BassB8Caster

Good work. That is weird though. Would that suggest good genetics and poor diet?

Good job! Keep it up. Man if only I had bass fishing in high school. Even a college team would have been nice. Good to see the sport growing! Good luck!

Lets eliminate the obvious first: are you sure there are fish you are targeting in there (your post hints at it but doesnt state directly you have caught some before). Second, i as well have challenges during the day. What i really notice (especially this time of year) is as it starts getting dark and early in the mornings (probably over night as well), you can find the fish shallow and in the grass/weeds. I was out last night and only found them in the junk. As dark was setting, they were really becoming active and aggressive. My game plan of finding them deeper (12-20 feet) earlier went eventless. But as it was getting dark i hit the shoreline and found them. Bodies of water that small (those are the sizes i fish 95% of the time) should produce something if you are putting in the effort. Are you bank fishing? Kayak? Canoe? Are you being loud alerting them of your presence? Try slowing down your retrieve...then slow down some more. Unless the pressure is high, small water fish should react well to soft plastics. Especially worms. Fish love them some worms!

Possibly they are all small fish? I have had many Hook up issues with frogs. Mostly its me being too excited and setting the hook too early. but I love fishing them. From responses I have gotten and info I have read on here, could be small fish. I also learned that bass like to hit prey and stun it, then come back to eat it. This could be happening as well. I'm seeing this sort of behavior more and more now that I'm concentrating on resisting too quick of a hook set and watching the frog more. Waiting to feel weight of fish through the rod before setting the hook. They hit it and the frog comes back to the surface. I use a pad crasher popper frog and tend to work it faster as well. Maybe try mixing in more pauses and shakes vs straight working it. Just a thought. Good luck!

That's what I thought from watching other videos of yours. But in the video above at the end it seems like you are keeping that one.

That's a monster flathead! Do u eat them?

So it is normal to have 5 "last casts". Thought it was just me

Good work! Call me crazy as I've never caught one that big, but that thing looks alot bigger than 6 2 to me? What are the measurements on that hawg?

That must be pretty interesting. Back in college i got my scuba certification as i was in school majoring in marine Biology. 12 years later i am not using that degree and have not gone diving since. I def like fishing grass and thick stuff and i know fish tend to find deeper water when its hot, especially during the day. Without electronics finding these deeper grass spots can be tricky. But i do try to fish them almost exclusively (along with rocks for smallies). I appreciate the insight.

Good to know. Are you referring to the northwest cove?

wow...monsters! Wouldnt mind throwing a spoon, jig or bladed jig down deeeeeppp on slow bass days. Aside from depths, and certain locations on the lake to target to find the lakers (obviously on waters with lake trout)?

MikeOGNR and Mainebass1984. Thank you very much. I have been to Kezar now twice. The first time i put in at the narrows and went south all the way to the lowest part of lower bay and by the outlet. I did decent that day, having a lot of strikes. Biggest was around 2.25lbs. Alot of hits on frog. Smaller fish i believe. I paddled a ton that day. Really more than i want to on an outing. I have yet to venture up to middle bay. Second time was upper bay last week. As far as maps, the state of maine has mostly all lakes and ponds i fish with write ups of fish and depths of the water. I know they are not totally accurate, but give me a decent idea of depths and points. I have used navionics as well but have found that they are basically duplicate depths of what is on the maine state site. What i would like to do one day, whether it be upper, lower or middle bay is to get to the water around 3-4 while it is still dark and hit up docks (around marina) and other areas that the big ones may be hiding at. Looking at google earth it appears that from the marina north up until it opens up looks to be great water to try out. I have read many a night fishing threads on here and consensus is during summer months, night fishing can get the big ones. I do recall people referring to a shutdown just before dusk for a couple hours. Is there a bite turn off early morning before light as well? As far as pressure, i do check the list of tournaments listed on the maine state site. I would not fish right after a tournament. Thanks again for all the tips especially specific ones to a body of water i fish. THose tips are very helpful.

