Dorado

Thank you, Glenn. Happy to be here. This is a wonderful site seriously

Tacklewarehouse has a custom Z-man chatterbait in 'Breaking Bream' that might match your hatch. I'm sure others can suggest good bluegill trailers. Keitech FAT Swing Impact or Zoom Swimm' fluke jr in Bluegill Flash could mate well?

Do you have bluegill? Crawdads?

I fish Chatterbaits a lot and with braid. It's one of my favorite prespawn lures. I do not have rocks to worry about, but Glenn just made an excellent point if your waters have those features. In clear water, I like white or Shad color and am partial to a zoom super fluke jr in White Ice. winter- early spring, I also catch bigger fish using a yo yo (pause and rip retrieval) so I'm mimicking wounded Shad during that period. That's also how I fish lipless cranks and ripping those baits through grass triggers hard strikes! They are relatively weedless in the fall, fishing the chatter traditionally like a spinnerbait on a steady retrieval with an occasional pause or a fast retrieval gets followers. I would probably use those Keitechs during the fall as a trailer as I'm mimicking fleeing Shad this point of year. since it's a reactionary bite I do not think it's as important to seek a Fluoro leader like you would with finesse baits. Tip: when the fish are chasing baitfish near the surface, use a micro Chatterbait and burn it back on the surface. Prespawn and fall generally gives me those types of seasonal chatter bites these techniques are just my mental notes for what worked Last year.

Thank you for that explanation. I'm going to remember that rule going forward! I wish I would've got measurements, but she got released right after the pic to grow even larger.

I fish ponds a lot where I live. Mostly at night. These work day and night. I use these three baits year-round when I've tried everything and want to beat a skunk: 1) 2.5" Black Shad Gulp! Alive! on a drop shot. Bass LOVE this set-up and a catfish or crappie is always a nice bonus. 2) 3" white grub on a chartreuse roadrunner underspin slow rolled on the bottom or faster retrieval sub-surface. 3) Sassy Shad in black and silver on a chartreuse underspin. Same techniques as the grub. Threadfin Shad is our main forage here in AZ, so I'm not sure what your pond's main food source is. I still recommend this list bc it mimics minnows in general and I believe it appeals to even neutral bass. These baits are helpless, easy, none energy exerting snacks to fish. Think about yourself, do you eat a snack in between breakfast, lunch, and dinner- even when you're not hungry ? I do! Get my drift? yeah they're not cool to brag about but these classics are timeless for a reason. Spring time, try tubes too!

Love this species. Used to catch a bunch in Denver on a drop shot with Jackall Crosstail Shads or Bass Assassasins Nice pic

How often do you apply the conditioner? Quarterly?

Great replies so far. Thanks all! At this point, I'm leaning on #14 Sunline Sniper FC. Never used 100% fluorocarbon, except for leaders. Co-polymors add complexity to my personal debate on picking mono vs. fluoro and the responses indicate mix feelings for this application I stated. Use Braid and nano on all my spinning gear.

I'm fairly new to the bass fishing world and enjoy kayak fishing. I have a Daiwa Tatula casting reel that needs a re-spool, but I'm stuck on what line to choose for this application: When on shore, I'll be throwing squarebills and spinnerbaits.........from the yak, trolling for stripers (nothing huge) with mid-depth crankbaits and paddletails. Previously, I had a spool of P-Line Floroclear but that stuff didn't last a hot summer in Phoenix. The memory on that line was terrible and beyond repair. I know I need something abrasion resistant and with some stretch. What do you all recommended for these situations, hoping I can be versatile with one reel and one line? Thanks in advance!

My gut is telling me 'white bass'.

I own a Native Ultimate Fx15t that is very roomy and comfortably fits two. Yesterday, I converted it to the single position and was able to stand in it all day. It's so versatile and I can run my fishfinder, battery box, coolers, anchoring system, on and on without feeling cramped.

Caught some of these guys from the kayak today at Lake Pleasant, Az. Can't tell if the first pic is a wiper or white bass or striper? 2nd pic is a PB striper caught on a River2sea Rig Walker Paddletail 120 in Platinum.

Awesome hookset!

This looks promising! Thanks! Never heard of the psycho dad. Sounds cool!

Neat jigs! I like those Brown Purple orange jigs. This Crawdads have green pumpkin and light beige tints with rusty orange limbs and a slightly light blue abdomen

Haha. TGIF. That was creative!

I notice that the Lower Salt River has a healthy population because they end up in many of the eastern ponds in PHX metro. I notice that they aren't large (averaging 2.5" or so). Any good soft plastics and color recommendations? I'm tired of imitating Threadfin Shad all year long and want to mix things up. Mostly fish lakes 10 acres or less. Thanks in advance for your response.

