Fish the Mitt

Where at in Michigan? I'm from central MI (Clare) but work down in Muskegon and fish there too. As for lures, it depends on the water, and what you have access to. Shore fishing? Boat? What lake or river? Etc.. Let me know and I'll let you know what I would do.

Hey everyone, So there was a change in plans. Due to the weather, we decided to postpone our trip to NH until the end of summer. If I wanted to be rained on in 40-50 degree weather, I can stay home and accomplish that. We want to enjoy the scenery and not be bothered by weather we have at home. We are going to just stay close to home and head up to the Traverse City area! @A-Jay I'll be reaching out for some good kayak spots if you're willing to share

I hear ya. Gladly I haven't been bit off this year...yet. Who has tips and advice on Spring Lake??!! I'm down here for work and will be hitting that lake soon.

Haha I wish. We went to Savannah last year. So this year, our getaway is the NE area. As for the ice, that's ok. I always carry dynamite with me. That should fix that problem. It all honesty, I hope to goodness Squam and Newfound are both ice free by April 20th

I get a lot of ideas from here, perhaps you mentioned it and I tried it!!

I use a myriad of stuff in post spawn. However, top water around cover early and late is a must for me. I power fish transition routes heading back into deeper water with crankbaits, chatterbaits, etc... looking for those earlier bedders but will also stick around and fish my way around shallower for any late bedders and those females that recently spawned and looking to rejuvenate. Cover is important now when the sun starts getting above the trees so that plays a huge role. It all depends on the body of water for me.

At first glance, I'm guessing it was man made. This is sometimes important because it's likely a bowl shaped pond. Deepest in the center and moving shallower the closer to shore. Regardless, it's early winter/prespawn transition time in the NE. Generally, I would advise you find the deep spots, find the shallower spots, and fish that transition between the two. However, it appears you can reach pretty much anywhere on that pond from shore. I would just start on one side and fan cast the whole side multiple times; ensuring I reach various depths. Try this with a variety of lures (bladed jig, jerkbait, skirted structure jig, spinnerbait, etc..)

Pitching - NetBait Paca Chunk Structure Jig - NetBait Baby Paca Craw. I've also used a many Havoc Pit Boss'

I use Paca Chunks when I'm pitching, punching, or flipping. I'm not in need of a lot of action with this technique. Now simjigs and bladed jigs, I opt for a lot more action because I'm actually swimming my presentation and the action adds enticement. @WRB has an excellent response where he breaks down things in a very simple manner. Something else to keep in mind is water clarity. The dirtier the water, the bigger and darker I go. The clearer the water, I opt for a more natural color and size.

I fish the Tittabawassee River chain a lot and there are two main things I look for when targeting smallmouth and two things I look for when targeting largemouth: Smallmouth: 1. Current breaks/slack water 2. Pockets/Outside Bends Largemouth: 1. Cover 2. More cover! There isn't as many creek intersections on this chain as a lot of rivers out there so this plays little into my gameplan. I will however fish one if I come across it. The fish in my picture (my PB largemouth) was caught in a creek while wading. She was hanging out in a culvert.

I love bladed jigs in early spring and into summer. Once summer hits though, I tend to fish it less. One thing you can do to help suppress your want to cover water; in early spring from the bank, is to map out the water and eliminate dead or low probability water. Of course, bass can be anywhere, but there are areas better than others. Especially in early spring. I've been fishing transition areas (deep to shallow and vice versa [focusing more on sharp transitions than gradual slopes) with a chatterbait up and down the water column. All the fish I've landed this year so far have been on a chatterbait. Minus the fowl hooked sucker who fell victim to my blade bait.

All these answers are good answers. A confidence bait is less about how confident you are in throwing it and more about your confidence in it catching fish. You can be the best jig fisherman in the world but if you're jigging dead water, what's the point. Its about getting out and wetting a line. Then, find the fish. Dabble in bass patterns and behaviors. @reason has a really good post. Its early spring in your area (as it is mine too). The water is still cold but warming daily. Find the deeper water, find the flats, and fish the transition area. Start on one end of the transition and fan cast to the other. Moving your lure up and down the water column while trying different retrieves (burn it, slow roll it, twitch it, etc..). Don't put that lure away until you've made it through the whole area at every depth level with various retrieves. A lot of people's first confidence bait was a spinnerbait because it covers lots of water and can be used essentially All season (plus its easy to fish). Again, a confidence bait; to me anyways, is one that I know will get bit. For me, it's a bladed jig. Good luck! And most importantly, have fun and enjoy learning.

