Mobasser

Where is that "spot, within a spot" in my lake, that will hold the biggest bass. I've found a couple of good spots, but firmly believe there is one that I havnt found yet. I'm still searching.

I think the original " finesse" fishing was made famous by Charlie Brewer and west coast angler Don Iovino. Now, finesse fishing is a broad term. I still just look at it like this: 6 to 8lb line, med spinning rod, and smaller baits. Maybe we shouldn't even call it "finesse" any more. Just call it "fishing". It means too many different things to too many people anymore.

snake 95, this is a good fish catcher. I think it works best with 1/4 or less weight. I also think most any smaller plastic baits could work well. Craw, creature, worm, or various grub styles. I knew another guy years ago that split shotted Zoom Critter Craws, and did well.

I agree with WRB on this one. If you can figure out what the fish are biting on, you really don't need that much stuff.

Bass love pork rind. Pork trailers were the #1 trailer on jigs, spoons, and spinnerbaits for decades. Do a search on pork rind baits, and the Uncle Josh bait company and learn some of the history of bass fishing.

I like throwing a 4.5" Roboworm on a light T rig. If you have limited fishing time, say evening trips after work etc, this rig draws more consistent action than than anything else I've used. Worked with a slow, lift/ fall retrieve, it seems like something is always taking a pop at these smaller worms. The Brewer Slider head fishing is good also, with almost any of the thinner worms available now. It's a fun way to fish because of the steady strikes, from bass of all sizes. I havnt tried even half of the finesse worms on the market now, there's so many. If I had to pick one, I'll pick the Roboworms as a favourite. I've had especially good results in hot weather with colors Folkstad Special, MM111, Marg Mutilator, and the last two seasons, Oxblood/ red flake. Even though " finesse " worms are known to work well in high pressure, clear water, post frontal, or other tough bite days, I'm convinced they will work almost any time. Bass love them.

whitwolf, I agree 100%. This is the only fishing site I belong to. It's the best, hands down. I joined in March 2018. I'm a better fisherman now.

I throw finesse worms quite a bit. I like Zoom finesse in junebug, CB slider in grape, Roboworm 41/2" in Folkstad Special. I use a light T rig, slider head, or splitshot rig.

I tend to think lots of guys slam on reels they've never used. Just hear or read about someone's bad experience

So many guys slam on Qauntum. It's nonsense. My Qauntum Tour Grade baitcaster is one of the best reels I've ever used. With good maintenance I expect it to last a long time.

Well, I'll be 63 in October. I get up every morning at 5:30, and stiff leg it to the coffee maker, then read through some threads on BR before I leave for work. You will reach a point where you'll slow down some. It happens. Keep on fishing as much as you can, and take care of yourself. Don't sweat it. 30 seems like century's ago now.... I like some Rick Nelson rockabilly myself.

As for spinning reels, I've almost gone all Shimano. My grandson bought a Lews not long ago, and it seems good as well. My only other spin reel is an old ABU Cardinal 4. It's heavier, and old, but is a tank and very smooth. You just have to go to a store and handle different models. I think most of the companies make good reels now, it just depends on your budget and what your looking for. Sometimes, with any brand, an extra 20 or 30 bucks gets you better qaulity. I wouldn't worry about Do yo or not. Most all the stuff we use now is made overseas anyway. If you buy one from a store like Academy, save your receipt and if you don't like it, take it and swap it for a different one. Lots of good choices out there now. In my area, the big ones are Shimano, Lews, and Diawa. Okuma is kind of a sleeper here, but they make some good reels also.

My wife an I made a trip to Missouri's lake Taneycomo years ago. It rained on the 4hr drive down there. We got our cabin, and it was raining lightly. I went down to the dock and started casting a roostertail spinner. Almost right away I hooked a 14" trout. When I went to unhook him, he slipped in my hand, and the treble hook got caught on the skin between my thumb and forefinger, with the trout still flopping around. My wife backed out the hook with some needle nose pliers. My hand was sore for a couple of days. Otherwise no other harm.done.

I started with round ABU reels 40yrs ago. A red 5000, then two 4600c, then a used 5500c. They've all been great reels. One of the 4600c is 23yrs old, and still works good. I don't really know what happened to ABU? Theyre not as popular now around my area. My two 4600c both have a thumbar, but I think the newer ones dont. Now, I've retired all but one 4600c. Still using that one along with Lews LFS, and low profile Qauntum. Both are great

I caught a 4" bass on a full size Zara Spook one time. Sometimes, those little bass will hit almost anything.

