Mobasser

One of the lakes I fish most often, is an 8 acre quarry lake. This lake has shelves, deeper rocks, rock walls, and humps in the deeper water, when the quarry was dug many years ago. There are no shad here. The predominant forage has always been bluegill, small crappie, and crawfish. We've always done well here with dark colored plastic worms, 3" and 4" grubs, and smaller jig/ trailer combos. A local Mo conservation agent told me this fall that he thought the forage base had changed here. In his words, depending on conditions, there may be more bluegill, less craws etc, depending on many factors. Our catch rates prove him to be correct. We caught quite a few more fish on craw baits, in standard crawfish colors last year. Not as many fish on our standard worms, grubs, or jigs, which we always thought were imitations of the bluegill population here. Does this make sense, and sound correct? Has anyone noticed a change in the forage base on your lake, and have you had to adjust how you fish, to catch bass consistently? I've never thought that we always need to match the hatch perfectly to catch the bass. Bass may hit any number of baits on any given day, but it always pays to learn what the fish are eating, and fish accordingly. Any thoughts or opinions on a forage base changing?

A-Jay, my thing is that I need to see the line. Cloudy days it's harder for me to see clear, but I'm not sure if either line color effects the fishing.

I fish green mono the most, but also use clear at times.

Academy Sports has a fiberglass, pistol grip rod. I believe less than 20.00. Should work well with a spincast reel.

When I was young and first started working outdoors, most guys took they're shirts off on the hottest days. It was the macho, cool thing to do, and get a dark suntan. I did it some myself. I've since realized years ago that this was a huge mistake. Skin cancer is no joke. Wear sunglasses, a good hat, a shirt that's made for sun protection etc. Wear sunscreen and reapply as needed.

Pick up some good books to read on Bass fishing. You can take your time to clean and lube your reels. Watch some fishing shows on TV, and wait for spring and warmer weather. Pick up a few new baits or some terminal tackle, kick back, and wait it out.

Culprit 7.5 ribbontail, Roboworm, 6" , Roboworm 4", Mr. Twister Phenom 6", Mann's Jelly worm 8", Zoom finesse worm. Most in purple/ grape shades.

Yes. Rig them up with a grub, plastic swimbait, fluke, etc.

Some of this may also apply to where a person fishes the most. A guy who fishes shallow rivers for smallmouth would be able to get good at this style. He would probably struggle with heavy punching for LM bass. Not all of our teqniques work the best on all waters.

I sometimes think lots of guys are sort of " Jack of all trades", master of none".

My biggest bass wasn't really all that big. I think between 3 and 4 pounds. Mr. Twister Phenom worm, t rig, 1/8 oz weight, 3/0 Gamma hook. Color was motor oil

Practice makes perfect. The more you fish a certain style, the better you'll become.

I think we might be wearing mask for a while yet jj. No telling how long.

Fish more often, and continue learning about deep water structure fishing.

Bullhead catfish. I caught a lot of them, before I moved onto bass fishing.

Happy New Year to all here on BR. I'm ready to put 2020 behind, and move forward. Best of luck to everyone in the coming year!

For me, mid March to Mid April.

For me, stage one was 1966, fishing each summer with my older brother. We fished farm ponds each evening on my grandpas farm. This was for three summers, untill my brother left for his tour in Vietnam, and I was on my own. My other stages have been much like yours A -Jay, obsessed with bass fishing. I think now at 63, I'm more enthusiastic than ever. One of the best stages for me has been fishing and spending time with my grandson Aiden. It's been cool to watch his enthusiasm grow, and watch him improve as a fisherman. Thanks for a great post A-Jay!

I have an old Heddon fiberglass fly rod my dad bought I think in the early 1960s. I used to take it out to a pond I fished, but I havnt used it for 25 yrs. I did catch a few fish with it, on poppers. Mostly smaller bass

Things that I always see in the better post on big bass are: patience, persistence, and the ability to sit it out on the prime locations, long cast, and a quiet approach. Great advise WRB. In today's run and gun world of fishing, these things go against the way many guys fish. It makes a lot of sense. Most of the guys who catch huge bass consistently have these traits. It's what sets them apart from other fisherman.

The best one yet Catt. Never thought about Alphabet baits.

Not so much for me.My favourite color Roboworm is Folkstead Special. I chose it because purple has worked well for me over the years. I simply liked the color, and thought I would try it.

That was a little before my time... Some guys called a spinning reel a " coffee grinder". Years ago

The way we talk about bass fishing has changed over the years. When I first started, we called all hard baits " plugs". A " stick" was your fishing rod. Now, hard baits have become " crankbaits, " cranks" or divers. A " stick is still a fishing rod, but can also be used as a nickname for a fisherman. An example: " he's a good stick", meaning, he's a good fisherman. A " jig and pig" was always a jig with a pork frog trailer., and so on. Can you guys think of any other examples of how bass fishing terms have changed through the years?

I've never used a St Croix Triumph, but do have a Fenwick med action HMG, I bought 3 yrs ago. It's been a good rod so far.