Fish the Mitt

Reaction : The response a bass makes to a lure out of aggression, hunger, or in response to a perceived threat Finesse: Also called light-line fishing - a term used to describe smaller baits, smaller weights, and thinner line. Meant more for a slow food presentation. To invoke a strike from a hungry bass looking to eat. As for the other portion, I'll let @A-Jay answer that but I will say this in regards to the predatory/prey comment: You generally wouldn't throw a craw trailer in a lake with no crawdads. Conversely, if your lake is full of crawdads, and little to no shad or prey fish, you would be more apt to throw a craw trailer. A body of water near mayfly spawn would also be a good lake to throw flies or finesse style topwater/shallow lures. Understanding what the bass; in an given body of water, actually prey on is extremely important to ensure the presentation you have has substance to the bass. Some will argue however that a bass will attempt to strike (out of hunger or aggression) anything it can fit in it's mouth. Whether this is the case or not, I don't know, but why not increase your chances by ensuring you're presenting something the bass see and eat often. Again, just my take. I'm only a few years into bass fishing at a passionate level myself so perhaps others will come along and correct or caveat off what I said.

Instead of focusing on when to use what lures, focus on bass behavior and location. Knowing where the fish will likely be will give you a better idea of what to use. I agree with Catt. Start slow: One shallow, one mid-depth, and one deep - get comfortable with few before trying to master many. Alot of those have the full capability of being fished shallow, mid, and deep with little to no alteration. There is no "perfect time" to use anything specific. But there are "times" were fishing shallow is needed and many lures can accommodate that. For instance, if you know bass are shallow, you won't use a 15' deep diver. But you could use dozens of different types of lures that can be fished shallow (chatterbait, jig, spinnerbait, shallow crankbait, shallow jerk, t-rig craw/shad/fluke, top-water, etc...). Just my two pennies worth. If you don't use my advice, I'd appreciate if you'd return my pennies - payday is not til next week!

It's because his wife checks the launch parking lot everyday after his work to see if he's there. He thought it best to just hide his truck...under water. Duh!

Your hat... it's bedazzled! I have actually never thought of keeping track of overall numbers.

I feel ya. The Keitech Easy Shiners are the same way! Great but no durability (or I catch to much ;))

LMB 5-5 - May 2014 - Carrow Creek, MI Nailed my Orange/Mango BlueFox Vibrax Spinner as soon as it hit the water.

Keitech Easy Shiner is my go to.

How's everyone's fishing been? This thread has been quiet!

x100 for In-line Spinners. I prefer Mepps and BlueFox

I've actually never thrown a spinnerbait with a trailer...

LOL! The fun thing about explaining why you spent $200 on fishing stuff, when you were sent in to get something totally unrelated, is that no matter how the conversation (or argument) goes, we always walk away with a mental smile knowing fair well we're not returning it and whats done is done

I think the better question for you is not 'if' but 'when'. Bass aren't always shallow. Bass aren't always deep. Bass aren't always hunkered down on cover. Bass aren't always cruising open. Catch what I'm saying? During the phases where bass are deeper, there's nothing wrong with throwing a deeper crankbait. When the bass are moving shallower, there's nothing wrong with throwing a more shallow crank. What you should focus on is bass behavior. Getting a better understanding of how to locate fish will help you immensely when choosing lures. If you know that bass are out deeper in the hot summer months and only move shallow to feed (generally early morning and late evening) then you'll know when to go with a deeper crankbait and when to go with a shallow crank. The above holds true for ALL lures, not just crankbaits. Study up on bass behavior and you'll get a better understanding of what to use when and most importantly, where.

Crankbait: Blue/White with Yellow stripe (the one pictured has a squarebill) Jerkbait: The other one Difference: To me, I categorize one as a twitchbait (Jerk) and one as a wobble (crank). How to fish it: Google is your friend (as is Youtube)

I always enjoy advice on lakes (even when it's no where near me)... so here's the lake:

So it appears most; relatively speaking anyways, prefer a trailer 100% of the time. Now, will you catch bass without one, sure. However, I don't think a single person would say the chances decrease by using a trailer. It's quite the opposite. Like I stated, the trailer is the most important part of a bladed jig for me (most of the time).

Yum...

I've never thrown a bladed jig without some sort of trailer. The trailer is more important to me than the jig itself (to include color sometimes).

Recently got some chatterbait freedoms so they may become my top in time. However, as of right now, its still the Swagger Jig by Buddha Bait Co. I do like the original chatterbaits as well but the Swagger Jig vibrates a lot more than anything I've thrown to date. That blade is doing work.

Well, what makes you think this? TN spawn over? Are the bigger females out deeper now? Are you fishing early morning and evening up in the shallows for feeding? If you already have an idea; with it being you're to shallow, listen to yourself and change locations. Fish a little deeper, then a little deeper, etc.. Also, throw some search baits deep. It might help locate bigger fish faster than a finesse style rig.

d**n. A hat for .99!!

What does "get skunked" mean?!

It's Nature's challenge. It's Nature's 3-D chess match. Coupled with the beautiful views and relaxation. What's not to love?!

Got me a Randy Travis station that is rock solid!

Jamey Johnson Chris Stapleton That's about it for 'new stuff'. 90's Garth Brooks, George Straight, Randy Travis, etc.. Plus, everything below:

Z-Man Project Z (in white) or Buddha Bait Swagger Jig (white/chartreuse) with a variation of craw or the Keitech Easy Shiner in BlueGill