Buzzbait, 6" to 8" plastic worms, and 4" plastic worms.Plastic worm fishing is here now in Missouri.Horayyyy!

I recall reading an article years ago in I think Bassmaster magazine about a guy from Georgia, who caught big bass on a home made snake lure. He shaped a bottle cork like slip sinker, painted them and put some varnish on them to harden them. He drilled a hole in them, and slid them on the line ahead of a large worm hook. It looked like a t rig, only with a cork head. The " snake" was a long plastic worm. This caused the head to always float, and could be paused in certain spots. If you watch a snake swim on the surface, most times, the head is just above the surface. When they stop, the tail drops a couple of inches below the surface, and hangs there. I've never tried this, but it doesn't sound like it would be hard to make this floating snake head. I've never seen a bass actually eat a snake. Doug Hannon caught a lot of big bass over thick weeds in Florida years ago. I'm sure it could still work in the right locations.

I do also remember Doug Hannons snake lure years ago, but I never bought one. In some ways, a weedless snake type lure could work better than a frog in some areas. Maybe a better hookup ratio?

I like blowdowns, old flooded fencerows with visible treetops, stumps,and weeds. I've learned to fish weeds out of necessity, because of milfoil.

The closest I've come is a 10" ribbon tail worm reeled slowly over over weeds, fished weightless. I never caught any large bass with this, but 2 or 3 smaller bass. Havnt used it this way for a while.

I'll always throw a buzzbait. One of my favourites!

I have an older friend I've started fishing with again. He only uses two rigs for fishing soft plastics. A T rig, and a splitshot rig. His variation of the old standard split shot rig is using a bullet sinker, and a Peg It, made by Top Brass tackle. He generally uses 8lb mono line, with a 1/8 oz bullet sinker. He prefers Roboworms, both the 4.5" and 6" models, but there's lots of other good plastic baits which can work also. The Peg It is a good product, and allows you to move your weight up or down the line as needed. He cast, and uses a slow steady retrieve, pausing occasionally. When he's working visible cover( in our case an old rotted, sunken wooden dock in 8ft of water) he cast past the object by several feet. When his bait is in front of the cover, he hooks his finger under his line, and inches the bait along very slowly, taking up slack line as needed. I watched him pull 3 bass from under this dock the other night, fishing this style. One was a solid 3lb fish. I had thrown a Pop-R, and a spinnerbait, only minutes before, with no strikes. In areas with silt or sand bottoms, Mike seems to think the actual sinker may be part of the attraction here. The light sinker kicking up silt on the bottom, may cause a bass to swim out from cover to investigate, then, seeing the plastic worm, pounce on it for an easy meal. My brother and I fished split shot worms many years ago. We caught fish with a lead shot, nose hooking the worms, before we learned about weedless rigging. We also picked moss and weeds off, after almost every cast, so this is really nothing new. It's an improvement on a decades old technique. Much of the credit for the split shot rig goes to California angler Dick Trask, who caught scores of fish with this style of fishing years ago. Glenn has some great videos on this site, detailing how to rig, and fish this style. In many ways, this is kind of a downsized Carolina rig. In some situations, it may be better. There's less hardware, swivel, beads, etc, and, you can easily adjust your leader length, as need be. Most strikes come as a steady pull, or a tightening up of the line, and with the sharp, light wire Gamma hooks, it's not hard to get a good hook set, and some bass seem to almost hook themselves. If your set up on a good deeper water spot, and not exactly sure where to start, you can fan cast this rig, and cover a good amount of water with a slow steady retrieve. The real key is fishing it slowly. My old friend Mike doesn't always keep up on all the latest rigs. He's old school, and likes to keep things simple. According to him, anything that's worked well for 50yrs or more is still working for a reason. I have to agree with him. The split shot rig, or its variations, can be an absolute deadly way to catch bass.

I would look for an older model, in black or frog finish. The newer ones are made cheaper with a thinner metal plate. You can bend the metal.plate slightly to get the desired bulb bulb sound. They still work

I would use a shakey head worm combo for a slower bottom retrieve. I think it may come through weeds easier also.

Try adding a split shot 12" above the bait, for casting distance, and fish it slowly, at different depths.