Mobasser

Still thinking on this one. I have used grape and purple worms with success for many years in lakes where bluegill are the main forage. I never really thought about. exactly" where " a bass might strike them. But, I've also caught on these colors in lakes that have large shad populations too. I think I've caught the most fish with purple/grape worms because I have the most confidence in them.

I've taken to fishing some 3" paddletail swimbaits. Mine are a generic shad shape. I did well years ago with the original Mr. Twister Sassy Shad, rigged on a ball head jig. Now, I've got many more weeds to contend with, and the open hook jig doesn't work as well. My question is what hooks do you like for this style of bait? EWG or standard round bend? I'm fishing these with a 1/8 oz tungsten slip sinker, held in place with a Peg It.

I'm not so sure your over thinking this. I fish two smaller lakes where bluegill are the main forage for bass. Grape and purple have been the best colors here. I always thought they were close to the shade of bluegill. It could be that the bass hone in on one portion of a bluegill. I've thought about adding dull orange to the bottom of soft plastics for this reason also.

I agree with others who have noticed how long a bass will hang on to a plastic bait. It seems like this happens most for me with smaller plastics like 4" worms. We've probably all had fish that pick up the bait, then just sit there, not moving. I've never actually timed a fish doing this, but I've had some that sat for several seconds in one spot, before slowly swimming off. I feel like I hook more fish if I take up any slack line and set the hook quickly.

When I pitch or flip to any cover, I like to look for something different from the surrounding cover. Bass relate to any thing that's different. It could be something small, 1 small tree limb, a small patch of different weedgrowth, etc.

I like the Loctite brand. I think the important thing is to use the gel, as opposed to thin super glue, which goes everywhere on fingers, baits etc.

You can experiment with some different trailers. Frog or toad,Senko, or a paddle tail swimbait. I would just super glue them on with Lok Tite gel glue. A 4" Rage Tail Swimmer is good in place of a skirt.

Years ago, many fishing books taught to wait several seconds after you feel.a strike. Now, most guys don wait too long. Feel the fish, take up slack line, and set the hook, seems to be the better way.

Lots of guys get rattled in a tournament. If it gets half way through the event and they're not doing well, they start throwing everything in they're box. Ive been there and done that years ago. It rarely if ever worked...

When I used to fish club tournaments years ago, many times the same 3 or 4 guys came out on top. One guy I fished with was older than me, and always seemed to do well. He picked prime spots to fish, then, liked to use a spinnerbait or trap as a search lure. He would always fish the spots slowly after, usually with a blk/blue Culprit worm. If he had hooked fish on the faster baits he he would spend more time there, before he exhausted the area and moved on. A pretty simple approach, but I saw it work for him several times, placing in the money.

I agree. It really is about finding the balance between super slow, and quicker retrieves on a given day. Charlie Brewers method of slowly swimming a plastic bait is one way to cover water, and still fish slowly enoupgh to draw strikes at the correct depth and speed. This has worked for me a little on suspended bass, but I've caught many more by slowly hopping plastic worms along the bottom, as opposed to swimming them. As you've pointed out, it can pay to try both ways, to see what may work. It's a tricky balance sometimes. One way could work well for a time, then change over the course of a trip.

If you really like everything about this rod, action, casting performance, guides etc, take a piece of foam or rubber and cut it to fill in the exposed thread area. Then wrap it with Winn Grip rod handle wrap. Should make it a little more comfortable to fish with. Otherwise, I would return it....

I started another thread called Summer Wading in the General.Fishing form. Read through this thread. Lots of guys wade fish for bass, and are very successful doing so.

I do much of the same. Slow trolling, then, when I get to a point, blowdown, or good weedy area, slow way down with multiple cast from different angles. I'm always looking for something slightly different from the rest of the area.

Good point Catt. KVD fishes to eliminate areas, then slows down to fish the best areas. He's keeping his baits in front of more fish this way. As you've stated, it's about putting together a pattern then duplicating it. What throws a lot of guys is they can't adjust to what's going on. An example could be, just because it's a hot summer day doesn't always mean fishing super slow is best. If it's overcast, with a little wind, the bass might hit faster moving lures. For us, once we locate some bass, we usually catch the most by fishing slower through the cover, especially after the sun gets up and is beating down.

If your setup on a really good spot, I say less water slowly

A Tackle shop owner, and friend told me 40yrs ago that he thought one of the main reasons that many fisherman can't catch bass consistently is that they're fishing too fast. Looking back on my own experience, I've caught far more fish by working an area slowly, as opposed to a fast retrieve. Even in the summer, when bass are most active, I've had better luck by forcing myself to slow down,. It's easy, after you've caught a fish or two to get keyed up and excited, and make your next retrieve faster without even realizing it. Most successful trophy hunters, who focus on catching the largest bass have trained themselves to slowly fish a soft plastic bait or jig through prime spots, sometimes dead sticking the lure for a few seconds during the retrieve. The concept is simple, and one that many successful fisherman are well aware of. If your working a good shoreline, or a deep water spot, by slowing down, you'll present your bait to more fish, and make your bait a much easier target for the bass. It's always fun when the fish are hitting fast moving baits, regardless if it's a spinnerbait, lipless, or topwater lure. In my own experience, this fast retrieve fishing doesn't usually last long, and takes place only at certain times of the season, and on an average summer day, for a short period of time. I know many will disagree with all this, but for me this was probably the best advice I've ever recieved. Slow down, and you'll catch more, and larger bass. In your own experience, have you found that fishing slowly has caught more fish overall, as opposed to fast retrieves?

Still a nice find! I have found a few single baits, but never a boxful.

We don't have leeches on my lakes, but do have ticks. The worst ones are what we always called seed ticks, about the size of a pinhead. Sometimes, you might not know you've got one for two or three days. Then they'll itch and reveal themselves. The trick is to.pull out the entire tick, otherwise the head can still stay attatched. Usually a Bic lighter held close will cause them to back out. Then roast em! One of the hazards of wading anywhere near tall grass, overhanging branches or brush. Of course, it's probably not a good idea to hold a lighter too close to certain areas.

I use straight shank or offset round hooks most often. For 4" worms size 1/0 or 2/0. For 6" worms and bigger, size 3/0.

I like round bend, both straight shank and offset better than EWG hooks. I seem.to hook more fish with them. I do still use EWG hooks sometimes on thicker plastic worms

Luckily, we don't have cottonmouths around here. We do have copperheads, which I believe is the only poisonous snake in our area. Otherwise just water snakes

I've just recently picked up a mesh back vest. It's similar to yours. Also just use one rod/reel and a few baits. Plastic worms, one or two topwaters, beetle spins etc. I'll try to stick a water bottle in one of the vest pockets.

Trash left behind from other anglers chafes my hide more than anything

That's a lucky find for sure! It's also good you were able to save that stuff. Not to get off topic too much, but what is it about the AC Shiner that you guys like? I've used Rapalas, Bang O Lures, Bombers etc. I've never had an AC Shiner. What makes it different or better?