keltonz

I went on March 23. I got there late in the day, but it was very windy and water was high... so the fish were shallow and on the north end.

Thanks for the advice, Eddie. Solid stuff!

I am doing research to get ready for a tournament in two weeks, and wanted some input! I am fishing a creek off of the Potomac. It's pretty flat, and in the summer has a lot of grass - but it's not in there yet. I've attached a picture. What things should I target in spring? How would you approach it? Not pictured is the creek - I can go about two miles up pretty easily. Wondering if it's worth it to go up into the creek to see if anything has made it up there. My plan was to start at the main river points and work my way back, focusing on the points. I imagine fish will be moving back into the creek, but will be closer to the main river right now. I will primarily try a squarebill and jig.

Thanks for the tips! Besides looking for outgoing tides in the creeks, what are the other "best opportunities"?

BR - anyone use the Twistlock Light for Senkos? They definitely prolong the life of the bait, but I haven't figured out what size to use. I normally use a 3/0 for senkos, but in this variety they seem too short. 4/0 or 5/0 better?

I'll list a few: 1. Roboworm in Morning Dawn, MMIII, or Green Pumpking, either on a drop shot or light shakey head 2. Zoom Super Fluke in Watermelon Red or Albino, rigged weightless and fished slowww 3. Zoom Ultravibe Speed Craw in Green Pumpkin Gold on a light t-rig or shakey head

Flukes are probably my #1 confidence bait as long as the water isn't absolutely chocolate milk. They do a lot of things well for a soft plastic. My two top colors are Sungill (which I don't think is a regular color for Zoom) and Albino - basically a bluegill color and a shad color. On the Sungill I often dip the tail in chartreuse. I use both in clear to stained water, but don't tend to use them much in muddy water. I occasionally use a weight if I want to fish them in 10'+ deep water, but far more often I fish them weightless in water <10'. They are great in thick vegetation, as long as you keep that hook buried. I actually strongly prefer them in vegetation. Weight really depends on the speed and depth you want to fish. 1/4th, for a fluke, is on the heavy side for me. I want to fish it slow and shallow, so I would go with 1/8th. Since it's imitating a baitfish, I want it throughout the water column. Weights are probably best on stuff you want to imitate on the bottom - crawfish style and worms.

Water was mid 70s. Air temp was high 80s.

BR - I went fishing this past weekend and got skunked so bad. I was fishing a shallow bay off a tidal river. Grass has been growing in. Water was ultra muddy (<6" of visibility), mid 70s temperature, very sunny. I got no bites all day. There were a few tournaments out of some of the launches, and I know fish were caught. I tried: chatterbait and spinnerbait along weedlines, around submerged wood - lipless over grass - jigs under docks, etc. etc. but nothing! How would you approach the situation?

Reading the article on "Finesse Baits for Pre-Spawn Bass," it mentions setting up a drop shot with bobber stoppers: "Arizona pro Gary Senft rigs his drop-shot hooks on the line using bobber stoppers, making the leader adjustable." I haven't tried it, but I would think that they would slip and you couldn't get a hookset, or give way too much play, or just slide to the weight and push the weight off? What am I missing?

I'll be following with great interest @Riazuli

I use the Scotty - chose it because it was cheaper. I am guessing it's way more flimsy than the YakAttack arm but I actually prefer that - much better the arm break that the transducer. It stays in place well, comes on and off quick, and rotates up easily when in shallow water.

I do when I'm not sure what depth or color I'm going to be using. I use the VMC touch-lok, never had them fail.

I vote for the Dobyn's Fury 663SF - shorter rod to help with jerkbaits, M/F action strong enough for light jigs. If you want 7', go for the 703SF.

Considering that the Arachnid is 50% more expensive than the PQ2, you can't really compare them. But I have two PQs and they're fine reels.

Is this the Riazuli that fishes at 4MR? I take 4-6 rods with me. I only have rod holders for 5, so it means keeping one rod and my net at my feet. But it beats having to retie or use a rod not best suited for the technique.

You can use BPS gift cards at Cabelas and Cabelas at BPS. Doesn't matter which you get. https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/together

Agreed. Their lipless are great considering the price. Definitely recommend them.

My fishing buddies and I are planning a late April fishing trip and we're deciding between Deep Creek and Lake Anna. Unfortunately we only have one bass boat so we're going to have to rent one, as well as a lakehouse. Between the two, what would ya'll recommend? We're mostly bank fishermen so we don't have a ton of experience with big water.

Just to close the loop, I went with the Tatula CT in 7.3. If I like it it might become my go-to!

Folks, I am looking to purchase a fourth baitcasting reel, and am deciding between the Daiwa Tatula CT and Shimano Curado K. Obviously the Shimano is quite a bit more expensive, but I have extensive experience with Daiwa reels. Is there anything to be said for using one brand of reels to keep the "feel" between setups similar? So I don't have to do as much mental swapping when I pick up a different setup? Or is that a bogus concept?

Never? Not for me at least. Honestly, I do 70% bank fishing, and 30% fishing from a kayak in water that doesn't have much heavy cover.

BR - I need help deciding what rod to get next for my expanding arsenal... I'll list my current rods and their use below. Spinning: ML/XF 6'10" - Used 80% for Dropshot, 10% for light shakey head, 10% other... M/Mod 7' - I rarely use this rod, but use it for light topwater and jerkbaits Casting: M/Mod 7' - Used for smaller squarebills, lipless cranks, and shallow cranks M/F 7' - My most used rod, used for weightless and light T-Rig plastics, lighter jigs, topwater, jerkbaits MH/XF 7'1" - Used right now for 1/2oz jigs and any of my heavier lures, like 1/2oz spinnerbaits or 110 whopper plopper. Not ideal. Right now I am leaning toward a XH/F casting rod for frogs and heavy jigs, but I honestly rarely throw topwater and don't fish heavy cover at all (right now), or a MH/Mod rod for heavier/deeper cranks (which I would do occasionally) and for chatterbaits. If this was your arsenal, what would you get next?

Baby Torpedo. I might try playing with the prop - I don't think mine spins when you blow on it!

Oh really? And does the prop turn and churn on those kinds of retrieves? How is it different from a spook or popper, then?