Where are you located? I know it's a common misconception but I generally only use blade baits in deeper water. Never tried a silver buddy in less than 20ft of water.

Been there. I recently got a new *** Fishing *** reel and in my haste to 'just cast it' I forgot to adjust the brakes. Heavier winds. First cast. Poof! I felt like a moron.

It sounds like they might be striking your blades? Keep in mind, these are there to simulate bait fish and they're movement and flash are as enticing as anything else. Did you try a different spinnerbait with different blades or colors? I would generally recommend a trailer hook but you've obviously done that. The cool thing is, you found the bass. I would run another lure across that same grassline. Perhaps something else that displaces water as much as a spinnerbait. A bladed jig perhaps? Also, is the spinnerbait you're using a tandem blade? I've noticed that I get more blade strikes with a tandem willow spinnerbait than anything else. I believe it's because the blades sit so much farther back than the hook. Again, another reason I would generally add a trailer hook. Or change out to a single bladed spinnerbait and run it along that same grass line. Just my 2 cents.

Went out and caught my first bass today. My first of 2017 was a healthy 2lber. Followed closely by a nice 3lber. I tried every cold water lure I had (jigs, suspending jerkbait, tubes, etc..) but they wanted my Z-Man Chatterbait in Bluegill with a Fishog paddletail in Houdini. I was going to stay longer but I was battling a headache so called er' a day! 2 bass and a fowl hooked sucker on the year!!

- Kustom Kicker Jigs 3/8oz Dock Monkey in Crawdad with a NetBait Paca Chunk trailer in Orange/Brown. - Kustom Kicker Jigs 3/8oz Dock Monkey in GP Money with a NetBait Paca Chunk trailer in Green Pumpkin - Kustom Kicker Jigs Freak SwimJig in many colors with matching Keitech Easy Shiner trailers.

I do the same exact thing! Zero problems. I can't recall the last issue I've had due to knot failure or slippage.

Powell Inferno 704CB This is my dedicated squarebill, lower end medium diver, and jerkbait rod.

These are 5 that I order specifically for certain reasons. I use many others but those are usually bought randomly in store because they're on sale or I'm in a pinch. 1. GYCB 5" Senko - Most any GrnPmpkn/Watermelon combination 2. NetBait Paca Chunk - Any variant of brown, orange, and black 3. NetBait Tiny or Baby Paca - Same colors as above 4. 7" & 10" Berkely Power Worm - They used to make a brown variant but I can't seem to find it. Been using straight black. 5. Keitech 4" Easy Shiner in BG Flash

RL3 Jerk 110 or Springer. I for one will not spend $15+ for a jerkbait. That's just who I am.

USMC 0351 A/B Co 1/24-25 '09-'15 Oorah!!

If your question is simply: Should I look at a lake map; and will it help me, the answer is yes and yes. Looking at and understanding topography maps can be extremely beneficial and most of; if not all of, the more serious anglers do this very regularly - myself included. If your question is: how do I understand a topography map, well that is a whole other beast of a question. I cannot answer the "how" because I'm unsure if you're referring to "how do I read a map" or "how do I find fish" or "how do I find fish by reading a map?". These should all be treated separately. 1. Understand a topography map. Know what it is you're looking at. Nevermind the fish right now. 2. Understand bass behavior, patterns, weather change, etc.. 3. Understand the correlation between #2 and where that puts them on a map 4. Put #1-#3 together and go fishing. 5. Understand that nothing is concrete. I've caught many a bass outside where I would have expected them. They are individual each with their own mindset. Understand that #2 and #3 are generalities. Welcome to Bass Resource btw!!

low 50's is fine by me. That's when they should start turning on for the pre-spawn anyways.

Crazy what a few hours north can do. There is very minimal ice where I'm from and none that I see down where I'm at.