Mainebass1984 why would you say it's tough to fish? Lots of pressure? Lake size? The more challenges I'm aware of the better I can be at attacking the lake. I'm sure there are big ones in there. That keeps me wanting to go back. And being only 30 minutes from either launch makes it even more appealing.

Yes we all have these hurtfull experiences. All though it is the move we all hate to experience and do our best to keep them below surface, seeing a big bass jump out of the water shaking its huge head showing its red gills is such an awesome moment. There is a brief moment when you see it jump and you watch it and enjoy the moment. So its kinda like it goes "no no no dont jump.....to wow that is awesome, look at that beast...to no no no dont shake the hook.....noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Holy #$@@ that was huge. Talk about highs and lows within a brief few minutes. Have to keep it in context of everything. I would take losing a huge one every time i go out vs never losing one. Atleast i know i had the opportunity at a fish of a lifetime. Some people in texas, florida, california etc have high opportunities at monsters (even 10+ lbs). Up here in Maine (and many other states) 6+ may be that same feeling. My PB is between 4 and 5. I have lost bigger. But no where near a DD bass. I cannot imagine that feeling and sight of that big of a fish. Nevermind fighting it a bit. Every time i go out fishing, im just hoping i put my lure in front of a big fish. If i go out enough it will happen. And one thing is guarranteed.....I WILL lose most of them.

wow thats a tank. I have a package of 10.5" worms for the same goal: hook up with a fatty. Havent had much luck yet. But really have not fished the big worm much. I plan to though. Curious how you were fishing it to entice the bite?

Makes sense of what i was experiencing. I have yet to try drop shotting, but eager to try. I will definitely give this a try as the summer rolls on. Great feedback. That really helps. Where is the best area to find the fatties (5+lbs) on Kezar?

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I have been in the hospital with our newborn until last night (she is great btw), so i have not been able to get on here much. So i did fish kezar a bit last wednesday. Did not do very well. I was hoping to get there while it was still dark. I have been wanting to do some night fishing, but with my schedule, newborn etc its been nearly impossible. I got the green light from my wife to fish so i was hoping to get on the water at dark and get a taste of the night fishing. But....i didnt end up getting to the water until around 530. I left the north ramp and followed the north bank heading west. I hit a few spots along the bank on my way to the weedy area by the first river coming into the lake. I tried a frog and swimbait first off. I got a few hits on the frog, but nothing much. The weedy north end was very thick, but i did not see any fish (besides really small bass and bluegill and perch). Once i got to the inlet, i fished all around it, thinking the bass would be hanging in the cooler fresher water from the river. But didnt have any luck. As i moved off shore i would try deeper and deeper searching for suspending fish (im in a kayak without any electronics, so could not target underwater structure). i hit the west side of the islands running south and nothing. There was a very shallow rocky hump west of the islands that looked promising. I fished the shallows as well as the drop offs with swimbaits, chatterbaits, lipless cranks as well as a deep diving crankbait. Nothing. From there i went west to the lower inlet and fished the shoreline now heading north along we west side. Just north of the lower inlet there were several large boulders and i could see some good size fish below me. Looked like decent sized smallmouth. At the time i had a 10" worm that i was fishing deep on that they showed some interest in (would follow a little) but not bite. I also had a small spinner on the other rod that they also showed some interest in, but no bites. I decided to quietly paddle offshore away from them and switch to a weightless TR senko and cast back to that spot. I was able to get a small ~10" largemouth to bite. But nothing else there. I then went more north to another weedy cove that had a ton of small bass, perch, blue gill. I did see some decent size largemouth swimming around. I had a weightless TR swimbait that i fished a bit in there. Got several hits but that was it. I fished the weeds more and more shoreline as i split the islands and headed back to the boat launch. I went in around 11. Just had trouble finding them. Its tough because i know they like to go deep now with the warm temps, but without electronics, its a shot in the dark finding structure or any underwater cover. i do the best i can using the shoreline to identify points but its tough. I tried a little of everything, and probably not enough patience with just a few baits. Im dying to be able to put in the time with the big 10.5" worms i have and run in to a big fish. Just finding the deep ones is tough for me. One thing someone mentioned above was to throw a spook over deeper water. I did not do this. I do know that smallmouth can be (and i have seen it as well) very aggressive. I didnt think to try a topwater over deep water. i usually stick to shoreline, docks etc. I was unable to get to many docks, as there was a boat fishing that exact area when i got there. So not a very succesful day, but it was nice to get back out. I usually stick to the small ponds, but i just know there are big ones in the larger lakes around me, and im just hoping i can run into one. Thanks again for the input guys, it will help me the next time i go out. No matter where i go!

