IndianaFinesse

Exactly. My post earlier may have been a bit smart alecky, so sorry about that if it was perceived in that way.

Yes, the best times for Topwaters is early in the morning when the sun is starting to come up, and later on at dusk. The morning bite is usually better than in the evening, I don't know why but that seems to be the way it is. I would suggest something like a spook or a propbait worked very slowly. Mossy bottoms are a pain to fish as even weedless lures get moss stuck to them and make your entire cast a waste.

What is the water temperature? If it's over 50-55 degrees they should work.

Has anybody tried the Danielson tube jigheads or the z-man Tubez? The jigs are dirt cheap, but are the hooks junk or to small? And I think the tubes would work great because of the tentacles standing off the bottom.

Last I checked, 1/2 ounce is in between the recommended weights of 3/8 and 1 ounce.

Topwaters would be my first choice, and my second a light spinnerbait with a big Colorado blade "bulged" across the surface.

I haven't fished in any of them yet. Do you think it would be best to wait for a cold front, or do the next one in two weeks so they will still hopefully be up shallow?

Thanks for all of the help guys! Although I would love to purchase a dedicated swimbait rod, I am only planning on buying one swimbait to start out and if I decide to go all in to swimbait fishing I will probably buy a swimbait rod.

Thanks for the help! I will have to try the tube under a clear float trick next time I'm out crappie fishing. Murphy's law states that if you ever forget your net, you will lose a big fish because of it. Unfortunately I also lost a very big bass last year while trying to lip it, because for the first time ever I forgot my net and paid the price of a lost trophy. Anyway, I fished this afternoon for About four hours. I found a couple clearer coves with three to for feet of visibility and sight fished for bedding bass there. I slowly moved around near the shorelines looking for a bass worth spending a little time on and then rotated between the trd, a crawbug, a jig, a split shot rigged lizard, and a small two inch paddle tail grub until I found what that particular bass wanted. It was a lot of fun watching the bass and there reactions, plus since I could almost pick which fish I caught the smallest bass out of twenty three still weighed 1.8 pounds and the largest was 4.4. The weather was great to, much better than yesterday's. I'm planning on heading to cataract next Friday or Saturday, is anyone else going? How did you guys do?

Do you guys think the trout would work for bass feeding on bluegill?

It ranks right up there with the shishamo reel that has eighteen bearings dumped inside.

Should I choose the six inch savage gear line thru trout, the eight inch size, or the five inch savage 3d bluegill? I will mostly be fishing these in clear water (eight to twelve foot vis.) but occasionally muddy water also. The main forage is bluegill. Keep in mind I love in indiana, so I can't exactly expect twelve pound bass. My rod is only rated to 1 1/4 ounces, so I don't know how far above that I should go.

Or maybe not so respectfully disagree if they could talk.

Crappie fished in the rain this afternoon for five hours with my dad. With the mild cold front messing them up we only caught fourteen, but they were solid 11-14 inches. They are still hanging around docks in two to six feet of water, but I got the feeling that the spawn is starting to tail off. Is any other crappie fisherman noticing this, or does the spawn usually last longer than a week and a half or so? I'm still new to crappie fishing, only done it for a few years and only once every week or two. We tried small curly tail grubs, but only caught two so we switched to a double minnow rig two feet under a small float and caught the rest of the fish on that. I never have been able to do very well on crappie jigs, except at cataract where we often catch them on jigs, but at my home lake I just can't seem to figure out how to catch crappie on jigs with any regularity at all. Any suggestions? It would be a lot easier to not have to buy minnows and you could cover water much easier.

Either way. Although half of a zinkerz is technically cheaper, the trd lasts longer so it is actually a little more cost efficient. I find that a Zinkerz works better for the swim glide and shake retrieve though.

First off, welcome to the forums! Buy the rod feels best to you, sensitivity is largely different for everybody even with the same rod. Personally, from what I have heard the avid x is far and away the best rod in that price range. Unfortunately I don't have enough cash to try it out myself, or I would be getting the 6'10" ml/xf avid x that's been calling my name.

You can order the supplies off tw or Amazon. Get a couple packs of finesse shroomz heads in 1/16 ounce as you will break of quite a bit. Pair that up with either a trd or half of a zinkerz with the salt stretched and soaked out. I'm not to picky about colors, green pumpkin is almost the only color I use with the exception of coppertruse in muddy water or occasionally new money on a sunny day, but I mostly stick with green pumpkin. I use both the zinkerz and the trd, he zinkerz is softer and has more action, but the trd is slightly more durable and the colors last better so that's what I choose when I want something with a little sparkle or a brighter color like coppertruse. Use it on a medium-lite rod spooled with six to ten pound braid with or without a six to eight pound floro leader. And check out the infisherman article on the six Midwest finesse retrieves, I mostly use the drag and short deadstick retrieve, but most others prefer the swim glide and shake retrieve. The Ned rig isn't for heavy cover, it was created for catching the less pressured bass on nothing looking shorelines. Most people will tell you that it only catches dinks, but it doesn't just catch the little guys. It catches nearly any bass it goes near, including and 8.2 pound 24.5 inch beast I caught last month. And even though it wouldn't be my lure of choice for big bass, it does catch them and it is the best lure for catching a quick limit before going for a kicker. Hope this helps, don't hesitate to ask you have any more questions.

Nice fish! The worst thing about the pre-spawn bite is that it only lasts a month or so.

I also caught my first ever smallmouth at this lake since moving here last fall, and it was a solid two pounder to! It's been so long since catching a smallie I had forgotten how much harder they fight compared to largemouth and how much more acrobatic. I caught it on a trd fished with a drag and deadstick retrieve in the bay by the marina.

Fished this afternoon for three hours. The bass are already back up on the beds and spawning, so I sight fished in coves in typical spawning areas. I caught thirty one bass with the largest weighing 3.6 pounds and a bonus monster crappie. Most bass ate a new money colored trd on a mushroom head jig fished in whatever way the targeted bass wanted. Then I went out after dinner with my little brother and white bass fished for two hours or so. We caught most of the twenty eight fish on a 1/8 ounce roostertail fished near the surface over four to ten feet of water on a drop off into fourteen feet of water.

Is fish Chris still a member? He hasn't visited for over two years.

Nothing wrong with it, but most people think that's what everybody does and that it's what fishing always is.

Have you tried the Ned rig? If I were you I would try that, and if they don't eat the Ned rig, find a new place to fish.

What is yours guys favorite big swimbait under 1.5 oz. , because my heaviest rod is a medium heavy, and under twenty dollars?

What is the best over all big bass (over five or six pounds) bait for northern strain bass?