Kayak Koz

"Lesser" southern states? Them's fighting words! ? Here in South Carolina we have The Santee Cooper lakes (Marion and Moultrie), Hartwell, and Lake Murray. Those are the ones that everyone knows about. But there are also thousands of smaller bodies of water with great fishing and double digit bass. Where my father lives in Sun City Hilton Head there are over 300 lagoons with big bass. The average sized largemouth we catch there is 2 pounds. Four and five pound bass are common. This in just one community. Many other residential communities in my area alone have great active fish stocking and management with largemouth bass, striped bass, and tiger bass. You can have Texas, California, and Florida with the high pressure fishing. I'll take the thousands of small lagoons in my area.

My Whopper Ploppers still have the original hooks. While there is probably a nominal difference in upgrading the hooks, I find the originals work well enough for me. I haven't used the WP 90 that much because I have a lot of floating vegetation in the lagoons I fish. Using the 90 was frustrating because any little bit of vegetation would mess it up. And because I bank fish, using the 110's allows me to cast further and cover more water. I don't recall any gill or outer hookups with the 90, but I do call a decent number of whiffs when a bass would try to hit it. The reason I did not get the side hookups on the 90 may have to do with the relative size of the bass we get down here. The average bass we catch here is about 2 pounds. The lighter mass and the smaller hooks may not have been enough to penetrate that sized bass. Or maybe the original hooks on the 90 aren't that good, and that's why others suggest replacing them.

You did not mention what size Whopper Plopper you are using, but I'll relay my experience with them fishing mostly the 110 size and sometimes the 130 size. What I have found is that many, many times that bass will hit and run the lure. In other words, instead of opening wide and inhaling the lure when they hit it they hit it right at the surface and then roll over and down. With the glancing blow there are many times when they get hooked on the outside of their mouth or in the gill area. When they get hooked on the outside it seems to make it much easier to shake the hook off. While I can't be sure this happened in your case, I've landed my fair share of Whopper Plopper bass hooked on the outside of their mouth or hooked on a gill.

Fishing from a boat is a HUGE advantage considering you can cover a lot more water and can use electronics to locate fish whereas from the bank you may find a spot that looks like it should be holding fish only to find out 45 minutes later the fish are somewhere else. Plus, with electronics you get to see the structure that can't be seen from the bank. I think that those that learn to equate what they see with their electronics with what they see with the above water surroundings probably develop a slight advantage over time. But don't count out bank fisherman (like me) when it comes to breaking down a body of water. It's just depressing when I know where the bass should be but I can't quite get there.

Inline spinners are like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get.

Shallow lagoons are all that I fish here in SC. The first thing that I look for is any vegetation along the shoreline, even if it's only a narrow strip of vegetation where the bass may be seeking cover. Because I bank fish, I position myself where I can cast across a stretch of shoreline and keep the bait in the strike zone. Sometimes I'll throw a t-rigged worm there, but usually I will start with a spinnerbait (with a paddle tail trailer) or a noisy, weedless topwater like a Teckel Sprinker Frog. If you like to fish a jig, paralleling the bank with one would work as well. Where the river flows into the lagoon there is bound to be some sediment buildup, but moving into the lagoon the basin should be deeper or there will be a channel or two carved out by the moving water. I'd find the spots where the water gets deeper - even if it's only a little bit - and fish those.You can fish your lure from deeper to shallow, shallow to deeper, or parallel along the drop off.

I usually go fishing with my son, but on occasion I do fish alone and do enjoy that time as well. Some days it's a great chance to get out there and think, while others it's a chance to go out there and clear my mind from all distractions. Lately it seems we all get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the everyday world and technology, so for me it's a great reminder to appreciate the outdoors and a quieter life.

Really? My mistake then. This is the first time I have seen one. But I still think fishing technology is going to explode in the next decade.

