riverbasser

Seems like a good day for a spinner bait but you can't count anything out till your there

since you didn't ask for any other suggestions I will just answer that yes it is sufficient depending on distance. I cant quote numbers but do a google search on that round and it will tell you.

Hopeless I don't think so. Seems to me you had the bass on your home water figured out and now with tough conditions your having to really try and in doing so get in the zone like a hunter tracking it's prey, the challenge just makes you want it more. This is a problem I hope to have one day

what crank is that? pretty good match to me

Honestly the 2 most important tools I have are GPS with Lakemaster chip and traditional sonar. Although side imaging has helped me find things much quicker.

Interesting that it always went back to where it was

What do the numbers represent?

@WRB I have seen your cosmic clock and it was confusing to me. But I did not see any instruction pages to go along with it, maybe that would of helped. Do have a link to it? I get what you mean basically that its easier for guys to learn today than it was when you started and of course I agree with that even though I did not grow up back then.

the purpose of my thread was to share just that, what ive learned in the area that I fish, and of course it isn't rocket science but it isn't as simple as you seem to make it either otherwise this forum wouldn't be full of articles and post of guys struggling. When I first got serious about bass fishing and fishing on a big reservoir I was overwhelmed and struggled. As you said only fishing 30 or 40 days out of the year, looking back it took me 2 years before I really knew anything other than what I thought I knew. another saying to go along with the first one is that 10% of fisherman catch 90% of the fish. These are just sayings and I have no proof of anything but I do believe it. Numbers not meant to be taken literally but still I believe to be more accurate than not. hard to give a good answer without personally knowing your body of water but wherever you have found fish ask yourself "Why are they there?" and "How did they get there?" this takes time but you will eventually be able to answer those questions and when you can no matter what time of year you should be able to locate the fish while everyone else hasn't a clue.

I will try to answer your question the best I can so bear with me. @bchase44 Bass will travel as far as necessary in order to follow there food and also the conditions they prefer or need to survive in. Im also assuming that when you say structure you are actually referring to cover like grass, rock or wood. While these are good they mean nothing unless the structure around it attracts bass. I cant say for sure how far the bass travel in your lake but as I said they will travel as far as necessary. The main thing to key in on is how far does the bait travel during any given day. This is something you can only learn from your own observations. My lake is 45,000 acres and there are many different areas or sections that different groups of bass travel throughout the year but this is because they have everything they need in say 800 acres so there is no need for them to travel the entire lake.

I really like the hummingbird helix series. Should be able to get the helix 5 SI GPS combo for around that price

marker buoys give you a bearing when your fishing away from the bank. this way you can have a target or reference point when there is nothing else to line up with.

there are some guys on here who have a format and im sure they will share it, I just use a paper log. @j bab I get what your saying but the one and really only reason I keep a log is to help try and track the bass though the different seasons and though the years. it hasn't paid off yet but I just got started last year so time will tell.

these are my favorite part of the magazine. its great to see how they read a lake even if its small it still gives you an idea of there thought process going in

There's always been and always will be a lot of post of novice or beginner bass fisherman struggling. I know because I was and still am one. This is something I was thinking about this past weekend and thought I'd share. The thing that makes a novice into a seasoned angler is mainly time spent on the water. For most guys who work and have families it is hard to get more than one day on the weekends and that is normally not enough time to do what is needed to consistently catch fish. Here's a few thing I've learned from this great site that must be understood in order to succeed. 10% of the body of water holds 90% of the fish. The first step is finding the fish, this seems simple but can often be the most challenging but once you learn to eliminate water your chances go way up. Once you have found the fish you must now develop a pattern. The pattern may consist of depth the fish are holding at, the type of cover they are holding too whether its grass, rock, wood or so on. Maybe there is a certain bottom composition they are relating too. Once you figure this out you can pinpoint spots within the spots. The next factor is presence of bait. Whereever there is food there will be bass. You need to know the primary forage for your local bodies of water. This will help you determine your lure choice and a retrieve. It also may tell you in which direction to present the lure. Whether its uphill, downhill, parallel, with or against the wind. If you know the forage you can pick your bait to match. If there feeding on shad then fish shad imitating lures and its even better if you can match the correct size. I do want to state that other lures can still work like craws and worms and this will have to be experimented with. Once you understand and think you've found all these factors you can cover the lake or river looking for similar areas and use the same pattern. Of course nothing is set in stone and things change from area to area and also through the day but this is a great start and will help you try to stay on top of the fish. This is a lot to accomplish in one days fishing. Sometimes it can be done quickly and others it will take all day and by this time its too late to really capitalize on. This is why it is hard to be a weekend angler but if you learn to do this every time out on the water and keep a good fishing log it will get easier. If you can accomplish all this in one day especially on a bigger reservoir or lake you have really done something and can be truly efficient and deadly when it comes to bass fishing. Always pay attention to what the lake and fish are telling you and don't get easily discouraged. Bass fishing is a challenge which is why we all love it so much and always have fun. Thanks to this site for all the knowledge it provided and hope this helps some

Round here we call em bream but I think its the same thing. Pretty much any the size of your hand are big enough to eat. Anything smaller is more work than its worth. Any more than 10 is considered a mess and enough for a good meal for 2 or 3

I can't think of any with the first cast, guess I got something to look forward too one day

Hate to say it but you would do better if you didn't sell the nitro. Lol jk man

Im right there with you bud. Wasn't long ago I found my first school of bass out in the middle of the lake and caught them that everything changes now. hoping I can stay on top of it but its all thanks to you and catt and all the other guys who posted in the "best of" sticky that got me there. My way of thinking and fishing has changed like you said and its for the better!

There all outta ideas

That is funny! Good story

I would have to look at the bag but I believe there BPS brand. they aren't anything special just smaller than the paddle tails I normally throw. I never have figured out the shad spawn but when I'm catching bass and they cough up the babies is when the grubs work better.

I don't think you"ll be disappointed. And while I also favor paddle tails for trailers don't be afraid to throw a grub on. I've had good results with them as well

Hard to say. I think I struggled for a long time trying to force fish to bite the way I wanted them too instead of figuring out what they wanted.

Somewhat depends on depth. Practice is key for any of it but just stay as far away as your comfortable. Once I hit the outside of dock or lay down I move in some and work it to the bank. Can't say a distance cuz its different all the time.