WhiteMike1018

Well today me and my friend Eddie went down to a couple private ponds about 7 acres each we are allowed to fish. We got there at 1 and started throwing Jigs bouncing them slowly and rolling them on the bottom, and doing lifts and drops. Nothing for about an hour and a half. So than i switched to a drop shot rig with a ZOOM finesse worm and didn't pick anything up either. We were bank fishing so it was hard to get to spots we wanted, and where the fish would be, which we all know is deeper water. After a while a tried a worm and even downsized more, nothing. I looked at the water in a state of confusion, as i was running out of techniques to try. Three hours of slow working my worm, jig and drop shot and not a single hit. Looking down at my tackle box, nothing jumped out at me except this certain lure. A fairly new lure, with good action and lifelike quality. The lure was not soft, it was hard..... After i tied the lure on i made my first cast and worked it with a jerk and pause retrieve. Halfway retrieved i felt some unordinary tension in the line 1, 2, 3 SWING! FISH ON! I thought to myself i might be onto something as I worked the hook through the fish's mouth. I made my second cast, felt a tug again and swung back! Fish number 2 was fighting on my line. After i figured out what they wanted i continued this throughout the day by switching my colors to match the light conditions etc. By 5:00pm i had landed 4 nice bass, that i consider a great accomplishment. Its been fairly warm for a winter up here in New Jersey, but the water temp is still around 36-40. Id like to say im a bit proud of myself for figuring out what the bass wanted instead of getting skunked. My knowledge of reading mags, the forums, has given me useful information to work with, and i am applying it on the water successfully. Either way it was a beautiful day, and i got to catch some beautiful bass, on a beautiful lure. An X-RAP XR-10. From my point of view it seems like bass aren't as opportunistic in winter as they are in the warmer months. I come to this conclusion simply because #1 I threw a JIG, a WORM and a drop shotted worm for 3-31/2 hours and did not get a single strike. Those baits do not necessarily imitate forage that is too available in winter. #2 The X-RAP ad LC Pointers IMHO are probably the realest looking hardbait on the market, maybe a few exceptions #3 Bass are piscovores meaning they have a higher preference to prey on other fish, than say frogs, craws, etc So if you read my post thank you i appreciate it. If your in New Jersey areas right now don't hesitate throwing a jerk bait for some winter bass Thanks -Mike

Im with Ike. Vandam is probably the best angler but Ike is like my hero lol being that we are from the same county

Agreed. Winter is probably the worst time of year around here in NJ. Unless your Avid 8-), the months of january and febuary arent so bad

I agree with phisher_d. The best thing you can do while fishing a frog is to be patient and wait for that bass to engulf it before setting the hook If you miss the bass wait a couple of seconds twitch the frog a few times and hope for a second strike. And when it happens swing back and hold on ! 8-)

When night fishing remember that bass sight is limited. With that being said i prefer noisy lures. Here are my favorite baits for night time bassin in order. 1) Jitterbug 2) LC Sammy or Zara Spook 3) Spinnerbait 4) Black or Brown Jig with rattles. Keep in mind that lights near boat docks or nearby street lights are essential because they offer a bit of light for bass to see the lure beter, according to Dough Hannon that is.

Awesome Post. I learned some vital tactics I Must thank you for this Mike

Someone sticky this please

Thanks cart7 awesome video man.

Always BLACK AT NIGHT On www.bassprofessor.com Doug Hannon has explains this on one ofthe videos in the "past episodes" section. I insist you watch all of them videos, and watch how much you learn and improve your fishing

RW what would you suggest a cranking reel for me? Ill be cranking no deeper than 20 feet and the rod i have is a st.croix premeir 6"6 m My only bait caster is currently a citica with a 6:2:1 gear ratio RW i will also use to rod for some other lures such as chatterbaits and other blade jigs, not strictly cranking...should i still go with the 5:1:1

This is more of a personal preference question. I aways thread my plastic chunks and craws up to the head putting the hook shank through the chunk. However, wen i rig a "pork Trailer" such as Uncles Josh's brand of chunks, i don't thread it. I just put the hook through the body and let it swing freely while the barb keeps it from coming off.

Absolutely not. They look beautiful but bass cant depict fine details like we do. They see a rough picture of every color in the color spectrum. For example do you really think a MegaBass jerkbait will catch more than a LC Pointer or X-Rap? If your answer was yes than good luck

7" Red Shad Berkley Powerworm texas Rigged

Welcome aboard. Gmakstsu ewgs and strait shanks

Yes I have tried them and own a few. How- I fish them different at different times. Just like any other lure the retrieve and speed of fishing them is depended upon the weather conditions and the season. Colors- Depend on water clarity, and voercast just like any other lure. I like fishing them around cover such as submerged timber and ripping them through like a jig, letting it fall in the cover and than raising the rod tip to activate the blade and get some vibration going. This usually entices strikes. Also if there is submerged vegetation i like keeping them right above it, for luring bass down i nthe weeds. Hope this helped some -WM GL HF ;

My biggest influence has been hands down, my Dad. I dont know where i would be without him.

Welcome! Ill see you on the boards! ;D

Welcome Aboard!

Try looking on eBay. I found a 100 pack of Blueshad 7 inch powerworms on here not too long ago, which is also a rare color

Ike

Jitterbug LC Sammys Pop-R

RW you use ultra soft on you Baitcasting eqipment too? not just spinning?

Thanls guys! Ill try the leaders but i doubt ill like them.....RW how about tieing a blood knot of say 8ld test on the spool and than at the end near the lure like 14 lb mono or somthing? theres nop northerns in the lakes ill be fishing, and chances are the picks wont cut through 14lb too easy.what you think?

Hey RW im going to Cabellas saturday and had a feq questions about this hybrid line. Im thinking on putting the line on my spinning reel, which is currently holding *lb Trilene XL Mono. Is there certain conditions when you use this line? or is it multipurpose? Also RW most of South Jersey Lakes are shallow and water clarity varies from ultra clear- to almot putrid in different lakes. Being said this, what line would you prefer for cranking? The lakes also have a lot of pickerel which will shred your line if they rip into it the wrong way. I was thinking on maybe putting either 6lb or 8lb braid diameter on my cranking rod because the line is tougher and stronger for the picks, gives the crank more action, and i can make further casts. But also in the very clear waters im worried about it spooking fish, even though most crank strikes are reaction strikes anyway. For my one bc which is a Shimano Citica 201d..i mthinking oif using the hybrid line, this rod will mostly be for pitching in heavy cover with jigs etc Thanks alot RW please answer theese questions if you can. I truly trust all of your advice, since you are a wise person on the forums. -WM

Ive never had a problem with the X-Rap hooks, ive always had a good hookset ratio with the. I think i might change the hooks on certain ones to bleeding hooks to increase visibility in stained water. Other than that you should be fine -WM