patbfishing123

We have had a ton of rain up here the last couple of months and therefore the places where i have been fishing have looked like chocolate milk. This combined with the colder temperatures (up until a couple of weeks ago), led me to beleive that the spawn would be set back. Last week I went out expecting to see the males making the beds or even the females to be protecting the beds. I caught four fish in the matter of an hour, two smaller ones and two over three pounds (which were pretty obvious to me, females). But the two bigger fish that I caught were not plump at all, in fact it looked like they had been stripped of their eggs and their stomachs were all sunken in. Has anyone around this area seen anything similar to this or did I just catch a couple of early spawners, or big males?

I have been using quantum reels now for about ten years. Right now 8 out of my 10 reels that I use are quantum. I have 5 accurists, two kvd tour, and the smoke. I have not had any problems with any of the reels except for the fact that they come from the factory needing a little more reel oil on the gears and what not. Now as soon as I get a new reel i take it apart and lube it up. After I do that, I do not have any other problems with the reels. I think that these reels are fantastic for the price. You can get a lot for your money. I also have an abu garcia revo sx, which is also a great reel and is side by side with any of the quantum reels that I have. All in all I think quantum is a dependable name that is affordable and durable.

depending on the substrate on the bottom I would do one of two things. If the there is a harder bottom, I would go with a creature bait of some sort (beaver, flappin hog, chigger craw etc.) with a 1/4 oz to 3/8 bullet weight. Bounce that of the bottom, giving it a longer period to sit on the bottom. If the bottom is softer (mud or muck) I would suggest using a light (1/4 oz) jig. when the water is cold, a slower drop rate is sometime better being that the fish are not as active.

The guy is amazing.... he obviously has all the confidence in the world, not only in himself but in his equipment. Its one thing to be able to use lures that someone else has created and hope that they'll work the way you want them to. Its another thing for all the equipment that you are using to be designed the way you want it. The guy has everything from the rod and reel to the lure and sunglasses. Everything he uses is something that he has helped to design to work exactly how he wants it to. Now if that doesn't give you confidence I don't know what will. KVD strikes again!

Wow! great pictures.

When I head out for a pre spawn fishing trip I only bring a couple of lures with me. One is a football head jug, preferably a lighter one, 1/4 oz is usually perfect. The other lure i bring with me is a red crawfish colored lipless crankbait, my favorite is the xcalibur knocker series. I like red this time of the year because the water is generally a little more murky. I also like a very loud bait that you can bring through the water as fast or as slow as you want. If there is any area of that the depth goes from relatively deep to shallow rather quickly I would focus on that area with the crankbait. This is known as a transition area where the big females will spend a lot of time in the deeper water but then come up into the shallower waters to feed as the sun warms those areas. One of my favorite technniques this time of the year is to "burn" a lipless crankbait through those transition areas. These fish are looking to eat and will smash that crankbait as it flys by them, this is called a reaction bite. I like to poisition my boat to where i can reach most of the area with a cast and begin to fancast over the entire area. This is an efficient way to cover the strike zone. If this doesn't result in fish, then I would flip the football head jig as close to the stumps and pilings as possible. Let the jig fall as slow as possible keeping it in that strike zone. Once the jig hits the bottom, let it sit for a few seconds then lift it off the bottom by a foot or two. This time of the year the fish will either hit it on the fall or after the first or second time you lift it off the bottom. Happy Fishing!

I am also a member of the rochester bassmasters as a non-boater so any chance i get to hook up with somebody with a boat... i take it I have most mondays off... still looking for a partner? Pat

I was just inputting what I have seen on average... I have always based it on the water temperature. Are you telling me that it doesn't have that much to do with the temperature? How do you go about following the moon phases to determine when the spawn will occur? I have always seen the males to come up on the flats when the water reaches the high 40's to low 50's with the females following shortly after when the water reaches mid 50's. How does the moon come into play here?

Last Year I logged all the fish I caught for the whole month of april... it was a amazing to see the trends in the fishing. I logged the time, air temp, water temp, barometer, cloud cover, lure, and water clarity. I fishing 15 days out of the month. Most days from 10 til 3, I found that I caught most of the fish from 11 until 12:30. Although every morning the bite would start earlier and end earlier. It seems like the fish would turn on for an hour to an hour anda half... but hold on for that hour because its pretty intense, when they're hungry... they're hungry!! I Caught most of my fish on an xcalibur lipless crankbait, burning it through 4-6 feet of water. Also in the spring if it is windy... I like to fish on the bank that the wind in blowing onto because the warmer water piles up there. This time of year the fish are looking for the warmest water... and a degree or two can make all the difference in the world when it comes to finding the fish.

