papajoe222

Sounds like my wife! You related?

Think of an Arkie style jig as an all around jig (similar to a MH rod being an all purpose rod).

Crystal clear water intimidates many anglers and, for the most part, it's unjustified. Bass are predominately sight feeders and clear water is advantageous to them. Success, from an angler standpoint, is your ability to play to that, just as you would to murky water when they rely on their other senses in combination with sight. There is no need to draw attention to your bait with 'loud' colors or noise unless you are fishing heavy cover when their line of sight is reduced significantly. Reducing the size of your presentations is advantageous, as is 'matching the hatch' with color selection. With fast moving presentations, the speed of your retrieve and the length of any pauses you impart become more critical. Generally, faster retrieves with fewer, short, pauses is the way to go. The longer a bass has to inspect your presentation, the lower the odds that it will commit to striking it. Faster, of course, is relative to water temp. Lipless and regular cranks, jerkbaits, drop shots and flukes are all good baits. Using them in the matter I mentioned will help increase your confidence (and hopefully your catch rate) in them under clear water conditions.

Yours is the reason I only tie the Alberto knot for braid to fluoro. There is no need to let go of the fluoro when wrapping the braid and if you do let go of the braid mid-knot, it won't unravel.

If it works for you, what difference does it make? I know guys that use braid for cranking because they’re confident in doing so. I prefer graphite in a cranking rod for the added sensitivity. I’ve tried a glass rod, but didn’t care for it.

When targeting rocks, i prefer either original Stren or Trilene XT, mainly because I know I’ll be retying a lot. For shell beds, the same applies. For wood cover I prefer braid for soft plastics and fluoro for cranks and faster moving presentations. Also, if your break off are occuring on the hook set, check to make sure it isn’t breaking at the knot.

For the bottom cover you mentioned, I’d go with a light (1/8oz-1/4oz) jig, stupid rigged to start. The reason I say that is that combination will allow the tube to rest on top of the weeds, rather than penetrating. It also will give it more action on the fall. Pop it off them and let ti come to rest on top again. Go to a T-rig (3/8oz. Or heavier)if you want to penetrate the weeds. Be sure to peg the weight. KVD uses tubes on hard, rocky bottoms the majority of the time. You’re fishing over ripe tomatoes compared to his apples.

Nice Job! Keep at it. It's easy to loose focus on a slow day. Keeping your goal uppermost in your mind helps with the determination you need to make it happen. You can luck into the fish of a lifetime and it's rush, but when you focus on just that and it comes to pass, that rush is augmented by the feelings of accomplishment and pride.

Retrieving a spinnerbait just under the surface and occasionally letting the blade break the surface and killing it for a second before resuming.

Someone needs to adjust the scroll speed on that unit. Either that, or back off on the throttle.

They are the only type of reel my wife will use (she fishes at least once a week). I've purchased different brands and models over the years and the only ones that's held up more than a couple of seasons are the Goldcast and President.

Nah, it's more like the difference between a .30-06 and a .308Win.

The only reason I use flippin' hooks is for a better hook-up ratio. An EWG will get the job done, I just feel that because of the relation of the hook point to the eye, a straight shank hook, has more bite when setting the hook.

where can I find one of them A-Jay baits? I bet they are a killer on smallies.

Sweet

X2

If you're talking immediately after ice-out, you're talking early,early pre-spawn. Although some fish may move shallow after a two or three day warming trend, most will still hang around their winter locations. My go to is a hair jig, a small tube on a C-rig and a suspending crank that I'll give long pauses to once it reaches its running depth. If you can get a jerkbait down there, all the better.

Crankbait Jig C-rig I'll downsize depending on conditions.

What model Curado DC are you looking for. My local BPS only carries the 150 in the 6.2:1 right handed version.

Depending on how large and deep the lake you're targeting, you're likely to find fish in both pre-spawn and spawn. Check out flats close to the creek channels. Then work your way out toward deeper water. Bass won't normally school at this time, so keep moving if you're looking to catch numbers. If you do contact the bucks clearing beds, the ladies won't be far from the area, normally hanging around the first break to deeper water. Keep in mind that that drop in depth may only be a foot or two. Also keep in mind the fact that not all the fish will be moving up at the same time and although many believe the bigger females drop their eggs early, if the reservoir is a good sized one, many will still be in the early stages of pre-spawn. As for lures, I'd start with a crank that targets the depth of the area you're fishing. I prefer a flat sided one, but if there's timber present, a square bill can often produce better. A lipless crank, spinnerbait, or swim bait can be utilized to cover different depths. All three will allow you to cover water, which is often the ticket now for your area.

Speaking solely of living, anglers that have influenced me over the years and I haven't had the opportunity or pleasure to fish with; Spence Petros and Rick Clunn.

I sharpen almost all single hook baits with regularity, some right out of the box. With trebles, anything smaller than a #2 gets replaced, again, some right out of the box. On occasion, I'll do it while on the water, but with treble hook lures I normally just switch out to a similar bait.

A couple of years back, I was fishing with my favorite Super Spook Jr. This particular one flat out out fished others in my box. After catching a nice fish that wrapped me around a limb, I immediately cast back to the spot because I'd seen another fish follow my catch out. My line snapped and the lure headed into the trees of the small island. I beached the boat and spent the better part of two hours looking for it. Over a dozen bug bites and scratches on my arms and legs, I gave up looking. Went as far as offering a reward for anyone finding and returning it.

Normally, I use a couple of signs to help determine what topwater to throw. One is what the surface is like and the other is the presence of cloud cover. A cloudy day with a stiff breeze calls for a noisy, reaction bait like a buzzbait or a tail spinner. Sunny day with a stiff breeze, something a little less subtle like a chugger. Sunny and calm, the fish will likely be tight to cover and spook easy and a PopR would be my choice. As for walking baits and I'm a spook nut, throw them in almost any condition and base your retrieve on how much,or little action you feel is called for. One more thing. A walking bait has the benefit of drawing strikes from a good distance and as such, is a great tool for covering water over deeper structure, or hidden cover, than some of the others. it's a good surface 'search' bait.

Glenn put together a great video about learning how to detect bites using bottom contact baits. (can't recall the title) In it, he suggests using a split shot rig starting out. One of his favorite sayings goes something like: If your line does something that you didn't cause it to do, likely a fish did. set the hook.