IgotWood

I feel like ISOLATED structure will typically hold a bass (or several) for mainly for one reason; to feed. Or perhaps in transit to/from seasonal holding areas, which again usually means they are trying to feed. STRUCTURE over a greater area to me is an area where fish school up and hangout for a certain part of a season, or during certain weather or water conditions. Right or wrong, this was my thought while reading this thread.

Sadly I was told I will he going out to sea in a couple days. So I will he hanging out with my kids all weekend. No fishing

I wacky rig sometimes. The grass is too think for it on this particular lake. I can get really annoying pulling weeds off after every cast. And for some reason, they eat the worm t-rigged better here.

@Darren. yup it was the worst I’d ever seen. Most of the lake was unfishable. But way up in the back, the surface was cleared of the green. The weeds are beginning to recede too, which helps. I’ve never seen the water so muddy in there before though. However, we did get a couple inches of rain the day prior. I jave heen fishing the big side lately. No luck, but I have been finding a ton of fish and bait out there in the deep water. Now I just have to figure out how to catch them. Let me know if you’d like to meet up this weekend.

Darren, you can probably guess exactly where I was. They were back there for sure. I’ve never seen the water so dirty back there. I’ll hit it again this weekend, weather permitting. And I’ll be sure to bring a bag of smaller senkos with me.

I looked in the Senko FAQ thread with no luck. Anybody ever nose hook a senko. I was in a situation yesterday with super spooky fish holding very tight to cypress, very muddy water. I spooked a couple of fish holding near the surface and up right to the trees. Had two undetected bites on a 5” senko. I know of was putting my bait on fish. Just couldn’t get them to bite. Since they were so finicky, I thought about nose-hooking a 3” or 4” Senko. I’ve never tried it before. I dug through my bag and didn’t find any smaller senkos. I am curious if anybody does this? PS; I would have tried a jig but I forgot my jig box in my truck?

Ultimately, I’d say that boat position dictates my presentation and how thoroughly I’ll work a spot I usually go by gut instinct. I fish out of a kayak. So on breezy days, boat control can be a real nightmare. I may only get 1-2 casts at a spot before I have to reposition my kayak, which disrupts the water and makes noise. I try to be as stealthy as I can. I also feel that if I am continually making casts at a brush pile/tree, the noise of my bait entering the water is heard, thus putting the fish on alert. I usually try to hit the likely spots first. I’ll move to the next spot along the bank, and then come back and hit it again with a different bait shortly after. If I can stakeout and hold my position well without making a bunch of noise, I’ll still hit the likely spots first, and then work the rest of the structure thoroughly.

^^^So true^^^ The bait doesn’t have to be in a straight line with the punch weight. Mine usually aren’t, and it seems not to make any difference in its weedless properties. It’s more important that the bait is straight on the hook. Yes, pegging the weight certainly helps with that issue, but pegging is usually used for flipping to short range targets. One other her important thing to mention is tying a snell rather than a clinch knot. This will also help line up the weight with you bait, but much more importantly, it hugely increases your hookup ratio. There is an Ike vid on YouTube about Snelling and he explains why it’s important. Check it out.

I was doing great up until November. I haven't caught in a few weeks now. I seem to have no trouble at all finding fish throughout the winter, but getting them to bite is another story. I feel like my bait selection in the winter is much simpler than usual. For what it's worth, two baits that I ALWAYS have tied on throughout winter is a lipless crank and a senko. Don't give up. The fish are slow and lethargic, and on most days they simply aren't active. I am a busy dad, and I fish when I can, not when I should. BUT, if you can select your days, keep an eye out for a streak of steady weather. Steady weather to me is three or more consecutive days with the same weather pattern. Doesn't necessarily have to be warm and sunny. It just has to be consistent. That third day is usually money. Fish slowwwwwwwwww. And if fishing soft plastics, I tend to use baits with a more subtle action. Perhaps a fluke rather than a paddletail. Or a beaver style bait rather than a Rage craw. For me, I just can't stay off the water. I rarely go fishing in the winter with any expectations. It's more like therapy. If I catch a fish, it's a bonus. Regardless of everything in this thread, try to learn something every time you go out.

I’d strongly recommend fishing out of it a few times as is. Once you start getting comfortable in it, you will begin realizing what mods you’d like to have and exactly where to put them. You don’t want to make Swiss cheese out of your boat with mods you don’t use or are improperly placed. One mod I have immediately put on my yaks is an anchor trolley for my stakeout pole. A sonar is also a must for me but Id pick very wisely where to put it.

Lots of water to fish there. I fished it for the first couple times this early fall and it was great! Lots of different types of water to fish. There are a few sharpies on the Chic who slam them year round.

Tom, what spoon do you prefer? Size/weight?

I tried a few deep Shadow Raps that go to about 8’. I am unfamiliar with the Damiki rig. The water is typically clear here with about 6’ viz, however, yesterday is was stained with only about 2’-3’ viz. I think this is where I failed. I concentrated on those non-active fish all day and neglected the banks. When I was paddling back, I saw several fish chasing bait on the banks. Made a few casts with minimal effort, but no bites. There was definitely bait all over the place. Is mostly was scattered, but there were a couple of times when I marked the bait all balled up with fish underneath. Ultimately, conditions were against me with high pressure and sunny clear skies. Perhaps if it were cloudy or a dropping barometer, the fish would have been acting differently. Maybe I should have switched gears and beaten the banks a little bit.

