Austin11C

No I went down to melton hill today I figured Norris wouldn't be too good from the bank with the high water. Did you do any good?

I tried a few buzz baits, spinner baits, and rattletraps. That's about all the "noisy" baits I have. Not a single bite. But I'm new to a lot of this stuff and I'm not even sure I was working them properly. I'm just glad I got a little practice with my new bait caster. Only backlashed it twice, with a buzzbait. Not bad for only having a bait caster for 3 days.

Well guys it didn't go so well. I busted a brake line on my truck pulling into the lake parking lot so I had to have someone go get me a new line. We fished for a couple hours, my brother caught a small bass maybe 1lb on a senko. That's the only bite we had and then I had to fix my truck and it was time to go. Better luck next time hopefully.

Thanks for all the ideas guys. Hopefully we'll be able to catch em this evening. I'll post a report later tonight. And after looking at everyone's comments I've narrowed it down to about any normal bait I'd throw except dark haha. Thanks again!

That's kinda what I was thinking. I've night fished quite a bit so I figured that for visibility but I didn't know if high water level would affect them much or if there was a primary food source after a hard rain. But I believe I'll start off with a Colorado blade black or blue spinner and see if that works. If not I have some new jigs to try out. Do you think top water would be any count? I Just bought some pad crashers and want to try them out but it might not be a good time to.

We've gotten ALOT of rain the past week where I live. So much that the dams in the area are flowing over the top. Which makes for high lake and river levels. I've had today planned as a fishing trip for me and my brother for the past couple weeks and don't want to give up on it. I've never Bass fished after a lot of rain. Any bait suggestions? I drove by a favorite cove of mine earlier just to see what it looked like. I seen lots of debri floating in the water and of course the water is very muddy. I'm thinking maybe a senko since I'm sure the fish are looking for food that's been washed into the water. Does rain like this ruin fishing? Completely new to this kind of thing. What's your opinion? I'm not sure if I'll fish the river of the lake it depends on what it looks like when I get there. We will be bank fishing. Thanks guys

A spot down on the river a few miles from my house. My papaw would take me there almost every day if it wasn't raining. I've caught more trout there than I could even think about counting, he got sick and passed on and that's still some of my favorite memories of when I was little. I can still go to that spot and I do occasionally but it's not the same by myself. Maybe one day when I have kids or grandkids I can take them and teach them what he taught me. Also when I was in college my roommate and I had a little Jon boat and would go to a local golf course and fish the ponds there. Caught some nice bass there but it's way too far of a drive to go back to even if it's still accessible.

Well guys I'm a little pressed for money at the moment so I ended up buying a shakesphere 6'6 cheapo BC and I've been practicing. I'd like to say that I surprised myself at how fast I caught on. From hearing others first experiences with BC's I was a little intimidated. I've been playing around with it a lot practicing mostly. Only fished once with it. I've at least made 300-400 cast with it and only had any bad backlash maybe 10 times. Even then it wasn't too bad. I never had to cut the line just took a minute to untangle. I've about got the casting part down for the most part and I plan on starting to practice accuracy with it,even though I'm not as bad as I thought I would be, I'm consistently placing the lure within 2'-3'of target at 25-30yards(that might actually be horrible but it seems rather good compared to my expectations) Oh and I have absolutely no idea how to flip or pitch but I'm taking baby steps right now. Hopefully I'll get the hang of everything and become proficient with it. Then I'll actually buy me a good setup. BTW it came with Stren 12 lb line on it. Is this line okay or should I change it before I actually start fishing a lot with it. I'm still learning the basics of bass fishing so I mostly fish from the bank and with senkos,lizards,creature baits, occasionally a topwater frog or something depending where I am.

28 lbs 12oz Brown trout was caught in the river maybe 200 yards from my house. Obviously they all don't get this big certainly none that ive ever caught but I've seen and caught some large trout. The state record rainbow in my state is 18lbs.

Is there a huge difference in a 6'6 and 7'?

Thanks guys I will probably get the Blackmax, there's a rod and reel combo for 62$ it's the blackmax and a 6'6 blackmax rod

I've caught a couple carp down by the rowing area, and I don't get out towards watts bar too much but there's a place called arrowhead trail down there that I really like to fish. Never been specifically for bass but caught some nice cats there. And I fish loudoun when I can, mostly below the dam but there's a small pond somewhere over there I went to years ago and caught a decent bass and a big needle nose gar. I'd like to see if I could find that pond again. I'm just waiting until I can afford a boat for the bigger lakes around here. Thanks for the advice.

Hey Oregon Native, I'm somewhat new to bass fishing and noticed you're from Knoxville. I live in Clinton and was wondering if you could give me any advice on places to fish. I regularly fish the Clinch river and melton hill, not so much Norris because I do not have a boat and I've never had any luck bank fishing there. Im new to this and trying to figure out the best spots. I will be getting a boat soon but as of now I'm stuck on land. Thanks.