I'm thinking about hitting up the upper bay of Kezar Lake here in Maine. Would love some tips to find some action. Fishing is hard to come by with a 10 day old newborn. Plan is to get there around first light and fish until 10 or so. I'm fishing out of a kayak so can't go too far. My thoughts are launch at North site and head west around the islands and shore where 2 rivers come in. My search shows depth up to 27 or so from islands west. So start shallow and work deeper with swimbaits, frog, worms (5" senko and 10"), chatterbait, spinners, TR plastics in grasses etc. I have 1 baitcaster with 30lb braid and another with 12lb mono. Any tips or suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Nothing like those special moments with nature. I always have my cell phone with me and try to capture those moments. Mostly to show others how great it is and what they are missing. There will always be stories with no proof. But if you can get that once in a lifetime event on camera, it's even more special to share with others

Well it depends on what type of hunter you are. I grew up in small town country areas with big woods. Deer around here are almost impossible to pattern. Years of trail cameras prove this. There is just too many areas that provide food, beds trails etc for them to travel. We also don't sit on field edges with long range guns picking them off at 150 to 200 yards. Most shots are 30 yards or closer and usually in some sort of brush. Every area is different. But just because one hunts with a gun doesn't necessarily mean they can just pick off deer and fill up the freezer. You can still do all the things a tree standing bow hunter does. I guess that's not how you hunt with rifles

Last summer I was retrieving a lure (can't remember exactly which one) as it got close to the boat I felt little nibbles, like small fish nipping. I thought to myself d**n little fish. But I decided to cast out about 10 feet beyond that spot and retrieved. That fish bit again, wasn't little nibblers. Was a 3.5lb largemouth. So, what does that mean? Not sure. Maybe there isn't a right answer for this. I have triedecided the "throw out another bait to the spot" tactic that has been very successful with others. Has yet to be successful with me. Just no rule book written with this stuff. Makes it more fun.

It's one thing to want to help others. There is no better feeling than to lend a helping hand. However, if one needs to get self gratification and ego stimulation and virtually live through others, then that is just sad IMO. To me the whole point of fishing (and hunting for that matter) is for soul stimulation and relaxation. Getting out in nature challenging other creatures admiring wildlife and peacefulness. That to me is what it is all about. I live for my wife, my new born daughter and my family. But for my own soul, getting one with nature just recharges my batteries. At the end of the day when I lay my head on my pillow I'm extremely grateful for all I have. I don't need to live through others to feel better. That's not to say losing a giant doesn't haunt me a little!

Sorry I had to

For the most part I agree with everyone here. It has gotten out of hand. People are putting anything and everything on youtube. I do however find it interesting the special effects and quality of some of the videos. People can do some cool stuff. But being new to bass fishing, my goal is to get as good as I can. I absolutely love the sport. I love everything about bass fishing. I always want to learn more. What I really want is to further my true knowledge of the large mouth and small mouth bass. Further and sharpen my skill set. I don't want to watch a video of someone's lucky catch. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing a huge bass caught. But my time spent is for my improvement. It's true, nothing beats experience. Time on the water fishing is invaluable. Teach me why you fish and area. Why that lure, why that retrieval etc. TV shows and videos with 85% brand pushing is a huge turnoff. I understand why they do it. But no offense, I don't care. I love fishing, the sport, the quality of life I get from doing it.

That's badass!