Update... I went back yesterday. High pressure and bluebird skies. Water was 55 degrees, just a tad colder than last week. Fishing was much the same. Fish suspended and scattered around and on top of the humps. The 8’-11’ depth seemed to be where most fish were, and most fish were suspended just above the middle water column. So frustrating. I tried many different cranks, some different jerkbaits, swimbaits, etc. Also tried a spybait, and a spoon as recommended. Also tried dropshotting, as there were a few fish near the bottom. Spoke to a guy at the ramp. He was fishing about 100yds from me. I saw him catch a few. I saw a couple rods with shakey heads rigged up. Interesting...

The coveted 50lb surf-caught striped bass. I grew up surf fishing for stripers. Nov 30, 2015, the season was pretty much over. A few very big fish lazily making their way south to the spawning grounds. My buddy and I hit a gnarly boulder-strewn point, deep water, strong current. It was about 35 degrees, and this was the very last trip of my 2015 striper season. With the north wind at my back, I threw my 3oz spook as far as I could. Shortly after I began my retrieve, the water opened up to this giant hole. I saw the massive body and tail roll over the top of my plug. The line came tight, I set the hook. The fish was taking drag in short fast bursts as she followed the heavy tide. She would pause and I felt very heavy head shakes. I couldn't get any line on this fish. I finally palmed the spool of my reel and leaned back in hope of turning her head around. Suddenly the line went slack and my heart sunk to my toes. She was gone. I pulled the hooks. No doubt in my mind that fish went over 50lbs. She was massive. This fish is one of many that haunt me to this day. Sadly, I replay this memory in my head almost every single day.

Lots of great info here, and I really appreciate it! The spybait is completely foreign to me, but i'm intrigued. Also, the spoon. I did also try throwing a small swimbait with an underspin, which I'll continue to do.

Orvis sells a fantastic pair of 100% wool fingerless gloves. And they’re cheap! I carry two pairs. You can easily shake them dry if they get wet. I’ve worn them for years doing a ton of flyfishing in New England throughout the bitter cold winters. Additionally, as previously stated, keep your core warm. Layers! You don’t want clothes that fit too snug. Wool is my best friend. It’s wicks better than any other material. I wear two light layers of cotton underneath, with a lightweight wool sweater over, and a good cold weather jacket. I wear silk socks, with a pair of wool socks over them. It also just just as important to minimize sweating before you get out on the water. Don’t put you heavy layers on until you are getting ready to hit the water.

I made a very quick kayak outing this week in search of some offshore humps on my local lake that are rumored to fish very well from fal through spring. I found the humps! They are in the middle of the lake and go from 16’ straight up to 4’, firm mud bottom with no grass. There were fish and schools of Shad all around the humps. Water was 58 degrees. Most fish seemed to be suspended in the middle water colum in 10’-12’, with a few good marks on the bottom. There is a slight current running down this lake and the fish were staged on the upstream side of the humps. I was unprepared for the situation. I tried some lipless cranks and jerkbaits. Also tried dragging a swimbait in the bottom. No bites! I plan on revisiting this spot this weekend. What should my game plan be? Positioning, baits, retrieves, etc?

TKAA puts on a couple of tournaments every year. Usually one in the spring, and a really big multi-species tournament in the fall.

If not a pedal kayak, definitely take a look at NuCanoe. I have a Flint. It too is very stable. The deck is flat and wide open. Gear tracks come standard on them so you shouldn’t have to drill any holes. They paddle just as fast, and track just as straight as all the others. Very under rated brand in my opinion. It handles great in some chop, and it’s a fantastic boat for rivers too.

Without being able to pinpoint any real structure in this photo, I would position myself to be fishing the Lee side of that big point. In other words, the downwind side. If that doesn’t work, try fishing the side that gets the most sun throughout the day.

As previously mentioned, fish it as is for a while. You will quickly begin to know what accessories you’d like to have, and where you would like to install them. You don’t want to make Swiss cheese out of your boat with constant rigging changes. For me, an anchor trolley and stakeout pole are a must. And maybe a couple of rod holders depending on how your boat is configured. A good cart is another item I couldn’t go without either.

Hmmm...now that you mention it, I haven’t ever heard of anyone eating bullseyes.

Lipless cranks. Rip it off the bottom and let it fall again, rip it off the bottom, repeat. Jerkbaits too. Also senkos work well too, but it’s slow fishing. You’re not gonna cover water very fast.

Debatable topic. Bass eat plenty of snakehead fry, as do snakeheads eating small bass. Infact, a few researchers in VA claim that the bass populations are already reliant upon snakehead as forage. Circle of life. Many of our game fish are not native. Rainbow and brown trout came from Europe. Musky and walleye are being introduced in bodies of water all across the US. Get used to snakeheads, because I don’t think they’re going anywhere! They are a hoot to catch and good to eat. I welcome them with open arms!