I have seen the spawn to be from mid to late may... but i think it might be a little bit later this year, due to the colder temperatures. When the water reaches 56-58 degrees, the fish should be on their beds.

Yeah thats what im talking about! Up here in New York we hit 70 and it was a great day. I went out and got 16 good ones. Best day i've had in a while. Bout time spring arrived! ;D

I'd say its between ish and byron

Good Choice! Bass fishing is a fantastic sport to get into. Welcome to the board.

Today i was fishing in a deep clear body of water, with steep banks and sharp drop-offs. I saw some very big smallmouth bass and few largemouth. I need some suggestions on what to use for these fish, I'm used to fishing in a 10 foot, murky pond with silt covering the bottom. any help wold be great thanks a lot! and i will be fishing from shore...no boat access.

I agree with roadwarrior, brand loyalty is developed over time. It's those little differences in the certain brand that make people come back to them. Brand name lures tend to run true right out of the box and stay that way, they keep the same motion aswell. The hooks tend to be sharper and stronger and the paint is thicker. The rattles if any are a higher quality sound and there tend to be more in brand names. I believe that brand names are important to know what you are buying, quality is much more important to me than price.

I'd have to say Steve kennedy is going to take that tournament. When it comes to big bag tournament, kennedy is always somewhere near the top. Especially the tournament being in Texas, Kennedy will pull out his swimbaits and slaughter the bass. I do agree tho that when KVD is in the tournament anything can happen, he's the best in the business.

I do a lot of fishing with lipless crankbaits, most of which in less than 5 feet of water. My favorite two go-to lipless crankbaits are the xcaliburs and yo-zuri's. Both of which run true right out of the box and for the life of the lure. As for you're problem of the lure hitting the bottom too quick, there are a couple things you can try. first try using some monofilament, if you are using flourocarbon the line will sink sending the lure to the bottom much quicker. Monofilament stay afloat better keeping the lure above the weedline. If that does'nt work, try a light bait, most lipless crankbaits come as light as 3/8 oz-1/2 oz which should work great for your application. In combination with these two things try a longer rod, I use a 7 foot mh rod and keep the tip up high, and reel that lure in fast. Lipless crankbaits are a fantastic reaction bait, especially in shallow water. Burn that lure in over those weeds and you should find great results. Good luck fishing Pat

I have been fishing for the last 4 or 5 days and I can't catch much only a couple each day here is my scenerio. bass are beginning to move off their beds. water is 75-77 degrees. air temp during day averaging 75 degrees. water is at about 4 foot visability great amount of standing weeds throughout pond. probably clear skys (100% sunny) pond is about 14ft deep at max. the pond has a mucky bottom there is 1 steep drop off (mainly gradual slopes from the sides.) shores are mainly covered with weeds on the surface. food for bass in the pond include small sunfish, some shiners, and crawfish and bullfrogs. What should I do during the day, I have a tournament coming up in a few weeks from 6-12 in the morning. I am heading out tomarrow morning at 5:30 to test out the waters and hopefully refine an approach for the day. Can anyone help me? please give me some tips on fishing this postspawn scenerio. Thanks

WEll i know that a overcast choppy day is good for any lure... I just wanted to know if there were any presentations or colors that work on the other day.. Im trying to be able to catch fishing anytime of the day, and on any type of day will many different types of lures. Thanks all for the input so far.

Generally the more bearings the smoother the reel with be. But i agree with hi_Steel_basser... quality is more important some brands such as shimano make more efficient and smooth bearings then say zebco.

Being that the lake is so small.... It could be pretty young. Also it could be that there are only small bass in there. Ive been to places where there were many small bass and only a couple of larger fish. Sounds like a good time tho. Nice Job!!!!

I am trying to expand my playbook by expanding my knowledge on spinnerbaits. Right now the bass are in transition and spend most of the day on the 4-6 foot flatts. The water temp is about 57-58 degrees, semi-stained water, water visibility of about 4 feet. What is the best spinnerbait and best way to use them on... 1. A sunny windy day 2. A sunny calm day 3. A cloudy windy day 4. A cloudy calm day Thanks, Pat

hello.. and welcome! lucky guy to be down there in Alabama where the big ones are!

I just started this year... And i think that it is going to help me develop patterns that will help me in all areas of fishing. my titles are.....Datet, time, Weight, Location, Clearity, depth, Water Temp, Air Temp, sky, Wind Direction, wind speed, lure, lure color, Presentation, Pressure, Visibility, Humidity, Dew Point, Sun Rise, Sun Set, moon

That's what im talking about! KVD is still on top!!!! Now to all of you who said hes not so good... think again!