designed it to be more economical and accessible to a broader customer base. It isn't a saltwater reel but I used it in place of my Daiwa Coastals for striper fishing this year because it is such a solid, smooth reel and great caster. I also picked up an EXD which is light and ergonomic. I agree that they don't have the reputation for quality of the Japanese brands, but don't think it is fair or even accurate to say they are irrelevant.

I'm originally from northeastern Ontario just north of where you are showing and now in Georgia. I fish Ontario each year for smallmouth and largemouth. I don't know the lake personally but based on location I would wager that you will find largemouth and smallmouth both in there. The perception in the US is that Ontario is smallmouth country, and while that is true of course, there are lots of lakes with largemouth up to North Bay area. If it were me I would try to fish very early, and yes near docks and cover. My picks of the lures you listed are the senkos and trickworms, fished weightless, and the ned rigs. The Ikas are also a fine choice. You could also add weights to the trickworms (T rig), especially for fishing deeper. You might also get bit on the toads fished near cover or weeds but highly likely to get pike using that method. If you can find rocky drop offs ("ledges" in the US) those are great spots for smallmouth and your ned rigs should do well, cast, drop and let fall. I hate to encourage you to buy more gear - you have way more than enough, but small grubs can be added to the ned rigs to quickly and easily turn a ned rig into a reaction bait that also catches yellow perch and walleye. I would be very confident I could catch both species in there with your ned rigs and the spinning rod and nothing else. Try to keep it as simple as you can with the rods and baits, and you will catch more fish. Good luck! Smallies will also cluster around the dock and sometimes the schools will stand off just a bit from the dock. Fishing the lipless bait near the dock is also a good choice for both species, even in summer, but be prepared to get snagged. Given that you have kids, I would really focus on that ned rig and weightless senkos and trick worms. Learn to T rig them. Yes, the great Ontario bassmaters on the elite series (Gussy and the Johnston Brothers) are deadly with a drop shot! But anything you can do to reduce connection knots, reduce decision making, and reduce the time snagged will greatly enhance your experience. I don't really believe the baits make the angler but you can't have too many ned rig heads for what you are doing up there. Ballheads will work too. Good luck and let us know how it goes!!!

I like combining a jig head with eyes with small swim baits that have eyes. That really confuses the bass. (Joking, but it does look weird).

Don't know if this helps any, but keep an eye out for Walmart YUM bins. I have seen them in there but it is always impossible to know what they will have. You have to get lucky to find a specific bait you really want.

I am 100% with @scaleface on this one. I fish buzzbaits in Ga a lot and have my best success with a paddle tail like a Keitech swing impact fat. I have had times when bass have hammered the paddle tail as I was about to lift out of the water and I am convinced the paddle tail was seen, identified, and hit.

I use a skirt + paddletail swimbait added I mainly added the plastic for casting distance and bulk.

Blows my mind that this bait was discontinued. Why???

Awesome. I had considered that also but didn't try it yet. Two questions: 1. Do you use a waterpoof bag for the tablet; if so which one do you like? 2. Do you have wifi to your tablet or are you are connecting phone to tablet? If so, do you just use the phone as a hotspot? Thanks @MN Fisher

Just wanted to share my experience with Navionics Boating app during recent kayak fishing trips. It is a $15/year subscription and provides good clear bathymetry, plus other features. I have used it on the water in a small reservoir in North Georgia, and it has been a great help at understanding underwater contours and features. It is good for planning a trip to target features or areas of interest. It provides tracking so you can see your location relative to the contours when you are on the water. I got it because I bought a Garmin Striker Plus that does not include maps. It is so useful and clear, that you could get this just to target places of interest without having a sonar. While it doesn't show fish or structure or cover in profile, it would still really help someone getting to learn a lake, and later to target fishing spots more accurately on the water. Only real catch? You have to be willing to use your phone while on the water. https://www.navionics.com/usa/mobile-usa.html