Thanks. That's within my price range ??

Hey guys I'm somehwhat new to bass fishing and have used a bait caster only a couple times. I'd like to get one but I'm on a budget. I'm wanting to get a cheap one I can practice with and learn the skill. Walmart has some inexpensive ones that I'm interested in. And I will eventually buy me a better set up, just not in the budget as of right now. Plus if I try it for a few months and just absolutely hate it and want to go back to spinning gear I don't want to be out a couple hundred bucks. Anyone with experience with these, or any other set ups close to the same price? The one I'm looking at is a Shakesphere agility low profile bait cast combo. It's a 6'6 rod. Do you guys think it would be a good thing to start out on or be a waste of money?

Hey glad to hear you got some of those smallies. ??

I have a bag of strike king watermelon chart w/black flake senkos 5". I have some other worms and lizards but I'm very interested in senkos, I've read a lot of articles on them and they at least sound like an easy thing to start off with. I went out the other day and used chart&watermelon lizards and caught 2 decent sized perch. Not what I was looking for but any fish is still fun to catch. I've never Texas rigged anything, I've always used a Carolina rig so I'll have to try that. Thank you for the advice.

i grew up living on a river, my father never cared much for fishing, he maybe took us all of 5 times, he's really big into hunting which so am I but that still leaves 8 months of the year with nothing to do haha. I made the most of the river and have definitely caught my fair share of trout and carp. But I'd love to get more into bass fishing. I'll definitely take you advice on just focusing on learning because in all honesty I have no clue what I'm doing most of the time. Half the things I read on here make no sense because idk the terminology and I guess the basics of bass fishing. But thanks for the advice. Maybe someone else has some insight as well. Hopefully one day I'll be the one giving the advice.

I do like fishing soft plastics, My little brother and I are the only ones in my family who fish so I don't really have anyone to ask advice from or to get pointers, that's why I love this site. Does it matter the brand of soft plastics. I notice some are 6-7$ and there's always knock offs for a lot cheaper. I always buy the cheaper ones but is it worth the extra? For example I have some off brand senko worms that I'm trying to learn how to fish as I've seen those are a big hit here. But would it be worth it to buy the name brand stuff?

I may also add that I'm on somewhat of a budget. Not where I can only afford one crankbait at a time but where I don't have the extra cash to be paying 4-5$ a lure. So any cheap lures are a plus.

Like the title says I need some advice. I've been fishing my whole life but for mostly trout and catfish. I've recently really gotten the itch for some bass. I've caught bass before usually using a Carolina rig chartreuse lizard,(my bass tackle is very limited). That's why I'm asking for help. My few bass lures consist of chartreuse lizards, a couple topwater frogs, a few different sizes and colors of worms, a couple Walmart 1$ spinnerbaits,and a few crankbaits. And any technique tips y'all have. Conditions: East TN. Mostly fish large lakes, and a couple rivers/creeks. Bank fish mostly (at least until I buy a boat) and also I do not have a bait caster. I don't even know how to properly use one, don't laugh guys like I said I've always been a trout guy lol. So basically any need to know info for a newbie bass fisherman is much appreciated. I've already learned so much from this forum. Thanks guys.

I'm not sure the water temp but it was high 60s-low 70s outside so I'd imagine the water temp would be significantly lower. I'm not sure how it corresponds. And I'm definitely taking the advice for fishing for the ones I can't see. I definitely catch more that way.

I know it appears your trip is coming to an end now but next time your in the area you could try Douglas lake. I've seen some decent fish come out of there especially close to the dam. Also not too far down the road is a few other great Lakes to fish. Norris,Melton Hill, Ft Loudon. Hopefully your trip was successful.

I'm going to look at one tomorrow, it's a 14' v hull 6hp evenrude brand new minn Kota trolling motor and trailer. Has 3 seats, 2 are removable raised bass seats, he's also including an anchor and 2 PFDs. The best part he's open to partial trade on firearms. Which I have more than my share of. Hopefully all goes well. Thanks guys.

Yes I have a vehicle to tow, and I'm on a fairly tight budget for now. I would like to save up and get a nice boat but for now Im working with limited funds and have a budget of close to 1000-1500$ and that's preferably including everything. Im very good at wood working and I'm also a mechanic so any small problems like that I could handle myself. I've found a few in my price range I'm just not sure if I would be better off with a flat bottom or v hull. V hulls tend to be a little less expensive around here so I believe I may just get a v hull and continue to save for a better boat but still have something to use meanwhile. Also I've never fished center hill but have fished dale hollow and love it. But Norris and melton hill are both like 10 mins away from me so that's my primary spots. Thanks for replying.