(Disclaimer: Before anyone gets upset, the post title is a pun referencing those books for dummies series. I'm not calling anyone a dummy. Sad that nowadays puns need to be explained before they offend anyone.) If you haven't seen it yet, the soon to be released Shimano Curado 150 DC is an interesting piece of technology. It uses an electromagnetic motor to power a microchip and sensors that control the baitcaster brakes without the user having to thumb the reel. In other words, when set up properly it promises no backlashes. This technology will also let you throw lighter baits not typically used on baitcasting rigs. The release date is in August and it is priced at $249.99. FWIW, I think that it's an interesting idea and I think other manufacturers will release similar products within the next few years. Which leads to the question, "What other rod and reel technologies will we see in the near future?" Granted, if some of this stuff ever comes to fruition, for me it would take some of the fun out of fishing. But it's probably coming, sooner or later. That being said, I do like the idea of the new Curado 150 DC. It has the potential to make life easier for fishermen and even help those new to the sport.

There's a lot of good advice posted above, especially about dragging your lure over different surfaces and imprinting what you are feeling at that time. Here are a few of my thoughts on the subject: 1. Get yourself a float (bobber) and a nightcrawler and toss it out there. While it's out in the water, keep a little tension on the line and grasp the line between your thumb and forefinger. Watch the float for an indication that a fish is nibbling at or engulfing the bait. At the same time make a mental note of what both your line (held between your fingers) and what your rod feels like when the fish hits the bait. 2. In most, but definitely not all cases, if you feel something and the line is not running off when your lure hits some sort of structure (rocks, trees, or even weeds) the feedback you get from your line and rod will be more of a single thud whereas with a fish it will be more of a pulsed vibration. The vibration may be subtle or it may be the classic tap-tap. 3. Having your fingers contacting your line can be an important part of detecting a bite, especially if you're new to fishing. For example, when using a falling bait like a jig or a worm you can grab the line between your thumb and forefinger as it falls allowing you to feel the more subtle vibration of a fish grabbing the bait. If your fishing a bait like a jig along the bottom you can place your thumb lightly over the line on the spool while you work the bait or are letting the bait rest on the bottom. Lastly, rod sensitivity is also a factor in detecting a bite as well as detecting different types of structure that your lure encounters. I fished an Ugly Stick for years and I loved it. I caught a lot of fish with it. But it wasn't until I upgraded my rod that I noticed how much I had been missing when it came to feedback from bites or structure.

Of course they are laughing. They're known to be Bass-tards.

I get what the OP is saying. A few years ago I was throwing predominantly worms but then I got distracted by shiny new toys like Whopper Ploppers, jigs, chatterbaits, frogs, and spinnerbaits and now I rarely throw a worm. But the bite has been slow lately. Maybe one of these days I'll go out there and just throw a worm all day and see what happens.

In my area the first four weeks or so when the heat kicks in are brutal times for bass fishing. Unless you happen to drop a bait right in front of their face you usually don't get bit. Keep in mind that I fish small and medium sized lagoons that are almost uniform in depth and don't get deeper than 7 or 8 feet. I imagine that during this period the bass are usually feeding when I'm asleep. Bank fishing at night is a no-go here because of the abundance of alligators. But in the past few years, usually around the second or third week of July the fishing starts to pick up again. Maybe the bass become more acclimated to the heat or maybe with their metabolism they start feeding during the day out of necessity. Either way, I'm looking forward to the next few weeks when they are active again.

Some very good catches, but no monsters on the Whopper Plopper. Unfortunately, I lost one of my 130 Whopper Ploppers last night at sunset. I've been having issues with the braid digging into itself and when I cast the line snapped right at the reel. In the dark I have no idea where it landed. Today I pulled the 30# Power Pro off of the reel and replaced it with 50# Power Pro. And of course, while I was at the store buying braid I picked up more tackle including another Whopper Plopper.

The heat some of you are experiencing now is what it's like every summer in my neck of the woods. Because of the extreme humidity in the mornings I usually fish in the early evening. It's still hot, but after the higher heat during the day and the slight drop in humidity it feels bearable outside. I used to bike to my bank fishing locations but now I drive so I can keep a fully stocked cooler full of water nearby. Sometimes I'll brave the heat during the day, but as I get older that's less and less frequent. I have been looking at Google Earth this summer and have mapped out some new lagoons that offer some shady areas to set up and fish. I'm the type that usually covers a lot of ground when I fish, but in this case I may try to bring a chair and see if I can stay in one place in the shade and fish.