Smart..........I'm going to try hardwood charcoal next time. Briquettes are so convenient and I just pick up a two-pack at Home Depot. I'm sure it makes a big difference!

Darren- I prefer cooking steaks on a charcoal grill. I use a chimney to light up my coals and stack one side of the grill in a pyramid formation. I patiently wait until the heat registers 550-600 degrees. In the meantime, about an hour prior to cooking, I'll keep the seasoning super simple. If you get a filet, NY, T-Bone why try to mask the flavors? Besides a good quality steak should have plenty of marbling, which IMO, is butter LOL! I use Himalayan Pink Salt (easy to find, impossible to over-salt like common table salt), Grounded Peppercorn (grinders are essential as common pepper is not potent or spicy), and splashes of Worcestershire sauce for smokiness and helps with the crust. I let it set for an hour to bring the steak to room temp. I never throw on a cold steak because I have the timing down to a tee with room temp. It's too difficult to time it with a steak defrosted or out of the fridge. Now that you are at those intense heat settings, apply the steaks over the top of the pyramid and close the lid to that the seer trap those juices in immediately! Depending on the thickness and cut, this could be ~2-3 minutes on ONE side. The goal is to let it develop that caramelized crust, without it getting burned. Flip it over the other side for ~2-3 minutes to trap the bottom side. Note: these times only work for me and for my type of grill. There are a lot of variables to consider and I shouldn't be blamed for either an under-cooked or over-cooked steak if you follow my times to a tee! Warning! Ok, move the steak over to the other side of the grill, opposite of the pyramid, where it is cooler. I HATE cutting steaks to check the doneness, so I cheat and use a thermometer. I take it off, when the middle of the steak, registers at 150 degrees (prefer mine medium - less iron-tasting, still succulent, great beef flavor IMO). Let it rest for 2-3 minutes, grab a beer or set the table and resist going to town right away haha! Resting is super important, especially with roasts, because you want the juices to distribute evenly throughout the meat. When it cools, the juices work starting at the core and work outward. I know this is long, and assumes you grill, but I've tried the sautéing and various indoor methods to cast iron pans, etc. There's nothing like the grill tastes and being outside that brings out this primitive satisfaction that tops it all off. Then, throw in various woods, like mesquite, forget about it!!! I'm definitely no expert, just a typical dude who likes to cook on the weekends for the fam. Good luck!

Manns One-Minus (Fire Shad Crystaglow) Livetarget Threadfin Squarebill (baitball series) KVD 2.5 Squarebill (Chili Craw) SK Bitsy Bug (Black and Blue) w/ Netbait Paca Tiny Chunk (Toledo Special) SK Bitsy Tube (Pumpkin w/ green flake) 4" Senko (Green Pumpkin w/ Black Flake) Mister Twister Sassy Shad (black and silver on a chatreuse roadrunner) Z-Man Chatterbait (Shad) with Super Fluke Jr. (White Ice) 3/8 oz Black Jitterbug Gulp! Alive! Minnows 3" (Black Shad) No particular order, but if I had to pick only one..... it would be the last one listed. It catches anything that swims and is my #1 confidence bait Runner's up: Keitech FAT Impact, Zoom Swimmin' Fluke Jr (Smoke and Bluegill) Rebel Pop-R (baby bass), SK Redeye (Chrome w/ Blue Back)and 4.5" Roboworms (especially Watermelon Magic and SXE Shad) Because only choosing 10 was too difficult :/

Try Chaparral Lake in Scottsdale or Tempe Town Lake for a quick fix. I haven't been skunked at either location this year. They are kinda in their pre-spawn phase as of today's date. Been doing well in the evenings using small, finesse swimbaits/grubs w/ roadrunner jigs at Chap and finesse jigs w/ Netbait Paca Chunks at TTL.

Greetings! I hope to share success stories and give as much, if not more, than what I've been receiving from this wonderful community. This is the BEST forum that I've been a part of. I'm very appreciative of the courtesy, willingness to share, and overall respect that I see on this forum. I've been a part of Fish Enchantment (NM-active) and Fish Explorer (CO-closed) and met some amazing anglers in both states. Moved to PHX in 2015 and am finally learning AZ waters. I fish once a week (wish it was everyday) mostly in Phoenix Metro. I've only been bass fishing for the past two years, but have been fishing my entire life. Did a lot of catfishing and fly fishing prior, but bass fishing offers cooler toys haha! AZ has forced me to store away my whipping sticks, but the catfishing here has been pretty fantastic. I'm turning into a tackle junkie, thanks to bass fishing, and hope to seek some professional help here (haha yeah right!). Hope to meet some good folks and want to thank everybody that contributes in making this site so great! The moderators do a fantastic job too. I'm glad I can be a part of the Bassresource community. Thanks,