jr231

Honestly I've caught bass on every color crank I own. This includes blues, purples , dark green, pink, chartreuse , reds, brown, orange, chrome, ones that are "live" pattern that cloesly resemble baitfish to the human eye (and honestly have done the worst on those) Size, action, depth, contact with structure and placement are much more key than color. The most important thing to do while cranking IMO is to vary your retrieve. Try a slow steady retrieve, this usually works. Try a rip and pause, one of my favorite techniques . Burn it.. bass can swim faster than you think and sometimes this is the ticket. Try a combination of all three . This makes the bait very erratic and it's proven that bass like something to trigger the strike (this is why deflecting off cover is so effective whether it's bouncing off wood or ripping through grass. ) Another tip. (If it's a floating crank) When you cast it out.. let all the rings dissapear before you start your retrieve. Usually bass will come to investigate and the sudden movement can trigger a strike.

Nice job man. Beautiful fish. Nothin like a late season hog.

We used to play Lowell in football . Michigan is beautiful. I miss it there. I hope you enjoy the forums. They are pretty awesome !

If it's a decent sized bass it'll suck in and blow your jig out in a matter of seconds. If you have the slightest idea you got bumped... set that hook!

I fish a variety of soft plastics on a 3/0 wide gap . Senkos (tx & wacky), hula grubs, flukes, rage toads, swing impact (I insert homemade "nail' weights ) trick worms... I mainly use these on spinning gear. With braid. Occasionally a floro leader on a light bait . That's alot of baits to use on one set up! But if you have the money.. why not ?

Rapala is beast A-Jay!!

I've had similar pain with my spleen. Due to a blood cell problem I have and ended up having to get it removed !!!! My kidney stones made me think of the pain but it didn't equal it.. but mine wernt big enough I needed surgery. I had to do it the fun way.

What were you using ? And what is your location? 5.6 is a memorable fish. . And sometimes that's as big as I'll get in a season... but it's very beatable. Even In the north. Keep fishing and you'll beat it for sure.

Lol I had them ! And they were bad ! But not nuts in a vise bad.. I've had some nasty surgeries tho and pain that put kidney stones to shame. The thing about kidney stones (for me) is how long the problems lasted .... very annoying and painful.. not something I wish on anybody.t

Or if you're on your phone you can just go to your gallery and crop them . In "photo details" you can see the image size. Adjust accordingly.

Do you ever use the fat ika?

They work all types of ways... not just on a football head, or t rigged. They can be used on a bare swim jig head , a simple ball jig head, and my favorite way is to rig them Texas weightless. Obviously not a deep water presentation. But In a shallow scenario those grubs fill the boat when slowly chugged along.

It's really hard to take pictures of big bass on your phone. Especially if they are 21"+ . I think you did a good job. That's how I like to spend my days on the water !

JOINTED shad rap. Back in shallow coves (6-12 feet deep ) this bait rocks for me. Nobody talks about the jointed version, only the original shad rap. But I promise the jointed version is dynamite . Slow retrieve with a pause and twitch. Or a rip and pause. And only 6.99 if you find a deal. It's hard to beat IMO.

No doubt which fish is more gorgeous between LM and SM. Nice. As always, it seems.

Why not practice casting on the water ? Ponds are a good place to practice casting.. if I lived in Tennessee I'd be casting into the Tennessee River lol . Also I like using something cheaper when practicing casting.. like an in-line spinner or spoon. Not a 8 dollar crank bait.

I can confirm they do quite well.in ohio too !

It's not my preferred method..and using ADULT bluegill is not a numbers technique. but honestly every time ive tried it I knew there was a big bass there and couldn't get it to bite.. and sure enough came out of hiding to chase it down . several times tom maybe 4 times in one summer ... but like I said it's not my preferred method. Just one that doesn't fail. My personal best came on a top water. Mid summer . When everyone swore it was too hot to fish and damm sure didn't think id be catching them topwater in 90 degree heat. Forgive me for my ignorance on species of panfish. Whether it's a pumpkinseed , red ear etc . It's a bluegill to me.. and they will all work equally. I'd personally rather use a 4" bluegill. Usually a 5" is almost equally tall and will make a hook set much harder . I've never tried it with crappie.. usually the ones I end up catching are too big for bait.. I don't target them very often.

Sounds perfect to me. Nice job.

Bring less baits.. spend more time fishing than switching. I found my catch rate going way up once I downsized to a small pack vs a backpack.

Bring water.. seems obvious but I've had a couple trips ruined because I forgot to bring something to drink being so excited.

This question. Should have been posted in your region.. because "winter fishing" in the deep south is much different than places that get snow and ice.. Then you will get more specific answers on what worked from people in your location. Not just what people use all over the country.

Better than nothing though. That's when you keep an ultralight on board and battle.em on that!

Damm deakn. I hope it gets resolved. I've had 4 major surgeries in my life(none for kidneys). But have had kidney stones.. the stones were horrible. Extreme pain inside the body especially in the back and for me seemed worse when I would lay down. definitely not pleasant passing them either. More annoying than horribly painful but still hurt a good deal. And mine took weeks. I suspected energy drinks as my culprit. Because I got on a kick with them and then all the sudden I had kidney stones. So I dropped those.. and have seemed to be ok since. More water.

I wish river 2 sea would give me back my money on the "clackin crayfish" lol