Most of that (the thick stuff) is aquatic algae. If it's not treated properly it will continue to bloom in the heat and choke off the oxygen supply.

Hollow bodied frogs. Just make sure that you have a stout rod and reel and use at least 50 pound braid. I've had bass blow up on baits even through the thick stuff and suddenly that 4 pound bass becomes 7-10 pounds with all of that algae. Although not always possible, when I fish locations like this I always try to find clear spots where I can try and steer the fish and then land the fish.

I like fishing with the Whopper Plopper, but for me it's one of those lures that's really hit and miss. On some days the bass are on it like a crack head hitting the pipe, and other days it draws blanks. I only have the 110 size in a few different colors. And despite the success I've had with it, the biggest bass I have landed on it was only 5.5 pounds. But I've landed lots of 2 and 3 pounders and I don't think I've ever caught a dink with it. So, what's the biggest bass you've caught on a Whopper Plopper? What size WP did you catch it on?

Santee Cooper

It's definitely been frustrating. But I fished one lagoon last night with a 7 footer nearby and when I landed a 3 pound bass the gator did not move an inch. That was refreshing. And tonight I fished a new, larger lagoon and NOT ONE GATOR IN SIGHT. Unfortunately, the bass were not biting tonight although I did three 5-7 pounders out there.

Interesting topic as it applies to shallow, man made lagoons. I do a lot of fishing where my father lives in Sun City Hilton Head where there are 300+ lagoons of all sizes. The largest is about 1/4 mile long by 0.15 miles wide while others you can cast across the width and the length is 2 or 3 casts. Boats and kayaks are not allowed in these lagoons. There's very little cover and no structure in these lagoons for the bass to gather, but I imagine there are some low spots where the bass tend to gather in the heat. The trick is finding them. What makes all of this interesting is that large clusters of these lagoons are connected by the stormwater system and the bass in fact do move from lagoon to lagoon. For example, my dad has a very small lagoon out back of his place and I've pulled 4 and 5 pounders out of there. With a pair of polarized glasses you can see the fish. But on some days you won't even see a bass in there. Fishing has been hit and miss lately, but for the time being I'm going focus more on fishing the larger lagoons. If I could get my iBobber to work I'd start mapping the bottom of some of these, but alas it loses connection when it's more than 10 or 15 feet away. If history is any indication, even though it's hot out the fishing usually picks up again in July, even in the shallower depths.

Last year we had temperatures in the mid to upper 90's with the heat index of 105-110. But this year the temperatures are "only" 85-89 and a heat index in the 105-108 range. So this year it's the humidity that's the culprit and as we all know, when it's really, really humid out it just saps your energy. So for me that means no more bike riding from lagoon to lagoon to fish. Now I take my car and park it nearby and I keep a cooler full of water on hand. No sense in taking risks. And if history is any indication, we have about 2 more weeks of slow fishing in store, and then the bite is back on again. I can't wait for that to happen.

It's been hot and miserable here in SC for the past few weeks. The heat index has been about 108 with 75% humidity. Even at 6-7 pm the heat index has been at 100. To make matters worse, the few times I went fishing the bite was almost non-existent. But after work tonight the heat index is supposed to be "only" 91 degrees! You can bet we're headed out to fish after work.

In all of my life I may have caught just 3 or 4 fish on a lipped crankbait and one of those was a small bluegill that was probably just trying to nip the tail of a passing "fish" when it got a big surprise. I still fish them now and then as one of the last lures that comes out of my bag. Lip less cranks, however, I do use with some success. I even pulled in a 3 pounder with one the other day, but for me they mostly catch 1-2 pounders and never anything big. For me there are plenty of other baits that are more effective fishing from shore.

I doubt they let you do that in a public park. But you could probably slip a $50 the a groundskeeper and have him clear you a path.